Create Your Japanese Brain! | Japanese Learning Method

Summary

This video from 'Speak Japanese Naturally' addresses the common struggle of language learners in creating sentences in Japanese. The host, Fi, shares her personal experience and offers fundamental insights into Japanese sentence structure to help viewers think in Japanese rather than translating from English. She introduces the concept of 'zooming in' with Japanese sentences, emphasizing the importance of starting with surrounding information and ending with the main point. The video also covers the flexible word order in Japanese due to particles and provides practical examples with dates, addresses, and a creative exercise for practice. It concludes with an invitation to her subscription course for improving Japanese pronunciation.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video is aimed at helping English speakers who struggle with creating Japanese sentences by translating from English, a common issue due to the different word order in Japanese.
• 🌐 The speaker, Fi, introduces the concept of 'thinking in Japanese' as crucial for natural language acquisition, similar to the importance of 'thinking in English' for English learners.
• 🏗️ The video teaches the basic fundamentals of Japanese sentence structure to help learners create a 'Japanese brain,' which means thinking in Japanese without translating from English.
• 🔍 A method using slashes to understand Japanese sentences in their natural word order is recommended for improving listening and reading skills.
• 📚 The 'zoom in' concept is introduced, where Japanese sentences start with surrounding information and end with the main point, unlike English which starts with the main point and adds surrounding information.
• 📉 In Japanese, the adjectives and adverbs that modify nouns come before the noun, emphasizing the 'zoom in' approach where the main point is presented last.
• 📍 The speaker explains that Japanese particles allow for a flexible word order, but the natural way of speaking is to start with surrounding information and then focus on the main point.
• 📅 When expressing dates and addresses in Japanese, the 'zoom in' method is applied, starting from the largest concept (year or zip code) and narrowing down to the smallest (day or number).
• 📝 The video encourages learners to practice creating sentences in Japanese by starting with the surrounding information and ending with the main point, following the 'zoom in' concept.
• 💬 The speaker invites viewers to share their sentences in the comments for correction and feedback, emphasizing the importance of practice and community support.
• 🎓 A subscription course for improving Japanese pronunciation is mentioned, highlighting the availability of resources for those who wish to deepen their understanding of Japanese phonetics.

Q & A

What is the main challenge discussed in the video for people learning Japanese?

The main challenge discussed is the difficulty in creating Japanese sentences without translating from English, due to the different word order in Japanese.

What does the video suggest as a solution to overcome the translation barrier when speaking Japanese?

The video suggests developing a 'Japanese brain' by understanding and adopting the Japanese word order and sentence structure.

What is the 'zoom in' concept mentioned in the video in relation to Japanese sentence construction?

The 'zoom in' concept refers to starting a sentence with surrounding information and ending with the main point, which is the reverse of the English 'zoom out' approach.

How does the speaker describe the typical English sentence structure in comparison to Japanese?

The speaker describes the English sentence structure as starting with the subject ('I') and then moving to actions and details from closest to farthest, while Japanese starts with the context and ends with the subject as the main point.

What is the role of particles in the Japanese language according to the video?

Particles in Japanese indicate how a word works in a sentence, allowing for a more flexible word order compared to English.

How does the video explain the order of adjectives and nouns in a Japanese sentence?

The video explains that in Japanese, anything that modifies a noun, such as adjectives or phrases, comes before the noun, which is the main point and comes last.

What is the significance of the topic marker 'wa' in Japanese sentences as per the video?

The topic marker 'wa' is used to indicate the topic of the sentence first, which helps in understanding the main focus of the sentence.

How does the video address the issue of adverbs in Japanese sentence construction?

The video explains that adverbs, which modify verbs, adjectives, or phrases, come before the main part of the sentence they are modifying.

What is the process for expressing dates and addresses in Japanese according to the script?

For dates, the Japanese start with the year, then the month, and finally the day, with time coming after if specified. For addresses, they start with the zip code, then the prefecture, city, area, and finally the number.

What is the purpose of the exercise given in the video?

The purpose of the exercise is to practice creating a sentence in Japanese by using the 'zoom in' concept and focusing on the surrounding information before stating the main point.

What additional resource does the speaker offer for those interested in improving their Japanese pronunciation?

The speaker offers a subscription course focused on Japanese pronunciation, rhythm, pitch, accent, and intonation, with a premium plan that includes private sessions.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Overcoming Translation Struggles in Japanese Learning

This paragraph introduces the common challenge of translating from English to Japanese when speaking, which can be time-consuming and frustrating. The speaker, 'fi' from 'Speak Japanese Naturally', empathizes with learners' struggles and offers to teach the fundamentals of Japanese sentence structure to help create a 'Japanese brain'. This concept involves thinking in Japanese from the start rather than translating from English, which is crucial for fluent communication. The video aims to break the habit of translation and explains the Japanese word order, encouraging learners to 'zoom in' on the main point after providing contextual information.

05:01

📚 Understanding Japanese Sentence Construction

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of how Japanese sentences are structured, contrasting it with English sentence order. It emphasizes the 'zooming in' approach of the Japanese language, where surrounding information is provided before the main point, unlike English which starts with the subject and moves outwards. The paragraph explains the importance of particles in Japanese, which indicate a word's role in a sentence and allow for a flexible word order. It also discusses how adjectives and adverbs modify nouns and verbs in Japanese, always coming before the word they modify due to the 'main point last' principle.

10:02

🗓️ Japanese Brain for Dates and Addresses

This paragraph focuses on the application of the 'Japanese brain' concept to dates and addresses. It illustrates how the Japanese language starts with the broader context, such as the year or zip code, and then narrows down to the specific details like the day or street number. The speaker invites viewers to practice this concept by describing a picture in Japanese, emphasizing the importance of starting with the context and ending with the main subject. The paragraph also touches on the flexibility of Japanese word order due to particles and the significance of omitting subjects when the context is clear.

15:03

🎓 Subscription Course for Japanese Pronunciation Mastery

The final paragraph shifts focus to a subscription course offered by the speaker for those who wish to improve their Japanese pronunciation. The course aims to teach Japanese phonetics systematically, covering rhythm, pitch, accent, and intonation. It is noted that the course is serious in nature and may not be for everyone, but it is recommended for those eager to refine their pronunciation skills. A new Premium plan is introduced, offering additional benefits such as private sessions with the teacher. The speaker invites interested learners to explore the course and ends the video with a call to action for likes, subscriptions, and recommendations.

Keywords

💡Japanese language

The Japanese language is a subject of the video, which discusses the challenges of learning and speaking it as a non-native speaker. The video aims to help learners overcome the hurdle of translating from English to Japanese by teaching them to think in Japanese. An example from the script is the discussion on the different word order in English and Japanese, highlighting the need for a 'Japanese brain' to think and speak naturally.

💡Word order

Word order refers to the sequence in which words appear in a sentence. In the context of the video, it is a critical concept because English and Japanese have different word orders, which can lead to confusion for language learners. The script explains that English typically follows a subject-verb-object order, while Japanese often starts with context and ends with the main point, illustrating the 'zooming in' approach to sentence construction.

💡Translation

Translation is the process of converting text or speech from one language to another. The video script mentions the struggle of translating from English to Japanese and vice versa, which can be time-consuming and lead to a lack of fluency. The goal is to reduce reliance on translation by developing a 'Japanese brain,' allowing for more natural language acquisition.

💡Particles

In Japanese, particles are function words that indicate the grammatical relationship between words in a sentence. The script discusses how particles provide flexibility in Japanese word order, allowing for variations in sentence structure while still maintaining grammatical correctness. An example is the use of 'wa' to mark the topic of a sentence.

💡Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns. The video explains that in Japanese, adjectives come before the nouns they modify, which is different from English where adjectives often follow the noun. The script uses the example of 'restaurant' being modified by 'yesterday' to illustrate this point.

💡Adverbs

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. The video script explains that, similar to adjectives, adverbs in Japanese precede the word they modify. An example provided is 'always walks very slowly,' where 'always' and 'very slowly' are adverbs modifying the verb 'walks.'

💡Context

Context refers to the circumstances or setting in which something occurs. The video emphasizes the importance of starting sentences with context in Japanese, which is part of the 'zooming in' approach. For instance, when describing an event, one might start with 'yesterday' to set the temporal context before mentioning the main action.

💡Main point

The main point is the central idea or action of a sentence. In Japanese sentence structure, as explained in the video, the main point often comes at the end, following the context and details. This is in contrast to English where the main point typically comes at the beginning of a sentence.

💡Zooming in

The concept of 'zooming in' is used in the video to describe the Japanese sentence structure, where sentences start with broader context and move towards the main point. This is likened to zooming in on a camera, starting with a wide shot and focusing in on the subject. The script uses this analogy to explain the process of constructing sentences in Japanese.

💡Dates and addresses

The video script discusses the ordering of dates and addresses in Japanese, which follows the 'zooming in' principle. Dates start with the largest unit, the year, and end with the smallest, the day. Similarly, addresses start with the largest geographical unit, such as the prefecture, and end with the smallest, like the street number. This ordering is used to illustrate the broader-to-narrower focus in Japanese language structure.

💡Subscription course

A subscription course mentioned in the video is an educational offering where learners can systematically improve their Japanese pronunciation, rhythm, pitch, accent, and intonation. The course is described as authentic and serious, targeting those eager to enhance their Japanese phonetics, and includes a premium plan with additional benefits such as private sessions.

Highlights

The struggle of translating from English to Japanese and the importance of thinking in Japanese to improve fluency.

Introduction of a method to understand Japanese sentences in their word order by using slashes to improve listening and reading skills.

The importance of creating a 'Japanese brain' to think in Japanese from the start, avoiding the frustration of translation.

Explanation of the English word order starting with the subject and moving from close to far in terms of details.

Contrasting the Japanese word order which starts with surrounding information and ends with the main point, like 'zooming in'.

The concept of adjectives and adverbs in Japanese, where modifiers come before the noun or verb they describe.

The flexibility of Japanese word order due to particles, allowing for emphasis and variation without losing grammaticality.

The structure of expressing dates and times in Japanese, starting with the largest unit and moving to the smallest.

The process of addressing in Japanese, which follows a zooming in approach from the largest geographical unit to the smallest.

An exercise to practice describing a situation in Japanese, encouraging the use of the 'zooming in' concept.

The significance of not stating the obvious in Japanese when the context makes it clear, thus avoiding redundancy.

A comment from a viewer expressing gratitude for the method that helped them understand Japanese sentences without just translating.

Introduction of a subscription course focused on improving Japanese pronunciation, rhythm, pitch, accent, and intonation.

The uniqueness of the course being taught by a native Japanese teacher and its serious approach to learning phonetics.

A new Premium plan offering additional benefits such as a longer subscription period and free private sessions.

An invitation for viewers to like, subscribe, and recommend the channel for more content on learning Japanese.

The video's conclusion with a thank you note and a sign-off, encouraging viewers to share their experiences and thoughts.

Transcripts

when I speak Japanese I always translate

from English so it takes time I'm always

at a loss as to what order I should say

things I'd like to think in Japanese but

how have you ever had these kinds of

problems then this video is for

you hi I'm fi from speak Japanese

naturally have you struggled with

creating Japanese sentences I understand

the struggle you feel when you try to

make Japanese sentences because I felt

the same thing when I started learning

English the word order is completely

different so I didn't know how to make

English sentences so today as a learner

myself and a Japanese teacher who

organizes a Japanese website that now

has over a thousand Learners I'd like to

teach you the very basic fundamentals

about how to structure jaes

sentences in other words I will talk

about how to create a Japanese

brain no means brain among Japanese

people studying English it's often said

that creating English brain aono is

crucial for speaking English this means

thinking in English from the start

rather than translating from Japanese to

English since Japanese and English have

very different word orders beginners

tend to think in Japanese first and then

try to translate it into English so it

takes time and it feels frustrating I

believe beginners of Japanese do the

same thing thinking in English first

then try to translate it into Japanese I

made this video for those of you who are

struggling with this to break free from

translating today let's learn how to

create a Japanese

brain in a recent video I introduced a

method to help you understand Japanese

sentences in the Japanese word order by

passing them with slashes it's for

improving your listening and reading

skills so if you haven't watched it I

highly recommend you do today's topic is

a step ahead of the video because this

video explains how Japanese sentences

are constructed

understanding it means understanding the

Japanese World Order and acquiring it

means creating a Japanese brain so that

you don't have to translate anymore once

you know how it will be easier for you

not only to speak but also to listen

this is because when you listen you can

mentally be prepared with your Japanese

brain to expect what will be said and in

what order to summarize a concept let's

use the phrase zoom in and zoom out

English brain zooms out while Japanese

brain zoing what do I mean by that first

let's see an English sentence for

comparison I watched YouTube videos at

home yesterday when talking about

yourself in English you start with

yourself first then you move on from

things closer to yourself to things

further so first first you say I then

you say what you did in this case you

watched what you watched in this case

YouTube videos comes after that because

it's closest to watch then where it

happened at home and the time yesterday

is last so you and the thing you did are

the main point which you follow with the

surrounding pieces of information from

closest to farthest one by one so if you

are an English speaker that's how your

brain works that's how you think right

that's the normal way for you to

describe a situation but now you'll have

to change the way you think when you

speak in Japanese you need to create a

Japanese brain and how does a Japanese

brain work with the Japanese brain you

start from surrounding information and

the main point comes last let's use the

same sentence I watched YouTube videos

at home yesterday first first the

Japanese brain wants to

Sayo yesterday and then at home because

Japanese brains wants to know when and

where the thing a speaker will say took

takes or will take place first after

that Japanese brain says

YouTube since the speaker added the

particle after

YouTube the Japanese Reigns will expect

the next phrase to be something related

to YouTube videos and finally as

predicted the verb related to YouTube

videos comes which

is so it's completely different right

the English brain starts with yourself

and adds sounding information while the

Japanese brain starts from surrounding

information and Zooms in towards the

center the main point English zooms out

whereas Japanese Zooms in so please

remember with the Japanese brain you

zooming when you speak Japanese this

zooming in concept applies to almost

everything now let's think about

adjectives and adverbs which are used to

modify other words the zooming in

concept also applies to them you start

with surrounding information and end

with the center the main point first

let's think about adjectives adjectives

modify nouns so the main point is a noun

thus the noun comes

last not only adjectives but also

phrases modify nouns regardless of

whether it's an adjective or phrase

anything that modifies a noun comes

before the noun because the noun is the

main point and the main point comes last

for

example explains restaur

and

explains this explanatory part also

start with surrounding information the

restaurant I went to yesterday

ISO rest the time Kino comes before the

verb then then after the verb the noun

restaurant

comes restant is the place so you say

that first with the

particle then you say the verb before

the main

part and you can make a sentence

like what is a topic marker the Japanese

brain wants to indicate the topic first

so the part marked with what comes

before the main part which in this case

is in this sentence there's no but when

you say this sentence to someone else

it's clear that the person who ate sushi

is you so you don't have to sayashi

here's another point when you create the

Japanese brain when who is clear there's

no need to say it now let's think about

adverbs

adverbs modify verbs adjectives adverbs

and phrases for

example to always walk very

slowly

modifies and to

modifies which is an adverb and

modifies so modifiers come before verbs

and you can make a sentence like

this my grandmother always walks very

slowly because her legs are weak Soo is

the topic so it's marked with what and

indicated

first is the explanation

of the Japanese brain says the reason

before the main

part again surrounding information comes

first so when you create a sentence

always start with surrounding

information and the main part comes last

one thing that I have to add is that

since Japanese has particles that

indicates how a word Works in a sentence

you can change the word order in English

word order is strict for example you

can't say I sui ate but in Japanese you

can

say in this case you can even drop the

particle

after the sentence sounds like you are

emphasizing that you ate but still it's

grammatically correct so in Japanese due

to the presence of particles the word

order is relatively flexible

but starting with surrounding

information and zooming into detail is a

natural way of speaking now let's think

about the order of nouns such as

expressing dates and addresses with the

Japanese brain First Dates the Japanese

brain starts with the largest concept

the year then the month and finally the

day if you want to add the time it comes

after the date it's like this IM

you say in the afternoon before stating

the time if you want to add the date you

place it after the

date again you can see the concept that

Japanese brain works like zooming in now

addresses first you write the zip code

then the prefecture name Japan has 47

prefectures then the city name then the

area name and finally the number it

looks like

this again you see how the Japanese

brain Zooms in now let's do an exercise

please look at the picture and describe

the situation in ja Japanese suppose you

are the rabbit turn on your Japanese

brain I'll give you 10

seconds okay it's about yesterday so you

start with the word K there are many

ways to describe the situation depending

on what you'll focus on if I want to say

the reason I was surprised

i'

say here are some other

examples what was your sentence please

write it in the comments if you want my

correction please please let me know I

read all of your comments they

encouraged me a lot they give me the

strength to go on thank you so much

today I'd like to introduce this comment

and finally the lesson I needed the most

English is not my first language I live

in Europe but I learned Japanese the

same way to translate Japanese sentences

from the ending and it was hard and a

little bit confusing so I always wanted

to not just to translate but also to

understand the meaning of a sentence the

right way like you showed us here so

thank you for this thank you Andrea I'm

glad to hear that the video's concept

matched your needs and I'm sure I kind

of sure this video's concept also

matches your needs I'd like to know what

you think lastly let me introduce my

subscription course for those of you who

want to improve how you sound in

speaking I have a subscription course

where you can systematically learn

Japanese pronunciation Rhythm pitch

accent and intonation I strive to make

the course authentic so it doesn't look

like entertainment it's a rather serious

course so it might not for everyone but

for those of you who are eager to learn

Japanese phonetics for improving your

pronunciation the course should be

interesting and enjoyable I don't see

any other Japanese phonetics courses

taught by native Japanese teachers so if

you like how I speak Japanese it's worth

considering I recently added a Premium

plan which is a yearly subscription plan

that gives you a equivalent of TW month

free and includes two private sessions

with me at no cost since it includes

private sessions the number of

participants might be limited so if

you're interested in please check it

sooner that's it for today thank you for

watching if you like this video please

hit the like button and subscribe to my

channel and recommend it to your friends

thank you so much and see you soon

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you

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