How to learn Japanese

[TheTooya]

Well, I will be spending my next 6 months learning Japanese before possibly working full time in Tokyo. My Japanese is quite poor... so I wanted to see if anyone else had a suggestion...

I currently have a Rosetta Stone Tokyo, levels 1-3, and will be using this, but I know this won't be enough. :<

[Illusional]

trust me, this is probably all you need in order to get around. i've been to tokyo many times and i'm not fluent. also a lot of things are written in english because there are many tourist in japan.

raverboy

[TheTooya]

Oh, my family lives in Tokyo. Getting around in Tokyo is not my concern... my concern is to be fluent enough to be competent in the workplace.

[Illusional]

honestly i've never used to rosetta stone, however i have only heard good things about it. plus with 3 levels, that is like 3 years of japanese. plus being completely immersed in japan, you'll pick it up that much quicker. oh what i would give to be in your position.

raverboy

[IndiReloaded]

Make sure you can deliver a good apology and some kiss-ass phrases. Unless your family owns the business, in which case everyone will do it to you instead. Except your dad, in which case refer to my first suggestion and don't worry b/c he won't be happy regardless.

[GQChynaBoi]

I recommend first learning the sentence structure of the Japanese language. After that it's basically plugging in nouns and verbs, because the structure rarely changes in my experience.

Learn hirigana and katakana before attempting to tackle kanji. Hirigana and katakana are like letters that make up words.

Also, if you're working in a corporate setting, the phrase "Hajimemashite. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." is good to learn. It's a very polite greeting, and is used due to the respect you are expected to show in the workplace.

So basically:

1. Learn hirigana/katakana.

2. Learn sentence structure. (With particles like wa, ga, and no)

3. Learn some useful nouns and verbs.

4. Learn to conjugate those verbs.

And don't be daunted! Japanese is one of the relatively easiest languages to learn, grammar and syntax-wise. It's not unusual for 2-3 year old Japanese children to speak in full sentences. You'll learn everything else quickly if you live there.

Just remember to carry around a dictionary at all times.

Also, nice - I wish I were you! Where are you gonna work, and are they hiring?

[TheTooya]

1. My hiragana/katakana is fine, but Kanji is damn taunting.
2. I know basic structure, but I need to work on on when to use ga, na, etc...
3. I guess rote memorization of nouns/verbs will be what I need to do here...
4. Conjugate verbs? As in like changing from Masu form to ru form?

5. Have enough confidence and ear to fluently put everything together.

And as for 1-2 yr olds, my younger sister, who is 3, is fluent in Japanese and runs circles around my entire family :<

I actually don';t have aJob yet. I applied with Dentsu-Razorfish, and they told me I need to have a fluent level of Japanese to work for them.

Thank you

[Gigabitch]

Can you start watching Japanese TV on the internet?

[GQChynaBoi]

Yup. Past tense, present tense, future tense, to want tense, and such.

For example:

Tabemasu = To eat
Tabemashita = Ate
Tabemashou = Let's eat!

You should get your sister to teach you!

[Charisma]

Yeah, I tried learning spanish, and even tho I bought quite a few books (meaning 14+ books) and 2 newspapers in spanish, I realised that 1) I could look up the newspaper online and have saved £8 buying them and 2) there's a lot of tips, forums, articles and games to do to learn languages online as well. At some point I'll get round to learning it properly, instead of giving up so easily.

Perhaps you could google specific things you're stuck on? It might not be ideal, but you could also ask some of your family(if they are within contact, and not too busy) to help you out with things you are stuck on too. A lot of the time I wish I could ask people to help, but my family aren't language learners. My mum suggested a night class, but I don't feel comfortable doing that yet.

Kudos to you for learning japanese, I hope I'll get round to learning it too.(got a basic Lonely Planet Japanese phrase book for now).