how can I start memorizing hiragana? Can you give me tips to start learn Japanese?
Hello @waitingeternalrest, thank you for asking me... You are the fist one to ask! So I was shocked to receive an "ask".
Just a heads-up though, my first Language is Japanese. I was born and studied in Japan until 9 years old. So for me, "learning Japanese" was like a refresher to me. I easily understand the word, and I can still communicate well. But reading Kanji is my biggest obstacle, so I focused more on that area.
So the tips I'll give you are more inclined towards the "refresher" perspective. But I think everyone can still apply it.
Practice writing
Practice writing Hiragana, or other Japanese character. It is easier for us to remember the certain character this way.
Shadow Reading
You can practice your reading skill by using shadowing technique. In this technique, you will play the speaker audio, and you will try to read along with it.
In this way, you will know if you read the word correctly, and also the pronunciation.
Try this app:
It is free, and also there's a furigana option, so you can see the correct way to read the Kanji word.
Sing with lyrics
This is a fun way to practice reading Japanese. Although I admit this might be advanced method (because it does not provide furigana), but you can learn faster this way. Try to sing along with the lyrics, and observe what characters used.
I do this method on Spotify.
Play games
Another fun method to learn Japanese, is to play using Japanese as the language. I remember when I was a kid, I learned my Hiragana and Katakana by playing games on TV (sorry I forgot the name of the console, but it is very popular in Japan for learning purposes for kids under 7 years old).
I recommend playing pokemon, as the level of Japanese used is beginner's friendly.
Also you can play by quiz type set up.
This app also include Hiragana and Katakana. You can play/study by choosing one of the study method as a quiz.
I hope these tips will help you!
