Learning Japanese

[Yu Ominae]

I was told that in greeting someone a Happy Chinese New Year in Japnese that you don't use the phrase 旧正月おめでとうございます. But I used it to greet my kendo sensei and his wife.

Is there another way to say it?

[Yu Ominae]

Putting it up because I want to ask something.

I'm not sure on how to tell someone I'll let you know as soon as I can.

Situation is I'm informing someone that I'm leaving to go overseas and someone is asking when. I plan to tell that person that I'll let him/her know after I have more information.

[TwilightsCall]

There's probably a more elegant way of saying so, but:

分かればすぐ知らせます

...is the first thing that comes to mind.

[Yu Ominae]

Been looking for the word "Wholesale" in Japanese.

Not sure if 「卸」　or 「卸売」　is appropriate.

[seiftis]

Although Minna no Nihon go is more popular, but would buying Genki book better for a complete beginner like me?

[Kafriel]

I just finished the first genki book, it's a good one to start with, mainly for the grammar and reading segments. Vocabulary is important, and genki covers most of the basics, as well as many things a potential tourist would be stoked to know, but there's also the occasional garbage that is just too technical to ever actually use (who the hell says "I'd like to print this with a glossy finish"?).

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Kafriel

I just finished the first genki book, it's a good one to start with, mainly for the grammar and reading segments. Vocabulary is important, and genki covers most of the basics, as well as many things a potential tourist would be stoked to know, but there's also the occasional garbage that is just too technical to ever actually use (who the hell says "I'd like to print this with a glossy finish"?).

How did you go around tackling the book? What was your study method? I'm very curious since I have the first genki book laying around for a while but haven't actually gotten down to properly study yet.

[seiftis]

Originally Posted by Kafriel

I just finished the first genki book, it's a good one to start with, mainly for the grammar and reading segments. Vocabulary is important, and genki covers most of the basics, as well as many things a potential tourist would be stoked to know, but there's also the occasional garbage that is just too technical to ever actually use (who the hell says "I'd like to print this with a glossy finish"?).

Would it be difficult for self-learner though since i read you need to get the answer sheet elsewhere. Other than Genki books, i'm also thinking of Shin Nihongo no Kiso.

[larethian]

From basic to intermediate levels (up to N3), Minna no Nihongo is still very much the bible of Japanese textbooks for foreigners. It was in fact designed for foreigners living in Japan. I was using my old textbooks back from 2000s to teach my nephew some months back, and I am still very impressed by how well it is organized for progressive learners.

In order to really benefit however, you need to acquire at least 2 books, the main textbook which is pure Japanese and the book on "translation and grammatical notes". Each chapter in the main textbook contains new sentence patterns, conversation passage, and number of structured practice. The companion "translation & grammatical notes" will contain translation of the sentence examples and conversation passage from the main text, and also compile a list of new words encountered in the new chapter. What's really gold to me, is that it adds a relevant reference page with new nouns specific to Japan setting, and all these nouns are very relevant to the chapter's theme, and can be easily used in the oral and pictorial practices in the main text. For a motivated learner, vocab progression can be very fast because of that.

Also, few people know this, but the MnN series is huge with lots of supplementary textbooks. There are books and material targeted purely for comprehension practice , reading practice, listening practice, and guided oral practice.

The disadvantages are:
- you can only get maximum value in classroom settings, since it can be hard to bother with some of practice without a partner or a guiding sensei.
- the books are pretty expensive and if you want to get them all, it will cost a fortune
- it may seem 'hardcore' to some self-learners; it is designed for foreigners living in Japan who can immediately apply a lot of the vocab introduced, but in spite of this, I would recommend a motivated learner who constantly exposed himself/herself to Japanese media to get this instead of other textbooks

[kanoguti]

Been learning for about 10 months now, actually reading for about 6 months. Pretty fun to be honest. Getting to the point where I can read the majority of text without dictionaries/texthookers. I'm curious how proficient users who started learning Japanese in 2004-2007 are now.

Anyway, my recommendation (take it with a grain of salt) is to avoid "top-heavy" daily repetition. Having to struggle through hours of flashcards kills my vibe and I just get bored and do something else. I feel like 1+ hour of repetition is just a waste of time.

I could be wrong though. If I am, I would appreciate a more experienced learner explaining the contrary.

[Yu Ominae]

Same here. Used MnN to get my way through and for me, it was easy to follow than the Genki stuff I used in Canada.

Although I plan to get back to get through material for N4 since it's been a while for me since I studied and the fact that I need to finish my BA since it's incomplete.

[Yu Ominae]

Back then a few years in 2014 (IIRC), I was suppose to study Japanese for maybe a year at Waseda. Only stopped my mom was hesitant to give her consent since I got some bad habits such as staying up more than necessary when it's time to hit the sack.

Cue 2017. In my early 30s now and I'm just going back to uni via distance education to get my BA while working in Manila for a NGO with no pay to rack up more work experience.

Asking for recommendations if a language school or a university like Waseda is a better one? The former one is used by some of me high school buddies back in the day. I'll probably contemplate on this or whether I should do the former, a master's or just let fate go with the ride and just work and rely on my BA/work experience in Manila.

I'd choose uni, but I heard some bad stuff with Waseda and Todai doesn't allow non-students to go there just to take Japanese languages course since you need to be studying there.

Currently have N5 certification taken from a JLPT test in Manila.

[Yu Ominae]

Hey folks. Is there a way of saying my first/second older brother in Japanese?

Sometime people ask me this.

[johnmarl]

Hi all! Is there any kind of quote similar to this: 考えて決める、決めて考えるな。
And what is the correct interpretation? I heard that at the college and think about a tattoo with this proverb, but first wanna be sure that that's the original Japanese saying.

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by johnmarl

Hi all! Is there any kind of quote similar to this: 考えて決める、決めて考えるな。
And what is the correct interpretation? I heard that at the college and think about a tattoo with this proverb, but first wanna be sure that that's the original Japanese saying.

If I'm not wrong it's something like "Decide (only) after thinking over, don't think it over after having decided".

Originally Posted by Yu Ominae

Asking for recommendations if a language school or a university like Waseda is a better one? The former one is used by some of me high school buddies back in the day. I'll probably contemplate on this or whether I should do the former, a master's or just let fate go with the ride and just work and rely on my BA/work experience in Manila

I'd choose uni, but I heard some bad stuff with Waseda and Todai doesn't allow non-students to go there just to take Japanese languages course since you need to be studying there.

It's just my opinion, but I think it depends on the language school. If you are talking about one that focuses on teaching a lot of grammar and stuff in big classes, well, I wouldn't recommend that. Same with universities where you take classes with a lot of students. But if you are talking about a language school which employs small classes, like average size around 6 people, which focuses on conversation and the cultural aspects of a language (which I consider quite important for such a context-oriented language as Japanese), then language school.

[Yu Ominae]

Thanks Kakurin.

Haven't decided yet since my trip to Waseda got aborted in '14. So it's giving me a chance to decide on what I should study since I passed N5.

[johnmarl]

Originally Posted by Kakurin

If I'm not wrong it's something like "Decide (only) after thinking over, don't think it over after having decided".

Thank you. But the problem for me is that I'm not sure that's this is the original Japanese saying and if it is, that 考えて決める、決めて考えるな。is the primary variant of the proverb. You know how much fake info on the internet nowadays. I will be grateful if somebody will confirm this fact or disprove that. The point is that I don't wanna make a tattoo with something that does not have authentic sense.

[Tanuki.]

At least in this wording this is certainly not a known proverb. Google doesn't yield a single entry in Japanese (only Russian translation websites), even without the な. Kakurin's explanation makes sense, of course.

[Yu Ominae]

Anyone got advice for someone like me who did N5 and passed it for a while, but thinking of going back to language school to study for the total equivalent of N4?

PS - Using the Minna no Nihongo books only, so I kinda used it as a basis for checking courses.

[Yu Ominae]

Bumping. Need help since I have a problem to explain that I have two older brothers. Not sure how to do it...