14 comments

1. Do yall get thrown off by different fonts? Like I learn a word in Anki which uses one somewhat artistic font and then I see the word in NHK easy news or something and my brain fails to register it. I though it into google translate and its a word I know, I squint at it then feel like a fool.

2. Hi, I’m looking for an advanced native-level conversation tutor, one that could help me with articulating advanced concepts, as well as for professional settings.

   I’m actually Japanese, grew up in the US, but I learned both Japanese and English simultaneously as my first language. I attended Japanese Saturday school from grade 1-12 and grew up speaking it with many first-gen Japanese, so I can read/write/speak at a native-level with no accent.

   However, since becoming an adult, I don’t speak it day-to-day in the US, and I want to brush up on my speaking a bit before I move back to Japan. Reading and listening are no issues, as I often read and listen to Japanese content without issue on a daily basis. Its just the talking, given I don’t do it often. I saw iTalki mentioned, and there seems to be some teachers who can do this, but I’m wondering if there are any other better platforms targeted towards advanced native-level Japanese, stuff that I may need for example to communicate to stakeholders (e.g. management, execs, engineers, etc) in a professional setting like I do for my job here in the US in English.

3. Would appreciate a grammar/spelling check! 

   こんにちは。私は日本語を勉強しています。「麺おもり」ってどういう意味から？

   Edited: I want to say “Hello. I am studying Japanese. What does “noodles ōme” mean?”

   (Note: It is a phrase I have heard a lot from a Youtuber I follow)

4. https://preview.redd.it/9gme383mrqqe1.jpeg?width=825&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d224f1095a256516e1f22d3b3437f4295cbfa5e9

   I was looking through some old official art from the Fullmetal Alchemist series and came across this what I presume to be poster of Roy next to the sentence “アナタは集めますか？” and just want to validate my own understanding as I recently hit 集める in WaniKani

   Is this poster asking if “Do you collect (hot guys?)?”or is it more like “Will Roy collect you?” Or something else maybe?

   lol it really shouldn’t be giving me this much trouble but the flirty tone is really throwing me off

   Thanks in advance!

5. First, I would like to clarify I am not a linguist nor do I speak Japanese (but I am interested in the etymologies of names), so I might be a bit out of my depth with this topic and not able to explain myself properly. I’m sorry if I’m being redundant at times.

   I’ve been trying to search for the etymologies of most Japanese names, but I’ve often found it very difficult to do so since most websites seem to indicate a name can have any meaning dependent on the kanji used, but that’s besides the point as that still wouldn’t change the etymological origin of said name. If a Japanese person is named Luna/Runa and they write it with kanji with a random meaning assigned to it, the etymology of their name wouldn’t be whatever the readings of the kanji says, it would be the Latin word for moon loaned into Japanese with ateji kanji used to transliterate it into Japanese writing much like how the Chinese write down foreign names and words.

   It seems to be almost impossible to find out what the true origin and etymological meaning of a Japanese name is. Since most Japanese people just use random kanji symbols to represent the sounds of a name, those kanji could be kun’yomi (rooted in native Japanese words) or on’yomi (loanwords derived from the Chinese language) and are basically meaningless most of the time.

   However, with the exception of a few names with the suffix -ichi (which I think indicates firstborn) or -ko (simply child), it is quite difficult to figure out the etymology of Japanese names rather than just the meaning of them. Are there any sources where one can learn about the etymologies of Japanese names?
   Do Japanese names have an actual etymological origin to them or are they merely nonsensical sounds that the parents think sounds pretty with randomly assigned kanji with whatever meaning the parents choose? Similar to how some modern American names (especially in African-American communities) are in fact meaningless and invented just a few years ago because they sounded pretty (or exotic) to the parents without any regard to the meaning.

   Or do most of these Japanese names have obvious (or archaic) apparent meanings to native Japanese speakers when heard spoken and are only written differently from one another? Or are most Japanese names in fact derived from archaic Chinese (with a Japanese pronunciation) and are therefore semantically indecipherable to most Japanese speakers?

   Assuming all given names were written in hiragana instead of kanji (just like the rest of the world where names are written alphabetically/phonetically rather than logographically), would it be hopeless to even attempt any etymological research into Japanese names? If so, why when this doesn’t seem to be a problem for names in other languages?

   Where would I be able to read more about the actual etymologies of Japanese names?

6. Is there somewhere like jimaku but for the Japanese dubs of western shows? I started rewatching Sense8 in Japanese because I’ve seen it a billion times which is making the Japanese way easier to follow, but since Netflix’s subtitles are for use with the English audio there’s often large differences where the subtitles pick a shorter representation of the idea than the spoken dialogue in Japanese.

   I’ve been able to muddle along just hand-editing cards as I mine them but it’s tedious and slow so if someone has amassed corrected subtitles for western TV shows somewhere I’d love to know about it.

7. https://preview.redd.it/ykfip08k5sqe1.png?width=1771&format=png&auto=webp&s=e947462848bd0602930c516d598c73f550a0d887

   Why the flying fk does the はs、がs change here. Why are they not all just は or が?

8. So this is a question I probably should have gotten answered a long time ago, but… can anyone guide me to a good article or other resource that can explain the difference between 分かる and 知る?

   I understand that, in simple terms, 分かる is “to understand” and 知る is “to know”, but I was warned early in my Japanese studies to be careful with 知る, because it sounds rude if used in an improper context. As a result, I’ve always defaulted to using 分かる in my conversations, even though my Japanese is now at a level where I really should be sorting out the appropriate situations to use each one.

   I was once told that 知る was for situations where the answer was a binaric yes or no, you either know something or you don’t (e.g. “Do you know Takeishi’s phone number?” or “Do you know the name of this band?”) whereas 分かる was for things where there were degrees of knowledge/understanding (e.g. “Do you know how to use this program?” or “Do you know what you’re supposed to be doing?”).

   But, as is typical, the devil is in the details. For instance, I don’t know which you would use for something like “Do you know the story behind why they don’t like each other?” or “Do you know the reason for the new restrictions?” or “Do you know what Rule #3 is?”.

   What prompted this is that I’m a martial artist and a little while ago my (Japanese) sensei asked me if I knew a particular kata he wanted to practice. He asked me in English (which he sometimes does if it’s a simple sentence), which threw me off, because if he asked it in Japanese I would just respond with the same verb he used. I assume that would fall under 分かる, but I honestly feel a lot less confident with this distinction than I probably should.

   Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

9. Honestly kinda stuck in the early stages of learning Katakana/Hiragana and actually moving onto vocab. Not sure if I should try to force through, or spend more time learning Katakana/Hiragana first. I have Duolingo/Anki/Renshuu as a holy trinity to try and learn words, but I notice that it’s really hard to actually read and comprehend the Katakana/Hiragana, as this is my first time learning a foreign language, let alone one with a different script.

   So yeah, kinda curious to what I should focus on. Currently grinding Hiragana/Katakana on the side, getting each symbol written down atleast 20-30 times. Knowing the writing order definitely seems to help.

10. Another thing that confuses me: when can I start watching anime without subs? Because I read apparently watching with english subs has no use? But how can I follow anything if my vocab is low?

    Or should I increase my vocab first? This whole learning Japanese thing is hard ngl, but that’s to be expected, I suppose.

11. Could someone please explain:

    Q: 四時に( ) 飛行機の時間は間に合わない。
    A) 起きなければ
    B) 起きてからでなければ
    C) 起きられてからでないと

    Why is the answer A? What are the differences in nuance between A, B and C? Thanks!

12. Hi, I have written my insights in a lengthy post. Please approve it. https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/1jjhfpk/i_have_studied_japanese_for_a_year_every_day/?

13. Can I pair up Curedolly with the Genki textbooks and workbooks? I’ve started watching the Curedolly series and it feels so satisfying to learn new things, and I understand everything she says so easily, but I know she hates textbooks. Should I use Genki and watch her videos to increase my insight on Grammar? Thank you.

14. What is the difference between 素材で選ぶ and 素材を選ぶ?

    Thanks