Anyone even understand japanese music?

[lilasianboy193]

any of you japanese or understand japanese? and yes i am japanese.

[Vexx]

wait... the poll is titled "understand japanese music" but the question is asking if I'm japanese.... those are two completely different things.

No, I'm not japanese nor a japanese citizen. My wife is an american of japanese ancestry but speaks it very poorly. Her primary language is English.
I can understand, read, and write japanese but rather slowly. I'm learning it as are my two teenage sons.

I can pick up about every third word in a japanese pop tune if the singers are clearly enunciating. I have to translate the lyrics off the liner notes for the rest.
A lot of japanese groups throw enough english words to kind of get it... plus the grammar of japanese lyrics is often more poetic than grammatically correct.

When I listen to japanese music (or any foreign music) the first thing I listen for is a nice beat, good instrumentals, and quality singing voices. Next is the mood the song evokes. If it still has my ear, I'll figure out the lyrics.

I have a fair amount of music from other countries but most of my import music is from Japan just because I find the culture interesting.

[frad113]

It's more difficult if I haven't seen a song in karaoke form, but I can sometimes understand somewhat. Depends on who is singing too; Ayumi Hamasaki or Shakalabbits are harder for me to understand than, let's say Kotoko or 175R. Actually, who cares what they sing, as long as it sounds good and you can sing along

And here I thought I had the first reply...

[Tasdern]

No, I can't 'understand' it but I can feel it. Kitaro is fantastic.

[01_sassy]

ummmmmmmmmmmmm......i dont know japanese but a little and learning....i do like listening to it though...my reason?......becaiuse i liek the melody and more....

[Flame-X]

who cares, as long as the songs are good then it doesnt matter

[Jelly]

Someday I WILL learn Japanese and so I can read original Japanese manga, and can understand anime without pauzing for the subs, and can sing along [well it would be more like shouting or reading] with every word they sing.

But for now, I listen to the beats and the emotions attached to it.

[Nidas]

hmm no I can't speak Japanese, but then how many people can understand the singing that sometimes turns up in classical music? You don't need to understand the language to enjoy the music. Considering how much I despise pop music, I would probably hate j-pop and anime music too if I could understand the lyrics so my ignorance is probably a good thing

EDIT: oh and no I'm not Japanese, I'm White British. Well I'm half French / half Danish technically but thats a long boring story...

[Deathkillz]

^ but tbh i think j pop probably have more meaning in the lyrics than normal english pop...

Originally Posted by Clamp-X

who cares, as long as the songs are good then it doesnt matter

amen ^_^

nope but im chinese...close but no cookie tho ive been seriously considering taking jap as my 3rd fluent language tho...only trouble is trying to find courses
well having to listen to the same old english pop tunes for so many years i find j pop refreshing and i love it even tho i hardly understand

[Miya-Miya]

Yah, i do understand j-music's lyrics. But there's still some words dat i dont understand ^^''..

And I'm not japanese, and thats no good. I'd loved to be japanese but i'm not 8'(

[Gundam Zero Force]

I love Japanese music . . . even though I have no clue what they are saying It sounds so good! Like the Intros the G-Wing . . . love the music . . . no idea what they are saying though . . . it kinda makes it more deep to me because I don't fully understand the song because I can't understand the lyrics of course . . . I like it anyway lol

[Rene]

I'm not a japanese..and i dont really understand japanese. But i love japanese music~ When i go to karaoke to sing Japanese songs, I'll just go bla bla bla and whatever i know. My friends does that too~

[RanChaChaChan]

...Nope. D: But I CAN pick up on some of the words they say.

I'm determined to learn japanese one day! >/

[macdawson]

I'm Portuguese and although i do know some japanese, idepend mostly of online translations. But that dosn't keep me from loving japanese music. The lyric of a song is important inthat it is the direct message but if you don't know what it's being said, it shouldn't stop you from enjoying all the other layers of a song.
For example, Gabriela Robin's lyrics don't meen anything but without her vocals it just wouldn't be the same. I get a lot of grief from my friends for hearing j-pop and anime music but i can't live without it.
Kudos.

[LionsMane]

I am not Japanese(though I accidently voted yes cause I was stupid and didn't read the question)--but I do know a fair amount, still learning, and can understand some Japanese music.

[El_Capitano]

I'm learning Japanese so each week I understand a little more

[Zu Ra]

My japanese is so so I admit I cant follow anime without subs but my japanese vocabulary allows me to follow some words and phrases .

its funny aint it Music has no language or barriers ^_^

[kohana28]

A bit for me since i am struggling to learn japanese...self teaching by the way and most of the lyric i get have their own English translations so it helps me a lot too! Im a Filipina by the way!

[kingdom_elladrel]

I'm learning Japanese. Listening to J-pop, I can pick up words and a few sentences but most are going too fast for me at the rather low-level that I'm currently in.

[Shana]

I'm not Japanese,I wish,but no >_<.I can understeand some words of the Jpop;from me,the English and the Japanese are similar (becouse I speak Spanish..).