Newbie enlisted!

[ConraDargo]

Oi!

I only just now discovered this community after googling for "easy to read manga" and thus found out about you peeps due to a post claiming this site to be a great place for getting into the whole "I want to try and learn japanese"-thing ^^

The name's Tomas and I've been facinated about Japan for many, many years now. A couple of years ago, I tried learning some Japanese through means of flashcards (WhiteRabbitPress.com) and Pimsleur's audio books and while I _did_ manage to learn all the kana in only two weeks - I only made through a couple of chapters of the audio books before becoming too busy to continue on that path...

A few months ago, though, I stumbled upon Richard's GenkiJapan.net website through a YouTube clip and it inspired me to resume my private studies!

Two weeks ago, I finished the Michel Thomas Japanese Advanced course, having listened through the Foundation course during the summer. To make sure that I wouldn't easily forget about things, I went through each chapter _twice_ and boy did I learn a lot from Thomas (or rather the two women giving the lecture)!

And here I stand now, in front of everyone here - eager to learn more ^^ I'm currently expanding on my vocabulary through the Nintendo DS' "My Japanese Coach" and just ordered the first volume of Yotsuba&! in japanese, to try and become more familiar with the language by translating it the best I can.

And that's a little about the wannabe part of me ^__^
Thank you for reading!

[phreadom]

TJPへようこそTomasさん！ (Welcome to TJP Tomas!)

I don't want to discourage you from using My Japanese Coach for learning vocabulary, as it seems fine for that... but please check out our thread on the topic covering many of the bugs, mostly related specifically to the stroke orders for the kana and kanji.

I also have the game and enjoy using it, but I just avoid using those parts.

Yotsuba&! looks like a very cute and fun read, but I haven't tackled it yet myself... I'm still a beginner too.

Anyway... welcome to TJP and good luck with your studies! Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

[Hyperworm]

ようこそ！

Yotsuba&! is great. I own all 9 volumes released so far, and I'm going to be ordering the 10th when it comes out in a couple weeks.

So if you have any questions there I should be well equipped to answer them

[ConraDargo]

ありがとう ございます みんな ^_^

Thanks for the heads up on the bugs found in MJC! I did reflect on the stroke orders of some of the kana when "playing" the game, as my flash cards taught me something completely different. Now that I know which source to trust, I'll simply use MJC for learning more words and not so much kana ^^
It's a good thing that no one can tell where my strokes begin and where they end when using a computer to type, lol

And thank you Hyperworm for your offering! I'll definitely take you up on it in the future I love Yotsuba&! as well but so far I've only read the translated volumes (1-5). Time for things to change Can't wait for the first volume to arrive!

じゃまた

[micahcowan]

Thanks for the heads up on the bugs found in MJC!

Wow, how did I not notice that that piece-of-crap software has the same initials as myself!

("Piece-of-crap" because of its unforgivable bugs and the infuriatingly poor quality measures taken regarding the language itself, and not of course for the general idea and design of the thing.)

[chikara]

TJPへようこそ　

[ConraDargo]

Got myself a new piece of software which I'm certain of will come to good use: Kotoba!, a Japanese dictionary for iOS (I have an iPod Touch, or "aipoddo tachi arimasu" as I assume it would be in Japanese? ^^) which looks great Tried looking up a few words and it seems very accurate, with good examples of how to make use of the said word in a sentence.

Should come in handy as I try to translate my Yotsuba&! manga

Btw, I have to admit that the use of へ as a marker after TJP when welcoming me has me somewhat puzzled, as they didn't cover that in the Michel Thomas courses. Care to shed some light on what the rules for this marker is? ^^
Maybe I should just explore this website a little more before asking such a question, like printing out everything under "Learn -> Lessons -> All Levels - Grammar" X)

[Dustin]

Great!

I have been looking into getting an ipod touch or an iphone since my ipod is slowly dieing and see some great apps out there. I can't wait to make my decision and grab one, though I could always go droid too, but we will see.

[ConraDargo]

Great!

I have been looking into getting an ipod touch or an iphone since my ipod is slowly dieing and see some great apps out there. I can't wait to make my decision and grab one, though I could always go droid too, but we will see.

Yes I highly recommend getting either of those devices, you have no idea what you're missing out on @ the App Store - so many fun apps are to be found there! ;D

[phreadom]

Btw, I have to admit that the use of へ as a marker after TJP when welcoming me has me somewhat puzzled, as they didn't cover that in the Michel Thomas courses. Care to shed some light on what the rules for this marker is? ^^

http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/particles - That page gives a basic example of it.
http://www.timwerx.net/language/particles.htm#e (I believe Chikara likes this particular guide?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_p ... s#ni_and_e

etc. Give those a read and ask if you still have more questions.

[chikara]

.... I have an iPod Touch, or "aipoddo tachi arimasu" as I assume it would be in Japanese? .....

aipoddo tacchi ga arimasu
アイポッド・タッチがあります。

http://www.timwerx.net/language/particles.htm#e (I believe Chikara likes this particular guide?) ......

I use his Japanese Verbs page as a reference but not so much his particles guide. I have a copy of A Dictionary of Japanese Particles　instead.

[ConraDargo]

Thank you, phreadom! I knew you had an article on the particles somewhere as I caught a glimpse of it while I was quickly browsing the website before registering I'll be sure to have a look at it - as well as those other links you posted.

Speaking of which, there appears to be a broken link at the bottom of that article where you refer to a book alled "All About Particles". Here's the correct URL: http://www.thejapanshop.com/All-About-P ... B003V59TV2

I thought that as a site admin, you might be interested to know this

aipoddo tacchi ga arimasu
アイポッド・タッチがあります

Oh snap I forgot the particle! I knew about that one, I promise! X')

[phreadom]

There are several other particles lessons here on the site as well. I just linked the one that included the へ particle.

I'll be trying to go through the lessons again before too long and get them better organized. I think it should be even easier to find and follow through the different lessons for grammar, vocab, kana/kanji, etc... always seeking improvement.

And thank you! I've updated the link on the page to the one you gave. ありがとう！

[ConraDargo]

ど​う​い​た​し​ま​し​て ^^ And kudos for your work here! I love the site already and will be visiting it frequently

[v10japan]

Welcome! Where'd you order Yotsuba&? I've been trying to get ahold of the first one in the series for a while.

Also, I'd recommend you get the Genki textbook. I've tried almost every textbook, and I've found Genki to be the best overall.