Hey guys. I'm trying to learn Japanese, and its getting a bit hard.
I wanted to know if anybody out there know a "book" or something that teaches Japanese very well.

Want to learn it to understand Scandal XD

Well, I'm in japanese class and I use the "Minna no nihongo" book. In my opinion I think is very useful if you want to learn japanese in your own, but before you have to learn the hiragana and the katakana. This is a link if you want to download it http://aboutnihongo.blogspot.com/2009/07/minna-no-nihongo-i-completo-105.html

ileana_guzmo14 wrote:Well, I'm in japanese class and I use the "Minna no nihongo" book. In my opinion I think is very useful if you want to learn japanese in your own, but before you have to learn the hiragana and the katakana. This is a link if you want to download it http://aboutnihongo.blogspot.com/2009/07/minna-no-nihongo-i-completo-105.html

Yes! I am also taking Japanese lessons in Singapore and I use this book. It gives you all the basics like greetings, introductions, time, conversations, ordering in a restaurant etc.
I definitely recommend this book to you! I'm only 14 and this book is helping me a lot with Japanese!
Happy learning ^^

I've been self learning for 2 months.　Learning it solely because I want to know SCANDAL better!

Buying various books here and there. Learning kinda haphazardly but slowly getting slightly better at it ~_~

日本語をタイプしましょうか。でも可笑しいなら、すみません！

currently my state of learning/speaking/hearing (hopefully Reading as well) is tangled with korean language. to much watching of k-dramas has mess up my learning the japanese language. anyway thanks for the awesome book!

I recommend that you get a Japanese grammar guide as well. Some of the grammar is really difficult/confusing at times. especially the particles... OTL

@ileana_guzmo14 I'm using the same book too!

thanks ileana_guzmo14 for shared a link .clap.

What I am using to learn the language XD

I still one more book but it's in my office.

Currently I find the Handbook of Japanese Verbs most useful! It's really good at explaining the verb form and uses!

so what would be more accurate and easy to learn jap language by means of listening some audiotapes/mp3 or using books? i would like to learn first how to speak then read afterwards like a normal baby.

@ghesai
The 'Rosetta stone' system is very good, but also very expensive.
With that you learn like a child does.

I've signed up for Japanese class lessons in Singapore. Quite expensive though . But it's okay, they give away official certificates after completing EL 1.

Drakenzuken wrote:I've signed up for Japanese class lessons in Singapore. Quite expensive though . But it's okay, they give away official certificates after completing EL 1.

Oh, what school are you going to learn at? You might be in the same school as me

TomomixOgawa wrote:

Drakenzuken wrote:I've signed up for Japanese class lessons in Singapore. Quite expensive though . But it's okay, they give away official certificates after completing EL 1.

Oh, what school are you going to learn at? You might be in the same school as me

Some Bunka Japanese school! Heard it's great

tonymiller wrote:@ghesai
The 'Rosetta stone' system is very good, but also very expensive.
With that you learn like a child does.

thanks!

after "googling" rosetta stone and researching for it. it may be the best way to learn japanese aside from my aunt who can speak japanese language as well and it also supports apple product so it would be handy at times.

Just wondering, are you guys learning Japanese for leisure? I think I'm going all out and try to get a certificate LOL.

I'm learning it with the goal of being able to understand and speak the language so I can read SCANDAL's interviews, watch their videos etc without relying on subs.

But I'm not taking lessons because I find it more intuitive to learn myself for a start. If I want to, I can take JLPTs myself.

i think some parts of my soul belongs to japan that's why i'm giving myself some time to learn the language. every time i'm at a japanese store/restaurant/merchandise i feel like i'm home! .smile.

turtle-san wrote:I'm learning it with the goal of being able to understand and speak the language so I can read SCANDAL's interviews, watch their videos etc without relying on subs.

But I'm not taking lessons because I find it more intuitive to learn myself for a start. If I want to, I can take JLPTs myself.

Yeah that's one of my goals too. I hate waiting for subs. Plus, after learning Japanese, i can watch Anime the same time as Japan LOL.

cdblank12 wrote:thanks ileana_guzmo14 for shared a link .clap.

Dou itashimashite! You're welcome

ileana_guzmo14 wrote:

cdblank12 wrote:thanks ileana_guzmo14 for shared a link .clap.

Dou itashimashite! You're welcome

Domo arigato ileana
That PDF is gold. =D
Gonna work hard. someday i'll be able to understand scandal =D

@Neyodemos: Dou itashimashite, you're welcome! And do your best~ Ganbatte


Oh, I forgot, I think that this can help you too http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar

Oh, I forgot, I think that this can help you too http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar

About the Guide to Japanese Grammar: it's a pretty good site for learning the details of grammar, if you've already been learning Japanese from another source. That site also has a structured lesson plan for beginners (The Complete Guide to Japanese), but it's not very far along at the moment.

My brother tried Rosetta Stone for a bit, and from what I saw, it's not very useful. I imagine it works decently for languages that use the Latin alphabet, because you can read it. However, with Japanese, they just throw you in to looking at pictures with hiragana under them, and you have no idea how to read them.

The "natural" process of learning a language, i.e. seeing objects and learning what they are called, only works for children, because they learn to think in that language. By the time you've already mastered your native tongue, you can't rewire your brain to think in a new language. You just have to learn the new language in terms of the old language by taking lessons taught in your native language.

I just started taking Japanese in college this semester. We use Elementary Japanese, which is designed for college students with a good grasp of English. It was written by the professors and lecturers here (the greatest public university in the world, I might add). It goes over a bit of the details of grammar, like I mentioned in the first link, which I enjoy learning about. The second year course uses Tobira, Gateway to Advanced Japanese.

tonymiller wrote:@ghesai
The 'Rosetta stone' system is very good, but also very expensive.
With that you learn like a child does.

I had Rosetta Stone but its not really good when they claim that you will learn like a child... some phrases get repeated a lot of times and your hearing and probably pronouncing of words only will improved due to the trial and error type of learning... grammar teaching also tends to be confusing... im only using rosetta stone for a month here...

The Pimsleur audio CDs are good for the listening/speaking side to start.

I had a hard time with Rosetta stone because they don't explain anything. They say you learn "naturally" like a child, but I'm not sure why that's a good thing when as an adult you can quickly learn concepts if someone just explains them to you instead of having to figure them out yourself from just a bunch of examples.

I think it's important to not try to find just one way to learn. Many of the books/CDs/websites are each great in their own way but are different. IMO the best way to start is to use a lot of different resources so you get a more well-rounded picture.

Thanks, but can there be ones that do not need to download. I'm banned from downloading.