danlearnjapanese

[danlearnjapanese]

I'm PRETTY sure Pokemon games on the Switch use a Japanese keyboard due to how selecting languages is in-game (Skyrim keeps you using an English one even though everything is in Japanese).

I mention this because I'm hoping to practice Katakana by using it exclusively for my Pokemon names, and not necessarily names that mean anything beyond "these are Katakana I need to practice".

For example, a reply on a previous post brought up the difficulty of differentiating フワウ (Fu-wa-u), and ソツシン (so-tsu-shi-n), so I plot for those to be pokemon whose names I say when used.

"Fu-wa-u, GO!"

Just have pokemon pummel Katakana into my mind brain.

#pokemon #pokemon 日本語 #katakana

[danlearnjapanese]

I have to do the unthinkable.

I have to... I HAVE TO...

Actually learn Katakana properly in spite of it being less frequent because it still pops up everywhere like a speed bump.

I have some manga (well, three volumes of Bofuri) and games with Furigana now, so Katakana has suddenly become more of an obstacle to reading practice than Kanji 🙃

Below are many practice charts, which is how I went about Hiragana. I basically read through them as fast as I can. With Hiragana, I gradually added to which ones I read each day, so that's what I'm also going to do with Katakana.

EDIT: I should note in the "W" column, it doesn't match up with the vowels on the right. It's Wa, Wo, and N. I THINK I was mimicking how it was written elsewhere.

I guess I may as well include the ones I made for Hiragana. I was worried about having too many images, but each of these are relatively small, so... It's fine. It's probably fine.

#katakana #oh nyoooooooo~! #hiragana #日本語 #Japanese reading practice

[danlearnjapanese]

何こいつ･･･やばくね？

Dissecting this sentence from the Bofuri manga is interesting to me. 🤔

“Nani koitsu… yabaku ne?”

The English manga localized it as

“How the—Is she cheating?”

The original doesn’t mention cheating. It’s more like “what is this person? That’s not normal, right?” with the “what is this person” phrased rudely, according to Jisho.

I find “nani koitsu” interesting, because I assume that’s not a common way to ask who someone is. 誰ですか (dare desu ka), or something like it, is what I’d expect.

Anyway, now I’m going to be on the lookout for 何こいつ. See how wrong I am about it’s commonality 😉

#日本語 vocab #bofuri

[danlearnjapanese]

いただきます！

I probably shouldn’t use an English word for remembering a Japanese expression, but “itadakimasu” is said before eating, it starts with an “eat” sound, and realizing that has suddenly made it really easy for me to remember, whereas before it just did not stick 🙃

#日本語 vocab

[danlearnjapanese]

Holy carp. Okay, it’s VERY small text, but I got the first three Bofuri manga in Japanese, and it uses Furigana! Hiragana next to EVERY KANJI!

Absurdly SMALL Hiragana. This is smaller than English manga volumes…

GASP! I actually have a reason to use those clip-on magnifying glasses I bought gods only knows how long ago!

(Soon) I am SO near-sighted with these on, BUT EVERYTHING NEAR MY FACE IS HUGE

Anyway, what’s important is I CAN READ THIS! I might not know all the words, but just being able to read the characters is a huge first step.

Also, I need to remember these lenses are an option for other things, like Switch games.

#yay furigana #bofuri

[danlearnjapanese]

気

I keep noticing this elephant, so I assume it’s a common kanji.

(Note: Not an elephant)

Which is actually fantastic, because it only has three readings, and two of them are the same: ki.

Kun: Ki き

On: Ki キ, Ke ケ

So pretty good odds on getting it right, or close to right (ki Vs ke).

I first noticed this kanji due to skyrim. Ice effects in it use 冷気 (reiki), and it stood out for looking like an elephant to me, so it made me think of mammoths.

Pretty easy to remember mammoths in Skyrim 🦣

#skyrim 日本語 #skyrim #kanji

[danlearnjapanese]

Attempting to keep track of where a Japanese audiobook is while looking at the Japanese text is a daunting task for me, but I was already doing better by the end of the first chapter.

This is supposed to be a “toss Dan into the deep end” thing. It’s similar to Skyrim in that regard, but it’s a lot easier to control.

For example, with this book, I can select a chapter, and repeat. Over and over again.

In Skyrim, it’s just “I think I heard ‘sanzoku’? Guess I’ve got bandits to take care of,” and getting a handle on item descriptions without in-game audio.

Ultimately, I do like playing Japanese Skyrim, but I think the book thing will be of more immediate help. Plus getting used to following the text will help with subtitles.

In theory, anyway. This light novel is PROPER Right to Left with Sentences going Up -> Down. It’s quite different to what I’m used to.

#light novel

[danlearnjapanese]

(Has read Tearmoon Empire light novel in English. Knows the story pretty well.)

(Has Tearmoon Empire ebook in the original Japanese open, found for Kindle using the evil of the Amazon app, and choosing Japanese language while searching)

(Also has unabridged Tearmoon Empire audiobook in the original Japanese, acquired similarly, ready to play at 0.7x speed)

(Hears boss music)

#light novel #tearmoon empire #listening practice #reading practice

[danlearnjapanese]

I mean… The lesson vocabulary was limited, and that includes which numbers could be put in this sentence, but… 🙃

#duolingo 日本語 #duolingo japanese #duolingo

[danlearnjapanese]

I finally learned how to type small characters on their own in Japanese (at least on what I’m using).

It’s just start with x.

Want っ instead of つ? write xtsu. Huzzah. Done.

This was something I learned thanks to wanting to write ティアムーン帝国物語 (Tearmoon Empire Story), so…

Thanks, Tearmoon Empire! I was nearly driven to madness trying to type ティア 😵‍💫

#typing 日本語 #typing #tearmoon empire #anime and manga #anime vocabulary

[danlearnjapanese]

Really common words and phrases are helpful while listening to Japanese dialogue. Too bad they don’t help with READING dialogue.

“Why can’t they?”

Eh? What’s that, brain?

“Why can’t you learn the kanji used in common phrases? That would help with reading dialogue, wouldn’t it?”

…GASP!

“Seriously, how did it take this long to realize you should learn the kanji for stuff like ‘daijōbu’?”

#learning tactics #kanji

[danlearnjapanese]

第7話

My understanding is this is how you’d say “episode 7”, and it’d be “dai # wa”.

So

第7話 = だいななわ　

The reason I felt like posting, though, is because 話 is also used for talking, and I’m just weirdly excited to naturally encounter it in another context.

#kanji

[danlearnjapanese]

I thought Duolingo for Japanese was okay, but at some point when I was taking a break from it, they changed the course in baffling ways.

It's kind of terrible, which is unfortunate, because I like the gamification, but it's a bit trash if it's not using Kanji.

That, and since they changed the order in which things are taught, if you were in the middle of progressing, you're expected to know words you weren't actually taught, and you're arguably not *really* where they say you are in the progression.

My initial response to the changes were to not be too bothered by them, but once I really knew what they'd done, they kind of ruined the reading comprehension aspect of it?

Which is EXTRA weird, because they added a separate kanji section, which is neat, but if the kanji isn't part of lessons, that's not sticking.

#duolingo #duolingo japanese #duolingo 日本語

[danlearnjapanese]

I’m now annoyed at Duolingo for not throwing Kanji at me.

Like, gradually learning them through natural usage is good, and it’s mostly using Hiragana for things I know have kanji.

I get it wants to make sure I know Hiragana, but there’s a furigana option >_<

#duolingo #duolingo japanese #duolingo 日本語

[danlearnjapanese]

Duolingo pronunciations seem off today.

そのひとはやさしいです。

sono hito wa yasashii desu

hito isn’t being pronounced right at all. Earlier, kasa was pronounced kata.

It seems like misreadings of kanji are happening, but with Hiragana?

#duolingo 日本語 #duolingo #duolingo japanese

[danlearnjapanese]

Oh wow. None of the changes I made to my spreadsheet yesterday were saved. The excel app just decided to close the spreadsheet (annoying in and of itself) without saving even once in spite of autosave being on? The heck?

Switching to manual, I guess >_<

#excel

[danlearnjapanese]

From one of my Skyrim Japanese spreadsheets. I don’t want any english on there, hence the emoji.

Most of these are prompts you’ll get when facing something, such as 話す for talking to someone. The exception is 空き, which is what’s shown when something is empty.

Some of the emoji are “welp, this is the best I can think of,” such as the first one that’s for 使う. That prompt will come up with things like levers, so I tried to imply pressing a button.

I actually wrote these a while ago (without the emoji), and I’m not sure when 作動 comes up, but it’s apparently for, like, operating machines, so… Hand with… A Gear?

Seems unsafe.

There was only one door emoji, so I paired them with folders for opening and closing.

盗む is “nusumu”, and I think that’s great. It means stealing, and it’s JUST occurred to me that the emoji I used would probably be good for pickpocketing instead? This gets tricky.

Anyway, that’s just the sort of nonsense I get up to on my days off: Spreadsheets with Japanese and emoji.

I am a party animal.

#skyrim 日本語 #skyrim