Hi everyone, I had a question for you. Does anyone have any tips on better vocabulary word retention? I would say I retain and can identify/use about 65% of the vocabulary words on Wanikani. When they come up for burn, I usually get them. But I’d really like to be able to memorize more and identify more in a conversation. Does anyone have any tips? I’ve done Kaniwani, and it didn’t seem to help too much. Anything you can tip me with would be awesome. I understand I can’t memorize them all, but I would love to go from 65% to 80%. ありがとうございました😊
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Well, my advice would be to do reading and listening in parallel to WaniKani. This way you’d be able to memorize vocab items in context.
For listening - there is an excellent free podcast:
For reading - there are several free resources:
(this one might be in English by default but has an option to be switched to other languages, including Japanese)
There is also
where you can buy books
and
which requires paid subscription but is arguably the best reading resource for beginners.
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First of all, you might want to try making your own mnemonics if the words aren’t sticking. However, if you have no problem recalling words in reviews… then yeah, practice is what you need. Aside from what @trunklayer mentioned above, you might also want to try expressing yourself in Japanese, ideally with someone more knowledgeable to correct you or give you suggestions. I think being able to correctly use a word yourself is the best guarantee of being able to understand it in other contexts. You can try the Japanese Sentence a Day Challenge thread here, but another option might be something like… the HelloTalk forums? I believe that native speakers there correct sentences for other people, and you can do the same in return for your native language.
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how is yours accuracy stats on wkstats?
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Is the NHK Web Easy audio a Text to Speech or is it really just read at that pace?
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It seems to be just Text to Speech, so it doesn’t sound very natural…
For natural sounding Japanese, as I’ve said, it’s best to use
And if you want both text and natural sounding voicing - then Satori Reader is the best (though not free) option.
There is also a free service (HiNative, if I’m not mistaken) where you can post a text and ask native speakers to voice it.
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You can actually get quite a bit out of the free tier, especially in the beginning. The first two episodes of every series are free.
奥日光 is still one of my favorite ones to listen to and read even after it’s become pretty trivial to understand. There’s some really nice imagery there with how it’s written.
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Guys, this has all been absolutely wonderful. I appreciate you all taking the time. Also, I usually float between 80-90% accuracy in my reviews. But, my reviews are very broken up. I’m a very busy person so when I can… even on a restroom break… I’m chugging out reviews. Im not as keen on getting all 200+ reviews or whatever done in a day anymore. Nor do I rush new lessons. I’ve kind of set the pace of 1.3 levels a month. Which I’m okay with. Aside from the kanji, I LOVE learning my vocabulary on this site. Im excited to reach level 60 in 2 or 3 years and have this vast expansive knowledge of the language. As well as wanikani, I attend a Japanese church and am working to become a missionary to Japan. So I regularly read outloud in a Japanese bible with Japanese sermons. All of my Japanese grammar lessons are in Japanese with 2% of the content being in English.
I love reading NHK Easy. I’m started reading that more than manga, although I have a soft spot for good manga. I watch slice of life anime, but I say I get about 40% accuracy. Talking to a native Japanese and then trying to understand a high pitched anime voice is often hard. Haha. “OOOONNNNNNIIII CHHHHAN TAAAASSSSUKKKEEETTTEEE!”
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I second all the resources in this thread!
I also really love this site: https://app.easyjapanese.club/
It lets you read (and listen, if you want) to NHK and Mainichi news stories.
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I have to admit, I’m having a hard time figuring out what you’re asking. Are you looking to just improve retention? Or increase recognition when listening?
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I’m thinking a little of both. When I’m speaking, If I can recall a word, usually I can pick it up when someone says it to me.
Thank you!
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Just more immersion in general goes a long way. Watching series on Netflix, listening to songs or whatever really.
does anyone kow a website with lyrics to japanese songs including furigana?
I listen to them sometimes and would be rgeat to follow and understand some words since my listening for songs are not good at all.
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Songs tend to be hard for me too, HOWEVER, recently I’ve become better. I recommend Hoshino Gen, he’s a really great artist and I can understand a lot of what he’s saying.
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Try Todai app or Voiky, it has synced lyrics with songs including furigana and you can also pick levels.
No need to read lyrics from websites.
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I couldn’t locate this section in todai app to see lyrics, or is it only for premium users?
It should be on the More tab where you can see Video and Podcast. I had the premium. Not sure if it’s also included on free users.
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