So, I’ve studied Japanese for nearly a decade at this point and feel like I do have a good grasp on the language. I understand more Kanjis than not, can distinguish most differences in grammar, etc.
BUT
Where do I go from here? I have, not kidding, an entire book full of vocabulary that just gets fuller and fuller (I learn one word, remember it only half-hearted and afterwards two more new vocab join the fray) as well as some bad habits like still having problems with certain particles, struggeling with phrases (f.e. なくてはならない、なくてはいけない), etc. Lastly, spoken Japanese words, especially homonyms (雨、飴, both pronunced ame with different pitches), still give me more often than not problems when trying to understand what is meant by just listening without having to use a dictionary all the time.
Personally, I would currently want to take down this ＢＥＨＥＭＯＴＨ of vocabulary, so would anybody have ideas, sugfesstions, experiences and so on? Or do I habe to just go and remember every single vocabulary like I did with Kanjis?
3 comments
Honestly sounds like you are describing the normal languge learning process. You learn something then you forget it, then you relearn it, and then you forget it again. It’s a very slow and gradual process. Don’t expect to ever remember every piece of grammar or vocab or kanji, it’s not realistic to do this in any laguage. If you have a good basis just keeping going and keep exposing yourself to increasingly difficult materials.
What are you hoping to achieve by learning Japanese? If you’ve studied Japanese for nearly a decade then you should have built up the vocabulary and grammar to work towards your interests in the language. For example if you like to read fantasy novels, then you can work towards that, or if you want to use it to travel in Japan, then you can look up Japanese vloggers, tabelog reviews or practice basic output so that you are understood or can understand service staff.
I won’t be too focused on not understanding grammar or vocab fully. Sometimes all you need is to find actual use for the grammar or vocab.
Use anki for vocab, read more books, use kotu.io for pitch perception, listen more and understand what is being said vis context if words sound too similar that you cannot differentiate them