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[18] Pronouncing The First Five Hiragana

“Shame is the leading cause of death of the potential for actualizing giftedness.” - Maria Rocamora

I skipped a lot of pages before this as i had heard a lot of this stuff before when going through, basically there are 46 letters in this alphabet or syllabus syllalry sylabary blaaahhhhh something and it follows a magical pattern and the first five hiragana are the most important. you need to learn the sounds but i had already heard the sounds before, i also prefer to memorise the symbols by mnemonics which are visual based learning and also a website which times your procedure i guessing all 46 letters hopefully those links appear in this textfugu.

The first five hiragana are the most important five to learn. They set the foundation for every other kana in the entire hiragana alphabet. If you learn these five well (and properly), you’ll learn the rest of them well (and properly). If you do a bad job learning these five, it’ll hold you back for a long, long time. That being said, you should spend some time on these five.

Let’s take a look at them, one by one.

あ (a)

“a” is pronounced like the “a” in “car.”

い (i)

“i” is pronounced like “eeee,” or the “ey” sound in “key.” Think of it like you’re saying the letter “e” (not pronouncing it, but reading the letter).

う (u)

“u” is pronounced “ooh,” like saying “ooh ahh” when fireworks are going off.

え (e)

“e” is pronounced “eh” like the “e” in “egg” or “elephant”

お (o)

“o” is pronounced “oh” like in “oh my gosh”

Before you move on, I’d like you to be able to do the pronunciation of these five kana really well. I don’t care if you can associate the actual writing part of it. That doesn’t matter right now. I just want you to be able to look at the romaji (the a, i, u, e, or o) and then pronounce it in Japanese, using the audio provided above.

Every other column after these first five follow the same pattern (you’ll see once you jump to the next page), so learn these well now so everything else can be a lot simpler for you.

If you’d like some extra practice, here’s a video you can follow along with.

Make sure you can pronounce the five kana above, from memory, before moving on. Go ahead and look at a kana and then try and do the pronunciation. After that, play the sound and see how you did. Make adjustments as you need to in order to replicate the sounds above. Once you have them all down, memorize the five as a group. You should be able to say all of them (a, i, u, e, o) all in a row, one after another (kind of like in the video above). This will help you remember and learn the pattern that you need for the rest of the columns.

[17] Japanese Pronunciation Using Hiragana

Teaching reading IS rocket science - Louisa Moats

Before you start reading, and before you start writing, you’re going to learn how to pronounce nearly all the “sounds” of the Japanese language. If you can’t pronounce anything, you won’t be able to read or write anything either. If you learn how to pronounce something while you’re learning to read and write it, you’ll run into overload. By learning pronunciation first (without knowing how to read or write anything) you’re essentially breaking the process up into smaller pieces and ultimately saving yourself a lot of time.

In order to learn the pronunciation, though, we’re going to use hiragana. For the most part, by learning the pronunciation of all the hiragana “letters” you’ll be able to learn most of the sounds in the Japanese language. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone. First, you get to learn hiragana, and second you get to learn pronunciation of the Japanese language.

So, let’s get going, eh?

[16] Why?

“There comes a moment when you have to stop revving up the car and shove it into gear.” – David Mahoney

In the following chapters you’ll be learning about Japanese pronunciations (i.e. the sounds that make up the Japanese language). We’re using hiragana (which you learned about last chapter) to learn all these sounds (since hiragana makes up most of the sounds available to you in Japanese).

You’re learning the sounds of all the hiragana before you learn the hiragana themselves because pronunciation comes first (I believe). When you learn hiragana, it will be a lot easier because you know the sounds that they make (learning the sounds helps you to wrap your head around the kana, which will help you to learn the kana faster, overall).

So, you’re learning the sounds of hiragana now so you can learn how to read and write hiragana more effectively later (though not that much later… pretty soon, in fact!).

In this chapter you should focus on being able to make all the sounds. You don’t need to know which sound goes with which character (yet), but it will be great if you can make all the sounds correctly and understand the patterns behind the sounds. Pronunciation is key this chapter.

[15] Practice

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” – Benjamin Franklin

Hey, welcome to your very first practice page. What’s a practice page? Basically it’s an opportunity to put all your reviews, new cards (you don’t have any yet) and everything else in one place. The goal is to make sure you know what you just learned and then to make it even better before you move on. At the end of most chapters there will be a “practice” section. Take your time with these and make sure you complete everything. All the practice pages have important stuff in them, so if you skip them you’re going to find things getting harder and harder as you move forward (and that’s no fun).

Questions

This practice page, however, is particularly short and easy. Just a few questions to make sure you know the differences between the alphabets. You don’t have to know the alphabets yet (or at all), I just want you to have a general idea of what they all do so you know what you’re learning as you move forward. Here are the four “alphabets,” just for reference:

Romaji

Hiragana

Katakana

Kanji

1. Should I bother to learn romaji? Click For Answer

No, it’s pretty much useless.

2. Which “alphabet” is used to write all the “vocabulary words.” Answer

Kanji

3. Where did kanji come from? Answer

China! Bonus: It came from China from people reading burnt turtle shell cracks as messages from the Gods.

4. Which “alphabet” do you use to write foreign words? Answer

Katakana

5. Which “alphabet” tends to be more “boxy shaped” and “rigid.” Answer

Katakana again!

6. Do Hiragana & Katakana consist of the same sounds? Answer

Yep!

7. Which “alphabets” are you going to learn on TextFugu? Answer

Hiragana, katakana, and kanji

8. Which “alphabet” would you use to write the “Roma” in Romaji (Roma = Rome)Answer

Katakana, since “Rome” is a foreign word imported to Japanese

Language Log

Since you have a language log set up, we might as well make use of it. Make sure you write notes on the four “alphabets” in Japanese. It depends on how solid you’re feeling right now, but here’s some suggestions of things to write down.

A quick summary of what each of the Japanese “alphabets” do.

How you felt about this chapter (i.e. did you have trouble anywhere? Did everything just connect? Did you feel focused, unfocused, etc?

Write more about the one(s) you are having trouble remembering. Try to pretend you’re teaching someone else about them, as that’s an awesome way to sort out any speed bumps in your own mind (and a great way to remember things better).

Mainly, focus on what gives you trouble. Those that focus on the trouble spots are those who get ahead. I know it’s hard to do things that are difficult, but if you do the difficult things, then only easy things remain!

Once you’ve gotten through everything, move on to the next chapter. You’re going to start to learn hiragana (remember which one that is?).

[14] Kanji (漢字)

“The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort.” – Paulo Coelho

Kanji are the “Chinese characters” that make up a very large part of the Japanese written language. To get by really comfortably in Japan, you’ll want to know around 2000 kanji (2500-3000 if you’re going into academics there). That’s like learning a very very long and complicated set of ABCs that consists of way more than 26 letters.

When it comes to studying and learning Japanese, kanji is what most Japanese scholars, such as yourself, often come to fear the most, and there are plenty of reasons why kanji can be terrifying. The main reason, I think, is the variety that goes on with each individual kanji. Each symbol probably has several pronunciations attached to it, making kanji a lot more complicated than just the symbols themselves. Here’s what happened:

Kanji was introduced to Japan via China multiple times over the course of a few hundred years. One Chinese dynasty would pronounce a particular symbol (kanji) one way, and another would pronounce it another way. Various Chinese dynasties kept on taking over China, thus exporting different kanji pronunciations to Japan over the years (depending on which Chinese dynasty had the most influence). Japan thought “hey, instead of replacingpronunciations, let’s just use all of them!” thus giving each kanji multiple ways to pronounce them. On top of that, the Japanese also applied their own (Japanese language) on top of kanji, which means there’s almost always a Japanese pronunciation for each kanji too (on top of multiple Chinese pronunciations). This makes kanji learning really tough and complicated for most people.

Basically, you’ll have a lot of work to do. Feel free to cry on my shoulder if you’d like, you big crybaby.

Kanji is made up of nouns, adjectives and verbs. Basically, anything you could consider “vocabulary” probably is written at least partially in kanji, which is why you need to learn so many of them.

Now, hopefully I haven’t scared you. Kanji learning is only terrifying when you learn them like a Japanese school kid (that’s right, Japanese people don’t know how to learn their own language). Not to toot our own Fugu-horn, but TextFugu’s kanji learning method is one of the best out there (and one of the only ones that actually makes sense). You’ll be learning kanji using TextFugu faster than you ever thought possible. If you’ve ever tried to learn kanji before, you’ll really notice the difference. If you haven’t… well, consider yourself lucky.

You’ll start to learn kanji soon enough, though, so let’s just forget about it for now. Right now I want you to focus on hiragana, which is what the next chapter is all about. あいうえOKAY!

Accomplishment! By finishing this page, you’ve read about and learned about the four Japanese alphabets. Now that you know what all four of them are, you can start learning them (then figure out how they work with each other to create the Japanese language).

[13] Katakana (カタカナ)

カン　ユー　リード　ディス？　ーコウイチ

Katakana is a bit of fun. In general, katakana is more angular, sharp, and full of corners. It has the exact same sounds as hiragana, though the symbols are all different. Sounds great, right? Essentially, you’ll be learning the same exact “alphabet” twice (what fun!) but write each symbol differently. For example:

Hiragana: あ, pronounced “ah”

Katakana: ア, pronounced “ah”

And there’s plenty more where that came from.

That might make you wonder why you even need to learn katakana (besides the fact that you need to know it to read / write in Japanese). So, how is katakana normally used and what makes it different from, say, hiragana?

Foreign Words: The Japanese use a lot of “borrowed” words. This includes things like foreign words (for example, the word for bread in Japanese is “pan” which was introduced by the Portuguese, who say pão, which probably got converted to the French Pain, therefore it’s written in katakana). Basically, borrowed words are converted into Japanese sounds. Sometimes they sound similar, sometimes they sound nothing like the original word. You’ll see more what I mean as you begin to learn the sounds available to the Japanese language.

Scientific Words: A lot of scientific words are written in katakana. Luckily for you, this textbook won’t be focusing on these kinds of words.

Onomatopoeia: The Japanese love their onomatopoeia (words that imitate actual sounds, like “boom” or “roar!”). These kinds of words are often used in Japanese daily language, and once you’re able to use it casually in conversation, you’ll know you’re pretty good at Japanese then. We’ll spend time covering onomatopoeia in future chapters, though it won’t happen until you’re at a more intermediate / advanced level.

Emphasis: It’s kind of like when you italicize words in English. Instead of italicizing things, you can just write them in katakana instead.

Food: Sometimes you’ll see food items on a menu written in katakana. This is a pretty good thing to know if you’re visiting Japan and don’t have enough time to study properly. You can study katakana, and then you’ll be able to know what you’re ordering at a restaurant (around 30% of the time, perhaps, depending on what kind of restaurant). It’s a good little hack if you’re doing some last minute studying before a big trip. We’ll be learning katakana a bit later (in Season 3). You’ll have a ton of fun learning it, I’m sure. Speaking of which, did you know the Japanese don’t really understand sarcasm?

Anyways, just enjoy your katakana-free lifestyle while you can, it’s coming (cue Jaws soundtrack).

[12] Hiragana (ひらがな)

Hiragana (ひらがな)Hiragana is “feminine, curvaceous, and lovable” - Gakuranman

Hiragana is going to be your main phonetic “alphabet,” and it’s also going to be the first thing that you learn. By learning hiragana first, you’ll get a lot of benefit. Some people “learn” romaji first, but as you now know, that’s a big waste of your time. Not only that, but we’re going to learn hiragana real fine (say that in a thick Southern accent for better effect), and spend a little extra time with this curvaceous, lovable, “alphabet.” Why would I want to make you suffer more right now (don’t worry, it’s not actually that bad) so you can laugh in the face of Japanese later? Let us count the ways.

Hiragana first means learning your Japanese pronunciation early. This will help you sound less like a foreigner.

Hiragana will help you understand how Japanese works, on a deeper, technical level.

Hiragana gives you a great foundation for learning Japanese. It’s a splendid place to start.

By learning hiragana now (and learning it well), you’ll really speed up what you’ll be able to learn later. Since almost all of our initial learning will be in hiragana, the faster you get over learning it, the faster you’ll be able to focus on what’s actually important (you know, everything else!).

I want you to suffer a little bit. Think of hiragana as a test – if you can’t do this, then you probably don’t actually want to learn Japanese enough. So, my question to you is… do you want it? Okay, who’s still left? Great to have you!

So, how is hiragana used in Japanese? There’s a few different ways, and you’ll experience all of them pretty soon, but it’s good to get an idea now so that you can expect these things later on, as you’re learning the hiragana itself. Hiragana is used in…

Difficult kanji: You’ll learn to love this one. When a kanji (kanji are the Chinese characters, you’ll learn about them soon) is too difficult (too many strokes!), a lot of times it’s better, easier and more common to write things out in hiragana instead.

Words with no kanji: Sometimes there’s a word that doesn’t have a kanji… so, you get to use hiragana instead (or katakana, depending).

Particles: In English, this basically means all those little words that connect other words together. Things like “and,” “or,” etc. When it comes to things like this, you’ll be using hiragana.

Suffixes: A lot of Japanese words end with suffixes. One big example is names. Maybe you’ve heard this before? At the end of a name you’ll often see the suffix “-san” attached. It’s a nice little honorific, and it’s something we’ll talk more about soon, so you don’t go and insult somebody.

Verb & Adjective Inflections: It’s not something you need to understand right now, but hiragana is also used to give context to verbs and adjectives. The hiragana attached to a verb is what tells us if a word is past tense, present, negative, and more! We’ll learn more on this later as we get into verbs and adjectives, so don’t worry about it now, just know that it exists.

There’s plenty more to be done with hiragana, but before we do that, we should take a look at the remaining two “alphabets” really quick. We won’t dilly dally, either.

[11] Romaji (Romaji)

Romaji is completely useless. Don’t learn it because you already know it - Koichi

Romaji is the “Romanization of Japanese.” If you are reading this text, then you already know romaji. Basically, it’s just the English alphabet, and although there are some funny rules when using it to write in Japanese, it’s actually pretty self explanatory… oh, and did I mention pretty much useless to learn?

Fun Fact: You can break “Romaji” into two pieces. “Roma” (ローマ) is “Rome” in Japanese. “Ji” (字) means “character” or “letter.” Combine the two, and you get ローマ字, which literally means “Rome Characters.” Makes a lot of sense, right?

But, this is Japanese we’re talking about. There’s pretty much no reason to learn too much more about romaji since a) it isn’t really that useful for learning Japanese, at least in the long term, and b) you already know how to use it for the most part. Take a look at some examples:

Karate, sake, sumo, sushi, sashimi, bento, etc…

There’s a good chance you knew a lot of these words. They’re still “Japanese,” the only difference is we wrote them using the English alphabet.

Unfortunately, romaji is actually pure evil, so I won’t waste your time with it. Although this text will be using romaji for a few chapters more, during that time you’ll be hard at work learning the next Japanese “alphabet,” hiragana so we can ditch the useless romaji. Trust me, romaji might help you learn Japanese faster in the (very) short term, but if you’re actually serious about learning Japanese, you’ll want to spend your valuable time focusing on hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

Really Common Question: But I just want to learn how to speak Japanese. Why learn the other “alphabets” when romaji could theoretically teach me how to do that? Answer: Although that’s technically true (you don’t need hiragana, katakana, and kanji to learn how to speak / understand Japanese) it will help you out a lot to learn these things, even if your focus is on speaking / listening. The ability to write in Japanese really shows and breaks up sentence structure and grammar, and also helps a lot with vocabulary. Basically, learning how to read and write really shows you how the Japanese language works. This text is all about showing you whysomething is the way it is. Going purely with romaji would be taking the pure memorization route, and straight up memorization works for almost nobody (unless you’re Rain Man, in which case you probably don’t need TextFugu, and should ask for a refund).

Want more specifics on why we aren’t spending much time on romaji? Here you go:

There are too many different ways to write romaji. I’ve seen around five different “schools of thought” on how romaji should be written. With all these differences, it makes it hard for beginners to know how to pronounce certain things when written this way. Hiragana, katakana, and kanji on the other hand, are nice and consistent (oh, and did I mention useful?).

Romaji will slow you down, in the long run. Only so much you can do before romaji will actually become a handicap to your Japanese learning.

You’ll miss out. There are so many potential Japanese study resources out there that require you to at least know hiragana. If you can’t do that, you’re missing out big time.

People don’t use romaji in Japan, so neither should you. Sure, you’ll see it from time to time, but 99.9% of the time you’ll be using anything but romaji.

Romaji will hurt your pronunciation. The English alphabet wasn’t made for reading and writing Japanese. If you use it, there are some things that don’t quite mesh right, which means your pronunciation may be hurt.

Anyways, now that we’ve spent all our time learning why you shouldn’t learn romaji, let’s spend some time knowing about things you should learn. Next page is all about hiragana.

[10] The Japanese Alphabets…All Four Of Them

“When I was having that alphabet soup, I never thought that it would pay off.” - Vanna White

There are going to be a few people out there (most likely not you) who are going to immediately say “the Japanese don’t use ‘alphabets,’ they use ‘syllabaries,’ duh!”

Before you do that, let me talk about something really quick. This also gives me a great opportunity to talk about something interesting about learning and education (as well as how TextFugu is different).

“The Curse Of Knowledge” is when someone knows too much about a subject. It causes teachers to make too many assumptions about what people know (and don’t know), which then causes them to be abstract and confusing. Here’s an example.

When you’re a kid, you learn that electrons circle the nucleus just like planets circle the sun. The thing is, they don’t do that, they exist around nuclei in “probability clouds.” Now, don’t ask me what that means, but the point I’m trying to make is that sometimes you have to teach people things that are technically incorrect in order to get them closer to the accurate information. Imagine telling little kids about probability clouds. They wouldn’t understand a thing, and would come away frustrated and confused.

That being said, I’m using the word “alphabets” to describe the syllabaries that make up the Japanese language. It’s so important to use and associate new information with things you already know, which is something you’ll notice throughout all parts of TextFugu. In this case, I’m (assuming) you are like most other people and don’t know what syllabaries are. So, instead of using something abstract, I’m using something you already know, and that’s going to give you progress (rather than leaving you in the dust).

TextFugu is all about associating new knowledge with things you already know about, whether they be common knowledge or something you just recently learned via the Text. When it comes to memory, this is how your brain works, so let’s take advantage of this in order to make your new Japanese language memories stick longer and faster.

Speaking of progress, it’s time for you to learn about all the Japanese syllabariesalphabets… all four of them. Yep, there’s a lot, but it’s not quite as bad as you think. In fact…

Here’s the good news: You already know one of them (or you’re only pretending to read this text)

Here’s the bad news: You don’t know the other three, and they will take some time and effort (of course, you already know that. Why else would you still be here?).

The first step is to be able to identify the four. You don’t have to know them all yet, I just want you to be able to recognize them. Once you can do that, we’ll start learning our first one. Read on to find out more!

[9] Why?

“One is not born a genius. One becomes a genius.” – Simone de Beauvoir

At the beginning of each chapter, I like to ask “why?”

Why is this helpful? For one, it tells you why you’re doing something. Nothing is more terrible than a teacher who answers all your questions with “because that’s the way it is, okay?” This will also give you some idea as to where you’re going and where you came from (and makes it so you know what you need to work on). The other thing, though, is that it actually makes sure that I’m staying on track as well. If I can’t explain why you’re learning something, then maybe it’s not time for you to learn that thing. So, it helps both of us, though in the end it mostly helps you. So why this chapter right now?

This chapter is all about the Japanese “alphabets.” You’re about to learn what they are, but the reason why you’re learning them is because you’ll need to be able to differentiate between them moving forward (as you learn them). You’re going to start by learning hiragana (starting next chapter) so it’s important to know what hiragana is and when it’s used in comparison to the other “alphabets” you’ll be learning later.

So, in this chapter you should focus on learning to differentiate the “alphabets.” You don’t need to learn them or anything like that right now (that would be impossible) – you just need to learn the characteristics of them, and how they’re different from each other. Ready to get started? Okay, move on:

[8] Getting Started

“The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.” - Dawson Trotman

Believe it or not, just getting started is the hardest step. Luckily, you’ve probably made it easy on yourself. You know why you’re studying, you have a great place to study Japanese, and you’ve kept everything a secret. Also, you’ve set up your language log and you’ve come up with all possible excuses ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about them later. Really, not much should stand in your way.

So, enough “set-up.” It’s time to actually do this thing! We’re going to start off by learning about the different Japanese “alphabets” available to you, as well as a little more information on how we’re going to learn them in the coming chapters. I’m really excited for you to get started! It’s going to be a lot of fun and I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly you are able to learn using TextFugu.

By finishing this chapter, you’ve made preparations for your Japanese learning that will greatly increase your chances for sticking with it! Now it’s just up to you to put in the work, but if you want it, surely good things will end up happening!

Alrighty, the next chapter is waiting for you!

OKAY! LETS DO THIS!

#textfugu

[7] Creating A Japanese Language Learning Log

“The greatest worth is self-mastery.” – Buddhist Quote

You know how in school they’re always telling you to take notes for the test? Well, this is kind of like that, but now you’re taking notes only for yourself and your own self-mastery (no tests here… just real knowledge). One really great way to keep track of your studies and figure out where you need to focus (as well as figure out what you’re really good at) is by creating a Japanese language log. Every time you study, you should post things like…

What you learned.

How you felt about what you learned (was it frustrating? Easy? etc) so you can figure out what causes you trouble and focus on fixing that.

What you need to work on.

What you want to learn next.

etc.

I’ll give you prompts for a little while when it comes to your learning log, but eventually it’ll be up to you.

okey dokey! Will do! Guy who uses a quote for every page to inspire their readers, it worked for me!

Now, there’s several ways to keep a log, and several things you can use, but here are my suggestions. It’s up to you, though.

Create A Blog: Blogs are really easy to create now-a-days. Services like WordPress(my fave) and Blogger are super simple to create (not like you need anything fancy, either) and will allow you to post things up daily. Plus, it’s out there on the interwebs, meaning you might spend a little more time on it (which means you get a little extra study from it as well).

Evernote: I think this is probably the best choice (but really, it comes down to your own style). Evernote lets you take notes, tag those notes, and search for them later (best search function of all the options here by far). It really is an amazing study resource, and if I was in school Evernote is probably the only thing I’d ever use. If you use Evernote, I’d recommend titling each note with “[DATE] [SUBJECT]” so it’s easy to find later. Then, just make sure you tag things really well (tags will be your friend later on, as you have more notes in there).

gDocs, MS Word, Notebook: Then there’s also Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and a regular old pen and paper notebook. There’s something nice about writing things with your hand, for sure, though it does take a bit longer. I still recommend Evernote as #1 (you don’t even have to get the premium version of Evernote…free is good enough) because of it’s awesome search abilities.

I never quite liked anything online, I’ll grab a book and once written i will post everything online. IRONY!

Pick one of these note-taking devices and head over to the next page. You can even add your “excuses list” and “reason(s) list” here, just to solidify them a little bit more. When you’re ready, it’s time to get started! You’re all prepared for the worst (though I think you’ll find that the worst isn’t all that bad, when it comes down to it).

#textfuugu

[6] Not Telling People About Your Intentions

“Our intention creates our reality.” – Wayne Dyer

Believe it or not telling people you’re going to learn Japanese isn’t the best thing you can do. This page used to be about “hey, you should tell people that you’re learning Japanese so they keep you accountable.” Now, however, it’s the exact opposite. Just a good example that shows how things change on TextFugu as I learn more about learning (this change was made with the help of a member who sent me a bunch of info on this, actually!). Point is, TextFugu isn’t a doorstop that never gets updated :)

Want the long (only 3 minutes, actually) version? Watch the following TED Talk (TED Talks are amazing, by the way).

Want the short version? Here it is:

Don’t tell people your goals (at least not right away).

Why? Because it tricks your mind into thinking that your goal is already partially complete, making you less likely to follow through with your goals.

If you talk, it becomes part of your “social reality.” If it becomes part of your “social reality” it feels like you’re farther along than you are, and you end up thinking you don’t need to work as hard (and I want you to work hard, please!).

Really, though, you should watch the video, It’s quite good.

So, there you have it. Keep your secret (for now) and surprise everyone with your skill later. I know it might seem odd, but every little thing helps, especially early on (when little things make such big differences!).

This page used to have a “Tweet it” button to encourage you to tell the world. Now it doesn’t. That being said, you should feel free to say hello to us on Twitter or Facebook because we like it when people say hello! Makes us feel all warm and fuzzy, you know?

TextFugu On Twitter TextFugu On Facebook

After you’ve kept your mouth shut, move on to the next page. You’re almost ready to get started with Japanese… moments away, really! Just think of how ready you’ll be, too!

Task Can you keep a secret? Good. Keep that secret as long as you can until “Learning Japanese” actually becomes a part of your identity!

Alright, only one more thing to do. Let’s get it done!

#textfugu

[5] Setting Yourself Up For Success

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” – Unknown

What does your work / study / desk area look like? Does it feel open and relaxing? Or, like the image above, does it feel kind of crowded (and stressful?). Is there even an area in existence that you would consider to be a “work-only zone?” Do something really quick for me. Take out four pieces of paper and put them together (in any combination… square, long ways, etc). Using any layout, can you put these four pieces of paper together in any one area of your desk? If not, then it’s probably time to do some cleaning (or, your desk is really really small, which is okay too). I used to have a pretty crowded desk, and without me knowing it my productivity suffered. Each and every piece of “debris” is a distraction (no matter how little it is). How many distractions are on your desk?

One thing you should do before you start learning Japanese is create a great environment for learning / working. Like I keep saying – I don’t want you to quit, no matter how you end up learning Japanese. The first thing you have to ask yourself is “where will I study Japanese?” For the most part (unless you need to mix things up a bit, but we’ll get into that at some point later on) you’ll want to create a great study space for yourself, and associate “getting things done” with that space. For example, sitting in front of the television might be a tough place for you to study, because your brain has already associated that place with watching television.

Task Decide what space is your “Japanese Study Space.”

So, why are we doing this? Do you know the difference between “productivity heroes” and “everyone else”? Honestly, it’s not much. In general, most people (believe it or not) have a similar amount of self-discipline. Let’s think of the amount of self-discipline you have as “SD points.” Let’s also assume everyone has approximately 100 SD points. If you use all your SD points in a day, then you have no more self-discipline. You can no longer do things you’re supposed to do (surprisingly, this is actually really close to how it actually is… think about it next time you use some SD points out there in real life!).

Now, the difference between productivity heroes and everyone else isn’t that they have more SD points. It’s that they don’t use the SD points they have when they’re doing a lot of things that normally use those SD points up. How do they do that? They make things into rituals and traditions. To apply this concept to Japanese and this chapter (which is about your work space), someone who is a productivity hero would say “when I sit in this space, I study Japanese.” Or, they might say “when I get home, I study Japanese.” Take note how it’s slightly different from “when I get home, I will study Japanese.” It’s something you do… no, it’s something you always do. It’s not a task, it’s a ritual. Rituals and traditions don’t take up SD points.

So, when you’ve decided on your “Japanese Study Space” (wherever that might be) I want you to start thinking about traditions as well.

When you sit here, you study Japanese.

When you come home, you study Japanese.

When you finish dinner, you study Japanese.

No questions… no ifs… no buts… it’s what you do. Decide right now on one or two traditions like this. It won’t be a tradition today, but if you do it enough it will become a tradition. It will also make Japanese studies a hundred times easier, especially on days where you’re running low on SD points :)

Also, a side-note. In your special space for learning Japanese, you should avoid other distractions as well. It’s best to:

Avoid music, movies, etc., while you’re studying. I don’t care who you are, multitasking isn’t a good way to learn something (quickly).

Try to only study Japanese here. I understand if it’s a multi-purpose area, like a desk, but the more you can associate Japanese learning with this area, the better!

Don’t allow yourself to get on Facebook, Twitter, Farmville, etc., while you study. At the very least, wait until you’re between things!

Turn any notifications off on your computer / phone (this includes e-mail, Twitter, text messages, and so on).

Finding a great place to study is going to be easier for some of you and more difficult for others. The main thing is that you try to pick a nice spot to study at. This spot might even be at a particular coffee shop. Feel free to be flexible. Just try and be consistent!

And remember… make that spot part of your ritual. Your SD points will thank you for it!

#textfugu

[4] Question #2: What Excuses Hold You Back?

“No one ever excused his way to success.” – Dave Del Dotto

Maybe absolutely nothing is holding you back (and that’s why you’re here right now), but chances are there are a few things that you’re either afraid of, or you have a few excuses on why you shouldn’t study Japanese (I know, right! Blasphemy!). But, we’ve all been there, myself included. Anytime you’re making a big change or decision in your life (get used to Japanese language learning as a big life decision, because it is!), “why I should / shouldn’t do this” thoughts start popping in your mind, totally out of nowhere. No matter how rational (or irrational) you are, they’ll come up sooner or later, so it’s best to do a preemptive strike while you’re still excited and ready to go go go.

Here are some possible excuses that could hold you back, though you’ll be figuring out your very own here in just a minute. I just want to give you a little taste of the excuses I hear a lot. If you prevent them before they even pop up, you’ll find yourself in a lot better shape a few months from now when life starts getting crazy and you’re looking for something to cut from your schedule (even if it’s temporary).

1. I’m Too Busy: Boo-hoo-dee-doo. This is probably the most common excuse out there, and I think it’s a terrible one. If you don’t have time, it’s only because your priorities tell you that you don’t have time. If you want to study Japanese, then you’ll make time for it. If you don’t want to study Japanese, then you’ll make time for other things. This is one of the reasons why you thought about your reason for learning Japanese. If you have a reason, and a goal you can work towards, it is likely that your priorities will shift towards studying Japanese. Just by knowing that this excuse exists (and that there’s a good chance it will pop up) will really help you to avoid it later on. Tell yourself right now: “Time isn’t the issue,” and then think about how you’ll make sure that Japanese is a priority (and therefore you can make time for it).

2. I don’t have the money: This is another common excuse. Okay, TextFugu isn’t “cheap,” necessarily, but considering what you can get out of learning a language, it’s not all that expensive either. Even if you can’t afford TextFugu, if you want to learn Japanese you should use something else that is free or you can afford. It won’t be the same… but money shouldn’t be something that holds you back. Here’s some ideas for making some moolah, though, if you need it:

You can make enough money by using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to complete small jobs for people.

Sell stuff on Craigslist/eBay. I did this recently too. Simplifying your life by getting rid of your “things” is a great way to clear your head, too. It’s difficult at first, but you’ll feel so much better once you get all this stuff off your hands. “Stuff” is distracting and not worth the headache, in my opinion.

Ask a friend or relative for an investment (not a handout). If they really care about you, they’ll be excited to help you succeed – just be sure you don’t let them down! (This is also a great way to stay motivated, because you want to show your investor(s) that you’re achieving great things!).

Don’t go out to eat once or twice this month. It’s easy to save money if you cook your own food using fresh ingredients, plus it’s healthier too (and when you feel healthy, it’s easier to study!). Put that money towards monthly.

Still in high school? I had a friend who’d go buy candy in bulk, then sell them for 50 cents each at school. Not sure if he was supposed to be doing that, but he’d make way more than $20 a month. Now he works at Google. Pretty smart guy.

Anyways, I’m just saying that money shouldn’t be an excuse. No matter what, you should get started (even if it’s not with TextFugu). The sooner you get started, the more you’ll know 6 months from now.

3. I’ll end up burning out or quitting: I hope you don’t! Like I mentioned earlier, TextFugu was built around the foundation of keeping you motivated. Burning out is the most common problem that self-teachers like yourself face, and it happens so easily. You can see how this first chapter is already tackling a lot of those problems, but what are some things that you can do to prevent it yourself, even before it happens? Even just saying “Burning out isn’t a valid excuse” to yourself right now will help prevent this excuse from doing anything to you in the future. It’s funny how your mind works like that!

4. I’m not very good at learning languages: Yet for some reason you’re here, reading this? I don’t know if anyone is actually naturally good at learning languages. Do you know what’s pretty cool? You can learn to become better at learning languages. Very few people are naturally good at anything, to be completely honest. Everyone practices and gets better. You can make a choice to get better at it. On top of that, I’m sure you’ll find TextFugu to be a lot different from any other textbook you’ve tried. It’s way down to earth, easy to understand, and makes things nice and simple. Whenever I’ve had bad language learning experiences, it’s usually been because the resource does a poor job at explaining things (they’re so good at what they’re trying to teach, they have no idea what it’s like to learn anymore!). I hope you don’t let this be an excuse. Every time you try to study, you are getting better at studying, which means you’ll be pro in no time, as long as you’re consistent!

Now it’s your turn, though.

What excuses hold you back? What excuses can you think of that might hold you back in the future?

Task Write down a list of “excuses” that might hold you back. These can be things you’re worried about now and things you think you might be worried about later. Feel free to use some of the excuses listed above if they’re the same. Stick this list on your wall. Remind yourself every day that the excuses up there aren’t valid excuses, so you might as well not think about them anymore (if you need them, they’re written down, so get them out of your head). For the excuses holding you back now, look at them and figure out solutions. Will it really be that bad? I think probably not :)

Now that you have absolutely nothing to fear, it’s time to move on to the next step. You have a few more prep-steps to go, but once you’re done you’ll have laid a really good foundation for yourself and be ready to study some Japanese!

#textfugu

[3] Question #1: Why Are You Learning Japanese?

“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.” – Stephen Kaggwa

You’d be surprised how many people decide to do something as big as learning Japanese without knowing the answer to this question. I bet you 90% of people who start studying have no idea why they’re doing it (which… ahem… happens to be the same percentage of people who end up quitting, might I add). Now, when I say these people “don’t know why they’re learning Japanese” I’m also not counting generalities. Answers like “because it’s fun” and “because it’s cool” are okay for a little while, but they won’t hold out when the going gets tough. I’m looking for a specific answer…things like:

I want to be able to talk to my Japanese grandmother in Japanese

I want to travel to Japan and walk the 88 temples of Shikoku

I want to live and work in Japan, doing marketing for Sony

I’m an anthropologist and want to study the Ainu people

I want to appear on Japanese television one day as a comedian

When you know what you’re working towards, you end up having more drive. You also end up having more focus, as well, which really helps. When you think “aw… I don’t want to learn any more today” your reason for learning Japanese will kick in and respond with “but what about those temples!!?” and you’ll keep going (and eventually love yourself for it). TextFugu’s going to help you make nice and steady steps forward, but you need to have something to walk towards otherwise it’s aimless wandering.

Now, I also understand that answering this question can be hard. But, you should really think about it. Maybe you really are just trying new things, and don’t have a reason. If that’s you, just continue and work hard. You’ll figure yourself out soon enough (i.e. you’ll figure out if you want to keep going or you’ll figure out if you want to spend your time somewhere else). Nobody’s judging you here, you should do the things that make you happy :)

But, you should really try to answer this question. I guarantee that those of you who can answer this question will be way more likely to succeed. Those that don’t… well, you still have a decent chance that you’ll figure out your reason later. Just keep thinking about it.

Task: Answer the question: “Why Are You Learning Japanese?”

Once you’ve figured this out, move on to the next question. Are you already a member? If so, head on over to the TextFugu forums and share your reason and post up an introduction to say hello! The forum is full of helpful, supportive people just like you who are happy to help you out if you need help (of course, I’m also here to help you out of if you need it). You’re not the only one using TextFugu, so it’s fun to go and get to know fellow TextFugu-ers as well!

Task: Introduce yourself on the TextFugu Forums. These people will help you out in the future (and you’ll probably help out a Japanese newb or two as you get better too!).

When you’ve answered the first question and (optionally) introduced yourself on the forums, move on to the next question. You’re almost ready to get started here.

#textfugu

[2] Questions Before You Start

“The only real failure in life is the failure to try.”

Before continuing on, find yourself a piece of paper (or open up Word / Google Docs). We’re going to write something down. These steps are surprisingly important, even though they may seem a bit silly or unnecessary right now.

Something as simple as writing your goals and intentions down can make a huge difference (especially later on, if you start struggling). Once you write something (especially by hand) it suddenly becomes real (at least more real than if it’s just in your head).

There are two BIG questions I want you to answer (then a couple smaller ones). They shouldn’t take you much time, either.

Task: Get out a piece of paper (preferably) or open up a text editor on your computer. We’re going to be writing a few things down in a moment.

Alright! Let’s answer some important questions!

#textfugu

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