Japanese Guy Tries Busuu Japanese

[@matoikazamaki9522]

If someone wants to understand what happens in 9:42 : The thing with は (wa) is that it doesn't say anything about what grammatical role the noun has in the sentence, it just says that the noun is the "theme" of the sentence, in other word we're introducing what we're talking about. Usually, textbooks explains the "X は" structure with translations like "as for X" or "speaking of X", and although it's quite a convoluted phrasing, it explains well the idea behind the particle wa. Because when you say "speaking of X", X is not necessarily the subject. You could say "Speaking of Italia, I never been there", and Italia wouldn't be the subject. The idea is the same with "wa". So, in a sentence like "watashi wa mariko desu" (I am Mariko), the thing we're speaking about is indeed the subject of the sentence, but you could have a sentence like "niku wa tabenai", (I don't eat meat) where niku (meat) would be the object despite being marked by wa, and the actual subject (I, me) is omitted. If you want a particle that actually marks the subject, it would be が (ga). Ga always marks the subject, but this can also be confusing if you think your sentences with a western eye, because a sentence like "Watashi wa, anime ga suki" would be translated in english as " I like anime", with I as the subject and anime as the object. But in japanese, "anime" is the subject, because suki is an adjective meaning "likable", and anime is what is likable here. So literally it would be like "As for me, Anime is likable".

[@andydyer6591]

This is a very good explanation and I wish it was higher in the comments.

[@therealjetlag]

Love this explanation.

[@devintheguru]

Beautiful and concise explanation. I am a fan of using the term "markers" for the particles in Japanese, and wa is definitely more easily understood as a topic marker. I remember back when I was still new to Japanese (about 3 years or so at this time), and after Chinese (Mandarin) convo class, I hung out to study with a Japanese foreign student and Korean American classmate. At the end of the session, she said to me 「今日はありがとうございます」 (Kyou wa arigatou gozaimasu) and it took me a hot second to not process that as "today is thank you" and into "thank you for today" (which is not a direct translation, but rather how it would be said in English). The level of education on KZbin is so amazing compared to the textbooks and courses I had learning Japanese over ten years ago in high school and college, but it would seem the apps still have a ways to go 😆🫠 Cheers, ✨️🧋

[@zezus001]

i think you should have made it a bit more clear that が is a subject marker as well as an object marker but a great explenation of a not so easy to understand particle

[@saturn_in_blue]

Awesome explaination, this should be a top comment.

[@panqueque445]

Busuu: "OK this is how you say "hi" in Japanese" Yuta: "Yes but actually no"

[@watchmesquatch]

He just wants you to buy his product, so he bashes every other product.

[@ballistic63]

@@watchmesquatch everything he says is correct though so I don't believe its biasing him

[@watchmesquatch]

@@ballistic63 Busuu isn't about speaking like how natives speak casually. It's about building grammar and vocabulary knowledge. He also doesn't even touch on the community of native speaker that will correct your mistakes, let alone the 1on1 tutors Busuu offers. Convenient how that was left out. Lol

[@ballistic63]

@@watchmesquatch It should be trying to teach people how to speak like natives do alongside grammar and vocabulary. Even if we ignored that they should be making a significant effort to teach natural Japanese and assumed something else should fulfill that role afterwards, I had a pretty terrible experience trying to learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar through Busuu a bit over 2 years ago (I highly doubt much has changed), I found that the difficulty of the course went up way wayy too much in the second half (there were words I just couldn't memorise no matter how many times Busuu would show me it) and this experience was shared by other people at the time and not just for the Japanese course (easier European languages seemed fine though) if I recall correctly. Anyways I don't push for people to learn through whatever Yuta's course is (it might be okay I'm not sure though), I believe in using Anki and gettings tons of input (watching shows in the target language and reading material in the target language).

[@duckymomo7935]

most japanese just say ohayou regardless of the time of the day anyways

[@imjakeyy.1144]

Yuta should make a japanese learning app

[@hzdy]

I would actually pay to use it, i paid for memrise for the amount you get included in the website/app. I'm also using other apps in conjunction and learning from youtubers.

[@sei9219]

He'd want to make one. It would be a big project that you must think carefully and deeply about. Creating an app means dedicating a big effort to its creation, which is actually more than a lot of work, and even more so if you first have to acquire knowledge. Then its maintenance is important, work on advertising, and a large so on. And not to mention if your intention is to make an app with great performance and functionality. It's not that easy...

[@n1hondude]

@imanium That's good I would play around a bit more "That Japanese Yutapp" "That Japanese Teacher" "That App Man" "That Man Apple" "That Yutapple" (Some are trying too hard I know lol)

[@Mit2u.]

YESYES MOST UNDERRATED COMMENT ON YT

[@merlin9702]

@@sei9219 Creating a language learning app is actually incredibly easy on the technology side of things. Actually designing the course is the challenge

[@B0XMATTER]

"We (Japanese) usually need context" Yuta, there is a giant picture of a deer right in front of your face. Moreover, I like your glasses!

[@malzergski]

yeah, but the picture has no real link with the sentence.

[@w花b]

@@jorgeporras9262 so where's the problem

[@TC_Personal]

I've been learning Japanese with Busuu for about 6 months. I'm almost through the A1 portion of it, and my friend's mom, who is from kyoto, says that my Japanese is getting to about a 1st graders level. I know about 42 of the common kanji. Overall, it's been a fantastic app for allowing me to get a base on the go so that I can focus my studies more intensely at a later time.

[@StefandeJong1]

I think that the main reason of using あなた (anata) and other "unnatural" words/expressions like always using "watashi wa" in sentences is to make learning the language more accessible to more 'western' languages (Germanic/roman mainly). Sentences are more easily translated that way and can make it easier for beginners to make a connection to the Japanese language. I think that especially since it's not "wrong", it is still being reached this way. But I completely agree with you: if you want to learn, learn it right :)

[@TC_Personal]

@@StefandeJong1 Well, my perspective is that when we learn language, even growing up, we learn both formal and slang at the same time. School will teach us formal ways of expressing our thoughts in writing, and we speak to our friends naturally. That's why I think it's important to consume media in written and audio format, and in a multitude of situations. You wouldn't want to say "What's up, dude" to the little old lady at the bed and breakfast you're staying at, but you wouldn't say "Thank you kind sir" to your friends either. There's balance to be had.

[@BrendanishLeo]

This sounds like a comedically misplaced ad considering he basically spends the video slamming it lmfao. My biggest complaint would be, what's your purpose for learning Japanese? Assuming you're not in Japan (as there are a plethora of more convenient ways than an app to learn), likely to read/watch, right? obviously it's a bit deeper in (maybe you're here by now) but at your rate, it's going to take a solid 25~ years to learn the most common 2k kanji. I know it's rude to push work ethics on others, but if you really want to learn, I'd hope/suggest something more realistic like anki training

[@BrendanishLeo]

@@TC_Personal Lmao, did you call me a simp for saying your comment seems pretty comedic when you typed out an app testimonial here? You learned 42 kanji in half a year, most people studying are learning 20~ daily by the time kanji are being looked at. It's fine if you enjoy it bud, but even the snails are lapping you.

[@atlashaugen4219]

@@BrendanishLeo have you ever thought that maybe someone just wants to have fun learning a language and doesn't want to hate learning and experience burnout? Maybe after you realized what you're saying is rude, you should've not sent it

[@Vladimir-nc7nb]

That first comment reminds me of the times I get asked questions like, "How do you say "hello" in Japanese?" The person usually gets thrown aback or frustrated a bit when I say, "Do you mean in the morning, or afternoon, or evening? Is it your friend or your boss?.." And the list goes on P.S. I haven't checked yet, but it would be great to have a series of these videos covering the most popular Japanese-learning apps. Also, I really appreciate the in-detail explanations and caveats you give. Will be looking for future videos like this, thank you!

[@orenges]

there's multiple variations...?

[@Vladimir-nc7nb]

@@orenges Well, if it's in the morning, for example, you would say "ohayou" to your friends and family, "ohayou gozaimasu" to those of higher social status, and there are also variations like "oss~" if you are a 'cool anime teenager'

[@orenges]

@@Vladimir-nc7nb ah I figured. At first I thought it was way more than Konnichiwa/Hajime Mashite being used instead of the words you deskribed.

[@joshm3484]

@@orenges It's the same in English, though if you're a native speaker you probably don't notice. Good evening or good morning to your boss, 'sup or hey to your friends.

[@orenges]

@@joshm3484 i see

[@SaruCharmed]

I tried Yuta's Japanese Vocabulary Shortcut. I wish I had something like that when I was first starting with my Japanese studies. I think I'm too advanced at this point for it to be worth the $50 a month for me, because it's mostly built for people who are beginners, even the Level 4 stuff isn't difficult for me to understand most of the time, but I was still able to get a lot out of it because it explains the subtleties of real-life spoken Japanese that was never taught to me in class. It's true, even at the end of college with a bachelor's in Japanese, I still didn't understand it well enough to actually be able to use it. I've recently started consuming actual Japanese media in Japanese, ie ebooks, and I can already see signs of improvement and have learned a lot.

[@sorin_channel]

50$ a month? Average salary in my country is ~300$. Jesus, that's expensive

[@starpeep5769]

lol i probably learned more than u cuz u relied on CLASSROOMS

[@watchmesquatch]

That's a fkin rip off. Yuta, get off your burner. 🤣🤣

[@duane_313]

@@sorin_channel What country is this? Good lord lol sorry to hear that

[@meer9516]

@@duane_313 turkey

[@MarkThomasRobson]

This is very helpful. In my city in England, we have many foreign students who learn English from the textbook and struggle to understand the English we use when in practise. It's interesting to see that this approach is common with other languages too. I think immersion with real life content and language partners is a lot more beneficial.

[@Reymax164]

I appreciate that you reviewed this. People recommends Busu for learning languages. Although I installed it, I never opened it, no time yet 😅 But I was able to see how it actually looks with your video.

[@rimenahi]

Just immerse bro.　ただ日本語に没頭すれば今この俺様みたいに「上手」に君もなりえる

[@Reymax164]

@@rimenahi I see, thanks for the tips. I think im kinda doing that 😅

[@maxdanielj]

Busuu isn't great but Duolingo is waaaay worse, I'm basing that on personal experience not just his videos about them

[@Reymax164]

@@maxdanielj I see, thank you

[@malzergski]

@@rimenahi I'd like to know how you use 俺様. I've never seen it before

[@ShiroNekoDen]

I should also mention you forgot several features of the app, 1 you can review words, you can review grammar. 2 there is a community of native speakers that help to correct our freeform assignments. 3 recently they added a new service to learn from a native tutor, for extra cost. And added lessons in a manga format.

[@jessst7248]

I just used the Manga format the other day. It’s very fun

[@reneedennis2011]

@@jessst7248 I used it, too@ i is fun!

[@grung3x0x55]

Hi! I was wondering if you could walk me through how to access the live lessons! Since I totally agree with you but I can’t seem to figure out how to get the 1:5 and 1:1 lessons!

[@jacesaints]

Actually, I am learning Japanese with Busuu as a German guy. Of course the first lessons just want to introduce a bit and later you understand more and more of the context-oriented language. Every rule will be explained (when u say sayonara or other things). For me, as a German, it is very good to understand. I also use books and other sources. I am very happy with Busuu.

[@cc_ppur1334]

Book would be more useful than this stupid app. I am sorry to say.

[@jacesaints]

@@cc_ppur1334 For me it works. Better than other language Apps 😃

[@benjiusofficial]

Use neither. Immersion is the only actual option.

[@Benjcachou]

@@benjiusofficial Yes and no, I am learning grammar point with genki and bunpro. I learn vocal with torii. I learn kanji with WaniKani. And I practice everything by talking with natives. It's not because you live in Japan for two years that you will be able to read most of the Kanji. It's also not because you have a Japanese name on KZbin that you know everything about learning a language.

[@Benjcachou]

@@kelpyg735 so, using 5 ressources is bad 🤣

[@MultiDalali]

Thanks for doing this video, it’s good to know the strengths and weaknesses of the app, I started using it at the start of the year and feel like it’s good to use in combination with watching videos from native speakers like yourself

[@edmg7]

Oh yes definitely. With learning any language it's good to use multiple sources, and this app seems like one of the better ones so long as you have other sources helping you.

[@veena2564]

I'm using this app for two years now for japanese and I think it's very useful. I use it to see what's next to learn so I do the lessons on the app to understand the basic concept of things and then maybe watch videos about it or read articles to learn it naturally and I combine that with a lot of japanese media consumption and I really feel like improving a lot each day even if it's just one new word I learned so yeah I like Busuu even though it's teaching textbook language:) (My japanese is no where near good so all I just said is just my impression from using it for a long time) (Btw the course is not finished that's why everything after mid A2 is basically unusable)

[@topkek1o234]

Yes

[@MultiBobcat]

i feel the same way! i have also been using the app for two years, and while i can't really say i can speak to people freely just yet (scared), i think i've learnt a lot from the app, even with its flaws. the native correction feature is also very useful (when people do help, that is.) yeah, it all makes you sound very unnatural at first, but, that's how it always starts, ey? i have kinda fallen out of the app but am considering picking it back up again.

[@atlashaugen4219]

yeah. I think a lot of people (native speakers who test out language learning apps and also learners themselves alike) think that people who use apps like busuu or duolingo only use these apps when thats.. never the case. You should always use multiple different resources because no one app, website, teacher/tutor, or textbook will ever be able to properly teach you

[@SaraphL]

@@atlashaugen4219 You'd be surprised how many people use Duolingo and nothing else. At least in Busuu the lessons move at much faster pace, therefore you will reach higher language complexity faster and will start to feel that other learning material is pretty much necessary. For example I learned all 71 hiragana characters using mainly Kanji Study app and practicing drawing them on paper. If I used Busuu only, it'd definitely feel rushed and I'd have trouble reading the questions in following lessons. That's not the case with Duolingo. The progress is so slow and you waste so much time repeating the same 5 words. Even the kana study is extremely slow there. They basically function as a social network in a sense that they're trying to steal as much of your time and attention as possible, making you glued to their gamification gimmicks. You're spending more time playing a game there rather than actually learning a language. I don't want to sound like the classic Duolingo hater, but the alternatives are just so much better.

[@la.zanmal.]

"How !" is a somewhat old-fashioned English idiom. It's declarative, and somewhat opinionated but also agreement-seeking. I would make out "How fun!" as comparable to 楽しいよね. "Have fun!" is imperative, and equivalent to 楽しんで【ください】. They are completely unrelated. The pattern behind "have fun!" does not generalize well, and "fun" functions here as a noun, rather than an adjective.

[@nourelballat366]

Actually it teaches the casual way but in further lessons. In A2 lesson 31 and so on you know all details about it ( including what you said in the video).

[@ratoh1710]

It's good that it does teach it but it should probably be taught together to avoid any bad habits. They probably want to make sure people avoid casual language when formal is more appropriate, although people taking the course will probably speak casual japanese before formal, and to prevent information overload but still.

[@zyphar7323]

Using textbooks and native material together can teach you the theory and once understood can be applied while watching native stuff

[@kaiyang0183]

In my opinion people should avoid textbook. I'm learning japanese by a specific youtuber called Misa from Japanese Ammo and without a doubt she is amazing at teaching.

[@zyphar7323]

@@kaiyang0183 very much so. i watch her myself. different people learn theory differently and i find textbooks and people such as misa equally useful. again this is to understand the theory. so whether its books or youtubers etc its always good to see it used in the wild

[@zyphar7323]

@@kaiyang0183 people who dont like textbooks should avoid them in most cases yes. but if you get value from it then you should keep using it.

[@WWEdeadman]

It's fun to me that I have learned enough Japanese by now to accurately predict what you'd suggest as the "natural sounding" alternative. xD

[@Yotanido]

I don't think 私は真理子です is a bad place to start. They just need to follow this up with telling people how this is almost never used and how it gets shortened. The 私は is implied. It's still there, even if you don't say it. (Or your word of choice for "I") I do think teaching people that this is implied is more beneficial than just saying です is all you need. I do agree, though, that just teaching the 私は version without any additional information is probably worse.

[@munzutai]

0:13 If you paid to get 日本語上手'd, you got scammed.

[@watchmesquatch]

He's the only one saying that lame shit. So he should be cancelled.

[@batgirlp5561]

I paid $50 for a year of Busuu. It helped me to learn Japanese and you get so many more languages as well.

[@bmoreblondie6301]

They have it for 33$ for 12 months right now. I thinking about sign up I used the free part so far an I like it

[@DietKodaCola]

Can you turn off romaji?? It’s so annoying… ( ᐪ ᐪ )

[@elegantsadthelost6896]

Have you learned the Japanese language?

[@Aikoblaze278]

I love renshuu, it's been very beginner for me unlike other apps I've tried. I wanted to start from the beginning beginning, like learning Hiragana, Katana and Kanji. Other apps have you learn words, greetings and numbers first but learning how to remember the character or say it doesn't stick at all. The games in renshuu are fun but I haven't learned words yet to do some of them. They recently added an RPG game for drawing drawing characters to defeat enemies that I find fun to do often. I cant speak on other aspects of learning from renshuu because I'm still finding time to complete the characters for Hiragana > -

[@elisbastheth9254]

Busuu uses native Japanese voice actors. It might sounds unnatural as it’s slowed down and accentuated for a better listening but it’s much easier for beginners. for example, hearing the sounds clearly articulated and separated helped memorise the aural form of a word. It’s exactly the same kind of accentuated speech patterns you’d get with any textbook.

[@watchmesquatch]

@A Gamer Aaron No, he's clearly trying to put down a product to push his own product. It's painful obvious.

[@elisbastheth9254]

@@watchmesquatch yeah he completely missed the learner community and exercices reviews which make Busuu such a strong learning tool. Also it’s normal that at the beginning, the learners are given all the context. He only covered the first lessons in the A1 level and skipped the lessons where the learner is taught to drop some elements for a more natural Japanese. Frankly I’ve been very happy with Busuu. Even if I don’t know the vocabulary half-way through A1 I’m starting to recognise particules, sentences syntax and even polite/impolite tone watching anime or films. It’s ok to pick on a few things but misleading people on a product content is not a nice take.

[@DominikGoebel]

I'm not a native japanese speaker and I don't doubt what Yuta said about a lot of things in this review, but: as someone who used Busuu for quite a while I think Busuu is a great place to start to get your feet wet and to find something you can do daily to make a habbit out of learning. In my opinion anyone who really wants to learn a language with it's ins an outs should get accompanying material like books, (paid) online courses or real language school if you are really serious about it. Just a single application won't teach you a complete language. But I have to defend Busuu here a little too. A lot of things which Yuta made corrections about in the first lessons will be cleared up by Busuu on the long run, too. It gets quite in depth in later lessons. Also: Skipping to the last lesson and saying it's unnatural doesn't give Busuu enough credit, too, since they are currently reworking the old material with better explanations and more in depth lessons. They are constantly working and improving upon the japanese course, and the last dialogue happens to be "old" material which was not yet reworked. Like I said in the beginning, I'm not in the position to pass judgement about what Yuta says about japanese, I won't doubt a native speaker, but judging a complete application with plenty of material and pretty in depth explanations by only picking out 3 or 4 lessons doesn't give the application justice either in my opinion.

[@Arisuuu685]

true and its better than duolingo to be honest

[@felipemurta9160]

@@Arisuuu685 duolingo looks ai generated. Busuu is muuch better

[@Sannypowa]

You are absolutely right, Yuta-san, I have learnt my foreign languages from real people with lots of conversations. The best way to improve our conversation skills is to go for a trip in that country and speak with a lot of native speakers. Like in every language written and spoken Japanese are two different things. I am actually impressed this language has slangs as well, very interested in learning it

[@adrianeklowcabramek]

I'm 70% through Busuu A1 course and I really enjoy it. Just some points to keep it mind: 1) "watashi wa" later disappears when it's not needed in the context so it's mostly just at the beginning 2) particles are well explained step by step, so for instance "ni" is to tell time, then to tell direction etc. I like it that they don't throw everything at once. 3) The app is just to get started and as soon as you. Once you get the basics start IMMERSION: this is a crucial thing when learning a language. Quickly you'll pick up how "normal" Japanese tl;dr it's a great app to get started (way above Duolingo let's say), just keep some things in mind and use other sources too

[@thekitschsidekick]

I think you should review Memrise next 💡🤓 I have been learning Japanese for only a couple of months but have been impressed by Memrise so far because they use native speakers in their videos all the time 👍

[@starpeep5769]

pls all u learn there is phrases AND WORDS THAT ARE VERY COMMON. it literally takes forever if u wanna get new words its like beginner beginner stuff when u can grasp beginner stuff much more easily. people who englishize the japanese language are so phony

[@pooru1231]

Your reviews on apps is really good. Very interesting!!

[@serenityq26]

as someone who studied japanese 20 years ago: i can confirm this is very textbook. as someone who has not looked at modern beginner's japanese textbook and havent been in japan since 2012: i cant confirm if its archaic or outdated

[@edmg7]

That's interesting. I feel like the more advanced levels in Busuu feel less textbook a bit more conversational, but it is hard for me to say since I'm still learning and don't talk to actual Japanese people.

[@seiire_]

At the higher levels of the app, the grammar is actually very good. Of course, you always have to accompany it with books or guides like Tae Kim's guide.

[@Rokudaimedono]

It's very interesting to me how you pointed out that "no de" is more natural than "desukara". I was used to, and wanted to, use "desukara", but then in my Tokyo based Japanese language scool, they taught us to use "kara" and "dakara" (depending on whether it's used after a noun, after a verb, after an i-adjective, or after a na-adjective), and not "desukara". Then, later on, they taught us to switch to "no de" and "nano de" instead for the same things whenever we were meant to speak using more polite keigo Japanese. In other words, they more or less told us that "kara" and "dakara" = casual and/or regular polite Japanese, and "no de" and "nano de" = very polite keigo Japanese. But then you say that "no de" is more natural Japanese, and for me, casual Japanese speech is more natural, while keigo is more artificial, so...I'm a bit confused at this point...Any thoughts on this?

[@kiahood]

I think the reason why he says ので sounds more natural here is because the sentence is written in the polite form (= sentence ends with かいませんでした). から/だから would be more natural, if the sentence was casual (= sentence ends with verb in the dictionary/plain form, in this case, if it ended with 買わなかった) It's not about whether casual or polite Japanese sounds natural or artificial, it's about what words sound natural (or not) depending on whether the sentence is casual or polite.

[@Rokudaimedono]

@@kiahood My school taught us to use から/だから for BOTH casual AND regular polite (ます etc) Japanese though, and the polite form was the first one they taught us. They only taught us to use ので when speaking even MORE polite Japanese, in other words, keigo.

[@watchmesquatch]

He's just trying to find a way to make the product look bad so you buy his.

[@Rokudaimedono]

@@watchmesquatch Of course he wants us to buy his product, which is fine really, but I also think he's just honestly reviewing Busuu. I believe in his intentions, and I also have a lot of faith in what he says, as he makes a lot of points that make a lot of sense.

[@watchmesquatch]

@@Rokudaimedono I think he is completely dishonest, and you would realize that if you actually understood the content he is reviewing.

[@Ferventina]

thank you for reviewing busuu. I've been waiting for a native's opinion :). I think that busuu is more useful for preparing for an exam because it uses the technique of 'memorise this phrase/structure'

[@bronzeandbase]

You should try Memrise for your next video! They have recordings of native speakers so I’d love to see what you think of their structure/grammar. Also for the ‘tanoshii ne!’ bit, it’s translated as ‘how fun’ which is practically the same thing as ‘it’s fun isn’t it?’ in terms of intent. Just a little correction since it looks like you misread the line.

[@respectabletampodcast]

I love this idea!

[@namegoeshere3]

Yes Memrise! I wanna know if it's worth buying

[@AmodeusR]

@@namegoeshere3 Not really for learning purposes. The structure of Memrise is based on Spaced Repetition, which is good for *remembering* purposes. Though you obviously can learn from it, its main fundamental is not learning, furthermore there are other implications which would mitigate your learning capability. If you truly want to learn not only japanese, but virtually anything, just *practice* it. Get a book, a manga or a game in japanese and then experience it, try to understand as much as you can, but don't force yourself too much to the point of complete frustration, you should always remember the reason you're studying through games or mangas is to have fun while you learn.

[@namegoeshere3]

@@AmodeusR I've been self-studying (know a little of 500 words) Was more curious about Memrise cause the native recordings ^-^

[@orlandogarnica7136]

@@namegoeshere3 renshuu is a great app to learn, with a community of students/natives while also being free

[@alienfortytwo]

I've studied with it earlier this year before switching to other methods - it actually improved quite a bit since this video especially when it comes to voices. Also unlike many other apps they give a lot of notes on cultural context (at least they try loo). Also they start teaching you words in kanji pretty early. Oh and they have have a separate course that's called "learn Japanese with manga" or something like that - it's actually pretty interesting and I haven't seen any other app do this. they're telling you a little story in Japanese and teach you things that help you understand it along the way. it still feels simplified and textbook-y but at least it's an actual little story with characters who speak in different ways which gives you more of a taste of the real language although I switched to other methods already I'm glad I started with it. gamification is really helpful for motivation in the beginning after all. maybe I'll even try speedrunning the parts I haven't finished just to see how it's like.

[@DaWorldGuardian001]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the main difference between は and が this: は - establishes the context of whatever comes before the particle while putting emphasis on the rest of the phrase/clause. が - emphasises the thing before this particle, more than what comes after. So for clarification; スプリンターは急に走る (emphasis on 急に; As for sprinters, they run _swiftly_ ) スプリンターが急に走る (emphasis on スプリンター; _Sprinters_ run swiftly.) I'm sure there's more finer nuances of the usage of these two particles, so I'm only going for the general idea for now.

[@kimyuseung]

I recommend you try Mango Languages next! It has actually real people talking for its audio

[@justdoggdadon]

Good job Yuta you're creative and I love your videos.

[@celi.injapan]

Hiii! Great video! I moved to Japan 6 months ago and have been using Busuu for almost a year and after much textbook Japanese, we just got to casual speech. The way Busuu teaches Japanese at the beginning is very similar to how English textbooks in Japan teach English to Japanese people hehe. That being said, Busuu has helped me understand every day conversations at my job and around me. I think while it's not the best, if you use it while taking notes and understand that its a good foundation, it can be helpful. I agree with you that Busuu is way better than Duolingo lol.

[@kwicksandz]

You made a 30 minute video without explaining what ブス　means in Japanese! Missed opportunity for a zinger yuta!

[@jayeraine]

Interesting that it didn't allow you to just say "Matt desu" instead of "Watashi wa Matt desu." I think even Duolingo might accept "Matt desu", despite their usual overuse of "watashi".

[@gapedandamazed6988]

I always felt like saying "ですから" or "ですので" and then continuing the sentence always felt "wrong". Now after watching this video, I came to realize that I never really heard a Japanese person say these and then proceed with continuing the sentence.

[@AnthroTsuneon]

Been listening to Pimsleur's audiobooks for learning Japanese, I'm curious about your opinion on them! They've gotten me mildly confident at least (though they make it a bit hard some times to hear differences between '-shou' and '(ma or de)-su yo'. At level 2, 30 lessons later, they haven't used Sayonara (I figured that's farewell, more than goodbye) and instead just use "Ja" or "Ja, ashita" and the like.

[@zacharyahshupe8506]

I have heard good things about Pimsleur. I would like to hear his opinion on those as well. There's a KZbin channel run by a girl who used that as one of things to learn Japanese. She speaks Chinese, Japanese and English fluently and is learning Korean from Pimsleur as well.

[@dedhart]

I started using Pimsleur for Japanese as well, I'd love to know what Yuta thinks of it.

[@malzergski]

it's more like: Sayounara; Jaa, mata ashita. Never forget about prolongation of your vowels.

[@AnthroTsuneon]

@@malzergski As I said, that's Pimsleur's downside, they make that a struggle to catch some times, other times they put very heavy emphasis on them

[@tigb1524]

@@zacharyahshupe8506 Anming? She's amazing! I follow her YT and Insta too. Yuta is my favourite though. 😊 And yes, I have been using Pimsleur too and would like Yuta's opinion also please!

[@GaijinGoombah]

I get that it sounds weird to use a lot of pronouns in Japanese since yeah, those are omitted due to context. However, a person knowing nothing about Japanese linguistic subtleties whose native language (English) uses things like pronouns all the time can benefit from this way of starting to learn the language. It culturally eases them into the language and THEN they can learn the subtleties. As for the weird, stiff conversations, it's not about being natural. It's about exceptionally basic comprehension. The idea is to hear the words used in complete sentences despite them being strange. I mean, English language books in Japan do this kind of thing all the time and I can understand why it does. Gotta ease people into the language before you can start hammering the cultural substiles.

[@dranktf]

These type of teachings really only hammer in bad habits. Like Yuta said, for most beginners, these robotic unnatural speech can go unnoticed until you’re really deep in your learning. It’s fine giving a general overview, but they have absolutely no flexibility or side notes to clear these misconceptions.

[@funkyfranx]

No, sorry, you're completely wrong. What you're doing is forming bad habits that you'll have to unlearn. I'm doing EFL training and it's been hammered into me, do not use the language in an unnatural way to make it 'easier' for the students. It will screw them over later on.

[@zezus001]

i mean, i guess, but i think it'd be better to expose learners to natural everyday japanese rather than robotic unnatural japanese, even if it is just for language comprehension

[@thechosenone5644]

i didn’t realize you were still making videos lol

[@fuhkuhmi5175]

Yuta thank you i have so much time to owe you u making my Japanese learning so easy🙌🔥🙇

[@name3583]

And Yuta, how to pronounce "Hououin Kyouma (鳳凰院凶真)". Is it pronounced with a very long oh sound??

[@pookie7119]

na its pronounced "Okabe Rintaro (岡部 倫太郎)"

[@name3583]

@@pookie7119 Man... You got me there 😊

[@VSaccount]

its two long oh sounds like "hoh-oh-in"

[@name3583]

@@VSaccount How do you link the sound?

[@FundaTorun]

It is pronounced as "Labo membo 001 mado saintistu Hououin Kyouma de su! "

[@leafy3162]

Could you maybe do a review of the Marugoto textbook? We have started to use it at University last semester and I think the structure is a little different from textbooks like “Mina no Nihongo” for example 😄

[@YukiDelValle]

He could also take a look at the Minato online course, which is based on the Marugoto books.

[@joshm3484]

Textbook: Good day. How are you? Colloquial: Ey, howzit goan?

[@dungeontnt]

Surprisingly Duolingo got that one right, hana です is the example i remember... I stead of using わたしけ or something similar... That is interesting as they usually have bad, unnatural pronaunciation and are Only really useful for learning the characters in hiragana and katakana

[@ENJvideo]

I understand what you mean by unnatural. I tested the English curriculum on this app and that sounded unnatural too, so I figured it was setting me up to sound weird in Japanese. 🙄 I'm subscribed to your email list because I want to sound natural and not like a robot. I want to be able to communicate and travel without people thinking I'm weird.. 🤣

[@vanessameow1902]

I'm subscribed to his email list too but I rarely ever get any emails abt Japanese lessons or articles or anything really... Am I doing something wrong? What am I missing?

[@vanessameow1902]

@@garyescobar6831 oh hello racist-san.

[@slashbat2375]

I'm not sure how it is in japan, but when I know English or afrikaans isn't someone's first language I don't think they're weird for speaking formally or strangely. I doubt they'd think you're weird.

[@archieliam717]

my experience Japanese people are super friendly to anyone who speaks the language, no matter the color of skin. Also try checking the spam folder or promotions folder (gmail) if you can find his emails. Good luck じゃあ、またね

[@ViperOfMino]

@@archieliam717 Wtf does skin color have to do with anything lmao? That wasn't mentioned at all,

[@dievicii]

Please try Lingodeer! I wanna see how legit it is.. I actually like Lingodeer really much. It has "conversational features" too Which would be considered "natural speaking" Thank you for your reviews. It is really appreciated 😊

[@KatzeDerNacht22]

Hi fellow Lingo Deer lover!!!

[@chrisff1989]

I wasn't a fan of Lingodeer, very rigid about what kind of answers it considers acceptable

[@dievicii]

@@chrisff1989 if seen there is a new feature button to tap on if you think your answer is still correct 🤭 I personally had no issues with it but it would suck if you missing one space or something and it gets ignored LingoDeer is still specialized in Japanese, Korean and Chinese rather than other languages

[@alestane2]

Yeah but, won't it eat his bento?

[@pia_mater]

Lingodeer is like Duolingo 2.0, except that it's slightly less boring

[@kaiyang0183]

19:27 Hello Yuta, I want to know if in this sentence it would be a natural conversation if it had the TE form, great video by the way.

[@beybladeburstclips223]

I noticed that the newer version of Busuu had a real person saying a word in the beginning of first lesson. If possible then maybe you can give Busuu a new chance because I have seen how it changed. First time I saw a Doraemon picture but they replaced it with a real person 5:45

[@NicoSleepyLeen]

For me, if you want to learn Japanese, the best way is with a private teacher, be it on person or online, then you can study by yourself the rest of the time, but having somebody who speaks the language to check on your knowledge and explain things you don't understand in your own language is incredibly good and if you put some energy into it, you'll learn really fast

[@toku_u]

Could you possibly review Renshuu please Yuta? I've found that it's pretty well-designed but I'd enjoy an experts' opinion because there are undoubtedly quirks I have missed. I also use your mailing list and a bunch of other resources to learn but I think Renshuu is really cool!

[@kierascrafts]

I’m using Busuu to learn Spanish and I’m finding it useful especially when it comes to small pronunciation differences between dialects. Like ci and ce are pronounced one way in Spain and another why in other Spanish speaking countries. There’s a whole lesson about that on Busuu

[@Swerik]

22:45 I don't remember if the feature was already there when you tried Duolingo but they are replacing their entire Spoken Audio to (I guess native) speakers more and more. So almost no TTS anymore and they are using pitch accents (still a learner so can't really confirm that the pitch accents are correct) You can really hear it in the "Stories"-Tab

[@zacgarcia7164]

A polyglot I follow suggested to not worry too much about conjugation/grammar at first. Instead focus on learning vocabulary. If you use the wrong conjugation natives aren't going to say omg what is this gaijin saying lol. They will know what you are saying. It's better to know the words rather than how to properly conjugate or whatever. Would you agree with this approach for learning japanese?

[@Jay_in_Japan]

I don't think I've ever met someone who said, "どうぞ よろしく". It's always been "よろしく お願いします", and that's what I was taught in language school. I agree that we should be teaching phrases which are actually used.

[@TeaDrinker3000]

The app teaches you this later on. Yuta is just misleading.

[@zezus001]

@@TeaDrinker3000 misinformed*

[@noodle__Conans_version]

there is an video on Busuu. where they say what greeting u use on what time of the day

[@TheJadeFist]

25:00 Mark is マーク, like so what are the rules for katakana -ifying for words with Rs or Ls in them like that? I often see the R sound replaced with the vowel extender thingy. What if the word actually sounds like it should have an extended vowel and the ー makes sense to me to use there, does that make read like an R instead?

[@jessst7248]

I actually really like this app/website. As you go along in the lessons it gets to be a bit more relaxed. While it is clear that it’s textbook conversation, when you’re just trying to get the basics to jump into a really difficult language, it’s helpful. I use it along with other learning tools to practice and understand Japanese

[@jhiga9877]

The app didn’t say “Have fun”, it said “How fun”, which is basically like saying “This is fun”. (How fun [it is]! How rude [you are]!) How interesting [it is]!) Hmmmm “How fun” does sound like “Have fun”, but totally different!

[@brianluttrell]

It is kinda the same thing with people who aren't native English speakers. I would say that textbook English is very different from real English because there are many words that I know would be proper to use in a certain sentence but we just don't.

[@MilliumG]

The main thing about apps and books is they try to keep things as easy and simple as possible to the point where it can actually be harmful to the learning experience. At the end of the day they want your money and if they try to teach you too much at once they think you might give up which means no money for them. So they teach you very slowly very simply, giving you bread crumbs to keep you learning at a pace that requires you to keep giving them money every week month or whatever

[@Hyperxeon]

Recently I came across "renshuu" and it seems pretty good so far! They show you the pitch accents and sound to have an accurate intonation(..?), along with a course that can be tailored as you like. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[@Aikoblaze278]

I love renshuu, it's been very beginner for me unlike other apps I've tried. I wanted to start from the beginning beginning, like learning Hiragana, Katana and Kanji. Other apps have you learn words, greetings and numbers first but learning how to remember the character or say it doesn't stick at all. The games in renshuu are fun but I haven't learned words yet to do some of them. They recently added an RPG game for drawing drawing characters to defeat enemies that I find fun to do often. I cant speak on other aspects of learning from renshuu because I'm still finding time to complete the characters for Hiragana > -

[@kaylaklimas6058]

Weird question but could you tell me who the girl in your profile picture is?

[@Hyperxeon]

@@kaylaklimas6058 Inori Yuzuriha from Guilty Crown.

[@t.castro4493]

I saw that app and installed it on my phone but I haven't used it yet. Thanks for the information.

[@vito6707]

I was scrolling through yt and i saw your video and this reminded me about my day streak in Duolingo 10 minutes before 12am :D

[@stnhndg]

In a traditional view it's が that marks the subject of a sentence, not は, since you can turn almost anything into a topic (subject, direct/indirect object, place, time, random adverb etc). Though が has its own peculiarities, so I prefer to call it just 'focus particle'.

[@HavocBlack]

I am using Busuu right now. It has changed a lot and starts you working on learning hirigana first.

[@copingforever6093]

Honesty I think you can learn Japanese for free if you have strong motivation but if your motivation is weak not even the most expensive course will help you

[@Babelfish112]

"Tom-san ate bento and deer in the park." Wait WHAT

[@KatzeDerNacht22]

Have you reviewed Lingo Deer? I think it's the best out there to learn Japanese. Also hello from Mexico.

[@omegafala720]

internet spies on me, out of nowhere a video of busuu appears and I hadn't even researched about it, I had just downloaded busuu before...

[@FrozenBok]

I have copybooks (but not textbooks) of Japanese language (grammar, alphabet, phonetics; kanji; dictionary) with some warnings and notes, that makes the Japanese language natural.

[@ezraza_]

6:23 idk why but I find it funny that it sounds like she’s singing the sentence

[@Yotanido]

I could be wrong, but I feel like the nuance of a question can change depending on whether you use a question mark. Compare そうですか？ and そうですか。 I feel like they express vastly different ideas.

[@nandomax3]

I'm learning katakana and hiragana with lingo deer I'm using the Genki text book for grammar And I'm learning vocab on the way

[@leftjuice]

I just subscribed and you post this. Incredible coincidence! I was trying to study Japanese last year but had no money to pay for this app program so this plan was canceled. Interesting to hear what a native speaker would say about Busuu

[@h.4315]

I always find it strange whenever they translate こんにちは as "Hello" (which isn't time-sensitive) or "Good afternoon" (since こんにちは can be used in the late morning), especially when there is another phrase that better encapsulates it like "Good day". Even more so when a section of こんにちは could be literally be translated as "day" (今日は) instead of "afternoon".

[@Pavlinka__]

Do english natives ever use "good day"? Never seen it in wild. My language uses "good day" as a standard formal greeting (and it's not really that time sensitive, unless it's pitch black outside, people would probably use it instead of good afternoon/evening because it's just a greeting we're used to, so that's how it works in a different language) but even formal english emails I have received started with "hello", which I found very, eeww, because it sounds very informal to me, but idk. So if it is the case, that good day is never used, it's kinda weird to use it in a text book / study situation I think? I feel like you should translate phrases you're learning to phrases that have similar "vibe" in your native language. "Vibe" as in the formality of the words and situation of usage and who'd you tell that to etc.

[@watchmesquatch]

Maybe you should learn more. Lol. Imagine discriminating on something that is easily explained. Lolol!! You're lame.

[@Ano1nted]

Honestly Yuta I do watch all of your videos but I’ve never tried the learning Japanese with yuta, But Ibe started studying 4-5 hours a day in bussu and it’s turning out good I’ve managed to fully learn katakana/hiragana and the numbers up to 100 also learned clocks in 4 days

[@ThatJapaneseManYuta]

Learn Japanese with Yuta: bit.ly/39XTwzg

[@Caionnech]

I use Busuu now for some time. It is ridiculously easy and upfront childlike at the beginning, but... after some lessons it gets to the point were subjects are dropped and it tells you that often (in conntext) subjects are not nessesary. I am german, lernd english and now japanese and while thinking back, the english approch in school was identical. But as for every singel app or teaching method out there, nothing beats experiance with the real deal. I am far of from understanding anime and eaven farther away to read a newspaper. but over time, I will get there. What is good about Busuu (or not, deppends on the people) is that nativ speakers can correct you in sertan lessons or tasks given to you. I tryed to lern japanese for some time now, and with many apps or online schools but this time I think, I get somewere. at least I hope so.

[@apeckx5090]

recently I learned the best way to learn Japanese once you get past the absolute basics. My Japanese roommate has a phrase book for learning English. The English in the book isn't natural but the Japanese is really natural! So by a J - E phrasebook, you wont regret it.

[@jamaisnunca]

that explain why I always feel like japanese news or blogs actually seems easier than textbooks in terms of grammar

[@janey4319]

In my course at Keio University, we often are taught with saying "私は". But I think that is to learn the particles.

[@ben_sisko2149]

Fine, damn it! I'll subscribe to your course (really, though) XD. You're right on the fact that the most frustrating thing about online courses is that you could be studying for YEARS and still not being able to understand a normal conversation.

[@Kousaka_Kyousuke]

Men of culture report in

[@TheBombayMasterTony]

Good points and good explanations.

[@juilescieg]

About "Textbook - language" I think, we should not be to harsh with it. I belive, that it is important, in the beginning to learn those basic and very theoretical words and sentences. It helps to get understood by other people and it is kind of easy to grab. In germany there are, as in many countries, plenty of ways to say "hi, I am monika". Or just say the name wothout anything else. But I would not look at a forreign people in a weird way, if he comes to me and says: "hello. my name is gustav." or "good afternoon, my name is mike." He or any language leaning person will learn the other used expressions over time by himself. and they can not be teached by textbooks because every country has many regions with many different cultures. in bavaria, south of germany, they almost speak another language. east from germany, people tend to speak different as well. the greetings are different. and depending on the age and other influences the language changes almost every 5 or 10 years. So it is ok, in my opinion, if textbooks teach the basics. Everyone will understand it.

[@agustinbarquero8898]

No.

[@eliaslinsen7106]

Dayum my man Yuta do be looking real good with that haircut/facial combo

[@ncochran01]

Very helpful video. I've watched some JapanesePod videos. I could never understand what she said at the end or what it meant. Now I know it's Yoku dekimashita

[@kaushikimukherjee8700]

12:01 oregairu reference! (My Busuu app is wrong, as i expected)

[@Nayushe0]

Could you try LingoDeer please? I'm interested to know what you think

[@malolan98]

I'm just gonna comment about the awesome new hairstyle!

[@peanutross445]

I am learning Japanese through work (our parent company is a Japanese conglomerate) and my teacher has been using the Marugoto books. What do you think of these textbooks?

[@redolentblossom]

have you talked about lingodeer yet? i see a lot of ads for it

[@Adanos_ger]

having started with japanese on busuu lately it seems that the situation around TTS has improved. a lot of examples are actual audio (or video) pieces now with people speaking.

[@TheRedOGRE]

Busuu isnt all bad. While i understand some stuff is surface level and maybe too robotic for casual conversation, i still used it to learn hiragana and katakana and as a free service it was great for that.

[@Redeagle5747]

idk about duolingo on the web version but the mobile app version is pretty flexible for example the options are; [boku, no namae, ha, john, desu] but you can just say john desu and you actually can switch stuff like 庭に犬があります into 犬が庭にあります

[@loko1827]

犬にあるっていう言葉は使われないです...日本語では犬とか猫も人間みたいに扱う文化があるので「庭に犬がいます」、「犬が庭にいます」というのが正しいです🥺ちなみに基本的には最初の言葉が話者の強調したいトピックです

[@henrygreen2096]

2:00 I just want to add that I wouldn't do this with ANY language. I remember I got glowing remarks when I was learning french And I found out in a study session with my peers they all studied by trying to translate, or parse a sentence word by word. French and english you could probably get away with it, if you just want to pass a course, but it WILL harm your understanding of the language. Same when I was teaching arabic, I never translated word by word. I always avoid word by word interpretation unless people have a _solid_ understanding that you cannot actually do successfully. edits: Apps like these that use where you spell words using english letters (like at 6:30) are the bane of my existence. I'm not going to learn a language if I am too lazy to learn the basic lettering system.

[@MaoRatto]

When I see romanization, I'm half of the time. As someone with a 日本の辞書... I can't tell if something is grammar or something is a noun/concept/adjective. It's absolutely やべーinferating.

[@t.castro4493]

I actually learnt English via online translator, and I did it word for word. However, I was a kid and I learnt naturally. I don't think I'd be able to replicate that now. My native language is Portuguese.

[@pipkin5287]

The app will later guide you to install and use a Japanese keyboard, so this is just so as to not overwhelm people.

[@destroyerkitty9434]

Hey, Yuta! What application or method would you recommend to learn Japanese? I’ve taken a class but I’m looking to get back into it from the beginning.

[@hundvd_7]

He will teach you the kind of Japanese that real-life Japanese people today actually speak. So click the link and subscribe to his email group, Japanese with Yuuta.

[@rimenahi]

Just immerse bro.　ただ日本語に没頭すれば今この俺様みたいに「上手」に君もなりえる

[@spaghettiking653]

@@rimenahi なれる*

[@zamooti4505]

@@rimenahi 俺様 Fucking lmao

[@watchmesquatch]

@@rimenahi 😂😂

[@matteo-ciaramitaro]

Unlike Duolingo, when i take the busuu italian course you often get marked wrong for using a correct word if its not the word they wanted you to use. It definitely has benefits over duolingo but seems very rigid sometimes.