HomeLearn JapaneseI want to learn Japanese. But if I somehow got mildly fluent in it, would it affect watching subbed anime? I mean, would it be like two different people talking at the same time?
I want to learn Japanese. But if I somehow got mildly fluent in it, would it affect watching subbed anime? I mean, would it be like two different people talking at the same time?
It’s hard for me to describe what I mean. But since japanese sentence structure is different, would it be overwhelming to watch anime with english subtitles?
Just don’t read the subs? Even if you do you won’t notice the Japanese being spoken, you can only handle one language input at a time.
If you know nothing in Japanese, it will take some time and effort after you start to understand anything from the spoken thing. Moreover, usually your brain can’t focus on both the sub and the dub, so that’s for that (at least this happens in my case). And even if you will be able to understand a good amount of Japanese, it will not disrupt your anime enjoyment, I think…
I’ve been studying Japanese for quite some time and I still use Eng sub, and even when I understand something, or the sub it’s not exactly the same, I dont’ really care.
If by “mildly fluent” you mean “can keep up with daily conversation but might get lost on more specialized topics,” you wouldn’t need subtitles at all most of the time (though that would depend on your anime tastes and what specialized topics you can already keep up with).
If you mean “knowing a beginner textbook’s curriculum,” then you’d definitely still need subtitles and using English ones will be a drag if you try to interpret the Japanese sentence while comparing and contrasting with the subtitles’ translations.
see, if you are ‘mildly fluent’ …. Then you will be able to understand most of anime. Whether the subtitles are Japanese or English etc. simply won’t matter much at all, nor will it hinder you from using your natural intelligence to decipher what’s going on
I would just use JP subtitles if you’re “mildly fluent”
ah yes fluent and watching with subs. makes sense
The more Japanese I learn, the more I enjoy anime. I still need the subtitles but I’m starting to recognize a lot of the words and phrases. Experiencing it in both languages at once is fun, and definitely a skill you build up over time.
I’m an ESL so we may have different experience but hearing and reading subtitles in 2 different languages never bothered me
In fact growing up, watching english movies with my native’s subtitles massively improve my english because you’re slowly adding up words that you don’t understand, how conversation work, grammars, etc by just simply enjoying a show
I would say I’m an intermediate learner: – Studying since Feb 2022 on average 3 hours a day (not including listening to podcasts while doing other things) – Halfway through Quartet 1 (with a lot more grammar mind you), – Level 15 wanikani Etc etc
And I watch basic anime with only Japanese subs at a decent pace. But I find it distracting to understand what’s going on without reading the subtitles, then reading the English translations on more complicated animes where I still need to use English subtitles to watch it anywhere near a normal speed.
So I will have the English and Japanese subtitles on and use the Japanese for the most part and then reading ths English for a bits where I can’t understand or it’s far too complicated.
You would normally be watching with Japanese subtitles (if you’re watching with subtitles at all) if you’d be “mildly fluent”. Your brain will always take the easiest option if it can, and since you’re already fluent in English that means you will ignore the audio and just focus on reading the English translation.
Though to be fair there are cases where you will have to watch with English subtitles (watching a movie in a theatre, watching with friends, etc). In my experience, you can read much faster than the actual audio so you won’t struggle with understanding both the translation and the original Japanese audio (though you probably will miss things being said if you focus more on the subtitles). Personally (having studied for 2.5 years now), I treat English subtitles (when they’re unavoidable) as a really rough dictionary if I hear a word I didn’t know. Ideally I would just ignore them but, having grown up with subtitles my entire life (parents are ESL and prefer subtitles to this day), I cannot ignore them if they’re on the screen. Luckily my partner is a native Vietnamese speaker so when we watch anime together I put on Vietnamese subtitles.
i’m below beginner in japanese but i’m native spanish and fluent in english, i’ve learned to block english subtitles and just focus on the spoken words with time
but with the little i know about japanese, i feel it’s different because the translation is not as “direct” or 1 to 1 literal as with spanish/english, so you actually get to learn stuff when reading the subtitles
one great example of this is a subtitled pack i downloaded for Oruchuban Ebichu (nsfw [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruchuban_Ebichu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruchuban_Ebichu)) in which the makers of the subs were kind enough to explain all kinds of mannerisms, word plays and slang so that you get closer to the meaning in japanese even if you don’t belong within the culture
Actually yes lol, I used to (and still do sometimes) get mixed up trying to read the English and hear the Japanese at the same time. You just gotta make yourself do one or the other
I’ve been able to pick up more spoken words from anime, and honestly the rush in being able to catch the correct words with the subtitles is great.
If anything you’ll pick up more on things that the character ACTUALLY said instead of the liberties the translator took on it, and be able to tell that somebody said something a lot worse than just ‘Oh no!’.
I think it’d take a great deal of comprehension to really become bothered by it being read to you, so until then I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s a great learning method.
I mean, isn’t watching subbed anime itself like two different people talking at the same time; the character and the subs?
Sometimes if I watch a Japanese film with English subs I pick up on things.
In Alita Battle Angel, there’s a scene when the titular character says “Okay” after her question is waved off. It’s a very “Okay, I guess we’re not talking about that…” kind of “Okay.” The subtitle reads “大丈夫,” which doesn’t fit the situation at all.
Sometimes the subtitles have to make abbreviations to fit in with what’s being said, so you might notice a subtle change in nuance. This might be noticed if respectful/polite language is being used, which might color characters and their relationships a certain way in Japanese, but doesn’t translate well in English.
15 comments
Just don’t read the subs? Even if you do you won’t notice the Japanese being spoken, you can only handle one language input at a time.
If you know nothing in Japanese, it will take some time and effort after you start to understand anything from the spoken thing. Moreover, usually your brain can’t focus on both the sub and the dub, so that’s for that (at least this happens in my case). And even if you will be able to understand a good amount of Japanese, it will not disrupt your anime enjoyment, I think…
I’ve been studying Japanese for quite some time and I still use Eng sub, and even when I understand something, or the sub it’s not exactly the same, I dont’ really care.
If by “mildly fluent” you mean “can keep up with daily conversation but might get lost on more specialized topics,” you wouldn’t need subtitles at all most of the time (though that would depend on your anime tastes and what specialized topics you can already keep up with).
If you mean “knowing a beginner textbook’s curriculum,” then you’d definitely still need subtitles and using English ones will be a drag if you try to interpret the Japanese sentence while comparing and contrasting with the subtitles’ translations.
see, if you are ‘mildly fluent’ …. Then you will be able to understand most of anime. Whether the subtitles are Japanese or English etc. simply won’t matter much at all, nor will it hinder you from using your natural intelligence to decipher what’s going on
I would just use JP subtitles if you’re “mildly fluent”
ah yes fluent and watching with subs. makes sense
The more Japanese I learn, the more I enjoy anime. I still need the subtitles but I’m starting to recognize a lot of the words and phrases. Experiencing it in both languages at once is fun, and definitely a skill you build up over time.
I’m an ESL so we may have different experience but hearing and reading subtitles in 2 different languages never bothered me
In fact growing up, watching english movies with my native’s subtitles massively improve my english because you’re slowly adding up words that you don’t understand, how conversation work, grammars, etc by just simply enjoying a show
I would say I’m an intermediate learner:
– Studying since Feb 2022 on average 3 hours a day (not including listening to podcasts while doing other things)
– Halfway through Quartet 1 (with a lot more grammar mind you),
– Level 15 wanikani
Etc etc
And I watch basic anime with only Japanese subs at a decent pace. But I find it distracting to understand what’s going on without reading the subtitles, then reading the English translations on more complicated animes where I still need to use English subtitles to watch it anywhere near a normal speed.
So I will have the English and Japanese subtitles on and use the Japanese for the most part and then reading ths English for a bits where I can’t understand or it’s far too complicated.
You would normally be watching with Japanese subtitles (if you’re watching with subtitles at all) if you’d be “mildly fluent”. Your brain will always take the easiest option if it can, and since you’re already fluent in English that means you will ignore the audio and just focus on reading the English translation.
Though to be fair there are cases where you will have to watch with English subtitles (watching a movie in a theatre, watching with friends, etc). In my experience, you can read much faster than the actual audio so you won’t struggle with understanding both the translation and the original Japanese audio (though you probably will miss things being said if you focus more on the subtitles). Personally (having studied for 2.5 years now), I treat English subtitles (when they’re unavoidable) as a really rough dictionary if I hear a word I didn’t know. Ideally I would just ignore them but, having grown up with subtitles my entire life (parents are ESL and prefer subtitles to this day), I cannot ignore them if they’re on the screen. Luckily my partner is a native Vietnamese speaker so when we watch anime together I put on Vietnamese subtitles.
i’m below beginner in japanese but i’m native spanish and fluent in english, i’ve learned to block english subtitles and just focus on the spoken words with time
but with the little i know about japanese, i feel it’s different because the translation is not as “direct” or 1 to 1 literal as with spanish/english, so you actually get to learn stuff when reading the subtitles
one great example of this is a subtitled pack i downloaded for Oruchuban Ebichu (nsfw [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruchuban_Ebichu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruchuban_Ebichu)) in which the makers of the subs were kind enough to explain all kinds of mannerisms, word plays and slang so that you get closer to the meaning in japanese even if you don’t belong within the culture
Actually yes lol, I used to (and still do sometimes) get mixed up trying to read the English and hear the Japanese at the same time. You just gotta make yourself do one or the other
I’ve been able to pick up more spoken words from anime, and honestly the rush in being able to catch the correct words with the subtitles is great.
If anything you’ll pick up more on things that the character ACTUALLY said instead of the liberties the translator took on it, and be able to tell that somebody said something a lot worse than just ‘Oh no!’.
I think it’d take a great deal of comprehension to really become bothered by it being read to you, so until then I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s a great learning method.
I mean, isn’t watching subbed anime itself like two different people talking at the same time; the character and the subs?
Sometimes if I watch a Japanese film with English subs I pick up on things.
In Alita Battle Angel, there’s a scene when the titular character says “Okay” after her question is waved off. It’s a very “Okay, I guess we’re not talking about that…” kind of “Okay.” The subtitle reads “大丈夫,” which doesn’t fit the situation at all.
Sometimes the subtitles have to make abbreviations to fit in with what’s being said, so you might notice a subtle change in nuance. This might be noticed if respectful/polite language is being used, which might color characters and their relationships a certain way in Japanese, but doesn’t translate well in English.