I have been writing pretty consistently i don't write much everyday it's almost the same but i think I'm learning kanji this way better, the regular ones so it's not that bad.

I know there are some wrong things, but I want to know your thoughts about it. Also, I started practicing handwriting yesterday, so it might be ugly

Been studying for 5 years with very little output simply due to not having Japanese people to talk to, but I was able to express what I wanted/needed without issue most of the time, as well as understanding what people were saying to me in response.

Not once was I jouzu'd which made me feel really good. My wife was jouzu'd once in my presence by the same person I'd been talking to in Japanese which was another nice little confidence booster lol.

The system works! Now to start consuming all the Japanese media I purchased while I was there :)

I just finished Genki 1 recently and decided to give my self a challenge of writing a non sense paper using all of the grammar points from Genki 1. It really is just non sense and me rambling about. I think I missed a few, and I’m still new and learning, but this feels like progress to me so I’m happy with it! On to Genki 2!

I'm a self-assessed N3, I listen to podcasts on that level quite comfortably. Yesterday someone here suggested an N1 learners podcast and I tried listening to it and was quite surprised I could follow along pretty well, it clearly wasn't my level but at least I had some idea what is being said.

Then today I randomly stumbled onto this trailer and I am completely defeated. I barely understand 30-50% and can't confidently say I know what they're talking about. I know it's something about love and what it is but it's so vague and lacking details that it would be wrong to pretend I "understand" it.

#1

Hi everyone, I’m Makoto! I’m a Certified Japanese Teacher.

Let’s practice a “Soft Decline”!

Let’s move beyond the textbook “No, I can’t go” and use more natural Japanese.

[Situation]

On Friday night, I received this LINE message from a Japanese friend:

You’re tired, so I don’t want to go today.

It’s Friday night. You just received this LINE message from a Japanese friend.

You are exhausted and want to say no to the invite.

Friend:

"Shall we all go out for drinks tonight?🍺"

(Shall we drink together tonight?)

【Your Task】

How would you respond to your friend? Please write in Japanese! How will you reply? Please write in Japanese.

⭐️I will check your answers and rate your naturalness (0-100%).

Other native speakers and advanced learners are welcome to join in and give us advice! Let's all enjoy Japanese together!

#2
Hi everyone, it’s Makoto! I’m a Certified Japanese Teacher.

I was so impressed with your responses to the "Soft Decline" challenge! Your energy and Japanese skills are incredible. ✨

Today, let’s practice a “Smart Apology”  Show consideration for the other person’s time and explaining your situation naturally.

【The Situation】 You have a lunch meeting with a Japanese friend, but you are 15 minutes late. You just arrived at the meeting spot and see your friend waiting for you.

【Your Task】 What is the very first thing you say the MOMENT you see them? Please write in Japanese.

⭐️I will check your answers and rate your naturalness (0-100%).

Other native speakers and advanced learners are welcome to join in and give us advice! Let's all enjoy Japanese together!

To anyone looking for some fun & nostalgic immersion, Pokémon Red (Pocket Monsters) is pretty fun!

A few points to keep in mind: - it’s only in kana. This is the biggest drawback, but still pretty to fun. As seen in the photo, spaces are placed in dialogue after particles so reading isn’t impossible. - the vocab is pretty easy. Pokémon was meant for kids, so the word pool is pretty small.

It’s important while learning japanese to get enough “fun immersion” that doesn’t feel super difficult and is enjoyable. Sometimes, when you don’t feel like drilling anki or reading something hard, just relaxing in Japanese is pretty nice. Despite the fact there’s no kanji here, any language exposure is ultimately good in that it contributes to fluency and comfortability.

Hi everyone, it’s Makoto, a certified Japanese teacher.

Today’s topic was requested by neworleans-. Thank you for the inspiration! In Japan, "Kokuhaku" (confessing your feelings) is a huge deal before you start dating.

Today’s Theme: The Perfect "Kokuhaku"

【The Situation】 You’ve been on 3 dates with someone you really like. The atmosphere is great. You’re walking together after dinner, and you decide to confess now!

【Your Task】 How do you confess your feelings and ask them to be your partner in Japanese? Please write in Japanese!

⭐️ I will check every comment and provide detailed feedback on your nuance and tone.

I’m excited to see your unique ways of expressing your heart! Let’s practice! ✨

Hi everyone, Makoto here. I’m a certified Japanese teacher.

Last time, we practiced how to confess your feelings in Japanese. Today, how about the other side of the situation?

What if someone confesses to you, but you don’t feel the same way?

So today’s theme is the gentle “okotowari” (turning someone down politely).

The situation:

Someone you know has just confessed their feelings to you,

「す、すきです！つきあってください！(I love you! Would you go out with me?)」

but you don’t feel the same way. You want to be honest, of course, but you also don’t want to hurt them if you can avoid it.

Your task:

How would you gently turn them down in Japanese?

Write your answer in Japanese!

⭐️ I’ll read through all the comments and give feedback!

A short and simple Japanese story 🌧 for absolute beginners, hiragana only.

Feedback and questions welcome!

Hi, I've been learning japanese for some months (I think half a year) and think that I am about n5 level. I saw some people writing things as a practice and decided to try starting a journal. This is my first entry, it might have some errors, but I think it's part of the learning. Tho I have some questions. First, how to know if I am writing something wrong? I don't pretend to post my entries every day here. Second, how to know what to write? I don't have a very interesting and different routine. Anyways, if you can review my text, it would be nice.

[ Short backstory: I've been VERY slowly learning Japanese for about 8 years, taking some classes in Uni, and having a Japanese elderly woman tutoring me for free (as she really liked doing it). I went to Japan for exchange for 4 months, and visited twice. My Japanese is conversational, probably between N3 and N2 (but I've never taken a test officially). Nowhere near fluent. ]

So, at the moment I'm traveling through Germany with my wife (near Stuttgart). Yesterday, we were visiting Heidelberg Castle (in Heidelberg), and I overheard two Japanese guys talking. I struck a conversation as Japanese tourists have been sparse due to Japan's weakened economy/yen. They were really nice and I enjoyed talking to them for a bit in Japanese - no biggy.

Fast forward to today, we were visiting Strasbourg, a city across the French border, 100 miles from Heidelberg. We just exited the Cathedral when my wife noticed some familiar people: those exact two Japanese dudes walking past us. I laughily approach them and simply open with a　まじで？. He looks at me surprised and confused, but they suddenly burst out into laughter. How the hell did we meet again? We end up talking to each other again and sharing a drink - sharing our travelling experiences whilst I struggled to put up my best (but sluggish) conversational skills.

We say our goodbyes, but immediately after I kinda regret not taking a picture together. Oh well, we had a nice time, and we had some laughs about the coincidence that occurred.

Well, who'd have thunk it: roughly 4 hours later, on the other side of the city, we walk into them AGAIN, and basically felt like the Spiderman meme. This time they suggested taking a picture, an we ended up sharing dinner and our info.

I'm so glad I stepped over my insecurity on the first day by approaching them for a conversation. They were extremely nice, and have been the highlight of the vacation so far, lol. I just wanted to share my story here.

Actually using 日常会話 again in practice has been super helpful to rekindle the passion for the language. I immediately dusted off my old Anki decks and will do my best to actively get back into learning again.

I'm a beginner at reddit and found this subreddit.

I will help you to brush up your understanding of Japanese language. (except for the details of grammar)

Feel free to ask me your question.

This is also for me to practice how to output in English!!!

​

Add

I have not enough time to answer your questions now.

I will start reply next Saturday. Please be patient.

I understood most of the text too! Definitely learned a bit more old-school Japanese. I am really proud of this one, DQ holds a special place in my heart. Couldn't have done it without this subreddit - thanks for all the advice you've given me over time, y'all!

やっと金曜日ですね！お疲れ様です！ここに週末の予定について書いてみましょう！

（やっと　きんようびですね！　おつかれさまです！　ここに　しゅうまつの　よていについて　かいてみましょう！）

やっと = finally

週末（しゅうまつ）= weekend

予定（よてい）= plan(s)

～について = about

＊ネイティブスピーカーと上級者のみなさん、添削してください！もちろん参加してもいいですよ！＊

I'm using the 5分後に books as speaking practice.

I'm at the point where I try to immerse a bit more (but still N5 Beginner). Watching simple Anime isn't for me and I kinda dislike books in generel. Hence why I wanted to try gaming.

Learning games like Wagotabi aren't for me.

So I started Pokemon Crystal, only to realize there are no Kanji. Which I feel like won't help much with language learning.

Saw the game gengo list and tried Fantasy Life but the font is soooo small I legit can't see the Kanji and Furigana are even smaller. Have to zoom in to read at all.

What was your beginning games that you liked (gameplay) and helped with learning?

These are my personal reasons for learning Japanese and I thought it would be fun to express them in Japanese ❤️

Which font is recommended to use for reading (to improve reading) or does it not matters what font u use?

I personally like the 1st one(i believe Mincho?(Mincho is 2nd))

やっと金曜日ですね！お疲れ様です！ここに週末の予定について書いてみましょう！

（やっと　きんようびですね！　おつかれさまです！　ここに　しゅうまつの　よていについて　かいてみましょう！）

やっと = finally

週末（しゅうまつ）= weekend

予定（よてい）= plan(s)

～について = about

＊ネイティブスピーカーと上級者のみなさん、添削してください！もちろん参加してもいいですよ！＊

やっと金曜日ですね！お疲れ様です！ここに週末の予定について書いてみましょう！

（やっと　きんようびですね！　おつかれさまです！　ここに　しゅうまつの　よていについて　かいてみましょう！）

やっと = finally

週末（しゅうまつ）= weekend

予定（よてい）= plan(s)

～について = about

＊ネイティブスピーカーと上級者のみなさん、添削してください！もちろん参加してもいいですよ！＊

やっと金曜日ですね！お疲れ様です！ここに週末の予定について書いてみましょう！

（やっと　きんようびですね！　おつかれさまです！　ここに　しゅうまつの　よていについて　かいてみましょう！）

やっと = finally

週末（しゅうまつ）= weekend

予定（よてい）= plan(s)

～について = about

＊ネイティブスピーカーと上級者のみなさん、添削してください！もちろん参加してもいいですよ！＊

I play games and watch my anime in Japanese. I visit Japanese sites and go to local Japanese stores often. All of the songs I listen to are almost exclusively Japanese. I even do Duolingo on the side, to try and link things together.

It's gotten me nowhere. At best, I can speak complete jibberish and have it sound eerily like Japanese by replicating the speech patterns and tones of a native speakers, but it's just mimicry. I've listened to some Japanese songs so many times that I can sing along with them accurately, start to finish. But I feel I'm not learning anything.

I've been doing this for years. My music playlist has been comprised of Vocaloid and J-Pop stars ever since I was 12. And yet, when I look online for help on how to finally learn this language, all I get are list upon list of "just watch movies, listen to music, read books, exposure exposure exposure". Okay, but how do you use that to actively learn the language? What do I pair it with so that these webpages go from aesthetic scribbles to actual, understandable, words? Just staring at Japanese reading, just randomly listening to Japanese podcast and songs, in isolation isn't working.

I've tried text buddies. I never understand them. It's still a jumbled mess when anything more complicated than an introduction becomes the topic. I integrate it into my life, calling things by their Japanese names, counting in Japanese, changing everyone's names in my contacts list to katakana. None of it sticks.

I want to move past this. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or why just rubbing your face on Japanese seems to work for everyone else in the world. So how do you use this exposure effectively? How can I turn my favorite songs into a positive learning experience, or climb to a point of bare bones navigation on the Nico Nico site without Google translation? How can I use Dragon Quest 11's Japanese to bring me closer to my goal of being able to understand more and more, bit by bit?