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Learning Kana

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rebeccawitham7774
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Posts: 3
Joined: January 29th, 2016 5:57 am

Learning Kana

Postby rebeccawitham7774 » January 29th, 2016 6:43 am

I am an absolute beginner and have been trying to learn the two kana for a long time, but nothing seems to stick!
I am extremely frustrated and was wondering if someone had some advice for someone just starting out?
I believe mnemonics to be helpful, but wondering if there is any other way? :D

community.japanese
Expert on Something
Posts: 2704
Joined: November 16th, 2012 8:54 am

Re: Learning Kana

Postby community.japanese » February 1st, 2016 10:52 am

rebeccawitham7774 san,
konnichiwa.
If you are frustrated and you don’t need to read kana at the moment, you can practice others only.
Of course four skills are related each other and your kana reading skill helps your other skills.
Also if you can read kana, your pronunciation will be better than now.
However, you can enjoy speaking only at the moment.
The most important point is you should enjoy learning Japanese.
If you still want to memorize kana, how about download app to your smart phone and have drill practices every day?
:)
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Yuki  由紀

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rebeccawitham7774
New in Town
Posts: 3
Joined: January 29th, 2016 5:57 am

Re: Learning Kana

Postby rebeccawitham7774 » February 2nd, 2016 4:52 am

Thanks you Yuki!
Yes, I downloaded some apps on my phone and I practice the kana everyday but sometimes it's hard to remember all of them!
I will also try and concentrate on speaking, too!
Thanks for your advice :D :flower: :kokoro:

Jaagjah
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Joined: December 24th, 2015 1:35 am

Re: Learning Kana

Postby Jaagjah » February 2nd, 2016 8:29 am

Here's what I did;

1.) Write down a row of 5 kana.
2.) Flip the paper over and try to write the same kana.
3.) Repeat until successful.
4.) Write down another row of 5 kana.
5.) Repeat step 2.
6.) Repeat until successful.
7.) Now on a separate piece of paper. Try to write down the 10 kana you just practiced.
8.) Correct any mistake and fill in any blanks (Ones you forgot).
9.) Repeat.
10.) Once successful, move onto a new set of 5.

Repeat this until you're able to write down all of the hiragana and katakana. Different brains may require different methods of learning for best results.

rebeccawitham7774
New in Town
Posts: 3
Joined: January 29th, 2016 5:57 am

Re: Learning Kana

Postby rebeccawitham7774 » February 4th, 2016 5:51 am

Thanks your advice :D
It's true that different brains learn differently - I will have to figure out how mine works!!!

jim.schuler
Established Presence
Posts: 71
Joined: July 19th, 2015 7:57 pm

Re: Learning Kana

Postby jim.schuler » February 4th, 2016 7:51 am

To learn hiragana, I conjugated verbs. You will run into the overwhelming majority of characters this way if you choose the right conjugations to hit. Take 待つ, for example

Plain: 待つ
Polite: 待ちます
Negative: 待たない
Potential: 待てる
Volitional: 待とう

And like that, I've run the whole t row while also writing the kanji out five times.

Of course, I'm not so good with the n's. :D

community.japanese
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Re: Learning Kana

Postby community.japanese » February 11th, 2016 8:20 am

jim.schuler さん、
こんにちは。
They are correct.
Well done. :D
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community.japanese
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Re: Learning Kana

Postby community.japanese » February 11th, 2016 8:22 am

rebeccawitham7774 san,
konnichiwa.
Ganbatte kudasai. :)
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community.japanese
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Posts: 2704
Joined: November 16th, 2012 8:54 am

Re: Learning Kana

Postby community.japanese » February 11th, 2016 10:43 am

Jaagjah san,
Konnichiwa. :)
Thank you for sharing your study tips.
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