6 Tips for learning the kana faster.

こんいちは peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here and today I will share some tips on learning the kana or kanji faster.

Make sure you read this post by a well renown author...."cough" shameless praise "cough" on how to read/write hiragana.

On with the show...

TIP #1: DON'T BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW.

A rookie mistake. The chance of earning glory might seem good in the short run, but you will set yourself up for failure. Don't over-do it. Just take it one small step at a time....and it will lead to one giant leap to Japan.

TIP #2: GROUP STUFF INTO RELATED STUFF

Group characters into words that you know:

なに (nani - what is it?)
わたし (Watashi - I/Me)
アメリカ (Amerika - America)

See? You know some Japanese already. You may not be able to do this with all characters. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's easier to recall as well.

TIP #3: REST

Just like you need rest-days (for people who work out), take a day off after a few days.
This will help you retain everything you've learnt so far.

TIP #4: USE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Again. No pressure. If you have someone who can speak Japanese, speak to them in broken-Japanese. A simple konnichiwa here, a "Watashiwa hungry desu" there. You can substitute the word for "hungry" when you've learnt it. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can pick up words.

Note: Make sure the guy you're practicing it is ok with this. I used this technique while learning french and the guy got impatient after a few tries (must have not had his croissant that morning).

TIP #5: TALK TO SOMEONE OF THE SAME GENDER.

While not a necessity, the language does have some gender specific words. Unless you want to appear feminine/masculine, better get it clarified.

But hey, we're gaijin... so they'll let it slide....and maybe giggle a little.

TIP #6: PRACTICE

Do I really need to explain this?


There you go. Let me know if you've got any questions and as always....Stay classy San Diego

.

How to Learn Hiragana.....with your friendly neighbourhood NinjaGaijin

こんにちは peeps,

Ninja Gaijin here with another exciting article about Japan.....hmm...do you see the pattern here?

Lets talk about (Uses ominous voice) HIRAAAAGANAAAAAAAA!!!

As I mentioned in the Learning Japanese post, there's 3 scripts to learn (Romaji not included).

One thing that many people learning Japanese will agree on is that both hiragana and katakana can be learnt in 1-2 weeks (@ 10 characters a day + practice).

There are a 46 characters in each script and yes IT IS quite possible to learn it quickly.

BRAGGING ALERT!!!

I managed to learn to read and write Hiragana in 6 hours with a retention rate of 90%. And by the next day, I knew the whole lot. I then spent the next couple of days increasing my reading speed.

Soooooooooo.........YOU CAN DO IT!!!.........no redbull required.
I was bored, and didn't have much to do anyway. So I kinda made a game out of it. We all hate studying...so trick your brain into thinking it's fun.

We spend hours playing games on our phones (i'm looking at you flappybird/minecraft/candycrush) or our computers (guilty as charged) NEED FOR SPEED FTW. I mean, I had a bike and then I went abroad, and my parents sold it since no one used it and....It's not my fault I'm a speed freak. I was the fastest sperm after all.......

Aaaaanyhu, back on track (speed track? Shut up brain)

Try to make a game out of it, and play to win.

STEP 1: GET A CHART
Google it. You will get millions of results, but just get the Hiragana chart. You might be superman (or woman) and get both the kana in one chart. As long as you don't get confused....go for it.
This is what a typical chart looks like (you may have to click to enlarge)

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE COMPLETED THE 1st STEP.

STEP 2: GET THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION

Why? Because

"a" is pronounced "aaa", "i" as "e", "e" as "a" etc.

The good news is that the sounds NEVER CHANGE like in English.
1 character = 1 sound....FOREVER!!!!

Check this link here. It's awesome.

CONGRATULATIONS! 2nd STEP IS IN THE BAG!!

STEP 3: PICK A REALISTIC TARGET

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Depending on your retention power, you might unnecessarily tire yourself out. You don't start out a new game on the hardest setting, do you?

Pick any number. 2, 5, 10, 15 and feel free to change the number anytime you wish.
Now pick a card....any card....
I predict that........YOU HAVE A CARD!!!
~APPLAUSE
Thank you. Thank you.
(I'm such a great magician)

STEP 4: WRITE, WRITE, WRITE SOME MORE until there's nothing else....

Unfortunately, there's no substitute for good ol' fashioned pen-n-paper method....unless there's a genie. Then wish yourself some Japanese fluency NOOWW!!
Are you fluent yet?

"Sigh" No genie. So you better wish some pen and paper and write your desired number of characters.
Pay attention to the strokes.
Pay attention to the sound.
Draw to your hearts content.
Practice with your child (if you have one)
Doodle during meetings.
Draw on your post-it notes
Write with your blood (Harry Potter anyone?)
Pee in the snow
Graffiti on the wall.
Draw in the toilet stall.

DISCLOSURE: NINJA GAIJIN DOES NOT CONDONE ACTS OF VANDALISM. DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK

Write as many times as you want. Make flash cards and review them periodically.
Glance at them while you go for a coffee.
The possibilities are endless.

Final word
If you follow my patented process, you should be able to shed 50lbs in 10 days.
Oops...wrong advert

In a week or two, you should be able to read and write (ominous voice) HIRAAGANAAAAA.

Take care now....

Leave any comments here or on my facebook

Learning Japanese

Konnichiwa everyone,

Ninja Gaijin here and today lets talk learning the Japanese Language.

I'm sure there are tons of resources online and offline that you can use to learn the language. I just want to give you a word of advice.

STAY CLEAR OF SITES/COURSES THAT GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE AN EXPERT in x number of days.

Let's be realistic here. No language in the world is that simple to learn.
A few words and phrases?....definitely.
basic conversation?.....maybe.
Simple conversation?......uh....ogenki-who?
Fluent?.........you know where I'm going with this.

I started learning Japanese 3 weeks ago, since I found out that I got a job. Until then my Japanese word count must have been in the 50's. Thanks to all the anime, manga and (cough) porn.... which.....I.....came.....across.....during......research.....YES!! Research! FOR SCIENCE!!!!

Chances are you probably know some basic words like Konnichiwa (hello) and Sayounara (good bye) and the other words that you might have come across during your research.

But WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE GOOD AT IT?

It all depends on what's your definition of good.
Do you want to be able to ask if they speak English?
Do you want to be able to order food in Japanese?
Do you want to have meaningful conversations with a native?
Do you want to be an editor for a newspaper?

If you answered "YES" to one or more questions. DING DING DING DING! YOU JUST SET A GOAL!!!

Next you need to decide whether you want to read and write or just speak. Studies have been done which show that 95% of communication is speaking and 5% is by reading and writing.
Personally speaking, it's always better to read and write as well. Just put 5% of your effort. That should be a good start.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN JAPANESE?
The Japanese script consists of 3 parts

1. Hiragana - The rounded characters like はい (Hai, which means yes)
2. Katakana - Sharp characters and used to write anything that sounds foreign like アメリカ (America)
3. Kanji - All the pictograms which are supposed to make the language easier to understand like本(Japan)
4. Romaji - Japanese written in English like "sushi"

TRIVIA - Kanji has been devised from the Chinese script and many people believe that learning it will reveal the true nature of the language.

Damn! Is there anything in the world that's not MADE IN CHINA?? (I mean that in a good way)

Hiragana and Katakana have 71 characters each and kanji has (you might have to sit down for this) 81000 characters. 

If you're still conscious, you better drink a glass of water (or coffee/tea/Vodka)

If you're like "F#@% THIS SHIT". I'd rather learn Chinese. Well, you're not alone. 

It takes balls of steel and a dedication only rivaled by Rocky to get through this. You need to also check the payoff. Find out which one are you

If you're 

• Just coming to Japan to visit - Simple sentences are good enough.
• Work in Japan for a while and then go back home - Maybe get a little proficient.
• Live here for the rest of your life - Better get fluent.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, but if you've decided to stay for a long time, you better get very VERY good at it.

Next time, I will write about my (patent pending) method of learning.

Adios amigos
Ninja Gaijin

Leave your comments down below and I will answer then as soon as I can.
And as usual, share this with your friends.