Or are there other verbs that can be used to have a different implication/connotation?
Specifically, [勉強](#fg “べんきょう”)する is often translated as “to study,” but I feel like, at least in English, “study” has a more formal vs casual connotation, compared to say.. “to learn” which is more often what I want to convey. To me, studying implies that you’re learning in a more formal setting, or doing it more rigorously. I am not doing with this Japanese.. I have a casual interest in it right now, only learning off and on through resources like DuoLingo and occasionally reading Tofugu. So sometimes I feel like I’m misrepresenting myself when I tell people [日本](#fg “にほん”)[語](#fg “ご”)を[勉強](#fg “べんきょう”)しています。
Is this all in my head or is there another verb or phrase I could use to get the right implication across?
I imagine there has to be another word to use for other statements I might wish to make in the future, unrelated to learning Japanese. For example, saying that I “learned” some behavior or “learned” about an idea or something. Things that don’t imply studying at all, but instead something you learned/knowledge you acquired in passing. I hope my question makes sense lol.
お[願](#fg “ねが”)いします～
Edit: Thank you everyone! Sorry if I didn’t reply directly to everyone, I just didn’t have any follow up questions at the time and figured I would keep this for future reference.
by irisflame