Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutchman
I was wondering what the best way to learn vocabulary was. I've learned now with 2 ways.
1. learning words like いぬ ,inu ,dog
2. Learning kanji together with vocabulary
月 gatsu, getsu, tsuki moon,month
But whats the better way to learn some vocabulary when you've got a vocab of 50 words or so. first learn words and later learn the kanji ?
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Builing up a good vocabulary is an important part of learning a foreign language, needless to say. But learning to use new words in the proper context would be far more important.
Let me give you an actual example that I personally witnessed many years ago. When I was studying English in a language school, I had a classmate (another Japanese) who had a 'photographic memory'. He claimed that he had memorized all the words in the first half or so of his English-Japanese dictionary in a few months. All he had to do was to memorize the second half and he was on his way to becoming the master of the English language.
However, my friend failed to become the master because he didn't take nearly enough time to practice using the words that he had learned in the proper context. He didn't try to construct enough sentences using the words. He undoubtedly knew the most words in our class but he was making only average grades. His speaking skills suffered as well as writing because he always had his nose in his dictionary.
I hope that the Japanese learners on this Forum do not follow in this person's footsteps. You could memorize 5,000 beautiful words but you will still sound VERY foreign if you use the wrong particles or not properly conjugated verbs.
After 20 years, this friend of mine still remembers most of the words he memorized back in school. I think he actually knows more English words than I do. But he can hardly speak or write anything in English, so he calls me everytime he has a foreign guest and needs an interpreter.
So, to go back to the main topic, if you know 50 words now, spend lots of time making sentences (or at least phrases) using them. Use your imagination and play with the 50 words like you did as a kid. You have to do it until you feel comfortable using the words. If you feel this process is fun, you will go very far with Japanese. Don't try to learn more words until those 50 words become yours.
One more thing, worry about kanji ONLY if you have already masterd the two systems of kana and you feel 100% confident with them. No one should practice kana and kanji simultaneously. Even Japanese kids don't do that.
So go hiragana--> katakana--> and kanji. One should not practice writing hiragana and katakana simultaneously, either. You will only get confused and frustrated.