How to Start Learning Japanese Without Getting Overwhelmed

[@maiadraconica6488]

Japanese from zero is a really nice series for self studying and it goes slow and is very easy to follow. Bonus that the writer of the books got a youtube series where he reviews every chapter and makes it even easier to understand

[@miyavi5762]

This video is amazing❣️ I'm Japanese, but I understand what you're thinking very well. And you are beautiful. I became your fan. Thank you for your continued uploading of videos💛💛💛

[@AliviasNook]

Aw thank you so much for your kind words! 🥰🥰

[@miyavi5762]

@@AliviasNook You are welcome ! I am one of your subbies on KZbin and I really enjoy your Vlogs! love it🤗💕

[@futuredeath]

I'm so happy KZbin recommended me this channel. I learned about Anki and other websites like Wanikani. I hope your channel blows up huge! I did not enjoy Japanese classes in college but now that I've graduated it can be more fun and less formal than using a textbook like Genki. It's a good book but it's nice to use other methods as well. Love your videos!

[@AliviasNook]

Aw thank you so much!! 🥰🥰

[@angietrif]

Best and most underrated Japanese learning channel 🥹

[@wildalain]

this video made me subscribe AND made me hit the notification bell good stuff

[@NinjaMaruSensei]

いいビデオですね！！ Yeh, like you said, keeping motivation is one of the first priority in learning different languages. Specially Japanese, I cant imagine how stressful it would be for English speakers. でも、みなさんがんばってくださいね！ 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@iteite9488]

thank you so much for this video! i decided to start learning japanese and this was super helpful. i was just going to jump into the textbook as soon as i was done with learning hiragana and katakana, but this advice actually sounds way more feasible to me. i feel like your channel is going to be really helpful for my learning process, so thank you!!

[@AliviasNook]

Glad I could help! The textbooks are great but can pile on a bit too much at once for my taste. Best of luck in your studies!

[@ErnieV76]

Just fyi, knowing addition did not help my algebra. 😆 True story. Great video! Japanese is really overwhelming I’m sticking to reading hiragana and Katakana for now. I’m in no rush. (And reading some of the From Zero book from time to time) 👍🏼

[@AliviasNook]

Algebra can be tricky 😂😂 Glad you're keeping a sustainable pace!

[@angelm2755]

I started with pimsleur, but two weeks into studying I feel like I can only say a handful of phrases . So now I’m using wanikani, Anki, genki, pimsleur, etc and I’m feeling overwhelmed . I feel like I need better structure , I’m all over the place . Thanks for this video

[@FluxComics]

Thanks for this 🔥🔥 .... im overwhelmed alot.

[@nariter]

Alivia, your videos have been super helpful for me to change perspective on how I can better study, I’ve been studying Japanese off n on since 2014 and more seriously since 2017 after I got My first IPad and started using lingo deer but I haven’t been able to get past N5, but I realized after watching your videos that a huge issue was that I was trying to master 1 lesson before I moved on to the next, instead of just using it as a way to familiarize myself with the grammar and use reading/listening as a way to remember it in a more natural way. But since I realized that I could just you grammar learning things in lingo deer or genki as a way to familiar myself instead of memorizing, I’ve honestly been way more motivated to learn then I have been. Do I really appreciate you sharing your perspective and tips and such on how you study, thank you so much!

[@AliviasNook]

I’m so glad I was able to help! It’s easy to get caught up in perfectionism when language learning but it’s ok not to understand everything. It comes with time and exposure!

[@tankeryy1566]

meanwhile i started with cure dolly's videos alongside "Dictionary of Basic Japanese grammar" :v and after 2 months (back in February to March 2021 ) i started reading Japanese stories (Kana only coz idk kanji yet) and fully understood it. I recommend watching cure dolly's videos alongside textbooks like genki and for reference DoJG (dictionary of japanese grammar) series. Heads up tho, if you start watching cure dolly its weird at the start coz she's an AI with weird digital voice but damn her grammar explanations are top-notch!

[@MaoRatto]

I find the best immersion is Light Novels due to the 100% showing examples of itself. One thing I've loved about the Japanese language.... Mainly it's due to its ability to express inside vs. outside speech towards basic words.

[@ashleylongstreet4755]

I was going through genki but switched to the n5 deck because of your video. It was a hard transition at first but now I’m more than halfway through and I’ve found it’s much more efficient to learn grammar that way than just going through the textbook. Keep up the great content!!

[@AliviasNook]

Yeah the N5 deck is a great way to pickup grammar structures! Also a bit more engaging. I wish I had started using it earlier

[@DagameWire]

I’ve been studying Japanese for like 8 months now and I can say the most important part of this video might be the last, immersion makes the books look more like reference than instructions.

[@AliviasNook]

Yes immersion is so so key and where the majority of the actual ‘learning’/ language acquisition happens in my opinion

[@eogabs_]

in 8 months, do you feel like you can already keep a conversation for a long time?

[@yanetvaldivia8033]

This video helped me so much on what I want to learn first, thank you!!!

[@-fumbleking8531]

Great video! Definitely subscribing

[@AliviasNook]

Thank you!! 🥰🥰

[@immad3adkid]

Anki can really help your life easier when it comes to studying kanji and vocabulary :)

[@AliviasNook]

Definitely!

[@Deddshot]

So you mentioned immersing yourself in the language and I've been wondering: when you would watch anime while you were starting out, did you find yourself rewinding a lot to try and catch things you may have missed or only partially understood? Or did you just let it play and get what you could out of it each time? I started watching Toradora without subtitles (Great show, btw) but it usually takes me like 35-40 minutes to get through an episode because I can't help but constantly go back and try to piece the sentences together. I don't know a ton of grammar yet so it's usually a fruitless effort, but it's fun to try at least lol

[@AliviasNook]

I'd rewind occasionally, but for the most part I'd watch it normally. I was watching shows that I had already seen before, so I wasn't completely lost on the plot and would often multitask if I was getting bored. I slowly started to understand common phrases, but for the most part was going off of context. If you enjoy dissecting the lines as you go along, go for it! That can be a great way to pick up new words and phrases. Just don't feel like you *have* to understand everything, because some ambiguity is part of the process. But it sounds like you're enjoying it so keep it up 😊

[@ashleylongstreet4755]

I also recently started watching this! I found that what helps me is looking the up the episode summary so that I already know what’s going on and have a basic idea of the plot. That way you already have kind of a vague idea of what words to listen for

[@RubyDuran]

Just logged into my account and saw this! Watching... NOW! :)

[@AliviasNook]

Aw thanks Ruby! 💕

[@RubyDuran]

@@AliviasNook great video!!! Yes, I think it’s great to break it down. Like if you want to do it ALL (MEEEE, haha 🙋🏻‍♀️), maybe dedicate some time for vocab (15-20 min) and then the other time on grammar or the writing system, etc. and just spreading that throughout the day can be super helpful 😊 books can be helpful, especially with the vocab lists in each chapter. Thank you for sharing Alivia ❤️✨

[@AliviasNook]

@@RubyDuran Spreading it out throughout the day is a great tip! Definitely makes it all feel more manageable 😊

[@apexdenzel7313]

Are there any vids where you speak Japanese?

[@RubyDuran]

@@apexdenzel7313 not sure if you mean Alivia or myself. I have two Japanese speaking progress videos on my channel :) if you meant Alivia, please disregard my message 😅🥲

[@Samsaraindo]

I need your help. I passed jlpt4 all the way back in 2007, after using Minna No Nihongo for a year. By 2011, I was around jlpt3 but never took the test and had probably gotten thru about 70% of the second minna no nihongo book. I also lived in Japan for 18 months to practicr all I knew. Many years have passed, as my career got very stressful and I moved to Hong Kong and out of japan. I want to get back into Japanese now. I am still fairly conversational but have no desire to ever use a book again. I want to speak more naturally and felt those books made me rigid and less natural. Do you know how I can approach studying now?

[@KhineJune-if2gs]

Thank you so much for useful tips ❤️

[@AliviasNook]

My pleasure 😊

[@GodChaserzCinema]

Have you ever tried JAPANESE FROM ZERO?

[@dontmindme6972]

I just begin with japanese and learning hiragana. And really confused on resources. Should i learn with my native language or with English. I'm cool with English but can't find great resource in hindi my native language.

[@joaquinegarcia]

Hi, I was wondering if you ever use duolingo when it comes to improving your Japanese. I've been using duolingo along with a bunch of other stuff that you recommended and I was wondering if you though it was useful. Great video btw!

[@AliviasNook]

I only used Duolingo briefly and I didn't find it to be a good fit for me. It's fairly slow paced and focuses on teaching you vocabulary, and I'd rather do that with Anki or through immersion. It can be a great resource though if you're on the go a lot and need the portability, just make sure you supplement it with other resources as Duolingo won't teach you everything you need

[@vashugupta0007]

Could you tell me some others courses as as additional skill with Japanese language and how to speak fluently japanese please

[@marco.nascimento]

Great advice :))

[@AliviasNook]

Thanks for watching!

[@jirojapandaily6751]

Great video. I’m Japanese and I am learning English. I upload Japanese daily life with English and Japanese captions everyday. If you have time, watch it and have fun.

[@Nico-uj7sn]

Would you recommend starting with the N5 Tango Deck immediately from the beginning? (Just started learning a week ago) Started with WaniKani and the N5 Tango Deck. But i have some trouble with remembering the Kanji in the N5 Tango deck......any suggestions? :) Also started with lesson one of Genki but there are all words in Hiragana (at least in the beginning), those words are also in the N5 Tango but written in Kanji :(

[@AliviasNook]

I’d say to wait until you have a more kanji under your belt and are further along with Genki before using the Tango deck. I also found it difficult to remember kanji that I hadn’t seen in WaniKani, so I focused on that when I was getting started as well as kana-only vocab from Genki. Then when I did tango later on, it went a lot smoother, was less overwhelming and I was solidifying my knowledge

[@jtrow5023]

Besides Anki, what other methods do you use for learning vocabulary? Thanks

[@AliviasNook]

I originally was using Memrise, and WaniKani teaches some vocabulary as well. Other than that nothing formal, just looking up words occasionally during immersion :)

[@lrotem208]

hi! I on my 20 lesson of Genki>< any ideas after that? for n3? how do you study Japanese these days?

[@AliviasNook]

Hello! After I finished the Genki books I focused on building my vocabulary and did lots of reading. I started with easy resources like LingQ and Satori Reader and then introduced children’s books as well. These days I’m putting more focus on listening comprehension with lots of shows and podcasts 😁

[@lrotem208]

@@AliviasNook I will try it to, tanks!! Waiting for your next video about it 😊

[@メキシコ人-k2v]

Too late for me. I am 7 months into learning Japanese from textbooks lol 😅

[@AliviasNook]

No harm done, I’m sure you’ve learned a lot! Like I said, if you’re enjoying your textbooks keep doing it, but if you’ve been having trouble then this is your sign to change things up 😉

[@fmh654]

Have you heard of attain online Japanese on udemy. It’s an online japanese course I’m using.

[@AliviasNook]

Cool! No I haven’t heard of it before. How are you liking it?

[@sued6659]

What would you recommend for studying vocabulary?

[@AliviasNook]

The most important thing for vocab in my opinion is to choose something you can be consistent with and to learn words you’ll actually come across in practice (reading, shows etc). I started with learning the Genki vocab and got to see them a lot in the exercises, and then I transitioned to the Tango N5 Anki deck to cover lots of basic vocabulary. Try learning 5-20 new words a day until you feel like you have a good base, and then you can either continue with that or dive into immersion and pick up words as you go

[@sued6659]

@@AliviasNook thanks you!!