Tofugu Comments: Beginning Japanese I: Where do self-teachers start?
Kurisutofa
· 2 years ago
I'm pretty much starting off learning Japanese the way you just explained, except I'm going back and forth between my "Learning Hiragana & Katakana" book and this little workbook called "Japanese in 10 Minutes a Day". It kind of resembles one of those grade school books for English grammar. I don't know if I should be mixing that up while I'm still learning Hiragana, but if anyone has any feedback on this, it's greatly appreciated. As far as pronunciation goes, I think I got that down pat, but I still need to memorize the rest of the letters...
Onimusha Nosferatu
· 2 years ago
ahhh! my class uses yookoso and i don't like it. my tip is what my sensei told me. don't use romaji! the faster u get off using it the faster it is to learn. i hate the phrase books b/c most of the stuff you end up learning anyway as a regular sentence that you can put together yourself. of course there are some exceptions. after learning hiragana and katakana learn kanji, but don't use the kanji to replace the hiragana. that's sounds odd, but it's kinda like u need to know how to spell words esp. w/ informal japanese and words not written in kanji. overall it helps if ur a visual learner since japanese is pictorial. practie pronounciation....kawaii/kowai. ganbatte!
Onimusha Nosferatu
· 2 years ago
forgot some stuff. this is a beyond what koichi wrote about, but i think it's good to note now. when u get to verbs don't complain about know the plain form. it's very important. learn formal japanese b4 informal even though u probably won't be using formal japanse. it'll help later on.
Stacia
· 2 years ago
Listening to Japanese a hecka lot helps with pronunciation. Before I started taking Japanese at my high school, I had listened to SO much Japanese music and Japanese shows that I could pronounce everything just fine...unless it was written oddly in romanji (like "cyakusei" instead of "chakusei" that was the only one I didn't get right). So if you don't wanna go to the websites...you can just listen to your music. Or at least I could. *shrug* Websites are good though! http://japanese.about.com/ has some good random stuff if you can learn that way (I never could). Mostly good culture stuffs.
ANNNND this is soooo random but I gotta ask.
"he" and "ni" ....is there a difference (as particles) or are they simply interchangable? Yookoso said that "he" was used for ...something else and "ni" was used for...something else but I just read in my Genki book that "he" and "ni" were interchangable in "goal of movement" sentences.
I only ask this becuase I had the HARDEST time with this and my old teacher (who wasn't Japanese and couldn't explain anything) would be like "that sentence is wrong now you fail the problem" when I used "ni" instead of "he" in something like "Tokyo ni ikimashita." So... yeah?
koichi
· 2 years ago
it's just like Genki says: It's interchangeable in "goal of movement" sentences. i.e. you can use it when you are using it in an ikimasu sentence.
tokyo ni ikimasu tokyo he ikimasu
These are the same sentences. When it comes to other uses of 'he' though, that's when everything gets pretty shaky for me. I'm sorry but I can't think of any example right now of where you can use it when it isn't in an ikimasu statement...lame.
nick
· 2 years ago
i found genki and genki 2 pretty good book especially in terms of grammar and grammar explanations, not so much vocabulary though. I agree about the formal and it is used alot really, but for certain constructions the plain form is essential. It helps if u have a CD if u dont have a japanese person to talk with so u can hear intination and where you can pause a little in a sentence and where it just doesnt sound right. (CD comes with genki). The particles ga and ha are the most annoying for me bc there seems to be alot of exceptions and rules. generally it seems ga is for relative sentences, indefinate articles, answering questions. ha is not too bad apart from when it appears in negative comparasons and its slightly different then it seems.
Sexy Beam
· 2 years ago
From what I understand, へ is kind of more of a fuzzy, non-specific destination - it's a little more similar to "towards" rather than "to", but に is more specific. And of course, に can be used in a lot more sentences such as the common __になる, meaning "become" (literally "change to"). I've never heard of __へなる before, though, and I'm almost sure it's incorrect.
You can kinda learn pronunciation from Japanese music, plus you can learn all kinds of cool grammar if you study, but you really can't carry on a real conversation with just that, unless you want to be someone who speaks in poetry.
A sad thing that would be Because people, you see Wouldn't understand me
Yeah...so don't make that your only source of Japanese. =) At least it's not trying to learn from 2ch or anime, though, and *that* is a good thing. Unless of course, you're going to be the Pirate King.
xxa.v.bxx
· 2 years ago
I've pretty much just started my trek of learning Japanese formally. I'm taking the steps you suggested because I though that it was pretty much common senese to at least know the basics like hiragana...and I don't like romaji for the most part b/c I don't really know where I would use it and if it would really benefit me. I'm studying hiragana with the "Japanese Hiragana for Beginners" by the Tuttle Language Library. It's really helpful and it has these lil' flashcards with the hiragana, a picture mnemonic, and a quote that helps you remember it. I also have "Elementary Japanese: Volume One" by Yoko Hasegawa...I'm really excited about cracking into this textbook.
*You're blog and videos are really interesting and I plan on visiting you site often. Thanks!!!
xxa.v.bxx
· 2 years ago
I've pretty much just started my trek of learning Japanese formally. I'm taking the steps you suggested because I though that it was pretty much common senese to at least know the basics like hiragana...and I don't like romaji for the most part b/c I don't really know where I would use it and if it would really benefit me. I'm studying hiragana with the "Japanese Hiragana for Beginners" by the Tuttle Language Library. It's really helpful and it has these lil' flashcards with the hiragana, a picture mnemonic, and a quote that helps you remember it. I also have "Elementary Japanese: Volume One" by Yoko Hasegawa...I'm really excited about cracking into this textbook.
*You're blog and videos are really interesting and I plan on visiting your site often. Thanks!!!
Zik
· 2 years ago
As I understand it.. ga is used for emphasizing the subject (watashi ga yomimasu - I am the one reading), instead of wo with certain adjectives/verbs (like 'ringo ga suki desu' - i like apples), and with question words (ie- dare) and answering question sentances that use ga. wa/ha is used to mark the subject of a sentance.
Viet
· 2 years ago
MASU MASEN MASHITA MASENDESHITA
Erin
· 2 years ago
You and Koichi with that ridiculous song D:
Stacia
· 2 years ago
Ohhhh like heck I would try to learn Japanese from music. lol I was just talking about pronunciation. I didn't try to learn Japanese from music or anime at all...and I wouldn't suggest it. I only starting learning Japanese when I entered high school.
And thank you! Now I remember the "specific" and non specific parts. But what entails whether something is specific or not? Like...would Tokyo be nonspecific compared to a person's house...yeah? Thanks again for the help.
Onimusha Nosferatu
· 2 years ago
i think by default use ni. my sensei told us to use ni even though she uses ni and e. its rather difficult as to exactly why she used he in certain places. i think it's partly the way she grew up speaking. tokyo would be specific b/c it's a pinpoint location. i can't remember the other situation btwn general and specific. it's kinda like in english btwn something clear and vague. i'll get back to you after i do some research on particles.
Onimusha Nosferatu
· 2 years ago
ahh i cant think of what i was talking about. bottom line they're interchangeable. ignore my tokyo comment. after reading about ni and e i have no proof. o the subjectivity.
note: can these things have an edit feature? i don't writing a post.
ES
· 2 years ago
I've tried to learn japanese on/off/on/off/now on again. I think material has a lot to do with how much you can stay absorbed in it (I know thats what it was for me) and the more your in it the better it is since like Koichi has said before, learning a language is a long process. The first book I picked up was called "Japanese for Busy People". It looked good for a begginer such as myself (since it had the kana versions of the example sentences) but i was wrong. It didn't have kanji and half way through the book you feel as if you missed a chapter (and also by using it you would never know about vowel dropping (such as you would still believe です to be pronounced 'dessoo' and not 'dess')), so I started doubting my ability to learn it up and dropped it. I picked it up a second (self study once more) with a friend of mine's Genki book, but then school crap got in the way (and since it wasn't taught in my school) I had no choice other than to put it aside. So now once more for go number three I'm a bit wiser about this (and graduated so I have all the time I need), have a pretty solid understanding of the mechanics of japanese (though missing the knowledge to actually say things) and have learned some things I'd like to say/suggest to other self-studiers:
A)Get good material that doubles as good reference and teaches katakana/hiragana/kanji as you learn the words. It's always good to be able to go back and look up a very specific thing you need.
B)Kana flash cards just as previously stated. However, you dont have to buy these, infact the ones that I used I made myself and have both the katakana and hirigana on them. There are plenty of places online where you can find them and by making your own, it helps you learn to write them (believe me, it will take you a few times to get it to look just like you want (as in, almost identical to the actual chartacter)
C)Youtube. There are also plenty of videos that will teach proper pronounciation... ok, I'm mostly talking about the "Let's Learn Japanese: Basic 1". It doesnt really teach(as in they just show you in the latter lessons) the kana, but I found it very very helpful as not having a teacher and to those of you who had classes, I hear that a lot of you have had these used in class. And the way it teaches it is gives you something like a template, a sentence pattern so that you could construct many sentences using the same outline.
D)Pull from many sources. Pull from a book words and structure, from videos and music get the pronounciation. You could even try to read things even though you wont be able to pick up much, something that will strengthen reading it still a good thing. Is there a page you look at that has a japanese version? Well, check it out, see how much you can read, see whats diffrent about it (other than the obvious)
E) Not to sound sound crazy, but talk to yourself (well... and other people...depending). Doing something? Say it in japanese (but of course not if its going to look stupid). Somebody ask you a question? Answer in japanese (depends who your with at the time. From time to time I like to do this just to mess with people though my knowledge is very limited). Doing this will help in your ability to come out with sentences in a practical usage that also makes you think in japanese.
Well, I think thats all. The only other thing I really have to say is that layered learning (like I have) seems to help a bit. It's like reading up to say chapter five in a book, then going back through all of them again just as in depth as the first time, maybe picking up a few things you didn't quite get before and applying knowledge you didn't know at the time to old material. Much like extream review. Well, appologies for the wall of text, but to those of you who it helped, you're welcome.
Sexy Beam
· 2 years ago
This doesn't look like a language learning success story. >_
Fred
· 2 years ago
Haha. This is a good entry, considering I have the rest of summer to learn a full school year of Japanese I. I was supposed to take an online course for Japanese I, but it costs too much money. The Japanese teacher (who is actually Japanese, unlike the Spanish teachers at my school!) says she'll see how much Japanese I've learned to determine if I should go to one or two. She said, "Make sure you know all Hiragana, and some Katakana and Kanji at level I." So far I've been memorizing Hiragana since Monday... I made flash cards, since they work for me. Though, all I've memorized were the vowels and ka ke ko ku ki, haha. I'm working on it. I'm glad I got the first step down, or at least I'm starting correctly. Also I found a pdf that has a Japanese 1 curriculum, so I think I'll looseley follow that. The Japanese teacher and my friends got back from a school Japan trip yesterday. (Man, I wanted to go!) So, before I ask her, I was wondering what other suggestions, websites and books are helpful for learning Japanese. I'll email her later on and show her some suggestions and I'll probably put some of her suggestions here.
I remember watching it when I was 14 or 15 years old (20 now). I personally don't think anything is wrong with Naruto, except that now it’s a little lame since I see little kids running around leaf-head protectors saying, “Kage Bushin!”, but anyways, just learning a language to watch your favorite anime without subtitles isn't so.. *idk* (I can't think of the word at the moment, feel free to fill it in ^_^), but I would just have to ask... When you're learning another culture's language, you should feel some kind of inquisitiveness to learn more about that culture as well, don’t you agree? (This goes for any language).
Fred
· 2 years ago
As lame as this sounds, I just looked up Genki on eBay and I was amazed I could read the cover. haha. Hiragana is awesome...
josh
· 2 years ago
whats the defference from desu and imasu
josh
· 2 years ago
and when am I supposed to use on and kun readings I just dont get it these are the questions that haunt me
Erin
· 2 years ago
The difference between です (desu) and います (imasu) is that います refers to "is" or "am" or "are" for animate objects, living things, while です refers to those same things for inanimate objects. That's the short answer, anyway.
Erin
· 2 years ago
Another short answer: use the on reading when the kanji is used in combination with other kanji, and kun reading when the kanji is by itself.
josh
· 2 years ago
well how do you know which to use if theres more than one type of reading. ex.getsu gatsu,jin nin,or...well you know
Onimusha Nosferatu
· 2 years ago
i feel compelled to clarify this even though i don't think i should. imasu and arimasu mean to exist/be, but only in a location sense. you use desu to mean the verb "to be" in english (even though it's not a verb it's a copula- don't worry about that) when ur not talking about a location of something. the difference btwn imasu and arimasu is that imasu is used for living things (except for plants) and arimasu is used for non-living things.
Onimusha Nosferatu
· 2 years ago
the best answer to the kun/on reading is to just learn words and you'll see the kanji so you know how to pronounce it. what erin said is correct. for example 新聞 聞く the 1st one is shinbun (newspaper) the 2nd is kiku(to listen). the ku is just okurigana. it helps if you know the stories behind kanji. it helps you guess the meaning of words you don't know. 火山 fire + mountain = volcano(kazan). um... the kanji inside 聞 is mimi(ear) so it's logical to think of kiku to mean to listen.
Kurisutofa
· 2 years ago
Funny this was mentioned... I just got done with a lesson relating to this subject.
Sexy Beam
· 2 years ago
You just have to kind of learn the readings from actual words that use them. Don't try to just put words together from a list of readings.
So let's take 人 for example. By itself, it will be "hito". But you really just need to learn the other readings in the context of real words. Here are some examples:
韓国人 - kan-koku-jin (Korean person) 三人 - san-nin (three people) 旅人 - tabi-bito (traveler) 二人 - futari (two people, this is irregular) 大人 - otona (adult, also irregular)
Remember - if Japanese people can learn it, you can too. No one said it was gonna be easy though.
josh
· 2 years ago
domo arigato mina san!!!This is the best site ever
josh
· 2 years ago
how much yen is 1 us dollar worth
Erin
· 2 years ago
Josh, you can figure the dollar to yen thing out via Google. Feel free to ask complicated questions here, but try to figure out the easy ones yourself, if possible, yeah?
TofuUnion
· 2 years ago
I was impressed so many people outside Japan are learning Japanese. I am a Japanese native and I could give you some advises in some Japanese pronunciations, as I understand the differences from English.
1. "う or U" "う or U" is NOT a sound of Book (or bUc). Japanese "う or U" is a very weak sound. If you know French "e", it's almost the same sound. So, "く す つ ぬ ふ む ゆ or Ku Su Tsu Nu Fu Mu Yu" is similar very weak sound. As a example, "する or Suru" will be pronounced often like sru or sul.
2. "お or O" is a short sound NOT long.
3. "し or Shi" "し or Shi" is NOT a sound of SHIt. Often it sounds like just "sh". So "しま or 島 or Shima" will be pronounced almost like "Shma". But you have to pronounce like Shima but without strong i sound.
4. "L" and "R" I know in all Japanese text books you read ら り る れ ろ being Ra Ri Ru Re Ro. But I find it better for American to pronounce "L" instead of "R". I would say "L" sound is more natural to Japanese. (Most Japanese cannot clearly distinguish "L" and "R" sound. )
I hope it helps you.
Sexy Beam
· 2 years ago
I saw this ad for an auction on eBay that I found absolutely hilarious:
I think I officially forgive the people who think they can learn Japanese from watching anime now.
Kurisutofa
· 2 years ago
"Repeat after me, 'I am nobody's doormat... turn tape over NOW."
fosta7
· 2 years ago
i no im kinda late on this one, this was like a week ago but i just wanted to kno... when sayin and inanimate object is there do u us imasu? or is arimasu used when sayin an animate object is there ?
inu ga arimasu ?
hon ga imasu ? or do i have them right the way they are? i havent got my japanese tutor yet but i dont want to seem so clues when i get there
teeburu no ue in hon ga arimasu? i kno its different them what i said up there but im cunfused
reply back erin or koichi plz!! u guys are really cool!?!
fosta7
· 2 years ago
also im teaching myself right and when i watch japanese tv i can understand some words they say i can aslo order food introduce myself etc. but i just wanted to no what u guys think if i learn how to speak it first well would i have a better chance of understanding hiragana and katakana ? thats all^_^
Erin
· 2 years ago
I think you've got it mixed up? For living things you say います and for non-living things you say あります. Haha, us? Cool? No way~!
waenhir
· 2 years ago
Hi there!
I am just beginning to learn Japanese and found Japanesepod 101 the best tool in learning for me! I just want to tell anyone out there like me who has absolutely no time to take classes to try their website.
Toto
· 2 years ago
Hey.. I know this is real late, but just in case anyone is still checking this! I wanted to offer an explanation of desu/imasu/arimasu, because as far as I know, Sexy Beam's is wrong, and Onimusha Nosferato's is correct, but may be hard to understand without examples. So!
Imasu/arimasu have the same meaning, which is "be", as in "to be situated somewhere." The difference is that arimasu is for inanimate objects. For example: Watashi wa niwani imasu Hana wa niwani arimasu
Desu, strictly speaking, isn't a verb, but for simplification purposes, it has two functions. Firstly, it's used as "to be" - for example, Tanaka san no okusan wa kirei desu. (Mr Tanaka's wife is pretty). Secondly, it can replace a particle&verb, if these are understood, e.g.:
"Kono chikaku ni resutoran ga doko ni arimasuka?" (It's a pretty terrible sentence, but it's the only one I could think of off the top of my head.. it means "where's a restaurant around here?") "Chikatetsu no eki no naka desu" (It's in the subway station)
As you can see, in the reply, "desu" is used to replace the longer "ni arimasu".
As far as I know, this is a pretty complete explanation. Feel free to email me if you have further questions.. Oh, as for self-teaching! For oral japanese, Pimsleur's programmes are simply fantastic. Though they will teach you little grammar, they'll let you "feel" the basics of Japanese on an instinctive level and help you set up your pronounciation. If you take out a half-hour every day, you can get through Pimsleur Japanese 1 in a month, and take another half-hour every day to learn Hiragana and Katakana. Once you're done with that, you should be able to handle a basic textbook..
I would personally use Genki, because it comes with audio and is thorough; however, it's also quite long. My university uses Japanese for Busy People; the Romaji version is crap, but the kana isn't bad, and it's also very succinct. Since I want to try and go into Japanese 3 next year, I'm trying to do Japanese for Busy People 1&2 this summer (halfway through volume 1 right now, and I have until October). 2 weeks ago, I had no knowledge of Japanese outside of what I learned from Pimsleur, though I could read Kana. I think an absolute beginner could handle Japanese for Busy People 1 in 2-3 months, with ease.
I also have a question of my own.. I'm pretty good at memorising all the grammatical patterns and crucial words, but there's a whole lot of less important words that just drop out of my mind once I'm done with a chapter. What's a good way to boost my vocabulary?
aLiiiN
· 2 years ago
Hi, I just wanted to thank you guys for putting this up, as I have wanted to learn Japanese for the longest time but never got a chance to, and never knew how to go about it.
I just wanted to ask if anyone knows and can explain: There is a self-learning book called "Japanese For Busy People"- can anyone tell me what the difference is between the 'kana version' and the 'romanized version' ?
Thanks~
Erin
· 2 years ago
aLiiN:
The "kana" version will have Japanese text, and the "romanized" version will have Japanese spelled out more or less phonetically in English. I highly suggest the kana version, because knowing Japanese characters is very important (though I don't know if they will actually teach you the kana, but kana is easy to look up) in practical situations, and if you get too stuck on "romanji" it'll be hard to learn.
Ken
· 2 years ago
aLiiN/Erin:
I took two classes at a local university that used "Japanese for Busy People." Although the first few chapters are ideal for beginners, once you get further into the book, I wouldn't recommend it because of the way they "teach" things, such as the te-form.
I put "teach" in quotes because they just present a table and say "memorize" the table, without even explaining anything. Genki and Yookoso explain the rules behind it and I highly recommend either one.
Regarding the kana version and romaji version of JBFP. Neither one will teach you how to write kana; you should get a workbook that teaches you, especially one that has grid paper for practice.
I don't really recommend either book for beginners because: 1. The romaji version is ENTIRELY in romaji and if you want to get anywhere in Japanese, it's highly suggested that you learn hiragana, katakana, and kanji as soon as possible for multiple reasons (pronunciation, reading comprehension, etc.) 2. The kana version is just that: kana. There is ZERO kanji in the book. So it would be ideal for someone who has already learned kana, which is not the beginner. Again, Genki and Yookoso are ideal in this regard, because they start out w/romaji and add kana and kanji as you progress further in the book.
Erin
· 2 years ago
Ken:
Yeah, I started with ようこそ, so I really don't know Japanese For Busy People at all.
Tiya
· 2 years ago
lol! I actually learned the hiragana AFTER I started using the Genki textbooks. I really like the format they use. After a while in the beginning of the book they began to remove all of the the romanji from example sentences. and somehow I kinda began to remember them ^^ I can't really explain it. But in a way you are kinda forced to remember it or you can't move on to the next thing without being clueless..especially for self-taught people like me.
I guess that could work for some people...but I would most definitely recommend learning the hiragana first. No matter how you do it.
Ryohei Kitamura
· 2 years ago
Still learning it! i must say when i speak nihongo people immediatly ask to me: souuuuu, nihongo wakarimasu ka? and i reply back yes, im trying to master the language but i have sometimes also some pronounciation problems. It seems i'm my task isn't done here yet *looks suspicious like a Asuka ninja*
-Ryohei
Ken
· 2 years ago
Erin: Cool, I started w/ようこそ as well! However, that was 6-7 years ago (while I was in college), then last yearI went to one school that used JFBP, and finally, my current school uses げんき.
aLiiN
· 2 years ago
Erin/Ken:
Thanks for your help! ^^
Tyler
· 2 years ago
I am self-teaching myself Japanese using some YouTube videos and a Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary. I was actually(before I read that thing) interested in learning hirigana. Before that(foolish as I was) I was trying to learn Japanese from anime. I self-teaching yourself Japanese easy of hard? I am now quite informed of the Japanese stuff(like hirigana, katakana, and romaji and numbers). Do you have to learn kanji, and are most things in Japanese written in kanji?
koichi
· 2 years ago
@tyler almost everything is written in/with kanji. Without kanji, everything becomes very hard to read (and gather meaning from). Kanji is definitely "a must"
Tyler
· 2 years ago
That's exactly what i was trying to avoid... (Can u make a video 4 this?)
Tyler
· 2 years ago
(Again)...What is your favorite anime? I am asking Koichi, Erin, and Viet. My favorite is Naruto, and that's probably yours too.
korru
· 2 years ago
Wow, I'm glad I learned kana before I even got delusions of Japanese language. I just thought it would be cool to spell my name in it. I have yet to crack open a book though. I'm learning on my own like a katamari rolling along and picking up random kanji and grammatical rules.
私はコイチさんすきですよ!
(I hope it's right o_o;;)
Dayron
· 2 years ago
I would only ask that can someone tell me some names of books because i havent found any in eBay or the Library.
RMils
· 2 years ago
How add your blog to google database?
mrthundercleese4
· 2 years ago
I wanted to ask If you were going to learn in a class structure should I go University or Berlitz ? It is about 1 grand just for the Japanese class at the local university. Pros and cons of both?
Chris
· 2 years ago
I've just started learning, and I was wondering about pacing. I admit, I know essentially nothing of grammar, and my vocabulary consist of only a handful of elementary words and phrases. However, it seems that I learned hiragana and katakana awfully fast... Since this is the first language that I'm basically teaching myself (though there's a small group at my school that's started meetings and with which I am involved) I just wondered if anyone thought learning something that quickly (about five days) was normal, or might somehow impede my education. I'm in no way bragging, there are more than likely some nuances in writing that will occur when I'm introduced to...well any grammar, and I have a less than basic knowledge of kanji, so do you think i rushed myself in learning? Maybe could someone come up with a checklist of things I should know so far to say that I...well, know it?
Chris
· 2 years ago
Oh, by the way, not working out of a book atm...looking into one (but it has to be cheap).
Carcinogen
· 2 years ago
I just found this place and decided to check it out since I've learned enough Hiragana, but only a few basic phrases (introductions, "what is that?" or "there's a ______!").
I just bought Genki for like $20 on eBay, ought to be good for learning a few things and a bit of light reading =D
Chris
· 2 years ago
Yeah, it's been a few weeks since I posted that, and I've gone ahead with getting a textbook, a workbook, a dictionary, and joining a study group, so I feel like i'm getting somewhere. I thought about it a lot after I posted that above, and the only pace i can work at really is my own, so i'm not as concerned about how and how fast i learn.
0nigiri
· 2 years ago
I have been learning Japanese on saturdays, and this is my third year of study. Despite the three years that I've been studying, my Japanese is pretty low, especially the amount of kanji that I know. One of the problems with the once-a-week courses is that the pace goes really slowly (at least for my class). I think that for people who take saturday language courses, it would be a good idea to supplement that throughout the week with independant study. I've started doing this for kanji so that I can learn more of them. I hope that I can learn enough kanji to be able to take my Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 4 this summer :)
Okashi
· 2 years ago
which genki book should i start with... the textbook, workbook, or both? i need a better book than i have now!
0nigiri
· 2 years ago
My class is going to be using the genki textbook and the workbook, so it would probably be the best if you could get both. If you can only get one, the textbook I think, but I'm not sure because we havn't recieved our books yet :(
lonna
· 1 year ago
anyone have a cheap genki book out there? I want to get one but there so expensive!! Used is fine ::SIGH::
Brandon
· 1 year ago
Nickname: いちご (not from anime, I just think the word sounded cool...)
So is it wrong to have been inspired to learn japanese because you were watching Naruto? Although...it was the little message scrolling across the bottom of the screen...those little weird symbols...thought they were so cool. Thus, I started learning Japanese so I could understand those things...but to get to the point...Where did I start huh? well, first I found a website that had PDF files and it went by the name Japanese is Possible.
I would say they...sucked. Eventually I realized this and moved on. I then found YesJapan.com. This is where EVERYTHING changed. Although I didn't care for how grammar and such was taught...drove me a bit crazy throwing a bit too much at me at times...but their writing lessons, those were the best things I have ever found. They come in printable PDF formats. Each page or lesson is a set of 5 or so hiragana/katakana depending on how far you had gotten.
I owe my knowing hiragana&katakana mostly to this site.( you have to pay for access though, only like $15 a month, not bad) Though I still had trouble with my katakana, namely those 4 little tricky ones and I found a free downloadable game called "slime forest" and in the attempts to not die I quickly learned the difference and this is where I finally got past that hurdle. Now while still using Yesjapan.com I believe, I came across thejapanesepage.com. This site then eventually led me to thejapanshop.com where I ended up buying Genki I and eventually II.
I have used these two textbooks so far. I haven't mastered everything in Genki II and thus need more reviewing...As for kanji? well the first thing was obviously Genki textbooks. I eventually bought a book "A Guide to Reading & Writing Japanese" easily purchasable at your local borders/booksamillion. I find this book to be okay...but crappy. It uses all romaji and why the heck is a person learning kanji if they can't even read hiragana/katakana??! It's not that hard to learn...so I don't really use that book specifically anymore because I've found better ones...
Now I use a book called "Kanji in Context" which covers all 1,945 kanji and like 2 extra. It uses no romaji which is great. It is a reference book(with the kanji) and you can get 2 workbooks with it which test you on the kanji and such but this series is meant for someone who has finished a beginner course so the workbooks aren't all that useful unless you have. Now I use the reference book with another thing. Mainly my japanese DS Lite (yes from japan, cuz I'm picky like that) with a game called 正しい漢字かきとりくん.
Now, there's a newer version of this game for the DS, I have the older one. The one I have covers the first 1,006 kanji, the newer one covers all 1,945 I believe. It's great for almost anyone. Although these kanji DS games are more meant towards people with at least a beginner's course finished, but their audience is supposed to be actual japanese people of course, not gaijin learning japanese. I have 3 other kanji games which at the moment are a bit over my level so I'll get to them later.
So far my level is about all you learn in Genki I and II. Thats mostly all I have finished so far. I have not taken any college courses yet, my college apparently is possibly getting a program started...but I'm transfering to a 4 year college( one day....) which does have a japanese course and will be taking them when I get there. As of now I have about as many textbooks/reference books/testing materials one needs to get to level 2 of the JLPT and my bookshelf is pretty dang full I must say....
Everything except maybe one book I have bought from thejapanshop.com for anyone else interested in getting learning materials...I listen to Japanese music mostly for listening...though I have used the Genki CDs and yesjapan.com had sound files when I used it, spoken by native japanese people. Yes, I watch anime somtimes, it's good for listening practice as well. Learning japanese actually got me into anime more than I ever was. I must say I only watched naruto because a friend recommended that I check it out, I am no Otaku...but Koichi, is there anywhere you list what you have used/done so far? I am interested in what books and such you've used to get where you are.
Hope I haven't bored you to death with all my writing... That's my story up til now. Hope the things I have used/came across can help some other people in their attempts to learn Japanese. みんな がんばって
Brandon
· 1 year ago
Hey lonna, what do you mean Genki is so expensive? I know I paid over a $100 for everything but I bought the textbook, workbook, answer key, and the CDs when I got it but the textbook is 39.95 right now on thejapanshop.com. I dunno where you buy your stuff or where you live and all but if you got the workbook with it thats only $20.40 more and you could get free shipping within the US. Although everyone's budget differs I understand but $40 for just the textbook I don't think is too bad.
I gotta pay almost $200 for my accounting books this coming semester which is pretty bad. Genki seems to be very popular among the self learners and others from what I've come across/heard/read and I don't think you could go wrong getting it. But keep in mind you get what you pay for. I don't know anywhere with any better prices than the japanshop's. Though sometimes they do get beat, I've only seen once though but I don't check amazon and such very often at all. There's a 10% site wide sale so you could save a little more that way...
kyubisharingan
· 1 year ago
oh hey brandon, im also studying solo from Genki. Mind sharing a few of ur studying tips? such as, when u do the practices, do you write them in a notebook? do u write vocab in a note book? etc etc
Zoi
· 1 year ago
Great! *****
alby ruthless
· 1 year ago
as far as the "genki" textbook goes in price-----
has everyone forgot about "torrents" and "peer2peer".....i got genki 1 and 2 audio, text, and workbooks, all for free. then you just go to your local library or kinko's and print everything out...price there will be much much cheaper (well not at the library...i think its 10 cents a sheet if i do remember correctly, but ive haggled with the library before and so can you)
im not trying to say that i encourage someone to download, im just saying you shouldn't let a price tag stop you from what you really want to do. im in the navy and as it is, i really dont get paid much.
kona-kona
· 1 year ago
haha great! so i've been doing ok should i start with kanji right after learning hiragana or should i start with katakana?
maaku_sutipen
· 1 year ago
Hello, I want to ask how is your impression on the Genki book? I have a "sempai" in the IT business that I look up to and he uses that one. In the Philippines, I think the official book to use is Minna no Nihongo because even the Japan Foundation here uses that. Also, I find it hard to find a copy of it in the University libraries. I am really curious. Oh also what is the complete title of Genki?
koichi
· 1 year ago
It is: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese: Genki
hiragana are the sounds right? a e i o u meh, i'm not sure haha
Sarius24
· 1 year ago
This year i finally Mastered HIRAGANA woot :D. I started taking a book out in grade 9 and learned some but then i just forgot about it and stopped. But now i got serious and actually learned all of em. I should go for katakana now :D! I've also learned some kanji too.
Tiger1180
· 1 year ago
I have been using the Genki books. I'm currently on the first set. I already have book two for when I am ready. The cds have been working great for me as well. I have also integrated several online help sites as well as using flashcards I made with index cards for the kanji to quiz myself and form words. I seem to have worked out a system for me and well, I think I'm doing pretty well. I'll be joining in on an actual classroom next semester so I'll know for sure how my self-teaching meathods have worked for me.
SHOOP DA WOOP
· 1 year ago
I just started relearning japanese the other day and so far its going pretty well, I've started off with the basics like Hirigana and its coming back slowly.I think so far I've been going at a good pace (3-4 hrs a day) giving my mind a rest saturday through sunday, or atleast thats the plan.Most of this stuff is coming right back to me but I only took a year of japanese so I still have alot to learn...we'll see what happens...
BTW: If any of you guys have any suggestions about my schedule,TELL ME! I need all the help i can get!
SHOOP DA WOOP
· 1 year ago
Hey everyone! I just came back to update how my kana practice is going and It took me 2days to remember/memorize all the Hirigana I had previously learned and a couple hours to memorize some katakana I taught myself.The method I used made it so easy for me to remember! All I thought of was the order the Kana went in and BAM! it all came roght back too me.
O and BTW: alby ruthless...どもありがとございました! I would've never thought to use torrent. I found both 1 and 2 in a single package TGTBT!
GJB995
· 4 months ago
I was getting aanoyed by not finding classes I could take off line because my mom is weird about the net, but this article gave me a god Idea of what to do.
Narutofan1
· 2 years ago
why do u hate on NARUTO so much he is so awsome!!!! so wut if i wanna learn japanese so i can watch anime w/ no subs
All Comments
ANNNND this is soooo random but I gotta ask.
"he" and "ni" ....is there a difference (as particles) or are they simply interchangable? Yookoso said that "he" was used for ...something else and "ni" was used for...something else but I just read in my Genki book that "he" and "ni" were interchangable in "goal of movement" sentences.
I only ask this becuase I had the HARDEST time with this and my old teacher (who wasn't Japanese and couldn't explain anything) would be like "that sentence is wrong now you fail the problem" when I used "ni" instead of "he" in something like "Tokyo ni ikimashita." So... yeah?
tokyo ni ikimasu
tokyo he ikimasu
These are the same sentences. When it comes to other uses of 'he' though, that's when everything gets pretty shaky for me. I'm sorry but I can't think of any example right now of where you can use it when it isn't in an ikimasu statement...lame.
The particles ga and ha are the most annoying for me bc there seems to be alot of exceptions and rules. generally it seems ga is for relative sentences, indefinate articles, answering questions. ha is not too bad apart from when it appears in negative comparasons and its slightly different then it seems.
You can kinda learn pronunciation from Japanese music, plus you can learn all kinds of cool grammar if you study, but you really can't carry on a real conversation with just that, unless you want to be someone who speaks in poetry.
A sad thing that would be
Because people, you see
Wouldn't understand me
Yeah...so don't make that your only source of Japanese. =) At least it's not trying to learn from 2ch or anime, though, and *that* is a good thing. Unless of course, you're going to be the Pirate King.
I'm taking the steps you suggested because I though that it was pretty much common senese to at least know the basics like hiragana...and I don't like romaji for the most part b/c I don't really know where I would use it and if it would really benefit me.
I'm studying hiragana with the "Japanese Hiragana for Beginners" by the Tuttle Language Library. It's really helpful and it has these lil' flashcards with the hiragana, a picture mnemonic, and a quote that helps you remember it.
I also have "Elementary Japanese: Volume One" by Yoko Hasegawa...I'm really excited about cracking into this textbook.
*You're blog and videos are really interesting and I plan on visiting you site often. Thanks!!!
I'm taking the steps you suggested because I though that it was pretty much common senese to at least know the basics like hiragana...and I don't like romaji for the most part b/c I don't really know where I would use it and if it would really benefit me.
I'm studying hiragana with the "Japanese Hiragana for Beginners" by the Tuttle Language Library. It's really helpful and it has these lil' flashcards with the hiragana, a picture mnemonic, and a quote that helps you remember it.
I also have "Elementary Japanese: Volume One" by Yoko Hasegawa...I'm really excited about cracking into this textbook.
*You're blog and videos are really interesting and I plan on visiting your site often. Thanks!!!
ga is used for emphasizing the subject (watashi ga yomimasu - I am the one reading), instead of wo with certain adjectives/verbs (like 'ringo ga suki desu' - i like apples), and with question words (ie- dare) and answering question sentances that use ga.
wa/ha is used to mark the subject of a sentance.
MASEN
MASHITA
MASENDESHITA
And thank you! Now I remember the "specific" and non specific parts. But what entails whether something is specific or not? Like...would Tokyo be nonspecific compared to a person's house...yeah? Thanks again for the help.
note: can these things have an edit feature? i don't writing a post.
A)Get good material that doubles as good reference and teaches katakana/hiragana/kanji as you learn the words. It's always good to be able to go back and look up a very specific thing you need.
B)Kana flash cards just as previously stated. However, you dont have to buy these, infact the ones that I used I made myself and have both the katakana and hirigana on them. There are plenty of places online where you can find them and by making your own, it helps you learn to write them (believe me, it will take you a few times to get it to look just like you want (as in, almost identical to the actual chartacter)
C)Youtube. There are also plenty of videos that will teach proper pronounciation... ok, I'm mostly talking about the "Let's Learn Japanese: Basic 1". It doesnt really teach(as in they just show you in the latter lessons) the kana, but I found it very very helpful as not having a teacher and to those of you who had classes, I hear that a lot of you have had these used in class. And the way it teaches it is gives you something like a template, a sentence pattern so that you could construct many sentences using the same outline.
D)Pull from many sources. Pull from a book words and structure, from videos and music get the pronounciation. You could even try to read things even though you wont be able to pick up much, something that will strengthen reading it still a good thing. Is there a page you look at that has a japanese version? Well, check it out, see how much you can read, see whats diffrent about it (other than the obvious)
E) Not to sound sound crazy, but talk to yourself (well... and other people...depending). Doing something? Say it in japanese (but of course not if its going to look stupid). Somebody ask you a question? Answer in japanese (depends who your with at the time. From time to time I like to do this just to mess with people though my knowledge is very limited). Doing this will help in your ability to come out with sentences in a practical usage that also makes you think in japanese.
Well, I think thats all. The only other thing I really have to say is that layered learning (like I have) seems to help a bit. It's like reading up to say chapter five in a book, then going back through all of them again just as in depth as the first time, maybe picking up a few things you didn't quite get before and applying knowledge you didn't know at the time to old material. Much like extream review. Well, appologies for the wall of text, but to those of you who it helped, you're welcome.
PS: I found this website, and it seems pretty good: http://learnjapanese.elanguageschool.net
ex.getsu gatsu,jin nin,or...well you know
So let's take 人 for example. By itself, it will be "hito". But you really just need to learn the other readings in the context of real words. Here are some examples:
韓国人 - kan-koku-jin (Korean person)
三人 - san-nin (three people)
旅人 - tabi-bito (traveler)
二人 - futari (two people, this is irregular)
大人 - otona (adult, also irregular)
Remember - if Japanese people can learn it, you can too. No one said it was gonna be easy though.
Josh, you can figure the dollar to yen thing out via Google. Feel free to ask complicated questions here, but try to figure out the easy ones yourself, if possible, yeah?
1. "う or U"
"う or U" is NOT a sound of Book (or bUc). Japanese "う or U" is a very weak sound. If you know French "e", it's almost the same sound.
So, "く す つ ぬ ふ む ゆ or Ku Su Tsu Nu Fu Mu Yu" is similar very weak sound. As a example, "する or Suru" will be pronounced often like sru or sul.
2. "お or O" is a short sound NOT long.
3. "し or Shi"
"し or Shi" is NOT a sound of SHIt. Often it sounds like just "sh". So "しま or 島 or Shima" will be pronounced almost like "Shma". But you have to pronounce like Shima but without strong i sound.
4. "L" and "R"
I know in all Japanese text books you read ら り る れ ろ being Ra Ri Ru Re Ro. But I find it better for American to pronounce "L" instead of "R". I would say "L" sound is more natural to Japanese. (Most Japanese cannot clearly distinguish "L" and "R" sound. )
I hope it helps you.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&a...
I think I officially forgive the people who think they can learn Japanese from watching anime now.
i just wanted to kno...
when sayin and inanimate object is there do u us imasu?
or is arimasu used when sayin an animate object is there ?
inu ga arimasu ?
hon ga imasu ?
or do i have them right the way they are?
i havent got my japanese tutor yet but i dont want to seem so clues when i get there
teeburu no ue in hon ga arimasu? i kno its different them what i said up there but im cunfused
reply back erin or koichi
plz!! u guys are really cool!?!
i can aslo order food introduce myself etc.
but i just wanted to no what u guys think if i learn how to speak it first well would i have a better chance of understanding hiragana and katakana ?
thats all^_^
I am just beginning to learn Japanese and found Japanesepod 101 the best tool in learning for me! I just want to tell anyone out there like me who has absolutely no time to take classes to try their website.
Imasu/arimasu have the same meaning, which is "be", as in "to be situated somewhere." The difference is that arimasu is for inanimate objects. For example:
Watashi wa niwani imasu
Hana wa niwani arimasu
Desu, strictly speaking, isn't a verb, but for simplification purposes, it has two functions. Firstly, it's used as "to be" - for example, Tanaka san no okusan wa kirei desu. (Mr Tanaka's wife is pretty). Secondly, it can replace a particle&verb, if these are understood, e.g.:
"Kono chikaku ni resutoran ga doko ni arimasuka?" (It's a pretty terrible sentence, but it's the only one I could think of off the top of my head.. it means "where's a restaurant around here?")
"Chikatetsu no eki no naka desu" (It's in the subway station)
As you can see, in the reply, "desu" is used to replace the longer "ni arimasu".
As far as I know, this is a pretty complete explanation. Feel free to email me if you have further questions.. Oh, as for self-teaching! For oral japanese, Pimsleur's programmes are simply fantastic. Though they will teach you little grammar, they'll let you "feel" the basics of Japanese on an instinctive level and help you set up your pronounciation. If you take out a half-hour every day, you can get through Pimsleur Japanese 1 in a month, and take another half-hour every day to learn Hiragana and Katakana. Once you're done with that, you should be able to handle a basic textbook..
I would personally use Genki, because it comes with audio and is thorough; however, it's also quite long. My university uses Japanese for Busy People; the Romaji version is crap, but the kana isn't bad, and it's also very succinct. Since I want to try and go into Japanese 3 next year, I'm trying to do Japanese for Busy People 1&2 this summer (halfway through volume 1 right now, and I have until October). 2 weeks ago, I had no knowledge of Japanese outside of what I learned from Pimsleur, though I could read Kana. I think an absolute beginner could handle Japanese for Busy People 1 in 2-3 months, with ease.
I also have a question of my own.. I'm pretty good at memorising all the grammatical patterns and crucial words, but there's a whole lot of less important words that just drop out of my mind once I'm done with a chapter. What's a good way to boost my vocabulary?
I just wanted to thank you guys for putting this up, as I have wanted to learn Japanese for the longest time but never got a chance to, and never knew how to go about it.
I just wanted to ask if anyone knows and can explain:
There is a self-learning book called "Japanese For Busy People"- can anyone tell me what the difference is between the 'kana version' and the 'romanized version' ?
Thanks~
aLiiN:
The "kana" version will have Japanese text, and the "romanized" version will have Japanese spelled out more or less phonetically in English. I highly suggest the kana version, because knowing Japanese characters is very important (though I don't know if they will actually teach you the kana, but kana is easy to look up) in practical situations, and if you get too stuck on "romanji" it'll be hard to learn.
I took two classes at a local university that used "Japanese for Busy People." Although the first few chapters are ideal for beginners, once you get further into the book, I wouldn't recommend it because of the way they "teach" things, such as the te-form.
I put "teach" in quotes because they just present a table and say "memorize" the table, without even explaining anything. Genki and Yookoso explain the rules behind it and I highly recommend either one.
Regarding the kana version and romaji version of JBFP. Neither one will teach you how to write kana; you should get a workbook that teaches you, especially one that has grid paper for practice.
I don't really recommend either book for beginners because:
1. The romaji version is ENTIRELY in romaji and if you want to get anywhere in Japanese, it's highly suggested that you learn hiragana, katakana, and kanji as soon as possible for multiple reasons (pronunciation, reading comprehension, etc.)
2. The kana version is just that: kana. There is ZERO kanji in the book. So it would be ideal for someone who has already learned kana, which is not the beginner. Again, Genki and Yookoso are ideal in this regard, because they start out w/romaji and add kana and kanji as you progress further in the book.
Ken:
Yeah, I started with ようこそ, so I really don't know Japanese For Busy People at all.
I really like the format they use.
After a while in the beginning of the book they began to remove all of the the romanji from example sentences.
and somehow I kinda began to remember them ^^
I can't really explain it.
But in a way you are kinda forced to remember it or you can't move on to the next thing without being clueless..especially for self-taught people like me.
I guess that could work for some people...but I would most definitely recommend learning the hiragana first. No matter how you do it.
-Ryohei
Thanks for your help! ^^
almost everything is written in/with kanji. Without kanji, everything becomes very hard to read (and gather meaning from). Kanji is definitely "a must"
(Can u make a video 4 this?)
私はコイチさんすきですよ!
(I hope it's right o_o;;)
I just bought Genki for like $20 on eBay, ought to be good for learning a few things and a bit of light reading =D
I think that for people who take saturday language courses, it would be a good idea to supplement that throughout the week with independant study. I've started doing this for kanji so that I can learn more of them.
I hope that I can learn enough kanji to be able to take my Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 4 this summer :)
i need a better book than i have now!
If you can only get one, the textbook I think, but I'm not sure because we havn't recieved our books yet :(
So is it wrong to have been inspired to learn japanese because you were watching Naruto? Although...it was the little message scrolling across the bottom of the screen...those little weird symbols...thought they were so cool. Thus, I started learning Japanese so I could understand those things...but to get to the point...Where did I start huh? well, first I found a website that had PDF files and it went by the name Japanese is Possible.
I would say they...sucked. Eventually I realized this and moved on. I then found YesJapan.com. This is where EVERYTHING changed. Although I didn't care for how grammar and such was taught...drove me a bit crazy throwing a bit too much at me at times...but their writing lessons, those were the best things I have ever found. They come in printable PDF formats. Each page or lesson is a set of 5 or so hiragana/katakana depending on how far you had gotten.
I owe my knowing hiragana&katakana mostly to this site.( you have to pay for access though, only like $15 a month, not bad) Though I still had trouble with my katakana, namely those 4 little tricky ones and I found a free downloadable game called "slime forest" and in the attempts to not die I quickly learned the difference and this is where I finally got past that hurdle. Now while still using Yesjapan.com I believe, I came across thejapanesepage.com. This site then eventually led me to thejapanshop.com where I ended up buying Genki I and eventually II.
I have used these two textbooks so far. I haven't mastered everything in Genki II and thus need more reviewing...As for kanji? well the first thing was obviously Genki textbooks. I eventually bought a book "A Guide to Reading & Writing Japanese" easily purchasable at your local borders/booksamillion. I find this book to be okay...but crappy. It uses all romaji and why the heck is a person learning kanji if they can't even read hiragana/katakana??! It's not that hard to learn...so I don't really use that book specifically anymore because I've found better ones...
Now I use a book called "Kanji in Context" which covers all 1,945 kanji and like 2 extra. It uses no romaji which is great. It is a reference book(with the kanji) and you can get 2 workbooks with it which test you on the kanji and such but this series is meant for someone who has finished a beginner course so the workbooks aren't all that useful unless you have. Now I use the reference book with another thing. Mainly my japanese DS Lite (yes from japan, cuz I'm picky like that) with a game called 正しい漢字かきとりくん.
Now, there's a newer version of this game for the DS, I have the older one. The one I have covers the first 1,006 kanji, the newer one covers all 1,945 I believe. It's great for almost anyone. Although these kanji DS games are more meant towards people with at least a beginner's course finished, but their audience is supposed to be actual japanese people of course, not gaijin learning japanese. I have 3 other kanji games which at the moment are a bit over my level so I'll get to them later.
So far my level is about all you learn in Genki I and II. Thats mostly all I have finished so far. I have not taken any college courses yet, my college apparently is possibly getting a program started...but I'm transfering to a 4 year college( one day....) which does have a japanese course and will be taking them when I get there. As of now I have about as many textbooks/reference books/testing materials one needs to get to level 2 of the JLPT and my bookshelf is pretty dang full I must say....
Everything except maybe one book I have bought from thejapanshop.com for anyone else interested in getting learning materials...I listen to Japanese music mostly for listening...though I have used the Genki CDs and yesjapan.com had sound files when I used it, spoken by native japanese people. Yes, I watch anime somtimes, it's good for listening practice as well. Learning japanese actually got me into anime more than I ever was. I must say I only watched naruto because a friend recommended that I check it out, I am no Otaku...but Koichi, is there anywhere you list what you have used/done so far? I am interested in what books and such you've used to get where you are.
Hope I haven't bored you to death with all my writing... That's my story up til now. Hope the things I have used/came across can help some other people in their attempts to learn Japanese. みんな がんばって
I gotta pay almost $200 for my accounting books this coming semester which is pretty bad. Genki seems to be very popular among the self learners and others from what I've come across/heard/read and I don't think you could go wrong getting it. But keep in mind you get what you pay for. I don't know anywhere with any better prices than the japanshop's. Though sometimes they do get beat, I've only seen once though but I don't check amazon and such very often at all. There's a 10% site wide sale so you could save a little more that way...
has everyone forgot about "torrents" and "peer2peer".....i got genki 1 and 2 audio, text, and workbooks, all for free. then you just go to your local library or kinko's and print everything out...price there will be much much cheaper (well not at the library...i think its 10 cents a sheet if i do remember correctly, but ive haggled with the library before and so can you)
im not trying to say that i encourage someone to download, im just saying you shouldn't let a price tag stop you from what you really want to do. im in the navy and as it is, i really dont get paid much.
An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese: Genki
Authors are:
Eri Bonno
Yutaka Ohno
Yoko Sakane
Chikako Shinagawa
& Kyoko Takashiki
meh, i'm not sure haha
BTW: If any of you guys have any suggestions about my schedule,TELL ME! I need all the help i can get!
O and BTW: alby ruthless...どもありがとございました! I would've never thought to use torrent. I found both 1 and 2 in a single package TGTBT!
so wut if i wanna learn japanese so i can watch anime w/ no subs
NARUTO could kick your butt!
...
noob