When were you able to speak/read without having to translate everything in your mind?

8 comments

1. I’m not self taught and had the privilege of learning Japanese both at uni and in Japan, but in my experience you can train your brain to read, speak and think in another language just by making it a habit.

   The important point is to start really, really simple. I began reading with very simple graded readers just to get used to reading a different writing system and building the habit of regularly reading in Japanese. I still learned many new words, even though the texts weren’t that challenging. Similarly, you can talk to yourself in Japanese about very simple things to build a habit of speaking.

   Since English is not your first language, recall how you learnt it. When did you start reading/speaking/thinking in English?

2. it’s best to stay on top of this constantly and make sure, to the degree possible, to NOT translate in one’s head. it becomes a terrible habit to try to fix later. it’s not always possible, especially when you need to think thru a complex sentence, but to the degree possible, as often as possible, try to “understand directly” and just get in a flow of standard/expected backs-and-forths.

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4. I repeat conversations that I see in dramas infront of the mirror or in the bathroom or anywhere (without translating and acting as if I’m speaking to someone)you can talk to your plushie to. Also like my inner conversations take place in Japanese lol if i have a schedule to complete I keep telling myself that this is next and that is next in Japanese language.
   How would you speak if you didn’t know English at all is what I do, for sometime i completely forget that i know English i keep speaking in Japanese as I’m doing something (making noodles or cleaning my table) (also get to feel like I’m in a Japanese drama hehehe).
   Note:- if you’re doing this try and do it alone lol it becomes embarassing if there is someone around.

5. As I always say practice and patience is your friend. It’s normal to do that if you only have a few months learning it.

   My advise is to take a paper and write down a table comparing different uses of the same particle if you can write an example sentence nxt to it that would be better.

   It personally took me like 10 months to get used to them and reading naturally as I read. That was the result of reading and studying at leas 2 hours daily.

   good luck bro don’t get overwhelmed on this journey, is totally worth it!

6. You’re translating everything in your mind because your brain has not formed good association with what you’re reading/listening and its meaning. I bet you don’t have to translate very simple terms like おはよう or ありがとう, as their intended meaning in very easy to grasp and you’ve probably heard/read them a lot already.

   Eventually after reading/listening enough your brain forms these connections and is able to quicker understand what is being said/read. I only have to ‘translate’ sentences when it involves a new word or maybe a grammar structure I’m not yet used to.

   Just keep working on it. It’s easy to doubt if you’re making progress when you start out, but you are.

7. At the start, I translated everything into a muddy mess of confusing engrish, but years later there are words, sentences and grammar structures I hear so often that I don’t need to translate them anymore, I know them. Just like if I said “cat” you picture a cat, you don’t build the image up in your mind and reference other animals, you know what a cat is. Same with Japanese, you know words over time, then words become pairs, phrases, sentences, etc. Another example is using a computer or playing a game. At first you have to keep thinking about your every action, but overtime you gain muscle memory, shortcuts, unconscious understanding. Same again with language.

8. stop worrying about random shit