12 Things I Did to Become Conversationally Fluent in Japanese

Today I cover 12 things I think can help you start learning Japanese and 3 things I recommend avoiding! If you want to become conversationally fluent in Japanese, there are many different techniques and methods you can use to study. Here are some things that I personally found useful, and which helped ME become fluent in Japanese.
Tofugu Kana: www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn...
Tae Kim: www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/
ANKI: apps.ankiweb.net/
Affiliate Links
Remembering the Kana: amzn.to/2Z7HFq9
Remembering the Kanji: amzn.to/3hTh8Em
A Dictionary of Basic/Intermediate Japanese Grammar: amzn.to/31XBTJr
iTalki: www.italki.com/i/A0BFAa?hl=en-us
0:00 Intro
0:16 Why I Learned Japanese
1:04 Learn Kana
2:18 Phrases
3:27 Speaking
4:40 Quitting English
6:45 Do what you like
8:03 Useful resources
9:41 READ
10:41 Vocabulary related to interests
11:52 Interjections and conjunctions
12:34 Grammar Dictionaries
14:17 Use it!
15:02 Sentences on your flashcards
15:15 Avoid Single Words
16:43 Online Language Schools
18:00 Don't avoid textbooks
18:41 Bonus Tip
ToKini Andy OUTGREW PATREON.
All extra premium content can now be found at: www.tokiniandy.com
DONATE: www.tokiniandy.com/donate
Join this channel to access to perks: bit.ly/2QK6CUc

[@brooklieburn]

"Embarrassment makes things stick for a long time." So very true!

[@ToKiniAndy]

It's always worked great for me!

[@brooklieburn]

@@ToKiniAndy same here, I remember those moments the most even years later!

[@sanron420]

Definitly, as i learned english, one time i said „I have to become a girlfriend first.“ What i wanted to say was „I have to get a girlfriend first.“ BTW, i did this misstake, cause i am german and the german word for get is „bekommen“ and idk why, but my brain thought „Hey, these words are so similar, it has to mean the same thing!“ Yeah, long story short, i got some very amused friends and a new insider out off it. Oh and i learned something.

[@paulwalther5237]

Yeah but intentionally seeking out embarrassment to improve your Japanese 😂.

[@paulwalther5237]

I used a small online language school and had a better experience. The teachers never spoke English but they did have English explanations (and Japanese ones) in the textbooks or slides they prepared. I thought this was a good way teach grammar while getting Japanese speaking and listening practice. Honestly, the teachers couldn’t speak English well anyway so they were embarrassed to.

[@mikedl1105]

Your bonus tip is called circumlocution. You don't know the word for mailman, so instead you describe the man who brings the mail. Your conversation partner might then use the word for mailman and you've learned a new word without breaking the flow of conversation

[@franckoliver1899]

That’s exactly how I learned to speak English. It’s really underrated. You used the vocabulary you already know to you learn new vocabulary in the process, you create new words associations in your brain and you remember new words better this way.

[@elitealice]

My French teacher used to suggest this all the time

[@dwekkie]

I'm learning japanese for 2 years now, at first I was like " this is impossible" but look at me now, I'm getting ready for n4 exam. what I mean through this, dont give up, it may be hard but not impossible. 頑張ってね！

[@Nikita-ze8ii]

I'm a wee bit late but I just wanted to congratulate you on your progress and I hope your exam went well ^^ おめでとうございます！

[@vinaypandey9548]

That's great! How much time daily did you put in?

[@jayp9158]

Two years is a lot of time for the jlpt4 imho

[@johnvienna3422]

@@jayp9158 Depends what else you have going on in your life. And either way, it's not a race. Unnecessary comment imho.

[@AshRektum]

@@jayp9158 really stupid comment, just makes you look insecure & trolly

[@elizabethboccabello5119]

I am currently studying japanese as my minor and have been through soooooo many youtube japanese teachers that obviously just make content for views and not to actually help people. That being said this is the BEST channel i have found for helping me learn japanese, Andy does a great job explaining grammar and he’s probably the only reason I havent failed yet lol

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm so happy to hear that the videos have been helping! Thank you for watching!

[@ToKiniAndy]

@Blaine Thomas Yes. She makes good videos. What about her?

[@vivibuffy3352]

That sounds so strange 🤔. I found ALL the Japanese teaching KZbinrs helpful. Even the J fan-sub channels are useful for listening practice.

[@scarlyt1017]

@Blaine Thomas yes I was just thinking about her cuz she explains so well and probably the first time I actually had some progress in studying japanese

[@flxozo1451]

I’m only 12 it’s so hard😭

[@Xgil2Play]

Taking a few notes from how I learnt English: Tip #1: Don't just watch videos of people teaching Japanese. Watch content you like *in Japanese*. This will train your ear and see how other natives speak and structure their sentences. You will most definitely witness slangs, puns, sarcasm, expressions of joy, anger and jokes in Japanese - it'll broaden your knowledge. You can do the same with games you already played and films without subtitles Tip #2: Take your time. Everyone learns at different paces and different methods. Don't feel discouraged if it's taking long, just remember that you're taking initiative and that's more important than learning fast (unless you have a Tinder date, then my friend you done goofed)

[@rdred8693]

Do you think one can learn how to speak Japanese by watching movies, etc? I watch Korean shows exclusively, and have been hoping I'll pick it up.

[@Xgil2Play]

@@rdred8693 I learnt English primarily by watching KZbinrs and by listening/ talking to people.

[@lynnz7501]

​@@Xgil2Play Not everyone can learn like that though. Japanese is an especially hard language for English native speakers. I can tell you that it doesnt take me long to pick up Spanish when I'm surrounded by it but I've been immersing myself in Japanese for literally 8 years actively trying to learn for the past 5 years and only very basic grammar and phrases has stuck with me thus far. No matter how much I listen to Japanese music, watch Japanese shows and movies, and even listen to Japanese podcasts I still dont pick it up from listening like I can Spanish. Even though through immersing myself in the language it comes easier to me than Spanish and I can speak it better. But picking up words through listening and picking up pronunciation and stuff through listening are two different things. Am I better at Japanese than Spanish? Yes. I know about slightly more basic Spanish but I am in fact better at Japanese and find Japanese easier than Spanish at this point. But I definitely can't pick up words and stuff like I can just listening to Spanish. Mainly because Spanish is very easy for an English speaker to learn. It's much more comparable to English than Japanese which has almost no similarities whatsoever. The same can be said when it comes to Spanish speakers learning English. My friend literally learned English from playing Minecraft lol Everyone is different of course but you should keep in mind picking up stuff from a language is in fact affected by whether that language is similar to your native tongue or not.

[@lynnz7501]

Also, your advice isn't exactly bad or untrue. You're correct in what you said. But I dont think you should only rely on training your ear. Watching videos teaching Japanese can be just as beneficial. I know I would NOT have any clue about Japanese grammar if I wasnt taught it. Using multiple ways to learn, especially when you have free resources available, is ALWAYS beneficial

[@lynnz7501]

And lastly, when it comes to being taught. . .I'm a native English speaker but I wouldn't be able to teach English as well as someone who studied it as a second language until they became fluent. This is because I grew up speaking English and learning it from the time I was an infant and cannot relate to those studying it. So, when learning Japanese I've found that foreigners that have passed the N1 exam are excellent teachers. They have amazing advice and great methods. They know how to teach because they know how they learned. Listening to native speakers is crucial and beneficial but when it comes to actual lessons on the subject I would say its better to learn from someone who knows what its like to learn. There are still definitely good Japanese teachers out there lol I just think that you can better understand a foreigner and relate to them when they teach. Sometimes that is the best way. Sorry for all the super long paragraphs lol

[@xheyderek3356]

Learning vocab through sentences and phrases instead of lists/flashcards is definitely something worth emphasizing and repeating in the language learning community. While reviewing a list can be helpful, it's best to apply the language and put it into practice..always be moving forward! Immerse!

[@ToKiniAndy]

Yup! Thanks for watching! =)

[@xheyderek3356]

If you're looking for video ideas and to generate hits, doing a more in-depth review of what Tae Kim does right and where he goes astray would be a good one.

[@portercraft1]

Me after Tip 4: *Join call with a friend* Me: "申し申し” Friend: "STOP SPEAKING JAPANESE!"

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm walking through a department store right now and this comment just made me laugh out loud. Sorry innocent bystanders. 😂😂😂

[@portercraft1]

ごめんなさい XD

[@jolly.giraffe]

What kanji is this please? ありがとう :)

[@ToKiniAndy]

@@jolly.giraffe The one that @Portato said? もしもし It means "hello?" when you pick up the telephone.

[@jolly.giraffe]

@@ToKiniAndy ありがとうございます！ a phrase for me to add to my learning:D

[@deaddead698]

FOR PEOPLE WHO GAME: Pokémon is a great thing to play when learning Japanese! The recent games have a Japanese setting, with both Kanji and Kana only options!

[@hamza8895]

thanks so much

[@Ausar0]

I've seen people recommend Animal Crossing too just because of the sheer amount of vocabulary.

[@dial001]

I only intended to be there for the extent of my tourist visa, ended up staying 11 years 😅

[@Prezzix]

I feel like most of these tips only work if you are living in Japan and are forced to speak Japanese in situations... I can't find a way to speak to native speakers without inconveniencing them with my low level of JP, unless I am paying them... which I can't afford

[@cpfc4life1505]

Try hello talk, and you should probably take this guys statement with a pinch of salt of being “conversationaly” fluent there’s no way he actually was that in 6 months, if he went to a bar and they started talking about baseball on the weekend and going into depth about the game he wouldn’t understand at most this guy could order food and ask people about what they are doing and hold that conversation. He probably had basic conversation skills

[@izestt]

Use vr chat and go to Japanese shrine.

[@ThoranTheGamer]

@@franciscotavares9529 I second this. It has a pretty good community.

[@CaptainWumbo]

language exchange is not inconveniencing the other person. especially if you are likable. But yeah, living in a country where you are exposed to the language all the time obviously gives a lot more opportunities to learn. If you're looking for help to talk yourself out of learning Japanese, here it is: it's hard, it wont seem as interesting when you've learned it and it is useless outside Japan. translations are good enough and sometimes better if they mask some awkwardness of really understanding the original. On the other hand, there is a sense of reward to improving at a language, so if you crave that (as polyglots do) being in the country is not a requirement. learning a language to watch TV IS dumb tho lol

[@Artleycoul]

I live in Japan and it's really easy to avoid speaking Japanese, especially if you work in the English-teaching sector. I've picked it up, stopped, picked it back up again, and just ugh. The biggest advice I can give is you really have to want to be fluent. It's a big commitment.

[@gracemama1987]

はじめまして！ I’m Japanese and taking class to become Japanese language teacher now. I didn’t know how Japanese language can be when you learn it until taking this course. I’m very proud of you, how you did it! すごいよ！ Enjoy living in beautiful county Japan. I miss my country, people, culture, manner, tradition, food and おんせんthe most. 😍

[@TheCyanidekandy]

I have been studying Japanese for about 7 months now. Even though I have learned a lot, it has been really hard to concentrate on Japanese for the last few months. I guess the whole pandemic situation is at fault. Anyhow, thank you for another cool video, Andy! If it wasn’t for your Genki videos, I would have never learned the “te” form and the adjectives!

[@ToKiniAndy]

This whole thing has definitely made things harder for a lot of people. I'm happy to hear some of the videos help though! =) Thank you for watching!

[@Fifi93321]

@@Army-uy9yr ​ @Army idunno if this helps but...it's not about memorizing it, it's more like you ingrained it into your mind to the point that when you speak it it just second natures or it becomes a habit :DD (I was raised in a city that's trilingual and I'm also currently learning Japanese so yeh...xD) Keep saying Japanese expressions out loud like (tatoeba- for example) (kyo wa- today) (nani-what) (matte kudasai- please wait) (Mendokusai- Ughh annoying) xD this is what I always say when my parents gives me chores hahahha

[@Army-uy9yr]

@@Fifi93321 thxs

[@user-dv3hf7gl9u]

Good tips!!! I'm learning both English and Japanese by myself (My Native lenguage is Spanish) I can almost speak fluent English (not like a native tho) read and comprehend conversations, I can read Hiragana, now I'm trying Katakana then I will go for Kanji!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@chinacancio]

The most effective way is to speak the language, really - conversation. The sad thing is that there is no one to talk Japanese to in my neighborhood. Therefore, people might think I'm insane for talking to myself in Japanese while there's nobody in the room. 🥺

[@TacticalDimples]

That’s what the internet is for!

[@theeleventh805gamer7]

Online bro

[@joshualot2305]

In short, just start learning JAPANESE! Instead of wasting your time planning, searching and in the end you did nothing/didn't learn anything. What I'm saying is if you started learning japanese, you will start to develop your own way of learning, what method works for you. Just remember that when learning something, it takes time. Enjoy the process, be mindful of slow growth, do not rush. 1% everyday is the key :)

[@Nita-lu6sn]

I've learned japanese in high school once. then again for the 2nd 102 course in college. since then I haven't touched a lesson but still listen to music and watch anime/video games in japanese. any tips on where to start? I would like to read and listen well. ^-^ speaking would be fine as well.

[@timoblubb]

ok, so basically do everything immediately. Got it

[@Nathan-sq9xv]

I learned hiragana and katakana first Then started Genki (still am) I also changed my phone to Japanese and I only listen to Japanese music and Japanese shows (not anime). I have to speak English tho I’m still in highschool

[@ToKiniAndy]

All great things to start! It's okay, I have to speak English still sometimes too. =) Trying to use as much Japanese as you can though will help! =)

[@dudexyt]

I think it's useful to learn Japanese culture and how it relates to language. As an American, and a English speaker, the way we typically communicate is direct, where we don't typically want the listener to read between the lines. Also the way we address people older or superior hardly changes our patterns. However Japanese expressions are not direct, they usually want listeners to infer meaning from your indirectness, whether it's because the speaker is superior or it's just a form of politeness where you don't demand things from people. A common way to tell someone to be quiet is to say "urasai!". Literally you're saying "noisy!" but the listener will understand you're saying "to shut up!" This goes with Andy's point about learning sentences instead of single words because your expectation of how to say something in English is very different from how Japanese will express themselves.

[@WeyounSix]

Ive been learning Japanese poorly for years on my own and just found your channel. Thank you!

[@ToKiniAndy]

2:24 - Extra "Some" lol 6:03 - "In only JAPANESE" 11:55 - Things like やっぱり and ええと、あのう、etc make you sound more natural! Thanks for stopping by!

[@Nathan-sq9xv]

If Japanese is your religion, let the book “remembering the kanji” be your bible

[@UziTuni]

You are right! I just got 457 kanji in one month! That book is aweome!

[@Michael-rc5ks]

Isn't that the line from AbroadInJapan? lmao

[@Dedonarivl96]

FOR REAL. Its been 3 months and i havent even been that great about it and im at 1300

[@UziTuni]

@@Dedonarivl96that's great! im on my 1245!

[@danielparham5232]

how do you use it because its barely taught me any kanji

[@TheUltimateVoid]

I spent the entire night looking for a useful video about this topic amd this is the only one that was really useful, thanks a lot! :D

[@jbtobin302]

These are some great tips that aren’t the same ones you hear on all the typical language learning blog posts.. I’m studying other languages now but hope to get to Japanese soon enough, thanks!

[@user-ec2rc3lr7v]

Thank you for posting this - it's an excellent reminder.

[@razoredu8351]

Loving your content and the Genki lessons... Trilingual soon!

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm happy to hear that they are helping! Thank you for watching, and as for trilingual: がんばってください！(^o^)丿

[@tellesmoshe]

Great video! You provided many tips and resources for us to try out. I'm new to Japanese, but I will definitely be starting with Hiragana and learning some common phrases.

[@ghostpotatoes]

heya, great video! I love your positive attitude as well. I agree with the tip about interjections and conjunctions- I find them incredibly useful for digesting spoken casual japanese.

[@_hiroprotagonist]

Thank you. I’m just getting started, and your channel is an incredible resource.

[@AnnoyingTiger888]

Thanks for the tips and resources.

[@imporylem]

Hello Andy, thanks for sharing this video! It was insightful!

[@charu002]

i always procrastinate learning japanese since 2009 and had the time to do it now. luckily for me, i was able to apply my learnings on hiragana already during those times. although i only know how to identify them in a flash card rather than reading it with a full sentence with hiraganas. that's my progress so far

[@notanthony5766]

Good job keep it up!

[@patricialewis2840]

You're amazing Andy, thank you so very much. I hope I can be as committed to learning Japanese as you were. You've been a stellar help. Thank you

[@amikawi]

Very helpful! ありがとう

[@WildoBallenilla]

Andy, you are awesome. Just as you shared, instead of just learning isolated vocabulary words... it truly makes more sense to learn these as part of phrase or in a sentence. Your suggestions are already paying off! ありがとうございます。

[@keithws2779]

A hugely overlooked resource - bunpro! It's fantastic.

[@rusherdasher8826]

この動画の情報は役に立ちます。ありがとうございます

[@raifu3730]

Thanks for balancing out the “input only” KZbin channels with a different point of view which is well-reasoned.

[@DeltaBird2269]

I’ve been using wanikani for kanji and vocab, along with some other studies, so when I heard you say 山登り, I was pretty excited because I knew what that meant without much second thought, even though you were talking about it prior🤣

[@tonsofgrass8627]

Thanks for quality content sir!

[@AlexanderHL1919]

I just cheked ANKI out and its amazing. Thank you!

[@jjb2655]

Thank you so much for your insights! And you were able to do this with a full time job, great!

[@AP-hd9pc]

Great videos man, this advice was awesome thanks for sharing. Don’t stop making videos, can’t wait to see your channel blow up

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you for watching! =)

[@astrostar49]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. You've given me some additional food for thought as I continue with my own Japanese learning experience. Your Genki overview videos are so helpful, and I look forward to more content from you in the future.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you for watching! I'm happy the videos are helping!

[@VickyxEn]

One of the best videos for tips on learn Japanese in my opinion !! Thank you for creating this video !! 🙏 😁

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you! I'm happy to hear that you found it useful.

[@freerangefool3121]

Thanks. Love this!

[@CozyKode]

I started learning Japanese and the first thing I did was to get the Genki books which led me to your videos, andy! this is a wonderful resource and I signed up to to your course well! ありがとう!

[@greattearoadco]

Thanks for making this video. It is helpful.

[@Kurobeau]

貴重な動画です。Golden.

[@JohnPorsbjerg]

Best Japansese learning tips video!

[@CrissCrossCA]

good tips, finally someone who isnt trying to sell me something and is giving actual advice although I wouldve loved to have more resources linked&mentioned

[@jonishalewinson7195]

This is so helpful, you don't even know. Thank you so much for your resources, tips and lessons!

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm glad to hear it! Thank you for watching!

[@pippin__]

This has really helped thank you

[@RubyDuran]

I just found this video and that is so awesome you were able to advance so much with speaking! I wish I lived in Japan to be able to go that hardcore with my language immersion haha. Amazing video and great job!!! :)

[@teenprez]

Would definitely love if you made a video about interjections and conjunctions!

[@hijeffhere]

The twelfth tip was my mistake with Anki; and it's fun that we arrived in the same solution.

[@SnyderMusik]

I'm in Japan learning the language and it's super difficult to find someone to speak with (even on italki), but I'm oddly not discouraged to quit because when I do in public the Japanese people are very shocked, appreciative, and curious. I think when I become more comfortable I'll try italki again. Great video and points. The locals don't speak like the books and genki is pretty good.

[@ak43640]

I was so impressed with your Japanese as a Japanese language teacher! it is always my dream to help others! This video will help lots of people☺️I hope you will be successful in Japan✨I would love to help as many people as I can!頑張って下さい！

[@snorremortenkjeldsen6737]

That’s so nice of you ^^

[@calspencer5862]

Oh god this is a saving grace,,,, I’ve been learning Japanese in high school for 5 years now. It took me until year 3 to actually start making any progress with it, and I only learned about the existence of pitch accents this year through my own research 😭😭

[@ta4music459]

I'm so surprised about not learning about the pitch accent - that was something that came up in the very beginning when I started learning. Not sure where it came from.. but I was also surrounded by Japanese native speakers at the time, and they had me repeat sentences until they were happy with the pronunciation. And I ran into words where the pitch difference was the only difference between two different meanings (bridge and chopsticks, or oysters and persimmons..). But my own language has pitch accent as well, so maybe that's why I paid attention.

[@ornleifs]

Good points andI find point 12 specially important, to make flashcards with sentences. I use Genki and there's a Genki vocabulary app which I use and first I only used one side of the card which has the word and the meaning but on the other side is a sentence using that word and when I started to memorize the sentences, my Japanese took a leap foreward.

[@stellaqian1645]

I’m a Chinese living in the uk and study Japanese as a hobby. I replaced most tv watching to be in Japanese, gaming to be language app/Japanese games, chatting with friends to be chatting with language friends. That’s helpful.

[@kalenburns4190]

Andy is great and his views are valuable. A real language teacher. Highly recommended.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you! And thank you for watching!

[@duolingo_abuse_is_realclub7949]

ありがとうございます！

[@amberrudgley1976]

Your videos are soooo helpful!!!

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you!

[@wingn3849]

Took N2 some 10 years ago and passed it. Then failed N1 by like 10 points. To this day, can barely speak, but I’m pretty good at reading. I can read and understand newspaper articles for the most part and most manga are no problem. I practice writing any words I don’t see all the time as I read. Not very efficient, but it’s got me far over the years.

[@paperwormscat9760]

Thank you! 😊

[@thsudy]

damn bro. ive lived here for five years and i didn't bother in studying. it made me kind of sad. but just now i started learning. my biggest weakness is consistency i always fell like i cant remember stuff also "study thing you enjoy" i hate studying as a whole lol

[@ToKiniAndy]

Do you like playing games/watching youtube videos? You can do them in Japanese, and now you're studying! =) Thanks for watching!

[@jahayrac8636]

I love your videos! These are really helpful tips (noted!) I find that your experience learning kanji is similar to my own. I'm currently using Kodansha's Kanji Learner's Course and I study it similarly to how people used Remembering the Kanji. I learned the kanji meaning first and now I'm just learning vocab as I find it through immersion. I found this to be much easier, especially for vocabulary that is specific to a subject. (Plus I get to enjoy just reading, just watching without trying to make everything into a lesson. This is tedious enough work as is and I've to care for my 2 kids) Now, when I learn a kanji for a word I've known the kanji takes little to no effort to read, and thus makes reading Japanese and learning their readings soooo much easier. One thing to note that I've realized is that there will come a time when you learn so much kanji that your mind will yearn for more meaning. At that point definitely dive into reading (for me it was after 1300-1500. But I knew near 800 before from studying in college using genki and my own failed attempts lol). Once I started reading it was almost as though I was a Chinese person reading Japanese. I knew the meaning of the kanji and could figure out some of the sentence's meaning even if I couldn't pronounce the word in Japanese. But understanding it became really motivating. Now I try to practice reading books or anime scripts (for the audio pronunciation) and I'm learning vocab for kanji I *know*. Interestingly enough, kanji I just could not memorize on its own from the English meaning (which I would mark in my anki deck and just pass it so that I could at least still see it later) the kanji suddenly stuck better when I learned the Japanese word within context. Thus making acquiring new vocab much easier. Yes, it sounds very odd to do it this way but it's been incredibly useful. FyI, In 1 week I'll have learned 2300 kanji (no more new kanji!) and I've been learning 20/day. I practice writing by writing them once or later if the kanji doesn't want to stick but I mainly only try to recognize them so that I can read it in context. Now that I'm not longer in school I don't need to write as often but knowing the stroke order made it really easy to replicate kanji using the writing input feature on my phone to look up words wherever I go.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Congratulations on reaching 2300 kanji! That's quite an accomplishment. These days, I also find learning vocabulary as opposed to kanji on their own much more useful and interesting. It definitely makes them stick, and I'm able to use and read them! Keep it up, and thank you for watching!

[@gomiko8979]

This video really inspires. Am just a few days in to learning japanese. I hope I won't lose the motivation. The pronunciation isn't hard since I'm exposed to japanese media and my native language pronunciations are similar to japanese so atleast sounding japanese is taken care off. Currently learning hiragana and people always say kanji is such a b**** to learn so I guess that will be one of the biggest challenge I'll face.

[@mrsoikawa]

This is a very good video. When I first lived in Japan I did 1) learn hiragana and 2) use a phrasebook immediately too. Also, I too have never seen anyone become fluent using one-word flashcards, pretty obviously why not when you think about it, and I agree too that grammar textbooks are useful. They're not difficult, you can read one in a day, but it just shows you quickly and simply how to make similar constructions in another language, eg. "A is more ........../er than B" The only thing I would change is to put "reading" higher up the list, but it can be hard as it depends on knowing hiragana and finding good materials.

[@YouNeverKnowWhoIsWatching]

Learn a new hobby in my target language???...🤯😲 I'm enjoying the entire video, but this is my favorite tip. Now I just need to figure out what I want to learn.

[@ToKiniAndy]

It was such a weird feeling to know more about something in my new language than in my native language. And also, super exciting!

[@CursedKeyblade1]

the best way to learn hiragana and katakana imo is just using like a memory game and matching the saying. Then once you can read them, you can begin learning to write them which shouldn't take long.

[@MeikyuuButterfly17]

Great video! 🤗 I've been following your genki series, although admitedly I'm not going at the pace I would like because turns out being a public school teacher during a pandemic is a lot of hard work lol. I can read hiragana and katakana, and last year I took a trip to Japan and enjoyed trying to use my VERY LIMITED Japanese to ask questions and such. I still have trouble forming sentences and I feel like my next step for sure should be to speak with native japanese speakers online, but talking to strangers gives me bad anxiety! 😥😥😥 Hope I am able to overcome this feeling so that I can make some progress!! 🤧😊

[@ToKiniAndy]

I hope you are too, but take your time! A little bit at a time will get you there eventually! Keep it up! Thank you for watching, and I'm happy to hear that the videos are helping a bit. =)

[@JapanesewithTaka]

非常に素晴らしいビデオです。ありがとうございます。 これからも応援しています。 Super cool video! Thank you. Keep making great videos!

[@ToKiniAndy]

見てくれてありがとうございます！ これからも頑張ります！ たかさんも応援しています！

[@russellward4624]

I found the app Skritter really helpful learning hiragana and katakana. Its got kanji as well but haven't started that one yet.

[@TruthSubjective]

thank you

[@lij9133]

Sooo helpful! I just made a "one word" flashcard deck and thought "hmm this is pretty hard". After watching this video I'm definitely tossing that.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Glad to hear you found the video helpful! I hope that your new decks are a little easier to follow! =)

[@TokyoXtreme]

I use "one word" flashcards, but not in the traditional and inaccurate way of L2 word > L1 word (and vice-versa). Last year I read "Fluent Forever" (Gabriel Wyner), and have experimented with the author's suggestion of using L2 word (Japanese or whatever is your target) on the front, and then one or multiple images on the back (absolutely no English or L1 anywhere). In addition, I add the pitch accent markings to the kana reading, as well as adding a voice sample (taken from the NHK pitch accent dictionary or OJAD, or Forvo if necessary). I've been using this system for words and kanji compounds, and it makes the review fun and challenging in that it's never too easy, and engages multiple parts of the brain: audio, visual, text, etc. Also, I can make them pretty quickly, spending only about a minute or two in preparing the card - allowing me to make many per day. Of course I use sentence cards too, and I generally make them for the words I have already added using the method described above. Usually I use the "cloze deletion" in which I try to recall the correct particle or auxiliary word, or sometimes the target word itself. Anyway, the book I mentioned goes into greater detail.

[@daveyg34]

These tips are helpful. Can we also note how Andy always has a nice shirt? Goals.

[@Flying_turnip187]

Great channel. My experience with the “immersion” method wasn’t great. Having the teachers only speak in Japanese and all the explanations in japan was detrimental to me. I really wanted to know 100 % what they were talking about. Other than that great content and I agree with everything else!

[@mitchellanderson3068]

Hi Andy! I love the channel. I’ve been following along with your Genki 1 series for a couple of months now. Honestly, I could talk about this at great length, but for the sake of time I’ll try to keep it short. I know everyone has different reasons/motivations for learning a language, but have you made any videos on talking about some applications and uses for Japanese specifically? I’m at a point where I’ve put a lot of time in, and I want to get even more serious about my studies, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t worry at times that it will be all for naught if I don’t find a meaningful goal or career path. Many resources on this topic discuss the usual options (teaching in Japan, translation, interpretation, working in a field you’re interested in but in Japan, etc) and I know that, by nature, options are somewhat limited, but sometimes it feels overwhelming to figure it all out. I know this is personal, it requires goal-setting and figuring out what’s most important to you, and likely is different for everyone. However, any advice/input you can offer on this topic, based on your journey and experiences would be appreciated tremendously. Thank you & hope you are doing well!

[@ToKiniAndy]

Hi Mitchell. Thank you for watching and for following the lessons! =) I'm happy they are helpful. I've never done a video like that, but it's definitely something that I could consider doing. I think you've pretty much nailed it. I grew tired of teaching English in my second year here, and found a job as a Kindergarten teacher (not English teacher), and loved it. I stayed there for quite awhile. I DO know a few people who are involved in different fields in Japan. They can be quite stressful, but some find it quite rewarding. I have a number of friends who also started businesses here. Japanese definitely helps with that. I think in the end it will come down to why YOU want to learn Japanese. IS it to further your career, or to one day live in Japan? Or is it for something more personal? If it's more personal, I see no reason not to keep going. Becoming bi-lingual, even if you don't use the language in your job, is a wonderful accomplishment that CAN come in handy some day. If it's for your career, you'll need to spend some time figuring out what kind of work you would be willing to do here, or IN RELATION to Japan. There are a couple followers here who work for Japanese companies, overseas. They don't plan on moving to Japan, but they want to be able to speak with their co-workers who don't speak the local language. So, even just switching companies may lead to a place where you can use the language day to day. I hope that answers some of your questions. Perhaps I'll do a video similar to this one talking about something like "WHY learn Japanese?". ;-) Have a great day!

[@MariJadeWrites]

I am currently learning hiragana now, trying my best to learn new vocabulary too ☺️ thanks for the video!

[@reiki-dojo]

Thank you

[@zahidibr]

Very useful video!! Thank you :D Edit: helpful, useful - both 😂 also just realized how applicable these tips are to other languages that I’m learning. here’s more thanks!! :)

[@fathurruru2575]

Wuih

[@Mindgrove27]

Hai zahid

[@yuriybesarab11]

Excellent description of your learning experience! I love the one on “stopping to speak English. But Anki was not good for me, it’s like cramming, Best and thank you aplenty!

[@ToKiniAndy]

Some people definitely do not enjoy SRS apps. I'm happy to hear that you found the other points interesting. Thank you for watching!

[@ta4music459]

I'm one of those people where Anki doesn't work that well. I've used it *a lot*, but rote learning just doesn't work for me, including the repetition system Anki uses. I got very little back from a huge effort, but in the end I wasted a lot of time which I know see could have been used much better (it's just recently I've started to find methods which actually leads to progress for me). So there's a lot of regret there. My memory seems to only be able to learn from association, and just about never from translation (i.e. dictionaries don't work, glossary lists don't work, etc). Song lyrics are horribly hard - there are songs I repeated and repeated and thought I remembered, but after a few weeks they're gone - even after *years* of trying. Things I learn from association seems to stick very quickly though. The trouble is that it's hard to deliberately pin down the kind of input which leads to association. Some of the Japanese words and expressions I know are from a single exposure early on, and I never forgot them, while I have a hard time with other stuff. I'm not sure what was different. With English it was easy - I just had to start reading literature, mags, books that I liked, and watching English movies, and gradually I learned it all through association only.

[@yazeedrashed4216]

thx for these tips my first japaness class in wensday you really help me thx

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm happy to hear that. Good luck!!!

[@grimmjowjeaguerjaquez5065]

sound advice!!!

[@dontmope]

Thank you for the video! Would you be able to do an anki tutorial? Like what is the recommended settings for new cards, reviews, etc.

[@ToKiniAndy]

That's a highly requested topic, so I'll definitely try and get around to it! Thank you for watching!

[@sarahenglish2740]

Great video.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you!

[@tannerbriton9027]

LingQ is a paid app but is incredibly powerful for consuming content is topics you enjoy at any level. You can even import your own content and the app let's you look up the meaning of a word just by tapping on it, and you can rank how comfortable you are with each word to review later. 10/10.

[@havocmaster12]

As always, fantastic video Andy! Thank you for all of your help! Keep up the good stuff and hope you can survive the heat and up coming wet season!

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you sir! =)

[@arnaldogarcia5200]

Andy is the GOAT! Might work up the courage to try and speak to a native thanks to this video...XD

[@ToKiniAndy]

がんばってください！

[@akyu7599]

i'm arab and i'm learning japanese in english two t once thank uu soo much for this video i'm still beginner and i needed those advices ♥:)

[@dennisavery58]

one of the most useful video on that matter that I've seen so far. I'm N4 level currently

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thanks! I'm happy to hear that. =)

[@Nathan-sq9xv]

I think I’m gonna have to graduate highschool before being able to full time study Japanese. I HAVE to expose myself to both French and English everyday. I’ll be able to take this more seriously once I graduate in June

[@ToKiniAndy]

You can still study. I had to expose myself to English every day when I was studying as well, since I was an English Teacher after all. =) It's still doable.

[@Anita-vc8nb]

Congratulations! It gets easier with time; best of luck to you!

[@KabukiNoHigeki]

Hi Andy!l'm really loving your videos!please keep up the good work!atm i'm speaking both my native language and english, i'm learning japanese because of a trip i'm planning since a bit that will take through Nihon for about a month, can't wait for it! As of now, i don't know if i should pair my studying of grammar with Kanji learning. Should i give priority first to grammar or vice versa? Cheers, can't wait for your next vids!!!

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'd focus on vocabulary and grammar. Do Kanji on the side. Really, a little bit of everything every day is your best bet. =) Thank you for watching!

[@Scopatone]

I'm in my first semester of Majoring in Japanese at a university in Tokyo and I feel like things move so fast. We've gone through the first 6 lessons of Genki 1 in about 2.5 months and learning about 30-50 new words, verbs + conjugations, and adjectives every 2 weeks or so on top of grammar and limited kanji. Grammar is so far pretty simple but I have such a hard time intaking so many words and learning how to conjugate them every 2 weeks it almost feels like I barely have my head above the water. Your videos are really great though! As much as I love my native teacher, sometimes her explanations can be hard to understand and it's actually really helpful to have a native English teacher explain them clearly and concisely, you're a great study supplement to put on after I learn to make sure I fully grasped the lessons!

[@wikiesz6184]

Great vid

[@thefuturetom]

Thanks!

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thanks man!

[@psychedelicbear2159]

Very useful

[@terbium7]

Please make a series of kanji🥺🙏🏻

[@Lnetta2Lteezy]

Wow i feel like i just stumbled onto a great channel! Liked and subscribed 👌🏾 I'll be checking out your other videos on Genki II ✨ and love these authentic tips!

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm happy to hear that you found it useful! I hope you find the lessons useful as well. =)