Ok, So Basically I’ve Listed A Bunch Of Questions That You Could Answer In Full Sentences That Were

hi! do you know any vocabulary books? or websites/apps(besides a dictionary) that teach vocabulary? a lot of the vocabulary on tumblr/etc idk if it's accurate and i want to reach N4 soon. apologies if this sounds rude ^ ^ こんばんは

It doesn’t sound rude at all! I double check Tumblr vocabulary too (especially with natives) and make sure to get mine double-checked because it’s really easy to just put anything on the Internet these days. ✍🏻

Good vocabulary books are usually just textbooks! I’m a huge fan of the Genki series because I think their vocab is broken up really well. If you’re specifically studying for N4, I’d recommend getting your hands on N4 vocab books! 

新完全マスター has a whole series for vocabulary, kanji, and grammar. The books aren’t too expensive either!

日本語総まとめ also has a ton of good books for vocabulary that are geared towards N4

I also really like the 日本語能力試験完全模試シリーズ because just like the previous two, it has books geared towards each level and you can pick what you want to study (so there’s a whole vocab book)

はじめての日本語能力検定試験Ｎ４単語１５００

Truthfully, I recommend heading over to Kinokuniya’s website and searching “N4.” Tons of information comes out for books you can find and order online! 

As for apps, I love news apps! You can usually find kanji + vocab in tandem, and it’s a great way to practice your reading skills as well. Totally recommend! Apps like NHK for School or Easy Japanese are great for this. I also really like StickyStudy (I think it’s only available for iPhones though?). There is TONS of vocabulary broken up by JLPT level.

I hope this helps! My favorite vocabulary builder is WaniKani, but it does cost a bit of money to get past the first 3 levels and unlock the whole 60 level program. Definitely worth it in my opinion, but it does take some time to complete as well.

hello! i'm only starting to learn japanese and i'm finding it hard to know where i should start with the kanji. do you really have to learn kanji separately and memorize both their pronunciations or can you just learn the kanji in the vocabulary?

omg no! don’t stress yourself out like that anon!!

okay, i’m going to be real with the japanese language learning community: you all are doing waaaaaaaay too much when it comes to kanji.

there. i said it.

learning kanji does not have to be a headache!

i spent the first 6 months of my japanese learning “career” (for lack of a better word) trying to figure out the best way to learn kanji because every website and book was like “here’s the kunyomi, here’s the onyomi, now learn them both” but the fine print of that learning method says “you’re going to f*cking struggle”

but then i started realizing that kanji i read all of the time, i didn’t even “properly” study like those articles said. i didn’t know the kunyomi and onyomi for 行 for ages, but i knew it was read いく in 行く and こう in words like 旅行 and 直行. because i learned those words in context and on their own.

a few months after i came to japan, i started asking japanese people how they learned kanji and every single one of them answered the same way: they learn through vocabulary. i once asked my boyfriend how he learned kanji in grade school, and he said that they were basically given a kanji, and then they were given a list of vocabulary that included that kanji. they then memorized the vocabulary and grew to know the kunyomi and onyomi readings.

which, spoiler: kunyomi and onyomi is not always an accurate measure. lots of compounds use the kunyomi, some of them add dakuten (as in ちゅうごく instead of ちゅうこく in 中国), and others add っ (as in ちょっこう instead of ちょこう in 直行). this really isn’t something you can just magically guess.

but it’s important to remember that everyone learns differently. i don’t learn individual kanji – i learn kanji within various vocabulary words. i make sure to get as much exposure to the various ways a single kanji can appear within a larger compound, so 高 is not just a single kanji, but it is 高い and 高校生 and 高価.

i do, however, think it’s important to understand the meaning of a kanji. this can help you decipher the meaning of a word you don’t know yet. for example, 高価 (こうか) means “high price.” 高 means high and 価 means price. knowing their meaning individually can help decipher the meaning.

in this way you can argue that yes, knowing the individual readings of these two kanji makes guessing the reading of this word easier, but 価 can also be read “ke"! you can’t guarantee an accurate reading all of the time, but with more and more exposure to individual kanji, you will be able to tell.

which brings me to my main point: learning kanji is an individual experience. i, personally, think that learning onyomi and kunyomi readings for 2,000+ jouyou kanji is a HUGE WASTE OF TIME, but there are a lot of people out there that do this methodically and know lots and lots of kanji and vocabulary. i, personally, need kanji in a larger vocabulary word in order for it to stick, and my brain just catalogues the various readings away. that’s how my brain works and learns, but it’s not how everyone else works and learns. 

it’s important to find what works for you.

that being said, if you’re just starting out i highly recommend Jakka. it’s a website meant for japanese grade school teachers and has tons of grade school kanji material broken up into their appropriate grades. japanese school children are expected to learn and master a certain amount of kanji + vocabulary each grade level, so if you’d really like to learn like a child, learn like the school children do! (the website is in japanese but fairly simple to navigate.)

i hope this helps a little anon! and remember that learning kanji isn’t a race. if it takes you awhile to learn them, don’t worry. everyone learns languages differently.

Hi everyone! I didn’t post anything for a while but now I just wanted to share with you my yearly spread for 2020

28/12/20

not only langblr music resources

people irl often ask me where the heck i find the music i listen to, so i figured i might as well make a handy resource masterpost!

Radio Garden: Listen to radio stations all over the world. You can save your favourite stations, explore radio playlists, and search for stations in specific countries or cities. Love this one. You can download the app (android and apple) or listen via your preferred browser.

Radiooooo: Lets you choose a country, a decade, and a 'genre' (slow, fast, or weird) to listen to. You can download the app (android and apple) or listen via your preferred browser.

Every Noise At Once: Sounds overwhelming - and tbh it can be. For this reason I personally prefer to look at 'Genres by Country', although there are many other interesting playlists to look at, such as 'We Built This City On' or 'The Sounds of Places'. You can find more if you scroll all the way to the bottom. Unfortunately, due to the layoff of the creator of this site, some features are not available anymore. This website is entirely based on Spotify.

Charts: Charts can be tricky if you're looking for music in a specific language due to the insufferable dominance of music in english in uh a lot of countries. It is nevertheless worth checking them out. Spotify charts or Top 40 Charts are your places to go.

Tunefind: Heard a song in a film or tv show that you enjoy but can't find it in the credits? This is the website for you! I use it when shazam fails me or when I'm at the cinema and can't use it or w/e. The songs sometimes come with a description of the corresponding scene for easy checking. Just very handy to have on hand.

Local events: Check for concerts etc. in your area. I know this is not an option for everyone for a bunch of reasons, but if it is for you, visiting local concerts can be a gold mine. I got like ten whole new songs in spanish and one in rapanui from one event I went to (it was like a culture fest with singing, dancing, and poetry). Also listening to live music just connects you differently to the art imo.

Friends & Acquaintances: Last but not least; sometimes my nosiness beats my social anxiety and I simply ask people what they like to listen to. If I'm being extra confident, I ask if they listen to music in languages other than english. Go forth and ask people about their music, go go go!!

Personally, i agree with your point of view on the Japanese YouTubers community.It gets tiring and sometimes confusing.I have always been conflicted about whether the content is helofu4and informative for me or not.I am not condemning their content; it just seems to be aimed at entertainment seekers.(regardless there may be informative channels out there, but i haven't followed any for many years now). Please stay safe and remember that sharing your relationship is a double-edged sword of sorts.

That was when I finally decided to stop watching their content – when I realized it no longer felt healthy/beneficial for me. I just spent a lot of time feeling annoyed with it, or feeling like it wasn’t really entertaining anymore.

There are a lot of channels with informative content! Abroad In Japan (Chris) is great. He’s really honest about Japan, and he posts a lot about culture and travel. I also really love his sense of humor, and I love that he’s up to try new things and is respectful of the culture at the same time.

I also love Bilingirl Chika! Her fun mix of English and Japanese makes her videos both a learning tool for language and culture and entertaining to watch. She makes a lot of videos about Japan, life hacks, language tips, and more! Her personality is so bubbly and fun, and she’s really positive but realistic in her videos. She deserves way more followers than she has!

The final favorite is KemushiChan (Loretta). Her Japanese is really good, and she’s currently getting her masters degree in Japan! She has a lot of videos in Japanese, and she often features other Japanese YouTubers on her channel. She posts a lot of informative and helpful content about learning the language and “normal” life in Japan. I think she’s awesome!

I didn’t mean to turn this into a recommendation thing, but because I keep talking a bit negatively about foreign Japanese YouTube, I wanted to share a few channels I do love! A little positivity never hurt anybody, eh? Lol.

are you tired? sleep. and then, wake up.

Gearing up for September already 😫

I have a dosage calc exam before school starts, and I can’t go to clinical if I don’t pass it (we can only get 1 question wrong). I got this book from Level Up RN to practice. Also learning some basic pharmacology to give me a head start for that.

Side note: I’m more active on Instagram now! I’m making content about chronic illness and being a disabled student. @thelupusnurse

day 52/100 of productivity | november playlist!

가장 어두운 밤도 끝날 것이다 그리고 태양은 떠오를 것이다 - 빅토르 위고 (Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. - Victor Hugo) - ✏️ 𝐕𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲: 1. 가장 (adv): best 2. 어둡다 (adj): dark, gloomy 3. 밤 (n): night, evening 4. 끝나다 (v): end, finish 5. 태양 (n): sun 6. 떠오르다 (v): rise, come up 7. 그리고 (adv): and ✏️ 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫: 1. A/V + 은/ㄴ + N = N that A/V ~noun modifier 2. N도 particle = ‘also’ or ‘too’ 3. V + 을/ㄹ 것이다 = will (do something) ~ future tense

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I’ve been working on being more conscious of how I write emails, and made this handy printable guide! I have a bad habit of overusing exclamation points, emojis, and qualifiers like “just” and “possibly” to sound extra-friendly and non-threatening in emails. (“Just wondering / just confirming / just checking / just making sure / just wanted to let you know”) You are allowed to take up space. Your voice deserves to be heard. Your opinions matter. You don’t need to apologize for existing or asking for what you need. You are not “bossy” or “bitchy” for not sounding like a pep-machine 24/7. If you act like a doormat, you better develop a taste for shoe leather. You have power too. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself— no one else is gonna do it for you.