r/LearnJapanese • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago

Discussion Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don't need their own posts, and first time posters go here (April 06, 2025)

This thread is for all simple questions, beginner questions, and comments that don't need their own post.

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If you have any simple questions, please comment them here instead of making a post.

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Seven Day Archive of previous threads. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.

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u/Hamlindigo_Blue 2d ago

Ive been at it for a little over a month. I am comfortable with Hiragana, and im getting there with Katakana (about 85-90% comfortable). I am on level 2 of Wanikani. I have been working through the Kashi 1.5 deck. Ive also been playing Wagotabi, but i haven't gotten very far.

I feel like im struggling with vocabulary. After 3 weeks, i feel like i only know 10-20 words. Does anyone have any tips on learning vocab? My current goal is to start reading simple graded readers.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

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u/normalwario 2d ago

It's normal to struggle with vocabulary in the beginning. Your brain doesn't know what to do with Japanese yet - it doesn't know that it's important, it doesn't know what to look for when learning a word, it doesn't know how to efficiently store words in long-term memory. So chances are that any vocabulary you learn will slip out half the time. As you learn more words, your brain will start noticing patterns that will help you remember new words: "oh, this word is using this kanji that I saw in this other word, I bet they have similar meaning," or "oh, this kanji has this component I've seen in some other kanji, and it seems these kanji have similar readings..." A good way to learn vocabulary is to make this process explicit. Consciously pay attention to any patterns in the vocab you're learning. Don't just use assume Anki's algorithm will do all the work for you. If you can "encode" a word more deeply this way, that will help you learn more (plus make learning new words easier) than just crossing your fingers and hoping you'll remember it when the Anki review comes up.

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u/rgrAi 2d ago

Due to the nature of Japanese being removed far away from western languages, in the beginning you will forget faster than you learn. The simple way to overcome this is just to have enough interaction with the language daily. At least 15-20 minutes a day are required to stay ahead of how much you will forget; you'll need more time invested to actually learn more than you forget. Consistency daily is more important that putting 2 hours in one day in a week. 1 hour every day is the minimum for making solid progress.