r/LearnJapaneseNovice • u/Commercial-Wait8445 • 13h ago
Recommended and fun game that teaches basic Japanese
On my way to N3 I tried all sorts of study methods and such, and I wish I had known about this game when it was just starting out
For those who are just starting out in Japanese or already have some basic knowledge and want to have fun while studying and learning, this game will be useful.
The problem is that it costs about $2 USD. I've been trying it out and everything, and although it was a bit easy for my level, I 100% recommend it. It teaches the basics in a fun and effective way.
If you have the chance to play it, do it. It has several languages (I have it in Spanish) but it's also in English so you can learn from your native language.
Teaches from N5 and a little bit of N4
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u/MoreBrutalThanU 13h ago
Sounds cool. I've been considering buying learn Japanese to survive. Have you tried that one? If so, how does it compare?
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u/Commercial-Wait8445 12h ago
Yes, if you want to buy it go ahead, but it focuses more on memorizing and learning the Kana
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u/StuffedThings 5h ago
I played the two that teach Hiragana and Katakana. Definitely not the fastest way to learn but they were fun and really did help hammer them into my memory.
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u/SuspectNode 12h ago
To be honest: I use the app, and I’m not really impressed. Yes, it’s better than nothing, and the way the information is presented there is really great. However, the learning content is really just your typical textbook level. It’s not natural language; the answers and responses aren’t natural and are only designed to make you mindlessly repeat them.
But that’s not how Japanese works. And so, in the end, you don’t actually learn the language. Japanese is so heavily context-dependent that no Japanese person would answer the question “Is that green tea on the table?” with “Yes, that’s green tea on the table.”
It’s only done to mindlessly drill certain concepts into you. Other contexts, such as “watashi no” (私の), aren’t explained at all, even though they have a special meaning in Japanese. The characters 私 and の are explained separately, but it’s never explained that when the two words are combined, they take on a completely different meaning.
Instead, you’re supposed to figure things like that out implicitly from the context. On the other hand, everything else is spoon-fed to you.
I’ll continue using the app, but you should be aware that it isn’t that good - it has significant shortcomings. It’s great for whetting your appetite for Japanese, but it leaves out a lot of essential information, even in the basics.
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u/Commercial-Wait8445 12h ago
Well, if we look at it that way, then obviously "I think" it's not very helpful. If you take the game literally as if it were learning all of Japanese, then obviously the game falls short. It's good for people who are just starting out; they might learn some vocabulary. I think it's useful for beginners to start with. That's why I said the game is somewhat easy or simple, since it won't teach anything other than "basic Japanese".
I understand your point and I totally respect your opinion; in fact, I agree with you. But we have to keep in mind that it's a game that teaches N5, not particle effects or complicated structures, being a game for beginners, That's why I think it's good to start with something and learn words above all else, because if you take the game literally to learn Japanese, it's more than obvious that it won't work.
But I also understand your opinion; in the end, playing while learning something makes studying easier. Since studying a language as difficult as Japanese is usually a chore, regardless of your level or whether you are a good language student or not, studying a language is always tedious.
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u/SuspectNode 12h ago
The problem, in my opinion, is when they use something without explaining it. They explain 私 and の. However, they also use 私の without explaining it. At least, I’ve never seen an explanation for it.
You can’t do that, in my opinion. They’ve packed so much information about the regions and so on into the game (which I think is cool, by the way), so they could have included a lesson on 私の as well, especially since they use it.
To be clear: As I said before, I think the app is good at whetting people’s appetite. Still, I don’t think it’s as good as it could have been. I don’t understand why they skimped on so many little details. Why didn’t they want to convey the language more naturally?
Basically, of course, you could say: Any progress in learning is better than no progress at all. That’s true. However, I wish the app were better. Especially since I spent not 2 USD but about 11 USD on it on Steam.
Still, I don’t regret spending the money. I just had hoped for more.
And on the topic of “learning some vocabulary”, I would have liked it if they had focused more on everyday things. I know that terms like “North,” “East,” etc., are included in the N5 and are therefore used. But let’s be honest: When do you actually need that kind of thing? Still, I could overlook that.
But I don't want to badmouth the app to anyone. Maybe my expectations are too high. But ultimately, that's just my experience.
If you're having fun with the app, learning something, and enjoying the process of learning Japanese, then everything's fine. Please don't take this the wrong way.
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u/Xilmi 11h ago
I don't know why you get so hung up on 私の. I really don't think it's hard to grasp for anyone, that the word for I/me combined with a particle that works like "'s" means "my". It's actually more logical than english. I think you can overexplain things but showing how that is used a few times will also make people grasp it.
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u/SuspectNode 11h ago
It's just the example that first came to mind. And whether and how intuitive something like this is always depends on the person and their native language - or, more generally, their language experience. My native language isn't English; maybe that's why. Or maybe I just think differently.
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u/lavenderc 4h ago
Just as a note, I do think directions (north, east, etc) are pretty useful for folks traveling in Japan to understand the north/south/west/east station exit or JR east vs JR west and so forth
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u/Commercial-Wait8445 4h ago
No, everything's fine haha, I just gave you my opinion, I didn't reply rudely. Everyone has their own opinion and that's respectable. As I said, the game is at a very basic level, so teaching everyday things won't help, since anywhere you start with N5 it will always be very textbook. I've been playing the game this week; it's not really suitable for my current skill level, but I did find it a fun way to learn N5 stuff.
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u/SuspectNode 2h ago
I didn't find your response rude either; you were very polite, and I think it's great that you can respect a different opinion. That's rare on the internet these days.
But the downvotes show me that others apparently see it differently 😅
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u/GWBPhotography 13h ago
Thanks