How to Learn Japanese
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Yuta introduces three essential steps to learn Japanese effectively. Starting with mastering the alphabet and pronunciation, including Hiragana, Katakana, and the complexities of Kanji, Yuta emphasizes the importance of getting the basics right to avoid developing a hard-to-change accent. Moving on to basic grammar and vocabulary, the video highlights the simplicity of Japanese grammar compared to English and encourages the use of resources that reflect real-life Japanese. Finally, Yuta stresses the necessity of extensive input through various media to achieve fluency, cautioning against overconfidence and underscoring the importance of understanding nuances for advanced learners.
Takeaways
- ๐ Start learning Japanese with the alphabet and pronunciation, focusing on Hiragana and Katakana as they are the Japanese alphabets.
- ๐ Kanji is complex but can be learned gradually; it's not necessary for daily communication but helps in writing and reading Japanese fully.
- ๐ถ Pay attention to pronunciation early on, as it's difficult to change accents later; Japanese pronunciation has subtleties that can change word meanings.
- ๐ Japanese is lenient with the 'r' sound, which is softer than in English, and many Japanese people may not distinguish between 'l' and 'r' sounds.
- ๐ Learn basic grammar and vocabulary to communicate effectively; Japanese grammar is more regular compared to English, with fewer irregular verbs.
- ๐ Use various resources for learning, such as language schools, textbooks, apps, or anime, but ensure the language taught is up-to-date and natural.
- ๐ฃ๏ธ Practice speaking basic Japanese in real-life situations like ordering food or discussing daily activities to build confidence.
- ๐บ Get a lot of input by consuming Japanese media with Japanese captions to improve listening skills without relying on English translations.
- ๐ค Comprehensible input is crucial; understand enough of the content to enjoy it, which aids in learning new words and phrases.
- โฑ๏ธ Be prepared for a significant time investment; on average, about a thousand hours of input is suggested for English speakers to become proficient.
- ๐ After reaching a comfortable level, focus on nuances and subtleties of the language to refine your Japanese and avoid common mistakes made even by proficient learners.
Q & A
What are the three types of scripts in Japanese?
-The three types of scripts in Japanese are hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
Why are hiragana and katakana considered the Japanese alphabets?
-Hiragana and katakana are considered the Japanese alphabets because they are syllabaries where one letter represents one sound, similar to an alphabet in other languages.
What does 'kanji' mean and why is it different from hiragana and katakana?
-Kanji literally means 'hand letters' and it refers to Chinese characters that were adopted into the Japanese writing system. It's different from hiragana and katakana because it is not a syllabary but rather a logographic writing system where each character can represent a word or a morpheme.
What is 'romaji' and why is it not commonly used for daily communication in Japan?
-Romaji is the representation of the Japanese language using the Latin alphabet. It is not commonly used for daily communication in Japan because it is considered a hassle to read and is not the standard way of writing Japanese.
Why is it important to pay attention to pronunciation when learning Japanese?
-It is important to pay attention to pronunciation when learning Japanese because once an accent is established, it can be very hard to change, which can lead to misunderstandings or difficulty in communication.
Can you provide an example of how different vowel sounds can change the meaning of a word in Japanese?
-An example is the word 'kawaii' which means 'cute' and 'kauwaii' which sounds similar but could be interpreted as 'scary' due to the difference in vowel sounds.
What is the difference between the Japanese 'r' sound and the English 'l' or 'r' sound?
-The Japanese 'r' sound is softer than the English 'l' or the Spanish 'r' sound, and it's often not distinguished as strictly as in English, making it less critical for learners to perfect this sound initially.
What is the significance of learning basic grammar and vocabulary when learning Japanese?
-Learning basic grammar and vocabulary is significant because it provides a foundation and accelerates the learning process, allowing learners to communicate basic ideas and build upon this knowledge.
What is 'comprehensible input' and why is it important for language learning?
-Comprehensible input refers to the practice of consuming language materials that learners can understand to some degree. It is important because it helps learners to gradually acquire new vocabulary and grammar in context, making the learning process more effective and enjoyable.
How does the speaker suggest one should approach learning kanji?
-The speaker suggests learning kanji little by little and implies that there are various methods that work for different people, possibly discussing these methods in future content.
What is the 'hidden step' mentioned by the speaker for advanced Japanese learners?
-The 'hidden step' refers to brushing up on Japanese nuances that might have been missed, such as the correct usage of particles, to refine one's language skills and sound more natural.
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of not being overconfident in one's Japanese language skills?
-The speaker emphasizes this because even at a high level of proficiency, learners may still make mistakes without realizing it. Confidence is important, but so is self-awareness and the continuous effort to improve.
Outlines
๐ Learning Japanese Basics: Alphabet and Pronunciation
This paragraph introduces the fundamental aspects of learning Japanese, focusing on the alphabet and pronunciation. It explains the three scripts used in Japanese: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, with an emphasis on the first two being akin to Japanese alphabets. Kanji, meaning 'hand letters', is derived from Chinese characters. The speaker mentions that while Japanese could technically be written using the Latin alphabet (referred to as 'romaji'), it's not common in daily communication. The importance of learning correct pronunciation from the start is stressed, using the example of how different vowel sounds can change the meaning of words entirely. The paragraph also touches on the differences in pitch patterns for words and the leniency of the 'r' sound in Japanese compared to other languages.
๐ Understanding Japanese Grammar and Vocabulary
The second paragraph delves into Japanese grammar and vocabulary, contrasting the simplicity of Japanese e-adjectives with the complexity of English irregular verbs. It highlights the regularity of Japanese verb conjugation, with only two irregular verbs compared to English's 200. The speaker suggests that the type of resources used for learning, such as language schools, textbooks, apps, or anime, is less important than the actual engagement with those resources. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of learning natural, up-to-date Japanese, different from what might be found in textbooks, and invites viewers to subscribe for more lessons. It also discusses the concept of 'comprehensible input' as a key component of language acquisition.
๐ฏ Achieving Fluency Through Extensive Input
This paragraph addresses the amount of input required to achieve fluency in Japanese. It suggests a benchmark of a thousand hours of exposure for English speakers to become proficient. The speaker shares personal experiences with learning English, noting that while the initial challenge might be daunting, the process becomes easier and more enjoyable as comprehension improves. The paragraph also discusses the importance of understanding enough of the input to enjoy it, which is crucial for effective language learning. It cautions against overconfidence at the intermediate level and the importance of refining one's skills to capture the nuances of the Japanese language, such as the correct use of particles.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กHiragana
๐กKatakana
๐กKanji
๐กLomaji
๐กPronunciation
๐กPitch Patterns
๐กE Adjectives
๐กIrregular Verbs
๐กComprehensible Input
๐กWaifu
๐กWeebs
Highlights
Introduction to three simple steps to learn Japanese.
Explanation of Japanese scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.
Hiragana and Katakana as the Japanese alphabets and their importance.
Kanji as complex characters derived from Chinese.
The concept of Lomaji, the Latin alphabet representation of Japanese.
The simplicity of learning Hiragana and Katakana due to one-letter-one-sound correspondence.
Importance of correct pronunciation for effective communication.
The story of a pronunciation mistake leading to an awkward compliment.
Details on vowel sounds and pitch patterns in Japanese.
The leniency of the 'r' sound in Japanese compared to other languages.
Approaches to learning Kanji and the suggestion for gradual learning.
Basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary as the foundation for language learning.
The simplicity of Japanese grammar compared to English irregular verbs.
The concept of 'comprehensible input' for language acquisition.
The importance of enjoying language learning through various media.
The misconception that moving to Japan guarantees fluency without prior language knowledge.
The advantage of adult language learners using their first language for faster concept understanding.
The 'hidden step' of refining Japanese language skills for nuances and proper usage.
The encouragement to learn real-life Japanese through the 'Japanese with Yuta' program.
Transcripts
[Music]
hey guys
it's yuta so if you want to know how to
learn japanese
you've come to the right place because i
will show you
three simple steps to learn japanese so
we're gonna start with
step one the alphabet and pronunciation
we have three types of scripts in
japanese hiragana
katakana and kanji and line stickers
we can say hiragana and katakana are
japanese alphabets because
kanji literally means hand letters
as in han chinese now you could
technically write japanese using the
latin alphabet which we call
lomaji but we don't use it for daily
communication and honestly it's such a
hassle for us to read it so
unless you want to talk to japanese
people purely in
line stickers which by the way is
entirely possible
you need to learn hiragana and katakana
they are pretty straightforward because
most of the time
because there's always exceptions one
letter represents
one sound so it goes
and that's it easy peasy japanesey
you can actually write japanese entirely
in kana
because they cover all the sounds this
means you can also learn pronunciation
as you learn
khana it will really pay off to pay
attention to the pronunciation
in the beginning because it's going to
be very hard to change your accent
once you get used to it just imagine how
hard it's going to be
if you have to completely change your
accent in english
but you probably don't want to spend 3
months just to perfect your japanese
accent
so i recommend focusing on sounds that
matter
for example some american english
speakers have trouble telling the
difference between
a and o in english books
and backs are the same word they're just
different
accents but in japanese a and
o are completely different kawaii
means cute kauai means
scary i've heard the story when somebody
tried to say
kawaii cute to a girl but ended up
saying
kawaii scary such a nice compliment
so you don't want to mix up these words
this was a difference not just in terms
of
vowels but also length and pitch
patterns
kawaii has four boras
and low high high low pitch pattern
hawaii has three moras and low high
low pitch pattern they are pretty
different so
spending time to learn these differences
would make a lot of difference
on the other hand japanese is not very
strict about the r
sound the japanese
r is softer than the english l or the
spanish
r and it's very different from the
english r
however they all kind of sound the same
to many japanese people
i'm pretty sure most japanese people
have trouble telling the difference
between
la ra la and ra
many japanese people can't tell the
difference between
light and right so the chances are
even if your r is a little softer or
little harder than the proper japanese
are they can't even tell the difference
so if you have a limited amount of time
which everybody does
it makes more sense to focus on things
that are semantically
different such as r and o of course if
you really care about your
r and want to perfect it there's nothing
wrong with it
so that's pronunciation and you might be
wondering
what about kanji you can learn little by
little there's many ways of learning
kanji that work for different people so
maybe i will discuss these on different
occasions
now we can move on to step two basic
grammar
and vocabulary this is what most people
think of when they think about learning
japanese
some people go to language schools some
people use
textbooks and apps and some people use
learning japanese
as an excuse to watch a lot of anime
what resources you use
doesn't matter as much as actually using
these
resources and learn but if you want to
learn japanese with me
i will teach you the kind of japanese
that real life japanese people today
actually speak which can be different
from the kind of japanese that textbooks
and apps teach you because
they can be unnatural and outdated so
click the link in the description
and subscribe fortunately basic japanese
grammar
can be quite simple for example we have
this word
musukashi which means difficult
if you're learning japanese and you
think it's difficult you can say
musakashi but what if you think it's not
that difficult well
musukashi is a type of word called
e adjective and with this type of
adjective
you can replace e with kunai to make a
negative form
so muzukashi becomes muzuka
kunai now you know what to say if you
think japanese is not difficult
pretty easy right or should i say muzuka
now compare that to basic english
grammar do you know how many irregular
verbs english has
it has about 200. what's the past tense
of the word
work well it's a regular verb so it's
worked what's the past stands of right
is it write it no it's
wrote and what's the past tense of hit
is it hit it no it's
still hit why english people
why we have to memorize these irregular
verbs in school
but do you know how many regular verbs
we have in japanese
do we have a hundred do we have two
hundred
no we only have two of course
japanese has its own quirks but overall
basic grammar is
fairly regular so you just have to
remember a bunch of these patterns
and you can move on to step three
getting a lot of
input after doing step 2 you can speak
some basic japanese
you can go to a restaurant and order
food you can talk about
what you did yesterday and you can
definitely
make japanese people say
but you probably struggle with making
sentences fast and think
is it or is it your japanese is still
not good enough to discuss
complex philosophical topics like why
your waifu is better than other people's
waiku
or to articulate your nuanced thoughts
on
how you are superior to all those weebs
because you're not into
anime
so what do you have to do many people
think that if they continue doing step 2
studying textbooks and taking classes
they're going to be fluent
but that's not how it works instead
you need to get a lot of input you can
use anything for this
you can watch netflix youtube videos you
can listen to the radio
you can read manga books or you can even
watch
anime just like how i watch anime for
research purposes
just be sure you're not reading english
subtitles you need to understand
japanese directly without
translation but japanese captions are
great because they can actually improve
your listening skills
netflix has tv shows an animal with
japanese captions
so you should definitely give it a try
the most
important thing here is whatever
resource you use
you need to understand enough to enjoy
them
you don't have to understand everything
but you need to understand
enough this is called comprehensible
input
let me demonstrate this i'm going to
read this
listen to this
song
if you don't speak a lot of japanese how
much japanese you just learned
from this probably not much and if i
continue reading
how much japanese you think you will
learn probably not much
either now let me try something else
ningo taberu
to eat so i'm asking you if you want to
eat this apple
tamagota now even if you don't know the
word
tamago you could probably guess even if
you didn't understand 100
you could guess some words so if you
keep
listening to something you can
understand a little bit you will learn
new things
and that's why it's important to use
resources
that you understand just enough and
that's also why
you won't be become magically fluent
just by
moving to japan unless you already know
enough japanese to understand
conversations between japanese people
and that's the reason why we did step
two did you know adults can learn
languages faster than kids
it's because they can use their first
language to understand a lot of concepts
pretty fast
how long do you think it takes for kids
to understand a phrase like
i might choose an ambiguous
abstract argument it's not going to be
easy for little kids to understand these
words
you can understand this instantly if i
explain i may
means ambiguous chi sho teki means
abstract girom means argument
so basic grammar and vocabulary is kind
of a shortcut to learn a language
they're not enough to be proficient but
they accelerate
your learning and the next question is
how much input do you need it really
depends on your goals
but a good number seems to be about a
thousand hours for average english
speakers
do you think a thousand hours is a lot
well when i started learning english
seriously
i also came across this number and it
did seem a lot
at the time i didn't speak enough
english to understand books and tv shows
so spending a thousand hours consuming
english sounded like a chore
but when i actually went ahead and
started getting a lot of input
i realized that it wasn't nearly as hard
as i thought
sure it was hard in the beginning but
once i started to understand books and
tv shows to just enjoy them
consuming them for hours became really
easy so
don't be discouraged if you feel it's a
little hard in the beginning
just try finding something you can
understand even if it's a little bit
and keep doing you're gonna get there
so now you've spent a thousand hours
getting comprehensible input
and you feel comfortable communicating
in japanese
if you think your japanese is good
enough for what you want to do and move
on
that can be a practical choice but if
you attempted to go online and start
criticizing other people's japanese
not so fast at this level even though
you can communicate with japanese people
you're making a lot of mistakes without
realizing
it's very easy to be overconfident once
you get to this level
and i'm certainly not unfamiliar with
this situation
there was a time when i was thinking my
english was amazing
but looking back it really wasn't
confidence
is great but self-awareness is also
important so it's time for you to
unlock the hidden step brushing up your
japanese
this is where you have to pay attention
to the nuances that you might have been
missing
and this step can be quite rewarding
because these nuances
are some of the most interesting parts
of the japanese language
for example so they are
[Music]
all of them they all mean something like
that's right but they have different
nuances
a lot of people who speak japanese
reasonably well
use these particles incorrectly and
sound
a little strange which by the way is
fine on the practical level because we
can understand them most of the time
from the context but if you want to be
really good at speaking japanese
these are some of the things that you
can work on so
these are the steps of learning japanese
and honestly
knowing how to learn japanese is not the
difficult part
the difficult part is actually doing
it so if you want to learn japanese with
me i will teach you the kind of japanese
the real-life japanese people today
actually speak which can be different
from the kind of japanese that textbooks
and apps teach you because they can be
unnatural and outdated so click the link
and subscribe to my email group japanese
with
utah all right see you guys soon ciao
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