Help me get started D:
i have NO idea where to start. i have never attempted to learn japanese before, and i have no idea about the kanji and hika-something.
What should i start with?
or can someone help teach me ? lol
What should i start with?
or can someone help teach me ? lol
posted by iiSydd December 24, 2010 at 1:01pm
Comments 4
- Ryumatori December 24, 2010 at 4:05pmI would start with learning Hiragana and Katakana. Check out this site -> smart.fm and try some hiragana/katakana practise. Within a week if you keep at it you will get the hang of it.
- iiSydd December 25, 2010 at 2:40amAlright, thank you!! (:
- kiss_nana January 11, 2011 at 10:20amWhat Ryumatori said :)I’ve studied japanese in the past so if you have trouble with grammer, feel free to contact me for help!
- WillemStyle February 9, 2011 at 9:39pmLike mentioned before, the very beginning contains learning the Hiragana and Katakana syllabries(alphabeth).
To get started, learn some basic things about the Japanese culture and style. While it's something different then the language itself, it will help you create a picture when you are learning the language. What I did was search the internet for information and stories about the country. I also watch anime, which helps you get some knowledge about the culture.
When you have a basic idea about their culture, start learning Hiragana and Katakana. I would suggest you to learn Katakana first, and immediately afterwards the Hiragana. Many Japanese words that are written in Katakana are recognizable in other languages, most of the times the english language.
Take for example the word Beer. Written in Katakana, it sounds like Biiru. This way you can regognize these words faster. Hiragana is used for pure japanese words and names, so it's essential you learn Hiragana too.
Don't worry about Kanji. There are around 50.000 (i might be slightly wrong) different Kanji to learn, so knowing them is not essential on early stages of learning Japanese. This site helps alot learning many different kanji, but if you really want to know how kanji works, how these characters are built-up and in which stroke order you should write them, there are many websites explaining the basics.
Back to the point, if you have learned Hiragana and Katakana, it's time to start learning basic words. Think of words like Konnichiha (hello), Gomen nasai (i'm sorry), Watashi no namae wa xxx (My name is xxx) etc..
After mastering the basics, it's time to understand some grammar.
Start with particles (like Ha, No, Ni, Ga, Wo). Particles contain only one hiragana character, and are used to connect japanese words and give them a meaning.
For example, the word No is "Posessive", that means you own something. Example: Watashi no hon = My book, Takarabako no kagi = The key of the treasure chest, Neko no mimi = The cat's ears etc..
Anyways, this is a huge wall of text.
Feel free to ask me the basics. (i'm still learning the language too, heck i can't even understand japanese people yet, so don't expect me to know everything)