Learning Japanese ?

Didn't know where to post this.

I'm willing to learn japenese and I'd wonder if anyone know if it's possible to learn by myself and good material (site, books...)

There's a manga series that was release in 4 volumes. Called kanji de manga and it teaches you how to read and write Japanese. If you'd like to learn how to speak Japanese Rosetta stone is the way to go.

Have said it before and will say it again: look up the Genki books, they're are probably the best. IS what I used at university, and is probably the ones most easy to come by even in a bookstore.

http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/index.en.html

Their site. I must say though, that learning any working japanese just by yourself is a hell of a project. Taking lessons is adviced.

I'd say it's possible, if you're determined enough (a lot). Taking lessons would be better, but I can understand that they may not be available to you.
I recommend this excellent Japanese grammar guide.
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar

Try Genki for learning grammar (it's really easy to google).
For learning hiragana and katakana: Japanese for Busy People Workbook.
And for basics of kanji system: Basic Kanji Book.

I'm studying Japanese on university and these three books make up more than 90% of our study materials.

If you have access to a DS or DS-emulator, then you could try this game out. As far as I know, it's okay, but seen as I have nothing to compare it to ...

have fun ;D.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Japanese-Coach-Nintendo-DS/dp/B001BZ8EX8

Here, try this place:
http://piggymoo.com/forum/learn-japanese-t296.html

The program comes with a book or something bu you don't really need it that much. It's an 80's series but still very useful. Good luck.

Yes i started one month ago, ufff i am in basic 1 (obvious), the conversation is not a problem to me, the problem are the hiraganas and katakanas, i currently learning to write sentences like: "This is my book", "my book is this one", etc, stuff like that the problem here is that sometimes i forgot the hiraganas and i am learning the katakanas because in those sentences, as most all of you know, every word not japanese should be written with katakanas.

My teacher recommend me to study with,"Minna no nihongo". What do you think? I am currently searchin it in the web.

I will have my first exam this friday :S

Rosetta stone, the easiest way to learn another language guaranteed!

btw thats just what they say in commercials.

Yeah, Rosetta stone. Easiest way to learn modern Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Lol.

I'd recommend taking a class at your community college.

Interacting with people is good and you usually get a Japanese person as your teacher which allows for more culture and more funny lulz when you try literally change "Morning dawg" into "Ohayo inu."

Beware of the anime nerds. Sometimes they are okay but scan them out for a few days to see how they are.

I RECOMMEND THIS MAN:

If you can't remember words, try and use flash cards. Seems stupid I know, but after a while you'll memorize it pretty easily.

Take the actual class. Trust me learning Japanese only though anime is not the way to go. Watching anime could help a little (but don't count on it) but you would get more by actually taking the lesson.

Hmm, I'm self Taught!

But I'm the equivalent to a broken language speaker T__T.
So I speak broken Japanese.

I learned through Random language sites online, And close Asian Friends of mine.
I prefer not to show off my skills because I know there below average...


I recommend you take actual Classes to learn the language, it will be much easier, trust me. I also recommend that you spend time out of class researching and keeping up your skills, otherwise you will forget what you have learned.

alljapaneseallthetime.com

The method is a bit much for regular people, but I've taken a watered down approach (I still watch family guy, some movies, football.....soccer.....football, and Doctor Who. Still listen to music in English, still read some books in English, and don't change leisure or culinary activities).

50/50 will probably take longer, but my comprehension has gone from nothing to rudimentary, and I've almost got enough Kanji practice to read the newspaper.

Also, for written study pick up Hiesig's "Remembering the Kanji" and "Remembering the Kana"

I found a reasonably seeded torrent on the pirate bay. Just search the title and it'll come up.

Found this old Fakku forum - Oshiee Raze Sensei~ https://www.fakku.net/viewforum.php?f=67
Tons of resources listed there!

Live Mocha is good too - http://www.livemocha.com/

http://www.timwerx.net/home/index.htm
http://www.manythings.org/japanese/links/
http://www.japanesepod101.com/
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/
http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C

I think all these are incredibly wonderful sites. I've been studying Japanese with varying degrees of seriousness for about 7 years and for the most part, I was self-taught. I did take 3 classes but I found they weren't incredibly helpful since I already knew just about everything they taught in the classes. I think with the right motivation and determination, you can definitely get very far with self-study. The hard part is keeping motivated! It's especially hard when you don't regularly speak it on a daily basis so you will need to find the motivation to keep learning. I have a few points of advice I would like to share with everyone:

-Always find some kind of activity that relates to Japanese. Be it translating for yourself or others, reading manga, listening to anime, listening to music, chatting online, writing blogs, etc. These activities help keep you grounded and connected with the language. The worst thing is to just stop doing things.

-Try not to get too caught up on the syntax of Japanese. Learning grammar and all that is fine and all that, but I feel the way they teach it in most places, including classrooms, isn't exactly the most efficient or effective way of actually LEARNING them. Kids learn through osmosis and endless trial and error. Do the same. As a kid, you didn't learn your native language through rigorous grammar study. You just kinda picked up on them. I suggest you try to do the same. How? Just keep making mistakes and hopefully a kind person will help point out your mistake. You learn, you live, and you move on to your next goal.

-Japanese is a rather hard language, especially for Westerners. Everything ranging from the words and pronunciation right down to how they think is just radically different. I personally think in order to effectively learn better, perhaps try to step into the mindset of a Japanese person. Of course, to do so 100% is impossible but I think getting into the right state of mind will help the osmosis process a little better. Learning the culture and traditions of Japanese people helps a lot with the language. After all, language is a part of culture.

-Find as many Japanese speaking friends as you can. Especially a good friend that's willing to help you out and won't be annoyed with your questions. Of course, you should try to find out the answer on your own before bugging them. =) In my case, I have a great friend who's fluent in Japanese, lives in Japan, and most important of all, is chill and doesn't get annoyed with my questions. He is a native English speaker and can articulate the INCREDIBLY SUBTLE nuances in Japanese that always eludes us learners. He understands that we all need help. I hope you all can find someone like that.

-Practice as much as you want. It helps to try and form sentences on your own. But it's also important, in my opinion, to mimic what you hear and keep it as a staple sentence in your repertoire. Just be sure to take note of all NUANCES in that sentence. For example, is it something said by only females or males? Is it someone said only to people you're familiar with? What kind of meaning does it carry? What situation would you use it in? These are important questions to ask whenever you're learning something new.

-Often times, help and resources are free. Interest in the Japanese language is very high so there's bound to be something that will suit you out there on the Internet. Spending money isn't necessary, but if you must, I do recommend the following:
Kodansha's Effective Usage Dictionary. This helps with words that seem similar but have different usages. My only gripe with this is that the example sentences are written in a weird romaji style, as opposed to kana and kanji.
Intermediate Japanese by Akira Miura & Naomi Hanaoka McGloin. This book is really for intermediate to advanced students. I like the layout and it's great for reading practice. Lots of vocabulary too.
Of course, these two books are really for the intermediate learners, but for beginners, I think web sites are enough.

Hope this all helps.

Kenji de manga is only for review and practice, That's not going to teach to Japanese from only four volumes. As for rossetta stone... That program is a complete joke to pencil and paper. Your better off learning Japanese from Fan dubs instead of Rossetta stone.

I haven't tried Rosetta Stone but it costs way too much. I think online resources can match with Rosetta Stone, if not surpass it.