(fonts • real-time import feature)
-Download Anki: http://ankisrs.net
-Download the Core 2K/6K deck here (it already has sounds included):
https://mega.nz/#!QIQywAAZ!g6wRM6KvDVmLxq7X5xLrvaw7HZGyYULUkT_YDtQdgfU
-Add it to Anki (drag and drop/'Import File' button on the bottom of Anki window/Ctrl+I).
-Download media the deck uses (Card images):
http://www.mediafire.com/download/nrvpcx9a766nh1t/core2k-image.munged.rar
-Unrar the media content and paste into your Anki 'collection.media' folder (remember to paste files, not a folder with files). Every file should by default have following access path:
C:\Users\_____\Documents\Anki\_____\collection.media
-Add the card images to the card format: Hit "Browse" -> Navigate to the Core deck on the left sidebar -> Hit the "Cards..." button -> Add {{Sentence-Image}} under the
at the bottom of the "Back Template" section.
Remove the review limit by going to the deck options and under the "Reviews" tab and setting "Maximum reviews/day" to 9999 (Don't be alarmed by this number, it likely won't go above 200-350 in the long run at decent retention with 20-30 new cards a day, the point is more to set it to something you'll never hit)
-Learn.
diff --git a/assets/res/vn_difficulty.png b/assets/res/vn_difficulty.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ff8339 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/res/vn_difficulty.png differ diff --git a/cor.html b/cor.html index 445cd27..3ba4b5e 100644 --- a/cor.html +++ b/cor.html @@ -2048,6 +2048,7 @@ Vocabulary deck: Front: word (kanji). Back: translation, reading, component kanjLive Google docs version found here
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-Now what do I do to actually learn Japanese?
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- -Traveling to Japan to talk with natives, watching raw anime, and reading manga and novels before they’re translated all require the same fundamental skills and knowledge. While this guide is not going to be enough to teach you these skills, it will give you an idea of how to go about acquiring them.
With the basics covered in this guide you can get started with reading the written language, which you can then use to gain a more thorough understanding of Japanese. That being said, you should not hesitate to practice listening or speaking if you wish to do so. This guide only aims to introduce you to the Japanese language and show you how to get started. The rest is up to you.
-The Japanese writing system consists of three scripts: hiragana, katakana and kanji.
- -Hiragana and katakana, together referred to as the kana, are two phonetic scripts, each containing 46 characters. They represent the same sounds, but are used for different purposes.
@@ -86,131 +74,100 @@Hiragana will be your bread and butter for reading anything in Japanese. The approach to Japanese presented in this guide, as well as all the resources linked (except for those about the kana), are intended for people who can at least read hiragana. Thus, hiragana is the first thing that you are expected you learn.
-Kanji are the third part of the Japanese writing system, and by far the most extensive. These logographic characters of varying complexity represent words or parts of words in conjunction with the kana. Japanese high school students are required to learn at least 2136 kanji as part of the curriculum, but around 3,000 are used in all facets of life.
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-Learning grammar is straightforward: Pick a grammar guide and read it. Tae Kim is often recommended for beginners (note that the whole guide is basic grammar, even the “advanced” section), but other options are listed on the resources page. You shouldn't expect to memorise everything you read the first time around in whatever guide you choose, but you should be aiming to understand it. The purpose of a grammar guide is not to grant you "mastery" over the language (which only comes through lots of practice and exposure), but simply to introduce you to the fundamentals of the language and give you the foundation that you need to start reading native material.
Once you've reached the end of the guide, you can start reading Japanese material while consulting back to the guide to solidify your memory. By reading Japanese you are actively practicing your grammar since you are using it constantly to understand what you are reading. Manga is the common recommendation for first getting into reading, especially Yotsubato. You may also consider doing the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar Anki deck to reinforce what you have learned.
This isn't the end of grammar. Tae Kim should serve you fine for the easiest manga, but it only covers the most common grammar. The Dictionaries of Japanese Grammar are the go-to resource for anything not covered in Tae Kim; they and various other options are documented in the resources section. If you’re looking to reinforce or refresh what you learned in Tae Kim, then the Visualizing Japanese Grammar video series (written and presented by a native Japanese linguist) is an excellent resource.
- -Anki is a flashcard program that helps you acquire vocabulary through spaced repetition. It is commonly used in conjunction with the Core2K/6K vocabulary deck by beginners to build up a basic vocabulary of common words in preparation for reading. Many people stop the Core2K/6K deck after reaching 2000 words; partly because the first 2000 words (Core2K) are a lot more common than the rest, and partly because of the significant time investment involved in completing Core6K. As you can expect even Core2K to take about 3 months to complete, some prefer to skip it and begin reading native material immediately. Whether or not you feel that the time investment is worth it depends on your tolerance for looking up unknown words. After finishing Core2K, you’ll at least know the majority of words in a given sentence, but you will still have to look up many words per page.
After completing Core2K (or skipping it entirely), some people begin a "mining deck". A mining deck is a vocabulary deck which you build up yourself with the unknown words that you encounter while reading. The Firefox add-on Rikaisama simplifies this process to a single key press, so that all you need to do to add a card to your deck is hover over a word and press "r" (instructions here and here).
- -You will need to learn all three writing systems to be able to read native material. Since hiragana and katakana are relatively small in number and simple in design, they can be learned through rote repetition in a short time-frame using a site like DJT Kana. For kanji, however, because of their great number and complexity, there are various opinions on how to best approach them.
None of the methods described below are objectively superior to the others. The most important thing about any given method is not how "efficient" it is, but whether or not you enjoy it, or at the very least feel motivated enough to see it through to completion. Don't be afraid to try out different methods and see what works best for you.
- -There are two main ways to approach kanji. The simplest is to learn whole words without studying the individual kanji. The other is to study each kanji in isolation to learn its meaning and composition. Studying isolated kanji can grant you the ability to write by hand, and will most likely have a positive effect on your vocabulary retention. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you will benefit enough from learning kanji in isolation to merit the time and effort it takes.
- -If you choose not to study kanji in isolation, you will still learn to recognize their meanings and readings as you learn new words. Learning new words is something you need to do anyway, so many people skip individual kanji study altogether. Either approach will result in success so long as you persist, so the choice comes down to what method you personally find easier. If you don't want to study kanji, you can likely work through a vocab deck without doing so. But if you are slow to pick up on kanji while learning vocabulary or have poor retention, consider studying kanji individually.
+ + +The mnemonics method uses short stories or images to break down the kanji and make them easy to remember. Commonly used resources that encourage mnemonics are Remembering the Kanji, KanjiDamage and the Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course. Each has its own set of mnemonics and slightly distinct methods, so you should glance through each and pick whichever suits you — it's ultimately not that important. For more information and the necessary Anki decks, see the resources page.
- -Kanji can also be learnt simply by writing or reviewing them repetitively. You should first familiarize yourself with the radicals that kanji are composed of, as explained in “Radical approach” below. An Anki deck with production/recall-type cards could be very conducive to this method since, rather than writing out characters at random, you would instead be frequently writing out the ones you're struggling to remember, while only occasionally writing out ones which you remember consistently. The general consensus is that the readings for the characters should be learned through vocabulary, so you should just focus on associating each kanji with its meaning(s). If you're struggling with a particular kanji, don't be afraid to make up a mnemonic based on its radicals.
- -If you choose not to study kanji in isolation, you will still eventually learn to recognize their meanings and readings as you learn new words. Learning new words is something you need to do anyway, so many people skip individual kanji study altogether. Either approach will result in success so long as you persist, so the choice comes down to what method you personally find easier. If you don't want to study kanji, you can likely work through a vocab deck without doing so. But if you are slow to pick up on kanji while learning vocabulary or have poor retention, consider studying kanji individually. It's a trade-off between starting out with "more vocabulary now, smaller foundation" or "more foundation now, less vocabulary".
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For those who feel that methods like RTK and KanjiDamage take too much time, but don't feel confident diving head-first into kanji as with the kanji-through-vocab approach described above, one method to consider is simply dedicating a week or two to studying radicals - the 200 or so building-blocks which make up the kanji. This approach, rather than teaching you to write and recognise a set of ~2000 common kanji, gives your brain the information it needs to mentally deconstruct the kanji it encounters into their base components, which may make it easier for you to both learn to recognise them and to avoid mixing them up with other kanji which look similar. In any case, it should stop your brain from seeing them as simply a bunch of random squiggles. You can find an Anki deck here which contains all of the radicals, along with their meanings in English.
-A guide to the resources mentioned in this guide can be found here.
An extensive collection of resources for download can be found here.
-How long does it take to learn Japanese?
@@ -264,7 +221,7 @@ -Words only include the dictionary form. Proper nouns and compound words are excluded. For a different study addressing the related question of how many words you need to know to achieve adequate comprehension, see this image.
+Words only include the dictionary form. Proper nouns and compound words are excluded. For a different study addressing the related question of how many words you need to know to achieve adequate comprehension, see this image. (This won't directly correspond to the number of words you need to learn in Anki, since many words have obvious meanings and readings.)
These two words have the same reading, and meaning. How do I distinguish them, and why is Japan trying to fuck me?
diff --git a/resource guide.html b/resource guide.html index 4a6145a..f42e35d 100644 --- a/resource guide.html +++ b/resource guide.html @@ -20,49 +20,47 @@Live Google docs version found here
This is an appendix to the DJT guide. It is based on the old guide. Commonly recommended resources are marked with an ※. There is no "correct" way of learning, so you should try out the resources appropriate for your level and see which one you feel is best.
-Reading List - This is a list of books, games and manga which we have compiled. You can sort through the list by skill, platform, etc. We recommend you have a look, regardless of skill level. Please contribute anything you read as well to it so it can become a better resource. A particularly detailed summary is not needed.
@@ -181,7 +179,7 @@Asenheim - Another site for playing visual novels. Features older, officially released Visual novels.
-Kitsunekko - This site has a selection of Japanese subtitles for popular (anime) shows. The timing often does not match up with most available downloads, but you can try to retime it in a subtitle editing program or just look at it in the editor to compare with what you hear. There is a spreadsheet with shows and their subtitle delay, please fill in whatever you find out while using Japanese subtitles.
@@ -191,7 +189,7 @@Mov3 - A Chinese site like Fengyunzhibo specializing in Japanese TV.
-Lang-8 - Here, you can write journal entries which are corrected by Japanese natives, and in return, you correct theirs. This is a great way to increase your writing/production ability and also meet people to talk to.
@@ -203,7 +201,7 @@Radio shows - Radio shows provide a variety of themes and people speaking. But people also speak at a natural or even fast pace. Recommended for advanced listeners or people simply interested in listening to radio.
-Nyaa - If you type in the Japanese name, you can find the raw version of whatever media you are looking for most of the time. If what you’re looking for is ero, use this. Note that most VNs will contain ero, and sometimes even non-ero VNs are uploaded to Sukebei instead of the main site.
@@ -221,12 +219,6 @@Let's Learn Japanese Basic I / Basic II - A video series produced by The Japan Foundation, the first season in the mid-1980s, and the second season 10 years later. Apparently covers similar material to what can be found in Genki and Tae Kim's guide.
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