Japanese in one year?! - Not your usual study log

[Joanee]

I love your posts!!!
You’ve inspired me to make my own study log XD

[NeoArcturus]

I’m happy to hear that you like it making a study log is very useful for various reasons (e.g. you always keep track of what you’re doing and what you did, and for me, it’s also kinda like a motivation to keep studying hard ), so I think that this is a very good decision I hope you’ll have as much fun as I do Good luck with your studies

[trunklayer]

@NeoArcturusさん、頑張ってください！

[NeoArcturus]

Well, well, well, who do we have here? It seems like you are still with me, huh? Still reading my posts? Still bothering looking at my progress? Well, it’s your choice… Be warned, however, that you might see some things that you don’t like, or read things that make you feel uncontrollably angry, weird or Coelacanth If you feel like you’ve entered any of these states (and others as well) because of this post, it’s your own fault lmao

Anywayyyyyyyyyy, for today, I have a lot to say! So grab some popcorn, get a drink and don’t put your feet on the table, and we’re ready to start!

(Also, it’s Silvester, but that’s not so important right now bwahaha)

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So, after waiting for waaaaaaaaaaay to long, I finally started learning Grammar! Unbelievable, isn’t it? So, what am I using? Well, pretty much everything. Lemme explain:

So, my main grammar resource is BunPro, which @thatoddhaystack recommended me. Now, there are probably two thoughts that come to your head:

You are already going at a neckbreaking speed at WaniKani! Is it really a great idea to use another SRS?

In case of BunPro, yes, it is. Other than WaniKani, I can already access all Grammar points that I want at any time, so I don’t really have a rush doing the reviews to level up, because leveling up won’t effect how many Grammar points are unlocked for me to learn, which isn’t the case for WaniKani. But, I do go at the speed of light at BunPro, too, to get the most out of the free trial But in my opinion, it’s a lot more relaxed because of what I said.

What do you mean by “I use all grammar resources”?

I mean that I mainly work with BunPro to learn grammar, and whenever I don’t understand enough of the grammar point or feel like I don’t understand enough, I will use this (recommended by @thatoddhaystack) and that (recommended by @Remun) to make sure I completely understand it and can use it correctly. And, when it is summer and I have more time, I will also use Satori Reader (recommended by @Trunklayer) to really start getting into reading Japanese!

Until then, I will follow the Japanese Sentence a Day Challenge to practice writing Japanese, using my vocab and using the grammar I am learning.

So, how much did I already learn grammarwise? I already did the first four N5 lessons out of ten on BunPro since I started three ago. Pretty slow if you ask me… but hey, something is better than nothing, right?

My first impreesions on grammar are rather positive. The SOB type of sentences I am already familiar with from Latin, and until now, everything (except for the は and が particles) makes perfect sense.

Then, I also have to thank @pembo for helping me setting the layout of the IME I am using to a QWERTZ on!

Also, I started using KaniWani because I felt like I wasn’t too good at recalling the vocab I learned from English to Japanese, and I was right! Good think I got it now, right? Here is the same thing as with BunPro: There is no need to focus on regularly doing the reviews!

So, as you can see, not so many exciting things happened. To finish this post, let’s add some statistics to make it longer

As you might have noticed, I got some new userscripts, especially from @Kumirei (you make so many great userscripts, it’s not my fault I have to ping you every single time I update my log lol), but I won’t tell you which ones this time, go find them yourself

Alright, now for some more relaxed stuff: Since @ekg, @shikaji, @MinaCaesar and, indirectly, also @milila told me that the POLLs thread isn’t a place to place my notes about studying stuff, I will post some notes here from time to time. Also, since I assume that there are also some POLLers among you, let’s have a POLL that is typical for the POLLs thread, even though is this a study log

What do you prefer?

• Study log
• Study POLL
• Study Coelacanth

Alright, seeya in a few time units of undefined length

@Glias cat

[NeoArcturus]

ありがとうございました！

[trunklayer]

@NeoArcturus

told me that the POLLs thread isn’t a place to place my notes about studying stuff

To be honest, I find this really odd, because the POLLs thread is a place for everything…
I guess, it might be the meowtter of furequency of the posts, but still I find their complaint to be really odd…

However, from a purrely purractical standpoint, keeping one’s study notes mostly to one’s study log has the advantage of being able to find them more easily later

Anyway, you are handling it all realy well!

[NeoArcturus]

Thanks AFAIK, @shikaji blocked me because of my notes lol, but this time, I really don’t care, I was more like laughing because he did it so fast, like one note and whooooops, blocked

But yeah, it’s really better to keep it all here, in my log

[Glias]

@NeoArcturus

@Glias cat

[NeoArcturus]

You’re a true champion

[NeoArcturus]

Happy new year everyone!

So, 2024 has just started, meaning that 2023 has ended. Souns logical, right? Then let’s dive even deeper into this: If 2023 has just ended, that has to mean that December also ended, right? Hmmm, so what does this mean? It means that it’s time for a new edition of my study log, never seen before! It is the… MJJ - Monthly Summary - Edition! (I would have posted a yearly summary as well, but since I started Japanese pretty much in the last month of the year, that is not gonna happen lmao).

The first MJJ - Monthly Summary post, however, will not only be limited to December. I thought since I started learning Japanese literally just one day before, on November 30th, I’ll include this day as well so that we have a nice summary of all the days at which I studied Japanese! But, before we start, we will need a RTQ (Randomly thought questions) first!

What does MJJ stand for?

It stands for “My Japanese Journey”.

Why didn’t you use “My Japanese Learning Journey”, which would have fit better?

For three reasons:

1. Why should it fit better?
2. It’s my log, and I can do with it whatever I want!
3. Because I like how there are 2 Js in a row (J is the letter with whom my name and the words “Japan” and “Japanese” start hehe)!

Will this be more frequent than the Chrismas edition of your log?

Hmmm, that’s a hard question to answer… I don’t think I can tell just now, so you’ll have to find it out on your own.

Anyway, time to start the summary!

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MJJ - Monthly Summary: December 2023

Here, I will list important dates and what happened at these dates. Feel free to browse through them if you have a license. If you don’t… well, then you better not get cought by me, because otherwise…

Nov 30, 2023

Start of my journey of learning Japanese

• Started learning Hiragana
• Finished learning Hiragana

Dec 1, 2023

• Started learning Katakana
• Finished learning Katakana
• Started learning Kanji via WaniKani

Dec 5, 2023

• Level up on WaniKani (level up to level 2)

Dec 8, 2023

• Level up on WaniKani (level up to level 3)

Dec 16, 2023

• Level up on WaniKani (level up to level 4)

Dec 16, 2023

• I summoned @koichi by performing the secret sacred Crabigator ritual

Dec 23, 2023

• Level up on WaniKani (level up to level 5)

Dec 24, 2023

• Mastered the first items

Dec 28, 2023

• Started learning grammar via BunPro

Dec 30, 2023

• Level up on WaniKani (level up to level 6)

As you can see, nothing too exciting that happened.

I wish you all a happy new year, and may you all achieve your dreams and goals!

[NeoArcturus]

Quick sidenote I forgot to add: I really like the こういち mnemonics, they’re so ridiculous, and since I’ve already talked to こういち after summoning him, it makes them even easier for me to memorize

[NeoArcturus]

The ultimate guide for verb conjugation (Godan and Ichidan verbs)

Since I tend to confuse the verb endings for the different forms of the verbs (non-past polite, negative non-past casual etc.), I decided to make a very short overview here to help me keeping everything apart and finding a structure behind the rules.

Since this is something you might be able to use yourself, I’ll first explain some basic concepts about verb conjugation. If you, however, feel confident that you already know this well enough, feel free to skip it. It’s up to you

Basic concepts about verb conjugation

When conjugating a verb in Japanese, you’ll first have to find out to which verb group it belongs. There are, as far as I know, only three different types of verbs: Ichidan-Verbs (also る-verbs because in their dictionary form aka plain form, they always end in る, no exceptions), Godan-Verbs (also う-verbs, because in their plain form, they always end in a う-sound, no exceptions), and Irregular Verbs. Unlike in other languages, tho, there are only two irregular verbs, so that shouldn’t be to hard to remember. (If you know any other verbs, please let me know). Since irregular verbs are irregular, I’ll just focus on Ichidan and Godan verbs in this post. If you’re curious: The irregular verbs are 来(く)る (to come) and する (to do).

Note: Every Ichidan verb ends in る, but not every verb ending in る is actually a Ichidan Verb! If you remember, I said that Godan verbs end in an う-hiragana, and that includes sigh る. So, how can you tell whether a verb ending in る is actually an Ichidan verb or a Godan verb that is trying to disguise itself as an Ichidan verb? Well, if the last vowel before る is an a, o or u, then you can 100% tell that the verb is actually a Godan verb. If the last vowel before る is an i or e, you can assume that it’s probably an Ichidan verb.Yes, you heard me right, “probably”. For the verbs ending in -iru and -eru, you’ll just have to learn whether it’s an Ichidan verb or not, so that kinda sucks, but at least there are only two irregular verbs, so at least that’s not a problem

This is important to know because verbs from different verb classes conjugate differently. So, assuming you now know what Godan and Ichidan verbs are, let’s just get into it!

Endings for conjugations

A verb can be conjugated in eight different forms, these forms being the non-past, the non-past negative, the past and the past negative as well as the polite forms of all of these forms.

To conjugate any verb from these classes, you basically just modify or remove the last kana of the verb and add the appropriate ending. This is true for Ichidan verbs as well as Godan verbs. These endings are:

Verb form	Ending	Alternate Ending
Non-Past Casual
Non-Past Polite	ます
Non-Past Casual Negative	ない
Non-Past Polite Negative	ません	ないです
Past Casual	た (Exceptions for Godan Verbs; see below)
Past Polite	ました
Past Casual Negative	なかった
Past Polite Negative	ませんでした	なかったです

How to conjugate verbs

So, how do you know actually conjugate the verb? Welp, for Ichidan verbs, it’s very simple: You literally just replace the る with the corresponding ending and there you have it! At least that’s easy

As for Godan verbs, it’s slightly more complicated. Before you attach the ending needed to build the form you need, you have to modify the last kana of the verb. Godan verbs can end in the kana う, く, す, つ, ぬ, む, る,ぐ and ぶ. The modification itself follows these rules:

Non-Past Casual: Ok, here’s nothing to do :3

Non-Past Polite: Here, you have to change the kana to the kana from the same column that end in an い. For example, if your Godan verb ends in a く, you’ll have to change the ending to a き before adding the ending. Note that つ changes to ち and す changes to し.

Non-Past Casual Negative: Here, the last kana will change to the あ-kana within the same column, e.g. る changes to ら and す changes to さ. There is one exception in this column, though, namely う changes to わ instead of あ, so keep that in mind. (Also, つ changes to た, but that’s no irregularity, just wanted to add at.)

Non-Past Polite Negative: If you want to use the ないです, you can literally just make the Non-Past Casual Negative form of the verb and simply add a です at the end. If you, however, use ません, you first have to change the kana from the う one to the い one, just like for the Non-Past Polite form, before adding the ending.

Past Casual: This one’s a bit odd, so let’s talk about it at the end

Past Polite: For this, the kana modification is actually the same as for the polite Non-Past form, hurray!

Past Casual Negative: Here’s the same as with the last one: The kana modification follow the same rule as the kana modification for the negative Non-Past Casual!

Past Polite Negative: Exactly the same as with the Non-Past Polite Negative, just add the right ending and you’re good to go!

Now, to summarise all the kana modifications for Godan verbs in four rules, except for the Past Casual:

1. If you want to use a polite form, you change the う-kana to the い-kana within the same column, because you’re making it POLLite. (Hello POLLfam!)

2. If you want to use a casual negative form, you change the う-kana to the あ-kana within the same column, because you’re negating it. Don’t forget our little exception: う becomes わ!

(Here’s a mnemonic for you: After you read this, you say: “う does NOT become あ??? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, SAVE ME FROM THIS MADNESS!!!”)

3. If you want to make a polite negative form, you’ll use the modification rule for polite conjugations, because being polite, which is a positive thing, is better than being negative.

4. For the polite negative form, you also have the possibility to add a です to the casual negative form, because です makes things polite.

5. The best for the last, if you want to use the casual non-past form, just use the plain form.

The big exception

Now, let’s finally talk about the casual past of Godan verbs:

Here, the rules are very different from the rest, and it’s the only form of Godan verbs in which their ending doesn’t match the general verb endings and the kana modifications. This is why I wanted to save this for the last, as it is the exception to the rule.

First of all, the ending for the past casual for godan verbs is mostly た, there are, however, four exceptions, and these exception occur if the last kana of the verb is either a む, ぬ, ぶ or ぐ. In these cases, the correct ending is だ. Here’s a mnemonic for you to help remembering these four kana:

I usually buy and eat nudles from gucchi, but today, I have to give them to my cow so that she makes MUUUUUUU again.

Then, finally, let’s talk about kana modifications:

• る, う and つ become the small っ, because they all look pretty similar to っ (for る, you have to cut off the top two strokes, which happen to be the only straight strokes as well btw)
• く and ぐ both become い, because if you rearrange the two strokes of the い, you can make a く (and it’s hadukened version as well)
• す becomes し, because everyone likes sushi
• Finally, む, ぬ, and ぶ all become ん. Why this? Because your cow that makes MUUUUU thinks that buying nudles is going to be your nnnnnnnnext problem, considering your financies. (You could, however, sell that cow of your to solve your financial problems )

That’s it! Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything simpler for the rules of the casual past of Godan verbs.

Summary about verb conjugation for Ichidan and Godan verbs

For everyone who was too lazy to read through everything, I’ll repeat the most important things I said about verb conjugation:

Endings for the different conjugations

Verb form	Ending	Alternate Ending
Non-Past Casual
Non-Past Polite	ます
Non-Past Casual Negative	ない
Non-Past Polite Negative	ません	ないです
Past Casual	た (Exceptions for Godan Verbs; see below)
Past Polite	ました
Past Casual Negative	なかった
Past Polite Negative	ませんでした	なかったです

Ichidan Verbs

Any form = Plain form of the verb without る + correct ending

Exception for Ichidan Verbs: The Non-Past Non-Negative Casual form is just the plain form.

Gondan Verbs

Follow these steps to make any form:

1. Modify the last kana of the Verb in the plain form according to these rules

• a) If you want to use any polite form, change the う-sound kana to the い-sound kana within the same column to make it polite
• b) If you wand to use any negative form, change the う-sound kana to the あ-sound kana within the same column to negate the verb; don’t forget about the exception う—>わ
• c) In case you want to use any polite non-negative form, always follow the rule for the polite kana modification, because being polite, which is a positive thing, is better than being negative.

2. Add the correct ending after you’ve modified the verb. Note that if you want to use a polite negative form, you can also just take the casual negative form of the same tense and add a です to it, because です is the politeness marker.

Exceptions for Godan Verbs:

1. The non-past non-negative form is just the plain form of the verb.
2. The non-negative casual past follow it’s own rules:

• a) If the ending is む, ぬ, ぶ or ぐ, the ending used to build the past casual non-negative is だ

• b) The Kana changes are as follows:

  • If the last Kana is る, う or つ, it changes to the small っ
  • If the last Kana is く or ぐ, it changes to い
  • If the last Kana is む, ぬ or ぶ, it changes to ん
  • If the last Kana is す, it changes to し

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Ok, that’s it. I hope you find this helpful, and if you have any suggestions about adding or changing something, please let me know

[NeoArcturus]

@trunklayer did you sit here all the time to wait for me to post whatever I was writing!?

[trunklayer]

No, I just have this thread on Watching

[NeoArcturus]

But how is it possible that you instantly liked my post after I posted it?

[trunklayer]

When you have a thread on watching – you get a nyaaaaaaaaatification immeowdiately when a new pawst appears there

[NeoArcturus]

Yes, but you liked my post within one second. How did you load the page so fast, how did you click so fast, how did you do that??? You’re absolutely not a clumsy cat lol

[NeoArcturus]

I need some opinions, so go and POLL!

Did you find my ultimate grammar conjugation guide helpful?

• Yes
• No

Would you like to see more ultimate grammar guides by me?

• Yes
• No

[NeoArcturus]

Wow, a lot more people seem to read my posts than I had though! Ten people voted on this POLL, of which 5 are people I have never seen in this thread before! Well, if you like it, I won’t stop you

Anyway, you might ask why I make an update (update time!) at such a random time. This is because I just wanted to

So, I’ve become a bit lazy with grammar recently, but yesterday, I pushed myself to do another lesson on BunPro. Also, I’ve began to write ultimate guides for grammar, because I don’t like how the related informations are scattered up all over the lessons on BunPro, so I wanted to find out a system and rules behind them, and I started with the ultimate guide for verb conjugation because this is where I had the most problems, at least for Godan verbs. And it ended up helping me a lot! I’m now finally able to recall all the rules that I need for verb conjugations, so I will continue doing this. Additionally, I also added a new section in my original post where I link all the posts with my grammar guides.

Regarding WaniKani, not so much happened since I’m still at level 6, and I’ll level up at Saturday.

Here are some statistics:

Also, here are my settings for the heatmap regarding the reviews:

And, to finish this post, we also have to celebrate something. I got the “New user of the month” badge!

Alright, that’s it! I hope to see you someday soon

(Btw can someone pls tell me how to make these cool checkboxes I see in other study logs?)

[NeoArcturus]

@trunklayer btw it’s very nyaaaaaaaice of you that you are watching this thread