Why Do You Study Japanese? Reader Responses

Fri, Apr 25, 2008

Currently I am running a poll which asks people if they are learning Japanese:

(poll closed)

So far, either most people want to or are studying Japanese. This really isn’t much of a surprise as I would think that the majority of people who visit this site at least have some interest in Japanese culture and I think that learning Japanese is an extension of that.

My question now to you all is: Why do you want to or are learning Japanese?

Have a go at answering that in the comments!!

As for me, my original reason was to understand the manga that I was reading it it’s original language. Later it became that I wanted to understand all the TV shows I was watching - it was at this point that I began to take it seriously. Now my reasons have evolved into more and more reasons, but at the core of it all, this was my original motivation: to understand things I enjoy in their original language.

If you don’t have any interest in learning Japanese, why not? I’d be interested in hearing your responses to this as well.

What Now?

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7 Comments For This Post

Dan R Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

I’d like to be able to do my wife the honour of arguing in her first language for a change…

GoddessCarlie Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

So you can hear how right she is in her own language? ha, sorry, I had to say something - I went to a wedding yesterday and these were the kind of jokes I heard all night.

Dan R Says:
April 29th, 2008 at 5:58 am

Ahem. You’re mostly right as it happens. Though I’m optimistically learning vocab to defend myself.

GoddessCarlie Says:
April 30th, 2008 at 11:43 pm

Perhaps she’ll be so flustered by your skills you can get in a right hook or something. Figuratively, not literally!

Zaty Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:28 pm

“trying is the keyword there” fits my state of learning perfectly. XD

i’ve been an avid manga reader since i was nine (my first was sailormoon, which is still among my faves <3) and i guess after exploring the world of manga and anime, i found myself listening to some japanese stuff like utada hikaru and larcenciel (and now have found more jrock stuff =D), and then watched doramas and jmovies. and so far, i love them. =D

i guess my sole motivation is the almost urgent need to understand at least some words/phrases/situations of the things i read/hear/watch - so i had no choice for myself but to learn nihongo. XD

strangely, i think it’s quite fun to learn nihongo. learning the writing forms of kana and kanji is quite stressful because of the pressure to memorise them, but it’s like we’re trying to decode something from wiggles and lines. it’s like working out a puzzle, really. ^_^ unfortunately, i keep forgetting most of them because i rarely revise due to time constraint and laziness, lol.

anyhoo, yeah. i really like japanese language and culture, i hope to get myself to work my arse off to study it properly XD

ganbarimasu~ =D

Kert Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:42 pm

Once, I was given a chance to go to Japan. Since then, I was very much in love with Japan and everything Japanese. I vowed to go back there someday, and to be able to speak the language…

Also, when I was in high school, a relative who’s living in Japan started to send me manga. I was very interested with the pictures, but the trouble is I cannot understand the words. I just tried to figure out what was going on through the pictures. Hehe.. But I would very much want to understand the words. Also, I really want to understand the anime I watch on my own - without the subtitles.. And to understand the lyrics of Japanese songs because, recently, I grew a liking to them(I have this belief that a part of the song’s beauty is lost once it is translated to a different language, since different kind of people would translate it differently. It’s weird, but it’s just me. Hehe. So I want to preserve the song in its original language, and just understand the language)..XD

So, that’s it! So now, I’m trying to learn Japanese… XD.. I’m still a long way from being fluent, but I hope I’ll get there someday. By the way, thanks for the advice. It really encouraged me a lot.

GoddessCarlie Says:
May 5th, 2008 at 5:01 pm

I think that learning Nihongo is fun too Zaty!

Kert, it’s good to see you around. Good luck with your studies, I know you can do it!

Dan R Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I’d like to be able to do my wife the honour of arguing in her first language for a change…
GoddessCarlie Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
So you can hear how right she is in her own language? ha, sorry, I had to say something - I went to a wedding yesterday and these were the kind of jokes I heard all night.
Dan R Says:
April 29th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Ahem. You’re mostly right as it happens. Though I’m optimistically learning vocab to defend myself.
GoddessCarlie Says:
April 30th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Perhaps she’ll be so flustered by your skills you can get in a right hook or something. Figuratively, not literally!
Zaty Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:28 pm
“trying is the keyword there” fits my state of learning perfectly. XD

i’ve been an avid manga reader since i was nine (my first was sailormoon, which is still among my faves <3) and i guess after exploring the world of manga and anime, i found myself listening to some japanese stuff like utada hikaru and larcenciel (and now have found more jrock stuff =D), and then watched doramas and jmovies. and so far, i love them. =D

i guess my sole motivation is the almost urgent need to understand at least some words/phrases/situations of the things i read/hear/watch - so i had no choice for myself but to learn nihongo. XD

strangely, i think it’s quite fun to learn nihongo. learning the writing forms of kana and kanji is quite stressful because of the pressure to memorise them, but it’s like we’re trying to decode something from wiggles and lines. it’s like working out a puzzle, really. ^_^ unfortunately, i keep forgetting most of them because i rarely revise due to time constraint and laziness, lol.

anyhoo, yeah. i really like japanese language and culture, i hope to get myself to work my arse off to study it properly XD

ganbarimasu~ =D
Kert Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Once, I was given a chance to go to Japan. Since then, I was very much in love with Japan and everything Japanese. I vowed to go back there someday, and to be able to speak the language…

Also, when I was in high school, a relative who’s living in Japan started to send me manga. I was very interested with the pictures, but the trouble is I cannot understand the words. I just tried to figure out what was going on through the pictures. Hehe.. But I would very much want to understand the words. Also, I really want to understand the anime I watch on my own - without the subtitles.. And to understand the lyrics of Japanese songs because, recently, I grew a liking to them(I have this belief that a part of the song’s beauty is lost once it is translated to a different language, since different kind of people would translate it differently. It’s weird, but it’s just me. Hehe. So I want to preserve the song in its original language, and just understand the language)..XD

So, that’s it! So now, I’m trying to learn Japanese… XD.. I’m still a long way from being fluent, but I hope I’ll get there someday. By the way, thanks for the advice. It really encouraged me a lot.
GoddessCarlie Says:
May 5th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I think that learning Nihongo is fun too Zaty!

Kert, it’s good to see you around. Good luck with your studies, I know you can do it!

GoddessCarlie.com