Learn Japanese with Yuta: bit.ly/3jowd6P

My dad was in the military and went to Japan in the 1950’s for a year. When he had a stroke in 2018, he would speak Japanese so I had to start learning to understand him. Turns out he wanted to know where the train station was because he had to leave! He passed away in December last year but I will continue to learn Japanese to honor his memory. ありがとうYuta sensei!

Yuta is right. Watching anime without subtitles really helped me. I already learned words like ookii, kimochi and yamete.

I've been watching anime for twelve years with subtitles and initially I was bummed because I only picked up a couple of words and phrases during that time, but now that I've started learning Japanese, I realise how much I've learnt passively. For example when I learn a new grammar I often think "So that's what this is!" because I've heard this grammar being used hundreds of times before. Most things just click and make perfect sense and this just makes me happy haha

I like to listen to Japanese music and look up the words. It can be a bit tricky to decipher a contextual language if someone is being metaphorical, but I enjoy trying to figure things out.

For the people who've struggled their way through Genki 1+2 or Minna no Nihongo 1+2, and are afraid of jumping into full Japanese content, try picking up the book "Tobira - Gateway to Advanced Japanese". It teaches stuff like Japanese culture and mainly speaking styles (like Yuta also explains), in the context of reading comprehension. You get a Japanese text about speaking styles for examples, and have to answer a few comprehension questions to see if you understood the text. It's great excercise to re-write the whole texts into word/docs, highlighting all words you don't know & put them into Anki. This way you can get back to previous texts as you learn the Vocabulary over time, and get a better and better reading comprehension.

When I was in Japan (quite some time ago now), I noticed someone sitting next to me in a train (電車) reading a book titled, "Essential English Words." I imagine she was studying for exams, and stared at the book for a little while as she slowly studied it, and found nothing but words that NOBODY in the US actually uses! I almost blurted out, "essential for what!?" I guess the words were essential to pass some exam or something, never to be used again.

Personally i like have a three way approach: For grammar and vocabulary: manga and light novels they usually have a more correct way to say regular things and many use furigana for kanji, so it's excellent for that. Anime and games: for expressions, words and general usefulness. Japanese tv programs and news: formal and normal day to day expressions and sentences construction. Also a good dictionary and perhaps a table of most used kanji and expressions and ofc some kinda of formal grammar book to look for rules and how to

I actually watch Japanese things once with English subtitles, because it helps reinforce mental connections between words and their meanings (ones I already know), then I watch it with Japanese subtitles to connect what it sounds like with Kanji, which also improves the reading/processing speed, THEN I switch off subtitles and see what sticks... 😂 EDIT: Haha, is your test for teachers something like "Explain the difference between は and the subject in English" and "Explain the difference between は and が in a way that makes sense to English speakers..."

When I was living in Japan during my exchange, it was crazy how many foreigners I met who had passed the JLPT N2 and could barely speak any Japanese. Although I do agree there are useful things from studying for the JLPT, I think its biggest downfall is the lack of a speaking portion.

Always with the monogatari references. Please dont stop making them, it adds that element of greatness.

I spent four years minoring in Japanese during college and came out of it barely able to communicate at all. I've been trying to dive into the language again, and this is pretty consistent with the modifications I've made to my study style. Avoiding JLPT is a big one in my opinion. Maybe I'll dig into it again if I feel like I'm hitting a learning wall or something, but studying against a textbook/standardized test and then realizing you can't do much with that set of grammar and vocabulary is super frustrating and demoralizing. I've also made a conscious effort to stop teaching in Japan and then complaining about it in KZfaq comments, and it has helped immensely /s

Great video. I want to also add that journaling in Japanese is another option. Journaling about your day in Japanese is a great way to learn vocabulary and grammar with common phrases.

I don't know about you, but he seems like the kind of guy that would teach you the kind of Japanese that real-life Japanese people today actually speak, because textbooks and apps can be outdated and unnatural.

Yuta-san, I really appreciate your videos and the information and insights you give, your overall grind, and I have noticed a huge improvement in your English speaking ability and even in your pronunciation over time. The way you deliver sarcasm seems much more natural, and you even pronounced "waifu" like an American!

Been doing Duolingo for almost 200 days straight, flash cards, KZfaq, Japanese music, dictionaries, etc. Even met a Japanese waitress who works near my job and is totally cool with me practicing with her. I try to not limit myself to just apps. I use it for what it is, a tool. The more tools I have the better and more natural it becomes. Consistency and effort are key.

This was a pretty amazing video. Thanks Yuta.

I always find that videos that explain what *not* to do are way better than videos that explain what *to* do, I didn't realize I was making so many of these mistakes 😅

I tried the JLPT N5 listening exercise recently for fun, I have no intention of getting a JLPT degree. It was actually super easy for my skill level, except understanding numbers. It really seems like N5 is designed just for buisiness people who try to get along in hotels, taxis and on the train where you need numbers for times and money. I don't have much practice in understanding numbers quickly, I always need to think a few seconds until I have the translation in my head. So the numbers made N5 way harder for me than it should have been.

Nicely put, bravo

Funny this video got posted, yesterday I just started my Japanese learning journey. I've been working pretty hard to memorize all of hiragana and katakana first, but I'm going to start immersing with native content in a little bit

It is a real issue. If you can't learn the language you start to feel very isolated. I lived in Japan for about 1.5 years and wasn't able to pick it up fast enough to continue to live there. The way people speak on the street is completely different from what is learned in the class room. I went to a school in Osaka called EHLE back in 2005 to 2006 located in Namba. The teachers did their best, some were better than others; but immersion is a problem when you don't understand how things go together and vocabulary moves so fast it is impossible to memorize dozens of words each week and expect to master them in a few months time. Again trying to speak to Japanese people is difficult because Osakaben uses a lot of slang and picking up on particles is extremely nuanced. Part of my problem was trying to translate what I was hearing into english before responding. You need to be able to understand language at the phrase level and not try to parse individual sounds. You won't be able to keep track of more complex statements or compound statements. Japanese is difficult...plus trying to learn Kanji on top of that. I hope to go back one day but will try a different approach. Plus the very experience of being there can be overwhelming, at least it was for me.

One of the best things I did to bridge the gap from textbook to authentic Japanese was playing Pokemon Shield. I got to experience language styles like how children speak and how to play with sentences to make them more casual.

Yuta you're amazing! Thanks for your advices

Great channel! A real criticism about learning japanese language, thanks Yuta san! Greetings from Mexico

Great video Yuta! I learned japanese first in my home country, in classes, which teaches that kind of textbook japanese you always mention. Came to Japan and learned the real life japanese here, meeting people, and using in everday life and work. I took JLPT N3 now last december without preparing or doing a single mock test for it, to check how much hard it would be for someone using japanese everyday. I was suprised on some grammar that I never heard of, neither at work or home. I came back home and asked about it to my wife and she would explain me what was that, but mentioned it"s never used in everyday conversations. If that is present in N3, I wonder about N2 and N1... Last week the results came in. I basically got 100% in the listening part, which was super easy, and around 60~70% in grammar/vocabulary. Maybe end of this year I'll try N2, but I noticed I'll have to prepare for that, studying for things I won't use IRL. (the certification is useful for Visa and job opportunities, so that's kinda しょうがない...)

Interesting Yuta!

Thank you very much for all these useful tips on how to learn your language, Yuta. When I tried learning Japanese ...or rather, I tried to act on the urge to learn, I failed. Because learning materials for learning Japanese were scarce where I live, and video content like these days wasn't available then. But thanks to kind people like you, and our modern day technology, I finally feel like the right time has come to start pursuing one of my life goals - obtaining a proficiency level in Japanese akin to my current English level (which is completely self-taught, using games, movies, series, simply anything English). Once again, thank you very much for your help. 😁

I love family friendly visual novels. Some of the sounds that the joshi seiyuu make are just on another level. These women are incredibly talented.

LOL! This is a great video thanks Yuta!

Dude a lot of helpful stuff

I watch Shoyan's channel and he has Japanese text subtitles as part of the video itself (you don't have to enable CC). It's lovely because I get to practice reading as I follow along with him. It's helped a ton with my kanji recognition as well.

Someone call the hague because Yuta is taking no prisoners with that intro 🤣🤣 Amazing video!😅

Thank you Yuta. I’ve been watching the channel for a while, but recently started to really try to buckle down and study again after a few years of just coasting. My goal i JLPT N2 to try and land a job, but this video reminded me to not over optimize it towards the JLPT. I should combine native materials, so that even though I study less frequent words it won’t affect the skills I’ve already acquired, just add onto them.

I am a German teacher and I agree with EVERYTHING you said! Plus I would add that people really make an effort, because many people believe they will learn it with time, and they never do! Great Job Yuta!

The grammar for ぞ/ぜ suffix of verbs as in "行くぞ" is one of the most basic and common things I've heard since coming to Japan. I hear it used almost every day and yet the JLPT considers it to be N1 and I've never seen it in any of my textbooks after 4 years of studying almost full-time. It's going to be tough, but I genuinely feel like going out and drinking with random Japanese strangers (who later become friends) is going to help me so much more than any classroom grammar drills.

lately ive been putting the effort into conversing with folks over in japan (mainly about hobbies) and theyve all been really patient with me! Its all online so I have time to try and put together a sentence and its been good practice haha

I always love the usual Hanekawa-san reference in your videos!

I really love learning by watching videos on topics i already know very well, so even if i dont understand what they are saying, i can still understand the flow and pick out words or phrases that are repeated.

Good points.

I love, love this video. And the opposite is true for Japanese people learning English. You honestly know what youre talking about, and i hope more people listen to you.

I just remembered that I first heard about からかい上手の高木さん in one of your videos. Thank you very much.

日本語を学びたい海外の人が沢山いらっしゃるのは嬉しいですね😊

I love you Yuta! and I'm not afraid to admit it.

"Just turn on Japanese subtitles." More easily said than done.

As a word of caution for the Authentic Materials segment, it's sometimes better to go with books, manga and/or anime that match your skill level; even if it might be something that doesn't interest you or you're "too old" for Let's just say that works like Doraemon and the Satoshi Tajiri biography (i.e. _The Man Who Made Pokémon_) are a lot more beginner-friendly than trying to dive into Fullmetal Alchemist and Land of the Lustrous...

I'm about 6 months into studying Japanese using the Refold immersion method, and pretty much everything Yuta said is true.

I love your random out-of-left-field remarks. It makes these videos very enjoyable

I started out wanting to learn Japanese to understand the lyrics of songs to my fav bands and read manga from the source. I majored in Japanese language in college, but my best experience for picking up the language was actually reading, writing and talking to people in Japanese - all the textbooks and classroom setting scenarios just don’t connect the same way. If you never step out of your comfort zone, it’s easy to isolate yourself even if you’re in Japan because so many foreigners do go to teach English for years and can’t speak Japanese. Like Yuta-San says: it’s all about “why” you’re learning the language and for me it’s because I love manga, j-rock and j-dramas. I also appreciated conversations I had in Japan with host families. A lot of my college peers were frustrated that they felt they couldn’t have whole conversations and struggled to the point of just not talking - I just winged it and at one point my host dad and I had a dictionary battle to see who could look up words fast enough during a conversation 😂. You just have to go ahead and make mistakes and that is 100% ok.

I studied Japanese to N4 and now I'm able to tell the differences between Japanese dub and English sub so even though I watch with English subs I can somewhat understand the conversation from the dub alone. I think this is because Japanese is a little bit similar to my native language (in my opinion) so it is easier for me to guess what they are saying.

nice hoodie

Your videos are really funny lol.

I love this guy and his demeanor

The shade at the beginning was spot on

I love the way he refuses to stop using Monogatari cuts as an example even when the show isn’t that popular anymore ❤

Not sure if Yuta just finished a 20km run or 20 hour nap.🤔

one of the best ways I learned Japanese was going to Karaoke. Even if I go alone. At least it helped me reading a lot faster than before. Ofc the lyrics were not in Romaji.

2nd comment: Great series of how anime characters speak Japanese. Please do Itsuki Nakano from the quintessential quintuplets or any or all the 7 main characters in TQQ. how they speak Japanese I believe is very important to understanding the plot eg the honorifics, the lost in translation stuff (eg when they say things like tsurui, hatsukoi, uso, etc that are removed from the dub). I compiled a lot of the lost in translation stuff in r/gotoubun Something to consider about Itsuki: The Quintessential Quintuplets' character types are: Ichika - Onee-san / ara ara, Nino - tsundere, miku - kuudere / dandere, Yotsuba - genki Itsuki - ?? - Tsundere like Nino? - Eat-suki? - Imouto? - Someone who speaks keigo to their siblings, to Fuutarou and to Raiha and to everyone basically? I have a theory as to what Itsuki's type is, but you're not gonna like it...

4:31, dang didn't think I'd be called out like this😂 Definitely happened to me on my first Japan trip.

I basically start speaking Japanese when I know only a tiny bit of Japanese to a native. The most used words I used is "少し待ってね。言葉忘れたので。ググル翻訳に行きます". Which is just a way of me say "Hey I know exactly what I want to say but since I forgot what it is in Japanese I can't really express it well so please give me a second". And people are patient enough to wait 5 seconds. Over time I see that I use that word less and less because of how much I forced my brain to speak in that language to the point where I find myself rarely using it. Instead of focusing on being fluent in Japanese you should remember that not everyone knows every words in the dictionary. Just like how you don't need to know what "multiple sclerosis" is to become fluent in English. You just need what you need and if you can express yourself enough in Japanese even if it's a little bit broken, that is fine. As long as you know how to read and bring out expression, you can pretty much be fluent in just about any language. FYI, to those who thinks I pulled that out of nowhere. English actually my second language and Japanese is my third. That's more than enough proof that it works. Not enough trust? これは俺の照明だ： 普通にはこれはやらないけど。照明のためならどでもええわ。 まず、英語の勉強の方法。ただ言葉の意味を見るだけで分かるだろう？ あとはコンディション簡単に説明いないでも分かるね？ うん、じゃーー何で日本語で最小から言葉を呼ぶけど簡単に分からない？ 普通に「言葉が分からない」と言うことだな。なら何で英語の勉強の時は「理解できない」と言うのか？ 答えは簡単だ、パターンが見えないなら呼ばない。まずはパターンを見つけろ。それだけだ

Thank you so much!! I'm learning Japanese with an app & from you to watch a one without subtitles & talk to japanese people. My main goal is to read a novel that Arima Kousei gives to Kaori Miyazono

this is the only video in the internet that starts talking about the topic in the title immediatly in the start of the video

ゆたさん、こんばんは。今で3ヶ月自分で日本語を勉強しています。オーセンティックマテリアルでは毎日日本語でツイートを読んでいます。シンプルなツイートは理解できますけどまだたくさんが難しすぎる。とにかくこの方法で多くの語彙を学習しました。喋りで言うことができる言葉ですよ。言い損なって片言の文法ですみません。勉強を続けています。動画ありがとうございます！

During my early anime days, I would only look at the words and completely miss what's happening, and then years later I eventually got to the point of skim-reading the subtitles and then immediately watching the show actually happen. I think that helped me pick up on words and phrases with English subs still being visible.

The Monogatari references never get old in Yuta's videos ;)

Never been to Japan, but I can relate to being bitter over past experiences. I think it comes from living life on rails, believing the lie you were sold would just "work out." You have to live your own life and stop letting others' expectations control you, and if you're not getting what you want, change your circumstances until they do. Other people don't know what's best for you - YOU do, because you're you, and you know what you're experiencing. I.e. if other people say going to Japan will be great, be SKEPTICAL and do your homework. If other people say going to college will be great, BE SKEPTICAL and do your homework! Own your decisions and make mistakes because you wanted to, not because someone else did. Don't live somebody else's life! LIVE YOURS! And don't be naive!

No way he plugged his course twice in a single video 😂 Awesome tips, thank you very much!

I learned best by just tying to write email and communicate with people as much as possible. It forces you to make an effort in order for them to understand you and learn about the small nuances that can change the meaning of the sentence. Also, when in doubt if an expression or part of the grammar is right, try first googling that part to see if it pops up on Japanese websites and blogs before using any translation tools.

0:42 I love this story

i never really had any formal education on japanese, there are times where i sneak and read my brother's book.. most of the time i watch animes and recently i watch a japanese twitch streamer, i had quite the amount of interaction, and it's been great. Honestly, speaking from experience, the two languages that are foreign to me is japanese and english. I can say, my english is enough for professional work, maybe for paperworks i will still need a little assist from online translator, most of the time just for proof reading. I learned english by playing video games and online interaction. Video games are great way to learn, but IMO for japanese i think it's not far off. but You are better off watching shows or listening to a podcast in my opinion. i can understand what they are saying, i can read but very slow, and i can't write at all. so im working on it right now, thank you this video!

To point #2, I think good alternative to anime with Japanese subtitles is Visual Novels, because many of newer ones allow dual subtitles. That way you can follow the story the same time as you can learn. If you want to hear a voiceline again, you don't need to struggle with rewind button to find the correct spot. And if you want to take a break from learning, you don't really need to put the game down. You can just continue focusing on English only. I personally cannot comment on the quality of the Japanese used because I am not that high level. But considering they are first made for Japanese audience and later translated into English, I would assume they are about on par with anime shows.

I'll start by saying that I agree with your point about watching anime. But personally, I've actually had a lot of success with picking up Japanese words and phrases from watching anime with English subtitles on. When I watch it with subtitles, I can constantly listen to what the people in the show are saying, and then compare that to the what I'm reading in the subtitles and make connections that way, instead of just through seeing what they're doing on screen. I understand that this doesn't work for everyone though and I wouldn't recommend it, since you have to be good reading and listening at the same time (and I was also only able to start actually learning stuff after I already knew a bit of Japanese grammar). I just think it's interesting to point out how people's brains work differently, and it's important to find the method which works best for you when learning anything.

Which streaming services give the option for Japanese subtitles?

Such a very very specific introduction 😂

I like to turn on random shows on the background and do other things. I took formal lessons for two years at uni and I find I remember more when I'm hearing it regularly.

Reading Japanese subtitles also helps your reading, grammar and vocabulary

I actually did try learning Japanese by just watching anime with English subtitles and not doing anything beyond that. And I thought it would work. I was thirteen at the time.

The 'authentic materials' point makes me very happy that there's a Japanese bookstore one city away from me that can import all kinds of stuff from 日本。

I live in a share house and about 70% of everyone are friends with eachother. Joining the group 100% enhanced my skills. They also help me from time to time.

When I learn a new language I watch a ton of children's tv in the language. I especially focus on Calliou, Peppa Pig, Sesame Street and similar educational programs that target age 0 to age 3. I let the language wash over me for a few hours a day. I do this before I start my formal learning. In formal learning I focus on nouns, pronouns (not so important in Japanese but is in other languages) and high frequency verbs. Sure, I sound like a 2 year old but we all need a starting place. I'm trying to learn hiragana. Let's just say I'm not good at visuals. I know a few Kanji from living in China but I was bad at learning those too. Rome wasn't built in a day. Lol. 😂 I enjoy watching Yuta's work on KZfaq. He is absolutely correct. I speak multiple languages fluently and didn't learn most of them in textbooks.

Yuta, you could do stand up.

Since there's alot of fun retro games that never got translated, that's my favourite way to practice

I’d love to watch anime with Japanese subtitles. The problem is that they simply aren’t available for most anime on Crunchyroll or Blu-ray outside of Japan. To make things worse, depending on the country you live in, the subtitles cannot even be turned off when watching anime on Blu-ray or VoD in Japanese. The reason is that Japanese distribution companies want to protect their domnestic market from imports and VPN usage by making them less attractive for Japanese people, so foreign distribution companies may be forced to pay a higher price if they want their subtitles to be optional when watching in Japanese, and almost no foreign distribution company considers it necessary to license Japanese subtitles for maybe 1 % of their customers.

That thumbnail was the most emotion I ever saw on your face

Watching anime with English subtitles can be a helpful resource, but it requires more effort beyond just reading the subtitles. You have to be thinking about how the English translations match up with the Japanese dialogue, which means both understanding grammatical rules and learning to recognize words. On top of this, English subtitles can often contain mistakes, or have sentences changed to make them more relatable to American audiences, even if this changes the meaning. But I do find that once you have a basic foundation of the language, watching without subtitles and being able to translate the dialogue yourself by looking up words you don't know will speed your learning beyond what subtitles alone can do.

the advice regarding JLPT was super helpful. I still plan on taking it but now I know what I'm getting into, now I know it'll be mostly for bragging rights haha

I did learn a lot of my Japanese through anime that had English subtitles (just trying to only use the subs to confirm words I didn't know), but I wonder how much better I'd be if I had not used them or only used JP subtitles.

I came to Japan in the US ARMY. Loved it and made tons of Japanese friends. My biggest regret in life is leaving.

Using jp subtitles is great, but the subtitles themselves are such a hard resource to find

Just found this channel. Was not expecting that Takagi san reference 😂

I've been learning Japanese from you and a text book called "Japanese From Zero". I can now at least introduce myself. My first Japanese word or rather sentence is should something I shouldn't use, not in public anyway.

I find that most books to learn japanese seems to be focused on people with some knowledge on the language instead of beginners, specially since most introduce kanjis and not giving some kind of tip about its meaning to learn the context, like saying "it's up to you to search and learn it". I watch anime regularly, mostly subbed. In part because it helps my improve to read and learn english but also because I can understand some words and expressions in japanese easily by hearing. I also tried to learn by playing games in japanese but it's difficult. Spending 30 minutes unable to advance playing because I was searching the kanjis...make my experience very hard and frustrating.

I just try to read and question everything I see. Want to do the JLPT this year to have something on paper but since Feb last year I have also commited to learning a Kanji a day, and my grammar is getting slightly better (I think!). Let's see, the main thing is just to keep going I think.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And that step is subscribing to Yuta's email group.

I've been learning JLPT alongside Kanji in context. I get vocab from the KIC rather than JLPT, which I learn so that I can understand the listening exercises by listening for gist

Lost in Translation is my fav movie though

2:00　はつかしい！！！

Yuta chose violence today 😂

BASED immersion learner yuta

after 2 months learning japanese using books, youtube and duolingo at my country, then so far i am working in japan, i just realized that casual japanese is a lot more useful and easier, and i should stick with the casual first