Moss' Japanese Studies

[690 Vocabulary] 10

[69 Grammar] 1

[80 Kanji] 5

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Daily Japanese N4 (3/mth)

[588 Vocabulary] 10

[170 Grammar] 2

[151 Kanji] 5

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Daily Japanese N3 (4/mth)

[2280 Vocabulary] 15

[155 Grammar] 2

[380 Kanji] 5

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Daily Japanese N2 (4/mth)

[1892 Vocabulary] 15

[238 Grammar] 2

The app is called TEUIDA and I found it on Reddit when I was looking for Korean language learning apps. [I finally understand why some are going 'hungeul my beloved'.]

TEUIDA doesn't just teach Korean but Japanese and Spanish too! [haven't tried the Spanish lessons, but I have tried Korean and Japanese.]

In my previous post I asked about Pimsleur and if it was worth the cost, and after that I haven't touched Pimsleur again- [I was going back and forth on doing a year subscription but decided againts it since I don't have money to spare for it- the broke life for me-]

The reason why I'm bringing up Pimsleur is that I think TEUIDA is a good alternative, great even!

It feels more interactive than Pimsleur, since you're looking at a video instead of just listening to audio. When I was doing the first day's lesson, I felt like I was actually in a class, interacting with someone, and getting excited when I said a word right! [also getting praised for getting it right, but that's besides the point-]

As someone who needs a class environment, this is perfect!

You can also get by without the subscription! [yes, there are ads that pop up at the end of a lesson, but that's expected.]

You get a key every 16 hours after you've used a key to unlock a lesson. So far as I know, every day there is only one lesson you need to use a key on. [Like day 1 there are 3 lessons and only one needs a key- the lessons per day are bite sized, like 4 new words a day? maybe more-]

I don't know what the subscription is like- All I know is you get unlimited keys and no ads? There are more, but I don't know what it is, since I'm only looking at the free stuff-

Mostly TEUIDA is there for speaking practice, to get you comfortable with speaking.

I know I have trouble with talking to people, but it's even worse when it's a language I'm not used to or confident with-

TEUIDA's motto is language learning starts with speaking, and that's basically what it is.

I've been away for a long time, but I'm back at it again!

I've been eyeing Pimsleur for a long time after learning about it from one of the YouTubers I follow, Oriental Pearl.

The moment I learned about Pimsleur, I had to try it, so I did the first lesson (since it's free) and I am not disappointed.

When I started learning Japanese, I mostly did it to understand what people were saying and for reading purposes (ahem manga ahem). That meant my Japanese-speaking abilities were, and probably still are, very lacking-

I also did the speaking practice, where they show you where your pronunciation is wrong or almost there. (white: Excellent, grey: Almost there, Red: Not even close)

I got so angerly motivated to get my pronunciation right, that I didn't realise I had been saying 'iie, wakarimasen' nine times until I got it-

I've never been so motivated to say a word right in my entire life and that is where they got me hook, line and sinker-

I still don't know if I'm willing to pay that much, the once off, for just the Japanese lessons or the monthly one where I have access to everything.

Since I mostly, almost only, use free apps or apps where I can get by without having to spend a cent.

or in my case, words-

I've been consistent with my word reviews on Renshuu for the past 5 weeks, also adding new words after I've done my reviews, but I have realized I can't remember them outside of the reviews-

When I do my reviews, they give me 4 choices and I only need to choose the correct one that correspond with the word they ask.

example: ばか 1. you 2. idiot 3. I 4. river (ofc it's idiot since I feel like one :'))

I breeze through them, but now I've changed my settings where it makes me type the word and it's むずかしい .

my 90% success rate went down to 10%-

But I do feel like I'll be able to remember them more outside of the reviews from now on.

It might feel difficult since you're technically throwing yourself back to the starting line, but after a while you'll see the progress even if it's slow.

There's this Japanese language club I kept seeing around in my area and I really wanted to know more about them! unfortunately I thoroughly embarrassed myself-

I talked with one of the guys there. I mentioned trying to learn Japanese myself, still not near N5 level yet, and he calls his two Japanese teachers over.

since i mostly focus on reading than speaking, I instantly froze up. I kept stuttering, I couldn't even form a sentence and forgot most of my Japanese knowledge-

It literally went with me bowing awkwardly, going はい,　ありがとう and introducing myself with the standard [name] です。

I even showed them the app I use, Renshuu!, and they liked the app so much they even took a picture of it to give to their students!　

And I've come to a realization.

Don't over do it- If you're feeling like you can go for another 40 words for the day, don't do it, otherwise you'll feel like you need to do more and more everyday and that's going to demotivate you. (or at least that's how it works for me.)

well, I can't find it anymore-

You get to read articles and if you don't know a word you can find out pretty quick and there is audio for them!

There are tests you can do to see how proficient you are in whatever level of japanese your busy with! There's a dictionary where you can search by levels (N5-N1) or by grammar, kanji or vocab!

Hello Hello!

I've been seeing a few posts about people not knowing what to do after doing hiragana, katakana and some kanji, so I'm going to give some of the things that gave me a guideline to work with!

First off is Tofugu!

Tofugu has a lot of resources and even their own podcast you can listen to, where they talk about experiences (like the jet program), along with words and grammar, when to use them and what to use instead!

But what I'm focusing on is their ridiculously detailed guide to learning japanese! go have a read if your struggling! like they say "raise the floor before you raise the roof!"

Next is Renshuu!

Renshuu has decks you can choose from, be it genki vocab to grammar or N5 and up! they do have decks they recommend at the beginning like Japanese basics which they call N6. (don't be like me and skip it if your a beginner. I went straight to N5 but I'm struggling with the grammar since they are using words i skipped.)

They also have a leveling system where you can evolve your own renshuu for every few levels you've passed! there are also crosswords, mini games and more to make learning japanese more enjoyable!

[Today's Vocabulary]

いいえ - no, not at all, don't mention it

午後 (ご・ご) - afternoon, p.m.

咲く (さく) - to bloom, to flower

地下鉄 (ち・か・てつ) - subway, metro

バス - bus

春 (はる) - spring, springtime

ラジオ - radio

いつも - always, all the time, never (with neg. verb)

まだ - still, as yet, only, not yet (with neg. verb)

よく - nicely, properly, well, skillfully, frequent, often

[Today's Grammar]

たい - want to A

Example: 私はカレーを食べたいです。

I want to eat curry.

[Today's Kanji]

間 - interval, space

kunyomi: あいだ、ま

onyomi: カン

五 - five

kunyomi: いつ

onyomi: ゴ

四 - four

kunyomi: よっ.つ、よ.つ、よん、よ

onyomi: シ

上 - above

kunyomi: あ.げる、うえ、うわ

onyomi: ジョウ

東 - east

kunyomi: ひがし