Quora in Japanese - the perfect solution for those that dislike reading news/manga/fiction

Warning: Tool mainly for Intermediate and above learners of Japanese

What’s Quora?

Simply put, Quora is a free website where you can ask questions about anything you can imagine and obtain answers, usually from experts in the field your question is from. You can also search for questions, follow specific topics, comment on answers, etc.

What has this to do with learning Japanese?

Until last year, Quora was mostly a community using English for communication. But guess what: they started sending invites for their Japanese edition of Quora and it’s THE BEST THING EVER. For those of you that don’t feel like reading news or fiction, here you have an opportunity to read and communicate in Japanese with real Japanese people about subjects that are of your interest. Here’s an example of a question about space and an answer by an actual 宇宙飛行士 (astronaut - yep, I just learned that word):

Which platforms is Quora available?

I’m in - How do I proceed?

I would suggest to first sign up for the English edition of Quora or for your native language’s edition, if available. Why? Because you only need to create an account to access Quora in all the different languages available. Since JP Quora is completely in Japanese, it might be easier for you to have your first exposure and figure out how everything works in English/your native language first. You can then easily subscribe to Quora in the other languages available in a matter of seconds. For example, I’m subscribed to the English, Portuguese and Japanese editions:

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Languages available at the time of writing this: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Indonesian and Hindi.

How do I add languages to my Quora account?

If you're on desktop:
  • Step 1: on the top right corner of the page, click on your profile picture’s circle.
  • Step 2: click on “Settings”.
  • Step 3: on your left side, click on “Languages”.
  • Step 4: Click on Quora日本語版へ参加.

Direct link: https://www.quora.com/settings/languages

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If you're on the app:
  • Step 1: click on “You”.
  • Step 2: click on the tree dots.
  • Step 3: click on “Languages”.
  • Step 4: Click on Quora日本語版へ参加.

Obs: I’m using the Android app, but after some research, it seems that the steps on iOS are very similar, if not the same.

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Any suggestions on how to use Quora towards learning Japanese?

You can do three main things:

  • Use it as you would use the English version: ask, read and reply to questions. Comment on others’ answers and interact with natives in Japanese. Get new perspectives from Japanese in Japanese.
  • Whenever you have questions about Japanese, maybe dare to ask on Quora instead of using apps like HiNative :slight_smile: Since answers on Quora tend to be quite detailed, you’ll probably find better answers. 日本語 is a legit topic there.
  • Be the flashcard geek: whether you are using your computer or your phone, take notes somewhere of the words/expressions you have yet to know but want to learn, and add it to a flashcard system like Anki or Kitsun. Personally, I use the dictionary app Akebi (android only) where I can make lists of words/expressions inside the app and come back later to export them directly to Anki/Kitsun. For iOS, there’s Midori which I believe has a flashcard system in it, but not sure about exports. It’s also a paid app.

Any extra suggestions on how to use Quora?

Quora not only serves to learn new things, but also to read stories from other people. It is that special place where you can easily turn procrastination into the most memorable lesson of the day. Because of this, I suggest you to take full usage of the tools like upvoting answers, following questions and topics, etc. The more Quora knows about you, the more it will show you the things you want to read. This will definitely help with keeping you interested in what you’re reading, therefore helping you improve your language skills.

I’ll be updating this post if something worth adding crosses my mind.

41 Likes

-skips everything so that I can be first to like post-

-goes back and reads everything-

This is awesome! o:

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Y-You’re awesome! o:

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Just had a look around Japanese Quora. Finally found something to help me pull my finger out and get a solid reading practice on the go.

Thanks!!

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Glad I was able to help :v: If you spot any interesting answer on Quora, let me know :grin:

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Will do :+1:

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Dat answer, though!

「宇宙に行ったら自分自身が星になれる」

:clap::clap::clap::sob::heart_eyes:

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RIGHT?! :joy:

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Thank you so much for this suggestion! I had been looking around for so long for something to read diverse topics in Japanese from-- this is dang near close to perfect. My only complaint is that the Japanese base clearly hasn’t picked up the popularity of the English base yet, so there aren’t as many interesting topics.

All in all, this is an amazing source. Thank you so much for sharing, from both me and my full-bellied Anki deck.

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True, but I guess we have a bunch of interesting stuff to read for now. I only received the invitation to join the Japanese edition recently, so I guess they are only now starting to spread the word more seriously?.. I don’t know.

Haha, right?! You’re welcome :slight_smile:

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Hi jprs, thanks for the quality post as always. Btw, does anyone who has used both reddit and quora to ask japanese questions know which one is faster in response time in general?

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Well, the EN Quora does have a bunch of questions about the Japanese language, but far from being that good. I’m expecting JP Quora to get higher quality answers related to this specific topic, but JP Quora is still just starting to grow. I mean, why not both though? If you ask on JP Quora though, it will have to be in Japanese :stuck_out_tongue:

Ooh, I’ve used Quora for English a lot, but I haven’t really explored the Japanese side much. Although ‘Intermediate and above’ doesn’t exactly scream my name, it couldn’t hurt to have a look around.

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Yeah, you can and should go for it if you wish to
:smiling_face: From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t differ that much from any other Japanese text you might read out there. I gave that warning because there are a lot of subjects being discussed and each question/answer is specific to its own. This means that you will find more specific vocabulary/kanji that you don’t know than usual.

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