Japanese Talk
@japanesetalk.bsky.social
Tips and tricks for learning Japanese language through novels, manga, anime, podcasts, etc. (JLPT N1. Translator. Live in Japan.) Don't just study Japanese, use it! 勉強だけでなく日本語は、使えば使うほど上手になるんです。 100% HUMAN. 🇯🇵 jtalkonline.com ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/G2G5AEBW
One of the biggest problems people have when studying Japanese is to retain vocabulary and kanji. Heads up - forgetting vocabulary and kanji is an everyday occurence - it happens to the best of us (even to me). But that's not only a bad thing. It encourages you to take a closer look at what you
Finished my twelfth Japanese book of this year! 大人になったら is about 35-year-old Mei who's trying to work out what she wants in life. Most of her friends are married with kids while she hasn't had a relationship in eight years, and she's in the same job she got when she graduated. ★★★☆☆ JP level: N2
Next week sees the release of a new film called 『ファーストボイス』(First Voice). It's based on a case which was called Japan's first sexual harassment trial. It helped introduce the term セクシャル・ハラスメント to the broader public. www.bengo4.com/c_5/c_1623/c...
「9割以上負けると思った」日本初のセクハラ裁判、弁護団のレジェンドが語った舞台裏 - 弁護士ドットコムニュース
「セクシャル・ハラスメント」が新語・流行語大賞（新語部門・金賞）に選ばれたのは1989年のこと。「セクハラ」という言葉はすっかり定着しているが、40年ほど前まで、そうした概念を指す言葉は日本にはなかった...
bengo4.com
WaniKani literally yesterday when I hit level 20: “drilling is no longer sufficient; get your ass in front of some Japanese text and fucking read. it’ll be ugly and you’ll probably be figuring out the grammar on the fly, but it is important to put this knowledge you crammed into your brain into use”
🏳️⚧️ Bog Witch Girl 🏳️⚧️@bogwitch-girl.bsky.social · 3d agoit’s good incentive to keep reading, certainly and it’s nothing against the scanlator because I know they did a good job with the other title they’re working on I have a digital corpus to read in Japanese with a scanlation to compare at the end of each chapter, though, which is good practice!
I forgot what it's like to be a beginner at a language and freeze when talking to natives, even if you practiced loads. It's very frustrating. If you find yourself in that situation, don't give up! Keep challenging yourself and try to speak as much as you can, even if you freeze a few times.
Pspsps if you are learning languages & DON'T have a Natively account, what are you doing??? It's a fantastic, free resource for finding books & media at your level for Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, English, & French! learnnatively.com A "recommendations" feature is in beta now too! 👀 #langsky
Natively | Find native books, movies and tv shows at your level
We'll help you find books, movies and TV shows at your level!
learnnatively.com
Or, buy my Intermediate Japanese study guide, if you're more advanced. Over 100 pages of intermediate Japanese grammar with sample sentences, modeled after the Genki textbooks.
Intermediate Japanese Study Guide (JLPT N4) - Sarah Moon's Ko-fi Shop
I've made a 102-page study guide that outlines most of the lessons in the Genki 2 textbook. I use my own example sentences to illustrate grammar, and ...
ko-fi.com
This flower is called 彼岸花(ひがんばな) higan-bana, red spider lily It's blooming just around お彼岸 o-higan, a Buddhist custom to show appreciation for your ancestors. You might have seen it in anime, for example, Kimetsu No Yaiba, Demonslayer. Ohigan is one of the topics of my latest podcast episodes⬇️
I think this article from the Japan Times on how to get into reading gives bad advice. It mostly says "if you're a beginner read baby books then move onto children's books, manga, and YA books" but that's not actually good for Japanese learners. 🧵 www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/09...
How to get a start in reading books in Japanese
From picture books to manga and young adult fiction, here’s how to find Japanese books that match your language level.
japantimes.co.jp
Friendly reminder that Duolingo was initially concieved to trick people into translating articles for free, which they later used as training data for MTL algorithms. Duolingo's primary purpose has NEVER been about teaching you a language, even from the start! slate.com/technology/2...
Japanese Talk@japanesetalk.bsky.social · last wk.It really irks me when people share their 300, 600, 1000 day Duolingo streaks but still don't know how to use Japanese. Here's an explanation for why apps like Duolingo don't work for learning to any fluency. jtalkonline.com/why-apps-lik...
Now that I've read the book again, I have some ~updated opinions~. In my original post I said it was a dry read but that is false! Either I was too young to really appreciate the themes covered (I read it 10 years ago), or too frustrated trying to understand it, or a combination of the two.
_myooooon@birdbrain.dev · 2w agoMy long-form Japanese reading journey started with this book. I've been meaning to toss it out, but not before reading it again, so I'm going to do that this week. It's a really, really dry read though. I've filled it with (now) embarrassing annotations all over. It's nice to see progress like this
i cant stop thinking about this article because i genuinely despise duolingo so much. my feelings go beyond "i dont think its very good" to "its literally a waste of your time that tricks you into THINKING you're doing something productive" which i find repulsively evil. very good article
Japanese Talk@japanesetalk.bsky.social · last wk.It really irks me when people share their 300, 600, 1000 day Duolingo streaks but still don't know how to use Japanese. Here's an explanation for why apps like Duolingo don't work for learning to any fluency. jtalkonline.com/why-apps-lik...
TRUE! 👏🏼 Imo if you want a more effective way of learning japanese on your phone/pc you have: - Anki: free, customisable srs app. Great for vocab & kanji - Youtube: loads of vids in/about jp. For learning and entertainment! - Bunpro: grammar explanations + sentences Escape the owl, learn jp fr 🫡
Japanese Talk@japanesetalk.bsky.social · last wk.It really irks me when people share their 300, 600, 1000 day Duolingo streaks but still don't know how to use Japanese. Here's an explanation for why apps like Duolingo don't work for learning to any fluency. jtalkonline.com/why-apps-lik...
It really irks me when people share their 300, 600, 1000 day Duolingo streaks but still don't know how to use Japanese. Here's an explanation for why apps like Duolingo don't work for learning to any fluency. jtalkonline.com/why-apps-lik...
Why Apps Like Duolingo Don’t Work for Japanese - Japanese Talk
I’ve been learning Japanese for twenty years, but it hasn’t been consistent. I’ve stopped and started, bounced around multiple different study methods, and overall had a very slapdash approach to the ...
jtalkonline.com
I can’t speak for anyone else ofc, but I sincerely believe anyone can learn enough Japanese to enjoy popular media and if you really care that much about the nuances of the language I can’t imagine what would be more rewarding than that
Wobbling on about nothing of great importance, but something I hope may help others (I think I made too many examples for myself, oops). curiositi.es/2026/09/18/l...
Language Learning Motivation – The Irreplaceable Moments
Occasionally I get asked what motivates me to keep studying Japanese. Learning a whole other language isn’t easy, and it doesn’t just end (although obviously there’s a plateau somewhere where it’s …
curiositi.es
If anyone decides to work in Japan, remember, the days can get REALLY long. So glad it's a 5 day weekend.
If you’re learning #Japanese, something you may have heard is “don’t translate in your head” but realistically you’d ask "how do I move away from translating in my head?" So I've been trying a method that mimics organic learning using example sentences, but not just generic sentences…
My long-form Japanese reading journey started with this book. I've been meaning to toss it out, but not before reading it again, so I'm going to do that this week. It's a really, really dry read though. I've filled it with (now) embarrassing annotations all over. It's nice to see progress like this
Fun fact: "Reviewing an AI made translation" is more work for translators than just translating it themselves, because AI translations do not pass the sniff test beyond the most superficial. It's a loophole companies use as an excuse to underpay translators, and nothing else.
Kyrie Page@kyriepage.bsky.social · 3w agoGOD DAMMIT
Just going to say I bounced off immersion learning and Anki so hard when I started learning Japanese. I think they're not very effective unless you already have a strong understanding of the basics (at least up to N3). But I understand that some beginners love them and that's how they learn best.
Want To Learn Japanese? Retro Games Are Your Friend
Want To Learn Japanese? Retro Games Are Your Friend
Your old import games can be teaching aids, too
timeextension.com
Coming up next week!📚 Join us on September 12th (JST) for a special look into the world of Japanese-to-English manga localization and editing with Sarah Tangney (@sarasaraht.bsky.social) from Square Enix Manga & Books!🤩 Don't miss it! Sign up here: t.co/CDMRlYcsU8
Japanese street interview channel I think might be good for beginners: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA6V... Usually, these types of video aren't good. Lots of bad/creepy questions/hosts. But I think this guy seems very pleasant and talks to a range of different people
What Did Japanese People Do Today? | Easy Japanese Street Interviews (N5–N4)
YouTube video by Japanese with Shun
youtube.com
I've met a few people now who are in Japan studying Japanese but unable to get beyond beginner level speaking and listening, and I've noticed it's because they don't listen. They're the type of people who talk AT you, not with you. Japanese is very hard if you're not capable of listening to others.
Intermediate Japanese trap: It's all too easy to fall into the trap of looking at the far-end of your goals and to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the level of Japanese required. Be kind to yourself, and focus on your growth so far and the fun of the journey.
