#learning jpn

Learn Japanese language with free to use and fun online games. Games to learn Japanese phrases, vocabulary, numbers and grammar. Free online language games include audio to learn pronunciation Japanese.

[2:50:07 PM] aozo: tadaima

[2:50:08 PM] aozo: lol

[2:50:12 PM] sel: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[2:50:15 PM] sel: D8

[2:50:26 PM] aozo: and they'll say okaeri to her

[2:50:27 PM] aozo: lol

[2:50:38 PM] sel: .-. how do u know all this?!

[2:50:43 PM] aozo: ANIME

[2:50:45 PM] aozo: lol

[2:50:53 PM] sel: butiwatchanimetooandidunnoit

[2:50:55 PM] sel: xD

[2:51:03 PM] aozo: japanese voiced anime?

[2:51:05 PM] Sugarbud: *trips over my dress* DX

[2:51:05 PM] aozo: yeahh

[2:51:06 PM] Sugarbud: I'm back

[2:51:12 PM] sel: i watch my subs

[2:51:13 PM] aozo: classy entrance

[2:51:18 PM] sel: xD wb leafyyyy

[2:51:19 PM] Sugarbud: u_u; Yes

[2:51:25 PM] Sugarbud: Thankies

[2:51:28 PM] Sugarbud: *clings to Sel*

[2:51:33 PM] sel: *helps cleans off leafy's dress*

[2:51:54 PM] sel: k i'll have to practive then

[2:51:57 PM] sel: i mean practice

[2:52:02 PM] sel: everytime i come back i say tadaima

[2:52:05 PM] Sugarbud: Thankies ;u;

[2:52:11 PM] sel: and everytime u guys come back u say tadaima

[2:52:18 PM] sel: leafy, say "tadaima"

[2:52:19 PM] Sugarbud: I missed a huge conversation D:

[2:52:21 PM] Sugarbud: Ah, yes, Mommy

[2:52:25 PM] Sugarbud: Tadaima

[2:52:26 PM] Sugarbud:

[2:52:28 PM] sel: Okaeri

[2:52:29 PM] sel:

[2:52:31 PM] Sugarbud: Thankies

[2:52:41 PM] sel: no, leafy, that's arigatou D:

[2:52:43 PM] aozo: okaeriiiiii

[2:52:47 PM] aozo: domo domo

[2:52:59 PM] Sugarbud: Arigatou

[2:53:03 PM] Sugarbud:

[2:53:13 PM] Sugarbud: *bows head*

[2:53:57 PM] aozo: suminasennnn wakarimasu nihongo??

[2:54:22 PM] aozo: (realy failed whoops i forget what is the suffix for not)

[2:54:25 PM] sel: D:

[2:54:31 PM] sel: naniiii?!

[2:54:36 PM] sel: nandesuka?!?!?!

[2:54:54 PM] sel: i no understand

[2:54:57 PM] sel: *cries*

[2:55:00 PM] Sugarbud: ;A;

[2:55:09 PM] aozo: excuse meee understand japanese??

[2:55:12 PM] aozo: is what i said

[2:55:19 PM] aozo: i wanted to say no understand tho

[2:55:28 PM] sel: sumimasen = excuse me?

[2:55:37 PM] aozo: yeah!

[2:55:40 PM] aozo: or sorry

[2:55:40 PM] sel: then sorry = ????

[2:55:43 PM] Sugarbud: Gomen D:

[2:55:44 PM] sel: ohh

[2:55:46 PM] sel: ohhhh

[2:55:48 PM] aozo: gomennasai!

[2:55:50 PM] Sugarbud: We're speaking Japanese, neh?

[2:56:05 PM] sel: yes im taking lessons irl and i need to practice. because im gonna have a test

[2:56:11 PM] sel: + a skit i have to perform in class

[2:56:18 PM] Sugarbud: Ohhh!

[2:56:19 PM] Sugarbud: How fun~

[2:56:20 PM] sel: so i have to work on conversations and how to reply

[2:56:31 PM] Sugarbud: I have stage fright D: I hope you don't

[2:57:06 PM] aozo: lol

[2:57:12 PM] sel: uhhh (does not remember how to say"it's ok")

[2:57:16 PM] aozo: hai

[2:57:21 PM] sel: hai

[2:57:29 PM] Sugarbud: Hai :3

[2:57:32 PM] sel: uhhh

[2:57:35 PM] sel: Genki desuka?

[2:57:49 PM] aozo: iya daa

[2:58:16 PM] sel: eh? nande? (i dont remember how to say "why" xD)

[2:58:17 PM] Sugarbud: Kawaii~

[2:58:27 PM] aozo: doushite?

[2:58:43 PM] sel: lol i think we need to pause i just got thoroughly lost

[2:58:48 PM] aozo: LOL

[2:59:07 PM] aozo: tadaima. okaeri. genki desu? iyaa da. doushite?

[2:59:09 PM] sel: i asked "Are you ok"

aozo said "No or I don't want to"

and then sugar said "Cute"

[2:59:19 PM] Sugarbud: >w

[2:59:32 PM] aozo: it's cute that i say i'm not ok lol

[2:59:36 PM] sel: LOL

[2:59:38 PM] sel: XD

[2:59:46 PM] sel: doushite = why? right?

[3:00:09 PM] Sugarbud: Nande?

[3:00:25 PM] sel: nande = what

[3:00:26 PM] sel: XD

[3:00:34 PM] Sugarbud: Nani?

[3:00:38 PM] sel: also means what

[3:00:57 PM] sel: i dunno, i think it's kinda like the difference between daisuki and suki

[3:01:06 PM] Sugarbud: @_@

[3:01:11 PM] sel: im srry leafy

[3:01:12 PM] Sugarbud: Sugoi

[3:01:12 PM] sel: XD

[3:01:17 PM] sel: im just as confused as u r

[3:01:34 PM] Sugarbud: Daisuki Oka-san

[3:01:40 PM] sel: and i forgot how to respond to Genki desuka?

[3:01:58 PM] aozo: genki desu!

[3:02:06 PM] Sugarbud: ?

[3:02:29 PM] aozo: tomodachitachi, genki desuka?

[3:02:32 PM] sel: oh yeah that's how u do it! XD

[3:02:40 PM] sel: aozo-kun u savedmylife

[3:02:51 PM] sel: the response to genki desuka is genki desu

[3:03:03 PM] sel: that's 100% on the test.

[3:03:11 PM] sel: >_< *tries to remember it*

[3:03:16 PM] Sugarbud: :O

[3:03:19 PM] sel: "Genki desu"

[3:03:20 PM] Sugarbud: Aozo knows Japanese?

[3:03:27 PM] sel: she's a wonder sensei

[3:03:42 PM] Sugarbud: Aozo-senpai *w*

[3:03:51 PM] sel: aozo-sensei, sugoi

[3:03:58 PM] sel: oh... uhh..

[3:04:07 PM] sel: is it senpai or seMpai?

[3:04:35 PM] Sugarbud: Err...

[3:04:36 PM] Sugarbud: Ano...

[3:04:37 PM] aozo: it depends i think lol

[3:04:41 PM] aozo: and no i'm not good

[3:04:45 PM] aozo: it's just anime lmao

[3:04:48 PM] sel: one is for shoujo and one is for shounen

[3:04:48 PM] Sugarbud: Eto...

[3:04:51 PM] sel: cant remember which

[3:05:01 PM] aozo: i think it doesn't matter much

[3:05:02 PM] aozo: lol

[3:05:16 PM] aozo: i mean kun can be used for girls too, just not as common

[3:05:17 PM] aozo: so

[3:05:29 PM] aozo: nande, sophie-kouhai?

[3:05:45 PM] sel: on my test it's probly gonna matter... XD afterall i never knew there was such a strict rule on ohayo

[3:06:14 PM] sel: sophie-chan, uhh..

[3:06:15 PM] Sugarbud: I'm a kouhai? :O

[3:06:16 PM] sel: uhh...

[3:06:21 PM] sel: lol

[3:06:21 PM] Sugarbud: Sophie-chan >w

[3:06:22 PM] Sugarbud: Yay

[3:06:25 PM] Sugarbud: Cute

[3:06:37 PM] sel: sophie chan .. uh.. wa..? kouhai?

[3:06:40 PM] sel: uh no.

[3:06:45 PM] sel: sophie-chan no kouhai

[3:06:55 PM] aozo: sophie-chan, anata wa kouhai?

[3:07:01 PM] aozo: is that...it...?

[3:07:06 PM] Sugarbud: Eto... ? o.o

[3:07:12 PM] sel: Hai????

[3:07:14 PM] sel: xD lol

[3:07:25 PM] sel: sugoi ne.

[3:07:32 PM] sel: etto..

[3:07:43 PM] aozo: nande?

[3:07:48 PM] sel: (i dont know how to say, "this is fun, but confusing" )

[3:07:55 PM] sel: xD lol

[3:08:17 PM] Sugarbud: Gomen D:

[3:08:22 PM] sel: thats it when i dont know something, im just gonna put

[3:08:26 PM] aozo: let me check google

[3:08:27 PM] sel: (insert proper japanese here)

[3:08:32 PM] aozo: kore wa tanoshi!

[3:08:34 PM] aozo: this is fun!

[3:08:39 PM] sel: kore wa tanoshi!!!

[3:08:43 PM] Sugarbud: I wanna learn Japanese D:

[3:08:47 PM] sel: ohhh i remember tanoshi!

[3:08:48 PM] sel: XD

[3:08:55 PM] sel: lol ok leafy, we will learn together

[3:09:02 PM] sel: i mean this is learning right

[3:09:11 PM] sel: technically we're all learning from aozo-senpai

[3:09:25 PM] Sugarbud: ;u; Aozo-senpai

[3:09:29 PM] aozo: kore wa tanoshi, demo konran shitemasu

[3:09:38 PM] aozo: this is fun but confusing

[3:09:40 PM] aozo: ??

[3:09:46 PM] aozo: idk is that the right term

[3:09:49 PM] sel: lol Hai

[3:09:55 PM] sel: uhh

[3:10:02 PM] sel: i don't know

[3:10:04 PM] sel: *laughs*

[3:10:07 PM] sel: XD

[3:10:21 PM] sel: i'll use the hiragana for laughing

[3:10:29 PM] sel: ha

[3:10:34 PM] Sugarbud: Eh?

[3:10:41 PM] sel: hmm i set my font to japanese and its not showing up

[3:10:42 PM] sel: XD

[3:11:00 PM] sel: ha

[3:11:03 PM] sel: ............

[3:11:04 PM] aozo: lol i have chinese type shortkey

[3:11:09 PM] aozo: 哈

[3:11:14 PM] sel: lol how

[3:11:30 PM] aozo: は

[3:11:34 PM] Sugarbud: OOh

[3:11:37 PM] Sugarbud: Chinese is so lovely

[3:11:44 PM] aozo: はははははははっははははははあっはははは

[3:11:44 PM] sel: i need something like that

[3:11:51 PM] sel: i need to practice how to read and write

[3:11:57 PM] sel: all my hiragana

[3:12:01 PM] sel: TAT

[3:12:05 PM] aozo: you have to use the language bar?

[3:12:12 PM] aozo: do you have that on your taskbar?

[3:12:20 PM] sel: i am, i set it to JP in the taskbar but it doesnt show

[3:12:31 PM] aozo: press the character thing

[3:12:35 PM] aozo: and set it to hiragana?

[3:12:41 PM] sel: and there's two options: Japanese and Microsoft IME

[3:12:55 PM] sel: there's an option for that???

[3:13:10 PM] aozo: use the microsoft ime

[3:13:21 PM] aozo: and then there should be a character beside it

[3:13:26 PM] sel: ohhh i see it

[3:13:31 PM] aozo: hiragana would be あ

[3:13:35 PM] sel: は

[3:13:38 PM] aozo: yay

[3:13:52 PM] aozo: げんきです

[3:13:57 PM] sel: ｈｏｗ　ｄｏ　ｉ　ｇｏ　ｂａｃｋ　ｔｏ　ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ？

[3:14:03 PM] Sugarbud: :O

[3:14:06 PM] sel: ｏｈ　ｗａｉｔ　ｉ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｄｉｄ　ｂｕｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｏｎｔ　ｌｏｏｋｓ　ｋｉｎｄａ　ｆｕｎｎｙ

[3:14:10 PM] Sugarbud: Kawaii

[3:14:12 PM] sel: ＸＤ　

[3:14:25 PM] sel: ａｒｉｇａｔｏｕ

[3:14:31 PM] aozo: Ｎ　Ｅ　Ｖ　Ｅ　Ｒ　Ｇ　Ｏ　Ｎ　Ｎ　Ａ　

[3:14:39 PM] sel: ｉ　ｄｏｎｔ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｓｙｌｌａｂｅｒｙ　ｔｏ　ｕｓｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈａｔ　ｒｏｆｌ

[3:14:49 PM] sel: あははははははあはははははははははは

[3:14:59 PM] aozo: Ｔ　Ｈ　Ｉ　Ｓ　ｉｓ　ｆｕｌｌ　ｗｉｄｔｈ　ａｌｐｈａｎｕｍｅｒｉｃ

[3:15:10 PM] sel: ＬＯＬ　ｙｅａｈ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｒｏｆｌ

[3:15:11 PM] aozo: ｂｕｔ　ｌｏｌ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｐｒｅｓｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｊｐ　ｂｕｔｔｏｎ

[3:15:20 PM] aozo: english

[3:15:22 PM] aozo: yo

[3:15:24 PM] sel: yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[3:15:25 PM] sel: XD

[3:15:28 PM] sel: ty ty ty

[3:15:53 PM] sel: and leafy, : あははははははあはははははははははは

[3:15:59 PM] sel: means AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHA

[3:16:00 PM] sel: xD

[3:16:08 PM] sel: i was laughing

[3:16:23 PM] Sugarbud: :O

[3:16:38 PM] sel: あ = a

は = ha

[3:17:01 PM] sel: in manga they write out their soundeffects like that too when a character laughs, right?????

[3:17:07 PM] aozo: yup~

[3:17:12 PM] sel: awesomeeee

[3:17:13 PM] aozo: a ha a ha a ha

[3:17:18 PM] aozo: basically lol

[3:17:26 PM] aozo: for maniacal laughing

[3:17:30 PM] sel: LOL

[3:17:31 PM] sel: cF

[3:17:34 PM] sel: i mean xD

[3:17:39 PM] aozo: xF

[3:17:42 PM] sel: rofl

[3:17:43 PM] sel: xD

[3:17:45 PM] aozo: chew lip much

[3:17:50 PM] sel: ahahahahahahaha

[3:18:03 PM] sel: ok w/ this we can test each other on hiragana

[3:18:08 PM] sel: i have a test on the entire chart

[3:18:14 PM] sel: soon. not yet, but soon

[3:18:25 PM] Sugarbud: o_o;

[3:18:33 PM] Sugarbud: Aozo, how did you know I was chewing my lip

[3:18:35 PM] sel: and then basic greetings follow on the same day i think, not sure

[3:18:52 PM] sel: uwah dont chew ur lip XD it no good for u. it'll leave marks

[3:19:09 PM] aozo: the emote lol

[3:19:15 PM] aozo: me emote :F

[3:19:20 PM] Sugarbud: Gomen, it's a habit D:

[3:19:23 PM] sel: D8

[3:19:29 PM] sel: i thought that meant vampire teeth

[3:19:36 PM] aozo: lol idk

[3:19:46 PM] sel: same idk

[3:19:47 PM] sel: xD

[3:20:17 PM] aozo: lol it starts off p simple don't worry

[3:20:27 PM] aozo: i mean it's greetings and an intro

[3:20:32 PM] aozo: that's p standard

[3:20:35 PM] sel: lol ty

[3:20:39 PM] sel: k so

[3:20:43 PM] sel: lets try again

[3:20:45 PM] sel: uhh

[3:20:50 PM] sel: komban wa

[3:21:03 PM] sel: Genki desuka?

[3:21:45 PM] Sugarbud: Gomen ne

[3:22:05 PM] aozo: am i back yet

[3:22:07 PM] sel: Hai.

[3:22:24 PM] sel: (wait, leafy do u mean u dont understand?)

[3:22:29 PM] sel: Okaeri

[3:22:32 PM] sel: XD

[3:22:36 PM] Sugarbud: Ah

[3:22:39 PM] sel: Okaeri, aozo-kun, okaeri~

[3:22:40 PM] Sugarbud: Eto

[3:22:45 PM] aozo: tadaima

[3:22:47 PM] Sugarbud: Okaeri, Oka-san

[3:22:49 PM] sel: Okaeri

[3:22:59 PM] sel: *shoots out infinite okaeri*

[3:23:03 PM] aozo: lol we need to stay on track lol

[3:23:10 PM] sel: XD ahahahhahaa

[3:23:15 PM] sel: *is srsly cracking up now*

[3:23:41 PM] sel: Aozo-kun, Leafy-chan, Genki-desuka?

[3:23:49 PM] aozo: genki desu!

[3:24:02 PM] sel: Hai

[3:24:04 PM] sel: Leafy?

[3:24:09 PM] Sugarbud: Sophie-chan x3

[3:24:13 PM] Sugarbud: Oka-san

[3:24:15 PM] Sugarbud: And Oka-san

[3:24:18 PM] sel: Sophie-chan

[3:24:26 PM] sel: Sophie-chan, genki desuka?

[3:24:32 PM] aozo: LOL sophie is just saying anything in japanese lmao

[3:24:37 PM] sel: lol

[3:24:47 PM] sel: sophie, genki desuka = how are you?

[3:24:59 PM] sel: you reply = genki desu = i am well

[3:25:07 PM] Sugarbud: Ah...

[3:25:14 PM] Sugarbud: Oka-san, daisuki

[3:25:18 PM] sel: lol

[3:25:19 PM] Sugarbud: I dun know what that means

[3:25:26 PM] sel: it means i luv u mommy

[3:25:31 PM] Sugarbud: ;u;

[3:26:00 PM] Sugarbud: Oka-san #2, daisuki

[3:26:19 PM] sel: (aw spit, i forgot what 2 is in japanese)

[3:26:21 PM] sel: uhhhhhhhhh

[3:26:24 PM] sel: NII?

[3:26:35 PM] sel: Oka-san ni?! Nande?

[3:27:07 PM] aozo: oka-san wa iu watashitachi totemo judaina >(inlove)

[3:27:10 PM] Sugarbud: ?

[3:27:21 PM] sel: mind = blown

[3:27:24 PM] aozo: (mum says we really be serious)

[3:27:31 PM] aozo: i google translated some

[3:27:36 PM] sel: ur cheating?!

[3:27:40 PM] aozo: ofc

[3:27:43 PM] sel: xD

[3:27:52 PM] sel: we need to put this whole convo on tumblr

[3:27:55 PM] sel: all of it

[3:27:59 PM] sel: i cant take anymore

[3:28:00 PM] aozo: noooooo

[3:28:16 PM] sel: is copy/pasting

[3:28:22 PM] aozo: nooooooooooooooo

[3:29:08 PM] aozo: no

[3:29:11 PM] aozo: lol

[3:29:16 PM] aozo: srsly?

[3:29:35 PM] sel: lol did u think i was kidding?!

[3:29:36 PM] sel: XD

[3:29:39 PM] Sugarbud: :O

[3:29:42 PM] Sugarbud: Oka-san cheated?

[3:29:54 PM] aozo: i cheated for words i don't know??

[3:30:01 PM] aozo: it's not cheatinf

[3:30:05 PM] aozo: it's being resourceful

[3:30:08 PM] aozo: ehe

In this lesson, we're going to be doing the following...

Discovering different methods on how to study / memorize things.

Increase the amount of Hiragana you should study since the previous post in JPN - 1. If you're reading this post, you should already be "familiar" with the first vertical and horizontal rows of the Hiragana chart. You don't have to be a complete "master" of those rows. But you should be familiar enough with it that you'd be able to recognize some of the characters.  If not, and you happen to be having a very hard time studying them, that's ok. Read this post anyway because you'll be seeing tips on how to help studying be a bit easier.

Basics of Japanese Speech: Introductions and Greetings

Before I get into the lesson, there's a few things I should say first since I noticed Atelier Dev got a few followers (thanks for following btw ❤ ).

  1.------

The title for lesson 2 seems like "a lot". XD What happened was, I'm kinda behind in the lessons on tumblr. Offline, I am taking lessons (the purpose of this was to convey the most important aspects of those lessons to tumblr for those who can tolerate self-teaching without "direct" one-on-one help).

But I'm taking more classes this semester than just japanese. So I have my hands full. So, there's a lot of content that I'm behind on. What I'll try to do is break them apart into "pieces" (using my own judgement & a bit of how I remember we did things in class). And I'll also be giving you tips on possible methods you can use to memorize things. Because, when learning anything (especially language), the premise is usually to understand and "remember". You won't be able to master this language if you're not willing to study and memorize anything. It's a fact. So get yourself hyped up to learn it. If you want to learn Japanese so you can visit Japan, start reblogging a bunch of pictures of Japan. If you're learning it so you can shop on japanese sites easier, begin visiting those sites more often. If you're learning this so you can read manga or play games that are untranslated or won't be released here for a long time, start looking up trailers, pictures, music, whatever of the series that you want to read/watch/play. Get yourself motivated because doing this is going to require effort.

2.----

For followers, you might see me post more than one lesson in a day. That does -not- mean you have to follow -both lessons- in -one- day.

At best, each Learning JPN post should take anywhere between 1 week -or- half a week (2 to 3 days) to complete. Especially if you're studying adamantly. That doesn't mean you have to avoid doing anything besides staring at text, reciting it, and trying to memorize it. Some people who aren't used to studying often or haven't developed their own tricks and methods to studying might think they have to do that, when actually, unless your memory is THAT bad, you don't.

So to help with that, as I've said, I will be giving tips and methods to studying the material. I don't know if it will work for you definitely, but I feel that it's better than just saying "Here, study this." and leave you be without further help or advice.

3.---- Study at your own pace. Again, don't feel intimidated or ambushed when I'm putting up these posts. Go at your own pace. When learning on your own, the benefit you should take advantage of is that you don't have anyone breathing over your shoulder saying: "You have an exam 10 days from now." or "You have to have a C or higher to pass."

If you are looking at these while taking courses yourself, then that doesn't apply to you as much.. But either way, try to spread things out and give yourself a decent pace.

If you study too little and take too much time in between studies, it's -not- good for you. But it's "terrible" for you, if you try to cram everything into your mind at once. Don't get impatient. Attempt to take your time and make use of it bit by bit.

-------------------------------------------------------

Okay, with all that being said, let's begin lesson #2 of Learning JPN.

==================================================

Lesson 2 pt 1. - Memorization Methods w/ Hiragana (& other materials)

==================================================

This method is something I kinda came up with because I remembered seeing in anime that whenever there was a very studious character (the typical diligent or ace anime student), they always had this string with what looked like... some kind of.. boomark-shaped cards or something.... It's the object being held in the hand of the character below.

I'm not sure what they call it in Japan, but it seems to be the equivalent of "flash cards".

------------------------------- How to Use Flash Cards: -------------------------------

While you're walking, eating / drinking, talking to others, or even watching TV -- the point of flash cards is that it helps you study things "quickly" and in the moment. It's a combination of studying and testing yourself spontaneously at the same time.

You're supposed to have a statement written (or drawn depending on what it is) on the card (preferably short being from one sentence to one word).

You go through each card trying to remember what's written or drawn on it. Afterward, you can shuffle the cards (or keep them in order, the decision is up to you) and test yourself on whether you remember them or not by "flashing" the card again in front of you.

So for example.. if you have on one card.., something written like... や is "ya"

What you'd do is look at that card. And either on the back or the front (make sure the answer is hidden from you) -- look at the question or word or picture...

や

and then ask yourself in your head: "What does that mean?" or "How do I pronounce / read this?"

And say the answer out loud. If you're in a place where you can't speak out loud, you can say it in your head instead -- but it's extremely important that you find the time to practice saying them out loud. It not only helps you remember them better, but it also helps you get used to "pronouncing" them properly.

I tried this method and.. it works. It worked for me, at least. If it doesn't work for you, don't feel bad about it. If there was this one perfect easy way to remember something then everyone on the planet would easily be able to remember every single thing they wanted to. But at least, you have another option now if you're looking for a different method of how to study Japanese (or anything else in particular).

NOTE:: This method is helpful in learning how to write, but it's specifically targeted at helping you be able to read and pronounce Japanese characters and words and to remember certain terms. If you want to be able to "write" in Japanese, then obviously, you'll have to go out of your way and take a piece of paper and practice writing each character repetitively, one by one. Doing that would also help you remember how to read & pronounce them, especially if you pronounce them out loud as you write. But, most of you here wanna watch tv or watch k-dramas or youtube or do something else as you study. The flash cards are for situations like that.

-------------------------------------------- How to " Make " Flash Cards (D.I.Y.): --------------------------------------------

If you go to places like maybe Barnes & Nobles, or shop for "flash cards" online, you could probably buy some at a price that's not too expensive. They'd look pretty, be more durable, fancier or easier to carry and keep around and so on.

But, if you're in a situation right now where you don't have the mindset nor the care to run out and buy yourself a fancy set of Japanese flash cards or "blank" flash cards you could write on yourself, you don't have to worry. I made this method myself, and it's quite simple. We're going to make our very own "paper flash cards".... or "flash papers". There aren't a ridiculous amount of Hiragana characters, so this shouldn't take too long to make. But also, since this is PAPER, the cards won't be very durable.. at all... So when you're making these, keep the following in mind...

You should consider them disposable. Easily throw them away when you're done or if they get damaged. And easily make new ones when you need them.

Since they're paper and so fragile, you should only make what you need at the time. Meaning: Last time, in Learning JPN - 1 - you were supposed to study the first vertical and horizontal rows:  a, i, u, e, o, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa, n So then that means, those characters (from a to n), would be what you would use the flash papers for. The rest of the characters, since you're not studying them for now, don't bother making flash papers for them "yet". Because by the time you get around to it they could be torn, crumpled, lost, or whatever -- it's "paper".

~~~~~ Tools :: ~~~~~

Scissors (or the ability to rip up paper neatly enough w/ your hands)

Hiragana Chart (you can find it here in this post: Learning JPN 1 )

Paper (or any other rippable and writable material - even napkins would work)

Pen (or marker or pencil. whatever you can write with.)

~~~~ Steps:: ~~~~

(this tutorial is going to assume you're using some kind of foldable "material")

Take 2 sheets of paper, I used computer paper (2 will give you more than you need, but having at least 2 is good.)

Fold the sheets of paper in half.

Fold it in half again.

Fold it again.

And again.

You could stop here, but if you feel you can force one more good fold out of it, go ahead. The goal of this is to have it be either "card" sized or some kind of size that makes it comfortable to hold and manage in your hands. You'll be flipping through these self-made cards as you study. Make it in a size that's convenient for that. Not too big, but not tooooo small either.

Take out your scissors and cut the cards up, following the indentation lines of the folds. If you don't have a scissors available, keep folding the paper repeatedly until the crease (fold-line / indentation) is clear. Then rip it following that line carefully.

Now, we're going to be using each paper card to hold "one characters" each. So one paper card will hold the hiragana for "ya". Another paper card will hold the hiragana for "wa", and so on. For now, don't write anything on the papers. Wait until you read the rest of this post before you make a solid decision on what to write.

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Lesson 2 pt 2. - Speaking Japanese & further studies of Hiragana

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I forgot to mention this in the previous Lesson, but I guess it's ok since you had hiragana to study, but it's important to memorize and practice terms and methods of speech in Japanese. Even if you know what the hiragana for "a" is ( あ), that's only half the battle. In order to actually understand how to read and write japanese, you also have to understand the speech.

You have to not only be able to read こんにちは (Konnichiwa), you also have to understand what it "means", which is: Hello

You have 3 syllaberies to learn in terms of writing. That's a lot of content and as such, requires a fair amount of time. That's why, as you learn the Hiragana, separately, you should attempt to learn (at least the basic terms and phrases of) Japanese as well.

It'll also make it easier for you later on, when learning to read it. So later on when you're learning more and more characters, you can have fun putting them together as well as spotting them around the internet or wherever it is you see japanese characters being used. You'll know which character means ko, another character means n, another is ni, and so on. And when you put it together you'll be like "Oh! I just read "Konnichiwa!" That means, Hello!" and you'll be able to flow and move forward like that.

So that's what we're going to work on today, the basic greetings and terms for Japanese. I wanted to do all the greetings, but this post is too long. Plus you have the Hiragana to work on on the side. So I'm only going to cover how to introduce yourself when meeting someone for the first time in Japanese.

Introductions The first step is knowing how to introduce yourself. This is the most polite / formal / casual way of doing it. It basically means, "Nice to meet you, my name is __. Please take care of me." or "Hi, my name is ___. Nice to meet you." If you watch anime, this one statement is usually translated in a variety of either one of the two above ways. The book I'm using for my lessons is  Genki 1: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese so I'm just going to use the exact definition given by that book along w/ what I was told in the lessons I'm taking. "Nice to meet you. My name is (insert your name here). Please take care of me."  ("Nice to meet you" is "How are you?" according to the Genki book. But in class, we used it as: "Nice to meet you."  "Please take care of me." can also mean "I'm in your debt." or "I'm in your care." or "Please do well for me." according to the internet.) " Hajimemashite. (insert your name here) -desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. " Something you should know:: Pronouncing "r" and "l" is a bit similar for the Japanese.  The way you, if you're a fluent english speaker, usually pronounce "r" (ra, ri, ru, re, ro) is not the way the Japanese pronounce it. My sensei (who is a Japanese native) told me that in terms of comparisons, the Japanese "r" is closest to the Spanish "r". It doesn't sound exactly like it, but it's similar in the sense that they roll their r just a little bit. Basically, if you can get your "r" to sound somewhere between the English "r" and "l", then you're doing it right. When pronouncing "desu", fluent speakers don't over exaggerate the "oo" in "su". Instead of sounding like "deh-soo", it sounds more like "deh-s". Don't misunderstand this. It doesn't mean that the "oo" in "su" isn't pronounced. It's just that it's pronounced very fast and in such a subtle way, that it almost sounds like all you hear is "des" (minus the "u"). So the key here is to "not" over-accentuate the "u". Pronounce it, but do so subtly and quickly. Don't prolong it. If you're into Naruto, you've probably heard about the whole controversy on how to pronounce Sasuke's name. There's even a catchphrase meme going around saying things like: "It's NOT 'Sauce-kay'." In a sense, that's half right and half wrong.  Fluent speakers will not say "Sa-soo-kay". Even though that IS what they are saying: "Sa-su-ke".  Fluent speakers will pronounce the "u" in a subtle, quick way. So if you actually watch the subbed version of Naruto, Sasuke's name almost completely sounds like "Sa-s.-ke". I apologize if I confused you, but just know not to stay too long on the "u" sound, when pronouncing "su". Read this entire statement again if you have to.  Also, when you watch anime, try to pay closer attention to how they pronounce their words.  Especially "su".

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Lesson 2 - Homework

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It's time to use those flash papers~ ❤

Write the 1st and 2nd horizontal and vertical rows of the Hiragana chart on your flash papers.

So, you're basically writing the Hiragana you studied last time, plus one more row.That would give you a total of 22 hiragana flash papers. Hiragana from last time: a, i, u, e, o, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa, n New Hiragana for this lesson: ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri On your flash papers, write (draw) each character on each paper. And on the back or next to it (in very small letters) write the translation of the word. Basically, write it in a way that you can hide the answer and test yourself afterward. So one flash paper, for example, you will have this hiragana character: あ Behind or next to that character (in small font) you write “a”. So when you see the character あon the flash paper, you can test yourself and say what character you think it is.

Take one flash paper and write "Please introduce yourself." and then write (in smaller letters) "Nice to meet you. My name is__. Please take care of me." underneath it. All of this is on one side of the flash paper. On the back, write "Hajimemashite. ___-desu. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu." as LIGHTLY as possible. Make sure you can't see the answer on the back through the front of the paper. Whenever you see “Please introduce yourself”, repeat the phrase “Hajimemashite. (your name)-desu. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu.”

  Now you are ready to study.

Using the flash papers, "look", "read" (out loud preferably), and “test” yourself. This method is easy, in my opinion. And it’s something you can do easily while you’re watching TV or using the internet or eating or whatever.

In future posts, I won’t go into descriptive details about “flash papers” anymore. This post was basically a tutorial for it. So I hope this option helps you. In the next post, I’ll give a “different way” of studying besides the method I mentioned in this post. And I’ll also be giving more lessons on the basic terms, words, and phrases of Japanese speech.

There are 3 (syllaberies? -- groups of characters???) that are used in the japanese language: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

In Japan, kids start off learning the language with: Hiragana

There's not many characters in Hiragana. So it shouldn't take too long to master it if you're diligent enough.  We learn it using a Hiragana chart like in the image below. -bottom pic is taken from kidsjapanese.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ HOW TO READ IT / what "order" to study & recite it from... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hiragana chart should be recited and studied in order from right to left ( <--- ) and top ^ to bottom v .

Example:: a , i , u , e , o , ka , ki , ku , ke , ko , sa , shi , su , se , so  ... and so on. I think you get the idea now. lol

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRONUNCIATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The following image (taken from tofugu) teaches how to pronounce it.

I'm learning it. And I've decided to consider it as a sort of development so I'm including it in the dev blog(s). I'll be posting about not only my progress with the language, but also, I'll be putting up links, tips, and other helpful stuff in attempt to help aozo-kun learn it too (if she's interested).

So this is just the introduction post. The next post I put up will be actual updates, lessons, and materials.

The main tag I'll be using for these posts is: learning jpn