Don't Learn Japanese Words This Way

[blake_dexter]

I had always learned that かっこいい actually meant “cool”, and just recently learned that something like かっこいい人 could mean “(a) handsome person”. This is a very good example for remembering that words are not always static in Japanese and can have multiple ideas attached to them.

[Jovak_art]

After almost 20 years of learning Japanese, I found this advice is so true. It's the same with particles.
I always teach my beginner friend to memorize the essence of the word rather than translation
For example: に I'll tell them just think of it as a symbol <= which means the verbs applied to the subject
犬に歌う dog < sing = sing to the dog
きる have too many kanji and similar meanings, just memorize the essence of cutting that involves sharp objects, except 着る😂

[JohnM...]

True - there’s a difference between はたらく (働く)and しごと(仕事)。 The first one is job (verb), the second is work (noun - place of work, ie: I’m going to work).
There’s also:
バーテンダをやっています
Ba-tenda wo yatteimasu - literally ‘I’m doing bartending’ - meaning ‘I WORK as a bartender’.

[name]

Actually this is not applicable to learning Japanese only, but all languages. I personally think it is okay for you to start memorizing 1 to 1 translations, but you should improve your memorization of the next translations if the words have many translations in your language. Remember, in learning, start from easy and then move on to difficult. Start from little to become much.

[zumogerstubchen]

It's the same in most languages. In mine, a verb can mean "to sink" but also "to perish", another can mean "to ignore" but also "to betray", but the tone and context always matters.

[DuBCraft]

This particular topic really is a catch 22 because you need a way to get your foot in the door in order to understand enough of the of the content to discover and internalize the nuances present in the words. You could maybe try and learn everything with dictionary definitions, but that isn't much better than 1:1 translations and is much less accessible (I know because I've tried), so either you learn direct translations, then expand on their meanings through immersion, or you spend so, so much more time trying to learn words with a dictionary instead of experiencing the language and only end up at a slightly better starting point that still then requires experience with the language. Not using 1:1 translations is definitely better in the long run, but you need a place to start.

[codewithzi-]

My technique is by finding the word meaning in my native language (Malay) in term of usage, degree and also considering their philosophical meaning while also finding the term in English to solidified it's meaning and general understanding.

My plan is to make Japanese as my fourth but I'm also learning a bit Mandarin as my third language since Mandarin is one of the most popular 3rd language around here

[tabby]

The question learners should ask every time (or in some cases even native speakers, such as when the usage of a word is in dispute) is "how do native speakers use this word; what do they mean by it?" That binds a word to one or more contexts (notably, social contexts, which are very significant for words like 致します or arguably even はい) and helps a lot in clueing the learner in on when the word would be appropriate to use.

[LunDruid]

This kind of thing makes me wonder about how certain we can be with ancient languages, too.

[acgm]

Is there any way I can find series or movies with Japanese subtitles with furigana without having to resort to Netflix and a VPN? I really wanna find content like that to have great input, but it seems like there aren't many other alternatives for realistic content for my basic level 😔

[marikothecheetah]

Well, if I am to learn 2000 words in a given language in my lifetime or better yet - in a couple of years I am going to use memorisation. For nuance and context I have resources and if I find discrepancy I do research.

[PhantomJ-tsjx]

Why is he swinging an Aqua plushy around

[ryderlisa]

i have uni level 2 japanese yet i seem only to have polite i my head. if i hear anime basic speach i have such a difficult time basicly understand 10%. and trying to learn it is sooo freaking hard because i get confused with what i already know. so i sound rude :(

[Andy-ppic]

Dude I actually learn this word so I know to be employed, so don't worry about us we will learn

[nadia]

erm yuta ppl learn japanese via anime or so called series like drama ones aka soap operas much faster then original way via school aparently thats what they claim

[Light月]

I thought handsome in Japanese was ikkemen lol