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Will learning Romaji be enough? 2009/1/28 02:50
I have been trying to learn Japanese through my Japanese coach on the nintendo ds. Plus I also have a few CDs from pimsleur. I can speak romaji with a perfect accent and also writing hiragana isn't a problem. However reading hiragana is. I plan on staying for two weeks in Tokyo in September of
this year and I'm not sure if I'll be able
to understand the language by then. I
have been writing everything down from my Japanese coach I'm just not sure of
what to memorize?
by Phoenix21  

... 2009/1/28 09:44
Romaji isn't used much outside of the place names on signs. You will be much better served learning hiragana and katakana before coming over. Don't worry, they are easy to learn and you can do it in just a few days.

Reading them reliably, however, takes practice, and from what I've heard about My Japanese Coach one of its biggest criticisms is that it uses romaji extensively. This may be good for english learners to get a quicker grasp of pronunciation however it will hurt you in the long run as Japanese is pretty much never written in romaji.

I'd recommend either getting a book that uses hiragana/katakana instead of romaji, the Japanese for busy people kana edition comes to mind, or at the very least when you study with My Japanese Coach, practice writing out the vocab on paper in kana even if you must enter it in romaji in the game.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

I'm answering many a question today! 2009/1/28 13:42
Definitely take the time to learn hiragana and katakana. If you can read katakana you will be able to correctly identify many products at the supermarket etc.
by The Man, the myth (guest) rate this post as useful

Drop Romaji 2009/1/28 14:32
You should try and drop romaji as early as possible. All you really need it for is learning how to pronounce the sounds of the kana. After that it really isn't of much use and could become too much of a crutch.

If you move on to learning kanji, good books will show you in hiragana how the kanji is pronounced.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

enough for what? 2009/1/28 16:22
It all depends on what you want to accomplish in Japanese. If you plan to continue studying for awhile and try to become fluent, you should definitely ween yourself off the romaji as soon as possible.

But if you just want to be able to communicate with people when you're on your trip and not be completely out of the loop, focus on speaking and listening. Throw in some hiragana/katakana flashcard training for when you can't be actively studying (like when you're on the bus, in the toilet, wherever). Most signs here are in Kanji (too many to learn in the time before your trip), so while being able to read hiragana/katakana is an important part of a long-term study plan, being able to speak/understand better will make the most difference as far as fun and ease of getting around on your trip.
by sora da yo (guest) rate this post as useful

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