Tip's Notes & Plans

[tip]

2/2/2025
Yesterday, I spent a big chunk of time catching up on reading study logs here. It looks like several people had a rough end of month. If I didn’t leave a heart on your post, know that I’m still rooting for you. We made it! It’s a new month so let’s go!!!
Due to the way I used the lesson picker, the entire level 12 vocab will come at once after I reach level 13. That’s ok because this set of kanji is the first where the majority feel new or only vaguely familiar. Spending a week-10 days on the vocab before moving on to the next level is a good strategy.

4:17 Passive form was lame but standard for the app. The vocab included a few expressions that may come in handy. I have done some review of previous notes on the three uses of the passive form etc. to supplement. Next week, I may add it to my conjugation drills.
4:18 Geography was mostly vocabulary that I might use in special circumstances. The grammar notes did not figure prominently in the lessons. I solo’d the friend quest and whiffed because my teammate was afk all week. 4:19 the law should be fun since it looks useful for detective and mystery novels.

80% two days in a row. Maybe taking a break from the grind is a good idea.

Started A2-4 yesterday. The plan is to do lessons (2 hours each) twice a week and review notes in between. This would be easier with a teacher or if some kind soul made a few you tube vids in English. Without that, I am doing quite a bit of additional labor on the grammar. Maybe, the struggle will help cement it into my brain.

Reading days have been moved; still looking for a best practice in this area of study.

next chapter downloaded for tomorrow during outdoor walk.

[tip]

2/5/2025
Level 13 reached today. Level 12 still has 60 vocabulary. Level 13 has 15/15R 22/35K 40/128V unlocked.

章 chapter 童 child

4:19 The Law was interesting. The vocab can be found in WK 20s levels. The only thing I recall from those levels was how much I wanted to quit WK. Now I am looking forward to it. There are so many words that appear to be synonyms. This time, I will use a dictionary to help distinguish their meanings, which should make the levels less challenging.
4:20 Weather started today. The amount of synergy this unit has with my current WK level is uncanny. Started a friend quest with @feralfuton. I will only do 8 qualifying lessons per day because, in reality, that means more than 8 lessons.

The Law vocabulary

Sand 砂 WK 36 すな
Hill 岡 WK 21 おか
Desert 砂漠 WK 35 さばく

Steal 盗む WK 30 ぬすむ
Prison 刑務所 WK 37 けいむしょ Nb. WK 35 獄 ごく

Pickpocket 掏摸 WK 0 すり
Commit (a crime) 犯す WK 20 おかす

crimeつみ 罪 WK 20 vocab = sin,crime WK 20 kanji ざい= guilt Nb. Duo uses this in multiple ways and in combination with other kanji e.g. crime, punishment, fault, guilt

Crime 犯罪 WK 20 はんざい
Criminal 犯人 WK 20 はんにん Culprit -Just note that 犯人 is mostly used to talk about the culprit of a specific crime, not criminals in general.

Arrest 逮捕する WK 27 たいほする
Appeal/sue 訴える WK 25うったえる
Trial 裁判 WK 23 さいばん
Fair 公平 WK 0 こうへい

Intent -usually written in hiragana -つもり (積もり)
WK 29 積もるTo Accumulate

A Judge (person) 裁判官 WK 0 さいばんかん
KANJI 裁WK23 さい judge 判 WK21 ばん judge 官 WK17 かん government

Innocence (not guilty) 無罪 WK0 むざい
Guilty 有罪 WK 20 ゆうざい
Verdict 判決 WK 0 はんけつ

RANDOM 半ケツ はんケツ hanketsu having buttock cleavage exposed

Insistence, claim 主張 WK 0 しゅちょう
Confirmation, settlement 確定 WK 0 かくてい
確 WK 20KANJI かく Certain

60% accuracy today tanked my weekly average. Spent some time practicing passive and potential forms offline and posted a couple of sentences in the grammar thread.

on target-- one grammar point seemed not that important but I saw it on each of the first 3 pages of my readings later in the week. It was used in a different context, which made it immediately obvious why it would be a good to know.

I’m no longer separating intensive/extensive practices. Tadoku level 4 stories are engaging because they are retelling Western tales. One such, which I had never heard before was Donkey Skin. It is about a king who owns a donkey that poops gold. He decides he must marry his daughter. She asks him for a dress made of the donkey hide. When he complies, she runs away. The rest of the tale is like a Cinderella story.
Another one is about an Amelia Badelia type character who misunderstands Japanese in funny ways. The last one was Aladdin and 40 thieves. Total 20+15+25 pages over 3 days.

3.2 Recreation and Relaxation complete. I learned that 7 Samurai was a movie which inspired The Magnificent 7 and probably Firefly. I forgot I knew that か can mean “or”. Also forgot: x は y は for contrasting elements.

Random: I want to write the Law and Order opening monologue in Japanese. It was one of my favorite shows for a while.
Japanese listening shower on you tube
Coto Japanese Academy on you tube
Signed up for digital library card for access to JF foundation catalogue… processing.

[tip]

2/9/2025

My version of the Law and Order opening monologue:

In our legal system, citizens are served by two separate but equally important groups. 法制度にで、国民は2つ 別に、しかし同じように 重要な 組によって 支えられています.
They are the police, who investigate crimes, and the lawyers, who prosecute criminals.それは、犯罪を 調べる 警察と、犯罪者を 訴える 弁護士です。

These are their stories.

これは 彼らの 物語です。

finished last level 12 vocab new lessons today. Will start level 13 in a few days.

Distinguish 旅行 travel, trip, journey, excursion, tour
Travel as entertainment. Overseas trips and honeymoons are classified here because the purpose is to have fun.

and 旅 travel, trip, journey
To visit somewhere away from home. The purpose is often to train oneself or improve one’s sensitivity by visiting unfamiliar places and interacting with people there. hinative.com/25212020

都会 city and 都合 convienience

finished 4:20 Weather today. Lots of onomatopoeia.

78.8%

almost halfway through; content reviews previous knowledge with some new stuff sprinkled in. Passive voice, comparisons and adjectives. Will make some sentences on my own with Duolingo weather vocab. The hardest part is that the speaking has sped up tremendously. It sounds like a foreign language until I read the text and realize most of the words are totally familiar to me.

spent 30 minutes on the first 15 minutes of Japanese Listening Shower about making money.

downloaded next; Weather and Landscapes for tomorrow.

[Jintor]

検事 (public prosecutor) might be more appropriate than 弁護士 (general lawyer)

[tip]

Cool thanks. I was trying to see what could be done with my limited vocab and grammar. The actual monologue includes words like criminal justice system, represented by, offenders and district attorneys.

[tip]

2/12/2025

started level 13

finished 4:21 making plans

holding steady at 70%

weekend activity

continuing with Japanese Listening Shower

expected this to be a review of weather terms but got …adjectives, adverbs, comparisons, impressions, feelings and making suggestions.

[tip]

2/16/2025
This week, my brain refused to accept new information. I dealt with this by outputting some vocabulary and grammar in random sentences about the weather.

Sentences about Weather

I can see clearly, now the rain is gone. 雨が止んだので、いままざまざ見えます。(a song from the 70s)

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains . スペインの雨は主に草地に降ります。(My Fair Lady)

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning
<When the sky turns red at night, sailors are merry; when the sky turns red in the morning, sailors are worried.>
夜に空が赤くなると、船員は陽気です。朝に空が赤くなると、船員は心配です。(an adage with some evidence backing it)

If spiders are many and spinning their webs, the spell will soon be very dry. クモがたくさんいて、巣を張っていると、すぐに干天してしまいます。(also based)

When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass. 草の上に露(つゆ)があると雨は全然起こらない。 (credible?)

When the wind is in the east, it’s good for neither man nor beast. 風が東から吹くと、人間にとってでも動物にとってでもだめでわありません。
When the wind is in the north, the old folk should not venture forth. 北風が吹いていると、老人は出かけてはいけません。
When the wind is in the south, it blows the bait in the fishes’ mouth. 南風が吹くと、魚の口の中に餌(えさ)をあげています。
When the wind is in the west, it is of all the winds the best.” 西風が吹くと、それはすべての風の中で最良の風です。(never heard this one before…not sure what the fish line means)

露 つゆ dew 餌 えさ bait

If you don’t like the weather here, just wait 15 minutes。ここには天気が気好きじゃないなら、15分待ってください。

She’s as cold as ice. 彼女は氷のように冷たい。(a song from the 80s?)
She is colder than ice. 彼女は氷よりも冷たい。.
She seems as cold as ice. 彼女は氷のように冷たいようだ。
I heard that she is as cold as ice. 彼女は氷のように冷たいらしい。
They say that she is as cold as ice. 彼女は氷のように冷たいんだって。

completed all available lessons which means a ton of vocabulary will unlock in a couple of days.

4:22 Food appears to be material I already did before they changed the skill tree.

skipped too many days

I’m finding the lack of kanji disturbing at this point. So much familiar vocabulary goes over my head because it’s written in hiragana or even katakana. My pace is ahead of schedule though.

JF foundation library card came through. I spent more time scrolling the catalogue than actually reading. At my level (juvenile), there are plenty of choices. After that, the well runs dry pretty quickly. There are more English translations of Japanese than expected at the adult level.

need to download for tomorrow’s commute.

[tip]

2/19/2025
85 vocabulary level 13 unlocked with 7/7 R 23/33 K 54/129 V for level 14

4:22 Food complete; started 4:23 Conflict yesterday

not seeing progress; probably going to try something else

weekend activity; reached my February goal already

borrowed なぜ?どうして?動物のお話

This is from a series which was featured a couple of times in the AB book club. The library only has this volume rather than the ones from the club. They read a page per day. I have 18 days left on the borrow before it must be returned. My pace will be faster unless I can borrow again without a long cooldown. 8% completed (pages not numbered).
• Pandas have 5 指and 0 親指.
• 本 is the counter for fingers

• Katakana is my kryptonite
• うんち means poop

Cooking and Eating. Surprised again by the content. If I were using this app for studying, finding the hidden grammar would be a PITA. Included : verb conjugation by groups, counters for measures , giving directions in a sequence via recipes, the difference between take /bring objects and helping .
手伝う to help someone who can help themselves (assist)
助ける to help someone in need (rescue)
もっていく speaker moves with something to someone/somewhere (hold 持and go行).
私はパーティーにデザートをもっていきます。I will take dessert to the party.
もってくる something moves toward speaker (hold 持and come来) 彼女はパーティーにデザートをもってきます。She is bringing desert to the (ｍy) party.

[tip]

2/23/2025
started level 14 and distinguished the vocab so far that means “feeling or emotion”; Tuesday! Are you okay? UPDATE … Tuesday is now at 146 just before bedtime.

finished Conflict; started 4:24 Disasters

Disaster

災害 disaster WK 20 さ い が い

津波 tsunami WK 36 つなみ

備える to prepare for WK 23 そ な え る

洪水 flood WK 56 こうずい

嵐 storm WK 44 あらし

伴う to be involved in、to be consequent upon WK 38 ともなう

被害 damage, injury, harm WK 20 ひがい

もたらす （usually written using kana alone）to bring about, to cause

停電 power outage WK 23 ていでん

破壊 destruction, disruption、(application) crash WK 35 はかい

犠牲 sacrifice、casualty WK 52 ぎせい

避難 finding shelter, evacuation, WK 38 ひなん

奪う to take (by force) WK 38 うばう

遮る to block (light, wind, etc.), to intercept, to cut off WK 57 さえぎる

ろうそく （usually written using kana alone）candle

警報 alarm, warning WK 17(警)けいWK 18 (報 ) ほう

火災 fire WK 20 かさい 火事 WK 9 かじ

火事 ⇒ the situation where something is burning with flames

火災 ⇒ the disaster caused by a fire

re-installed Quizlet on my phone and made flashcard set for conjugation rules. I had a moment of smugness looking back at cards I once considered to be leeches. At some point, apparently, I had the foresight to make cards for over 3000 kanji but I can’t recall how now.

worked ahead to the next two lessons; really just a preview without taking notes

なぜ?どうして?動物のお話 21% done with 14 days remaining. Topics read so far: panda hands and poop, dog tail communication, rabbit birthing/dens, frog eyeballs, hippo poop and giraffe feeding…skipped the loyal Akita story because it’s old news and the clock is ticking on the lending period for this e-book. I’ve seen people track their time and amount read but I can’t come up with a system that won’t just make me a neurotic. 21 days does not feel like long enough.

tomorrow’s unit will be 3:5 Shopping and Apparel

[tip]

Friday, February 28, 2025 End of Month Progress Check-in

WK: 2 levels a month including vocabulary (12 and 13)

Conjugation drills: consistently average 90% accuracy for verbs

Duolingo: 8 units per month (18 to 25)

Marugoto: half of A2-4

Extensive reading: finish all levels of tadoku free stories

Intensive reading: graduate from short stories

Mango: 4 units per month (3.2 to 3.5)

[tip]

3/2/2025
survived Tuesday by doing reviews at work; found and reported an error

finished Disasters 4:24 and The Law 4:25

The Law Vocabulary

被告 defendant, the accused ひこくWK20 被 Incur WK18 告 Announce

宣告 sentence, verdict, pronouncement せんこく WK33 宣Proclaim

ところ usually written using kana alone, noun after present form of a verb= about to, on the verge of

白状 Confession はくじょう WK22状 Condition

• WK18告白 Confession (This word is often used when someone confesses romantic feelings for someone else.)

捕まえる to catch, to capture, to arrest, to seize, to restrain (つか)まえる WK25 捕 Catch

刑 Penalty, punishment けい WK37刑 Punish

死刑 Death penalty しけい WK37死刑

罪の無い Innocent つみのない

違法 Illegal いほう WK24 違 Different WK15 法 Method

盗む to steal ぬすむ WK30 盗む

囚人 Prisoner しゅうじん WK39 囚人

行為 Act, deed こうい WK35 行為Deed

脱走者 Escapee, runaway だっそうしゃ WK23 脱走する To Escape

証拠 Proof , evidence しょうこWK41 証拠 Physical Evidence

議論 Discussion ぎろん WK20 議論 Argument, Discussion, Controversy

許す Forgive ゆるす WK18 許す To Permit

証言 Testimony しょうげん WK16証言

裏付け Supporting うらづけ WK33裏 Backside

enjoying the practice; might do the drill once a week to see if it is working for me

need to review notes and may finish the course this week; test next week??

no reading at all this week; 7 days left on the loan

conjugating verbs and counters for clothes, double particles への
Downloaded 3.6 Tasks and Errands for tomorrow.

counters

Footwear – そく
Suits, coats, jacket, dress - ちゃく
Sweater,shirt, pants, underwear, kimono – まい
Necktie, belt-ほん
Firm hat - こ
Soft cap - まい

Random:
went to an outdoor art exhibit… metal sculpting that looks like origami.

[tip]

3/5/2025
probably leveling up in 2 days; some of the kanji coming up for burns are giving me trouble because I preferentially remember the vocabulary reading
finished 4:26 Home- This unit differs from the one on Mango in that it focused on items in the house rather than the rooms. Some of the English translations are strained; would prefer idioms to be taught as set phrases

Talk About Home

Rent 家賃 やちん WK33
Garage 車庫 しゃこ WK28
To spread out (e.g. a futon), to lay out/down 敷く WK 40 しく
Ceiling 天井 WK16 てんじょう

• 天井に虫が止まっています。A bug is crawling on the ceiling. 止まる also means to alight, to perch on but not crawling. 這うWK 0 はうto crawl, to creep, to go on all fours may have been a better choice.

Carpet じゅうたん
Living room (Western style) 居間 WK27いま

• Note that 居間 is a little old-fashioned. These days, the more common word for a living room is リビングルーム.

Oversleep 寝坊 WK 22 ねぼう
Toothpaste 歯磨き粉 はみがきこ WK12歯tooth WK45磨きpolish WK31粉 powder
Toothbrush 歯ブラシ
Covered in だらけ full of (e.g. mistakes), riddled with,covered all over with (blood, mud, etc.)
Dust ほこり
Properly きちんと onomatopoeic neatly, tidily, orderly

• ちゃんとperfectly, properly

Wardrobe/drawers たんす
Scent 香り WK39 かおり
Extra 余分 よぶん WK20,27 余 Surplus
Pillow 枕 WK30 まくら
Blanket 毛布 WK19 もうふ
Plushie ぬいぐるみ

着々

will finish the class this week and take the exam on a slow day next week; notable moment: someone recently made a disgruntled post about “too bad” being the primary meaning for 残念 and today this cultural note came up in the course.

3 days left

finished 3.6 Tasks and Errands; grammar focused on “double particles” への、からの、までの、との see also:

Combined Particles

[tip]

level 14 vocabulary remaining = 15;

unlocked 8/8 R, 31/36 K, 32/116 V for level 15.

started 4:27 Commands. Learned that sentences can end with を andな
Have a safe trip. 安全な ご旅行 を。

• Sentences that end with the particle を are left unfinished as the verb which would logically follow を is either implied by the context or is left to the listener or reader’s interpretation. In many cases, these sentences are imperatives instructing the listener or reader to take a certain action. Japanese Sentences That End With the Particle を (wo) – The World In Japanese or Particle を: Direct Object Marker

Sit here. ここに 座り な。

Don’t neglect your duties. ぎむ を おこたる な。義務 を 怠る な。

• 怠(おこた)る godan verb transitive verb: to neglect, to be negligent in, to be neglectful of, to fail to do, to leave undone, to avoid (doing), to shirk, to be unmindful of

Don’t be lazy. なまける な。怠ける な。

• 怠(なま)けるIchidan verb intransitive verb: to be lazy, to be idle, to slack OR to neglect (e.g. one’s work), to be neglectful of, to skip (e.g. school)

Clean your room. 部屋 を 掃除 な

Don’t run in the hallway. 廊下 を 走る な。

Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese

着々

reviewing notes
of course I didn’t finish. Youngsters may be fascinated by digestion and poop but it wore thin for me. What should I read next?

downloaded 3:7 travel and tourism

[tip]

slacking off this week;
doing the bare minimum
to keep up my streak.
Hey that rhymes and it’s a haiku.

[tip]

Sunday, March 16, 2025
in a holding pattern because of the multiple days without doing lessons; waiting for kanji to guru so I can get some vocabs to do.

finished 4:27 Commands and started and finished 4:28 Schedule Plans- the vocab/grammar is a bit confusing; will spend my WK wait time on this.

finished A2-4; passed course 95% and tested 80%; will start next course in April

deciding if I should take the plunge and just start a novel already; I really want to read but get bored with the things I can read. Several folks on the forum are reading above their level and describe it as a grind. I don’t want to end up hating reading due to the process being so tedious. Book clubs are an option. They did not work well for me last time, but I could pick a book that is finished and go at my own pace.
https://community.wanikani.com/t/javerends-study-and-cooking-log/62010/803?u=tip
finished 3:7 travel and tourism ; downloaded 4:8 Physical Descriptions and Humor- that’s an odd combination.

[RebBlue]

@tip

Several folks on the forum are reading above their level and describe it as a grind. I don’t want to end up hating reading due to the process being so tedious.

Personally I don’t touch the novels unless I’m actively wanting to. Starting a novel doesn’t mean you’re obligated to work on it regularly, just when you’re up for it.

[polv]

@tip

I don’t want to end up hating reading due to the process being so tedious. Book clubs are an option. They did not work well for me last time, but I could pick a book that is finished and go at my own pace.

I certainly think that going at “my pace” is an important part of fun, as well as passing the test of time. Book clubs could be good for encouraging discussion and improving understanding. But I still feel they compromise my pace in one or another direction.

They can be good for recommending easier novels or alike, nonetheless.

[tip]

How did you choose what to read? I feel like manga and angst filled stories are most commonly recommended. Neither one appeals to me.

[RebBlue]

Well, I read the children’s book that was the first pick of the ABBC, because it was the first one. I have one novel my sister bought me, which I didn’t choose (and rarely read). And I’ve been attempting the Apothecary Diaries light novels because I really enjoyed the anime.

If there’s a novel for something you’ve already read or watched in English, you’ll know the plot so it’s less stressful when you don’t understand everything. Otherwise, it is just looking at recommendations and reading the blurbs of many books.

[tip]

3/17/2025 NOTE- the formatting of this post is awful; the window kept crashing and I could not be as bothered to fix the spacing etc. repeatedly.
leveled up yesterday but the banner has not appeared so no screenshot; level 15 has 40 vocab remaining; level 16 unlocked 5/5 R, 28/33 K, 36/123 V
Finished 4:28 Plans; started 4:29 Polite Speech.

Commands and Plans Vocabulary

Duolingo was fast and loose with its use of words; my lookups did not really match what the owl was telling me in these two units-- take it all with a grain of salt. I will do the WK levels later.
Commands vocab
ほら Hey
責任 WK21 Blame せきにん
無駄 WK50 Pointlessness むだ
も っ た い な い WK58 Wasteful,a waste
怠る WK52 Neglect おこたる
義務 WK21 Duty, obligation, responsibility ぎむ
当番 WK0 Duty,being on duty とうばん
Whether or not WK0 かどうか
担当 WK24 Responsibility, being in charge, being responsible たんとう
真面目 WK0 Seriousまじめ
怠け者 ^Lazy person なまけもの
決して WK0 Never (not) ever with neg. sentence, けっして
分担WK24 WK0 Contribution/divide taking on one’s share (e.g. of work), assignment ぶんたん
禁じる WK18 Forbidden, to forbid, to ban, to prohibit きんじる
飲酒運転 WK21 Drunk driving いんしゅうんてん
際 WK21 Case/occasion さい
確かめ WK22 Confirm,certification たしかめ 確か たしか
喫煙 WK18 Smoking きつえん
Tries WK0 とする
応じる WK22 Comply おうじる
説得 WK19 Persuade, persuasion せっとく
Plans vocab
訪ねる WK27 To visit たずねる
急ぎ WK16 Hurried, haste, hurry いそぎ
To bring a person 連れてくる to bring someone along つれてくる
To take a person 連れるto take (someone) with one, to bring along, to go with, to be accompanied by つれる
確認 WK21 Confirmation かくにん
Just in case念のため just to make sure ねんのため
再び WK28 Again ふたたび
WK0 Finally, at lastとうとう
留守Wk16 absence, being away from homeるす
将来 WK36The future しょうらい
日付 WK0 Date ひづけ e.g. 3/19/2025
去る WK10^To leave さる
^都合WK12 availability circumstances, condition, one’s convenience つごう

空芯手帳 Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi “ A novel about a woman who fakes a pregnancy to escape her mundane office job and discover herself.” I took @RebBlue’s advice and looked at a lot of blurbs until this one struck a chord. How hard will it be? My plan is to read as extensively as possible without getting too bogged down in the details. Tomorrow 5AM is the equinox so a good time to join a read-a-thon doing as much as I can in the day. So far, I have read one page and may have found a joke/play on words. The author knows many ways to say swollen.
Finished 3:8 Physical descriptions (there was no humor)

Vocabulary

brown hair 茶髪 ちゃぱつ
easy going, generous hearted おおらかな
friendly, open hearted 気さくな
talkative, chatty お喋り おしゃべりなusually written using kana alone
sensitive, nervous神経質 しんけいしつな
shy内気 うちきな
^serious minded, honest, sincere 真面目 まじめな
sober yet refined (like a man aging well or a classic vintage handbag) elegant (and unobtrusive), quiet (and simple) 渋い しぶい
showy, loud, tacky派手 はでな
to wear/put on clothes 着る きる
to wear/put on bottoms履く はく
to wear/put on hats被る usually written using kana alone かぶる
to wear/put on eyewear or neckwear 掛ける usually written using kana alone かける
what’shisname なんなんだ
soy sauce face- typically Japanese
Worchester sauce face- typically western