Reasons Why You Would Feel Like Giving Up Studying Japanese | Returnees React

[@mikotagayuna8494]

As a half-Japanese living abroad, my greatest struggle in learning Japanese (and thereby reconnecting with my heritage) is the fetishization of courtesy and self-diminishment. It's a beautiful, poetic and precise language but it often breaks down into endless apologies or inability to say anything out of fear of making someone upset.

[@matthewjay660]

🙋🏻‍♂️ Shogo-kun taught us the word “hāfu.” Is this correct?

[@kenyahiguchi7707]

@@matthewjay660 Yes, it is a transliteration of the English word "half" and is used as a shorthand in Japanese to refer to biracial individuals.

[@ShibaHamamatsucho]

@@matthewjay660 Just to help a fellow Matt out, you wouldn't refer to Shogo with "Kun" (it's generally used for people younger than you/ you are on a friendly basis with them, and people and that are considered lower than you.) I'm sure Shogo wouldn't mind it, but if used with Japanese people in real life, they will definitely find it odd and in worst cases take offense and think you're mocking them. It would be Shogo-Sensei しょうご先生 meaning teacher, or しょうごさん Shogo-San which is a basic politeness marker that you can refer to pretty much anyone with.

[@matthewjay660]

@@ShibaHamamatsucho Hi 👋🏻. I asked Shogo his permission and he accorded it. Thanks for your concern. I'm 20 years older than him. ☝🏻I specifically asked him; he specifically told me that yes I have his permission to address him as "Shogo-kun." 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵 Sempai. Kohai.

[@lzh4950]

@@ShibaHamamatsucho I think the word ' _kun_ ' is also used in Thai e.g. it was sometimes appended at the front of Thaksin's name

[@void_sum]

As a Japanese learner this is probably the most complex part of the language. Japanese is only really spoken in Japan and if you couple that with centuries of seclusion from the rest of the world, you end up getting a lot of uniqueness to both the language and the cultural/social side. This means that you can't really just learn the language in a vacuum and expect to understand everything, a lot of times you'll understand every single word and get the meaning of the sentence, but because you're missing some important cultural piece of information it doesn't click for you and you're just left confused thinking "huh? did I hear/read that right?". That's why at some point you'll have to start paying very close attention to how Japanese social norms work and how they carry themselves in any given situation. Not just so you don't make some embarassing mistake, but because a lot of the media people are interested in consuming in Japanese (dramas, anime, manga, light novels, etc) use these situations and rules as gags or even as personality traits. This is why I like Shogo's channel, having someone explain these things in an approachable way is a really awesome resource to have and makes learning just a tad easier :)

[@ronsorage78]

I love how all of these are basically "Japanese people tell small lies to save face and not be rude." A very different mindset from a lot of the US where we tend to be honest but usually in as delicate a way as possible. If you are the type to tell untruths in the US you tend to not be trusted and not wanted around for being 2 faced.

[@NiaJustNia]

The bar keeper friend should have rolled his sleeves up to reveal his tattoos when serving the "bad boy", just to intimidate him 😂

[@LetsaskShogo]

😂😂😂

[@TimothyLau55]

While it may be funny, you don't do it especially in your own store. Also, it is ok to have fun, including bluffing in bar. How else we get these funny stories?

[@outboundflight4455]

The tricky part as a beginner when you are learning Hiragana is sometimes accepting things for the way they are, sentence structure wise, in Japanese(Nihongo) and also pronounciation. But I found if you speak Spanish then Nihongo is gonna be way easier to pronounce. Also once you grasp Hiragana and start knowing how to ask for things or ask questions or introduce yourself in Nihongo it will start being smoother and then you just gotta learn words and phrases for common things like keys/kagi, paper/kami, love/ai, etc. Then moving on to Katakana for foreign terms.

[@R3DSHlFT]

Thanks for the information, because I'm in the middel of learning hirigana. And when you said that Spanish would help, I was like; that the 3 years of Spanish in school would help, nice.

[@Impulse_CDL]

Spanish speakers definitely find Japanese pronunciation more natural and easier in my opinion.

[@carriefernandez8705]

I actually found that the Japanese L/R sound totally screwed me up on my Spanish Rs, especially if there's a lot of Ls and Rs back to back.

[@computertesting6110]

as a hindi speaker, i found japanese pronunciation to be easy as well

[@StarslightAndDreams]

i agree! i would love to see the opposite too. japanese pronouncing spanish!

[@kingfish4575]

1: they look like they have a great...... personality???..... Also.... ahhh they have such a great face for radio.....

[@AznFighting]

It's so fun to see you laughing together and at the same time, it was very insightful! 😄

[@edwardviator9925]

This is the best thing ever. I’d love to see more videos like this. Hilarious and informative.

[@lifewithoutgoalposts9197]

They look like a nice person = I’ll bet he has a great personality

[@wilomica]

Yup that's what we say in Canada!

[@rubyy.7374]

Something else that kind of bummed me out for a while was having to learn the dialects. With Tokyo-ben, there are heaps upon heaps of resources, but with Kansai or Osaka-ben, I had to really scrounge. It took me nearly a year of research and weekly lessons with a Kansai native to *finally* understand what the heck Kansai people were saying. If it wasn’t for her I’d probably have gotten nowhere. Oh and btw, I’ll be living in Fukuoka for a while, so Fukuoka-ben is next.😥

[@jassianterri]

😂 Seriously, even in Germany. “ Our kids should have a playdate”. “Yeah, we should organise something with the whole group” . … can mean “ No way! Stay away, weirdo! “ 😅 well, or something like that.

[@hyperk2]

Saying "Let's go together with friends" is definitely something at least I've experienced here in America, and it means the same thing too.

[@TimothyLau55]

I remember some of us eventually got annoyed to be dragged into big group started out from a guy asked a girl out.

[@annina134]

Hello to Kazu too! :) A fun video! Keep on going, Shogo! :)

[@briancrosby152]

I am still learning Nihongo , learning about culture, social etiquette etc. I keep discovering new things about Japan. My issue is pronunciation & remembering.

[@gaidhliglass]

This is interesting. Thank you for providing these folks and their platforms. I have some new sites to visit for learning idioms now. Seems more fun than the boring classrooms of rote memorization that I remember doing. Wish I had the opportunity to do immersion language as my father did at DLI. He learned a lot of the typical ones for Tokyo. These will help to learn some new ones.

[@feral_shade]

I loved this video! It was refreshing getting an inside perspective about casual conversation. :)

[@eternalbliss5896]

Thank you so much for this shogo! Can you please do more such reviews. I didn't even know such a channel exist.

[@ichigosedge]

You need to do more of the so entertaining and informative at the same time! I love it!

[@amethyst5538]

This was informative. I would appreciate more videos along the lines of this.

[@nataliamaglakelidze8797]

This was so much fun 😂 and informative too!

[@havingicecream]

I learned a lot today😂I love how the 'let's go with everyone' is a thing outside japan as well

[@Blondie42]

I have been trying to learn Japanese since 1999, I won't give up, but it's a challenge learning by myself. My brief visit to Japan in 2010 helped.

[@nii9466]

wishing you luck in your studies! it's gotten easier as time passes with more and more resources available, but it's still really hard to find what ones work for you!

[@sab-nm9di]

wow that’s a long time!!! I hope you’re taking advantage of the tech and resources we have today. So many hidden treasures out there on the internet.

[@klausernstthalheim9642]

Well from german perspective the japanese sentence structure is similar to german structure, which made it easier to learn and the pronouncation is also quite clear. What i find most difficult is writing and reading in kanji. I think learning to speak japanese is easier compared learning to speak german, because we have so many exceptions and irregular verbs....well if you are not from someone who use to speak a germanic language family. Some rules are downright confusing for non-germanic language speakers. Well at least we dont have the Utrum anymore. As example The opposite of "umfahren" is "umfahren"......one means "run over someone/something" and the other one means "drive around someone/something"....the meaning is depending if you slightly pronounce the first syllable or the second Most joke about germans why they are so blunt and direct, because german rules are confusing enough. Some of miscommunication between japanese and german based on that. German asked things once and usually accept the answer. So as example a german offer a japanese girl a slice of cake, she politely declined it and expectation she would asked again so she can eat the desired slice of cake....well she would be disappointed. Also what most japanese people who lived in germany struggled is that german are extremely into dry sarcasm and dark humor. Things like commenting an empty fridge: "Wow your fridge are full" or something "Your kid is smart".

[@gamerspartan1412]

so in other words you are telling me i have to learn german and when i dominate the language the is tart to learn japanese?

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

"Would you like some cake?" "Oh no, I couldn't." "Okay." "Hold on a sec!"

[@jojoxd4342]

@@gamerspartan1412 no but it is easier to learn Japanese if you are fluent in German, because they are similar to each other. Also there is a German rule you learn in elementary school (that, of course, doesn't always hold and has exceptions), that is "a word is written how it is pronounced/ a word is pronounced how it is written", which is, as far as I know, really, really similar to how Japanese works.

[@HeavyMetalKittenx]

It was rough and took me a long time to learn German! (Roughly 6 years) But coming from an English speaking standpoint I think English is even harder to learn since sentences are so much more complicated even! Every language is unique and I love that about learning languages :)

[@RadenWA]

@@jojoxd4342 yeah that is called being “phonetic” and almost all languages that are not English or French is like that

[@jasontapp3673]

I just think it's actually pretty cool that his goal is 1,000,000 by January 2023, but it's January 2022, and he's already got 780,000 like that million goal is absolutely gonna happen way sooner than the deadline.

[@zindexcourses]

Love your videos, shogo! My and my girlfriend plan on going to japan in a few years and your videos are very helpful in giving us an idea of what to do and not do in Japan!

[@pienvdende]

That was really interesting. I like these kinds of videos.

[@Velarieth]

For business, it sounds a bit like "Thank you for taking care of me" as a greeting is a bit similar to ending emails with "Thank you in advance." No one has actually done anything yet, you are just expressing politeness in anticipation and expectation your requests (if any) are going to be handled and addressed. It sounds a bit different if it's something you would say in every email, regardless of whether or not there is an actual request. But it has the same feel to me, as someone still just learning Japanese.

[@Erik_Emer]

I know some Japanese people that I had classes with, and often they were shocked by how often they are rejected when making requests or suggestions. Years later, it makes sense to be because it seems like no Japanese native speaker's willing to walk a tightrope to get to the point. Additionally, it's the stuff like "let's all go together" that diminished any reputation of being truthful.

[@eepyJay]

Love these returnees react!

[@RyuLightorb]

Very informative video I’m starting classes to learn Japanese next year definitely see why people would want to give up. Im in an interesting position since I can’t read body language as I’m Autistic so even if I learn the language I’m pretty sure I’m going to offend someone somewhere due to it so learning about all the social quirks in Japan through my friends who live there and this channel help a lot.

[@ilexgarodan]

Shogo, you need to do more of these!

[@LetsaskShogo]

▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼ kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJmokqB-m9-sr8k ▼Related videos in this channel▼ -10 Japanese Phrases You Should NEVER Use to Your Boss/Superior | Must-see to Avoid Misused KEIGO kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z36kgGiKfKyMrqs -Why Karate Kid 2 Has Terrible Reviews in Japan | Trainees React to the Tea Ceremony Scene kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpKTq2qrfdGpgsU -Must Watch Before Coming to Kyoto | 5 Things NOT to Do Explained by a Local Japanese Born in Kyoto kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3mrlYZverh7Zqc ▼MY DREAM▼ kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5jSqHyMlNCUnaM “To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in” I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more. ▼Join our Membership▼ kzbin.info/door/n7DCb9ttrcw9h3vh9dfnVwjoin ●Membership benefits -Limited behind-the-scene videos kzbin.info/aero/UUMOn7DCb9ttrcw9h3vh9dfnVw -Weekly live stream -Priority reply to comments Every single yen we earn from this membership, we will be donating to groups of people who are fighting to solve social problems in Japan, the Japanese schools where foreign students can study, or use it to spread the works of people working with traditional culture in Japan to preserve the arts they are doing. ▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼ kzbin.info/door/ZAe1VayWxp5NLO4Net78DA Please subscribe!! The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores. Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments. ▼[Listen to the real voices of the Japanese] "Voices from Japan series"▼ kzbin.info/aero/PLpIWoYf9KNFXxLyeQa85jDudDKqkwPg-2 ▼[Places recommended to visit in Kyoto] "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼ kzbin.info/aero/PLpIWoYf9KNFU7LIIFB0P_reDt_oMdkCOq ▼Instagram▼ instagram.com/lets_ask_shogo/ *Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠️I do not use e-mail）

[@sylvariatzaka]

I really iike 'let's run together'. Just funny to think that eventually your friend will abandon you and run ahead. Funny stuff ^_^

[@dmanzawsome]

very funny, great explanations

[@yurin4601]

I really like Kevin’s English Room ☺️

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

nice video. fun lessons.

[@edmg7]

This kinda makes me want to be in a situation where someone offers to pay so I can be like "Oh thanks for being generous." and put my wallet away. Get free food and/or call them out on trying to look generous.

[@LetsaskShogo]

▼Kevin's English Room▼ KZbin: kzbin.info%E6%8E%9B%E5%B1%B1%E3%82%B1%E3%83%93%E5%BF%97%E9%83%8E/featured Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@kevinthepepperoni Instagram: instagram.com/kevinsenroom/ ▼Our Previous React Video of Kevin's English Room▼ What Happens When an American Completely Adapts to Japan?

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

My problem is that I'm lazy. I've been learning a few kanji, but my speed is very slow. A few new ones every month or so. I'm not actively studying, so I often do a lot of guesswork.

[@yve_w40]

I love these "lessons" xDD so funny to learn about different cultural contexts

[@TimothyLau55]

It reminded me that my parents generation used to yelled and blamed and forcefully pull the bill, so they could pay for their friends. It still amazed me how they wanted to show their generosity while lightly insult and disrespect each other at the same time.

[@tomislavnagy8715]

I didn't know those those Phrases! Thy are Funny!

[@typhoic]

I love to bow them back when they say "minna-san konnichiwa"

[@BleachDemon707]

I'm actually a middle aged man (I'm 44), however, I feel like a young man inside 🤣

[@英語わかりません]

You're fairly young still. Im 30 and feel like 16 sometimes.

[@BleachDemon707]

@@英語わかりません Well, ty for that 😊

[@Samwise1776]

Hi Shogo (or perhaps any other Japanese speakers). When the girl/woman says “I’m a middle aged man inside.” is it just an assumed thing that she obviously means woman? Is there some reason that you can’t say middle aged woman? Or is this just the turn of phrase? Thanks!

[@DanielJoyce]

She's trying to imply she's 'one of the boys' is why.

[@yuzukinako6639]

Hi, a girl/women can use both but when she has characteristics or pereferences like a “middle aged men”, she usea “middle age mem”. For example, when her favorite food is something which middle aged men tend to like (and tipical middle age women don’t), she may use the phrase.

[@Samwise1776]

Thanks for the replies. So it’s much more simple than I might have thought.

[@odedgershon1374]

Great video

[@blade8424]

Question. If you visit Japan for a few weeks or months and know little Japanese. How do you go about communicating with a Japanese person? Especially if you go to a restaurant etc? Or if your lost? I just want to learn some Japanese to learn how to speak to an actual person who speaks it and have a convo with them. I heard from Facebook groups if you go they've been having issues with tourists lately being rude etc in Japan. So I'm thinking how can you speak to someone with out being rude how do you let them know you don't know much Japanese? Sorry I worry allot. :(

[@unfunnymeiling2315]

I would try to learn it later hope I succeed

[@andreaprochowski4717]

I am shook that Japan has their own version of "I'm not like other girls."

[@TheLooking4sunset]

This is amazing!

[@passdapo]

Certainly in some languages the culture is just as important as the grammar, English isn’t really one I feel but I wonder if that’s because of how popular the media is (like people are already familiar with it somewhat) or if it really isn’t too important

[@werefrogofassyria6609]

The Werefrog was surprised by that whole pay for it not pay for it thing. It's rude to not pull out wallet and offer. It's rude to insist on paying. The Werefrog would never understand that.

[@siddhantkothari9657]

Where can I get the best origami Paper and books in Japan

[@yamayamayammi6742]

Literally, this video teach us, "how to be a 「リア充」". 😁

[@johnbatista1009]

Can you make a video about kokuhaku i wanna know more

[@limken1343]

Well for the minnade ikimasyou maybe you could do a reverse UNO and say yeah I'm asked everyone to go or something. Not sure if that would work in Japan

[@kingfish4575]

I think every culture has #4

[@jossuuuuu]

How hard can it be to start learning Japanese if im a native Spanish speaker? I speak semi-fluid english, but Spanish is my native language, and i have lived in a country where Spanish is spoken basically my entire life xD. I'm quite interested in starting to learn Japanese, and i've seen a lot of comments saying is a liiitle bit easier if your base language is Spanish rather than English

[@localmilfchaser6938]

It is easier if you speak Spanish. It helps a lot in pronunciation because Spanish and Japanese use the same vowels.

[@kirti6419]

Amazing but can you make a video on how can we get admission in Japanese University through scholarship especially for medical

[@maxwellquipey1]

I learned that "de su" is used at the end of sentences when referring to "it/he/she/they" pronouns.

[@mare-trending7332]

We would like to see Kazu's face, he's so cute.

[@mingzi1201]

kids. anybody that decides to budget your free time for you.

[@matthewjay660]

Shogo-kun, this was dope. Please do more with Kazu. I feel that, specifically, THESE types of videos open closed Japanese doors 🚪 to gaijin. FOR ONCE, GAIJIN WERE ALLOWED TO READ THE ROOM. Hai! 👊🏻✊🏻💪🏻 Domo Arigatō Gozimasu! 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵

[@norikadolmy7274]

They have "not like other girls" in Japan too people are the same everywhere you go

[@Susan-dk3ik]

There’s no translating - 893 😂🇯🇵🧘🏼‍♀️👍🇦🇺

[@krice6212]

I have a foreign language class which is japanese class this video really helps me with terms and pronunciation and the culture as well

[@JasonB808]

It’s hard enough to learn a language that is totally different than your own, then they can have their own intricate meanings that are not literal. Then on top of that, Japanese don’t tell you exactly how they feel if they feel like being polite. It’s totally different than Murica because people will tell you how they feel upfront.

[@kcganimations5112]

3:06 *KEVIN NO YOU'RE ON KZbin*

[@Cheetahviper]

I really wanna learn Japanese

[@darkmattergamesofficial]

Is he intentionally botching the pronunciation?? It's really funny!

[@dmanzawsome]

for im a middle aged man inside in english ppl just say "I'm an old soul"

[@あかさたな-g6e]

日本語字幕欲しい🥺

[@DanielJoyce]

I joke I have the guts of an elderly Japanese farmer or fisherman because the more food like that I eat the better my digestion does.

[@Danse_Macabre_125]

What if it isn't a joke?

[@kingfish4575]

#5 im just one of the guys.

[@animetoonshd3889]

I’m not Japanese but I say these things

[@almondmagnum8604]

Impossible to beat up 10 people? I'll have you know, toddlers are people too.

[@ninjablaze6665]

WTH?!

[@RyuLightorb]

@@ninjablaze6665 he’s right tho

[@ninjablaze6665]

@@RyuLightorb well yea, but do really have to?!, if you do, you'll be most likely be more than a gangster or a thug, you'll be a monster

[@RyuLightorb]

@@ninjablaze6665 that wasn’t the question tho

[@shanedoesyoutube8001]

Well, more concerningly, why ten gangsta babies in the alleyway??? If they're of the boss baby kind, then yeah, whatever

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@timerty]

I stopped at Pimsleur's Learning Japanese at something about describing something about someone's wife.

[@bjornf8518]

I might have been Japanese in a previous life...

[@kingfish4575]

#6 friend zone

[@aethru7202]

12:40 me vs 10 babies would disagree

[@samuraisoul151]

Mr. Shogo, can you make subtitles in Japanese too? I want to introduce your videos to Japanese people.

[@juanmiguelsebastian1477]

tomoko and kazu face reveal when?

[@catherinebutler4819]

He seems rather like Filthy Frank in style (though without the filthiness).

[@badluckrabbit]

7:53 even Japan has pick-me girls!

[@RonOhio]

Well, at least it's not Finnish.

[@zerozerotoo3593]

ngl it reminds me filthyfrank.

[@marvinguillot9327]

Mathew 24. Yeshua is coming back soon

[@123canadagirl]

Making fun of students learning a difficult language like Japanese isn’t funny! I’m surprised at your video. I usually like your videos but not this one.