Beyond Sleepy’s (pillow fort?) study log

[Beyond_Sleepy]

Hi:) Welcome to my study log, where I’ll occasionally write about my attempt to learn Japanese. Reading other people’s study logs has been and continues to be a great source of inspiration, motivation, and information for me Hopefully I can make some small but similar contributions your journey. And if you decide to stop by to read what I’m up to/comment on my efforts (or talk about anything related to learning Japanese, really) that will make me very happy We’re all undertaking this massive task together

I used Wanikani from about March to July last year (2021) and got to the cusp of level 9 before losing steam. I put Wanikani in vacation mode, intending it to last for about three weeks when I thought I’d join a intro to Japanese class at my university but the class has a limited number of spots and I applied too late to get one… Last semester was really hectic so in the end I put off Wanikani until now, and on impulse I decided to reset to level 1.

Going forward I plan to study using

Wanikani

15 lessons per day, using the reorder script to do all available vocabulary items first, then all available kanji, finally the radicals. Speed is not a priority at the moment.

Anki

I’ve started using the The Refold JP1K vocab deck in Anki, adding 10 new items to the review pile per day. As for sentence mining @Vanilla says they might make a video showcasing how to add a card with

@Vanilla

• The word on the front
• The reading
• Japanese definitions
• English definitions
• The pitch accent pattern
• If it’s an anime/show, the screen you saw it on
• The audio from the line if it’s an anime
• The sentence you saw it in with the word highlighted.
• Isolated word audio.

in 1 second, so I’m eagerly looking forward to learning their ways although I have no point of reference as to how much work making the video requires so no pressure! I don’t want to impose by expressing my greedy greedy desire for your knowledge

I think I ought to start sentence mining sooner rather than later, but the JP1K deck will contribute the majority of new Anki cards for the next three months or so, so I do have some time to figure out the most efficient way to add new cards before that skillset becomes critical.

Kanji Practice Sheets

I keep a handwritten diary in English and Norwegian, and I would like to eventually add Japanese to the mix. For now I’ve decided to just fill out one of these sheets every day (5 kanji per day) going in the order I unlock them in in Wanikani. I don’t know how much of an effect it will have on my handwriting but I imagine it won’t be zero, especially if I combine it with some youtube tutorials down the line. And I have some hope that doing this will help me keep track of visually similar kanji as they become more complex.

Genki 1

I’ll be following the Saturday lessons in the Nihongo tea room.

Cure Dolly and Tae Kim

I’ll try to watch a Cure Dolly video per day, and I’ll be using Tae Kim as a reference book while reading.

Manga

I intend to read a couple pages per day to begin with. あずまんが大王 (in English) was one of my favorite manga back in the day, so I have great fate in よつばと! and ordered the entire series last summer

I’m looking forward to slowly working my way through it:)

Also, to train my kanji knowledge I plan to cover up the furigana for vocabulary I’m supposed to know so when I go back to reread a chapter/volume my brain won’t be able to rest on the furigana.

Anime

I plan to watch an episode of a slice of life anime every day (or every other day) and listen for comprehensible words and phrases. First one up will be 日 _にち常 _じょう, although it would have been あずまんが大王 (for the nostalgia factor) if only I could find somewhere to watch it with Japanese subs.

[ekg]

Neato study log you’ve got here!

Good luck with your studies!

[Beyond_Sleepy]

@ekg

Good luck with your studies!

Thank you

[distantflower]

@Beyond_Sleepy

I’ll be following the Sunday lessons in the Nihongo tea room.

It’s on Saturdays, just in case you might have written that by mistake. Didn’t want you to miss the study group in Nihongo Tea Room.

But you could be from Australia or another place that’s hours ahead of Japan time. If so, my apologies for not knowing earlier Looking forward to seeing you very soon and loving what I’ve read so far in your study log! All the best!

[Beyond_Sleepy]

No I definitely just misremembered, thanks for catching my mistake:)

[anon33985902]

@Beyond_Sleepy

Hopefully I can make some small but similar contributions your journey. And if you decide to stop by to read what I’m up to/comment on my efforts

I am bookmarking your study log and thank you for your contributions in mine!

@Beyond_Sleepy

Speed is not a priority at the moment.

I like this approach! Hearing people who take things slow and how they do it is always helpful for me in my own thinking.

@Beyond_Sleepy

I think I ought to start sentence mining sooner rather than later, but the JP1K deck will contribute the majority of new Anki cards

I may have to check this out now I have switched my “flash card” system so many times now it’s ridiculous…

@Beyond_Sleepy

Ooooo this is neat! I love the diary idea… I diary/journal all the time in English, I wonder if I could start off with a couple sentences in Japanese… I bet it would force me to think about grammar a lot and help with this int he end!

@Beyond_Sleepy

I’ll try to watch a Cure Dolly video per day,

I am so grateful for Cure Dolly! I tend to need to watch a video of hers 3 times before I move on to her next lesson since I need the extra reinforcement to be brave enough to move on

@Beyond_Sleepy

o I have great fate in よつばと! and ordered the entire series last summer

!!! will you be my よつばと! pal??? I also have the entire series and have been aiming at 2 pages a day!!! I’m only on page 18 I think (wish there were page numbers :))

So glad you created this study log! Again, I have bookmarked it and will check in with yours each day

[Beyond_Sleepy]

@anon33985902

I am bookmarking your study log and thank you for your contributions in mine!

Thank you I’m reading yours every day as well:)

@anon33985902

I like this approach! Hearing people who take things slow and how they do it is always helpful for me in my own thinking.

I’ll speed up my Wanikani leveling once grammar and vocab stop feeling like the biggest obstacles to consuming Japanese media:) Until then just knowing a bunch of Kanji won’t help me much so I see no benefit in prioritizing speed on this platform just yet;) But I’m a Manly Racer so at some point (maybe in 2023?) I might try to go fast

@anon33985902

I have switched my “flash card” system so many times now it’s ridiculous…

That’s what’s called “experience.” It’s a coveted thing, you should treasure it

@anon33985902

Ooooo this is neat!

Thanks

@anon33985902

I am so grateful for Cure Dolly! I tend to need to watch a video of hers 3 times before I move on to her next lesson since I need the extra reinforcement to be brave enough to move on

She’s a gift! Have you thought about SRSing your repetitions? Watch once, wait an hour and write down what you remember, then watch a second time and look out for things you missed/got wrong, and then wait 5 hours or more before trying again and watching for the third time? I might give it a go if I think I can consistently make space for the first two sessions in the morning before class, and the last one in the evening…

@anon33985902

!!! will you be my よつばと! pal???

Sure, I’d love to But I might not catch up to you in a while since we’re aiming for the same rate of progression. In any case I’ll tackle the first pages tomorrow and post about it, so I’ll see you then:)

[anon33985902]

@Beyond_Sleepy

I’ll speed up my Wanikani leveling once grammar and vocab stop feeling like the biggest obstacles to consuming Japanese media:) Until then just knowing a bunch of Kanji won’t help me much so I see no benefit in prioritizing speed on this platform just yet;) But I’m a Manly Racer so at some point (maybe in 2023?) I might try to go fast

You seem like a very adept and easy going planner! I am still floundering around a lot I did just figure out how to do reviews on koohi.cafe, so I may change that to my sentence mining flash card system, which will be nice if I stick with it I’ve seen this study buddy thread having a lot of interest! I’m taking part in the Jan / Feb read every day challenge! So far I love how supportive it is!

@Beyond_Sleepy

That’s what’s called “experience.” It’s a coveted thing, you should treasure it

I do! - The experience that comes with struggle has always been my best teacher.

@Beyond_Sleepy

She’s a gift! Have you thought about SRSing your repetitions? Watch once, wait an hour and write down what you remember, then watch a second time and look out for things you missed/got wrong, and then wait 5 hours or more before trying again and watching for the third time? I might give it a go if I think I can consistently make space for the first two sessions in the morning before class, and the last one in the evening…

Oh yes, the first lesson I literally typed out everything in a google doc, but that was not time efficient. I should SRS her videos, though! I was able to parse out the grammar in my first sentence the other day just based off her first 3 lessons. I like your suggestion though! It may take some more floundering around to get used to but I will try and come up with something

@Beyond_Sleepy

Sure, I’d love to But I might not catch up to you in a while since we’re aiming for the same rate of progression. In any case I’ll tackle the first pages tomorrow and post about it, so I’ll see you then:)

Hooray! And I can totally hold off on my よつばと! until you do catch up since I’m so early on. I just got Minna no Nihongo in complete Japanese, as well as other reference books I’ve been itching to open more. So I’d be happy to pause the adorable little Yotsuba for however long! I can still keep up with my read Japanese every day in other books

[Beyond_Sleepy]

Thanks for linking the Jan/Feb read every day challenge, I’ve signed up and I’ll be starting よつばと！tomorrow:) If you’re okay with waiting then I hope to be caught up in about a week or so

As for being an “adept and easygoing planner” I think I’m leaning more towards easygoing than adept:p Perhaps in this case the difference between “easygoing” and “floundering” is just confidence/comfort with the process? I don’t think a “perfect” system for studying is achievable for me so I look for systems that are good enough for the moment and I try not to waste too much energy on deliberating between different options that all get the job done

[anon33985902]

@Beyond_Sleepy

Thanks for linking the Jan/Feb read every day challenge, I’ve signed up and I’ll be starting よつばと！tomorrow:) If you’re okay with waiting then I hope to be caught up in about a week or so

Yes I saw that - it’s great that you are jumping in! It’s really fun to just post at the end of the day, even if we just managed to read one sentence!

@Beyond_Sleepy

Perhaps in this case the difference between “easygoing” and “floundering” is just confidence/comfort with the process? I don’t think a “perfect” system for studying is achievable for me so I look for systems that are good enough for the moment and I try not to waste too much energy on deliberating between different options that all get the job done

I agree, I always need to remind myself it’s “progress” over “perfection,” because the latter isn’t even a reality! “Practice makes progress” is much better than perfection And I see your point - sticking with something and just becoming comfortable with how it will be helping you is much more effective than wasting the energy to find “just the right one” that really doesn’t exist

PS. I just finished page 17 of よつばと! last night, so once you begin keep me posted on how it’s coming along!

[Beyond_Sleepy]

@anon33985902

so once you begin keep me posted on how it’s coming along!

Will do!

I’m going to call it a day now in terms of forum interactions tho. See ya

[Beyond_Sleepy]

I’m not done studying for today, but I have done my reviews, 10 lessons, 10 new Anki cards, one kanji practice sheet, watched one Cure Dolly video, and read a couple pages of よつばと！

Here are my attempts at parsing the text:

おーーーもうすぐだぞー よつば

We’re almost there, Yotsuba

すげえ, とーちゃん

Amazing! Dad

ここ家がいっぱいあるな！

There are a lot of houses here!

そーだろー。お店もあるそー

That’s right. There are shops here too~

おみせも⁉︎

There are shops!?

すげえー‼︎人がいっぱいいる！

Wow!! there are so many people!

きょうはまつりか⁉︎

Is today a festival!?

btw, is this really supposed to be う and not と⁉︎

lol

学校だ学校

It’s a school, a school

そういや明日から夏休みだなあ

Speaking of, the summer break starts tomorrow

When it comes to grammar study, kanji practice sheets, and anime I’ve decided to aim for 5 days a week rather than every day, with the option of “saving up” some days off by doing more in one day… I spent more time on Japanese than I’d imagined I would today while trying out the full routine I’ve imagined for myself, and while I think combining it with university will be doable I also think it’s fragile in terms of unforeseen variations in workload over the semester so I’m just adding some slack to my plan right now so I won’t feel like a failure when I inevitably need it:p

[anon33985902]

@Beyond_Sleepy

I’m not done studying for today, but I have done my reviews, 10 lessons, 10 new Anki cards, one kanji practice sheet, watched one Cure Dolly video, and read a couple pages of よつばと！

Wow fantastic! Seems like you’ve been able to focus your energy into a lot of different areas today Yay for よつばと!

@Beyond_Sleepy

btw, is this really supposed to be う and not と⁉︎

Haha I believe so - I made that mistake, and someone pointed it out to me. now I look at it as と points left and う points right! Overall you did a wayyy better job parsing these pages than I did when I started

@Beyond_Sleepy

When it comes to grammar study, kanji practice sheets, and anime I’ve decided to aim for 5 days a week rather than every day, with the option of “saving up” some days off by doing more in one day… I spent more time on Japanese than I’d imagined I would today while trying out the full routine I’ve imagined for myself, and while I think combining it with university will be doable I also think it’s fragile in terms of unforeseen variations in workload over the semester so I’m just adding some slack to my plan right now so I won’t feel like a failure when I inevitably need it:p

I completely feel the same “fragility” of having a substantive day and knowing it won’t always be like that based on other needs to attend to in life, but as I’ve recently been trying to look at it, if I just keep doing what my brain can reasonably handle (meaning not maxing it out simply to feel like I’ve accomplished more when I may have hurt it more) I will keep moving forward at the best pace

[Beyond_Sleepy]

@anon33985902

Wow fantastic! Seems like you’ve been able to focus your energy into a lot of different areas today Yay for よつばと!

Thank you I’ll try to do it every day, more or less, if possible. I also watched an episode of 日_にち常_じょう with Japanese subtitles today. I didn’t understand much tho, but the site I’m watching on has some neat Japanese learning features I will make use of in the future.

screenshots

@anon33985902

now I look at it as と points left and う points right!

how did I not notice that at any point?

@anon33985902

Overall you did a wayyy better job parsing these pages than I did when I started

A combination of jisho.org, google, and the vocab sheet from the よつばと! Vol 1 bookclub, and I did watch Cure Dolly’s lessons 1 - 20 a little over a year ago and that probably helped as well (but I’m starting from scratch again with her lessons now).

@anon33985902

if I just keep doing what my brain can reasonably handle (meaning not maxing it out simply to feel like I’ve accomplished more when I may have hurt it more) I will keep moving forward at the best pace

True! But we do need to make some up front judgements about what our brains can handle, and also about what our brains can handle over time versus on a day by day basis. I’m also considering the merits of always stoping while I feel I can do more, because as you say, maxing out your daily potential is probably harmful unless coupled with frequent rest and recovery periods:)

[anon33985902]

@Beyond_Sleepy

I’ll try to do it every day, more or less, if possible. I also watched an episode of 日にち常じょう with Japanese subtitles today. I didn’t understand much tho, but the site I’m watching on has some neat Japanese learning features I will make use of in the future.

I’m quite impressed you are able to even understand some of it! My goal for listening is quite far off in the future I’m afraid That definitely looks like a great website - keep me posted, I may want to try it at some point!

@Beyond_Sleepy

how did I not notice that at any point?

HAHA I felt the same way!

@Beyond_Sleepy

A combination of jisho.org, google, and the vocab sheet from the よつばと! Vol 1 bookclub, and I did watch Cure Dolly’s lessons 1 - 20 a little over a year ago and that probably helped as well (but I’m starting from scratch again with her lessons now).

Ah yeah! I did not have the vocab sheet yet on those pages + I was silly and did not know how to input vocab/sentences correctly Jealous you already have quite the Cure Dolly background that just needs refreshing! I am up to lesson 5 but have not watched it yet. I still hope I have the majority of lessons 1-4 understood at this point…

@Beyond_Sleepy

I’m also considering the merits of always stoping while I feel I can do more, because as you say, maxing out your daily potential is probably harmful unless coupled with frequent rest and recovery periods:)

I completely agree! My recent slowing down has relieved a lot of the pressure I put on myself too.

[Beyond_Sleepy]

I’ve had a productive day and done basically all the things I did yesterday, minus the kanji practice sheet.

よつばと！🍀 “translation”

あんまりのり出すと危ないぞー

It’s dangerous to lean out too far

おねーちゃんが手ふつた！

That woman waved (her hand)!

とーちゃんもふれ！

You should wave back dad!

とーちゃん手がはなせないからな

Dad’s hands can’t let go, don’t you see?

俺の分もよつばがふってくれ

My part (of the waving) Yotsuba (must) do for me.

(Didn’t manage to break down the details of what’s happening here, but I guess this is the gist of it)

ほーら、着いたぞー

Look! We’ve arrived~

ついた？どこについた？

Arrived? Where have we arrived?

どこって

«Where» you ask🙄

そりゃおまえ

Shouldn’t you know?

あ‼︎ ジャンボだ‼︎

Ah!! It’s Janbo/Jumbo!!

I’m hesitant to call this translation, it’s more like an interpretation of what might be said based on imperfect knowledge of the language🙃

[anon33985902]

Looks great to me! Again, way better than my first attempt and yes, I feel like I am “interpreting” all the time as well - but someone told me this is a part of reading manga! Since it’s my first one, I’m just being a little generous to myself

PS. love the factoid the study guide mentions - I did not know this and it’s super cute how it relates to her hair!

[anon33985902]

Just wanted to drop in and say I hope your よつばと! reading went well today! I read some example sentences in my All About Particles book to keep up with the reading challenge

[Beyond_Sleepy]

It didn’t go too well, I only got four hours of sleep yesterday and I found page 11 quite challenging so I didn’t finish it. I decided to give it another go this morning and count it towards yesterday’s reading.

_{I’m not sure what she’s saying but I feel it}

But I did do my due diligence with Wanikani and Anki, I watched a couple episodes of anime with Japanese subtitles (I didn’t understand much), and I watched one Cure Dolly episode.

🍀Here is “yesterday’s” よつばと pages 🍀

よう

Hi

うす

Hello

ジャンボ‼︎ひさしぶりだな‼︎

Jumbo!! Long time no see!!

おーよつば

Oh! Yotsuba

元気にしてたかー？

Have you been well?

うあーやめろー

Woah~ Stop it😄

ヤンダは？まだ？

As for Yanda, (has he come/done whatever he was supposed to) yet?

あーあいつ用が入ったからこれえって

Aa- something (job, errand) came up for him, so he can’t come

あいつだめだわ

That guy is no good

ジャンボしぱらく見ないうちにまた大きくなった！

Jumbo, you’ve grown since the last time I saw you!

お？どこでおぼえたそのヤリフ

Oh? Where did you pick up that line?

まあいいかジャンボが二人分働くしな

Well, that’s all right. Jumbo can do two people’s worth of work.

Not sure what しな is doing here.

そんな事はない俺は働かない

I will do no such thing. I refuse to work under such conditions

働いてれ…

(Not sure about this one)

よつばがはたらく‼︎

I’ll work!

おー！えらいぞ、よつば！

Ooh! That’s very admirable, Yotsuba!

とーちゃんはダメだな！

Your dad’s no good tho

とーちゃんはダメだ‼︎

Dad is no good!!

[Nemuitanuki]

Did someone say sleep??