Learn Japanese FAQ

Archive for July, 2009

Q: I have a question if you count to twenty it will be ni juu but do you start over from ni juu ichi… and if you got bigger numbers do you pronounce them to a whole like roku sen ni hyaku san juu ichi or can you short it down
- sakurasan

A: Yes to the first, 30 is just three + ten = san jyu,  31 would is three + ten + one = san jyu ichi  etc.

You can’t shorted them down though, you have to say the full words.  But that’s where having words like “man” to mean “10,000″ really helps!  Again it’s just a question of practice.  On your next commute try saying everyone number you hear in Japanese and after a couple of days you’ll have no problems!

Q: I just started using your site to learn japanese and I must say that since I began yesterday I have learned an enormous amount already! Your methods are very effective.  Thanks so much for everything!!!
One quick question.  Did you learn Japanese on your own or did you attend classes in college to learn them?  I’m attempting on my own and I was just wondering!!! thanks!    ~T.A.

A: I guess I cheated because I learnt Japanese in Japan!  Usually by going out drinking with friends and always carrying an electronic dictionary with me.

But when I’m learning other languages I find the best way is to work on your own, with as many materials as you can get,  and have a private tutor.  That way you can cram as much as you can, but then have private lessons to check your pronunciation, where you are making mistakes or to ask questions etc.

College classes should be good as they should be high quality, but always check them out first as some classes can be really boring.  In any case I’d always recommend a private tutor, even if it’s only once a month or only over Skype, as you’ll get feedback that’s exactly on your level, rather than the average of everyone else in the class!

Q: How can i learn kanji? thanks. – Aya

A:  There are lots of different ways and opinions on how to do this.  For me what I did was to get a basic kanji book and practice writing out the first 100.   It’s good to do this because what you find is that a lot of the more complicated kanji are just made up of combinations of the first 100 or so.  This makes things easier!

Then I’d recommend a Canon Wordtank or Electronic Dictionary.  Put any words you don’t know in the memory, then use the test function to flash up the kanji without the English or reading.

For more advanced learners, the popjisyo site is really great e.g. I use it to read the news in Japanese

Q: How long did it take to learn japanese –   dereka

A: I went through how it look it took me to learn Japanese in my Hints & Tips I used to get fluent in Japanese article.    Basically it takes as long as you set.   If you plan on taking 3 years and only do an hour or so per week, that’s what it will take.   Or if you do an hour or two per day then certainly in 6 months or a year you should be pretty good.   It’s all a question of motivation,  if someone put a gun to your head and forced you learn Japanese I’m sure you’d be able to do it really, really quickly!   The question is:  How badly do you want to learn?

Q: I listen to a lot of Japanese music and it seems like girls use the term ‘boku’ to refer to themselves a lot, yet I know someone who moved here from Japan in the 1970’s and she says that  girls don’t use boku, when they say it in the songs they are talking like they are the guys, but I don’t know if that’s how it was then or if things have changed. Do girls use boku now and can you please put in the kanji for boku, kimi and ore? Arigatou Gozaimasu!
- Ann

A: Hi Ann,  usually girls wouldn’t use boku, no.   If you’re a rock star singing a song then of course it does sound cool!

Some of the different kanji for “I” in Japanese is:

私= watashi = Polite for men, normal for women.

僕 = boku = what guys normally use

俺 = ore = for guys again, can make you sound a bit arrogant though!

Other ones you hear are  あたし　= atashi = for girls amongst friends, you hear this shouted out all the time in Starbucks!

“kimi” meaning “you” is written as 君   although most of the time you’d use the other person’s name rather than just say “君” which sounds like you’ve forgotten what they are called!