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Study Japanese by Yourselves

Learning a new language isn’t easy. It takes years to fully grasp it. But what more difficult is when you have to study a language with a totally different writing system from what you’ve been used to. Some of these languages are Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, etc.Studying Japanese language is a trend nowadays especially for young professional who wishes to build a career in one of the most progressive country in the world, Japan. For individuals who can’t find time or can’t afford to enroll into a decent language class, you’re left with no option but self studying. I find self studying as advantageous because you’ve got to be the teacher and the student at the same time. However, studying by yourself requires you to be more resourceful than ever, and of course, keep believing in yourself and lots of motivation.

For beginners, I suggest you start first with the basic writing system; Hiragana and Katakana. That way, you’ll know the correct pronunciations and spelling of Japanese word. For Filipinos, like me, Japanese pronunciations is very easy, it’s like Tagalog with a little variations. Try to write the each character with the right stroke and you’ll never hard time memorizing it. Simply picturing it in your head can cause you some confusion especially for those characters that look alike.

When you are already familiar with hiragana and katakana, it’ll be better if you have something to read written in kana. Try to visit http://study.u-biq.org; they have a Japanese tutorial that is plainly written in katakana and hiragana for beginners. I think its best when you’ll study basic Japanese grammar in written in Japanese. It’s learning new things and a practice for your reading skill at the same time. The site also offers online test to measure your progress in learning the language.

If you think you’re ready to move your level up, fill up your heads with kanji! Personally, I love kanji very much! It’s a Chinese character which also comprises the Japanese writing system. What’s so exciting with kanji in Japanese is that each character has the Japanese reading (kunyomi) and Chinese reading (onyomi) and there are about more than 6,000 kanji used in the Japanese language! For people like me who have been used with roman characters (the abc), kanji is really mind boggling but if you’ll just have patience to scrutinize each character and you’ll find out that complicated-looking kanji is only derived from combinations of simple kanjis arranged in a specific manner. These arrangements when disintegrate will give you that meaning of that particular kanji based from the combined meaning of the different kanjis it was comprised of. I really recommend for you to try this, and I’m sure you’ll be amazed with your analytical skill and fall in love with kanji like me! Aside from that, some kanjis are too literal. Their appearance bluntly tells you its meaning, just use your imagination with those stick-like figures.

For kanji practice, I find jlpt-kanji.com very helpful. They just didn’t simply show each kanji’s meaning and reading but also words that are frequently used with the presence of that particular kanji. Besides, it’s also a good training ground for those who want to take the Japanese Proficiency Language Test (JLPT).

Are you afraid of Japanese websites? Or didn’t trust your Japanese reading proficiency? Well, start changing your internet browser and use Mozilla Firefox. Firefox offers use of plug-ins and it’s nice to know that there is a plug-in that can read Japanese when your cursor moves above it. Download rikaichan plug-in and dictionary in polarcloud.com and start hang around and learn more about Japan with Japanese websites. This plug-in will be enable by toggling the rikaichan on (right click your mouse while using firefox) and viola! There will be a pop a tray that will describe you the word’s meaning and reading in detail.

There are also electronic dictionary that lets you write or draw kanji as input and it will search its contents for the all the entries that contains that kanji. It also illustrates example in different situations. I bought my electronic dictionary in kakaku.com, just look for 電子辞書（でんしじしょ）and choose from variety of selections that will fit to your interest and budget. It’s a bit expensive but if you’re a die- hard to learn Japanese, it’s really worth the price. And most of these electronic dictionaries are bundle of with so many features that will help you survive in Japan.

Jazz up your learning capabilities; plunge yourself by watching Japanese movies and anime. But while doing so, try to hide the English subtitle so you won’t be tempted to read it. Enjoy listening to Japan’s fascinating music genre.

Patience and practice are very good ingredient towards perfection. There are lots of websites offering Japanese tutorials, so go and utilize what the world’s widest dictionary can offer you!

皆一緒に、日本語の勉強を頑張りましょ！(Let’s all study Japanese with our best!)