Category Archives: 単語 Vocab

Inspiration and Preparation

The secret to fluency: there is none.

Actually: inspiration and hard work. The time you put in is skill you’ll get out.

Here are steps to get you going:

1. Get inspired – Find what motivates you; it is arguably the most important part of becoming fluent. This is a TED talk about becoming fluent in three months.

2. Use technology – Below is a list of apps we use to study/practice Japanese.

    imiwaImiwa is a dictionary to look up words in english or japanese (ramaji, hiragana, or kanji). I love it because I can look up compounds (multiple kanji words), kanji by radical, make vocab lists and favorites, and see example sentences.

    ankiAnki is a great app when using a good set of flashcards. It uses a Spaced Repetition System which keeps you super fresh, and can include audio and images.

    genki_voacb_appGenki is a series of textbooks as well as apps that are very well designed. As of this writing there are three apps: Vocab, Kanji, and Conjugation.


    google_translateGoogle Translate
    is awesome for looking up words and sometimes it gets translations pretty close too. It’s most fun and useful to draw in kanji and look them up.

 

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