Learn Japanese FAQ

How much Japanese do you need to visit Japan?

Richard — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:00:31 +0000

Q: How much Japanese do you need to know if you want to visit Japan? - Racheal

A: For tourists there’s no Japanese test on entry so the answer is “zero”!

But of course, just like anywhere else, the more Japanese you know the more fun, and cheaper, your time here will be.

Be genki,

Richard

How to say My, I want in Japanese

Richard — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:58:56 +0000

Q: Your website has helped me alot!=D…what is the most used style of writing in Japanese? How do you say “my, and i want” in Japanese? arigato gozaimasu! - Da’Veena

A: Hi Da’veena,

Thank you very much for the nice comments! The most popular style of writing in Japanese is everything except roman letters!

Katakana, hiragana, and Kanji are all used all the time.

To your questions, if you use the word 私　(watashi) to mean “I” then “My” becomes 私の (watashi no).

Similarly you’ll hear guys saying 僕の　(boku no) or 俺の　（ore no) when talking with friends.

“I want” is ほしい (hoshii) in Japanese. “You want” is also ほしい, as is “he wants” or “she wants”, it’s always just ほしい。　　　e.g. ビールほしい (I want a beer) or ゲームほしい(I want a video game)

Although just like the English it can be a little impolite in certain situations so it’s probably better to say ….ください (ku da sai) which is more like “I would like” e.g. ラーメンください　(ramen kudasai!)

Be genki,

Richard

How old is “too old” to learn Japanese?

Richard — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:01:24 +0000

Q: Hi richard! I’ve been watching your videos and checking out your site, and they all contain a considerable amount of awesome. I’d like to ask a couple questions if thats ok.

first question iiiis - how old were you when you first stated learning japanese?

depending on your answer my next question may have allready been answered

question 2 - is 17 years old a little too late for me to start learning japanese?

I already know a couple odd words or phrases (half from your site and videos, and half from watching lots of anime) I was just unsure if its possible for me to become good at speaking fairly fluently, especially considering I got a D in my Spanish GCSE

Thanks

From David

A: Hi David, glad the awesome factor is still there!

To answer your first question: 22.

To answer your second question: See the answer to the first question!

Although it’s a lot easier to learn a language before you hit 10 years old, and a heck of a lot easier to teach to younger age groups, it’s certainly possible to learn later on in life and become totally fluent. It’s just takes more work and unlike kids who can pick up a native accent effortlessly, adults have to really work on getting rid of your foreign accent, which if you think of friends back home from foreign countries that can sometimes take a lifetime! Luckily the Japanese accent is pretty easy though.

Don’t worry about the GCSE result, all that means is that you had a bad teacher! Have a look at Genki Spanish!

What are the first 100 kanji to learn?

Richard — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:32:44 +0000

Q: Hi Richard,
Your method is effective-I have learned a bit more then before- just in two days:-)
I like to know with which kanjis I start,because you tell us that we should begin to write 100 kanjis-which are the most important kanjis? ok, thanks so much:-) - pat

A: Glad the materials are working out and good question!
The first 100 or so kanji are pretty much set as they are the first ones kids learn in school or are used most often. Most books (including the Manga University ones) start off with a smilar list.

You can also find a list of the first 100 from the Japanese Language Proficiency Test here: http://www.jlptstudy.com/4/index.html

Be genki,

Richard

Can you really learn Japanese in 10 days?

Richard — Sun, 10 May 2009 05:10:52 +0000

Q: I recently saw a link saying you can learn Japanese in 10 days. Is it really possible to learn Japanese in 10 days? Or is it a matter of motivation? - Michael

A: I’d always be wary of anything that promises instant riches, instant weight loss or learning Japanese in 10 days. If you’re interested in that sort of thing I’ve got some cheap land for sale in the Bahamas.

Having said that, would it be possible to learn Japanese in 10 days? Well, I’d have to say yes. You’re right on the money when you say it’s all a matter of motivation. If you really had to learn Japanese in 10 days time, say to collect a billion dollar lottery ticket or a date with the most gorgeous Japanese supermodel, then you would learn! Practically the Michel Thomas Japanese course is only 8 hours, if you add in the Pimsleur course that’s another 20, plus you spend another 10 hours each on Rocket Japanese and Rosetta Stone then you’re well within the time frame. In normal life I couldn’t do any language course for more than a couple of hours a day before my brain begins to hurt.

But then again some of those supermodels are very nice…

How to say “good” in Japanese

Richard — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:01:46 +0000

Q: How do i say “good?” - Emily

A: Good is いい (ii) which you pronounce like the capital letter “E” to rhyme with “tree”. But as it’s such an easy sound to mishear it’s often changed a bit in spoken Japanese. For example you can say “いいね” (i i ne) which means “Isn’t that good!” Or if you want to say “That was good” it changes to “よかった” (yo ka tta) or よかったね (yo ka tta ne) which you hear all the time!

Or you could just say something like いい質問ね ii shi tsu mon ne - what a good question!

Hiragana not used in modern Japan?

Richard — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:58:02 +0000

Q: Your vids helped inspire me and reinforce the Japanese i have hammered into my head if I had your vids i would have got this far in a day not weeks. I have one question, i read online that ひらがな / hiragana was not used in modern japan but on the other hand i see in in manga 漫画　all the time and in japanese tv all over the web… was the internet mistaken or is hiragana just used for particles…???- Darlock

A: I think I remember reading that Elvis was an alien and that TVs contain secret tracking devices. Yeah, most of what you read on the net is wrong. We use hiragana all the time, you can’t really write anything in Japanese without it!

Be genki,

Richard

Which wordtank did I use?

Richard — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:52:38 +0000

Q: In one of your videos you mention Canon wordtanks and said they were useful when you were learning Japanese. I’ve had a look on the internet and they look quite pricey, so I’d like to make sure I bought the right one for my level! My girlfriend and I are only beginning to learn Japanese (your website has been invaluable to us!), which model was your first Wordtank? Is it better to buy a wordtank that is maybe more suitable for an intermediate level? - Alex

A: I actually used a really, really old one which actually you might be able to get second hand on ebay or somewhere. I can’t remember the model but it was top of the range ten years ago. Otherwise I’d say go for the best one you can afford. The higher up you go the better the specs e.g. animated kanji etc. and it’s very much a case of you get what you pay for.

I did buy a cheap one when I first started but quickly realised how much better than the top of the range ones where, they save a lot hassle! I jumped up from the bottom to second to the top Japanese class thanks to my wordtank. Needless to say the local computer store sold out of them when my friends started asking how I did it!

Does karaoke mean “sing off key”?

Richard — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:18:24 +0000

Q: hey what does karaoke mean beacuse i was told it was japanese and that it means to sing off key is that true - vickboy

It would be great if that was the meaning!

No, “kara” means “empty” and “oke” is short for “orchestra” It originally started out as tapes for orchestra practice with one part missing that you could play yourself, hence “empty orchestra” Then they had the great idea of doing pop songs and the boom was born.

Karaoke machines in Japan are crazy these days, you can just hum the song and it will find it for you and some of them even have pitch correction so you’re never out of tune.

I think I prefer your explanation though!

Be genki,

Richard

Is Rosetta Stone a good choice?

Richard — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:55:39 +0000

Q: Do you think Rosseta Stone Language learning program is a good choice? Mr. Myers

A: In general I think the Rosseta Stone probably is the best computer learning solution out there. I tried it a few years ago to learn another language, but the Japanese one is pretty much the same. The hardest part I found was the insistance on “immersion” where they don’t give you the translations of the phrases. For simple things like names of things or actions this is fine, but there were many sentences where I got totally the wrong meaning! But if you combine it with another course for meaning then the actual system is very good. The pictures are a little dated and I did get a bit bored with them, but if you have the patience then I’d say go for it.

Another more recent computer based programme is Rocket Japanese, which is a bit more “fun”, might be worthwhile having a look at.