アヤトは明日十一時に一緒に公園に行きたい。
Tomorrow at 11, Ayato wants to go to the park together.
私とライトは今朝ビーチで一緒に三時間泳いだ。
This morning, Laito and I swam at the beach together for three hours.
スバルが昨晩家の後ろで殺人者を見つけた。
Subaru found the murderer behind his home last night.
リーさんはお金がないから、学校で朝ごはんを食べた。
Lee-san ate breakfast at school since he didn't have any money.
アリスは新しいパソコンを買ってけどレーチェルが昨日盗んだ。
Alice bought a new PC, but Rachel stole it yesterday.
A mixture of peaceful and not-so-peaceful scenes going on here.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Progress Report - 9/14/2016
I haven't actually done one of these since I began using this blog back in May (wow, it's been that long?), so I think now's a good time to start.
In May I'd say I was still at a very basic level of Japanese. I didn't know much beyond stringing nouns and adjectives together to try to form simple descriptive sentences. The most I could do in terms of "verbs" is use 好き or きらい to say I like or hate something. (I know those are not verbs in Japanese, they just translate as such in English.)
Now, I'm able to use verbs in past and present form, polite or casual. I also know the "desire" form, as well as the volitional. I can specify direct and indirect objects, the location, time, and means by which something is done, as well as who I may perform that action with. I also know about noun and adjective conjugation for positive/negative and present/past tense.
My current study tools:
-Tae Kim's guide
-Genki I
-Anki (kana deck)
-WaniKani
I need to continue on my grammar studies most of all, because that is critical for being able to read things like NHK Easy News and Satori Beta articles. I also need to vastly increase my vocabulary, because although WaniKani teaches ~6,000 words, not all of them are relevant, and that's still not nearly enough.
I would like to complete Genki I and have a thorough understanding of all its contents by the end of this year. That leaves me to do a chapter about every two weeks, which I think is perfectly reasonable, even with the workbook included. I'm feeling very confident in the material thus far, so hopefully that will continue. Then I can start Genki II in the new year, and continue to improve my grammar.
I recently bought a book called Japanese The Manga Way, which is very highly recommended for its concise but well-explained grammar points. Reviews state that it contains a great deal of info for casual Japanese conversations, which you're not going to find in standard textbooks, so I think it'll be a great Genki supplement. It'll help me learn to read manga earlier on, which will be encouraging.
Right now my two weakest areas are speaking and listening. They're the most difficult to improve without pure immersion in Japan, but there are two ways to overcome that: one, practice listening with the Genki CDs (which I do already) and JapanesePod101 (I have an account there but haven't used it), and two, use italki to do speaking practice with a teacher. This is the most difficult part due to my lacking vocabulary and shyness, but it's something I need to overcome.
Overall, I feel pretty good about where I currently stand. If I continue learning kanji and studying grammar while simultaneously expanding my vocabulary, then my understanding of the language will only grow. It will make learning how to speak and listen easier, and make practice a lot more fun in general. I'm excited to continue improving my skills.
In May I'd say I was still at a very basic level of Japanese. I didn't know much beyond stringing nouns and adjectives together to try to form simple descriptive sentences. The most I could do in terms of "verbs" is use 好き or きらい to say I like or hate something. (I know those are not verbs in Japanese, they just translate as such in English.)
Now, I'm able to use verbs in past and present form, polite or casual. I also know the "desire" form, as well as the volitional. I can specify direct and indirect objects, the location, time, and means by which something is done, as well as who I may perform that action with. I also know about noun and adjective conjugation for positive/negative and present/past tense.
My current study tools:
-Tae Kim's guide
-Genki I
-Anki (kana deck)
-WaniKani
I need to continue on my grammar studies most of all, because that is critical for being able to read things like NHK Easy News and Satori Beta articles. I also need to vastly increase my vocabulary, because although WaniKani teaches ~6,000 words, not all of them are relevant, and that's still not nearly enough.
I would like to complete Genki I and have a thorough understanding of all its contents by the end of this year. That leaves me to do a chapter about every two weeks, which I think is perfectly reasonable, even with the workbook included. I'm feeling very confident in the material thus far, so hopefully that will continue. Then I can start Genki II in the new year, and continue to improve my grammar.
I recently bought a book called Japanese The Manga Way, which is very highly recommended for its concise but well-explained grammar points. Reviews state that it contains a great deal of info for casual Japanese conversations, which you're not going to find in standard textbooks, so I think it'll be a great Genki supplement. It'll help me learn to read manga earlier on, which will be encouraging.
Right now my two weakest areas are speaking and listening. They're the most difficult to improve without pure immersion in Japan, but there are two ways to overcome that: one, practice listening with the Genki CDs (which I do already) and JapanesePod101 (I have an account there but haven't used it), and two, use italki to do speaking practice with a teacher. This is the most difficult part due to my lacking vocabulary and shyness, but it's something I need to overcome.
Overall, I feel pretty good about where I currently stand. If I continue learning kanji and studying grammar while simultaneously expanding my vocabulary, then my understanding of the language will only grow. It will make learning how to speak and listen easier, and make practice a lot more fun in general. I'm excited to continue improving my skills.
Monday, September 12, 2016
Writing Practice 9/12/2016
In Genki there's a section for each chapter containing reading and writing exercises. I think I'm going to do the writing practices here, and potentially post them on italki for corrections.
My first prompt is to write about my daily routine, so here we go. I'm going to write as if I'm a student, because otherwise things are far more dull. I'll provide English translations as well, but they're going to be terribly choppy due to the nature of these sentence structures.
私は朝たいてい八時半に起きます。台所で朝ごはんを食べます。それから日本語を二時間ぐらい勉強します。十二時に宿題を一時間します。一時に彼と昼ごはんを食べます。二時ごろにたいてい図書館で本を読みます。時々喫茶店でコーヒーを飲みます。六時によくレストランで友達と晩ごはんを食べます。楽しいですね！八時に帰ります。彼とゲームをやります、それから十二時半に寝ます。
I usually get up at 8:30 in the morning. I eat breakfast in the kitchen. After that, I study Japanese for about 2 hours. At 12 noon I do homework for about an hour. At 1 I eat lunch with my boyfriend. Around 2 I usually go to the library to read books. Sometimes I get coffee at the cafe. At 6 I often eat dinner with my friends at a restaurant. It's a lot of fun! At 8 I return home. I play games with my boyfriend, and then I go to bed at 12:30.
Next is to write as if I'm leaving a note for a roommate, telling them where I'll be today.
サラ、
私は今日大学でライト君と英語を勉強します。それからレストランで昼ごはんを食べます。六時ごろにライトの友達に会いますから、家で晩ごはんを食べません。それから映画館にいきます。十時ごろに帰ります。
- ホリー
Sara,
Today I'm going to the university to study English with Laito. After that, we're eating lunch at a restaurant. Around 6 we're going to meet with Laito's friends, so I won't be eating dinner at home. We're going to the movie theater after that. I should return home around 10.
-Holly
Finally, I need to write a brief summary of what I did this past weekend.
金曜日に友達の家に行きました。そこに晩ごはんを食べました。テレビを見ました、それから九時半ごろに家に帰りました。土曜日に彼と公園に行きました。暑かった、でもまだ楽しかった。家で晩ごはんを食べました。日曜日に母と買い物に八時間ぐらい行きました。眠かった！それから日本語を三時間勉強しました。午前一時ごろにねました。
On Friday I went to my friends' house. There I ate dinner. We watched TV, and then I went home at around 9:30. On Saturday I went to the park with my boyfriend. It was hot, but still fun. We ate dinner at home. On Sunday I went shopping with my mom for about eight hours. I was tired! After that, I studied Japanese for about three hours. I went to bed at about 1 AM.
My first prompt is to write about my daily routine, so here we go. I'm going to write as if I'm a student, because otherwise things are far more dull. I'll provide English translations as well, but they're going to be terribly choppy due to the nature of these sentence structures.
私は朝たいてい八時半に起きます。台所で朝ごはんを食べます。それから日本語を二時間ぐらい勉強します。十二時に宿題を一時間します。一時に彼と昼ごはんを食べます。二時ごろにたいてい図書館で本を読みます。時々喫茶店でコーヒーを飲みます。六時によくレストランで友達と晩ごはんを食べます。楽しいですね！八時に帰ります。彼とゲームをやります、それから十二時半に寝ます。
I usually get up at 8:30 in the morning. I eat breakfast in the kitchen. After that, I study Japanese for about 2 hours. At 12 noon I do homework for about an hour. At 1 I eat lunch with my boyfriend. Around 2 I usually go to the library to read books. Sometimes I get coffee at the cafe. At 6 I often eat dinner with my friends at a restaurant. It's a lot of fun! At 8 I return home. I play games with my boyfriend, and then I go to bed at 12:30.
Next is to write as if I'm leaving a note for a roommate, telling them where I'll be today.
サラ、
私は今日大学でライト君と英語を勉強します。それからレストランで昼ごはんを食べます。六時ごろにライトの友達に会いますから、家で晩ごはんを食べません。それから映画館にいきます。十時ごろに帰ります。
- ホリー
Sara,
Today I'm going to the university to study English with Laito. After that, we're eating lunch at a restaurant. Around 6 we're going to meet with Laito's friends, so I won't be eating dinner at home. We're going to the movie theater after that. I should return home around 10.
-Holly
Finally, I need to write a brief summary of what I did this past weekend.
金曜日に友達の家に行きました。そこに晩ごはんを食べました。テレビを見ました、それから九時半ごろに家に帰りました。土曜日に彼と公園に行きました。暑かった、でもまだ楽しかった。家で晩ごはんを食べました。日曜日に母と買い物に八時間ぐらい行きました。眠かった！それから日本語を三時間勉強しました。午前一時ごろにねました。
On Friday I went to my friends' house. There I ate dinner. We watched TV, and then I went home at around 9:30. On Saturday I went to the park with my boyfriend. It was hot, but still fun. We ate dinner at home. On Sunday I went shopping with my mom for about eight hours. I was tired! After that, I studied Japanese for about three hours. I went to bed at about 1 AM.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Note About Duration
I've been confused about where I'm supposed to specify the duration of an event. In some Genki sentences, it's stated after the day/time (such as "today"), and in others, it's used right before the verb. I wasn't sure of the difference between the two, but someone on the WaniKani forums made a thread about this exact issue, and a few posters answered.
If I specify the duration closer to the beginning of the sentence (such as after "today") then I'm placing emphasis on the fact that that particular duration was TODAY, as opposed to some other day.
ライトは今日二時間科学を勉強した。
Today, Laito studied science for two hours.
ライトは今日科学を二時間勉強した。
Laito studied science for two hours today.
If I specify the duration closer to the beginning of the sentence (such as after "today") then I'm placing emphasis on the fact that that particular duration was TODAY, as opposed to some other day.
ライトは今日二時間科学を勉強した。
Today, Laito studied science for two hours.
ライトは今日科学を二時間勉強した。
Laito studied science for two hours today.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Sentence Practice 9/8/2016
ライトは今日二時間YMCAで泳ぎました。
Laito swam at the YMCA for two hours today.
アヤトは午後九時に学校に行った。
Ayato went to school at 9 PM.
あそこにデパートがあるけどお金がない。
There's a department store over there, but I don't have any money.
リーさんは先週毎日五時間ぐらい英語を勉強しました。
Last week, Lee-san studied English every day for nearly five hours.
前夜午後七時にスバル君と晩ごはんを食べた。
Last night I ate dinner with Subaru-kun at 7 PM.
田中先生は日曜日に中国に旅行したから、水曜日に日本語のクラスがない。
Professor Tanaka traveled to China on Sunday, so there's no Japanese class on Wednesday.
I'm pretty happy with these sentences for now. They include examples of time, duration, and existence. I've done a lot of Japanese writing today so my brain's fried (plus it's Thursday).
Laito swam at the YMCA for two hours today.
アヤトは午後九時に学校に行った。
Ayato went to school at 9 PM.
あそこにデパートがあるけどお金がない。
There's a department store over there, but I don't have any money.
リーさんは先週毎日五時間ぐらい英語を勉強しました。
Last week, Lee-san studied English every day for nearly five hours.
前夜午後七時にスバル君と晩ごはんを食べた。
Last night I ate dinner with Subaru-kun at 7 PM.
田中先生は日曜日に中国に旅行したから、水曜日に日本語のクラスがない。
Professor Tanaka traveled to China on Sunday, so there's no Japanese class on Wednesday.
I'm pretty happy with these sentences for now. They include examples of time, duration, and existence. I've done a lot of Japanese writing today so my brain's fried (plus it's Thursday).
Monday, September 5, 2016
Topic and Time
Ever since learning how to express when something occurred/is occurring, I've wondered about the proper sentence order for those expressions. In some sentences I've seen the time ("In September"), followed by the topic ("I"), followed by anything else ("will go to Japan"). In others I've seen the topic written before the specified time. This has been bothering me because I always want to know if I should have the time listed before the は particle, as that would seemingly include it as part of the topic. Well, I finally have an answer after posting this question on the WaniKani forums.
In general, it is preferable to begin sentences with the topic, then follow that with any time specifications. This is because, in Japanese, you almost always want to follow the format of Topic -> Comment, even if that comment is time-related. I've often written sentences the other way around because it felt more natural, but I was wrong. So to be clear, I need to write like this from now on.
私は九月に日本に行く。
I'm going to Japan in September. (I'm not :( )
アヤトは七時半に起きる。
Ayato gets up at 7:30.
ライトは毎日科学を勉強する。
Laito studies science every day.
リーさんは週末買い物に行く。
Lee-san is going shopping this weekend.
スバルは今夜家で晩ごはんを食べる。
Subaru is eating dinner at home tonight.
Now, I need to eternally remember this. I know there are instances where including the day/time with the topic would make sense, mainly for emphasis, but in general, the above sentences demonstrate the preferred ordering.
In general, it is preferable to begin sentences with the topic, then follow that with any time specifications. This is because, in Japanese, you almost always want to follow the format of Topic -> Comment, even if that comment is time-related. I've often written sentences the other way around because it felt more natural, but I was wrong. So to be clear, I need to write like this from now on.
私は九月に日本に行く。
I'm going to Japan in September. (I'm not :( )
アヤトは七時半に起きる。
Ayato gets up at 7:30.
ライトは毎日科学を勉強する。
Laito studies science every day.
リーさんは週末買い物に行く。
Lee-san is going shopping this weekend.
スバルは今夜家で晩ごはんを食べる。
Subaru is eating dinner at home tonight.
Now, I need to eternally remember this. I know there are instances where including the day/time with the topic would make sense, mainly for emphasis, but in general, the above sentences demonstrate the preferred ordering.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Sentence Practice 9/2/2016
Time to practice some of the new Genki concepts I've recently learned.
毎週水曜日によく友達の家に行く。
I often go to my friend's house every Wednesday.
毎日リーさんは仕事に運転する。彼は銀行にも運転する。
Lee-san drives to work every day. He also drives to the bank. (Is he a robber?)
九月にアリスは学校に返る。
Alice returns to school in September.
毎週金曜日にライト君は店でたくさんお菓子を買う。
Every Friday, Laito-kun buys lots of candy at the store.
シュさん、図書館で勉強しませんか？
Shu-san, would you like to study at the library?
シキ君はいつも酒場で流行歌を歌う。
Shiki-kun always sings popular songs at the bar.
今週末にスバルは ビーチで泳ぎに行きたい。
This weekend Subaru wants to go swimming at the beach.
アヤトの財布は冷蔵庫のなかにある。
Ayato's wallet is in the fridge.
土曜日にそのレストランでライトと食べたい。
On Saturday I want to eat at that restaurant with Laito.
毎週水曜日によく友達の家に行く。
I often go to my friend's house every Wednesday.
毎日リーさんは仕事に運転する。彼は銀行にも運転する。
Lee-san drives to work every day. He also drives to the bank. (Is he a robber?)
九月にアリスは学校に返る。
Alice returns to school in September.
毎週金曜日にライト君は店でたくさんお菓子を買う。
Every Friday, Laito-kun buys lots of candy at the store.
シュさん、図書館で勉強しませんか？
Shu-san, would you like to study at the library?
シキ君はいつも酒場で流行歌を歌う。
Shiki-kun always sings popular songs at the bar.
今週末にスバルは ビーチで泳ぎに行きたい。
This weekend Subaru wants to go swimming at the beach.
アヤトの財布は冷蔵庫のなかにある。
Ayato's wallet is in the fridge.
土曜日にそのレストランでライトと食べたい。
On Saturday I want to eat at that restaurant with Laito.
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