My first month learning japanese

WaniKani
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Finally got my ass out of the gutter and started learning a new language. Since I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, I figured I might as well go for it. I don’t read manga or watch anime, though I’m a huge fan of Gaki no Tsukai and Documental, so my goal is to be able to read and understand the language and perhaps be able to have some light conversation in a couple of years. I also work with video games, so maybe some basic understanding will have some upsides there??

I found out about WaniKani through Tofugu, and found out that mnemonics really clicked for me when I plowed through hiragana and katakana through that site in a couple of hours and somehow still remember them.

I can fit in something like 40 minutes to an hour of studying every day, but hopefully I can ramp things up as the lesson and review load goes up.

Here’s my stats so far:

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Seems like I’m doing alright remembering what things mean, but I’m kinda crap on the vocabs(?). Though I’m finding it easier now than before, so I hope that means I’m getting better. Getting my head around KUN and ON (and the multiple versions therein) has been a real pain, but I’m finally getting the grasp of it I feel like.

Halfway into level 3 I also felt comfortable dipping my toe into some grammar, using BunPro and a few YouTube channels. This has led to me being able to ready my first few full sentences (the first reading exercises on BunPro) in Japanese without any help, which felt great! I’ve also ordered Genki 1 and 2 and plan on going through these.

I must say that WaniKani really opened up this whole thing for me, as gamifying learning really helps motivate me. Or I should perhaps say Tofugu, which pointed me to this wonderful tool.

Here’s to the next month!

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Tofugu is the company behind WaniKani if you weren’t aware :wink:

Welcome to the club! It’s a long journey (see my Projections script if you want that kind of estimate) but you can do it :muscle:

Remember to pace yourself or you will wind up with way too many Apprentice items & therefore, reviews per day. (In other words, use scripts like the Expected Daily script or the GanbarOmeter when doing lessons to make sure it’s manageable)

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Thanks! :partying_face:

Yeah I’m super motivated, but I’m definitely trying to stop myself from overloading myself. I’m going to try out the scripts you recommended!

And according to your cool script I might actually get to level 50-55 before my planned trip to Japan in a year and a half if I keep at it. Not sure what that means in proficiency, but hopefully together with the grammar study (and some tutoring) I can read some signs and menus :slight_smile:

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With all that together, you’d be quite far on your Japanese journey. As far as kanji are concerned, even in the Hell levels (30s) you’ll be able to recognize the overwhelming majority of kanji you see

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