How did you all get so good at writing and reading Japanese?!

[SEYZJP]

I am new here and I am amazed the amount of typing I see in Japanese. I am just curious how did you go about learning all that? I am currently trying to learn the language now and am very slowly picking up kanji and then a little bit of the others but it's coming slowly. The amount of Japanese writing on here is making me want to get better at writing and reading as well. Just wondering how you all got so good if you don't mind sharing.


Thank you

Seyzjp

[Soloistic]

Time and effort. It may seem daunting at first, seeing others type/write extensively complicated sentences and paragraphs but the only way to improve is to put in the effort. Start small, start simple.
A website which I found to be particularly helpful is; http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/about/overview-page

[AJBryant]

Studying my arse off, and living in Japan for six years working for the Mainichi. :)

Oh, and lots of reading, and watching bad TV shows.

Tony

[Kirakira1232]

My reading and writing is...nowhere near "advanced" but I think trying to use what you know is a good way of practicing no matter how simple your phrases or structure is. A lot of the texts I read for class I try to read until I hit a kanji I do not know then look it up to find the meaning.

Start simple and work your way up from there. The KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) applies when your just starting out...so dont give up~!

[becki_kanou]

Studying my arse off, and living in Japan for six years working for the Mainichi. :)

Oh, and lots of reading, and watching bad TV shows.

Tony

Indeed! Practice, practice and practice some more.
And if you do go to Japan, hang out and speak with Japanese people, not people who speak your native language.

I think the reason many (not all) long-term foreign residents fail to learn to speak well is that so many of their interactions are within a community of others who share their language so they feel they have no need to really improve their Japanese.

Don't be that guy/gal!

[SEYZJP]

Thnx for all the feedback. I will just have to practice more I suppose. Just one question though:

Did you learn to read AS you learn the language? Or did you learn to read AFTER you learned the language?

Thanks

[tada]

In my case, I learned to read it as I learned to speak it. I think it's important to develop in a balanced way, because every aspect of Japanese ability relies on the others. Kanji and vocabulary are an obvious relation, since vocabulary are compounds of kanji and kanji make up the vocabulary. You need those or you can't understand grammar because you can't understand the components of the sentence. You need all of that in order to comprehend things, whether verbal or written. And in turn, exposure to verbal or written Japanese is important to learn vocabulary, kanji, and grammar. You should develop in a "squeaky wheel gets the grease" way. You'll end up improving a bit in the other areas, as well.

Indeed! Practice, practice and practice some more.
And if you do go to Japan, hang out and speak with Japanese people, not people who speak your native language.
I think the reason many (not all) long-term foreign residents fail to learn to speak well is that so many of their interactions are within a community of others who share their language so they feel they have no need to really improve their Japanese.
Don't be that guy/gal!

Based on the cross-section of foreign residents in Japan I have experienced, I don't think it will be any problem for me to prefer hanging out with natives if I can move there. :P Even before some of them leaving a bad taste in my mouth, I have wanted to make friends with natives more. Now, making friends with them is the hard part. Definitely not my top priority though, I'm a lone wolf by nature.

[Aoime]

I am also learning to read/write it as I am learning to speak it. After every lessons, my sensei gives me about 40 or so basic sentences to translate using hiragana, katakana (rare), and kanji when I know them. Eventually, through repetition and writing them, you'll remember them. わ、た、し、は、が、に、の and other characters will QUICKLY carve themselves into your brain.

These books might also help you remember characters.

Kana Pict-o-Graphics
Kanji Pict-o-Graphics

For instance, I remember the character "no" (の) because it looks like the circle with a loop in a "No Smoking" sign.

But I really have learned the most from translating basic sentences and referring to a kana chart when necessary.

There's one other stupid thing I do to refresh my memory when I'm bored or killing time. Sometimes, when I'm at dinner, I take my finger and draw hiragana and katakana with the pool of water condensation from my glass. Even the littlest things and practice will help you remember.

Also, DO NOT FORGET TO USE THE CORRECT STROKE ORDER! If you don't obey the order when you're learning it, you're destined to never follow the correct order.

:cool: luck!

[LukeSettle]

Learning the Kanji

and

Learning the Kana by

James Heisig

Im learning readings slowly through grammar books, its actually a pretty effective method so far.

And alljapaneseallthetime.com when i need motivation.
The true trick is to keep studying and persisting. Then it won't matter what textbook or kanji list you use, if you try hard, you'll get it.

and im not even good yet! XD

頑張って「がんばって　･　ganbatte」下さい「ください　・kudasai」
[kudasai is usually written in hiragana]
Keep at it!

P.S. Make sure to get a textbook that starts using kana/kanji early so you are forced to learn quick!

[SEYZJP]

Thank you all for your replies.

I have another question. I am planning to go to Japan for a semester abroad. I don't believe any classes will be in Japanese. However, I do want to learn to red and write. Except right now I can't approach reading and writing and knowing the Kanji as I would if I were going for a longer period of time. I believe I should focus more on specific more useful words that are written and commonly read. I know food is important, numbers, prices, ect. What else would be important to know to read and write when going to Japan?

(Of course I am memorizing the hiragana and katakana symbols).

Seyzjp

[Taiko666]

Assuming you get hiragana and katakana locked in, I'd concentrate more on vocabulary and grammar. You can make great strides relatively quickly, and you'll enjoy being able to communicate during your stay.

If you're dead-set on learning kanji, then I think it makes sense to learn JLPT level 4 kanji, which are mostly 'standalone' (words in themselves rather than appearing as part of multiple kanji compounds) and are so common that you'll get a buzz being able to read them on menus, timetables etc.

http://www.kanjisite.com/html/start/jlpt/4/steps/steplhs.html

For longer term, I'd recommend the 'love or loathe it' Heisig book 'Remembering the Kanji' mentioned by LukeSettle. I'd already learnt the 300 or so 'common' kanji required for JLPT3, but then ran out of steam. I found this book's 'organic' approach very refreshing, and being able to recognize hundreds of kanji all around me in Japan has renewed my enthusiasm.