Learning Japanese is a rather lengthy process, but extremely exciting. However, according to statistics, more than half of those who started studying stop classes in the first six months of training. It cannot be said that this is due to the exceptional difficulty of the language - it is much simpler than Russian. Someone refers to the lack of free time, someone - to the inefficiency of the chosen training program and the weakness of the proposed teaching aids, and someone just changed their interests and life goals. In any case, the result is wasted time, financial costs and crept doubts about one's abilities.

Despite the assurances of some brochures, books and courses, it is impossible to learn a single foreign language in 3 months (without setting this goal as the key and only one). And if you decide to conquer the exciting world of hieroglyphs and grammatical intricacies of the Japanese language - classes, even half an hour, but daily, should become one of the components of your life. To choose an individual rhythm of learning so that in the future it is rational and comfortable to combine this process with work, household chores and communication with your family, it is self-study that takes place at a convenient time and in a familiar environment that will help you. Even long trips and business trips will not become an obstacle on your way to knowledge - a computer and worldwide network The Internet will provide uninterrupted access to educational materials anywhere in the country.

The initial acquaintance with the structure of the language will allow you to determine the desired degree of proficiency in it. Without special financial investments, you will master the materials sufficient to communicate on everyday topics on a tourist trip or at a business meeting with Japanese partners. If you decide to improve the acquired knowledge, the materials learned on your own will become the foundation for further studies.

Naturally, in the study foreign language not without practice colloquial speech. In this sense, distance self-education to some extent loses to face-to-face classes. However, do not forget that full-fledged communication is possible only with at least a minimal knowledge of the grammatical foundations of the language and common vocabulary. These basics are provided by the material presented on the site, and numerous audio tasks and dialogues located in its various sections will help you learn to recognize Japanese speech. Later, having mastered basic lessons and using modern computer and telecommunication technologies, you can easily find pen pals and interlocutors among native speakers.

So, without a doubt, start the classes, and our specialists will help you solve the complex issues that arise during the development of the material - you will find the address for contacting methodologists in the contacts section.

Many people would like to learn Japanese but don't know where to start. Therefore, I give my own instructions based on my experience. First, a brief instruction will be given, giving only the names of the items and a minimum of information, and then a complete instruction.

How to learn Japanese - quick guide

  1. Learn hiragana.
  2. Learn katakana.
  3. Turn on the Japanese layout.
  4. Watch anime, Japanese movies or dramas for at least 20-40 hours (with Russian subtitles).
  5. Read the entire grammar book at this link. This is a very simple and clear textbook, the best guide for beginners who are not familiar with Japanese at all. This point is the most important.
  6. Install the Rikaichan add-on - it's very good dictionary, which allows you to point to the desired word on any site, the add-on itself will find the end of this word and give its translation in the dictionary and tell you what form this word is in.
  7. Start using dictionaries.
  8. Learn kanji. The 100 most popular kanji allow you to read 39% of the kanji in the text, 200 - 54%, 400 - 72%, 600 - 82%, 800 - 89%, 1000 - 93%, 1200 - 96%, 1400 - 98%, 1600 - 99 %.
  9. Watch another 50-100 hours of anime / movies / dramas with Russian subtitles (you can do it in parallel with points 5-8).
  10. This item is described in the full instructions below.

Complete Instructions for Learning Japanese

Introduction - Japanese Writing

If someone thinks that only hieroglyphs are used in Japanese, they are wrong, hieroglyphs make up only about 23% of the characters in the text (although in phonetic ratio, hieroglyphs make up more, since one hieroglyph on average means more than one syllable) . In addition to hieroglyphs, Japanese writing uses two syllabaries at once - hiragana (46 characters) and katakana (46 characters), for a total of 92 characters. The syllabic alphabet is something like the Russian alphabet. All 3 types of writing are used simultaneously, for example, part of a word can be written in hieroglyphs, and part of a word can be written in kana. Examples of hiragana signs:   あ - a,   い - i,   う - y,   え - e,   お - o,   か - ka,   き - ki, etc.
Examples of katakana characters:   ア - a,   イ - and,   ウ - y,   エ - e,   オ - o,   カ - ka,   キ - ki, etc.
Kanji examples ( Japanese characters, borrowed from China): 食、誰、大、好、何, etc. A total of 2136 characters are used.

When is kana used and when are hieroglyphs

Hiragana:
  1. All particles.
  2. All changing parts of words (and sometimes not changing).
  3. Some words.
Katakana:
  1. All foreign words.
Kanji (hieroglyphs):
  1. All basic words.

1. Learn Hiragana

The best hiragana tablet is in the akanji app at. You can also read about hiragana on Wikipedia. Hiragana consists of only 46 characters and learns in about 6 hours. Hiragana is a syllabic alphabet, something like the Russian alphabet. Please note that when writing kana characters, the order of strokes is very important. You need to find a site that lists the stroke order. You should also be able to write in hiragana by hand on paper (if it's crooked, it's okay). Personally, I taught like this: first I wrote in a notebook and pronounced the first sign あ (a). When I remembered it, I added one more character to it, and copied 2 characters into the notebook at once (from memory). Then immediately 3 signs, and so on until the very end. I also advise you to check the learned tablet with other sites at the very end, this is important. Also, in some cases, this trick can help: hold down the Ctrl key and scroll the mouse wheel up - the size of the site will become larger, this will allow you to better see the signs. To reset the scale, press Ctrl+0 (zero try both the one above the letters and the one on the numeric keypad, Num Lock must be on). When you learn hiragana, remember to pay attention to the following things:
  1. If you add small ゃ (ya), ゅ (yu), ょ (yo) to syllables ending in "i", you can make a syllable ending in i / yu / yo. For example, きゃ is "kya", but きや is kiya, because in the second case や is big. Your tablet should contain columns with syllables ending in i / u / ё.
  2. If you add two sticks, you can voice a consonant, for example, か is ka, が is ga. Your plate should contain lines starting with "g", "z", "d", "b", "p".
  3. う (y) after "o" denotes a long vowel. For example, the word ありがとう (arigatou) reads "arigato:", where the colon indicates the length of the vowel. When writing in Latin, it is allowed to write arigatō instead of arigatou (the stick on top is a macron), but it is better to write arigatou. When writing in Russian letters, longitude is not shown and they simply write "arigato".
  4. aa, ii, uu, ee are also long vowels, for example かわいい (kawaii) reads "ka-wa-i:".
  5. You can see how to pronounce sounds in this video.
    1. The syllables し (shi), しゃ (sha), しゅ (shu), しょ (sho) use the soft sh sound. There is no such sound in Russian. That is, it is correct to say not "sha", but "shya".
    2. The syllables じ (ji), じゃ (ja), じゅ (ju) じょ (jo) use the soft j sound. There is no such sound in Russian. That is, it is correct to say not "zha", but "zhya". Examples: じゃない - jyanai, 大丈夫 - daijo:bu.
    3. In the syllables ち (chi), ちゃ (cha), ちゅ (chu), ちょ (cho), the "ch" sound is softer than in Russian. That is, it is correct to say not "cha", but "cha". You don't have to try it yet, but in the future, to make the sound "ch" softer, pay attention to how it happens with other sounds in Russian (for example, ta-tya, na-nya, ka-kya).
    4. The sound わ (wa) is not labial-tooth, but labial-labial. To pronounce it, try to pronounce it as close as possible to the usual Russian "va", but passing air through the gap between the two lips, and not between the lip and the teeth.
    5. ざ、ず、ぜ、ぞ - at the beginning of words it looks more like "dz", in the middle it looks like "z".
    6. じ、じゃ、じゅ、じょ - at the beginning of words it is more like "j", in the middle it is more like "zh".
    7. Other sounds different from the Russian language are "u" and "e", but for them I have no description. I think while you can not bother with it, in the future understanding will come by itself.
  6. Small っ (tsu) is sokuon, which means doubling the leading consonant, for example, ずっと is jutto. In pronunciation, if broken down into syllables, っ would refer to the syllable ahead: zu-tto. There is even a word in Japanese that begins with sokuon - って (tte).
  7. ん before "p", "b" and "m" is pronounced like "m".
  8. You may also find general rules stroke order in the General Guide, but there are many exceptions to the rules.

2. Learn Katakana

The best katakana tablet is also in the akanji application and is available at . Katakana consists of only 46 characters and learns in about 6 hours. Katakana is a syllabic alphabet, something like the Russian alphabet. Everything is exactly the same as in hiragana. When learning katakana, don't forget to pay attention to the following things:
  1. There is an informal katakana table compiled by myself. It is not worth learning katakana from it, this table can only help you understand how some combinations in katakana are composed.
  2. In katakana, a long vowel is shown with a ー, such as デート. Doubling a consonant is also done with a small tsu, but in katakana: ッ.

3. Turn on the Japanese keyboard

You can do this in the control panel. Once enabled, you can simply write English letters- they themselves will transform into hiragana. After pressing the spacebar, hiragana will be converted to kanji. Helpful information:
  1. On Windows, the Japanese layout has an English layout built into it, so you can disable the English layout. To switch between Latin and Kana, press Alt+~ (Alt+Ё).
  2. Ctrl+Caps Lock - Hiragana.
  3. Alt + Caps Lock - katakana.
  4. F7 - convert the entered word to katakana.
  5. "x" or "l" before the required character will make that character small.
  6. In the settings, you can also make hiragana without Latin characters printed right away, but for this you need to have a Japanese keyboard on which hiragana characters are drawn, and since you do not have it, this method will not work for you.
  7. On phones, the method described above will still suit you, because phones have a touch keyboard.
  8. Other combinations are possible.
There is also a MUCH more convenient way to switch layouts, it is .

4. Watch anime, Japanese movies or dramas for at least 20-40 hours (with Russian subtitles)

This will allow you to understand the sounds used in the kana you have learned. It will also allow, with further study of grammar, to study it much faster, and so understand the intonation with which you will need to read examples. If you have already watched so many anime before, you can skip this paragraph.

5. Read the whole grammar book from this link

Read the entire grammar book at this link. This is a very simple and clear textbook, the best guide for beginners who are not familiar with Japanese at all. This point is the most important.

6. Install the Rikaichan add-on

Install the addon for Mozilla Firefox Rikaichan (requires old Firefox 56, can be downloaded from this link). Rikaichan is a very good dictionary: on any site you can hover over the desired word, the add-on will automatically find the end of this word and give its translation in the dictionary. Also, the addition will say in what form this word is. Additionally, Rikaichan requires a Japanese-Russian dictionary to be installed. Also on the official website of the add-on there is another Japanese-Russian dictionary from warodai.ru. You can install two dictionaries at once and switch between them by pressing Shift. Rikaichan can also be used without hovering: the desired word can simply be entered in a special field, in which case Rikaichan will work like a regular smart dictionary that understands the forms of words.

7. Start using dictionaries

Quite often there is a very big need to translate a word into Russian. The Rikaichan add-on solves this problem, but its base is not so large, or you may want to look at more detailed information. These dictionaries may help you:
  1. Yarxi - installed on almost all platforms, a very powerful dictionary, but with a complicated interface. There is also an online version.
  2. Those who do not have the opportunity to install Rikaichan, which contains two Japanese-Russian dictionaries at once, can use the online version of one of them + you can download it in its entirety there.
  3. The list is not finished.

8. Learning Kanji

After you read the entire tutorial, if you wish, you can start learning kanji.
  • If there is no desire to learn, I advise you to learn 1 part of kyoiku kanji (80 pcs) + 170 most popular kanji (250 kanji in total). This will allow you to read 58% of all kanji in the text! (do not read 42%).
  • If there is a desire, but not very big, then 1 part and 420 most popular (500 in total) - this will allow you to read 77% of the kanji in the text (not read 23%).
  • If there is a strong desire, then 1 part and 920 most popular (1000 in total) - this will allow you to read 93% of the kanji in the text (not read 7%), and 2000 kanji will allow you to read everything.
Kanji learning tips are available. The best way to learn kanji is with . In the same application, on the "Statistics" tab, you can find more detailed statistics by kanji.

9. Watch another 50-100 hours of anime/movies/doramas with Russian subtitles

This point can be performed in parallel with points 5-8. For example, you are doing step 5 and have learned a new grammatical structure. You know her, but you have no intuition for her, she seems alien and unfamiliar to you. In fact, there is nothing terrible, as soon as, having learned some construction, you start watching anime, you will immediately begin to recognize this construction in speech and very soon you will not even be able to understand how you did not notice it before. Watching anime will help you understand with what intonation and how to pronounce phrases, and will also allow you to understand someone else's speech. It is impossible to learn a language without ever hearing it. If you have already watched so many anime before, then 10-20 hours is enough.

10. Last point

On this moment the instruction has not yet been completed, i.e. there is no tenth point yet, but I can still give some advice:
  1. For replenishment vocabulary can be used .
  2. You can look for other grammar books. I think that after you complete the previous points, this question will no longer seem so difficult for you. Personally, I have not yet reached this point, so I cannot recommend any particular tutorial. The instructions will be updated. Don't learn from "Minna no Hihongo" - this tutorial is meant to be taught with a teacher, not on your own.
  3. You can read manga in pure Japanese. There is a manga that has hiragana reading above the hieroglyphs, i.e. to read such a manga, you do not need to know all the kanji. When reading manga, no one rushes you, if you don’t know some words, you can look them up in the dictionary.
  4. You can watch anime WITHOUT subtitles. In the previous paragraphs, I advised you to watch with subtitles, because You just got acquainted with the Japanese language and without them it is impossible to understand anything, but over time, subtitles, on the contrary, begin to interfere - instead of listening to Japanese speech, you stupidly take the meaning from text on the screen without learning the language.
  5. Start chatting with the Japanese. Ask them to correct your mistakes.
  6. Start reading the light novel.

Feedback

If something is unclear during the execution of the instruction, or if you want to add something to the instruction, you can write to me

Learning Japanese requires patience and perseverance.

It turns out that in order to understand without a translator what the heroes of the anime and films of Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano are talking about, you need not so much time - only a year and a half. But, of course, you will need some diligence and perseverance.

How to learn Japanese? To begin with, it is necessary to clearly define the goal, since such as “I want to learn a language” is too vague and not suitable for business. The goal should be clear - it will determine how and what you will study. For example, if you want to read books in Japanese, then this is one thing, if you want to watch TV shows and anime without subtitles, it’s another, and if you communicate with native speakers, then it’s already the third. And for each of these tasks, language learning will be different. But at the same time, it is best if you use all the options when studying. After all, the main tips on how to learn Japanese on your own in many language learning guides are no different from those given to learners of other languages ​​- and it doesn’t matter if characters are used in the language or not. But if you have gathered just to read books, it is still better to learn how to write hieroglyphs - so you will have a better chance of memorizing. In learning any language, memorization is the most important thing. Therefore, you need to use as many channels as possible to perceive information: read books, watch films with subtitles, listen to songs in the original language and, of course, communicate with native speakers.

Before and after the diet: 10 amazing weight loss stories

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It is worth remembering that learning should be interesting and fun - many quit the language without finishing it to the desired level, just because learning it has become a monotonous routine. And how not to turn into a routine that you have to memorize the same thing over and over again? There is only one answer - a variety of approaches to learning.

However, those who nevertheless set out to learn the Japanese language on their own from scratch, and made the first successes in this field, will never forget this amazing feeling, literally the feeling of a miracle - when some kind of understandable meaning. It is not surprising if you want to make this miracle your constant companion. But the first thing you have to do is to get acquainted with the alphabet, more precisely, with Japanese script. In Japanese, there are already three types of writing: kanji, that is, hieroglyphs Chinese origin, and two syllabaries created in Japan: hiragana and katakana. Are you afraid? Then go ahead!

Learning any foreign language "for yourself" will not bring any results, except for disappointment. This rule applies especially to Japanese. A clear understanding of the specifics of your goals is the basis for building an effective training plan.

Tourism, receiving unique education, development of international business, passion for traditional and modern Japanese art, professional immigration - whatever you choose, this will be your main motivation and driving force for immersing yourself in the Japanese language.

Setting specific deadlines will help set reference points throughout the training. For example, your goal is to pass the Japanese language exam "Nihongo noryoku shiken" for knowledge of it entry level(N5) for eight months. The list of words, hieroglyphs and grammar required for the exam can be viewed in advance on the relevant sites and a step-by-step plan can be drawn up for the entire period of study.

2. Structure your learning material

Select a few proven textbooks and print out the copybooks. This will form the basis of your learning. In parallel, you can use the online simulator to test your knowledge. One of the most popular and effective is the Japanese textbook Minna no Nihongo: Basic Workbook in two parts, which is best taken immediately with a grammar commentary and additional teaching materials.

If you are good at English language, then you can use time-tested and thousands of students textbooks, workbooks and audio materials of the GENKI series. From Russian publications, we can advise the “Japanese Language Textbook for Children” in two parts by the author M. R. Golomidova, a well-known Russian specialist in the field of the Japanese language. The textbook will be an excellent educational tool for adults.

3. Start simple

The Japanese writing system consists of two syllabaries (hiragana and katakana) and kanji (hieroglyphs). First you need to master both alphabets, where each of the 46 characters means not a sound, but a syllable. And only after that move on to kanji. Try to study symbols and hieroglyphs not separately, but in the context of words and sentences.

The basic set of knowledge is very clearly spelled out in the requirements for the fifth level of the international exam in Japanese. For a beginner, this can be a great guide.

When moving on to the study of kanji, you should pay attention to the so-called keys, from which, like from Lego cubes, you can compose and memorize quite complex Japanese characters. Don't forget that your successful learning last but not least depends on constant written practice. To do this, you can download and print ready-made recipes. Work on pronunciation better by reading aloud.

4. Practice Japanese Regularly and Variedly

Despite the logic of this point, many people forget about it over time. Undoubtedly, with constant employment, it is really difficult to allocate several hours a day for learning a language, but 20 minutes is quite real!

Diversify your weekly schedule, for example:

  • Monday, Thursday - theoretical lessons on the textbook;
  • Tuesday - reading your favorite manga in the original or information from Japanese Internet resources;
  • Wednesday - work with prescriptions;
  • Friday, Saturday - watching interesting videos;
  • Sunday - communication with native speakers.

Daily study of Japanese, if it is a pleasure, will bring tangible results very, very soon!

5. Use proven kanji memorization techniques

There are several original tools for memorizing hieroglyphs.

Card method

Cut out required amount cards made of thick paper, on one side indicate the symbol or hieroglyph being studied, on the other - the corresponding value. This will help not only in learning, but also in testing your knowledge. By the way, you can buy ready-made sets of cards.

Irecommend.ru

association method

Memorization is the best fit for the Japanese language. When learning kanji, it is often difficult to remember the spelling of a character and its meaning. To solve this problem, for each hieroglyph, invent your own image! For example:

  • 木 (tree) really looks like a tree;
  • 森 (forest) - but three trees turn into a real forest;
  • 火 (fire) - a little imagination, and you are already warming your hands by the fire near the mountain (山).

So you can effectively memorize several hieroglyphs at once.


s5.pikabu.ru

Word replacement method

For this you need a great computer program called "Cananization" (from the Japanese word "kana" - the alphabet). The program replaces syllables in any Russian-language text copied into it with signs of Japanese alphabets.

There is a Japanese belief.

Skあzka, easier to sayおrya:

Withおtookい onceあwait the beastい

Choose い to fight with えbe the king!

Using this program will help you easily memorize Japanese characters.

Perhaps the most important rule for learning Japanese (and not only) is self-confidence and focus on results. Don't believe that Japanese is impossible to learn. Foreigners say the same about the Russian language. But how did we learn it? Good luck to you, patience and the fulfillment of the Japanese dream!

Before many who have a desire to teach, a reasonable question arises - where to start? I will try to give some tips that will help you make the process of learning Japanese easier and more effective.

1. Learn syllabic alphabets.
The first step in learning Japanese should be
One of the features of the Japanese language is that there are as many as three writing systems in it: two (kana) and (kanji).
Why do the Japanese have two alphabets? Historically, the hiragana alphabet has been used to write grammatical particles, inflected parts of words, etc. Japanese words may also be written, for example, if you do not know how to given word written in hieroglyphs.
Katakana is used to write foreign names and borrowed words, for example, the word basu (from the English bus) - "bus" - would be written in katakana.

2. Pick a good textbook
Understanding Japanese grammar can sometimes be difficult. But if you study with a teacher and you have a good and understandable textbook, then everything will be up to you =).
It is very important to choose a quality textbook for classes. It is better if it is a Japanese textbook, as it will reflect Japanese realities, and the words and dialogues in it will correspond to spoken Japanese, which is not always found in Russian textbooks.
The textbook that I use in my classes and that I can recommend is the Japanese textbook "Minna no Nihongo" and Additional materials to him.
From Russian textbooks, I use “Japanese for Children” by M. Golomidova. Despite its name, it is suitable not only for children, but also for adults (checked!). I really appreciate it for the fact that all the grammar is described in an understandable and accessible language, and for the fact that the textbook contains many interesting and exciting exercises, as well as for A complex approach to learning.
About 8 years ago I found it in the library at the Japanese Embassy, ​​where I ordered it for myself. Unfortunately, I did not see it for sale in Moscow (the textbook itself was printed in Novosibirsk), so I send it to my students in electronic form.
Also a good and understandable textbook by Sheftilevich N.S. “We read, write, speak Japanese” and Golovnina I.V. "Japanese Language Textbook".

3. Start learning hieroglyphs
In parallel with the development of grammar, you can start learning hieroglyphs (in Japanese kanji). There are about fifty thousand characters in the Japanese language, of which Everyday life about two thousand are used, but to memorize this a large number of, of course, it is difficult, you need to actively connect fantasy and imaginative thinking. In my classes, I use this particular method, which helps my students to memorize hieroglyphs more easily and for a long time.
During the first year of study, you can learn about 200-300 of the most common characters.
You will also need a dictionary for learning. For example, on the Internet you can download a convenient electronic dictionary, which is called Yarxi.

4. Repetition
If you want to remember new words, hieroglyphs and grammar for a long time, then regular repetitions and application of the acquired knowledge are very important, not only in the classroom, but also between them.

5. Full immersion into the language environment
In addition to your usual activities, try to surround yourself with Japanese: listen to Japanese radio and songs, watch Japanese movies and TV shows, read Japanese texts and websites, find a pen pal or Skype friend. All this, combined with classes with a teacher, will greatly advance you in learning Japanese.

How did you start learning Japanese? And at what stage of learning are you now? Share in the comments!

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P.S. Introductory video course for beginners to learn Japanese. Take your first step in learning Japanese today!

If you are just starting to learn Japanese, then

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