Tell me your WHY!

Might sound extremely stupid, but I learned it intensively for 4 months so far, solely to suprise the heck out of my friends and family the next we time visit Japan.

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Well, I can proudly say that we both passed the JLPT (N5 in my case and N3 in my daughterā€™s case)!

Now on to the next endeavour - the next round of JLPT in July :wink:

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Congratulations! Iā€™m sure youā€™ll do well in the next round, too! :sparkles::sparkles:

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anime. thatā€™s it. anime

what resources did you use to get to this point?

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To avoid thinking about the pointlessness and cruelty of life until the good Lord calls my name.

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Iā€™m studying Japanese because I first had an interest in it when I started watching anime when I was 10 (Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple was my first anime show itā€™s so awesome). At first it was just the love of anime, but after curiosity got the better of me, I started exploring other aspects of Japanese culture just for the heck of it. Thatā€™s when I realized my love for it. Also, I have a love for sports, mainly Track and Field, and the Olympic Games is coming up to take place in Tokyo in 2020. I may not be the fastest athlete right now, but if I could train hard enough, I would like to compete there. Also the fact that it is taking place in Japan seems like a sign to me. Itā€™s my destiny.

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I became interested around age 10 from playing and getting into Pokemon :blush: Only in the last 3 years have I been studying Japanese properly though - I recently really like Showa era idols and dramas which naturally have barely any English information, hence itā€™s helping me to practise a lot :ok_hand:t3::sparkles:

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Well, I married a Japanese person who moved to my country for study/work. We visit friends and family in Japan about once a year and I really want to be able to converse properly with them. As I can speak several other foreign languages already, I hate being weaker in Japanese. When in Japan, Iā€™m often told I donā€™t really need to know how to read - but I think thatā€™s ridiculous. In any case, itā€™s so much easier to recall vocabulary if you know the underlying kanji. Wanikani is really helping with that.

Iā€™ve come to appreciate lots of aspects of Japanese culture - particularly food, classical art, nature, Japanese Buddhism, and the language itself. Interestingly, however, my spouse hated living in Japan and would never move back, so Iā€™ll never know what thatā€™s like first hand!

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Kinda complicated.

Iā€™ve been studying for 3.5 years now, but watching anime for more than 5.
I started with the book Japanese from Zero (do not recommend) and barely got through three chapters before I cracked and learned hiragana and katakana in a day with Tofuguā€™s guide. After that, I bought Textfugu and got through it in 3 months. I studied for eight hours a day to do it (nothing better to do), but I wouldnā€™t recommend doing it that fast. I did learn a lot though. Directly after finishing Textfugu, I got in contact with a Japanese teacher at a local school and we talk in Japanese for an hour a week. It has helped so so so much and I highly recommend native interaction. I had the AP Japanese exam in April of last year, and practice for that helped my listening and speaking. Also, this might sound a little weird, but whenever Iā€™m alone and/or bored I have a conversation with myself in Japanese. Constantly reminding myself of the language has helped me gain an intuition for what sounds good and what doesnā€™t.

The community of this site tends to make learning Japanese into a flashcard game, but I believe that all grammar (and some vocab) should be picked up naturally instead of rote memorized. Not that I donā€™t see the appeal of flashcards, but make sure to supplement them with context. My best tip is to read and listen to as much Japanese as you can and donā€™t be afraid to make mistakes.

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How advanced were you when you started talking with your teacher for an hour in Japanese only? cuz if all you had was tofugu then it couldnā€™t have been too muchā€¦

Iā€™m halfway through N4 and am part of a Japanese Language Club at my University (we donā€™t learn Japanese there, itā€™s weird I know). Do you think that Iā€™m at the level to be able to tell the native Japanese people in the club ā€œfrom now on only speak Japanese to meā€?

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I was really bad at Japanese when I first started using it. I donā€™t think anyone is good at a language when they start. But that shouldnā€™t discourage you.

I found that you can use basic grammar points in roundabout ways to convey pretty much anything you need. The more you practice, the more you will be able to use what you know to cover for what you donā€™t, and thatā€™s a very useful skill to have. Also, itā€™ll make it easier to pinpoint exactly what you need to learn and youā€™ll pick up new phrases as you go. Honestly, itā€™s the best thing you can do for your fluency because it helps in so many multifaceted ways.

Put yourself out there and of course use Japanese whenever you can!! Iā€™m sure the people in your club will be happy to help :slight_smile:

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Very boring. My company has a factory in Japan, and I want to be able to talk to them or at least read their powerpoints. I already am pretty conversant in German and talk to German coworkers in German. It helps to make the info transfer much easier. So yeah. Then maybe I can get a tour for a year in Japan like I did with Germany. They sent me for over three years to live and work there, it was awesome! Would love to do Japan.

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Videogames. I REALLY liked videogames as a child.
My family moved to Seattle just before I started high school and they offered Japanese there. I immediately signed up. I only got a year in before I ended up homeless and leaving school so Iā€™m only just now starting again 10 years later.

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That is awesome. I would be surprised if I could convince my mom to learn it. Did you take the n5 in DĆ¼sseldorf? I wish you all the best for your further journey. ćŒć‚“ć°ć£ć¦ļ¼

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The last N5 test was in Cardiff, FYI
Iā€™m waiting for my results!!

hoping :blush:

Been in Love with Japan and itā€™s culture for 15 years now. Want to learn the language so I can retire there. Also forever wandering the streets of Osaka finding new restaurants. :slight_smile:

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I met a cute girl and needed to communicate better with her. Now weā€™re married and Iā€™m living here.
I still have to work on my kanji though, hence Wanikani :slight_smile:

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I have had a lifelong interest in Japanese culture, probably starting with sanrio characters in the 80ā€™s, and later Harajuku fashion in the late 90ā€™s and early 00ā€™s. I never got a chance to travel abroad until I was in my late 20ā€™s and once I finally had enough money saved I went to Japan for my 30th birthday! From there, my love for Japan kicked into high gear, I love the seasons, the food, and the tranquility that seems to permeate everyday life there. And luckily, I am deeply interested in the language which I canā€™t say for any other language Iā€™ve studied. I started studying Japanese while living in NYC later that same year and went back a year and a half later for 6 weeks, at that point I decided I wanted to try and move there. Which I did 2 years after that - my chance came when my company was acquired by a global company which had an office in Tokyo and requested an assignment there.

I was lucky enough to live in Tokyo and do a year of intensive Japanese school, while continuing to work for my company for 2.5 years in the Tokyo office. I attempted the N3 JLPT and narrowly failed mostly due to being behind with kanji, and my Japanese skill level I think is just ok. However, I believe I will be a lifelong student, as I now feel the language is a part of who I am. I canā€™t imagine who I would be without the friends I have made and experiences I have had all because I chose to study japanese and live in Japan. I moved back to the US this summer, due to work and a physical health issue but I hope once i recover I will be able to go back, to live, or just to visit, I know I will always go back because it feels like home and will be part of me forever. Iā€™ll never stop studying as it strengthens my bond with my friends there, and a country I love.

Oh, I am also getting foot surgery in a few weeks, and one of my goals while Iā€™m immobile is to make as much progress on wanikani as possible. I had the free version for like 3 years and finally coughed up cash for a monthly membership. I figure Iā€™ll have nothing but time for about 90 days!

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Because I love Japanese culture! Have gotten into anime/manga via my SO a couple of years ago and intend to travel to Japan sometime in the next five years (once I get a real engineering job, currently a student). I love and am trying to learn how to cook more authentic Japanese food, learning about Japanese history, etc.

The NOW is because someone on the language learning subreddit wanted to know new yearā€™s resolutions for 2019 and I realize that I was sick of TALKING about learning Japanese rather than actually doing it.

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