3 months of studying Japanese

So I’ve been studying Japanese for some time. But not significantly.

I’ve a 1700 day Duolingo streak, however I’m actually not studying a language with it.

At this level, Duoling is one thing little I do each single day as a behavior. No matter how unhealthy my life will get, or how nice – I all the time spend a lil time doing it.

Problem is: I simply kinda repeat the identical classes over and over. I swap languages rather a lot. Hawaiian, Klingon, Spanish, French and so on…. It’s not all the time Japanese, and it is all the time the straightforward stuff I already know.

So 1700 days is rather a lot, however actually I’ve not learnt something.

For me, I’ve actually solely been studying Japanese for 3 months. Since December of 2023.

This weblog publish is about my progress, my metholodgies and my plans. It’s additionally a information for youthful me who was wanting up assets.

Techniques

Ok so my approach is AJATT / MIA / Refold / Migaku / Fluent Forever / blah blah blah

They all do the identical factor, actually.

The premise is mainly this:

1. Learn a core set of phrases

Every language has perhaps 1000, 1500 phrases that come up in practically each sentence.

Just brute power them.

2. Learn primary grammr

Maybe learn a textbook, watch Youtube or one thing.

Note: This is controversial for AJATT followers however these persons are typical neckbeard anime lovers who refuse to bathe as a result of it takes time away from anime so you possibly can safely ignore them.

3. Immerse

Read, watch, and sport as a lot as you bodily can.

Ok so let’s truly go into these.

Learn the core phrases

Zipf’s regulation states that … okay gonna be sincere the precise definition is kinda boring.

Basically Zipf’s regulation states that round 80% of all phrases utilized in a language are the identical 20% of phrases (just like Pareto. Yes I’ve dumbed this down).

So should you simply be taught the core 20% of phrases, you will make huge features.

For Japanese, if you already know 200 Kanji you possibly can examine 50% of Kanji in any given textual content.

So the entire level of that is to bash by means of the core phrases to learn perhaps 50% of phrases in textual content, which supplies you an enormous headstart and allows you to immerse simpler.

In Japanese the present finest deck to make use of is Kaishi 1.5k:

GitHub – donkuri/Kaishi: Kaishi 1.5k is a contemporary, modular Japanese Anki deck made for inexperienced persons who wish to be taught primary vocabulary.

Kaishi 1.5k is a contemporary, modular Japanese Anki deck made for inexperienced persons who wish to be taught primary vocabulary. – donkuri/Kaishi

This title of “finest deck to make use of” modifications rather a lot, and I imagine Migaku could have a fairly good deck as soon as it is launched.

Others embrace:

Pretty a lot everybody makes use of Anki, so you must use it too. There is not actually any alterantives nearly as good. I suppose should you completely hated Anki you would use Wanikani or JPDB or one thing.

I exploit Anki as a result of it isn’t that tough and I can customise each apsect of my learnign expertise to go well with me.

Also… Anki is a spaced repition system.

Humans overlook issues, rather a lot.

Anki’s job is to try to guess if you’ll overlook one thing and present you the flashcard proper earlier than then, combating the forgetting curve.

If you utilize Anki, use FSRS.

fsrs4anki/docs/tutorial.md at essential · open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki

A contemporary Anki customized scheduling based mostly on free spaced repetition scheduler algorithm – open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki

It’s the finest spaced repition algorithm on this planet

This signifies that:

• It reveals you the least quantity of flashcards per day so it would not overwhelm you

BUT

• It optimises them in such a manner so that you doubtless always remember them

Doing Anki kinda sucks.

I might recommend doing 5 new playing cards a day simply to make it right into a behavior.

After 30 days, improve new playing cards steadily till you are snug.

Use the Heatmapp addon too which reveals you your present streak amongst different issues.

And that is kinda it for this stage….

Just do playing cards on a regular basis and you must be taught Japanese!

If you discover Kanji onerous, you possibly can truly simply research them individually.

Many folks on this metholdogy cry “No do not do it! {man who hasn’t showered in 6 months} says to not do it!!11”

The factor is, should you truly learn what earlier verions of them wrote / did they kinda did research particular person kanji.

They say “I by no means studied particular person Kanji”, then you definately watch a youtube video from 10 years in the past they usually very clearly have an Anki deck for particular person kanji.

Quite a lot of these folks say issues like “Don’t research kanji, purchase this anki deck I made and you will be taught them naturally ;)”

There is a few fact to this….

I seen now I’m kinda recgonising Kanji by simply seeing it in vocab rather a lot.

However, if by studying 200 Kanji you find out about 50% of probably the most incessantly used ones – does it not make senes to review them individually at the least a little bit?

Learn grammar

Another factor some hardcore AJATTers say is “do not be taught grammar”. What are you, silly?

Sure, you possibly can naturally take in grammar with 1000’s of hours.

Or you would learn an intro grammar information, be taught 50% of the grammar that is used on a regular basis in just some days and transfer on??

I recommend Tae Kim’s information.

Personally I went by means of it and sentence mined the examples into Anki so I can bear in mind them.

The entrance is the sentence with phrases I do know.

So If I do know what the sentence says, I’ll cross it. Else I’ll be taught the grammar within the card once more.

No must spend weeks and weeks studying grammar to be sincere.

Grammar is bizarre. Look at this English sentence:

“Are you alright love like?”

We name issues which modify a sentence a grammar particle. I guess most of you learn “Like” and questioned why it is there.

It’s as a result of it is a grammar particle from the North of England.

You didn’t must know this to learn the sentence, and now you have learnt one thing new too.

Same with Japanese. There will all the time be bizarre grammar particles that even natives do not know. Why trouble studying every thing about grammar?

Learn sufficient to learn sentences, after which construct up a psychological mannequin of those weirder, lesser-used grammar particles.

Immerse

Now we have reached the enjoyable half! Immersion!

Unlike some who imagine (AjATTers…) you wouldn’t have to immerse 24/7.

Please, if your own home is on fireplace you possibly can skip attempting to talk Japanese to the 911 operator.

It’s essential you perceive that there are some proper weirdos on this group.

If their nan fell down the steps and wanted pressing assist they’d scream at her till she tried to talk Japanese to them to maintain the immersion clock ticking.

This just isn’t enjoyable immersion.

You know what’s enjoyable? Playing Stardew Valley in Japanese. Watching your favorite animes in Japanese. Flexing in your associates that you just’re immersing in Japanese on BeReal.

My studying routine is mainly “relive my extremely weeby 14 yr previous previous by watching anime all day” and I find it irresistible, as a result of now as an alternative of claiming:

“I spent all evening watching anime”

I can say:

“I spent all evening finding out japanese”

BUT for it to be finding out… you might want to do some issues broski.

You can simply watch anime, however there’s some issues you possibly can right here to actually assist future you.

Now, you have been utilizing Anki for each vocabulary and grammar.

What should you simply… continued utilizing that to recollect your immersion?

We name this the loop.

1. You do your Anki evaluations
2. You immerse (learn, sport, watch)
3. You lookup unknown phrases / grammar
4. You want new phrases / grammar to Anki
5. Go again to (1).

You do for this a number of years… you are fluent.

How do I mine vocabuary / grammar into Anki?

Ok so beforehand you downloaded somebody elses vocab playing cards.

Now here is the scary half. You’ll must make your personal playing cards.

Not to fret, there are quite a lot of guides on-line that promise to get you up and operating in 5 minutes ᵂᶦᵗʰ ʲᵘˢᵗ ³ ʷᵉᵉᵏˢ ᵒᶠ ⁿᵒⁿ⁻ˢᵗᵒᵖ ᵈᵉᵇᵘᵍᵍᶦⁿᵍ

Instead of crying and attempting your hardest to get some bizarre Yomitan setup you would simply use Migaku.

Sure it prices cash, however you are able to do every thing you possibly can in a Yomitan setup and extra for simply £8 a month. And you do not have to spend weeks of your life setting it up / fixing it when it breaks.

Trust me. I’m a gigachad 100x engineer.

If I wished to, I couldn’t solely set these things up (I’ve) however contribute code to make these instruments higher.

I may do that. You may do that.

Or you would as an alternative pay a small charge of £8 per thirty days and use that point to as an alternative immerse and be taught the language.

Something I see rather a lot in my job is junior coders pondering they will simply code an answer to any downside. You can, however would your time be price it?

If it takes you say 1 day a month to keep up Yomitan, and your time is price £50 per day – a device like Migaku which is price £8 a month is clearly price it.

You can use Yomitan should you like. Or you possibly can develop into a gigachad and simply pay another person to deal with the tooling when you truly be taught the language.

I exploit Migaku with Anki. You can use Migaku’s flashcard system if you need. I select Anki becasue I’m your common autistic trans coder woman who though would not wish to go 100% autism mode on tooling does wish to go 30% autism mode.

okay so heres what i would do to develop into an gigachad prime dawg

1. be taught hiragana and katakana – idc how and neither ought to u. simply bruteforce it till u get perhaps 80% of it proper. i nonetheless get katakana flawed to today lmao.
2. pay for migaku and do the migaku reminiscence course on Japanese. This teaches you grammar AND phrases on the similar time.
   1. i personally would additionally do kaishi on the similar time however that is perhaps hardcore u know
3. learn tadoku stage 1

☝️ i put this by means of mokuro so i may mine it too

4. learn a few of stage 2. in some unspecified time in the future you’ll really feel okay.
5. learn su & taichan, its really easy and humorous and that i find it irresistible.
6. after u learn this, learn the authors subsequent work “chii’s candy residence” which is tougher but additionally extra coronary heart breaking
7. learn yotsuba

You basucally wish to do that:

okay from right here u know what to do. learn extra watch extra mine extra anki extra.

okay so its been 5 months!

i forgot to jot down this for two months! so now i have been studying for 3!

i’ve spent round 200 hours studying japanese to date:

in my mining deck i’ve:

573 phrases i do know

however between this and kaishi…

and migaku reminiscence….

I most likely know extra like 800 phrases?

As for grammar who is aware of. I feel I learn at an N4 stage, however not tremendous fluently. I lookup quite a lot of phrases however its extra like

Hmmm.. This phrase means play, this grammar means not taking part in, this particle means “in” and this phrase i dont know.. so they aren’t taking part in in someplace?

Like, I am unable to translate sentences into English, I simply get the overall really feel of the sentence and theres quite a lot of phrases I do not know, you already know?

On prime of this I’m studying Yotsuba proper now, which has a lot slang!

I don’t really feel like I do know 800 phrases. If I needed to guess I’d perhaps solely know 10 😂

But additionally when I’ve examined my English it says I do know round 16,000 phrases. I don’t really feel like I do know that many phrases, that is so many! I really feel like I do know perhaps 1000, 2000 phrases.

Language is so bizarre.

I’m sitting N5 in 3 months, however but once I take a look at the questions I do not likely know them so effectively. I suppose the language in JLPT is decrease frequency than what I’m studying, so I do not understand it too effectively.

Time will inform 🤷‍♀️

What I can say is I’m having a lot enjoyable studying manga, watching anime, and studying the occasional touch upon Youtube / Twitter.

My essential objectives are:

• Read japanese books in japanese
• Watch anime in japanese (that is everyones objective, lol)
• Read manga in japanese
• perceive japanese effectively sufficient to learn 2chan, the unique 4chan 😂

i dont actually care about JLPT scores, however I’d as effectively do them to benchmark myself.

if you wish to observe together with a extra in-depth research log, I’ve one right here!

👻 Autumn’s High Tech Study Log ✨ Learning Japanese on the pace of sunshine with tech 🫨

Maybe my final publish on right here for every week… I’m tremendous busy recently and with my vacation subsequent week I’m placing WK on trip mode 🙂 I’ll nonetheless be studying manga although and doing anki ✅