For some reason, most learners of Japanese are so disheartened by the sheer number of kanji that must be learnt in order to read that they give up entirely! I've already recommended you use Perapera-kun for deciphering Japanese web-pages, but of course that isn't really applicable to hard copies of things, nor for long-term memory.
If you only know a few kanji, I'd hardly recommend ordering a Japanese novel and just trying to decipher it as you go along (I tried this a couple years back, and failed miserably. It takes too much effort for too little payoff). However, that's not to say that you should give up entirely on your pursuit of reading ability, nor be reliant on electronic aids. Fortunately, there are a few books out there designed for learners of Japanese that are nothing but text, with textual aids.
I'd like to recommend Giles Murray's books to this end. His second book, Breaking into Japanese Literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text, is an extraordinary aid to learning to read. He has done all the hard work for you, giving at the bottom a translation and reading of every single word (above a basic level). Further, he gives an English translation, page-by-page, for every story in the book. If you want to learn vocab, kanji, and a plethora of grammar, this book will help you immensely. His third book, Exploring Japanese Literature: Read Mishima, Tanizaki, and Kawabata in the Original, has exactly the same format, at a more difficult level of reading.
One last tip: never use romaji. Ever. It's bad for your health, and you'll never learn to read actual Japanese. 仮名を習え、このやろう！
Saturday, May 16, 2009
, is an extraordinary aid to learning to read. He has done all the hard work for you, giving at the bottom a translation and reading of every single word (above a basic level). Further, he gives an English translation, page-by-page, for every story in the book. If you want to learn vocab, kanji, and a plethora of grammar, this book will help you immensely. His third book, 
, has exactly the same format, at a more difficult level of reading.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Traditional Chinese and why it can help your Japanese
今天天氣很好！
The above is a basic sentence in Mandarin Chinese. Three of the five kanji are common in Japanese: 今、天、好. The character 很 (meaning very) is not to be found in any common sentence. The final character 氣 is also not used in modern Japanese, at least in this form. If you do not know it, you may however be able to guess the meaning (天気?). As it turns out, like Chinese, Japanese actually uses simplified forms of kanji, although usually simplified differently from Mandarin. By only knowing 氣, the traditional form of air, it's almost effortless to learn the simplified forms (气 in simplified Chinese, 気 in simplified Japanese).
If you're anything like me, after having learned a substantial number of kanji, you actually start to appreciate the beauty, and take pleasure in knowing more about their history.
Consider the character 學. Again, you might be able to guess the meaning if you don't know it: 学. The top strokes are simply reduced down to a quicker, easier way to write it. In this case, both Japanese and Chinese simplify the character in the same way. Usually, simplified forms are derived from the cursive forms of the characters, so many strokes are lost in a predictable way.
Another predictable simplification: traditional form 應, simplified Chinese 应, simplified Japanese 応. In this case, the Chinese simplified form looks like it lost a number of strokes, probably derived from its cursive form. The Japanese form however, has just omitted the 2 radicals from the center.
In some cases, simplified forms are seemingly random:
Traditional Chinese: 龍
Simplified Chinese: 龙
Simplified Japanese: 竜
All three mean dragon. In this case however, none of the three characters are similar in appearance. Unfortunately, this means we'll just have to learn them semi-independently.
In some cases, knowing the traditional forms helps to clarify meaning, in my opinion. Take for example the common Japanese kanji 買 and 売. Because of the simplification of the second character, it might not be obvious that the two kanji are actually related. The traditional form of 売 is 賣, which seems a bit more connected to the other kanji (and the simplification seems to follow naturally). In fact, this radical shows up in other common characters too: 続 (續) and 読 (讀).
All of this is unnecessary, but I think it's nice to be able to learn the history of characters, which not only helps you remember them, but also to be more versatile with reading (older texts probably would use the traditional forms). They can also add a flavor to writing, giving a passage an archaic feel.
In any case, it might be a nice break from trying to remember all the kanji to just learn some of the back story and appreciate their beauty.
The above is a basic sentence in Mandarin Chinese. Three of the five kanji are common in Japanese: 今、天、好. The character 很 (meaning very) is not to be found in any common sentence. The final character 氣 is also not used in modern Japanese, at least in this form. If you do not know it, you may however be able to guess the meaning (天気?). As it turns out, like Chinese, Japanese actually uses simplified forms of kanji, although usually simplified differently from Mandarin. By only knowing 氣, the traditional form of air, it's almost effortless to learn the simplified forms (气 in simplified Chinese, 気 in simplified Japanese).
If you're anything like me, after having learned a substantial number of kanji, you actually start to appreciate the beauty, and take pleasure in knowing more about their history.
Consider the character 學. Again, you might be able to guess the meaning if you don't know it: 学. The top strokes are simply reduced down to a quicker, easier way to write it. In this case, both Japanese and Chinese simplify the character in the same way. Usually, simplified forms are derived from the cursive forms of the characters, so many strokes are lost in a predictable way.
Another predictable simplification: traditional form 應, simplified Chinese 应, simplified Japanese 応. In this case, the Chinese simplified form looks like it lost a number of strokes, probably derived from its cursive form. The Japanese form however, has just omitted the 2 radicals from the center.
In some cases, simplified forms are seemingly random:
Traditional Chinese: 龍
Simplified Chinese: 龙
Simplified Japanese: 竜
All three mean dragon. In this case however, none of the three characters are similar in appearance. Unfortunately, this means we'll just have to learn them semi-independently.
In some cases, knowing the traditional forms helps to clarify meaning, in my opinion. Take for example the common Japanese kanji 買 and 売. Because of the simplification of the second character, it might not be obvious that the two kanji are actually related. The traditional form of 売 is 賣, which seems a bit more connected to the other kanji (and the simplification seems to follow naturally). In fact, this radical shows up in other common characters too: 続 (續) and 読 (讀).
All of this is unnecessary, but I think it's nice to be able to learn the history of characters, which not only helps you remember them, but also to be more versatile with reading (older texts probably would use the traditional forms). They can also add a flavor to writing, giving a passage an archaic feel.
In any case, it might be a nice break from trying to remember all the kanji to just learn some of the back story and appreciate their beauty.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
天気
Assuming you're not a complete beginner, you've probably learned a few basic phrases about the weather, which is especially useful in Japanese since they discuss weather as greetings instead of saying something like our "how are you?". However, watching the weather reports, or even reading the weather reports is a much more difficult task. Unfortunately, meteorologists don't just say いいお天気ですねえ。
So, let's take a few excerpts about today's weather in Japan, and learn some more complicated details about the weather.
Today's weather forecast for Osaka:
今日から明日の近畿地方は、引き続き高気圧に覆われて晴れるでしょう。
First, let's run down the vocab words which you may or may not know (leaving out some basic things):
近畿地方： きんきちほう, the Kinki (Kansai) area of Japan, i.e., the western area.
引き続き： ひきつづき, continuing.
気圧: きあつ, pressure. In terms of the weather, atmospheric pressure.
覆う: おおう, to cover, to blanket.
晴れる： はれる, to be clear.
So, roughly translating: Starting today and continuing through tomorrow, the Kinki region will be covered in a high pressure system, with probable clear skies.
How 'bout this one from Tokyo:
また、東京地方では引き続き明後日にかけて空気の乾燥した状態が続く見込みです。
Possibly new vocab:
明後日： あさって, the day after tomorrow (also the title of a movie concerned with weather!)
空気： くうき, the air.
乾燥： かんそう, dry.
状態： じょうたい, status, conditions.
見込み： みこみ, forecast, possibility.
Roughly: In the Tokyo region, it is forecasted that the air will remain dry continuing through the day after tomorrow.
One last one for now, from sunny Okinawa:
沖縄地方は、沖縄の南海上にある停滞前線の影響で曇っており、雨の降っている所があります。
新しい単語（たんご）：
沖縄: おきなわ, Okinawa.
南海上： なんかいじょう, on the south sea.
停滞： ていたい, stationary, stagnant.
前線： ぜんせん, (weather) front.
影響: えいきょう, influence.
曇る: くもる, to be cloudy.
英訳（えいやく）：
In the Okinawa region, due to the effects of a stationary front over the Okinawa's south sea, the skies will be cloudy, with rain in some places.
I hope that helps to introduce you to learning how to really discuss the weather. Feel free to leave questions (if I have left out things which are unclear, etc.).
So, let's take a few excerpts about today's weather in Japan, and learn some more complicated details about the weather.
Today's weather forecast for Osaka:
今日から明日の近畿地方は、引き続き高気圧に覆われて晴れるでしょう。
First, let's run down the vocab words which you may or may not know (leaving out some basic things):
近畿地方： きんきちほう, the Kinki (Kansai) area of Japan, i.e., the western area.
引き続き： ひきつづき, continuing.
気圧: きあつ, pressure. In terms of the weather, atmospheric pressure.
覆う: おおう, to cover, to blanket.
晴れる： はれる, to be clear.
So, roughly translating: Starting today and continuing through tomorrow, the Kinki region will be covered in a high pressure system, with probable clear skies.
How 'bout this one from Tokyo:
また、東京地方では引き続き明後日にかけて空気の乾燥した状態が続く見込みです。
Possibly new vocab:
明後日： あさって, the day after tomorrow (also the title of a movie concerned with weather!)
空気： くうき, the air.
乾燥： かんそう, dry.
状態： じょうたい, status, conditions.
見込み： みこみ, forecast, possibility.
Roughly: In the Tokyo region, it is forecasted that the air will remain dry continuing through the day after tomorrow.
One last one for now, from sunny Okinawa:
沖縄地方は、沖縄の南海上にある停滞前線の影響で曇っており、雨の降っている所があります。
新しい単語（たんご）：
沖縄: おきなわ, Okinawa.
南海上： なんかいじょう, on the south sea.
停滞： ていたい, stationary, stagnant.
前線： ぜんせん, (weather) front.
影響: えいきょう, influence.
曇る: くもる, to be cloudy.
英訳（えいやく）：
In the Okinawa region, due to the effects of a stationary front over the Okinawa's south sea, the skies will be cloudy, with rain in some places.
I hope that helps to introduce you to learning how to really discuss the weather. Feel free to leave questions (if I have left out things which are unclear, etc.).
Monday, April 6, 2009
Stories, and why they are great for language learning
When you were growing up, whether it was in recent times, or ancient times, without doubt your parents read you a number of stories. Maybe you were told the stories of Dr. Seuss, or maybe stories of princes and princesses in far-off mythical lands. In any case, the stories were probably replete with simple words and phrases which form the basis of the language you learnt (be it English, Russian, Swahili, whatever). Furthermore, they contain a large number of phrases which you only hear in story-telling ("Once upon a time", "and they lived happily ever after", etc.), but which are necessary to understand a story.
From this basis, I put forth that learning children stories are a great way to expose yourself to language. You avoid the technical terms which might otherwise hold you up, and you learn the basic words which every child knows but might not be taught in a language class. Moreover, there are a number of references in popular culture to children stories, in every culture I know of.
The above holds true for Japanese. A couple of sites for your reference: a translated, annotated collection of Japanese children stories, some stories from traditional Ainu culture, narrated and translated into Japanese. The first site is great for the beginner: the stories are translated line for line, with annotations on all the Japanese phrases. The second site is a bit more advanced, since nothing is translated into English. However, it narrates a number of Ainu children stories with subtext. The stories are not too hard to follow, and it is certainly worth the listening practice, regardless of whether you catch every word.
So, get out there and learn your children stories! It will pay off in your comprehension of many things!
From this basis, I put forth that learning children stories are a great way to expose yourself to language. You avoid the technical terms which might otherwise hold you up, and you learn the basic words which every child knows but might not be taught in a language class. Moreover, there are a number of references in popular culture to children stories, in every culture I know of.
The above holds true for Japanese. A couple of sites for your reference: a translated, annotated collection of Japanese children stories, some stories from traditional Ainu culture, narrated and translated into Japanese. The first site is great for the beginner: the stories are translated line for line, with annotations on all the Japanese phrases. The second site is a bit more advanced, since nothing is translated into English. However, it narrates a number of Ainu children stories with subtext. The stories are not too hard to follow, and it is certainly worth the listening practice, regardless of whether you catch every word.
So, get out there and learn your children stories! It will pay off in your comprehension of many things!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Using Perapera-kun to read Japanese wikipedia
Hello there, today I'm a bit busy so I thought I'd give a brief example of how Perapera-kun (mentioned in my previous post) can be extremely useful for learning to read Japanese.
Anyway, for some reason I ended up on the Japanese wikipedia page for house mouse.
From the page:
Anyway, for some reason I ended up on the Japanese wikipedia page for house mouse.
From the page:
ハツカネズミ（二十日鼠、廿日鼠、house mouse）は、ネズミ目（齧歯目）ネズミ科 ハツカネズミ属の1種。学名は Mus musculus。
Chock full of vocab I've never used or heard before! If you'd eventually like to converse at an adult level, basic education like biology terms are probably necessary to learn sooner or later. Anyway, let's break it down:
ハツカネズミ, the term for house mouse, which literally means 20-day mouse.
二十日鼠/廿日鼠 (ハツカネズミ, the two ways to write in kanji). Note that because the title of the article is not in kanji, it is not standard practice to write this animal's name in kanji (as is often the case with animal and plant names).
ネズミ目 (ネズミもく), Order Rodentia (remember that whole Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species stuff in your high school bio classes?).
齧歯目 (げっしもく）, rat-like, rodent.
ネズミ科 （ネズミか）, mouse Family.
ハツカネズミ属 (ハツカネズミぞく）, house-mouse Genus.
一種 (いっしゅ), one kind of.
学名 (がくめい), scientific name, Latin name.
So, using Perapera-kun to parse the words over, we can readily translate in our heads:
The house mouse is one type of house-mouse that belongs to the mouse Family and rodent Order. Its scientific name is Mus musculus.
Anyway, you get the idea. Basically perapera-kun saves you a ton of time looking up kanji, readings, and definitions. Trust me, it goes a long way to being able to read Japanese web-pages.
By the way, if you wondering why they're called 20-day mice in Japanese, read wikipedia's explanation:
妊娠期間が20日程度であることから「はつかねずみ」の名が付いたとされる。
(Practice using perapera-kun if you don't understand!)
じゃね
Thursday, March 26, 2009
こんにちは！
Greetings!
I recently decided that while I was learning Japanese on my own, I would publish some notes on the language and learning resources that are available. Since I truly believe that one learns best when teaching a subject, I thought I would give it a shot.
Anyway, for my first post I thought I'd share a couple of resources that I love.
First of all, jisho.org. The usefulness of this site is not its dictionary entries, nor is it the kanji database. The best part of this site is the massive collection of sentences that can be searched by English words, Japanese words, kanji, or combinations thereof.
For example, let's say I want to know the word for jacket. After finding out that it's 上着（うわぎ, uwagi), I can then click the sentences option to obtain any sentences in the database which contain this word. The first, for example:
彼は上着を掛けた。 He hung up his coat.
Furthermore, each Japanese word is linked back to its dictionary entry (in case you don't know the reading or meaning). Also, there's an option to give you kanji details, if any in the sentence are unfamiliar.
One caveat about the site: for those who don't yet know how to read kana, it will prove much less useful for learning. My recommendation: put the time in and learn those kana as soon as possible!
Next, for those of you who use Firefox, I'd recommend downloading the add-on "Perapera-kun." (ペラペラ君). When enabled, it allows you to parse through any Japanese you encounter on the web, by giving the readings and definitions simply scrolling over words. (On a side note, there is also a version for those who are learning Mandarin Chinese.) As far as I am concerned, it is the best tool for reading Japanese webpages out there - no need to copy and paste words and bring them back to a dictionary website.
Finally for now, we need tools to get listening practice! For those who already know a fair amount of Japanese, I'd recommend the program KeyHole TV. This program streams live Japanese TV. Download it here: KeyHole TV.
There are a few good channels which are always present: TBS, TV東京 (TV Tokyo), 日本テレビ (Japan TV), 関西TV (Kansai TV - Kansai is the western region of Japan), テレビ朝日 (Asahi TV), and フジテレビ (Fuji TV). There are also a number of channels which appear and disappear every once in a while, including a few radio stations.
That's it for now. I hope these tools can help you along your journey to fluency!
I recently decided that while I was learning Japanese on my own, I would publish some notes on the language and learning resources that are available. Since I truly believe that one learns best when teaching a subject, I thought I would give it a shot.
Anyway, for my first post I thought I'd share a couple of resources that I love.
First of all, jisho.org. The usefulness of this site is not its dictionary entries, nor is it the kanji database. The best part of this site is the massive collection of sentences that can be searched by English words, Japanese words, kanji, or combinations thereof.
For example, let's say I want to know the word for jacket. After finding out that it's 上着（うわぎ, uwagi), I can then click the sentences option to obtain any sentences in the database which contain this word. The first, for example:
彼は上着を掛けた。 He hung up his coat.
Furthermore, each Japanese word is linked back to its dictionary entry (in case you don't know the reading or meaning). Also, there's an option to give you kanji details, if any in the sentence are unfamiliar.
One caveat about the site: for those who don't yet know how to read kana, it will prove much less useful for learning. My recommendation: put the time in and learn those kana as soon as possible!
Next, for those of you who use Firefox, I'd recommend downloading the add-on "Perapera-kun." (ペラペラ君). When enabled, it allows you to parse through any Japanese you encounter on the web, by giving the readings and definitions simply scrolling over words. (On a side note, there is also a version for those who are learning Mandarin Chinese.) As far as I am concerned, it is the best tool for reading Japanese webpages out there - no need to copy and paste words and bring them back to a dictionary website.
Finally for now, we need tools to get listening practice! For those who already know a fair amount of Japanese, I'd recommend the program KeyHole TV. This program streams live Japanese TV. Download it here: KeyHole TV.
There are a few good channels which are always present: TBS, TV東京 (TV Tokyo), 日本テレビ (Japan TV), 関西TV (Kansai TV - Kansai is the western region of Japan), テレビ朝日 (Asahi TV), and フジテレビ (Fuji TV). There are also a number of channels which appear and disappear every once in a while, including a few radio stations.
That's it for now. I hope these tools can help you along your journey to fluency!
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