Is learning how to speak japanese easy or hard?

[Phokus]

I wanna be able to understand all the stuff they say in my anime collection rather than reading the (#@*$ subtitles... is japanese easy to learn?

 

[T3C]

Hard I am sure

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: Phokus
I wanna be able to understand all the stuff they say in my anime collection rather than reading the (#@*$ subtitles... is japanese easy to learn?

I am a TA for college-level Japanese and I have to say that it really depends. A lot of the more subtle elements take several years of study...some call it the "Devil's Language."

Edit: By "subtle elements" I mean that subtitles are not always a 1:1 translation.

 

[Mo0o]

You wont be able to watch an anime w/ot having to read the subtitles unless you take japanese for 3-4 years while learning the necessary colloquialisms

 

[Queasy]

Heh, one of they guys I used to work with went to China with his wife to meet her family. He was still learning Cantonese at the time and called his father-in-law "silly melon".

 

[intogamer]

Errr I am debating. Take Jap or Spanish? or GERMAN!

 

[yukichigai]

Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

 

[intogamer]

what school you go to?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: intogamer
Errr I am debating. Take Jap or Spanish? or GERMAN!

Spanish is easier to learn and you'll likely have more use for it. Really, take what you want to learn and that you know you will be using often in the future. Otherwise, you'll just forget it all.

 

[Sex Smurf]

Chou muzukashii da yo! Gambatte ne.

University level classes are the best - they go really fast and force you to study.

But the BEST would be to live in Japan and i don't know if you'd be that dedicated if your only intention is to understand anime.

 

[Sluggo]

:music: I'm speaking Japanese, I think I'm speaking Japanese, I really think so :music:

Bah, who the hell sung this way back in the 80's? Now its going to be in my head all day.

 

[dc]

90% of people that take japanese to "understand/watch anime" drop it after the 1st quarter or two.

i pulled that statistic out of my butt, but you know what i mean. lol.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: Sluggo
:music: I'm speaking Japanese, I think I'm speaking Japanese, I really think so :music:

Bah, who the hell sung this way back in the 80's? Now its going to be in my head all day.

LOL - it's not "speaking".

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

'nihongo wo hanasu no ha taihen muzukashii to omoimasu'...to be exact..

 

[liquidblue]

Originally posted by: intogamer
Errr I am debating. Take Jap or Spanish? or GERMAN!

"If you're going to be in the Los Angeles Area und would
like tickets to Hitler just call 213-DU WERDEST EINE
KRANKEN-SCHWESTER BRAUCHEN!"

</family guy>

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

'nihongo wo hanasu no ha taihen muzukashii to omoimasu'...to be exact..

The fact that I said that wrong illustrates my point.

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Sluggo
:music: I'm speaking Japanese, I think I'm speaking Japanese, I really think so :music:

Bah, who the hell sung this way back in the 80's? Now its going to be in my head all day.

LOL - it's not "speaking".

hahahahaha.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: intogamer
Errr I am debating. Take Jap or Spanish? or GERMAN!

better learn Chinese.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

'nihongo wo hanasu no ha taihen muzukashii to omoimasu'...to be exact..

Pwned.

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

'nihongo wo hanasu no ha taihen muzukashii to omoimasu'...to be exact..

The fact that I said that wrong illustrates my point.

i kinda understand what you're saying but i dont know what omoimasu is (what's the infinitive)..

speaking japanese is ...

(taihen muzukashii - very difficult)

i haven't come across the "no ha" and "to omoimasu" grammatical structures yet

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

'nihongo wo hanasu no ha taihen muzukashii to omoimasu'...to be exact..

The fact that I said that wrong illustrates my point.

yeah i understand man..some of them are just plain nonsense.

 

[Proletariat]

I never found Heiroglyphics all that interesting.

It is a very difficult language to learn. And some of it just does not make any logical sense.

 

[DaWhim]

silly question, unless you are good with foreign languages, all foregin languages are hard to learn.

 

[slycat]

actually taihen is a bit too much...
would just use sugoi muzukashii or totemo muzukashii.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: maziwanka

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Nihongo o hanaru wa taihen muzukashi to omimasu. ^_^

'nihongo wo hanasu no ha taihen muzukashii to omoimasu'...to be exact..

The fact that I said that wrong illustrates my point.

i kinda understand what you're saying but i dont know what omoimasu is (what's the infinitive)..

speaking japanese is ...

(taihen muzukashii - very difficult)

i haven't come across the "no ha" and "to omoimasu" grammatical structures yet

Omoimasu = I believe. This would be the first person, I believe. So "o-mo-u" would be the infinitive, "to believe"...I think, at least. I dunno - I know Japanese conversationally like I do English, and not gramatically, unfortunately.

The "no ha" construction is basically referring to what is difficult: speaking Japanese. So the direct translation of this bit would be "It is."

Edit: if you think Japanese is hard, try Latin...no set word order, a language completely based on endings. Top it off with the fact that written Latin actually has no spaces, and you're in a nightmare.