/jp/ - Otaku Culture

[Anonymous No.]

I am traveling to Tokyo this coming summer and I want to get a head start on learning some useful Japanese.

I started to research and it all looks a little overwhelming. Romanji, Hiragana. Katakana, so many directions I could take it.

What approach would /jp/ suggest for my needs? A native English speaker traveling to Japan for a few months.

[Anonymous of Croatia !na1byG1GU. No.]

>>1504091
Buy DS
Get MY JAPANESE COATCH.

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504091
Employ a Japanese interpreter who'll follow you everywhere.

[Anonymous No.]

first off: forget about romaji - it won't do you any good anyway

learn hiragana, katakana with flash cards
learn basic phrases like "ikura desu ka", etc.

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504100
I have a DS emulator, I'll see if I can download it.

[Anonymous of Croatia !na1byG1GU. No.]

>>1504111
http://ds.rom-news.org/d3wn/2783
Here.

[Anonymous No.]

This may seem like a stupid question, but does watching Anime make learning the language easier in the long run, compared to let's say trying to learn it cold turkey?

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504123
you'll only be able to pick up simple phrases, unless you REALLY pay attention.

at least that's how it's worked for me.

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504123
not really. you may memorize simple phrases, but thats about it. my friend thought he could by watching subbed anime, then the raws of it. failed.

[Anonymous No.]

let me get this straight. you are going to japan for a short vacation in less than 9 months and you want to learn the language within that time?
this isnt your grandmothers foreign language and you wont get far in that time since i guarantee you will fail if kana looks hard to you.

if you still want to try then spend 2 weeks to a month learning kana
then pick up genki and get to reading
get a mixi account and try to speak to some real elevens (i might be able to hook you up.)
then get kanken ds to learn some basic kanji.
if you succeed you will be able to ask where the bathroom is with ease. or i could save you the trouble and tell you how now since that is the only phrase you will need.

where is th [insert word]
『Word』wa doko desu ka.
phonetically [word] wa doekoe des ka.
use this and you will do fine.
also thank you is arigatou and you are welcome is douitashimashite.

[Anonymous No.]

saving you time
phrases to remember
how much is this
ikura desu ka
its too expensive
takasugiru
ill take that
kore o kudasai
where is the blank
blank wa doko des ka
how are you
genki des ka? (dont use this since you wont know how to respond to a conversation. just nod and smile)
My name is blank
Watashi no namae wa blank des
or

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504123
Learn the basics, (the first year, more or less) and then keep studying while watching anime on the side. I learned English that way, only with RPGs.

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504091
>I started to research and it all looks a little overwhelming. Romanji, Hiragana. Katakana, so many directions I could take it.
>Romanji

Troll.

[Anonymous No.]

you might want to know in which direction things are.

the nearest metro station, for example.

I think "metro station" is either chikatetsu eki, or maybe just chikatetsu.

"chikatetsu wa dochira desu ka"

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504200
dochira is which (of two)
i think doko would do fine since everyone would understand it as needing directions and probably point you in the right direction.

[Anonymous No.]

You'll have a terrible accent like every American, so don't bother

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504209
my tutor (native speaker) told me i had no accent when i spoke japanese. i guess thats because i spend so much time watching drama and listening to j-pop that i knew what to sound like.

[Anonymous No.]

Saying that to make you feel better, lalala

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504091
>I started to research and it all looks a little overwhelming. Romanji, Hiragana. Katakana, so many directions I could take it.
>Romanji
You learning Japanese from Alphabet（Romaji)...

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504228
there was no reason. it was like the first lesson. if she thought i sucked she could have just as easily kept it to herself. suck it fag, not everyone is terrible at learning another language.

[Anonymous No.]

Dude, you're going to Tokyo.
You won't need any Japanese skills.

[Anonymous No.]

Haha, a girl. Even more likely she was lying.

[Anonymous No.]

>>1504208
hmm..

but when a Japanese speaking person wants to ask "what country do you come from?", he'd say "anata no okuni wa dochira desu ka" (in which direction is your country).

or am I totally mistaken?

[Anonymous No.]

dochira is "which" for up to two things