advice for learning japanese?

I am currently trying to teach myself japanese, as one may have guessed.

Unfortunately, I am unable to take classes due to the area I live in.

I have a very basic book, but it isn't designed for teaching but review.

Obviously I'm going to have to be very creative if I'm to learn anything whatsoever

(I though foriegn film and anime might help me learn vocabulary, but the kanji will still be beyond me)

Any ideas? Suggestions? Advice?

hi! im an aussie learning japanese. ( im not sure what country you are in) i brought alot of things from ebay to help me learn japanese. so far, i have found the best thing i have brought is Lets Learn Japanese for my PC. although it is a bit boring. speak & learn Japanese is fun but only good if you want to learn the basics. dont buy the book, Japanese For Dummies, unless you only want to speak japanese. i have brought many books and most of them dont help me at all. it is good to get a good English-Japanese and/or Japanese-English dictionary. i hope i have helped you a bit.

as far as kanji goes, i have managed to get a book on learning kanji but it doesnt have too many and doesnt explain the sounds or meanings too well. but it is helpful. it is KOOKOO SEIKATSU Japanese for secondary students KANJI WORKBOOK. i hope i am helping you.

So, "for dummies" is good for conversational japanese?

I think I'm going to learn as much spoken as I can, then try to learn some writing/kanji.

I wanted to do a language immersion (spelling?) program, but I don't seem to meet the age requirements.
And they want you to know basic japanese before you even go.

Most annoying....

Hi! I started off by teaching myself, although I didn't get that far because I was (and still am) a bit on the busy side. I did however manage to learn some basic stuff. First off, I just want to say that if you haven't learned kana (Hiragana and Katakana collectively) you should now, instead of trying to learn Kanji. Both are pretty easy to learn (however since I don't use katakana much I often confuse a few of them--such as n and so, etc.). Hiragana is used to write particles, Japanese words, etc. Katakana is used for foreign (borrowed) words. Depending on where you live, you might be a bit surprised that you can actually find language classes. I live in the US and not in a huge city. I didn't think there would be any places that offered Japanese classes but I was wrong. I looked in my phone book (I think under language schools or something--it was over a year ago so I don't remember what it was exactly) and found some places that offered Japanese (you'll probably have to call and ask if they offer Japanese). Their prices were a bit much. I luckily managed to find a Japanese woman offering lessons out of her home at a much cheaper price ($20 per hour lesson). You can always buy books and audio tapes, etc. Also, (once again, depending on where you live) you can go to your local public library and find tapes (to help you learn proper pronunciation) and books. It's obviously a much cheaper method of learning than buying everything (although you really should buy your own kana and kanji practice/learning books) and you can find what books work and don't work for you without finding out the hard way (meaning spending a lot of cash).

Actually, a while back, I had this problem too. I found that some of the best books can be at your library! I found this great book called "Master the Basics" by Nobuo Akiyama and Carol Akiyama. "Zakennayo!" by Philip J. Cunnigham is another good book, but it is mainly about sexual terms and curses. For the kanji, "Easy Kanji" (i can't remember the author) has all the basic kanji, at least over 500. "Nihongo o oshiete" online is a good site, too. Just look it up on google!

Here are two books I am using. They are simple to go through. 1. Japanese for Busy People Vol 1 for beginners. I blieve there are 3 volumes. And as an aid to that I use Japanese Grammar by Barron's. The busy people one is by Association for Japanese-Language Teaching.

I learned japanese by using the Pimsleur CD's, they come in three sets and are unbelievalbe. I found myself answering the questions they were asking in Japanese without even thinking about it. There is no text, just the CDs so you are learning like a child does - naturally. I also supplemented this with the Rosetta Stone program which helped me get more of a vocabulary in regards to nouns. Using just these two I was able to communicate verbally very well within 7-8 months. Reading and writing is another matter, I haven't even begun on that yet.

The best way to learn anything is to want to know. That applies especially to languages which are incredibly complicated, and where you can get along just fine without learning a new one (as long as you have the first one down pat).

So what's in Japanese that you have a burning desire to know? Anything is fine. I did it on movies and TV shows -- I wanted to know what went on. Other good motivators are songs, martial arts, fashion or other arts magazines, hobbies, anime and manga, all sorts of interesting things are in Japanese.

As long as you don't mind making mistakes in front of people, and you keep feeding your motivation, you'll find that picking up the language is easier than you thought at first.

1) Pickup a book like "Japanese in 10 Minutes a Day" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0944502369/qid=1128458967/sr=1-1/102-8222791-8891352?v=glance&s=books
ISBN: 0944502369
You will want to get your head wrapped around how to create sentences and the backwards verb placement as soon as possible.
The grammatical differences will get you caught up quite easily until you've master some of it, and it's better to get this estabilished well before using Kanji/hiragana/etc.
Also, keep in mind that once you've learned how to say something in a sentence properly, the various writing methods merely are yet-another-way to write the same thing in many ways. (eg. you can write the same Japanese sentence in romanji/Kanji/hiragana and even katakana, and any native will be able to read it and understand you)

2) Once you're at the stage where you can blurt out the basics like "Hi! Could you tell me where the ATM is?" or "I'd like a bowl of Ramen please", you're ready for the next part - pronounciation.

"Pronounce It Perfectly in Japanese "
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812080351/qid=1128459212/sr=1-2/102-8222791-8891352?v=glance&s=books
ISBN 0812080351

This guide will go over each and every one of the sounds in Japanese in depth, and allow you to practice each for perfectly (as well as you can as isolate as you are now). This is a =key= to being understood - trust me, if you blurt it out English style, you won't be understood! The key to being understood well in Japanese, even with basic sentences, is the proper use of Japanese innotation and pronounciation. An excellent reference for any learner in fact.

3) Pick a good college level textbook that has audio cassettes/CDs.
My pick is "Japanese for Everyone" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0870408534/qid=1128459399/sr=2-1/102-8222791-8891352?v=glance&s=books
ISBN: 0870408534
Other two picks many go with are:
Japanese for Busy People series
(ISBN 4770018827 etc)
and
Yookoso!
ISBN 0072354283

I prefer both Japanese for Everyone and Yookoso! because they're a one-volume college level text that will cover a standard Japanese 101-103 (full year of study) in one book. Japanese for Busy People goes a lot slower, and is broken up into numerous volumes (silly, IMO - same thing, less dense coverage, and more money for you to spend) and is not a text I prefer despite others saying good.

Both JFE and Y have audio cassettes/CDs you can buy to really listen and practice understanding with the numerous practice lessons they have. They also have all of the answers for a self-learner in the back.

If you're good at it, you can cover the entire book in 6 months to a year, and be at a decent level for further lessons in person. Keep in mind that they will not get you the necessary in-person practice needed to really make your Japanese good, only far enough to know the basics.

JFE also has a Kanji Workbook and Workbook that will make sure you cover the basics and learn them well.

4) If you can get a copy of the few Japanese video language lessons out there - these will help you see it in action, and learn faster.

5) Don't forget to pickup the hiragana/katakana fast once you're past #1 above:
Let's Learn Hiragana
0870117092
This is so basic, you'll need it for any more Japanese you learn.

6) First Up Japanese is a book that will cover in very compact book, that's super easy to read (once you know a bit of Japanese) all that you should know and have covered in the first year or so. You may need to get this imported from japan, but a good reference no matter what. Many will be surprised that such basic topics covered will be hard to pass in the basic tests they have unless you know it well.

7) Daily use of
http://www.popjisyo.com/WebHint/Portal_e.aspx
and
http://honyaku.yahoo.co.jp/url
on Japanese news websites and other sites of interest.
The more you see the Japanese (and translation) together, the faster you'll figure out what goes where.

---

Aside from that, the fastest way is to have a Japanese speaker tutor you.

I really want to learn Japanese but don't have lots of money for different books and can't find a school close by, so I bought the book, Complete Idiots Guide to Conversational Japanese. Would this be ok to use to learn some of the basics? Also has anyone ever used the Kanji and Kana Pict-o-Graphix book by Michael Rowley? If so what are your opinions. Thanks for any help!

If you want to read a classical text you must learn more Kanji then when you want to read a fasihon magazine

Alright, I am in a national Japanese class right now, and I'm going to tell you exactly how to learn Japanese the way I do: First of all, you'll need more than a basic book to gaurantee success. You will need Adventures In Japanese I Textbook, Japanese- English Dictionary, and maybe a kanji book would help. You could go to www.kanjisite.com or whatever to see hiragana if you don't have a kanji book. Now you need to learn hiragana first, and then katakana. Give yourself enough time to learn each alphabet completely before moving on to other alphabet. Now make sure to use Japanese you learn as much as possible to get used to it. I'm going to give you a website you can use to learn it: http://www.geocities.com/cherokeegs/Japanese/ That website has worksheets you can do and everything. Just don't email them to the instructor lol. Now give yourself some time and take it a step at a time, starting with the basics, such as greetings and structure of the language. Good luck. Sayoonara.

Now I issue mail magazine for Japanese learning pepole.The news is in simple Japanese.If you are interested in, please visit my site(^^)/
http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/japanesenews/

I want to learn Japanese too. But I'm chinese and go to chinese school every saturday and I learn frech in school. I think Japanese is such a cool language. I made myself a nickname in it!! ^_^

Try it out! I hope it can help out....

http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpce.html

Genki desu ka?Nihongo no sensai wa doku desu ka?? Anata no nihongo no sensai wa watashi desu:) Nihon wa Gocagatsu desu. Watashi no nihongo wa Dishooboo Des:)

Translation Hey how are you. Looking for a Japanese Teacher.Am i Your Japanese teach. I been in Japan 5 months and my Japanese is ok

Im an EFL (english as a foreign language) teacher working in the UK. I currently teach japanese and chinese students so im quite familiar with this concept of learning languages. in my opinion if u wana learn a language to a pretty high standard ull only achieve this by living in that country. believe me u can go to as many japanese classes and buy as many books as u want. but if ur not always interacting with japanese people and no forced to speak the language, u just wont learn much. my advice is to do wat im doin. go on a working holiday to japan for a few months or a year. that will at least give u a head start. this may be unrealistic to some of u because of ur busy schedules, but if its possible, id to do!

During my last two visits to Japan I felt at a great disadvantage (or bluntly: a fool) because I cannot express or understand the most basic things in spoken Japanese. I am going to Japan again in two months and would like to be better prepared this time. Can anyone recommend an on-line course that provides pronunciation and romaji? have not been able to get on Japanese-Online.com so far.

I agree with AbunaiUsagi (does it mean 'there are no flies on the rabbit'?) that learning hiragana and katakana would be an excellent first step. Do a google search for either 'katakana' or 'hiragana' and a table of characters will be top of the list.
Most community centres have free Japanese lessons for gaijin, although a good part of the lesson is often conducted in Japanese!
If you know kana, you'll be able to read menus, most signs and you'll get a lot more benefit out of the lessons when you're there. Of course you'll need a dictionary to translate what the words mean into English. Electronic ones are quite good. I lived in Japan for quite a while and I found that my limited vocabulary was the biggest hurdle to learning the language.
I find hiragana much easier to remember because there are many characters in katakana which look similar.
Trying to learn kanji straight out will be very frustrating. There are tens of thousands of kanji (only about 2000-3000 are used commonly) but there are only 46 katakana characters and 46 hiragana characters. These make up every sound you'll ever hear in Japanese and if you know the entire 'alphabet' of either one, you can comfortably communicate in writing without ever using kanji. Japanese children take many, many years to learn all the common kanji so you'll often find signs will have small hiragana characters above the kanji specifically so young children can read them.
If you're away from the big cities, many public toilets won't have English signs. Fortunately, the kanji characters are easy to remember:
男 (male) -man bent over carrying a heavy load.
女 (female)-lady sitting cradling a baby in her arms.
You'll find knowing just a few sentences of Japanese will go a long way as people love it if you can say something simple and will try their hardest to communicate with you. If you really get stuck then use:
"Sumimasen, watashi no nihongo ga dekimasen. Eigo wa wakarimasu ka?"
(roughly: "I beg your pardon, but I can't really speak Japanese. Do you understand English?")
People will use broken english or even hand gestures if they know that speaking Japanese is completely over your head. Just don't say the sentence too perfectly or you'll give the wrong impression! Good luck!