[
  {
    "title":"Have you ever tried using AI to analyze grammar?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Have you ever tried using AI to analyze grammar in sentences in the Foundation or Essentials decks? If you tell it to \"Do a word by word analysis of the following sentences\" with an example of what you want the format to be, it will produce a pretty nice analysis. My own experience is that it is about 95% right, but it is so fast. It might be good enough to eliminate the need for learners to add in Tae Kim or something. With the rise of LLM chatbots, many people have started asking them to explain Japanese, help with learning Japanese, and things like that. There's nothing wrong with using AI to help you understand Japanese, but there are some caveats. Don't rely on it exclusively. Use it only when other options aren't available. I wouldn't trust AI for grammar explanations. Instead, try to understand sentences intuitively and use the provided translations. If you truly need a grammar explanation, consult a verified source first. See grammar resources for recommended grammar guides. One such resource is the DJT guide grammar master reference. Now let's cover the problems with asking AI to help you learn a foreign language. AI explanations can be wrong. In short, LLMs generate text based on probabilities. You give them input and they auto-complete it. They don't actually understand what they produce. It only appears that way. As a beginner, you can't tell if their output is correct. That said, modern LLMs can be quite accurate. When you ask someone, including an LLM, to explain grammar, you train your conscious brain to analyze Japanese. You request explanations and then try to make sense of them. That's different from absorbing meaning intuitively, as we do with our native language. AI can help you understand, but the neural pathways you build will differ from those of native speakers. In other words, your brain will work differently from native speakers, impeding your ability to think like one. Native speakers acquire grammar naturally through immersion and usually learn explicit rules much later in life. This is a citation from our guide: Native speakers perceive language entirely on a subconscious level, so it makes sense that the best way to learn a language is through immersion. When you analyze the language by studying grammar rules, you end up using completely different parts of your brain than native speakers do. Once your brain gets used to perceiving language through that analytical lens, it's nearly impossible to revert. At best, you can train yourself until it becomes automatic, but it will still feel different from a native speaker. Focus on watching anime. It's probably the easiest way to acquire the language naturally. If you use AI, ask it to give your more example sentences rather than explain grammar. Humans acquire language by understanding messages. What is being said, not how it's said. Remember that when you analyze sentences, you activate your analytical brain, not the natural, intuitive one. Until you go monolingual, it's a good idea to translate monolingual dictionary definitions with an LLM. That lets you use native-Japanese definitions (e.g., Daijirin, Meikyo) instead of relying only on JMdict/Jisho entries. For example, the word 奇抜 often appears in anime or books. Jmdict lists synonyms like: unusual; unconventional; eccentric; novel; original; striking; bizarre; wild. That helps, but a monolingual definition gives clearer nuance. 明鏡 (Meikyo) definition and examples: 思いも及ばないほどすぐれていること。また、人の意表をつくほど風変わりなこと。 「着想が奇抜だ」 「奇抜なデザイン」 Machine-translated: Something extraordinarily original or striking. Far beyond what you'd expect. It can also mean unusually eccentric or surprising. Examples: \"The concept is unconventional.\" \"A striking/eye‑catching design.\" This kind of translated monolingual definition usually conveys nuance better than a bare list of synonyms. Finally, a big problem is that AI doesn't talk like humans. You've probably noticed this in English, and it's true in other languages too. AI sounds emotionless and formal, academic in tone. It's too perfect, lifeless, and boring. Sentences are often long and convoluted. Talking with an LLM can make you pick up that style of writing. You don't want to consume that kind of input, especially when authentic alternatives exist. For grammar, you can simply open a DoJG reference and read example sentences. Or just watch more anime.",
    "url":"have-you-ever-tried-using-ai-to-analyze-grammar.html",
    "date":"2026-05-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ankidrone decks: Audio issues on iOS",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"I wanted to reach out regarding Ankidrone Essentials V8. On my computer, all the audio files play without any issues. However, in Anki Mobile on iOS, many of the audio files do not play. I tried converting all the OGG files to MP3 to make them compatible, but I ran into problems. Do you know if there is a way to make this deck play all the audio files in Anki Mobile, or does it only work on the computer? Any guidance or solution would be greatly appreciated. Most Anki decks linked on our site come with audio in the Opus format. iOS does not support Opus. We do not recommend using iThings for a number of reasons: www.fsf.org/campaigns/apple www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-apple.html The best solution is to sell your iThing and get a device that is supported by GrapheneOS. Using MP3 audio in Anki is not recommended because MP3 files must be a lot larger than Opus files to match quality, which wastes disk space and slows syncing. If you still want MP3, run ffmpeg in your collection.media folder to convert files. See this page for details.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks-audio-issues-on-ios.html",
    "date":"2025-12-07"
  },
  {
    "title":"Niche proprietary games and AJATT",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"What if a person's motivation for learning Japanese is only to play niche proprietary games/software that will never be localized into their native language. How could they follow the AJATT method? If someone's only motivation is playing a specific set of games, that's a recipe for quitting once they've finished those games. Try to broaden your content choices so you always have something to do in Japanese. If you spend too long searching for content, your immersion is paused and you don't progress. To succeed with Japanese you need both active and passive immersion, and games alone won't cover everything. This situation where you have only proprietary options and no free alternatives isn't unique to language learning. I think Richard Stallman would say that if there's no libre alternative, he'd still refuse to run the proprietary version. From a software-freedom perspective, not running proprietary software preserves your freedom just as much as running free software. The GNU Project's philosophy says we should avoid proprietary software. That said, Richard Stallman also allowed an exception: using a proprietary program can be justified if it is crucial to developing a free replacement that will help others stop using the proprietary program. So if your goal is to help other AJATTers obtain free replacements for those Japanese games, you might choose to run them for the purpose of reverse-engineering or creating alternatives. Running proprietary software solely for immersion is a bad idea.",
    "url":"proprietary-games-and-ajatt.html",
    "date":"2025-11-17"
  },
  {
    "title":"About this site",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"This site contains AJATT's language learning guide and related information. Here you'll find everything you need to know about learning foreign languages.",
    "url":"about-this-site.html",
    "date":"2025-10-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Available domains",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"The site is available at the following addresses: ajatt.top. This domain was bought using money donated by our readers. Thanks so much for your support! tatsumoto.neocities.org. Hosted on neocities.org. tatsumoto-ren.github.io. Hosted on GitHub pages. All addresses contain identical content. They are copies of each other. Feel free to bookmark any one of them.",
    "url":"about-this-site.html#available-domains",
    "parent":"About this site"
  },
  {
    "title":"Contributing",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"The text files for this site can be viewed and edited on GitHub. To suggest a change, edit the Markdown files. You don't need to touch the HTML files. Create a pull request after making your edits.",
    "url":"about-this-site.html#contributing",
    "parent":"About this site"
  },
  {
    "title":"Will immersing in certain genres of content for a long time make my speech inappropriate for my identity?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Hi! In the past I have heard other Japanese learners say that women speak Japanese very differently from men and that learning Japanese purely from copying slice of life/CGDCT material will make you sound obviously effete and feminine if you are a male. Is it something to worry about? Yes, there are sizable gender differences in Japanese. Men and women speak and act differently, use different expressions, pronouns and sentence endings. People also change how they speak as they age. A 75-year-old man doesn't sound the same as a 15-year-old girl. This is true for many other languages as well. When you're a beginner, you're still mastering the basics. The basic, common components of the language are the same across all language domains. You're free to choose any domain with easy language, and slice-of-life anime is a good choice. The fact that the average Japanese person on the street can understand the Japanese in an anime without special study or work shows that the language used isn't that far removed from natural everyday Japanese. Otherwise, Japanese people wouldn't be able to understand it. Copying how girls talk in anime will make you sound like an anime girl. But it's usually easy to notice and learn the differences between male and female speech patterns in Japanese. The differences between anime Japanese and real-life Japanese, men's speech and women's speech, etc., are mostly surface-level things such as first-person pronouns and sentence enders. These are surface dressings that give a certain type of Japanese its own flavor, but beneath that surface dressing all of the fundamentals are actually the same. So it's hard to imagine someone with high comprehension in Japanese who still doesn't understand how to sound male or female in Japanese, or who doesn't know the differences between anime Japanese and real-life Japanese. The more you immerse and get exposed to different domains of the language, the more differences you see, and the easier it gets for you to shape your own speech. In AJATT, you don't start speaking from day one; instead you wait until you understand speech perfectly, and by that time your language intuition will be up to the task. You'll know how anime-girl speech differs from real-life Japanese, that anime girls often don't sound natural, and that you shouldn't copy them. So even if hypothetically you learned Japanese entirely through slice-of-life anime, realistically it would only take a few weeks of listening to natural and scripted Japanese for you to learn how to shift the surface-level features of your own speech to match natural everyday unscripted Japanese. Overexposure to certain domains, however, can cause you to accidentally say something inappropriate. This can be fixed with imitation exercises and with immersion in a wider range of domains. Of course, the best way to learn how to speak natural conversational Japanese is to immerse in everyday conversations. You can find those on YouTube, for example. Don't use any anime, especially CGDCT anime, for imitation practice. I.e., don't repeat anything anime girls say because no one speaks like that, not even real Japanese women. Lastly, if you're a beginner and you're watching CGDCT anime all the time, consider also watching something with male characters, like Hokuto no Ken. The language in that anime is still quite easy. There are almost no cute girls to teach you the wrong speaking habits. Even better is something that features real people, such as YouTube, documentaries.",
    "url":"will-immersion-in-certain-genres-make-my-speech-inappropriate.html",
    "date":"2025-10-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's actually the best way to find easy anime?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"What's actually the best way to find easy anime? You would think just analyzing the subs for speed, frequency and words you know, maybe even grammar, would make it possible to rate how easy it will be for you. When I learned Japanese, I didn't worry about categorizing anime into easy VS hard. The first anime I mined after making my mining deck was Steins;Gate. Although it isn't the simplest anime if you count the difficulty of every word, it wasn't hard to mine from it. I simply went through it line by line, adding every sentence with unknown words to Anki. For beginners, it's fine to start with any slice of life anime without stressing over the difficulty. Don't try to mine sentences right from day one. I only began sentence mining after I had learned more than 1,000 words from a premade deck. There are many resources that claim to organize anime by difficulty for Japanese learners. I think it's best to avoid them. They often miss the mark, potentially leading you to anime that isn't interesting or suitable for your level. Plus, many of these resources require you to create an account and come with questionable money-grab schemes. If you find an anime that looks fun, it's probably the best one for you personally.",
    "url":"whats-actually-the-best-way-to-find-easy-anime.html",
    "date":"2025-05-25"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I write each word once or many times while practicing handwriting?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I printed out some handwriting practice templates. However, I haven't found any recommendations on how many times to write each word when reviewing in Anki. My question is, should I write each word only once, or should I practice in batches? If the latter, how many repetitions should I do per batch? Write each word once. You just need to write a word correctly with the correct stroke order. The goal is to test whether you can recall how to write something from memory. For example, if you were to go to Japan and needed to write by hand, you'd want to be prepared. Although writing a word multiple times in a row might help a little, the real benefits come from spaced repetition. Waiting before trying to recall a word again is more effective, which is why Anki has learning steps. Anki takes care of the intervals for you, and if you forget how to write a word, the program will show you the corresponding flashcard more often. For learning handwriting, see Writing TSCs.",
    "url":"should-i-write-each-word-many-times.html",
    "date":"2025-04-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it worth making production cards?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Is it worth learning words not just by associating a word with its translation, but also in reverse — from translation to word? For example, if I look at a list of translations and try to recall the corresponding Japanese word. It feels much harder than simply memorizing the translation. However, this method seems to strengthens my memory.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-making-production-cards.html",
    "date":"2025-03-02"
  },
  {
    "title":"Production cards",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Going from translation to word is essentially what we call a production card. However, it's more accurate to describe it as meaning to word. Initially, we use translations on our flashcards, but our ultimate goal is to transition to using monolingual dictionaries. In monolingual dictionaries words are defined in the target language itself, without translating to another language. Alternatively, you can use images instead of dictionary definitions.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-making-production-cards.html#production-cards",
    "parent":"Is it worth making production cards?"
  },
  {
    "title":"AJATT's Approach",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The AJATT method recommends using only recognition cards. That is, cards where you go from word to meaning. We never talk about recalling a word by its meaning. Production cards are used in AJATT, but only where the task is to write a word by hand given its Japanese pronunciation and an example sentence. This is the correct way to use production cards. When memorizing recognition cards, you learn to understand the language. Understanding is necessary in order to activate the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition. In contrast, production cards are considered ineffective because the ability to produce sentences from memory develops only as a result of immersion.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-making-production-cards.html#ajatts-approach",
    "parent":"Is it worth making production cards?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Phases of Language Acquisition",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Language acquisition typically occurs in three phases. First, you learn to understand the language through comprehensible input. After you've grasped the language, the second phase involves continuing receiving large amounts of input. Finally, once you've absorbed enough input, you start producing the language naturally. So, your ability to speak and produce the language stems from receiving lots of comprehensible input. Lots of input that you actually understand. For instance, many of us have experienced seeing a TV commercial so many times that we can recite it by heart, even though we never consciously tried to memorize it. Similarly, we might listen to a favorite song so often that we memorize every lyric without any deliberate effort. The same principle applies to Japanese or any other language you're studying. Native speakers often repeat the same phrases and patterns. There's a limited number of patterns. They say the same things in the same ways. For example, 「お疲れ様です」, 「よろしくお願いします」, 「頑張ってください」, and so on. If you get thousands of hours of exposure to a language, and if you understand that exposure, you'll eventually hear and see the same expressions so often that your brain naturally learns to produce them. The brain's language acquisition center works by processing comprehensible input. The more input you feed it, the better it gets at figuring out how the language works. Over time, you become able to speak.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-making-production-cards.html#phases-of-language-acquisition",
    "parent":"Is it worth making production cards?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Flashcards can't teach production",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Forcing yourself to recall words by their meaning without immersion is much more difficult than recognizing words and recalling their meanings. Moreover, this approach is not what we aim for in AJATT. We want to speak like natives, and natives don't translate in their head when they speak. They construct sentences naturally without any intermediate steps. The goal of the SRS is not to enable you to produce your target language. Instead, the SRS helps you reach a point where you can understand your input. It helps make input comprehensible. The knowledge gained through the SRS will assist you in understanding your immersion. Once you can understand, you continue to receive more comprehensible input, eventually allowing you to produce the language. Another point is that the whole idea of using a flashcard to teach you how to use a word is somewhat silly when you think critically about it, because every word has a bunch of nuances that dictate how it is usually used. For example, in English, we have the words \"hit\" and \"smack.\" Imagine trying to explain to a non-native English speaker the subtle difference in nuance between \"I hit him\" and \"I smacked him.\" These phrases sound very different and convey different feelings, which can be difficult to explain to a second-language speaker. How is that non-native speaker supposed to create a flashcard that teaches them when to use \"smack\" versus \"hit\"? It's not going to work. The learner might attempt to memorize the definitions and understand the logical explanations, but that's not how language use truly works. Instead, through extensive exposure and immersion in the language, you intuitively grasp the nuances and the emotional weight of different words. When you're going to speak, you intuitively know which word best fits the sentiment you want to express. Thus, the idea that you can use a flashcard to memorize a word and then apply it accurately in a real conversation doesn't hold up in practice.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-making-production-cards.html#flashcards-cant-teach-production",
    "parent":"Is it worth making production cards?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning to Write",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Essentially, you shouldn't rely on the SRS to help you produce the language. The SRS aids your understanding. The exception is if you want to learn to write words you already know. In that case, you can use production TSCs. When reviewing production TSCs, you recall the spelling of a word you see in a sentence. Of course, this practice only makes sense for words that are usually written in kanji. And if you're not interested in learning handwriting, it's totally fine to skip it altogether. To learn how to write in Japanese, you first need to learn how to read it. Once you can read Japanese, you can practice writing it. This is much easier than learning to write words you don't know because, for example, we rarely forget how to read words, but we sometimes forget how to spell them. Even if you can't remember the exact spelling, you can often visualize the word in your mind and recall most of the letters (or kanji strokes in Japanese). When you write the wrong spelling, you often know it looks wrong even if you can't remember the right one. When you finally get the correct spelling, you know it looks right. With kanji, you can reach this point simply by learning to read. Once you know what looks correct, filling in the blanks to remember all the strokes becomes a simpler task and comes pretty quickly.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-making-production-cards.html#learning-to-write",
    "parent":"Is it worth making production cards?"
  },
  {
    "title":"I barely understand anything. Is immersion actually helpful?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Absolutely! Immersion is crucial for mastering a foreign language. Your brain is a pattern-recognition machine, optimized for language learning and designed to learn languages naturally. By surrounding yourself with content in the target language (TL), you begin to internalize vocabulary and grammar intuitively, even if you don't notice it. The AJATT method encourages you to integrate your TL into your daily life through various forms of media, such as watching movies, TV shows, reading books or manga. The method allows you to immerse in the language without needing to travel to a country where the language is spoken or take traditional classes. When you spend a significant amount of time immersed in a foreign language, your brain automatically starts to decode it. This process happens in the background, often without your conscious awareness, which can make it hard to feel like you're making progress. However, this is exactly how you learned your first language as a child. The more you listen to the language, the more data you provide your brain to help it decode and eventually understand it. The only way to truly master a new language is by listening to it for thousands of hours. AJATT is based on the idea that you can learn a language just like native speakers do — through exposure rather than rote memorization. Simply memorizing vocabulary lists or drilling flashcards will not lead to real understanding. Using target language subtitles helps with comprehension. They must be used moderately because subtitles turn listening immersion into reading immersion. That said, subtitles are invaluable when you can't understand the content and there's no other aid. One effective strategy is to watch content that is very easy. This would be slice of life anime or even shows for children, such as Digimon, Doraemon, Pokemon, One Punch Man, Crayon Shin-chan. This works for people who are motivated by high comprehension, but the content itself doesn't matter as long as they can follow along and understanding most of what they hear. Just remember that all content you immerse with should be made by native speakers for native speakers. Alternatively, watch content that you are interested in, regardless of how much you understand. With this approach, it's easier to lose yourself in the content to the point that you forget that you're \"studying\". This works for people who are motivated by the nature of the content itself and get bored by the easier content. You can enhance this approach by rewatching shows you've already seen in your native language. Since you are already familiar with the story and dialogue, not understanding every word in the TL won't be an issue. Personally, I was never a fan of watching shows for children. As a beginner, I immersed in anime that I found interesting, even if it was difficult or I didn't understand much at first. To bridge the gap, I used an SRS to quickly learn the most common words using a premade deck. After memorizing just 1,000 to 2,000 words with the SRS, I became able to watch any regular anime comfortably and mine sentences without relying on content for learners or children.",
    "url":"is-it-helpful-to-immerse-if-i-barely-understand.html",
    "date":"2025-01-18"
  },
  {
    "title":"Classes",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Traditional language classes suck. They cost money. They are boring. And they are not effective. If you're enrolling in a typical textbook-based Japanese class, hoping that teachers will magically transfer textbook material into your brain during short daily lessons, you might want to rethink your strategy.",
    "url":"classes.html",
    "date":"2025-01-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"Toxic input",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In class, you receive toxic input. You listen to speech produced by other learners, which is filled with mistakes. Hearing poorly spoken phrases with a terrible accent like \"ah ree gar toe go zai moss oo\" is not conducive to your language learning. Have you ever noticed that sometimes you start using the same set phrases as your friends? Or that you accidentally memorize a TV commercial? Simply being exposed to toxic input is dangerous. You risk unconsciously absorbing the mistakes and poor pronunciation of those foreigners you listen to in class. Input should only come from native speakers for the results to be satisfactory.",
    "url":"classes.html#toxic-input",
    "parent":"Classes"
  },
  {
    "title":"Premature output",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In class, you are often forced to speak before you are ready. Most people who learn a language through immersion using the AJATT method naturally begin to output after 1 to 2 years of study. Speaking ability develops as a result of daily immersion, similar to how children first learn to speak. Without immersion, it's very hard to force natural output to emerge early. Newborn babies don't speak because they haven't gotten enough input yet. Teachers demand that you speak from day one, seriously damaging your ability to understand and acquire language naturally. Pronunciation suffers the most because to speak with a native accent you need to be able to hear the sounds of the target language. Many sounds in Japanese do not exist in English. You need thousands of hours of listening practice to train your ears and learn to decipher the sounds correctly.",
    "url":"classes.html#premature-output",
    "parent":"Classes"
  },
  {
    "title":"Lack of input",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Essentially, classes are the antithesis of mass immersion. People go to college to study Japanese for 4 years. During that time, they have Japanese classes maybe a few times a week. Plus some homework. After they finish the classes, they go back to their native language bubble. They don't bother immersing in Japanese, watching Japanese movies, or reading manga. So in reality, they spend only 3 to 6 months engaging with their target language, counting by hours. As a result, they cannot speak Japanese. It is unsound to expect to have even passable proficiency with an order of magnitude less effort than what even a typical Japanese toddler has put in. A 4-year-old child runs rings around people who studied Japanese for 4 years in college. Why? Because the child has spent 365 days a year for 4 years learning Japanese, a commitment that far surpasses the effort put in by many college students.",
    "url":"classes.html#lack-of-input",
    "parent":"Classes"
  },
  {
    "title":"Boring content",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Classes don't provide compelling content. Language acquisition is a result of receiving input. Input has to be compelling for you to pay attention and try to understand it. When learners pay attention, only then the language acquisition center of the brain becomes active. To succeed, you need to learn from something you enjoy, whether that's books, comics, movies, music, radio, or podcasts. Interesting input allows learners to absorb language in context, helping them intuitively understand vocabulary, grammar, and how words fit together. Sometimes, we can even acquire language without looking up words in a dictionary. When learners engage with compelling content, they are more likely to stay motivated and committed to their studies. They are also more likely to retain what they learn. Interesting content creates emotional connections, enhancing retention and motivation. Everyone has different tastes, so it's unreasonable to expect classes to provide universally engaging content. While some classes may teach language through stories, these stories rarely exceed a couple pages and often use very limited vocabulary.",
    "url":"classes.html#boring-content",
    "parent":"Classes"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning vs Acquisition",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In class, you memorize words, set phrases, dialogues, questions and answers. This method teaches you to translate your thoughts from your native language (NL) into your target language (TL). While preparation isn't inherently bad, real-life conversations rarely follow pre-planned scripts. Improvisation becomes necessary when unexpected complications arise during conversations. In a real conversation, your plans can easily fall apart. You might forget a word and have to explain your way around it. To speak fluently and handle every situation, you must acquire your TL as natives do — through extensive input. This means absorbing the language by listening to it for 10,000 hours. When we were little kids, our moms didn't sit us down and teach us vocabulary and grammar rules. Instead, we were exposed to our native language for thousands of hours until we could understand and reproduce it ourselves. With acquired ability, when you want to say something, phrases in the target language start popping up in your head just as they do in your native language. Since native speakers rely almost entirely on acquired ability, if you want to function like a native speaker, you need to acquire your target language as well.",
    "url":"classes.html#learning-vs-acquisition",
    "parent":"Classes"
  },
  {
    "title":"Incompetent Instruction",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A simple comparison between the number of people taking Japanese classes and those who achieve proficiency reveals a startling gap. Teachers may attribute this discrepancy to the perceived difficulty of the Japanese language, or the complexity of kanji, or even blame cultural barriers. They believe that reaching a truly high level of proficiency is impossible. I've seen many people who suck at Japanese say things like, \"you can never hope to read newspapers without decades of study\". Such claims are baseless. There's nothing inherently challenging or unique about Japanese. Millions use it effectively every day. The issue lies in the learning methodology rather than the language itself. In class, you learn from teachers who lack proficiency in the TL. No one would take dieting advice from someone who is fat. Yet, in language classes, people are forced to learn from incompetent teachers. If you learn your TL from such teachers, you cannot expect to surpass the low level they are at. Even if you have a native speaker as a teacher, they likely have no idea how language acquisition works, they don't remember how they learned their own language, and they've never actually followed their own advice. Consequently, they will teach you in the same manner as other teachers. Perhaps traditional teaching methods were justified back when information was harder to find elsewhere. In the past, access to foreign language resources would have been limited outside a class. Particularly so if you were outside Japan. However, with open access to information nowadays thanks to technology and abundant online resources, we have transcended the limitations of traditional classrooms and can learn more efficiently than ever before. It's time to embrace new methods that prioritize immersion over outdated practices that often lead to frustration and stagnation.",
    "url":"classes.html#incompetent-instruction",
    "parent":"Classes"
  },
  {
    "title":"I Stopped Using Matrix",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"I have some exciting news, folks! You've been asking me to do this for a long time, and now the moment has finally arrived. I've decided to discontinue our Matrix community in favor of a different platform. I started using Matrix in 2018 and became a strong advocate for it in 2020. In that year, I created DJT (Daily Japanese Thread), a Japanese learning community on Matrix dedicated to talking about the AJATT method of language learning. For a long time, I tried to persuade people to join Matrix, but now it's time to cut my losses and move on. Matrix has its drawbacks, which isn't surprising. I've ignored them for quite some time, but I can't continue doing that. The reality is that all Matrix clients are hideous. They are slow, and every time I open Element, I have to wait for ages for everything to load. Some clients fail to load anything at all. Some clients also consume a lot of RAM. If a room has many service events (like joins, nickname changes, avatar changes, etc.), it starts to lag when you try to scroll through the timeline. As an admin, you can't clear a room's history with just one click. Moreover, if you attempt to redact all messages from a particular user, which is often necessary when someone posts spam, you'll be rate-limited by your homeserver, and eventually, the room will start lagging. Meanwhile, Telegram works instantly. Most Matrix servers are also awful. They often have strict and unreasonable rules, or no rules at all, and they tend to be very slow. You can get banned randomly. I once got banned from a server because the admin ran out of disk space and started purging people's accounts to reclaim it back. Servers don't sync properly, which can leave rooms in conflicting states. For example, you might appear as an admin of a room on one server but as a regular user on another. Even worse, your account may be completely absent from a room when viewed from a different server. There are also many spammers, and we constantly have to deal with deleting their spam. Another issue is that people are often reluctant to register on Matrix. DJT is also available on Telegram, where the community is noticeably more active. These downsides are well-known, and I've dealt with them for years. I considered quitting but kept putting it off until now. The real reason I decided to leave is different from what most people talk about. What ultimately pushed me to leave Matrix was discovering that my homeserver's admin was using my account without my consent. Specifically, he used some sort of server admin API to send events to my room under my name without logging into my account. To anyone present in the room, it appeared as though I was sending those events myself. This is simply insane! No messaging platform should allow this. Only you should have access to your account. This might sound too terrible to be true, but in fact, this article mentions the possibility. Room administrators are bound to their Matrix ID which is, in turn, bound to their home servers. This implies that a home server administrators could (1) impersonate a given user and (2) use that to hijack the room. So in practice, the home server is the trust anchor for rooms, not the user themselves. In an encrypted room even with fully verified members, a compromised or hostile home server can still take over the room by impersonating an admin. That admin (or even a newly minted user) can then send events or listen on the conversations. When I noticed this happening, I messaged the server's admin. At the time, I was using the cutefunny.art homeserver. Here's what he told me: I can understand how it feels a little intrusive, but it doesn't invade on peoples privacy, private conversations stay private. Even if private conversations are encrypted and cannot be tampered with, I primarily use Matrix for public discussions. The fact that a room's timeline can be manipulated to make it appear as though I did something I never actually did is deeply concerning. This whole situation shows that Matrix is intrinsically unsafe. I understand that most Matrix server admins use their power responsibly, but I think it shouldn't be possible for such abuses to occur in the first place. It's easy to misuse this power. I've seen it happen. There are hundreds of Matrix servers, and many people choose a server randomly. If it happened to me, it could easily happen to someone else as well. Basically, if you use Matrix, you either have to host your own server or be at the mercy of whoever is hosting it for you. I think it's unreasonable to expect everyone to host their own server. Therefore, the next best option is to find a better place to communicate. Ideally, the platform shouldn't depend on third-party servers for hosting users' data. And of course, only you should have the power to deactivate or remove your account, which is not the case on Matrix. There are many alternatives to Matrix that do not host conversations on servers you can't control. Good options that I've found include Session and SimpleX. Since Session doesn't support large groups, I've decided to move my conversations over to SimpleX. When I decided to create a Japanese learning community in 2020, I chose both Matrix and Telegram. The reason I chose Matrix was that other options (like Discord) were unfit due to being proprietary and/or spyware. The Telegram and Matrix chats have existed somewhat independently of each other, although we used a Matrix-to-Telegram bridge bot at some point. Eventually, we removed the bot because it caused more inconvenience than it was worth. For the past few months, the Matrix community has been largely inactive (despite having over 5,000 members), while the Telegram community has remained much more vibrant. This is disappointing given that I have been a strong advocate for using Matrix and have promoted it widely. For some reason, people are not moving to Matrix at the rate I had hoped. So, over the past couple of months, I've been considering telling our members on Matrix to migrate to something else. The upside is that we won't lose many active members by discontinuing our Matrix community. If you've been a member of our Matrix chat, please feel free to migrate to Telegram instead. Additionally, I recently created a chat on SimpleX. The Telegram group has been around since 2020. There, you can discuss learning Japanese and ask our longtime members who already know Japanese for advice. While it's unfortunate that Telegram's backend is proprietary, at least you're not running any non-free code on your computer when using the FOSS client. I don't expect SimpleX to become popular anytime soon. As of 2024, SimpleX is still in its early stages in terms of features and usability. However, since many people refuse to use Telegram because it requires registering with a phone number, SimpleX will serve as a viable alternative. Things to read: Matrix notes. Possible alternatives to Matrix. Messaging apps spreadsheet",
    "url":"i-stopped-using-matrix.html",
    "date":"2024-11-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"How much time should I spend studying basic grammar each day?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It's up to you, but we recommend spending around 15 to 30 minutes each day on grammar. We all know that reading about grammar isn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world. Thus, we think that consuming grammar theory incrementally over time will make it easier to consolidate and integrate what you've learned. If you choose to spend about 30 minutes a day studying grammar, it's perfectly fine to study basic grammar alongside Ankidrone Foundation and/or Ankidrone Essentials.",
    "url":"how-much-time-should-i-spend-studying-basic-grammar-each-day.html",
    "date":"2024-11-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is watching anime with JP subtitles considered as reading?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Yes, it is. Watching anime with Japanese subtitles counts as reading immersion because reading the subtitles creates an inner voice that competes with the spoken language that you're listening to. As a result, you are not fully paying attention to the native speech. Instead, you focus on your internal subvocalization while reading the subtitles. If you watched anime with English subtitles before starting to learn Japanese, you've likely spent thousands of hours listening to native Japanese. However, if reading subtitles did not interfere with your listening practice, you would have already learned the language. This is why we say that watching with subtitles counts as reading immersion. When you read subtitles, your own subvocalization interferes with and overshadows the audio. Consequently, you end up learning the language of the subtitles rather than the language of the audio. In this case, the language of the English fansubs. Watching anime with Japanese subtitles can help you notice and learn more words, but it will cause your listening skills to lag behind. Relying too heavily on subtitles can create a crutch, making it difficult to transition to listening without any text support. If you've spent a long time watching anime with Japanese subtitles and neglected listening practice, you will be frustrated when you decide to turn off the subs and watch raw anime. While you can improve your listening skills by going cold turkey and immersing with a lot of raw anime, it will be challenging at first. It's better to train your listening ability while you're still a beginner. Therefore, AJATT recommends prioritizing listening to avoid this issue. We recommend disabling subtitles if you don't need them. For those who need them, enable them only when you don't understand something. Keeping them visible creates a hindrance, and you can't help but read the subs even if it's unintentional. It's difficult to ignore them completely. So, regardless of your current skill level, when we divide our study time, watching something with TL subs counts toward your reading time.",
    "url":"is-watching-anime-with-jp-subtitles-considered-as-reading.html",
    "date":"2024-11-02"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"If you seriously want to master your target language, textbooks are not for you. We recommend skipping them entirely and learning the language through immersion.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html",
    "date":"2024-09-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why we do not recommend textbooks",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"We do not recommend textbooks for many of the same reasons we advise against using apps like Duolingo. Textbooks are not designed to align with the AJATT methodology and tend to reinforce traditional learning habits, which are neither ideal nor efficient. These resources focus on constructing sentences from grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary in a specific order, and encouraging early speaking and writing. Consequently, textbooks offer little to no benefit to your immersion learning journey. They provide very superficial knowledge that won't help you when you decide to read an actual novel. Don't expect to become fluent by reading textbooks. Purchasing a textbook just to ignore the majority of it is also not in your best interest.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html#why-we-do-not-recommend-textbooks",
    "parent":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Purpose of a textbook",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Language acquisition happens when we comprehend what is being said. \"Acquiring\" a language means developing an intuitive understanding of it. Thus, the AJATT method builds its language learning strategy around immersing yourself in the target language in order to provide your brain with as much input as possible. Our brains are pattern recognition machines. They need input to decipher and understand the structures, rules, and building blocks of your target language. Think about how babies learn their first language. Initially, they learn from the input they receive from their parents and other speakers, and after a couple of years, they accumulate enough input to begin speaking. The more language they absorb, the more neural pathways they create. Adults who are doing AJATT learn foreign languages in the same way. This process mostly happens unconsciously, but providing the right input can expedite it. If textbooks were necessary for language acquisition, all infants would be required to read them. But that is not the case. Do textbooks have a purpose? What can they possibly do to help us? An ideal textbook should provide plenty of example phrases and sentences, a variety of samples of the target language, a wealth of comprehensible input. From the AJATT perspective, it is best to make the explanations short (very short) and provide as many usage examples as possible to feed your brain the essential input. However, the problem with textbooks is that they never feed you input. They explain rules, force you to memorize vocabulary lists, force you to speak and write prematurely, etc. Textbooks that include stories are not suitable for everyone either. The stories in textbooks cannot compete with manga and anime. They are simply not as interesting. Additionally, the kind of language they use is artificially simplified and dumbed down. Therefore, we think it is better to learn from native content from day one, starting with something easier at first, such as slice of life anime. This way, you can learn in the most natural manner. And when you don't understand something, TL subtitles and dictionaries help you figure it out.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html#purpose-of-a-textbook",
    "parent":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Are textbooks inherently bad?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Absolutely. Many textbooks are made by non-native speakers, and thus are prone to contain numerous mistakes and unnatural sentences. For example, the Japanese from Zero textbook was made by a person who, at the time of publication, did not know how to read many basic words (such as 挑む) and could not read real novels. He only began reading novels and learning to read kanji after being called out for it. Textbooks created by native speakers are less likely to contain mistakes, but we still believe they cannot be fully trusted because errors can be unintentional. Natural sentences that you find in your immersion environment are always better. In textbooks, kanji are often intentionally replaced with kana, so you end up with words and sentences written in a way that you will never see outside a textbook. People rarely write わたし, they almost always write 私. In AJATT, it is recommended to learn how words are written in kanji from the start, to avoid having to unlearn them later. Textbooks give you vocabulary lists. Vocabulary lists are meant to be memorized as word ⇒ translation. When you memorize words out of context (outside of a sentence), this knowledge is nearly useless, and the brain tends to discard it quickly. Simply knowing what a word means does not help you understand it. You need to know how the word is used in real sentences, what collocations and expressions it pairs with, and what grammar is commonly used with it. To truly grasp a word's meaning and usage, you need to see numerous examples of it in context. Learn words by understanding sentences. To learn words AJATT recommends using Anki and TSC. Additionally, textbooks typically progress at a slow pace and are reluctant to teach anything they deem too difficult for new learners. Most textbooks cannot prepare you for consuming authentic content because they only cover the very basics. A textbook cannot teach you everything. It is extremely limited and features contrived dialogues and simple vocabulary. On top of everything, textbooks are very boring. Learning a language through immersion is fun, and you will learn more from a single anime series than from any textbook.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html#are-textbooks-inherently-bad",
    "parent":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to use textbooks",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Go straight for the dialogues and example sentences. Copy those into your SRS. — How To Use a Japanese Textbook, article by Khatz. Textbooks can be used in an way that aligns with the AJATT method. While we don't think it is worth your time (more on that later), it is theoretically possible. Let's see how. If you want to give a textbook a try, here's what you can do. Don't buy them, download a digital version (PDF, EPUB) from the Internet. Skip everything except the example sentences. Try to understand the examples. Optionally, mine the example sentences by adding them to your SRS. If you notice words where kanji are replaced with kana (e.g. ねん is written instead of 年), fix the words by looking up the proper spellings in a dictionary (GoldenDict, Jisho.org, etc.). This is what we did with the Tango textbooks when we created Ankidrone Essentials.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html#how-to-use-textbooks",
    "parent":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it worth it?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Of course not. It's a waste of time. Although you could potentially use textbooks in a way that aligns with AJATT by following the instructions in the previous section, it is still not an efficient use of your time. Here's why: The work has already been done. You can just grab Ankidrone Essentials instead. Even though Ankidrone Essentials is based on a different book than the one you may want to use, the differences are likely minimal since most textbooks are quite similar. I also think Ankidrone Essentials offers more because it provides thousands of high quality example sentences. You will have to do everything yourself. Copy sentences from the book to your SRS app, cut and convert audio clips (if the textbook comes with audio recordings), add definitions for words, add furigana, pictures, and notes. Some textbooks don't have any kanji in them! Or, kanji are underutilized, which I expect is a common issue with most textbooks. Or, kanji are introduced much later than necessary (e.g., after page 80 in Genki). You will have to convert every word to its kanji form manually and ensure you don't make mistakes. Typical textbooks are full of vocabulary lists. There are not many example sentences that you can mine. As you already know, words out of context (outside of a sentence) are nearly useless. There are textbooks that do a good job providing examples, but there aren't many of them, and you will first have to find the right one. Some sentences and dialogues are not translated. You will have to rely on what you've learned previously to understand them. This is not suitable for our mine and dump approach. There are exercises meant to be done with a partner, \"pair-work\". They are meant to be done in class. Such books clearly do not favor self-study, and since AJATT is aimed at people who want to master Japanese through self-study, those exercises are also useless to you.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html#is-it-worth-it",
    "parent":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?"
  },
  {
    "title":"So what do I do?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Don't learn Japanese from textbooks. Follow the AJATT method. It will teach you everything you need to master Japanese faster than any other method in the world.",
    "url":"are-textbooks-bad.html#so-what-do-i-do",
    "parent":"Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is the difference between the Foundation and Essential decks besides the way the cards are reviewed?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials consists solely of cards from the JLPT Tango textbooks, maintaining the original order and content. The deck is designed for those who have completed Ankidrone Foundation or wish to expand their vocabulary and supplement sentence mining. In contrast, Ankidrone Foundation takes the N5 subdeck from Ankidrone Essentials, but the card order is rearranged. We tried to arrange the cards so that each new card is 1T. The sorting algorithm we used prefers cards with the fewest estimated number of unknown words per example sentence and puts them in the beginning of the deck. The deck is intended for complete beginners who only know hiragana and katakana. The JP1K method helps new learners get used to reading words with kanji characters which can initially seem difficult. Additionally, many katakana words and place names have been removed from Ankidrone Foundation, as they are typically unnecessary for learners. For instance, words like コンサート are straightforward since they are borrowed from English. On the other hand, Ankidrone Essentials includes these terms because they appear in the Tango textbooks. We also introduced new cards into Ankidrone Foundation when we saw that certain words needed to be learned before others to preserve the 1T order. If you decide to skip Ankidrone Foundation and jump straight into Ankidrone Essentials, you will need to learn kanji and their readings from the beginning, which can be more challenging compared to following the JP1K method. However, this is a choice some learners prefer. You will also need to suspend or delete any cards you already know, as Ankidrone Essentials retains all content from the Tango textbooks. And since Ankidrone Essentials does not maintain the 1T order as effectively as Ankidrone Foundation, you may encounter more unfamiliar words within sentences. However, it's worth noting that the Foundation deck is not flawless in this regard either. If you have completed Ankidrone Foundation, skip the Tango N5 subdeck in Ankidrone Essentials, as they cover similar vocabulary, differing mainly in card templates and order.",
    "url":"difference-between-foundation-and-essential-decks.html",
    "date":"2024-08-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ankidrone Anki Decks",
    "tags":[
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"Our Anki decks are organized into a comprehensive system designed to guide learners through the process of mastering the Japanese language using the AJATT method.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks.html",
    "date":"2024-08-12"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kana",
    "tags":[
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"Learning kana, the Japanese writing system consisting of hiragana and katakana, is the first step in learning Japanese. If you haven't learned kana yet, it's recommended to read Learning Kana In Two Days and complete one of the kana decks before moving on.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks.html#kana",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Anki Decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Beginner",
    "tags":[
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Foundation contains the most fundamental vocabulary for beginners starting AJATT. The deck makes it eaiser to recogznize kanji by following the JP1K method. The JP1K method instructs learners to actively recall kanji readings and meanings during card reviews, without penalizing incorrect readings. This approach allows beginners to focus on building a strong vocabulary base while gradually improving their kanji reading skills.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks.html#beginner",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Anki Decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mining deck",
    "tags":[
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"After completing Ankidrone Foundation, all AJATTers must start building their own mining deck. A mining deck is a personalized deck that you create yourself, filling it with sentences you encounter while immersing in Japanese. This process is known as sentence mining. To start your mining deck and understand the desired card format, download the examples.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks.html#mining-deck",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Anki Decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Vocabulary",
    "tags":[
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials is a supplementary deck that provides Targeted Sentence Cards to be used alongside sentence mining. The contents of the deck include words commonly used in daily life in Japan and basic vocabulary used on the JLPT tests. Learning this deck is not required, as it can be substituted with sentence mining. However, we believe that many learners will benefit from it, especially individuals who don't always have enough time in a day to create Anki cards.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks.html#vocabulary",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Anki Decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentences",
    "tags":[
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Sentence Pack is a large collection of voiced sentences that can be used as a sentence bank. By following this structured approach, combined with immersion in native Japanese content, learners can achieve fluency in the Japanese language using the AJATT method.",
    "url":"ankidrone-decks.html#sentences",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Anki Decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ankidrone Foundation",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The most important part of learning Japanese with the AJATT method is to enjoy native content and be able to grow your understanding of the language entirely through immersion by picking up new words from the media you read, watch or listen to. To transition towards learning directly from Japanese media, first you need to level up your comprehension. Ankidrone Foundation is an Anki Deck for newcomers to Japanese based on the JP1K method. If you want to learn the theory behind this deck, please read this article.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html",
    "date":"2024-08-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"About",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The deck is designed to teach you how to recognize kanji along with the most common 1,000 words used in everyday Japanese conversations. Once you finish this deck, you should be able to understand enough Japanese to start learning directly from your immersion. Prior knowledge of kana is required but there is no need to do any isolated kanji study before starting this deck. You're going to learn kanji and vocabulary at the same time. If you have already learned basic vocabulary through a premade deck like Core10k or Ankidrone Essentials and know more than 1,000 words, or have gone through isolated kanji study with a book like RTK, you are unlikely to benefit from the deck. People who know more than 1,000 words are advised to do sentence mining instead, if they haven't started doing it already. However, if your vocabulary is below 1000 words, I recommend that you give Ankidrone Foundation a try. The vocabulary used in the deck was taken from Ankidrone Essentials and other premade Anki decks. It consists of words commonly used in everyday life in Japan. Most cards in the deck have example sentences. Cards are presented relatively in the 1T order. Each sentence in the deck tries to introduce only one unknown word or structure. Each word along with each sentence has native audio and an English translation.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#about",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"JP1K method",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The JP1K method is a powerful technique that can help you effectively learn kanji readings while building your vocabulary. I explain the method in more detail here. This approach allows you to gradually improve your reading skills as a beginner and learn words while not letting difficult kanji characters slow you down as much. The core idea behind the JP1K method is that you try to actively recall kanji readings when you review the cards from this deck, but you don't take them into account when grading yourself. When a flashcard appears, try to recall the reading of the target word. Use your mouse to hover over the word to reveal its reading (pronunciation). After seeing the reading, try to recall the meaning of the word. Next, flip the card over to reveal the back side and check if your guess was correct. Listen to the audio and try to understand the example sentence, if available. If you've successfully recalled the meaning of the target word, pass the card (press \"Good\"). If not, click \"Again\" to review it later. Note: You can press the x key on the keyboard to reveal the English translation. It is important that you try to recall the reading of the target word every time you see the card. By doing so, you engage in deliberate practice, which should help you eventually remember the reading. Deliberate practice helps gradually build the neural pathways necessary to remember the reading. However, don't penalize yourself for being unable to do recall readings. Don't press \"Again\" if you recalled the meaning but forgot the reading. As a beginner, it's already quite difficult to memorize Japanese words, and you don't want to add another level of complexity just yet. Once you've completed Ankidrone Foundation, you'll start using regular Targeted Sentence Cards. When reviewing TSCs, you'll need to accurately recall both the reading and meaning to pass each card. But the difference is that when doing Ankidrone Foundation, knowing the readings is not necessary, as you're still in the process of adapting to reading native Japanese sentences. By understanding the JP1K method and consistently applying it when studying this deck, you'll be well on your way to mastering kanji and expanding your vocabulary.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#jp1k-method",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Downloads",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Download the folder below to get the deck. Download Mirror The following sections explain what these decks are.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#downloads",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki deck",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"At AJATT, we believe that the most effective way to learn vocabulary is through targeted sentence cards. The target word on the cards is highlighted. You decide if you want to read the whole sentence or just the word. This deck contains modified targeted sentence cards. They differ from regular TSCs. The difference is that if a word contains kanji, you can view the furigana reading by hovering over the word with your mouse or clicking on it. This is an aid for beginners who don't know any Japanese yet. In normal TSCs this is not allowed. On the front there's an example sentence. The target word appears highlighted. When reviewing the cards you can decide whether you want to read the whole sentence or not. When you hover over each word, a furigana reading appears on top. Note: You can press the p key on the keyboard to immediately reveal all kanji readings. An example TSC from Ankidrone Foundation. When trying to read sentences while reviewing, prior knowledge of some grammar might be necessary. The deck explains certain grammar points and particles, but it is not enough to replace a proper grammar guide. Refer to one of the recommended grammar guides when there's a sentence you don't grasp fully.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#anki-deck",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Extra",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The \"Extra\" folder in the linked archive contains JP1K-style decks shared by our community members.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#extra",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Q&A",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"I downloaded the example deck a while ago and got the Japanese sentences note type. Then I downloaded the Ankidrone deck and got a new Japanese sentences+ note type. What happened? Anki automatically adds a '+' to the name of a note type if another note type with the same name already exists. Ideally, these note types should be merged since they are essentially the same (we use one note type across all our decks), but Anki cannot detect this. It checks the note type IDs and changes the name if the ID is different. You can either choose to ignore the \"+\" or convert the notes to one of the note types and delete the duplicate note type. The deck doesn't work properly in AnkiDroid on Android. The .webp files and the .ogg files do not load properly. Update AnkiDroid to the latest Alpha version. Media sync can take a while. You need to sync with AnkiWeb and wait for it to finish. How many kanji are taught through the deck? There are 776 unique kanji used in the deck. After importing the deck I only got 50 notes or so. Anki doesn't import notes that are already present in your collection. If you have prevously downloaded Ankidrone Essentials (covered later), you already have got all the cards from this deck. You don't need to import this deck and can continue learning new cards from Ankidrone Essentials. The only difference is that this deck utilizes a note type designed to work with the JP1K method. On the other hand, Ankidrone Essentials is designed for people who either have already completed Ankidrone Foundation or decided to skip it. The deck contains some words that I don't think will be useful for me. The main source of words in the deck is a book called 1000 Essential Vocabulary for the JLPT N5. It contains a number of pretty obvious katakana words and a short list of country names. If you don't want to learn them, press @ to suspend such cards. Do I really need to learn kanji spellings of words normally written in kana? If you feel intimidated by them, it's okay to suspend the cards. I like to always learn kanji versions because even if you see a word in its kana reading most of the time, there's a chance that you eventually encounter the kanjified version. You want to be prepared when it happens. I have poor retention. This is natural if you're a beginner, and your brain isn't used to memorizing Japanese yet. At first some words just won't stick, in which case try getting more immersion. The words and phrases in the deck are very common, and you'll be hearing them more frequently. If you find yourself failing cards over and over, install Mortician, and it will bury them for you automatically. Usually the buried words become easier after you get some rest. If not, suspend the cards. Sometimes I forget the meaning of the target word but still remember the meaning of the whole sentence, therefore I can infer the meaning of the target word. Is it alright to do that? Yes. Sentence cards tend to form context-dependent memories, but eventually knowledge transfers from being context-dependent to context-independent. When I review the cards, I can't recall the meaning of a word until I hover over the reading. Seeing the reading allows me to recall the meaning of the target word. Should I try to recall the meaning and the reading at the same time? This is the review order according to the JP1K method. If shown the word, can I recall the reading? If shown the reading, can I recall the meaning? If you are able to pass both steps correctly in this order, that's great because it guarantees that if shown the word in your immersion, you can look at the word and recall what it means by going through the steps in your head. If not, you grade the card \"good\" if you've passed the second step. You are not grading yourself on your ability to recognize the kanji, but you're trying to do it every time you see the card. That makes it a deliberate practice, that's what helps you transition to reading kanji once you graduate from this deck. By doing the two steps separately you learn the meanings of words through their readings, and this process is not affected by your performance in memorizing kanji. When you hear a word in your immersion, you'll be able to recognize it. Because you're still new to kanji, trying to recognize the meaning and the reading at the same time is going to be more difficult. You can try doing it anyway, but this is not what the JP1K method was intended for. Nothing seems to work for me, and I can't remember anything. The JP1K method may not work for everyone. If you often have trouble recalling the words taught in Ankidrone Foundation, we recommend setting the deck aside and spending a couple of weeks on Kanjidamage or RRTK. But, instead of trying to go through all the kanji, concentrate on learning to recognize about 400-500 kanji (which is less than half of the deck). After that, you can either return to this deck or start Ankidrone Essentials instead. What to do next? If you try the deck out, please put any feedback or corrections you have in the chat. After you complete the deck, you are free to start mining sentences on your own. If you still need a sentence pack to help you out, refer to basic vocab.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#q-and-a",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Convert any deck to the JP1K format",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"If you don't like this deck, the good news is that making your own JP1K-style deck is very easy. All you need to do is take any premade deck and change the card template a bit. Explore our resources section or AnkiWeb for premade Anki decks. First, open the Card Types settings by clicking \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\" > \"Cards...\". In the HTML templates find the tag that refers to target word or sentence. Let's say for the sake of this example that the field's name is Word. <div>{{Word}}</div> Then replace {{Word}} with the corresponding field that contains furigana and add furigana: before its name to tell Anki that the field should be rendered with readings shown above the kanji. If your premade deck doesn't have a furigana field, you have to add it to the Note Type and mass-generate readings with the Japanese support add-on. <div>{{furigana:WordFurigana}}</div> Now to make the furigana hidden by default add a class name or id to the tag around the target word. The class name will be used to refer to the tag. <div class=\"question\">{{furigana:WordFurigana}}</div> Finally, you need a CSS rule that tells Anki to keep the furigana hidden by default, and a second rule that tells to make it visible on hover. .question ruby rt { visibility: hidden; } .question ruby:hover rt { visibility: visible; } This should be it. Enjoy your own JP1K deck.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#convert-any-deck-to-the-jp1k-format",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Feedback",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kanji",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The deck still has room for improvement. Please share any feedback, suggestions, or corrections you have in our chat. Join us.",
    "url":"jp1k-anki-deck.html#feedback",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Foundation"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ankidrone Essentials",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials is the generally recommended Anki deck for newcomers to Japanese who want to quickly learn basic vocabulary. Ankidrone Essentials is made to skyrocket your comprehension of native Japanese. Since the first release in February 2020, it has helped many people and received positive feedback.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html",
    "date":"2024-08-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"About",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To learn the details about studying basic vocabulary, read this article first.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#about",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Structure",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials contains sentences extracted from JLPT Tango books. There are 5 subdecks. Ankidrone Essentials JLPT Tango N5 JLPT Tango N4 JLPT Tango N3 JLPT Tango N2 JLPT Tango N1 Most cards are preformatted as targeted sentence cards (TSC), the ideal card template for both beginners and advanced learners. Note that TSCs are not regular sentence cards you find in other Anki decks on the Internet and should be treated differently. Each card includes speech recordings stored in Opus format. It offers great compression and remarkable audio quality at low bitrates. A card from the Tango N3 sub-deck.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#structure",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's Included?",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"8,000 cards, or from 300 to 800 days of vocabulary study. Authentic, full, native example sentences. Authentic native audio. Translations for every sentence. Vocabulary definitions. Kanji readings.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#whats-included",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Download",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Visit a link below to download the original Ankidrone deck. Download Mirror",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#download",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tango books",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials contains sentences extracted from JLPT Tango textbooks. JLPT Tango textbooks are designed to prepare for the JLPT. There are five books total, one for each level of the JLPT. The books include vocabulary found commonly on the test and often used in everyday life. Cards are ordered in such a way that most sentences only introduce a single new word or grammar pattern. The order of cards and focus on words commonly used in daily life in Japan makes this Anki deck an ideal instrument to complete the basic vocabulary stage.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#tango-books",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to study",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Learn all cards from Tango N5. Start sentence mining using TV-shows with Japanese subtitles, and later manga and novels. Sentence mining is the process of finding sentences with words you don't know in your immersion and making them into sentence cards. Programs like GoldenDict or the browser add-on Rikaitan simplify this process to a single click. mpvacious is an add-on for mpv that works similarly to subs2srs and can be used together with Rikaitan to create Anki cards while watching subtitled content. You'll learn more about sentence mining on the subsequent pages of this guide. While sentence mining, learn Tango N4, N3 and N2 at a reduced pace. It is critical not to spend too much time on beginner decks and focus on mining. The rest can be used to aid your learning process later. The higher level you reach, the less benefit from premade decks you will get. Refer to Core10k when you have trouble finding example sentences. Remember that you have to combine your study with immersion from the beginning. Humans absorb language only through repeated massive exposure. Anki can help you learn the vocabulary consciously, but it cannot replace or substitute immersion. Anki is used to help you reinforce and strengthen your memory, notice and recognize the learned words in native Japanese. Note: If you have completed Ankidrone Foundation, skip Tango N5 because they teach roughly the same words and differ mostly in their card templates. For more information, read this article.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#how-to-study",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To understand how to review basic vocabulary decks, refer to How to review. Key points: Try to recall the meaning and reading of the marked word. Use the context to understand how the word connects with other words. Press \"Good\" if your guess is correct. Otherwise, press \"Again\". Don't use the \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons. Install AJT Flexible Grading to hide them.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#how-to-review",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tips",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"See basic vocabulary tips. If .webp and .ogg files do not load properly in AnkiDroid on Android, update AnkiDroid to the latest Alpha version. Media sync can take a while. You need to sync your collection with AnkiWeb and wait for it to finish. In the Tango books they teach many country names. The purpose of learning them is apparently to understand self introductions as well as be able to give one yourself. You can skip them without losing too much. Feel free to skip katakana-words, loan-words. Most people who speak English can already understand them intuitively. People ask me why I added this or that card in the deck. I simply copied everything that was present in the Tango books. Delete cards you don't like. There is no \"curriculum\" in AJATT, there are no \"must know\" words. You'll learn everything eventually. Sometimes you'll see that the same word appears in more than one sub-deck. E.g., a word appearing in the N4 deck and also appearing in the N2 deck. If you know the word already, it's fine to delete or suspend the other card.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#tips",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do I have to finish the entire deck?",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"I recommend that you learn at least 1,000 and up to 2,000 cards before you start mining your own sentences. The rest of the deck is supplementary material to assist during sentence mining. There are more cards in Ankidrone Essentials than needed to complete the beginner stage. Is it bad? No, I don't think so. You learn only the cards you want to learn. Providing more high quality TSCs is better than providing less, since you can delete the cards you don't like and still be left with a decent amount of TSCs. Having access to high quality example sentences is important for a language learner.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#do-i-have-to-finish-the-entire-deck",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sources",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Tango N5 and Tango N4 decks were shared by Anonymous from DJT. Tango N3 was shared by Perditio. Tango N2 was made by a team of volunteers. Tango N1 was made by a team of volunteers.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#sources",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Changelog",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Changes in version 8: Fixed a number of typos, especially in the N1 and N2 decks. Improved definitions. Replaced audio in the N5 deck. Fixed vocab audio in the N3 deck. Tagged katakana words. Populated the Notes field for all sentence cards. Katakana-words are suspended by default. Most English speakers already know them. Country names are suspended by default. Beginners don't really benefit from learning them. Updated the bundled note type. Bundled usage instructions. Changes in version 7: Added JLPT Tango N1. Fixed small mistakes. Changes in version 6: Added JLPT Tango N2. Changes in version 5: Added word audio to TSCs in Tango N3 and Tango N4. Fixed small mistakes. Changes in version 4: Converted all remaining sentence cards to TSCs Changes in version 3: Added JLPT Tango N3. Added a separate note type for SWCs to distinguish them from sentence cards. Improved definitions on SWCs Added pronunciations to SWCs that didn't contain any audio Fixed typos in JLPT Tango N5 (Thanks zofpz) Changes in version 2: Audio files were repacked, silence trimmed, bitrate increased. Included a description explaining how to use the deck. Core10k vocabulary sorted using the Netflix frequency list.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#changelog",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Feedback",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "vocab",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The deck still has room for improvement. Please share any feedback, suggestions, or corrections you have in our chat. Join us.",
    "url":"ankidrone-essentials.html#feedback",
    "parent":"Ankidrone Essentials"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mitigating the Impact of Early Output",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I'm forced to output early. How can I mitigate the damage? If you're already living in Japan, or taking Japanese classes, you may find yourself in situations where you need to speak Japanese. If you're not fluent yet, early output will damage your Japanese. In this article, we'll explore strategies to help you mitigate the damage.",
    "url":"mitigating-the-impact-of-early-output.html",
    "date":"2024-06-02"
  },
  {
    "title":"Input before output",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"One of the fundamental principles of the AJATT philosophy is the concept of input before output. In AJATT, we recommend delaying speaking in your target language until your output ability emerges naturally. This mirrors the learning process of young children acquiring their native language. We recommend this approach based on the observation that attempting to speak before your brain is ready leads to the formation of bad habits. You make a lot of mistakes, and there is a tendency to repeat mistakes if they have been made before. Additionally, it is difficult to engage in conversations if you don't understand what others are saying in response. Ultimately, premature speaking can lead to a frustrating experience. The idea of input before output is to make good habits the first time by only saying things that you know are correct. If you focus on learning to understand first, then by the time you do start speaking, you will already have a pretty good sense of what's correct and natural and what's not correct and natural.",
    "url":"mitigating-the-impact-of-early-output.html#input-before-output",
    "parent":"Mitigating the Impact of Early Output"
  },
  {
    "title":"Avoid making mistakes",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When you're forced to speak prematurely, it can be tough to know what to say. There's no one-size-fits-all solution, but here are some tips to help you out. You will come across situations where you need to say something, but you're not sure how to say it correctly. This applies to both grammar and pronunciation. In such cases, it is recommended to say what you know for sure is correct, even if it doesn't exactly match what you think. How do you tell if a phrase is correct? Normally, it's correct if you've heard multiple native speakers say it before. Alternatively, you can try to say it the way you know, and then make sure to check if it's correct later. Chances are, you will say it incorrectly. If you keep a mental note that what you've just said is probably incorrect, it could help prevent saying it again and creating a habit. To check the correctness of a sentence, you can try searching in your sentence bank or online.",
    "url":"mitigating-the-impact-of-early-output.html#avoid-making-mistakes",
    "parent":"Mitigating the Impact of Early Output"
  },
  {
    "title":"Get input",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Prioritizing input is crucial. It is important to listen a lot. Get tons of high quality input. The time spent listening should significantly exceed the time spent outputting. I think that if you're speaking your target language even pretty early on, such as once a week or a few times a month, then as long as you're getting lots of input each day, the potential for any serious long-term damage is minimal. Consider constantly wearing headphones and listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or anime. I did this while studying in university to maximize my immersion time. If you get a lot of high quality input, you will be less prone to solidifying your speaking mistakes. Let's also cover toxic input that comes from other learners' output. If you attend classes with other non-native speakers, you have to listen to your classmates speak, and a lot of them speak incorrectly and have bad pronunciation, so you receive toxic input. To counter this, focus on getting as much high-quality input as possible. Hypothetically, if you were to get 5 hours of high-quality input every day, that would amount to 35 hours per week. So if you have 35 hours a week of good input and then 5 hours per week of exposure to toxic input from your classmates, then overall you're probably going to be fine because the vast majority of your input will still be of high quality, effectively overwhelming the negative effects of the toxic input. Yes, receiving toxic input is not ideal and may have some negative impact. But I think if you get tons of high quality input, you'll be able to mitigate the negative effects to a large extent.",
    "url":"mitigating-the-impact-of-early-output.html#get-input",
    "parent":"Mitigating the Impact of Early Output"
  },
  {
    "title":"Balance output",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Another thing you will have to do is balance the amount of output you do. On one hand, you want to enjoy your life in Japan, make Japanese friends, and engage in activities that allow you to use your target language. On the other hand, you also want to continue improving your language skills. If getting perfect at Japanese is your top priority, then you shouldn't output at all. However, if you avoid output altogether, you may end up having a miserable experience in Japan, feeling isolated and depressed. And it will not be very fun. If you're forced to attend Japanese classes, it's relatively easy to avoid outputting. And there's no negative effects to avoiding outputting because you aren't losing anything if you don't speak, unlike real life situations. You can simply respond only when the teacher asks you a question and avoid speaking beyond that. Even if you have classes every day of the week, that's only about 5 hours per week. You can still get plenty of high-quality input outside of class to mitigate the negative effects of premature output.",
    "url":"mitigating-the-impact-of-early-output.html#balance-output",
    "parent":"Mitigating the Impact of Early Output"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I trust mattvsjapan and the \"Refold\" site?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"MattvsJapan is an American content creator who focuses on language learning. His business model relies heavily on upsells and recurring payments. His language learning methodology is structured in ways that encourage continued purchases. He has developed numerous paid Japanese courses, and some users report the products failed to deliver promised results or value.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-mattvsjapan-and-the-refold-site.html",
    "date":"2024-05-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"Origin story",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"MattvsJapan began as a YouTube channel offering AJATT-influenced Japanese learning advice. However, with no skills beyond Japanese, he could only teach other foreigners Japanese to make a living. Eventually, his desire for profit took over, and he turned teaching into a business. He removed his older videos and replaced them with low-quality slop, paywalled material, course launches, and merchandise. By mid-2018, he had ceased producing genuinely helpful content. His most useful videos are no longer available on YouTube.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-mattvsjapan-and-the-refold-site.html#origin-story",
    "parent":"Should I trust mattvsjapan and the \"Refold\" site?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Contradicting the AJATT philosophy",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"AJATT promotes cost-free, immersion-based learning, with the help of Free (Libre) software. MattvsJapan's business model, which relies on paid courses, coaching, and paywalled content, directly contradicts AJATT's core principle of learning a language without spending money. For that reason, AJATT does not recommend his products.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-mattvsjapan-and-the-refold-site.html#contradicting-the-ajatt-philosophy",
    "parent":"Should I trust mattvsjapan and the \"Refold\" site?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Lack of credibility",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Language learning communities have widely criticized MattvsJapan's practices. He has scammed too many people and taken their money. English speakers are already aware of this, so they no longer trust him. As a result, he has a minimal following among Japanese learners. Most people don't take him seriously anymore, so he's had to be more aggressive with advertising. Lately his content is mostly ads for new money grab schemes. Additionally, to compensate for his shrinking audience, he has attempted to pivot, targeting Japanese audiences and offering \"English lessons\" instead.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-mattvsjapan-and-the-refold-site.html#lack-of-credibility",
    "parent":"Should I trust mattvsjapan and the \"Refold\" site?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Refold: another scam site",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Refold is a \"language learning\" website created by Mattvsjapan, but now run by other people. Refold is another scam site designed to lure people in and exploit them. A quick visit to their homepage reveals some red flags: The site sells shitty and overpriced courses, coaching, and merchandise. It collects email addresses and requires users to create an account, which is suspicious at best. It contains malicious, non-free JavaScript code that's not safe to run. It recommends and links to proprietary spyware like Hellotalk, Tandem, Bilingua, Netflix, and Migaku. It provides instructions on joining their Discord server. Discord is known for spying on and politically suppressing its users.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-mattvsjapan-and-the-refold-site.html#refold-another-scam-site",
    "parent":"Should I trust mattvsjapan and the \"Refold\" site?"
  },
  {
    "title":"The truth about language learning",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Learning languages should always be free. Be cautious of scams, ineffective learning methods, and sites that try to exploit your desire to learn. Stay informed, use only Free and Libre software, and don't fall prey to those who seek to profit from your language learning journey.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-mattvsjapan-and-the-refold-site.html#the-truth-about-language-learning",
    "parent":"Should I trust mattvsjapan and the \"Refold\" site?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning Kanji Radicals",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In my previous article on Learning Kanji, I mentioned that beginners do not need to learn kanji radicals. However, radicals play a significant role in the Japanese language. Understanding the proper Japanese names for common radicals aids in grasping spoken conversations about kanji. The advice provided in this article is tailored for people who already understand Japanese. If you are still a beginner, I recommend focusing on more essential aspects of Japanese learning. Kanji learning methods like KanjiDamage and Remembering the Kanji (RTK) utilize English keywords to teach kanji components. These English names are selected to help create mnemonic stories. Therefore, they do not necessarily have to accurately reflect the Japanese meanings of radicals. In fact, they can be chosen arbitrarily as long as they contribute to a memorable mnemonic story. Knowing these English names can be helpful in the beginning, but they are usually forgotten once one becomes more proficient in reading Japanese, as they are useless for actually reading the language. Japanese people sometimes explain kanji in terms of their parts. To fully understand these conversations, you actually need to know the correct Japanese names for at least the most common radicals. This knowledge can help you better comprehend your immersion in the language, although it is not essential for reading and writing kanji. Video demonstration. I recommend learning the most common radicals using Anki. If you're interested in learning the most common radicals, you can create Anki flashcards with the radical on the front and its Japanese name on the back. Here's an example of what such flashcards might look like: Front Back ⺿ 草冠 (くさかんむり) 氵 三水 (さんずい) 虫 虫偏 (むしへん) 木 木偏 (きへん) 疒 病垂れ (やまいだれ) 訁 言偏 (ごんべん) 魚 魚偏 (うおへん) 忄 立心偏 (りっしんべん) ⺗ 下心 (したごころ) For each radical that you want to learn, you need to know what Japanese people call it before you make a card. For a comprehensive list of radicals visit 部首一覧. In Japanese, radicals are primarily mentioned when people explain how to write kanji. So, knowing kanji radicals can help you better understand spoken Japanese conversations about kanji. You don't need to know the radical names to read kanji.",
    "url":"learning-kanji-radicals.html",
    "date":"2024-05-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to type X with Fcitx?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"This article addresses common questions about typing with Fcitx. To enter anything when using Fcitx, type what you want to type and then press the space bar. Fcitx will provide predictions for the characters you intend to insert. If the prediction is incorrect, continue pressing the space bar until you find the correct one. Main article: How to type in Japanese",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html",
    "date":"2024-04-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"Small kana",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"To type ぁぃぅぇぉゃゅょ, type x before each corresponding sound. E.g., to type ゅ, you actually type xyu.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#small-kana",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Repetition symbol 々",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"The character can be spelled noma because it resembles the katakana ノマ smashed together. Alternatively, you can try onaji. If you type odori or odoriji (踊り字,おどりじ), you can choose one of the other repetition symbols (〱々ヽヾゝゞ).",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#repetition-symbol",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Yen symbol ￥",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Press ＼ (backslash). Find ￥ among the predictions. Alternatively, type えん and find ¥ in the conversion candidates.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#yen-symbol-y",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Whitespace",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"The \" \" (blank space) can be spelled as kankaku.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#whitespace",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Asterisk ※",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Type komejirushi or hoshi.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#asterisk",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Middle dot ・",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Type nakaten or nakaguro.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#middle-dot",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"N",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Typing \"xn\" outputs ん.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#n",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Overline ￣",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Type うえ. Note: Overlines are used in the NHK accent dictionary to mark high pitch accent, e.g. いっぱい￣. When pitch drops, slashes are used ＼.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#overline",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"lambda λ",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"らむだ can give you the greek symbol λ",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#lambda-l",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pound £",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"ぽんど can give you the British pound symbol £.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#pound-ps",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Arrows",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"やじるし can give you any arrow. みぎ can give you →, ひだり can give you ←, etc.",
    "url":"how-to-type-x-with-fcitx.html#arrows",
    "parent":"How to type X with Fcitx?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it best to make the monolingual transition as soon as possible?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No. There's a sweet spot for making the monolingual transition, and doing it either too early or too late can reduce your efficiency. In theory, you could attempt to go monolingual very early in your learning journey. You might learn just the most common 50 words, the bare minimum of grammar, and dive into using only the target language for definitions. It would be very challenging, but it's not impossible. I've seen people who went monolingual much sooner than I advise. It was tough for them. Although they struggled and were often lost, barely understanding anything for a long time, they eventually found their way. So yes, an early transition is possible. However, going monolingual too soon is not the most effective approach. The difficulty is so high that you might end up spending an excessive amount of time doing recursive lookups and deciphering complex explanations in the monolingual dictionary, which is not the best use of your time. If the process is too difficult, you'll likely spend more time lost in the dictionary than actually learning. A more balanced approach is to expand your vocabulary with the help of bilingual dictionaries first. Then, transition to monolingual dictionaries when you're more prepared. This strategy allows for a smoother shift and sets you up for success.",
    "url":"is-it-best-to-make-the-monolingual-transition-as-soon-as-possible.html",
    "date":"2024-04-03"
  },
  {
    "title":"Going monolingual",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"So far, you have been relying on bilingual dictionaries to learn new words. For those studying Japanese, JMdict is a frequently used resource, offering Japanese-to-English translations. Going monolingual means moving from bilingual to monolingual dictionaries. It is an important step forward in your language acquisition journey. This shift is crucial for achieving long-term success and mastering the language. In this article, we will explore how to transition from bilingual to monolingual dictionaries effectively.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html",
    "date":"2024-03-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is a Monolingual Dictionary?",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A monolingual dictionary is a dictionary that explains the language through itself. For instance, German-German. These dictionaries are designed for native speakers of your target language. They define words in the TL. For example, 大辞林, 明鏡, and 新明解 are monolingual Japanese dictionaries. In English, you can find monolingual learner's dictionaries. Longman and Cambridge are such dictionaries. They provide definitions using a restricted vocabulary, helping non-native English speakers understand meanings easily. Monolingual definitions.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#what-is-a-monolingual-dictionary",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"What does it mean to Go Monolingual?",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"\"Going monolingual\" refers to the transition process from using bilingual dictionaries to exclusively utilizing monolingual dictionaries. During this process, you may use various tools and techniques, including bilingual dictionaries, as an aid. Once you fully go monolingual, whenever you stumble upon an unknown word during immersion, you look up its meaning in a monolingual dictionary and add only the monolingual definition to your Anki card. You want to avoid bilingual definitions because they often fail to correctly express the real meanings of words. Example Anki card.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#what-does-it-mean-to-go-monolingual",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why Go Monolingual?",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The shift towards exclusive use of monolingual dictionaries yields two main advantages. Greater exposure to your target language and increased immersion time. When reading bilingual definitions, you pause immersion to read in your native language. Using a monolingual dictionary keeps you immersed in the target language, reducing reliance on your native language. As a result, you learn faster. More precise understanding. Words rarely have direct equivalents between languages, unless the languages are closely related, like English and Dutch. Bilingual definitions provide rough translations that often lead to incorrect assumptions and incomplete understanding. Monolingual dictionaries describe words in greater detail, cultivating a deeper understanding of nuances. Using a monolingual dictionary helps you learn the true meanings of words and avoid false associations between your native language (e.g. English) and target language (e.g. Japanese). Learning a word bilingually creates a false association you'll have to correct later, wasting time. The monolingual definition gives you a better sense of the word's meaning, shortening the time it takes to acquire it. Comprehending definitions in the target language also expedites your brain's adjustment to that language. Moreover, learning words monolingually mirrors how native speakers acquire vocabulary. For them, there is no other language in which to learn new words. Going monolingual eliminates another distinction between you and native speakers, enabling you to comprehend and explain words as they do, fostering a more authentic understanding and use of the language.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#why-go-monolingual",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"What you need to Go Monolingual",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"You don't need much — just the desire to build a new habit and access to quality monolingual dictionaries. Use apps like GoldenDict, Qolibri, Rikaitan, etc., or online dictionaries like Weblio. The prerequisites are that you're already doing AJATT, spending multiple hours a day immersing, and are past the complete beginner stage. You also need to know how to use the SRS and how to mine sentences.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#what-you-need-to-go-monolingual",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"When to Go Monolingual",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, there are some guidelines to help you decide. After you've mined at least 2,000-4,000 unique Anki notes from native material. When you know at least 3,000 words. This is higher than mined notes since people learn words from premade decks or without Anki too. Around 3-4 months after starting AJATT. The idea is to start early but not too early, so you aren't overwhelmed trying to understand monolingual definitions as a beginner. Dictionary definitions are not like slice of life manga. They are dense and contain unfamiliar words.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#when-to-go-monolingual",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtain dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Any resource or app that supports monolingual Japanese dictionaries is sufficient for the task. Some options that have been covered on this site are listed below. GoldenDict. Download and import monolingual dictionary files. Qolibri. Download and import monolingual dictionary files. Rikaitan. Download monolingual dictionary files. Go to \"Settings\" > \"Dictionaries\" and import them. Online dictionaries. Use a plumber for quick access. In LibreWolf add search shortcuts for online dictionaries you use often. When visiting an online dictionary website, click on the search bar and choose \"Add a keyword for this search\". Or click on the address bar and choose \"Add\".",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#obtain-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dictionary files",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In real life, monolingual dictionaries are thick paper books. As we are striving for efficiency and ease of use, we are going to use digital versions of the paper dictionaries. Regardless of the specific dictionary program you choose to install, the names of the dictionary files are generally consistent, although the file types may vary. Here is a brief list of dictionaries frequently recommended within the AJATT community: 大辞林 新明解 大辞泉 明鏡 広辞苑 実用日本語表現辞典 These are more or less generic names. Often, a single dictionary may have multiple versions, resulting in varying names. For example, you might encounter 大辞林 and スーパー大辞林, or 大辞泉 and デジタル大辞泉. Feel free to pick the version that suits your preferences. Both 大辞林 and 大辞泉 are quite similar to each other, offering comprehensive definitions and a vast number of entries. Prefer デジタル大辞泉 over the original 大辞泉 as it contains even more entries. 明鏡 and 新明解 use easy language and are considered beginner-friendly. 新明解 has fewer entries compared to others and features a slightly convoluted definition structure that includes numerous redirections marked with △ and （） which force the learner to jump back and forth when parsing the definitions. But mostly it's very good. 大辞林 and 新明解 provide pitch accent information, so you may want to install them first. Pitch accent is a topic that is given significant attention among Japanese learners.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#dictionary-files",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Looking up unknown words",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When you find a new unknown word during immersion, look it up in a monolingual dictionary and try to understand the definition. Copy the definition and add it to an Anki card. If you don't understand the definition, look up any unfamiliar words within it. If you still don't understand, copy a definition from a bilingual dictionary as a last resort. When you read monolingual definitions, it is inevitable that you'll be coming across unknown words within them. Let's say you read the following definition and the word 幼虫 is new to you. うじ-むし [2] 【蛆虫】 （１）ハエ・ハチなどの幼虫。うじ。 （２）〔蛆のようにつまらない嫌な奴，の意〕 人をののしっていう語。「この―どもめ」 You're going have to pause and look up that word first. And you probably want to make a card for it too. So in total there's going to be two words to mine. When handling unfamiliar words within monolingual definitions, there are two common strategies: Recursive lookups. More hardcore. Look up unknown words by searching for their definitions in a monolingual dictionary. This can send you down a rabbit hole of lookups. Fall back to bilingual definitions. More mainstream. Look up unknown words in a bilingual dictionary. The recursive lookup algorithm: Read the monolingual definition (e.g. 蛆虫). Spot a new word (e.g. 幼虫). Look the new word in a monolingual dictionary. See that 幼虫 is defined as 陸生節足動物の幼生に対する呼び方。特に，完全変態するものに限られることが多い。 Read that definition. Chances are, it will contain unfamiliar words as well. You look them up in a monolingual dictionary and go to the first step. As you can probably see, it is easy to bury yourself under a pile of monolingual definitions when going down the recursive path. For advanced learners it is not a problem because they don't have to look up that many words to begin with. But for a beginner it will definitely be a challenge at first. Thankfully, GoldenDict allows you to create tabs, so you can organize your lookups. But there comes a point where you have to stop searching words within definitions in a monolingual dictionary and consult an English dictionary instead, or you will never see the end. The simpler fallback algorithm goes like this: Read the monolingual definition (e.g. 蛆虫). Spot a new word (e.g. 幼虫). Look the new word in a bilingual dictionary. Done. Both methods work. I did a combination of both. At first use bilingual dictionaries more. As you progress, do more recursive monolingual lookups. The end goal is to minimize your reliance on English as much as possible.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#looking-up-unknown-words",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Adding both types of definitions",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Before going monolingual, your cards had only bilingual definitions. Now, add both monolingual and bilingual definitions to make the transition smoother and aid comprehension. Don't omit bilingual definitions on your cards just yet. Spend a few weeks adding both types to your cards. Example Anki card. The downside is that this technique may lead to being too lazy to read the Japanese definition during review sessions. But it's better than adding no Japanese definition at all. And it is only temporary. Try not to skip the monolingual definition when you forget a card. Sometimes people add an extra field to their note types just for bilingual definitions. Later this field can be removed from the note type, erasing all bilingual definitions in one click. Personally, I don't like adding more fields to my note type. I prefer tossing all definitions into one field, usually breaking them up with newlines.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#adding-both-types-of-definitions",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Process",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Here's a breakdown of the process of going monolingual. First, start copying monolingual definitions to your Anki cards, in addition to bilingual definitions. Do it for some time. You don't have to perfectly understand the monolingual definitions yet. Just make an effort to read them when adding and reviewing targeted sentence cards. Next, when making cards, spend more time deliberately trying to understand the monolingual definitions. If you encounter unfamiliar words in the definitions, put them aside. Come back and learn the words after you make your regular cards. You may need to find example sentences for these words. Monolingual dictionaries typically provide examples for the words they define. Alternatively, you can utilize various sentence banks. During this phase, you can use bilingual definitions to learn unknown words in monolingual definitions. If you have trouble with the readings of words in the definitions, use AJT Japanese to add furigana to them. There's an option in the right-click context menu called \"Furigana for selection\". Although you don't want to put furigana on the front, It is okay to have furigana on the back of your cards. Any information on the back should help you understand the target word and not be in the way. At this point, inability to read the back of the card will hinder the learning process. The final stage is when while looking up new words you properly read every monolingual definition and use monolingual dictionaries to learn unknown words that may come up inside definitions. Start doing recursive lookups. Recursive lookups don't need to be too deep at first, but as you're trying to move away from bilingual definitions you need to go deeper as you progress and become more comfortable with monolingual dictionaries. The hardest part of making the monolingual transition is being able to parse the abstract and self-referential Japanese definitions. This skill is what comes with practice. Memorizing the vocabulary used in definitions might be tedious, but the process is dead simple (add to Anki and review).",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#the-process",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learn cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When you learn monolingual TSCs, your objective is to be able to recall how to read the target word (the kana reading) and what it means. Essentially it's the same as when learning bilingual TSCs. As with bilingual cards, you don't have to memorize the exact definition on the back. Trying to memorize monolingual definitions word-for-word is a monstrous task. The definition is provided on the back to help you understand the word. You aim at intuitive understanding, not conscious learning.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#learn-cards",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Multiple meanings",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When a word has only one meaning, you simply copy the full definition to Anki. However, if there are multiple meanings, there are two approaches for including definitions on Anki cards: Including the entire list of monolingual definitions. Including only the single definition that fits the specific use in the example sentence. For instance, if you want to learn the word 垂涎, this is the list of definitions that 大辞林 will show you: すい ぜん ０【垂▼涎】 ① よだれをたらすこと。 ② ある物をしきりに欲しがること。「一同は巨額の賞金に━して／八十日間世界一周忠之助」 While it's okay to copy only the relevant definition (1 or 2), including all the definitions is preferable as it provides a more enriching understanding of the word. Seeing all the definitions together allows you to understand connections between different meanings. There's no need to go out of your way and delete valuable information. Instead, you can use bold font on the card to highlight the part of the definition that is relevant to the example sentence. You shouldn't try to memorize the exact definition on the back. The purpose of the definition is simply to help you understand the target word. Therefore, you don't lose anything by having more information on the back of the card. Knowing that a word can have different meanings will help you if you come across another meaning during immersion. Rather than being confused by an unfamiliar usage of the word, you will instantly link the new usage to the fact that the word can have another meaning, even if you don't recall that specific meaning.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#multiple-meanings",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Defining vocabulary",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"One of the reasons why people find it hard to go monolingual is defining vocabulary. In English, monolingual dictionaries use a limited list of common words for writing simple definitions of every word in the dictionary. The list is called \"defining vocabulary\". How many words are on the defining vocabulary list? Longman uses defining vocabulary of just 2,000 words in its definitions. Macmillan writes the definitions using a defining vocabulary of 2,500 words. Oxford uses around 3,000 words. You have to know those words to read the monolingual definitions well. The situation is more complicated in Japanese (and apparently in every other language besides English). We don't know whether monolingual Japanese dictionaries even try to stick to a predefined list of words in their definitions. Unlike monolingual English dictionaries, monolingual Japanese dictionaries are not made for learners but rather for native speakers. But it is noticeable that certain words appear more frequently in monolingual Japanese definitions than in everyday Japanese. While this phenomenon resembles defining vocabulary, I wouldn't rely on it when learning Japanese. Japanese learners don't try to learn defining vocabulary in advance since it is hard to compile such a list. From the past attempts of other people we know that the list might be too large (more than 5,000 words) and vary significantly between dictionaries. Additionally, each language domain in Japanese has its own set of defining vocabulary. So, it is better to just practice reading monolingual definitions, learning new words as you come across them, and eventually you'll end up with enough defining vocabulary learned. The bright side is that by reading monolingual Japanese dictionaries you're immersing in content made by natives for natives, which is not true for some monolingual English dictionaries. It is more difficult in the beginning, but more effective in the long run. Ultimately, immersing in authentic content is what makes the AJATT method so powerful.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#defining-vocabulary",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Editing your old bilingual cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Should you retroactively add monolingual definitions to your old bilingual cards? I wouldn't bother going back and changing your old cards because it's not going to be worth all the time and effort. You already know what those words mean anyway, and those cards already have intervals to them, so you're only going to be seeing them once a month, once every six months, once every year. And so it's not going to be worth the time and effort to go back and change them. I would say don't worry about the old cards and just start adding monolingual definitions to your new cards. The time you would spend editing old cards can instead be better spent immersing yourself in the language and learning new things.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#editing-your-old-bilingual-cards",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"My experience learning English",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When I learned English, I didn't know anything about AJATT, and I didn't do anything said in this article. So, for many years I just used Google Translate as a bilingual dictionary to translate things I didn't understand. Eventually, when I found out about the input hypothesis and immersion learning, I switched to Eng-Eng dictionaries overnight. There was no transition period because my comprehension was already high enough. This shows that if for some reason you don't want to go monolingual early, postponing it will make the switch easier when you finally do it. If you immerse every day, eventually you will become able to read monolingual dictionaries. Immersion will eventually prepare you. But remember that the downside of prolonged bilingual dictionary use is that you might not learn exact, correct meanings of some words, only their rough translations that might be wrong and take time to correct through immersion.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#my-experience-learning-english",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"My experience learning Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Going monolingual in Japanese didn't feel difficult for me. I was more lazy about it than I think you should. And I started several months later than other AJATTers. At first, I started adding monolingual definitions to my cards together with English definitions as I was making them. I didn't pay too much attention to them. Over time, I started trying to read them more closely. All monolingual definitions on my cards had furigana. After some time I started to add furigana only for certain words. Then I stopped adding English definitions. And then I stopped adding furigana. It was a gradual process.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#my-experience-learning-japanese",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Get good",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"How to become comfortable with monolingual dictionaries? Read more. Ranobe, Manga, even anime with Japanese subtitles.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#get-good",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Going monolingual is a significant step in mastering a new language. By immersing yourself in the target language and utilizing monolingual dictionaries, you can accelerate your learning and gain a deeper understanding of the language's nuances.",
    "url":"going-monolingual.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Going monolingual"
  },
  {
    "title":"Avoiding bad advice",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Countless language-learning methods exist, and each of them tells you to do different things. Some methods are effective, but many are not. Unfortunately, the Internet is brimming with advice that might sound good but often leads to little progress. If you want to reach mastery in a foreign language, you don't want to waste precious time on ineffective methods. Let's highlight examples of low-quality resources.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html",
    "date":"2024-03-21"
  },
  {
    "title":"Classes",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Traditional language classes have several issues. They cost money. They're boring. They don't provide compelling content. Your teacher doesn't know Japanese that well. If you are lucky enough to have a native speaker as your teacher, they likely have no idea how language acquisition works, they don't remember how they learned Japanese themselves, and they've never actually followed their own advice. In class, you get toxic input. You're exposed to other learners' speech which is ridden with mistakes. Listening to phrases like \"ah ree gar toe go zai moss oo\" being poorly spoken is not beneficial for your language learning. Premature output. You are forced to speak before you are ready. Usually people start outputting naturally after 1 to 1.5 years of learning, and it's very hard to force output to come out earlier. Classes don't work. A simple comparison between the number of people taking Japanese classes and those who are proficient in the language reveals a startling gap.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#classes",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"Textbooks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Examples include Genki, Minna no Nihongo, Japanese From Zero, etc. If your goal is proficiency, you won't be satisfied with the low level and slow pace of textbooks. A textbook cannot teach you all there is to master your target language. Even a hundred textbooks can't. But enough input certainly will. In the beginning, you can use a basic grammar guide. We'll teach you how in the corresponding article. Anything on top of the grammar guide won't be necessary. The purpose behind studying grammar is not to learn how to speak but to improve comprehension when interacting with native content. For more information about the dangers of textbooks, see here.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#textbooks",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"Apps",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Wanikani, Duolingo, Busuu and most \"apps\" do not work. More details are given on the linked FAQ pages. No one has ever achieved fluency solely from using an app, especially an app that claims that you can learn to speak a language in 10 minutes a day. Language apps can't replace learning through massive exposure to the target language, and they can't tell you everything you should know. Language is not an app that you open and close. Reaching fluency is more like multi-booting, i.e., installing multiple operating systems on a single computer, and being able to choose which one to boot. Each OS has to be useful, you should be able to do anything you want with it. The only \"app\" really worth having is a flashcard application for reviewing what you've learned so far. We'll dig deeper into the topic of flashcards in subsequent articles.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#apps",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"Graded readers",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Graded readers are dumbed down for the sake of a learner, and thus do not teach you the real language. No amount of graded readers can prepare you for reading authentic native texts like novels. AJATT recommends consuming real authentic content from the beginning. Start with watching anime with Japanese subtitles to learn the basics of reading, then progress to reading simple manga, and finally jump into reading books. For a more detailed discussion on graded readers refer to this article.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#graded-readers",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"E-Learning",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Platforms such as Italki, Cambly, Lingoda and Verbling fall under this category. Details provided in this article about Italki apply to all similar platforms. E-learning offers the boredom of traditional classes, but online. You pay to speak with \"tutors\", who may not necessarily even be language teachers. You're essentially paying just to chat. People who charge money for speaking practice are either delusional or dishonest. Speaking is fundamentally about receiving input. We acquire language by understanding messages. For the language acquisition process to take place, the input must be compelling. Contrary, conversations held with online tutors are very basic and very boring. You're not going to learn much from them. Premature speaking practice reinforces incorrect pronunciations and grammar. You need to develop listening abilities and intuitive understanding of language structures before focusing on speaking.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#e-learning",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"YouTube",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"YouTube presents great opportunities for language learning if used correctly. Mainly by watching videos created by native speakers intended primarily for other natives speakers of your target language. There's a difference between learning a language and learning about the language. YouTube channels where everybody speaks English all the time, like JapanesePod101, will only waste your time. Videos where Japanese people are asked to answer JLPT quizzes on the street are equally useless. Some channels simply recite textbook materials in audio-visual format, which is not just inefficient, but is also slower than reading a book given that typically people read faster than they speak.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#youtube",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"Subtitles in your native language",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Watching foreign language content is an excellent way to acquire language. But watching with subtitles in your native language will result in no learning progress. Reading the subtitles creates an inner voice that completely overshadows the speech in your target language. As a consequence, you're not actually engaging with your target language, you're listening to your own subvocalization in your native language. Therefore, you are learning the language of the subtitles, not the language of the audio. We've all seen countless anime fans who've watched thousands of hours of English-subbed anime and still know less than 100 Japanese words.",
    "url":"bad-advice.html#subtitles-in-your-native-language",
    "parent":"Avoiding bad advice"
  },
  {
    "title":"Cross Profile Search And Import",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The Cross Profile Search and Import add-on is a tool that helps you maintain a neat, uncluttered main profile while still having access to an extensive sentence bank. This tool allows you to store your sentence bank in a separate profile which is not synchronized with AnkiWeb, and then easily search and import cards into your main profile when required. In doing so, it keeps your main profile tidy while sparing AnkiWeb servers from hefty media uploads.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html",
    "date":"2024-03-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"Prerequisites",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Before proceeding, ensure that you have installed Anki. Follow this guide to set it up.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#prerequisites",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The first step is to install the Cross Profile Search and Import add-on. Follow standard procedures for adding extensions onto Anki. Open the \"Install Add-on\" dialog by selecting \"Tools\" > \"Add-ons\" > \"Get Add-ons...\" in Anki. Input 1772763629 into the text box labeled Code and press the OK button to proceed. Restart Anki when prompted to do so in order to complete the installation.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#installation",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentence banks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There is software to automatically create flashcards from whole series of TV shows with subtitles, such as subs2srs. It creates a large “sentence bank”, which you can then use to select cards to study by searching for words that you want to learn. Sentence banks are useful when there's a word you want to learn, but you don't have a 1T example sentence to create a targeted sentence card. You then use the bank to find a suitable sentence.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#sentence-banks",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setup",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"You need at least one extra Anki profile to get started. Open Anki, go to \"File\" > \"Switch Profile\" > \"Add\" and create the profile to store your sentence bank. Then you need to fill the profile with decks that you generate from anime, movies and TV shows you have watched or plan to watch. You can also keep premade decks in your sentence bank. Typically, the size of a decent sentence bank reaches several GiB, so you don't want to keep it in your main Anki profile that you sync with AnkiWeb. That would cause unnecessary long sync times and irrational utilization of the AnkiWeb disk space.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#setup",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Decks from the Internet",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To expand your sentence bank further, download decks from the Internet. There are many shared folders where people upload their sentence banks. You can find some of them in Resources below. Anki decks Sentence banks Decks from different people will inevitably have different formatting. Convert all of them to one note type in order to make working with the bank easier.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#decks-from-the-internet",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Media formats",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"One issue people often encounter is that many subs2srs decks include audio files in MP3 format and images in JPG format. To save disk space, you'll likely want to bulk-convert the audio files to Opus and the image files to either WebP or AVIF. To convert the files in your Anki collection, you can use AJT Media Converter. This add-on converts JPG images to WebP or AVIF, and MP3 audio files to OGG/Opus. Another option is to call ffmpeg in the collection.media directory after importing a deck. Import a subs2srs deck, then open your terminal and cd into the collection.media directory. Example: cd ~/.local/share/Anki2/<PROFILE>/collection.media Use an ffmpeg script to convert all the media files in this directory. I use cm. Run the commands as follows: cm ftogg cm ftswebp These two commands will take care of all mp3 and jpg media files. In the Anki Browser, click \"Notes\" > \"Find and Replace...\" to replace all occurrences of .mp3 with .ogg and all occurrences of .jpg with .webp.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#media-formats",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Configuration",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Once you have Cross Profile Search and Import installed, navigate to \"AJT\" > \"Cross Profile Search and Import\" > \"Tools\" > \"Add-on options\". There you can change a number of settings to suit your needs. Each setting can be hovered over in order to show a tooltip that explains what does. To be able to see all the cards available without doing a search, click on \"Local search\" and enable the \"Allow empty search\" checkbox. You can use this if, for example, you have only pictures on your cards and can not do a word search.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#configuration",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Select the source profile (import from profile) and deck to search in. Select the destination deck and the Note Type to map the new notes to. Use the search bar for querying specific words or phrases. Choose notes that cater exactly to what you need and hit \"Import\". Screenshot.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#usage",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Web search",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The add-on lets you search cards on the Internet. To do so it will connect to a remote server that contains a relatively large public sentence bank and send your search queries there. The server that the add-on connects to is not affiliated with Ajatt-Tools. Press \"Tools\" > \"Search the web\" to enable the feature. Web search.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#web-search",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Keyboard Shortcuts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Alt+T Tools menu. Alt+H Help menu. Ctrl+K Focus the search bar. Ctrl+L Focus the list of notes. Ctrl+I Import. Ctrl+Left Arrow Flip page to the left. Ctrl+Right Arrow Flip page to the right.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#keyboard-shortcuts",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The Cross Profile Search and Import add-on is a versatile tool for working with sentence banks. With its user-friendly interface, customizable settings, and web search capabilities, this add-on greatly simplifies the process of moving targeted sentence cards and makes studying more efficient and effective.",
    "url":"cross-profile-search-and-import.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Cross Profile Search And Import"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do I have to run GNU?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"If you've made the decision to start AJATT, you might be curious about why it suggests upgrading to the GNU operating system. The answer is quite simple. The GNU system and Libre/free software, by their nature, are inherently more constructive and extensible. GNU is better than proprietary systems. That's why we decided to recommend it to our readers. User-Friendliness. We prefer GNU/Linux because it just makes everything easier. It's more user-friendly, which is great for beginners. It's easy to set up, and all the documentation is readily available. Beginners don't have to spend hours figuring out how basic functions work. This means you won't have to jump through all the hoops like people do on Windows. With more simple and convenient software, you can carry out your everyday tasks swiftly and efficiently. For instance, in i3wm, you can set up key bindings to perform any task with just a few keypresses. Most of the time, you won't even need a mouse. I have a binding that lets me add an image to an Anki card with just one keypress, or extract text from a manga page with another keypress. Abundance of Software. You can find everything you need in the repositories of your GNU distribution. All programs are free and respect the users' freedom. There's also more software for Japanese available on GNU. Some tools like impd, lancet, and gd-tools, which are covered in our Japanese guide, only work on GNU. While Windows offers a wide range of software, much of it is either useless or comes with malicious features. Community Control. All programs are managed by the community rather than corporations. If there's a bug in a program, you can easily fix it yourself or ask a friend for help. If a program stops being maintained, others can take over and continue its development (as happened with Cropro or Rikaitan, for example). At AJATT, we believe that proprietary software and games should not exist and should not be used if you want to have freedom. Sacrificing your freedom to run such programs gives their creators power over you, allowing them to execute any commands on your computer. Experience shows that nearly all proprietary software is malicious. For instance, Windows has security vulnerabilities, backdoors, and surveillance right out of the box. You can read more about this here. If you're debating whether installing the GNU operating system is worth it, consider that it only takes about 20 minutes to do so. Mastering a foreign language will take years, so this is a good investment. In return, you'll save hours each week on various tasks. Note: If you're new to GNU/Linux, read this book (alternative link).",
    "url":"do-i-have-to-run-gnu.html",
    "date":"2024-03-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"How should I count my cards if I make more than one card per note?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I have reached almost 4,000 cards but it represents only 2,500 different notes because for most of them I create a reading card and an audio card with the same sentence. It actually really helps for learning both listening and reading. What do you think about, it and how should I count the number of cards I've reached? The number of words you know is roughly equivalent to the number of unique sentences you have mined into Anki. With targeted sentence cards (TSCs), each note should have one target word. So one note helps you acquire one new word. Therefore, to count your \"known words,\" just count the number of unique notes you have. Still, how much media you understand matters more than how many cards you have mined because you can mine a lot but immerse very little, or vice versa. Personally, I wouldn't make both listening and reading cards for the same sentence. I don't think it would be worth the extra time and effort. With two cards per note, you may end up knowing the target word a bit better than with just one card. But you're also spending twice as much time studying it. Are you really getting twice the benefit? It's probably closer to 1.25x. Keep in mind, especially early on, the goal of using Anki isn't to learn a word perfectly. It's creating a mental dictionary entry so you notice the word during immersion and absorb content more easily. One text card per note will likely be enough for that purpose — to let your brain know the word exists, what it looks like, sounds like, and means roughly. Then immersion will fill in the gaps. So personally, I'd just make text cards and let immersion smooth everything out. You could add audio to the back of cards if you want, but not the front. When I learned Japanese, I never used audio cards since I saw them as pretty much useless. I mostly made sentence cards or targeted sentence cards. It worked very well for me. However, if your current technique works for you, by all means keep doing it. We all have slightly different learning styles. If you found an approach you enjoy and that's effective, trust your experience over any advice.",
    "url":"how-should-i-count-my-cards-if-i-make-more-than-one-card-per-note.html",
    "date":"2024-02-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"How should I make cards for Japanese words that don't have any kanji?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"How do you deal with flashcards where the 1T word is in katakana or hiragana? When I see a word in kanji and have to recall the reading, I feel like I'm proving to myself I actually know the word as opposed to just reading it and recalling what the card means. Should I kanjify it? In general, if you encounter a word that can have kanji while reading Japanese, it is advisable to kanjify it when making a card. When you force yourself to recall the word's reading by looking at the kanji, it makes the reviewing process more challenging and leaves a greater impact on the brain. This approach increases the likelihood that you're going to remember the word for a much longer period of time. Even if a word is usually written in kana, if it can technically be written in kanji, it is important to be prepared to read it in kanji as well because there may come a time when you encounter it written in kanji. If you can read a word in kanji, you can automatically read it in kana as well. However, if you can only read it in kana, you cannot read it in kanji. Therefore, if you can read it in kanji, you are prepared for everything. Whenever a word has kanji, it is beneficial to kanjify it when making a flashcard. It improves your understanding of the word in every way. However, certain words, especially katakana words, do not have corresponding kanji characters. In fact, the majority of katakana words are never spelled in kanji. The only exceptions are words imported during the Meiji period, when attempts were made to write loan words in kanji. Nevertheless, most of the time, kanji are not assigned to katakana words. Katakana words tend to be very easy because usually they are derived from English or other European languages. And if you know a European language, it's highly likely you already know them. So learning them shouldn't be a problem, even without using the SRS. Apart from words with kanji and loanwords there's a third group. If a word lacks kanji characters and does not originate from a European language, such as わんさか or ひもじい, you might not learn that word to the same extent as words with kanji. However, in my experience, it has never proven to be problematic. The purpose of the SRS is not to master these words but to create mental dictionary entries so that you can recognize them more easily during immersion and improve your overall comprehension. It is primarily through immersion that you acquire and master vocabulary. Therefore, for words without kanji, you can create standard SWCs and TSCs. Kanjify the words if there's kanji but if not then don't worry about it. You will still make progress and succeed in your language journey.",
    "url":"how-should-i-make-cards-for-japanese-words-that-dont-have-any-kanji.html",
    "date":"2024-02-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"All About Particles",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"\"All About Particles\" is a grammar book. PDF version PDF version on Zlib HTML version",
    "url":"all-about-particles.html",
    "date":"2024-01-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I include monolingual definitions on the back of my Anki cards, even if I don't fully understand them?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It is a good idea. But it is not strictly required to do so. We recommend going monolingual eventually in the learning process. And it is highly advisable to do it at an early stage. The monolingual definitions added in advance will prove to be useful when the time comes. It's important to learn to understand them and grow accustomed to the language style used in monolingual dictionaries. In my opinion, it's definitely a good idea to include monolingual definitions because you will continue reviewing these cards. As you do AJATT, your proficiency in the language improves. Eventually, in a few months from now, the card will come up, and you will have gained enough proficiency in the language to understand the monolingual definition on its back. This, in turn, may lead to a deeper understanding of the subtleties and nuances of the target word because typically monolingual definitions are much more detailed than simple translations found in bilingual dictionaries. Furthermore, even if you don't fully understand the definitions, partial understanding can still provide you with valuable clues about the word's meaning and expose you to the language style used in definitions. Therefore, it will be helpful. However, it is important to be cautious when coming across words with multiple definitions. Sometimes you look up a word, and each monolingual dictionary shows you a list of different monolingual definitions. Simply copying all definitions verbatim into Anki will result in an unreasonably long and overwhelming card. Instead, you want to carefully select the most relevant definition and add it on your card. If you're not yet at the stage where you can determine which definition is relevant out of the multiple options, then it is a little early to start using monolingual definitions. You can wait until a later stage. Once you've reached a point where you can understand some parts of the definitions, even if some parts are still incomprehensible, it's a good time to start including monolingual definitions on your cards.",
    "url":"monolingual-definitions-early.html",
    "date":"2024-01-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"Could machine translation be useful to language learners?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Relying on translations interferes with the natural process of language acquisition. Hence, translations are harmful to language learners. This is true for human-made translations as well. Machine translations are even more dangerous, because they often introduce errors and inaccuracies. Sometimes it is tempting to paste text into a machine translator or ask an AI chatbot to explain it. But that creates an illusion of comprehension, so it is counterproductive to our goal. To understand how the language works, you have to build a foundation for natural, intuitive understanding through mass immersion and exposure. Always try to decipher texts entirely on your own! It is permitted to translate individual words for the first couple months of learning the target language. We think it is acceptable to do so because there is no other option since the learner can't use monolingual dictionaries yet. But later on learners are expected to switch to monolingual dictionaries and stop depending on languages other than their TL. When translating individual words, it's generally better to use a dictionary app (see GoldenDict-NG, for example) instead of a machine translator. Dictionary apps are more versatile and can display results from multiple installed dictionaries. Besides, you need to get familiar with them to get ready for the monolingual stage, and it is a good idea to start early. Note that if a word you're looking up is a concrete noun, e.g. dog, cat, kettle, elephant, the best way to understand it is by using pictures instead of words. This advice is especially useful when making Anki cards. One of the reasons we advise against translating is that nuances always get lost in translation, especially when dealing with languages that are very different, such as English and Japanese. Therefore, if you have a gap in your knowledge of the language that you want to fill, if there is a structure that you partly understand but not completely, it's unlikely that an English translation of a sentence, especially done by an imperfect machine algorithm, will help you grasp what that structure really means, or help you understand the nuance because those things tend to get lost. Another reason is that the natural process of language acquisition only happens when we imitate the environment in which babies learn their first language. Obviously, babies do not rely on translations to understand messages in their first language. When we read translated sentences, we understand the meaning in translation, not the original meaning. The important features of the message in the target language get lost. To acquire our target language successfully, we have to understand the messages in their raw form, as we do in our native language every day. And the way we do that is by doing mass immersion, of course. You acquire the real meaning of an expression only after hearing it said in your immersion dozens of times. If you can't understand an expression even after looking up individual words, the best course of action is to search for various example sentences that use the expression. I have observed that AI-powered translators, including ChatGPT (GPT 4, etc.), often generate translations of poor quality and should not be used. Although this may change in the future, the lack of improvement thus far does not inspire much hope.",
    "url":"could-machine-translation-be-useful-to-language-learners.html",
    "date":"2023-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Language domains",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"As learners, we can divide our target language into domains to better navigate the territory. Being aware of language domains helps find the most optimal path to fluency.",
    "url":"language-domains.html",
    "date":"2023-10-19"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is a domain?",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A domain is a subset of the target language that is characterized by frequent use of certain vocabulary. Such vocabulary is often specific to the domain and is used noticeably more than in other areas of the language, in other domains. Words that are commonly used in one domain tend to be less frequently used in other domains. Here are some examples of language domains: Everyday conversation, real life conversation. This domain includes vocabulary related to talking about nothing. For example, asking \"how are you?\" or chatting about the weather. Real life conversation is different from scripted, edited, and acted content. Slice of life drama, anime, movies, etc. Everyday conversation, but scripted, more detailed, more structured. May include common words from a variety of other domains. Often covers topics related to household, school, work, and more. Various fiction genres, each genre representing its own domain. We encounter fiction in the form of drama, anime, movies, etc. Science fiction. Fantasy. Business and finance. Sports. Non-fiction. For example, documentaries. As you can see, any language can be easily divided into numerous domains. This list can be further expanded or modified. Generally, the more a genre deviates from everyday conversation, the less comprehensible it is going to be in the beginning. The medium in which content is presented or recorded also influences the level of difficulty. Usually, books are more challenging than comic books, and comic books are more challenging than movies and TV shows. Another factor to consider is dialect. Many languages, including Japanese, have regional dialects that can significantly differ from one another. Differences in accents alone can make the language incomprehensible, even to native speakers. In some cases, two dialects can be so distinct that they are considered separate languages.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#what-is-a-domain",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"Role of domains",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Why do we need to care about domains? Because the fastest way to obtain high-level comprehension in your target language is to narrow your immersion focus to a particular domain of the TL, master that subset, then move to another domain and repeat. On the opposite, frequently jumping between different domians will cause a lot of frustration and slow down your progress since each new domain will meet you with a load of unfamiliar words. It's more efficient to master a small set of domains first, taking one domain at a time, than tackle many domains at the same time and have a bad time immersing in either of them. Immersing oneself in one domain at a time creates a natural spaced repetition environment. You frequently encounter the same words used in different contexts. This helps you memorize the words better in addition to using the SRS. Another reason why domains are important is that you want to avoid content that is way above your current skill level. Choose immersion content that is not too difficult but is challenging enough to learn something new from it and grow your ability.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#role-of-domains",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"First domain",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When you start to immerse for the first time, you know nothing, so naturally you need content for beginners, an easy domain to immerse in. Choose content with a simple story. A slice of life anime is going to be easier to follow than a science fiction TV show about time travel. Mastering your first domain will give you ground to expand from. It makes sense to choose something scripted and centered around everyday conversation. On this site we recommend starting with slice of life anime and TV shows. Visual content is easier than just audio or just text because it shows you the story instead of only telling you. In addition, anime is easy to understand because it is voiced by professional voice actors who typically speak clearly and use the standard Japanese dialect. This ensures that you're learning from high-quality, accurate sources of spoken Japanese. Slice of life is a good genre to pick first because it is stripped of specialized vocabulary (専門用語). Specialized vocabulary that is unique to a particular field will pose a challenge at this stage. For example, if you're not fluent in Japanese yet, try to watch shows about baseball and see how crazy it gets.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#first-domain",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"What to do with domains",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Be aware of them, particularly in the initial stages of language learning. Make wise choices regarding the media you immerse yourself in, taking into account the domain it belongs to and its difficulty based on your current level of comprehension and other domains you have mastered before. When choosing content, don't neglect the importance of enjoyment. Find material that aligns with your interests. The more fun you're having when immersing, the more you will learn. Avoid immersing yourself in something solely because you feel you should. If slice of life content isn't fun, explore other domains that interest you. Be prepared for a potential decrease in overall comprehension when starting to immerse in a new media, such as finishing one anime and starting another. Don't be surprised or disheartened by this. The vocabulary used in one domain can vary significantly from the vocabulary used in another domain. Comprehension greatly depends on the specific domain. For instance, you may have 95% comprehension when watching anime but only 70% comprehension when watching the news. Mastering the first domain, the slice of life domain, acts as a gateway to exploring other domains. When you move from one domain to another, take into account how \"far away\" it is from the domains you already know. To optimize your journey towards fluency and flatten the learning curve, it is advisable to gradually progress from easier to more challenging language. Avoid jumping between domains that are too far away from each other. For instance, after slice of life TV shows, you can move on to adventure, fiction, or sci-fi genres. From there, you can venture into comic books, manga, and eventually novels.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#what-to-do-with-domains",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"Expanding",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Proficiency in a particular domain does not necessarily translate to proficiency in other domains. For instance, understanding anime in your target language requires different vocabulary than understanding classical literature. To gain expertise in each domain you want to acquire, you will have to deliberately immerse in it. Once you understand slice of life anime or TV shows, move to similar domains. Vocabulary used in related domains overlap. Tackling a similar domain ensures that you won't be starting from scratch when you move to it. The greater the overlap between the new domain and the domains you have mastered, the simpler it is to master the new domain. As you become proficient in more domains, trying new domains becomes easier because there is a larger set of shared language between what you have already immersed in and what you are going to immerse in.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#expanding",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"Speaking",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Being proficient in one domain, such as everyday speech, is not enough for engaging in meaningful conversations with others. Achieving true mastery of a language requires delving into a diverse range of domains. Language is a tool for acquiring knowledge. Without a sound understanding of what to say and how to say it, discussing a topic is impossible. To effectively converse on a given topic, one must first acquire extensive knowledge of the matter through listening and reading. One must also familiarize oneself with how native speakers talk about it, which is different from what you may learn from books, lectures, tutorials, or Wikipedia articles. Of course, it's also different from the way you talk about the topic in your native language. For example, you may learn about history of Japan, and then you can talk about it. Or, you learn about Japanese food, and then you can talk about it. After you master numerous domains and become able to speak your target language, identify a few specific topics and situations you want to feel comfortable in when having conversations with native speakers. Focus all your immersion and output practice on those topics (domains). Since our active vocabulary is always significantly smaller than our passive vocabulary, it is critical to gain solid knowledge about the area of interest and know a lot more relevant words, phrases and expressions than you might be able to use during a conversation.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#speaking",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"Domains become irrelevant",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The more words you acquire, the larger your vocabulary grows, the easier it is to immerse in new domains of the target language. And although highly specialized domains will always initially pose challenges due to limited understanding, these barriers gradually blend over time. AJATTers who have dedicated multiple years to learning Japanese are able to choose a wide range of immersion content freely, understand it effortlessly and have fun consuming it. So, after a certain point in the journey you won't have to use domain boundaries anymore to guide your choices of immersion content. However, reaching such proficiency requires immersing all the time, having a high level of comprehension in a variety of different genres of content, acquiring vocabulary from a wide range of domains. As you strive for language mastery, it's crucial to explore as many domains as possible, provided that the content is of personal interest.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#domains-become-irrelevant",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Dictionary Domain",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Monolingual dictionaries, e.g. Japanese to Japanese dictionaries such as 大辞林 or 明鏡 form a standalone domain. The language used in definitions differs from everyday speech or other domains of Japanese. This domain uses vocabulary that you rarely encounter elsewhere. We sometimes call it defining vocabulary. The domain is quite small compared to others, but it's a good idea to tackle this domain in a structured and deliberate manner because you won't see these words in your immersion as much. This process is often called going monolingual, and you're supposed to start it after your learn about 3,000 sentences bilingually, or about 3+ months after starting to learn your target language. Although people may choose to go monolingual at any other point in the learning process. Once you learn defining vocabulary, definitions written in your target language will become much more comprehensible, and you will be able to completely ditch bilingual dictionaries, such as JMdict.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#the-dictionary-domain",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"When to move to another domain",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"It's time to move to a new domain when you feel comfortable immersing in your current domain and when you feel that there's not much left for you to learn from the current domain. If you need a concrete metric, choose a new domain once you reach adequate comprehension in the current domain, meaning that you understand 95% of it. However, it's okay to use a different metric or use none at all.",
    "url":"language-domains.html#when-to-move-to-another-domain",
    "parent":"Language domains"
  },
  {
    "title":"I don't know how to say something. Should I translate in my head?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"You should only say something you know is correct. You know that a sentence is correct if you've heard a native speaker say it before. Or if you've heard them say something very similar. However, this may not always be possible. In such cases, there are several options available to you. First, assume that anything that doesn't come from a native speaker is incorrect. This includes: Machine translations from sources like Google or Deepl. Sentences you construct using memorized words and grammar rules. Try searching examples online. There are many websites that can help. By typing in the words you want to say, you can find similar sentences in your target language. You can also search in your Anki collection. Chances are, you've mined a sentence that is close to what you want to say. In a situation where you can't use the Internet, your only option is to say something different. Or to say what you've come up with yourself and remember to check later if it's correct. Keep in mind that just because a native speaker understands you, it does not mean the sentence is correct. It may contain mistakes.",
    "url":"i-dont-know-how-to-say-something-should-i-translate-in-my-head.html",
    "date":"2023-10-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I know I have finished an Anki deck?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"When should I consider a premade anki deck to be \"finished\" in order to move on from it? Should I shoot for 100% mature cards? Open the Anki Browser (shortcut: b). From the left sidebar select the deck you want to check. Add is:new to the search query. If there are no new cards left, you're done. Screenshot. See also: Card states. Aiming at 100% mature cards is unreasonable. When you fail a mature card, it might revert to a young card. When you start a new deck, continue reviewing your previous decks. Forgetting is inevitable, so you must review all your decks consistently to retain the material. Alternatively, you could keep all your cards in a single deck or create subdecks within a main deck.",
    "url":"how-do-i-know-i-have-finished-an-anki-deck.html",
    "date":"2023-10-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it a good idea to read mostly manga in the beginning?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Immersion is immersion. Consuming any native content is almost always the best strategy (unlike non-native content). There are some pitfalls associated with reading manga, but they're not too significant. Still, I would rather immerse in anime as a beginner, with manga taking a secondary role. Firstly, it's important to note that manga is not voiced, unlike anime. Consequently, often when reading you may get lost because you won't know how to say certain words correctly and with the right pitch accent. If you read something incorrectly, you may accidentally create a bad habit. Since reading manga is reading immersion, it is crucial to balance reading with listening. Only through listening we can get exposure to native speech, get used to the sounds of the language and learn to understand speech without relying on textual cues. You may not have access to high resolution scans. Reading text on low-resolution images can be frustrating, particularly when dealing with small text and complex kanji containing many strokes. Lastly, setting up a sentence mining workflow for manga requires more steps compared to anime. You need to learn how to use OCR software, and how to connect it with Japanese dictionaries and Anki, which may be tedious for some people. OCR software often makes mistakes when recognizing text from images, and it can hinder your ability to quickly look up words. In contrast, when reading books or watching anime with TL subtitles you don't have to rely on OCR.",
    "url":"is-it-a-good-idea-to-read-mostly-manga-in-the-beginning.html",
    "date":"2023-08-07"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do I have to use an SRS?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Immersion is the cornerstone of AJATT, with the SRS serving as an optional supplement. While Anki or other SRS applications can be useful for helping learn vocabulary faster, it is possible to become fluent without using them. If using an SRS reduces your motivation or enjoyment, it may be in your best interest to forgo using any SRS and instead focus on the core of the method. To improve learning speed and efficiency, it is recommended to incorporate some form of repetition, provided you can tolerate it. We eventually forget everything that we don't review. While total, mass immersion can partially counteract the forgetting curve, it can't help when trying to memorize more uncommon words. In the case of Japanese, the SRS proves especially useful because it helps you learn how to read words written in kanji and ensures that you don't forget kanji readings. It is particularly helpul when dealing with rare kanji. Japanese learners who avoid using the SRS often struggle more with remembering word readings. Personally, I have observed that the majority of my failed Anki reviews stem from forgotten kanji readings. I may recall the meaning of a word, but struggle to recall its pronunciation. Therefore, if your target language does not utilize kanji or hanzi characters, it is totally fine to omit the use of Anki.",
    "url":"do-i-have-to-use-an-srs.html",
    "date":"2023-07-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can I speak early?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Generally, AJATT does not recommend speaking (or outputting) early. Typically, this means avoiding speaking in the first 1 to 2 years, or until your comprehension reaches fluency. AJATT's core philosophy is based on learning to understand your target language before you start outputting. We have found that waiting until you have accumulated 10,000 hours of input yields better results when you start learning to speak. Speaking early is associated with long-term negative effects which require time and deliberate practice to fix later. We highly recommend immersing yourself in the language for 10,000 hours and then starting practicing speaking by imitating native speakers, a technique known as \"imitation exercises.\" Alternative approaches, such as trying to find native speakers to talk to, often result in frustration. When you're still a beginner, you will be making a ton of mistakes. Native speakers are not motivated to notice, point out, and correct your mistakes. They just want to speak English with you. Natives will be annoyed by you and will try to speak to you as if you were a baby, using very simple language. You won't learn much from such conversations. That's why your time during the beginner stage is better spent immersing. Furthermore, for Japanese learners it is extremely challenging to find someone who understands the pitch accent theory, knows pitch accent rules, and can assist in developing a native-like accent. Self-study has proven to be the most effective method for achieving this objective.",
    "url":"can-i-speak-early.html",
    "date":"2023-07-25"
  },
  {
    "title":"Timeboxing",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Managing time effectively is crucial to accomplish tasks and maintain productivity. Timeboxing is a popular technique that helps people organize their time. In this article, we will explore the concept of timeboxing, how timeboxing can help with language learning, and discuss timeboxing software that AJATTers use.",
    "url":"timeboxing.html",
    "date":"2023-07-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Understanding Timeboxing",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Timeboxing is a pretty basic but powerful time management technique to improve your productivity. It involves allocating specific time blocks, or \"boxes,\" to tasks or activities, where instead of saying how much you're going to get done, you decide how long you're going to work on something. Each \"box\" is assigned a fixed duration, allowing to focus solely on the assigned task without distractions or interruptions. You choose a task, set a timer and commit to working without distractions on the task until the time is up. When the time is up, you must take a break, usually a few minutes. Then either choose a different task or continue working on the same task. Set a timer again and repeat. We can't know for sure in advance how much time is required to complete a certain task, but we can control how much time we allocate to it. So instead of working on a task until it's completed, you choose a predetermined amount of time to work on it. The basic idea is that it helps you overcome procrastination because it divides big intimidating tasks into little manageable chunks. Timeboxing is especially effective at helping you to deal with activities that you're not that excited about doing.",
    "url":"timeboxing.html#understanding-timeboxing",
    "parent":"Timeboxing"
  },
  {
    "title":"In language learning",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In language learning, timeboxing basically boils down to two things. Immersing in chunks. Doing SRS reviews in chunks. A good example of immersing in chunks is when we read books. Most books are long enough to make finishing them in one sitting practically impossible. But if you decide to read a book for half an hour and pause, then it becomes manageable. Many language learners struggle to read books in the beginning. Often people aren't used to reading at all, they have to learn a new skill while learning a foreign language, which places the hurdle higher. Timeboxing makes approaching reading easier. Doing SRS reviews in chunks is another common way to use timeboxing. The thought of doing SRS reviews rarely excites people, but it's a part of the learning process. If you partition you SRS reps into smaller chunks, finishing them should become painless. And if you have a backlog of due cards, timeboxing is most likely the only remaining tactic.",
    "url":"timeboxing.html#in-language-learning",
    "parent":"Timeboxing"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pomodoro technique",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Pomodoro is a type of timeboxing that involves breaking down work into focused intervals of 25 minutes, known as \"pomodoros,\" followed by short breaks of 5 minutes. After 4 pomodoros, a longer break of 10 or more minutes is taken. The idea behind the technique is to maximize focus and concentration during the 25-minute sessions while allowing for regular breaks to rest. The Pomodoro Technique is named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer, because pomodoro means tomato in Italian.",
    "url":"timeboxing.html#pomodoro-technique",
    "parent":"Timeboxing"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pomodoro software",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"AUR contains many Pomodoro timers. I use Tatsumato. Tatsumato lets you customize the intervals and breaks to suit your individual needs, as well as set up notifications to help keep you on track. Additionally, Tatsumato controls: mpv player: it can unpause a video when a break starts. Screen: it can lock your screen when a break starts to help you spend the break away from your computer. Anki: it can close the review window when a breaks starts. The program is very simple, but if you don't understand something, you can always read the help page by executing tatsumato -h. Other popular Pomodoro programs are linked in Resources.",
    "url":"timeboxing.html#pomodoro-software",
    "parent":"Timeboxing"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Timeboxing and the Pomodoro Technique are valuable tools for enhancing productivity and managing time effectively. By allocating set time blocks to tasks and taking regular breaks, you can maintain concentration, fight procrastination, prevent burnout, and achieve more in less time. GNU/Linux users can choose from various Pomodoro software options to integrate this technique seamlessly into their computing. Timeboxing is more about improving productivity in general rather than something you apply to language learning or Japanese study specifically, so it's not a mandatory part of the AJATT curriculum, but it's useful enough to mention it in the guide. If it sounds like it might be useful to you then I recommend experimenting with it.",
    "url":"timeboxing.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Timeboxing"
  },
  {
    "title":"If you're almost done with Tango N5, is it worth switching to Ankidrone Foundation?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No. The JP1K method was invented so that people can skip RTK (or any other isolated kanji study deck). For a lot of people learning kanji out of context is boring and difficult. The benefit of the JP1K method is that you can start learning from authentic Japanese sentences almost from the start instead of spending time on memorizing individual characters. If you've basically finished the Tango N5 deck, it's safe to assume that you've already got enough kanji reading ability to continue learning vocabulary from native content. Moreover, Ankidrone Foundation is largely based on Tango N5. The only thing that's different is the card template. So there's no point in studying the same material twice.",
    "url":"is-it-worth-switching-from-tango-to-jp1k.html",
    "date":"2023-07-04"
  },
  {
    "title":"Avoid fake clones of Rikaitan",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"There's a fake fork of Rikaitan that's spreading. This article explains what happened after the previous version was abandoned, why the clone is untrusted, and what we (AJATT) are doing to protect the Rikaitan project. If you started learning Japanese before 2023, you probably remember that AJATT used to recommend a browser extension called Yomichan. It is a browser extension that shows pop-up dictionary lookups on web pages. It no longer exists under that name. The successor fork is Rikaitan. Yomichan was created and maintained by a third-party developer unrelated to AJATT. That project was killed by its creator. On Feb 26, 2023, he recklessly abandoned it, which later led to a hijack attempt by a malicious group who gained attention through spamming. The creator could have selected a number of trusted people and assigned them as admins of the GitHub repository, but he chose not to, which was irresponsible. At Ajatt-Tools, we decided to fork the extension and continue maintaining it. Now Rikaitan is the successor to the original extension. Rikaitan is free/libre software. The AJATT community maintains it, and anyone can contribute. Recently, a clone of Rikaitan has been gaining popularity under a different name and logo. I used to avoid mentioning that clone, but unfortunately, other bad actors are promoting it, so this warning is necessary. The clone is not endorsed by us and should be avoided. If you see a browser extension with this logo, stay away from it. If someone recommends it to you, send them this article. Do not mention its name anywhere on the Internet. Say \"Rikaitan\" if you agree the hijack should fail. The logo the Fake clone uses. After Yomichan was abandoned, a malicious group attempted to hijack the project. The AJATT community resisted by creating and maintaining Rikaitan. The fake clone is associated with a hostile online group of Japanese learners that has a history of spamming, targeted raids, and other abusive behavior toward other language-learning communities. They have attacked AJATT, and even raided and spammed our chat group. They also promote nonfree (proprietary) software, which is often malware. For these reasons, we consider them untrustworthy, we will not allow them to hijack Rikaitan, and we will not trust them to maintain any forks. At Ajatt-Tools, we are committed to fighting this hijack. They recently tried to obscure their origins by creating a separate GitHub organization, but the same people still run it, so the attempt did not deceive anyone. When Yomichan was abandoned, that group immediately forked it and began spamming and advertising their fork. That helped them attract attention and some users. Their apparent goal is to hijack development to promote their flawed language-learning method and, eventually, include some form of malware. When bad actors control important tools, it harms security and damages legitimate forks that never intended a takeover. Initially, Ajatt-Tools did not plan to create Rikaitan because we're involved in many other projects. We were forced to maintain Rikaitan to resist the hijack. Many former Yomichan contributors were misled by the group's shilling, and some even contributed to the clone's fake GitHub repository with good intent. To keep Rikaitan up to date, we merged some of those changes back into Rikaitan, similar to how LibreWolf pulls changes from Firefox. Every commit was scanned and any potential malware was removed.",
    "url":"avoid-fake-clones-of-rikaitan.html",
    "date":"2023-06-25"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why shouldn't I just keep using an app instead?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"We do not recommend \"language learning\" apps like Duolingo, Lingodeer, Babbel, and others due to the fact that their methodology conflicts with AJATT's principles of immersion learning. Such apps do not actually help you with anything. There are no success stories. On the other hand, AJATTers typically reach fluency in just 18 months. The apps prevent you from reading interesting content in your target language, such as manga. And they make you more miserable in the end. To elaborate, apps such as Duolingo are not designed in a way that aligns with AJATT methodology. They reinforce traditional learning habits, which are not efficient. AJATT says that the most effective method of learning a foreign language is to surround yourself with the language as much as possible. We call this immersion. Immersion can be practiced through various activities, such as watching TV shows and movies, reading manga and books in the target language, and so on. In contrast, phone apps for learning foreign languages typically rely on repetitive exercises and memorization drills, which are ineffective in helping learners achieve fluency in the language. Instead of immersion, Duolingo and such force the learner to produce sentences from the provided words and grammar rules, and memorize vocabulary in a specific order. Trying to produce language before it has been acquired naturally from input only creates disaster. Duolingo doesn't offer any input which is essential for acquiring a language. To make things worse, the whole process is accompanied by low-quality translations and robotic text-to-speech audio. One of the key advantages of the AJATT method is that it enables learners to acquire the language naturally, just like how children learn their first language. This means that learners are exposed to the language in context, and they gradually develop an intuitive understanding of its nuances and grammar rules. On the other hand, relying solely on apps doesn't activate the natural process of language acquisition, making it difficult to apply what has been learned in real-life situations. At best one will have memorized some detached information, such as words and grammar, but will have no ability to use it properly. Rather than just completing various drills, lessons or exercises, AJATT promotes engagement with the language on a personal level. Learners are encouraged to find immersion materials that interest them, choose compelling content, engage with the language in a way that is fun. AJATT enables you to learn from any type of media you want. This makes the learning process more enjoyable and motivating, leading to better retention and progress. In contrast, Duolingo has a high dropout rate because it is incredibly boring and tedious. No one likes their lessons. It even has to utilize a notification system to retain some users for a little longer. With the AJATT method, the target language is learned strictly from native content, content crated by natives for natives. Listening to native speakers is crucial to learn how to sound natural when speaking. Duolingo is the opposite of being native. The text-to-speech software Duolingo uses is simply awful. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. They are everywhere. It pronounces Japanese incorrectly. The pitch accent is totally wrong. Correctly answered questions are counted as incorrect, or vice versa. Duolingo teaches you very basic and primitive language. The maximum skill that one can achieve on Duolingo can be surpassed in just two or three months of doing AJATT properly. Some say that you should only use Duolingo for learning kana and then quit. But I don't get that idea because there are better ways to learn kana.",
    "url":"why-shouldnt-i-just-keep-using-an-app-instead.html",
    "date":"2023-06-25"
  },
  {
    "title":"Does playing Japanese audio on repeat while I sleep count as immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It doesn't. And, generally, it is not recommended. But if you understand the mechanics behind this idea, you may consider doing it and get some, although little, benefit. It is important to note that humans cannot learn anything while sleeping. There is no research that suggests that we can. As far as I know, the idea was popularized by the old AJATT website. AJATT is about mass immersion, doing Japanese all the time. The reason why some AJATTers have Japanese audio playing when they sleep is not because you can learn something while you sleep, but because you will be hearing Japanese speech just before falling asleep and just after waking up. You can be exposed to the language more by doing this trick. If you pause Japanese before going to bed, there will be some time, maybe just a few minutes, when you are not immersing. The other side is that any additional learning progress that could be made by the extra listening time will be canceled out by low-quality sleep. Playing audio while you're trying to sleep can disrupt you. If you're constantly being jolted awake by the audio, you're not going to get the restorative sleep you need to function at your best. Sleeping properly is an essential aspect of the language acquisition process and should not be compromised. A solution would be to use some technology to pause the audio after falling asleep and resuming it just before it's time to wake up. For example, an alarm clock app that has a feature to trigger a podcast app or a music app instead of playing a preset alarm sound by itself.",
    "url":"does-playing-japanese-audio-on-repeat-while-i-sleep-count-as-immersion.html",
    "date":"2023-06-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"How strict do you recommend being about 1T?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"In Is it OK to make cards for sentences I don't fully understand I said that ideally you need to be strict about making only 1T sentences. I think being strict definitely helps because it removes unnecessary ambiguity from the SRS reps. If there's no other way, making MT cards occasionally won't do too much harm though. Try to avoid MT cards where there are two or more words you don't know. They may slow you down, and they may be too difficult to review. Trying to learn two things on one card uses a lot of mental energy, and it can be boring and frustrating. Learning 1T sentences is more fun, they are quicker to grasp. If everything is easy, you'll enjoy studying more. You can make MT cards once in a while, but it's smoother when you don't. Once you get more advanced, you will not need to make MT cards because there will be already enough 1T cards you can find just by continuing to immerse. If you are in a situation where you want to create a TSC to learn a word, but the sentence contains two or more unknown words, first create and learn a 1T card where the other unknown word is the target. By doing so, the original sentence will transform into being 1T. Then you can learn the original sentence as a normal 1T card. In summary, it is best to primarily create 1T flashcards and only occasionally make MT cards. By following this strategy, you will optimize your time and energy while making consistent progress towards fluency.",
    "url":"how-strict-do-you-recommend-being-about-1t.html",
    "date":"2023-05-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I change an environment variable?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"In the guide I sometimes instruct to set or change environment variables. Environment variables provide a way to store simple settings that can be accessed and used by various programs and scripts running on the system. Changing environment variables is a common task for users, and it can be done in different ways. I'm going to present you the easiest way, and you can read about other ways on Arch Wiki. First, determine what shell you have installed by executing echo $SHELL in the terminal. If you have bash, open the ~/.bash_profile file. If you have zsh, open the ~/.zprofile file. Next, add the setting you want to add to the file. For example, the line below changes the default text editor to nvim: export EDITOR=\"nvim\" Save the file, then relogin or reboot because the profile file is read only once per user session. To learn more, read Environment varialbes on Arch Wiki. For example, another way to set environment variables that may be interesting is to add them to the /etc/environment file. You need root privileges to edit this file. The variables will be set globally, for every user in the system.",
    "url":"how-do-i-change-an-environment-variable.html",
    "date":"2023-05-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"I have a deck I haven't reviewed for a whole year. Should I reset it?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It can be tempting to reset a deck that hasn't been reviewed in a while, but I do not recommend doing so if a large number of cards have graduated and have a review history. Despite feeling like you may have forgotten everything, you likely remember more than you realize. Instead, I suggest reviewing the overdue cards. If you select the deck and review the overdue cards, the cards you still remember will increase their intervals significantly, while the forgotten cards will not lose their intervals completely, as long as you have new interval set to a value greater than 0. In the end, this approach will require you to review fewer cards than if you started from scratch. By contrast, If you reset the deck, you'll have to relearn each card again, with each card graduating with an interval of 1 day (or the value you set in settings). You'll lose any progress you have made on cards that you still remember. If you find yourself struggling with a backlog of cards, consider reading Fighting backlogs. The most important tip is to store overdue cards in a filtered deck and take small chunks for review. With this approach, you avoid overwhelming yourself with hundreds or thousands of cards at once.",
    "url":"should-i-reset-a-deck-i-havent-reviewed.html",
    "date":"2023-05-07"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do you recommend starting on listening practice?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"There's really not much to it. The way I learned to understand spoken Japanese was by watching raw anime. If you're a fan of anime, you'll find this method enjoyable and engaging. Anime is easy to understand because it is voiced by professional voice actors who typically speak clearly and use the standard Japanese dialect. This ensures that you're learning from high-quality, accurate sources of spoken Japanese. Moreover, anime covers a wide range of vocabulary, including both formal and informal expressions. But how do you make the most out of this practice? Here are some tips: Watch an episode first without subtitles or translations. This helps you focus on the sounds of the language rather than relying on written cues. Alternatively, you can watch without subs, but read the Japanese subtitles only when you hear something you can't understand. Whenever you notice words you don't understand, look them up in a dictionary. Make flashcards to ensure you don't forget what you've learned. This will expand your vocabulary and help you recognize the words when you hear them again later. If you didn't pause during the episode, read the Japanese subtitles after finishing watching and learn any unknown words that you missed. Extract the audio track and listen to it multiple times using mpd. You will hear and notice the words you've learned recently. Repetition helps train your ear to distinguish individual sounds and patterns. Mastering a language takes time and effort. But as you continue to practice, your listening abilities will improve and you'll be able to easily comprehend more and more of what you hear.",
    "url":"how-do-you-recommend-starting-on-listening-practice.html",
    "date":"2023-04-29"
  },
  {
    "title":"I immerse with English and Japanese subs on at the same time. Is this a bad idea?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"If you watch with English and Japanese subtitles on the screen at the same time, consider having both subtitle tracks hidden most of the time. In mpv you can press v to toggle subtitle visibility. When you feel like you didn't understand something, turn the subs on temporarily. Mpvacious has key bindings that let you toggle secondary subtitles as well, or you can have them appear on mouse hover. You can approach this question at 2 levels. Training your listening ability. Displaying both Japanese and English subtitles simultaneously would occupy a significant portion of the screen, making the subtitles difficult to ignore. If you have them visible all the time, it is likely that you will end up reading them. It may happen unconsciously, automatically, accidentally. Even if you catch an outline of a sentence in the corner of your eye, it could give you a hint and disrupt your listening practice. If you're genuinely committed to improving your listening skills, consider hiding all subtitles. This is the only way to ensure that you're not cheating. Increasing your overall comprehension. To ensure effective learning, it's crucial that you don't read English subtitles. If you do, and if you don't pay attention to the Japanese subtitles, your progress will be zero. Try to understand the Japanese subs first. If you must use English subtitles, try to make them less accessible, such as requiring a button press or mouse movement to reveal them. Then consider whether English subtitles can help you, or if it is better to get rid of them completely. Prioritize understanding the Japanese subtitles first, and only opt for English subtitles if necessary. As I previously discussed in Should I put English translations on Bilingual TSCs, relying on translations doesn't help in language acquisition. While they may help you understand a rough meaning of a sentence, they don't aid in understanding how ideas are expressed in Japanese, and how grammar works. The most harmful aspect of reading English subtitles is that one may feel like they comprehend the original text when, in reality, they understand only the translated meaning. Furthermore, using English subtitles carries the risk of creating false associations between English words and Japanese words with similar meanings. This can lead to biases in your Japanese comprehension. In conclusion, it is OK to keep Japanese subtitles visible, but English subtitles are better kept hidden. Hiding both English and Japanese subtitles is good for improving your listening abilities. And if you hate going forth between turning subs on and off, consider watching some shows fully raw and other shows with Japanese subs always on.",
    "url":"en-and-ja-subs-at-the-same-time.html",
    "date":"2023-04-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's the best way to make use of an iTalki teacher?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I'm beginning to utilize iTalki. many iTalki teachers seem open to structuring a game plan based on what each student requests. What would you consider to be the most effective use of iTalki in a way that's complementary to the AJATT philosophy? What would you personally look for in a teacher? I don't know much about iTalki, so I went to their website and was surprised to see that it doesn't work with JavaScript disabled. Truly a disappointment. I couldn't press half of the buttons on the webpage, all I could do is read the text on the few pages that were able to load. So apparently Italki is a platform where you pay to have lessons with language teachers. 英語 のスキルが確実に向上する方法をお探しですか？ italki には資格を持つ 英語 講師が在籍しています。 英語 のオンライン講師のレッスンを受けて、英語 力アップを目指しましょう。 In the world of language learning, paying for speaking practice is often compared to paying for sex. So you're about to do something really shameful there. I do not think that iTalki can be utilized in a way that aligns with the AJATT philosophy. AJATT has always been about learning by yourself, and on this website I also stress it a lot. Ask yourself, would another native speaker of your native language pay you to have a conversation with you? Would you pay a native speaker of your native language to have a conversation with you? Probably not, right? The reason some people are paid to speak is that what they say is of value. Famous businessmen, scientists, programmers, politicians are paid to give talks and lectures because they share valuable knowledge, not because they speak a certain language. The value of a conversation lies in its content, not simply in the act of speaking a language. Having a meaningless conversation in another language with a language teacher is the antithesis of value. A teacher's role is to teach learners how to learn by themselves, and thanks to this site you already know how to learn your target language through self-study, so you don't need to pay anybody. If you are \"looking for a way to improve\" your target language, you need to understand that language is a tool for acquiring knowledge. Speaking is merely a byproduct and a result of acquiring knowledge, not the end goal. Output ability emerges as a result of listening, watching and reading for thousands of hours. It is through input that learners acquire the necessary linguistic structures, vocabulary, grammar, and cultural context to communicate effectively in the target language. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize comprehension over production, input over output. The best way to improve is by immersing in the authentic content made for native speakers of the TL. Immersion plus SRS leads to comprehension ability. Immersion plus comprehension leads to speaking ability. Then, speaking ability plus speaking practice leads to speaking mastery. Before you concern yourself with improving your speaking skills, you need to make sure that you have mastered understanding your TL. To be able to speak a foreign language well, you need to be able to hear well. Pronunciation comes from listening. If you can't hear it, you can't say it. If you are able to understand everything you hear, you will be able to speak well. In addition, a good grasp of the language's phonetics and pitch accent is vital. Lastly, research the topic you want to discuss and learn how native speakers converse about it. You can't talk about something if you don't know how and what to say. For example, you learn about history of Japan, and then you can talk about it. Or you learn about Japanese food, and then you can talk about it. To learn how to talk about something you need to read and listen to native speakers of your target language. Speaking practice can be counterproductive. It is not uncommon for learners to start speaking early before fully developing their listening abilities and intuitive understanding of language structures. This can lead to the reinforcement of incorrect pronunciation and grammar, and can actually hinder language learning progress. Let's say you have immersed for 10,000 hours, and now you are ready to start improving your speaking. Getting better at speaking requires speaking practice. Speaking practice is mainly a tool for improving pronunciation. First, determine if dedicating time to this activity aligns with your objectives. After 10,000 hours of immersion, most individuals can speak proficiently and can improve naturally by simply talking with native speakers on the topics of interest. If the answer is yes, AJATT recommends practicing by imitating native speakers. This is done through imitation exercises. Imitation is a language learning technique where you listen to a native speaker and repeat what they say, trying to match their speed, rhythm, and intonation as closely as possible. Here's how you can go about imitation: Choose an audio or video recording of a native speaker speaking your target language. It could be a YouTube video or an audiobook. Obtain the text version, the transcript of the recording as well. Listen to the recording. Start imitating by repeating what the speaker says, trying to match their speed, rhythm, intonation and pitch accent as closely as possible. Record yourself. Pay attention to your own pronunciation and try to correct any mistakes you notice. You can repeat what the native speaker says after they say it or simultaneously, at the same time. There appears to be no consensus on which way is better.",
    "url":"whats-the-best-way-to-make-use-of-an-italki-teacher.html",
    "date":"2023-04-15"
  },
  {
    "title":"How much of my immersion should I understand?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The answer is simple: you should aim to understand 100% of your immersion. Everything. One hundred percent. Every time you come across an unfamiliar word or phrase, it is a problem, and it has to be fixed. Don't hesitate to take action, you've got thousands of words to acquire. The ultimate goal is to reach a point where each unknown word is so rare that it stands out, and you just can't ignore it. When starting to learn a new language, it's normal to understand nothing at first. The first step is to train your ears to hear the sounds of the language, which can take time. The next step is to immerse for thousands of hours and learn lots of grammar and vocabulary, required to reach fluency. The more time you invest, the more your language skills will improve. To tackle the initial challenge of not understanding, it's advisable to prioritize basic vocabulary in the beginning. By spending your first month or two on learning the most common words of the language you can quickly improve your comprehension and start to understand everyday conversations quite well. You can then continue learning by mining example sentences from your input, starting with slice of life shows and eventually moving towards more sophisticated media. Frontloading the most frequently used words is perhaps one of the most significant techniques in mastering the target language, which I personally found very helpful in the beginning.",
    "url":"how-much-of-my-immersion-should-i-understand.html",
    "date":"2023-04-14"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese support for Anki",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Anki can be used to learn a variety of different subjects, including languages. What makes Anki such a fantastic tool for Japanese learners is the vast array of plugins or \"add-ons\" that extend its functionality. One of the most useful add-ons for learning Japanese is AJT Japanese. Its main features include adding furigana, adding pitch accent information, and adding pronunciation audio files to Anki cards.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html",
    "date":"2023-04-12"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The installation process is similar to other Anki plugins and can be accomplished in three steps: Open the \"Install Add-on\" dialog by selecting \"Tools\" > \"Add-ons\" > \"Get Add-ons...\" in Anki. Input 1344485230 into the text box labeled Code and press the OK button to proceed. Restart Anki when prompted to do so in order to complete the installation of AJT Japanese.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#installation",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Neologism dictionary",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"To improve parsing quality (not necessary, but recommended), install these AUR packages: mecab mecab-ipadic-neologd To install AUR packages, you can use Trizen or any other AUR helper. If you install the mecab-ipadic-neologd AUR package, AJT Japanese will try to use /usr/lib/mecab/dic/mecab-ipadic-neologd as a system dicdir for Mecab when Anki starts. If neologd is not found in this directory, the add-on will try to search other directories on the hard drive. Expected locations /usr/lib/mecab/dic/mecab-ipadic-neologd /usr/local/lib/mecab/dic/mecab-ipadic-neologd /opt/homebrew/lib/mecab/dic/mecab-ipadic-neologd /usr/lib/mecab/dic/ipadic /usr/local/lib/mecab/dic/ipadic /opt/homebrew/lib/mecab/dic/ipadic If the directory is not found in either of the expected directories, the add-on will fall back to the built-in dictionary, which is smaller (to fit on AnkiWeb).",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#neologism-dictionary",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Overview",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The AJT Japanese add-on provides a range of features to make learning Japanese easier. The main feature is the furigana generation, which automatically adds furigana — readings of kanji characters. The readings appear as small kana characters above the kanji. When a card is created or modified by the user, furigana will be placed to a dedicated field, allowing the user to learn how words should be read. If a word has many readings, the add-on will print a list of readings, separated by commas by default. The learner needs to be aware that a word can be read different ways and learn the reading relevant to the example sentence the word is used in. Note: Apart from some corner cases, we always recommend having an example sentence displayed on the front side of a flashcard. Words never exist in isolation, people use them to form sentences. Without reading a usage example it is nearly impossible to reason about the meaning or reading of a word. Another important aspect of the Japanese language is pitch accent. Pitch accent is taken very seriously among Japanese learners, and especially among AJATTers. Most people study it diligently. If you don't know pitch accent of a word, you don't know how to say it. AJT Japanese offers two ways to add pitch accent information to your Anki cards. It can add pitch numbers or pitch patterns to cards. Pattern and number can be placed in separate fields or combined in one field. Pitch accent pattern indicates the rising and falling tone that occurs when speaking. Pitch accent number indicates the number of a mora after which the tone of the voice drops from high to low, when counting morae from the beginning of the word. Most of the time pitch drops only once in a given word, so its entire accent can be represented with one number. In a few corner cases the add-on will output two digits. Of course, the best way to learn correct pronunciation is to hear it. AJT Japanese includes built-in support for adding pronunciation audio to your cards. By default, it comes with audio sources provided by Ajatt-Tools, and supports adding custom sources. Any user can create their own audio sources. The audio files provided by default come from Japanese accent dictionaries, so they are pretty accurate. Audio sources can be online or offline. Online audio sources fetch audio files from the Internet, whilst offline audio sources are stored locally. If you have additional disk space on your computer, it is recommended to download and use offline sources to ensure that audio files are added instantly. The default audio sources are online.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#overview",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you have fields named VocabKanji, VocabFurigana, VocabPitchPattern, VocabAudio on your notes, the lookups will be performed on the VocabKanji field, furigana will be added to the VocabFurigana field, accents will be added to the VocabPitchPattern field, and audio will be added to the VocabAudio field. Video demonstration. To generate readings, accents and audio, focus in the VocabKanji field and press Tab or switch focus away from the field. You can change field names or add more source and destination fields in Options. When a new card is created via AnkiConnect (by using Rikaitan, GoldenDict, etc.), the add-on detects such events and will append the needed information to the card as well. In the Anki Browser's toolbar you will find the following buttons: Regenerate all fields. A shortcut that allows you to replace all readings, accents and audio files with freshly generated information. Generate furigana in field. Replace the content of the current field with the same text but with furigana added. Reconvert field as hiragana. Replace all kanji with their kana readings. Clean furigana in field. Remove all text in brackets, effectively removing furigana. Some of these buttons are off by default. Check the configuration. In the Anki Browser's context menu actions you will find the following options: Pitch accent lookup. Show a window with the currently selected text split into individual words, with pitch accent information shown next to each word. Furigana for selection. Add furigana to the selected text. Convert to katakana. Replace hiragana characters with katakana characters. Convert to hiragana. Replace katakana characters with hiragana characters. Literal pronunciation. Convert selected text to a form that resembles the way it is actually pronounced. Implies conversion to katakana and replacement of certain characters. Look up in GoldenDict. A handy shortcut to send the selected text to GoldenDict. Requires GoldenDict to be installed and added to the PATH. Browser search. Search the current selection in Anki Browser.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#usage",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Configuration",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"To configure the add-on, open Anki and select \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options...\".",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#configuration",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Profiles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Each of the three main features works according to profiles which are created by the user. A profile specifies a source field, a destination field, and what triggers the profile. When the specified conditions are met, the profile invokes a task associated with it. For example, when the Note Type is Japanese and the source field is VocabKanji, the task is to write furigana to the VocabFurigana field. The \"note type\" parameter specifies a substring to match all note types for which you want the profile to work. The profile will be triggered for note type names that contain this string. Note type name matching is case-insensitive. For example, if you have note types named \"Japanese sentences\", \"English sentences\", and \"Japanese words\", you can put \"japanese\" into the \"note type\" field, and the profile will be triggered for \"Japanese sentences\" and \"Japanese words\" note types. The split morphemes setting determines whether an input string should be split into words. It makes sense to enable splitting for fields that are expected to contain more than one word, but keep it disabled for fields that are expected to contain only one word. The overwrite_destination setting determines whether the contents of the destination field should be replaced if the field is already filled. By default, if a field already contains data, it won't be modified. Profile types are tried in this order: Furigana Pitch accent Audio If there is more than one profile inside a profile type, the profiles are tried in the order they are listed. Each task can be triggered by one of the 4 callers: Focus lost. When the user presses Tab or switches focus away from the selected source field in the Browser or in the Add dialog. Toolbar button. When the user presses the \"Regenerate all fields\" button in the Browser's toolbar. Note added. When AnkiConnect adds a new note, but not when the user adds a note manually via the Add dialog. Bulk add. When the user presses the \"Bulk-generate\" button in the Browser's \"Edit\" menu. When editing a profile, you can select what callers the profile should \"answer\" to. For example, you can generate furigana when focus is lost but not when a note is added.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#profiles",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Furigana",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Furigana can be configured in \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options\" > \"Furigana\". By default, for each word you can get up to 3 different readings. Normally, when there's more than one reading, they stack on top of each other. Import the example mining deck to ensure that furigana is displayed correctly. As a workaround you can change \"Reading separator\" to <br> but it won't have the same effect. If you want to generate only one reading for a word, you can change \"Maximum results\" to 1. However, I think it's nice to have more than one reading visible. Sometimes, if the results are not desirable, you can edit them.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#furigana",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch output format",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Pitch output format can be configured in \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options\" \"Pitch Accent\" > selected profile > \"Output format\". It can be one of the following: Html Html and number Number Svg When set to \"Html\", the tone of the voice is marked using HTML tags and styles. When set to \"Svg\", the add-on generates SVG pictures to allow for a more elaborate graphical representation. \"Number\" simply indicates where pitch drops. Appearance of SVG graphs can be configured in \"AJT\" > \"Japanese options\" > \"SVG graphs\". There are many knobs, but you can play with them while looking at the previews on the right side if you want. These settings take effect if you have \"Output format\" set to \"Svg\". SVG output format. SVG appearance settings. SVG: Further styling You can achieve further customization by applying styles to SVG tags in your Note Type's Styling section. To access this, go to \"Anki\" > \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\" > \"Cards\" > \"Styling.\" For example, to color the SVG graphs in white, you can add the following styles: .ajt__pitch_svg text { fill: white; } .ajt__pitch_svg circle:not(.devoiced) { fill: white; stroke: white; } .ajt__pitch_svg circle.devoiced { fill: none; stroke: white; } .ajt__pitch_svg line { stroke: white; } Or, if you want to color all nakadaka words in orange, use this code: .ajt__pitch_svg .nakadaka text { fill: orange; } .ajt__pitch_svg .nakadaka circle:not(.devoiced) { fill: orange; stroke: orange; } .ajt__pitch_svg .nakadaka circle.devoiced { fill: none; stroke: orange; } .ajt__pitch_svg .nakadaka line { stroke: orange; }",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#pitch-output-format",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch accent style",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Pitch accent style can be configured in \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options\" > \"Pitch Accent\" > \"HTML style\". This setting is applied when pitch output format is set to \"Html\" or \"Html and Number\". The following styles are built-in: javdejong. The style used in the original Japanese Pitch Accent Anki add-on by javdejong. Overline: indicates \"High\" pitch. Downfall arrow: indictates an end of moras with \"High\" accent. Red circle mark: nasal pronunciation、e.g. げ would be a nasal け゚. Blue color: devoiced. Barely pronounced at all. u-biq. The style used to show pitch on the u-biq website. Overline: indicates \"High\" pitch. Underline: indicates \"Low\" pitch. Red circle mark: nasal pronunciation. Blue color: devoiced. kanjium. Style which is part of the kanjium project. Overline: indicates \"High\" pitch. ⌝: indictates an end of moras with \"High\" accent. Red circle mark: nasal pronunciation. Blue color: devoiced. HTML style settings. The last option, None allows you to configure your own style using CSS classes in your Note Type's Styling section (\"Anki\" > \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\" > \"Cards\" > \"Styling\"). You can define CSS rules for the following classes: .low. Low accent, e.g., an underline. .low_rise. Low accent, then rise. .high. High accent, e.g., an overline. .high_drop. High accent, then drop. .nasal. Nasal sound, e.g., shown in a different color. .handakuten. The ° mark that is a part of a nasal sound. .devoiced. Devoiced sound.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#pitch-accent-style",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Color coding",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Because humans have extremely strong visual memories, color coding words in terms of their pitch accent pattern can make memorizing the pitch accents of individual words nearly effortless. For example, if a word is colored blue every time you see it in Anki, that word will likely become associated with the color blue in your head. When you recall the word later, the blue color may appear in your mind's eye. If you know that \"blue\" means a word is pronounced with the \"heiban\" pitch accent pattern, then this association would be enough for you to remember the pitch accent of the word. AJT Japanese makes it easy to take advantage of this color coding technique. The software can automatically generate pitch accent information for entire sentences and color code the words accordingly. The colors used are: Heiban words: Blue Atamadaka words: Red Odaka words: Green Nakadaka words: Orange Color-coded words in a sentence. This feature can be enabled by setting the \"color code pitch\" option to \"color\" or \"underline.\" Additionally, if the \"attributes\" option is turned on, you will see detailed pitch-accent info when hovering over words with your mouse. You also need to allow injecting add-on scripts for everything to work properly. Settings. Note: AJT Japanese inserts additional JavaScript code into the card templates to enable the display of pitch accent information on mouse hover. If you do not require this feature, you can disable the script loading in Settings. Steps to Disable JavaScript loading Go to \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options\" > \"Furigana\". For each profile where you don't want AJT Japanese to add its scripts, uncheck the checkbox named \"Insert addon scripts\". Click OK.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#color-coding",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audio files",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"AJT Japanese can add audio files from accent dictionaries to Anki cards. To set up audio profiles, go to \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options\" > \"Audio\". Add at least one audio profile, selecting the source and destination fields. To set up audio sources, go to \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options\" > \"Audio sources\". There you will see a list of loaded audio sources. Sources can be enabled or disabled. Each source is given an arbitrary name and a URL that points to its index file. When a new source is added, AJT Japanese downloads its index file and figures out where to find audio files and what audio files are available based on information stored in it.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#audio-files",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Available audio formats",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The default audio sources for AJT Japanese are availabe in two formats: opus and mp3. Audio sources created by the users, however, can be in any format. The Opus audio codec provides much better quality at lower bitrates (which saves a lot of space and makes syncing large collections faster). However, Opus is not compatible with the following: AnkiWeb. Very old Android devices (Android 4 and below). AnkiMobile on iOS The MP3 audio codec is older and less efficient, but is supported on pretty much all devices.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#available-audio-formats",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Online audio sources",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Audio files are stored remotely, only the index file is downloaded. When requested, AJT Japanese downloads audio files from the Internet, using the provided URLs. All default audio sources are online audio sources. To add a new online audio source, paste the URL of the index and give it a unique name. Adding an online audio source. Currently available online audio sources: ogg/opus files (recommended) NHK accent dictionary, 2016.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/nhk_2016_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/NHK-2016_main.zip NHK accent dictionary, 1998.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/nhk_1998_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/NHK-1998_main.zip Shinmeikai 8th edition.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/shinmeikai_8_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/Shinmeikai-8_main.zip Daijisen.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/daijisen_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/Daijisen_main.zip TAAS.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/taas_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/TAAS_main.zip JapanesePod101.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/jpod_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/JapanesePod101_main.zip 旺文社全訳古語辞典.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/oubunsha_kogo_pronunciations_index/releases/latest/download/Oubunsha-Kogo_main.zip mp3 files NHK accent dictionary, 2016.https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/nhk_2016_pronunciations_index_mp3/releases/latest//download/NHK-2016_main.zip NHK accent dictionary, 1998https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/nhk_1998_pronunciations_index_mp3/releases/latest/download/NHK-1998_main.zip Shinmeikai 8th editionhttps://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/shinmeikai_8_pronunciations_index_mp3/releases/latest/download/Shinmeikai-8_main.zip",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#online-audio-sources",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Offline audio sources",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Audio files are stored locally, on the hard drive. When requested, AJT Japanese copies the needed files to the Anki collection. To add a new offline audio source, you need to download its entire folder with all audio files (usually a few hundred MiB). In the folder you will find a file named index.json. Copy the full path to the file and paste it into the \"URL\" field. Give it a unique name. The add-on will figure out the rest based on the information inside the json file. Adding a local audio source. Currently available offline audio sources: ogg/opus files (recommended) NHK accent dictionary, 2016. NHK accent dictionary, 1998. Shinmeikai 8th edition. Daijisen TAAS. JapanesePod101 旺文社全訳古語辞典. mp3 files NHK accent dictionary, 2016. NHK accent dictionary, 1998. Shinmeikai 8th edition.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#offline-audio-sources",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audio Search dialog",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you activate the \"audio search button\" setting in the add-on's Options, a button titled \"Search audio files to add to note\" will appear in the Editor's toolbar. By clicking on the button, you can open up the Search dialog box. It lets you search words to add audio files for. The table below the search bar displays all the audio files that match your search term. To add these audio files to your Anki note, simply check the \"Add to note\" checkboxes and click \"Ok\". Search dialog. To configure Forvo, go to \"AJT\" > \"Menus\" > \"Forvo settings\". When Forvo Search is enabled, the add-on searches audio files on Forvo in addition to the enabled audio sources. Watch a demonstration on .",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#audio-search-dialog",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audio settings",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Go to \"Japanese options\" > \"Audio\" > Audio settings. Below is an overview of some settings you might want to toggle on/off. Ignore inflections. Some dictionaries may return inflected pronunciations. For example, for the target word 死ぬ, the available pronunciations could be しぬ, しなない, しにます. If you don't want so many files and only want to add audio for the dictionary form (e.g. しぬ), enable this checkbox. Stop if one source has results. When the add-on checks each audio source in order, it will stop searching after the first source that returned any audio. So only the files from that audio source will be added. Maximum results. The maximum number of audio files that can be added to cards.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#audio-settings",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Creating a custom audio source",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"To create a new audio source from scratch, the first thing you will need is a large folder with audio files featuring native speech recordings. Name this folder media. Next, create the index file for AJT Japanese and name it index.json. It should contain the following data: Information about the source. What words correspond to what files. Information about each audio file. Example index.json file { \"meta\": { \"name\": \"My audio source\", \"year\": 2023, \"version\": 2, \"media_dir\": \"media\" }, \"headwords\": { \"私\": [\"file1.ogg\", \"file2.ogg\"], \"僕\": [\"file3.ogg\", \"file4.ogg\"] }, \"files\": { \"file1.ogg\": { \"kana_reading\": \"わたし\", \"pitch_pattern\": \"わたし━\", \"pitch_number\": \"0\" }, \"file2.ogg\": { \"kana_reading\": \"わたくし\", \"pitch_pattern\": \"わたくし━\", \"pitch_number\": \"0\" } } } name — the name of the audio source. year — when the audio files were created. version — version of the json file, in case the format will change in the future. Currently, the latest version is 2. media_dir — relative path to the media directory, the folder where the audio files are stored. media_dir_abs — absolute path to the media directory. This property takes precedence over media_dir. It is optional and is intended to be specified when index.json and the media folder are in different locations. The headwords sub-dictionary maps words to files. For each word specify what files represent its pronunciation. The files sub-dictionary maps files to their properties. Supported keys: kana_reading, pitch_pattern, pitch_number. At least kana_reading should be present. When you finish creating the index.json file, add it as a new source in Options.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#creating-a-custom-audio-source",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Context menu",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"By going to the add-on's options and selecting \"Menus\" > \"Context menu\" you can configure what context menu actions are visible when you select text in the Anki Browser and press the right mouse button.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#context-menu",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Overrides",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This table allows you to enter information about words that AJT Japanese doesn't know about, or words that you want to override. The data applies to readings and pitch accents. If pitch accent of a word is not known, you can insert ? in the \"Pitch accent\" field. If a word has multiple pitch accents, specify them separated by commas, e.g. 1,2. Pitch accent overrides.",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#overrides",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Overall, AJT Japanese is an incredibly powerful tool for anyone who is serious about learning Japanese. Its furigana generation, multiple readings support, pitch accent information, and pronunciation audio make it an essential addition to any Japanese learner's toolbox. With its range of features, it can help learners of all levels become more confident in their Japanese language skills. Best of all, it's completely free/libre and easy to use. Give it a try and see how it can help you master the Japanese language!",
    "url":"anki-japanese-support.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Japanese support for Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is music a good way to learn Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I do my Anki reps and sometimes watch vbijin, but I find myself listening to Japanese music more than anything. I get that song lyrics aren't representative of real sentences, but surely there's still things of worth in there. I like Tatsuro Yamashita, Jody is a banger. I have touched on this topic in several places of the guide, but I'm going to reiterate everything here since it's easier to read one Q&A than the entire guide. Listening to Japanese music is not going to hurt you, and it can even boost your motivation if you find it enjoyable. Moreover, reading and analyzing the lyrics can help you learn new vocabulary. By listening to music in Japanese you can learn new, unique and cool words that aren't commonly used. As for myself, I occasionally listen to Japanese music. It can be satisfying to understand the words in a foreign language through listening, especially when it is a song you already liked before you started learning Japanese, and now you can enjoy it even more. Among people who are doing AJATT music is considered a supplement. It's not the most effective way to learn the language. There are things you can learn from music, I just don't think it is very efficient. I almost completely stopped listening to music after starting AJATT. To this day I do it only occasionally. There are some legitimate drawbacks to using music for learning Japanese compared to other immersion sources. It contains unnatural speech, and it is difficult to hear the lyrics through music. We tend to mishear lyrics even when we listen to songs in our native language. Depending on your current level of comprehension, your gains from music may be very small. Without reading the transcript deciphering the words can be a problem. Songs contain unnatural sentence structures, grammar, word choice. They tend to use more \"poetic\", uncommon words. Sometimes if a word can be read many ways, they choose to sing the less common version. It's pretty different from everyday speech. Because in general it's harder to hear what people are singing in songs compared to everyday speech, it's better to choose more comprehensible materials such as TV shows, dramas, movies, or anime for immersion. Among these options, anime is a great choice as it generally features clear voices of professional actors and standard, natural sentence structures. Although it may include 役割語, which can be a bit annoying, it's not a significant issue. If you prefer to avoid 役割語, you may want to consider watching j-dramas, but keep in mind that even these may be affected if they are adapted from manga or light novels.",
    "url":"is-music-a-good-way-to-learn-japanese.html",
    "date":"2023-03-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it OK to sentence mine during free-flow immersion instead of intensive-immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The difference between free-flow and intensive immersion is that free-flow is more passive and relaxed, while intensive immersion involves actively looking things up and making cards. During intensive immersion, it is expected that you make flashcards as you are already putting in the effort to look up words. However, sentencing mining during free-flow immersion instead of intensive immersion is a viable option. If that is the method that works best for you, then go for it. But you'll have to rearrange the process of making your flashcards. When watching a movie, for example, you usually pause to look up an unknown word and then make a targeted sentence card with a chosen dictionary definition. But since free-flow immersion doesn't involve looking up words, when you come across a new word, you just make a card with the sentence. In MPV with mpvacious you can press one button to make a card. The key is not to interrupt the flow. Then, you would dedicate a period of time to go through the new flashcards and add dictionary definitions, mark the target words, and include other relevant information. If making cards during free-flow immersion is more effective for you, there is no reason not to do it. I do it myself when I feel like it.",
    "url":"is-it-ok-to-mine-during-free-flow-immersion.html",
    "date":"2023-03-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Are there potential downsides of using audio-only content like podcasts as the main source of free-flow immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"There's really no need to confine yourself to audio-only content, such as podcasts, for free-flow immersion, as audio-visual content like movies and TV shows will be far more effective. If you primarily learn through audio and visual materials, you will develop strong listening skills. This proficiency will be of great value in the long term. If you acquire your target language through listening before starting to read, the way your brain will process the language will be more in line with that of native speakers. However, native speakers don't limit themselves to listening alone. By excluding visual media you are lowering your comprehension for no reason at all. Audio-visual content gives you all the benefits of audio-only content, and your comprehension will be much higher thanks to the visual cues. On the other hand, podcasts can be difficult to understand, particularly for beginner learners. They lack transcripts, visual context and anything else that could help you understand what is being said. In my experience, podcasts are virtually indistinguishable from white noise until you reach a solid intermediate level. So, there are huge downsides to relying solely on audio-only content for free-flow immersion, as it will drastically slow down vocabulary acquisition. I would recommend audio-visual content instead. I deem audio-only free-flow immersion to be comparable to passive immersion. It is unlikely that during listening one can maintain the same level of focus and attention as when watching. While it is acceptable to use podcasts for passive immersion, as long as you understand the language used, it is advisable to choose a medium that you have previously watched actively. The rate of acquisition also depends on what you do during intensive immersion. If during intensive immersion you read novels, comic books, or watch movies and TV shows, while looking up words and mining sentences, then you will be learning vocabulary faster, and the downsides of using audio-only content during free-flow immersion will be less significant.",
    "url":"audio-as-main-source-of-free-flow-immersion.html",
    "date":"2023-03-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict-NG is a libre dictionary application for GNU/Linux and other OSes. Like Qolibri, it lets you search multiple dictionaries at the same time so for every word you look up you immediately get a number of definitions. GoldenDict-NG is a great tool for language learners, and it becomes especially helpful when one switches from bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries. It can aid during the monolingual transition thanks to the ability to look up many words at once in separate tabs, simplifying recursive look-ups.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html",
    "date":"2023-03-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict-NG is available as a free download from GitHub or from repositories of many GNU distributions. GoldenDict-NG is a successor of the vanilla GoldenDict. It can create Anki cards, which is important for people following the AJATT method.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#installation",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pacman-based distributions",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"If you use a Pacman-based distribution, you can enable the archlinuxcn repository and then run Pacman to install GoldenDict-NG. sudo pacman -S goldendict-ng Alternatively, install goldendict-ng from the AUR. You're going to have to wait for it to compile. trizen -S goldendict-ng",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#pacman-based-distributions",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other distributions",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Users of other distributions need to follow these instructions or clone the repository and build from source.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#other-distributions",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtain dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict-NG supports a wide range of dictionary formats, including EPWING and MDX. They can be downloaded by clicking on the provided links. EPWING support is a little buggy, so I use GoldenDict-NG to view MDX dictionaries and Qolibri to view EPWING dictionaries. After download finishes, open GoldenDict-NG, go to \"Dictionaries\" (F3) and specify the folders you've downloaded the dictionary files to under \"Sources\" > \"Files\".",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#obtain-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dictionary groups",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Open \"Dictionaries\" (F3), go to \"Groups\" and create any groups you want. For example, you can have a group of dictionaries for learning English, Japanese, etc. Dictionaries can be added to a group by dragging and dropping. Screenshot. Place the dictionaries you like the most on top for easy access. If you are new to monolingual dictionaries, I recommend 明鏡, 大辞林, 大辞泉, 新明解, 実用日本語表現辞典. During the monolingual transition, having as many dictionaries enabled as possible will help you find a definition that is easier to understand. If you haven't started using monolingual dictionaries yet, enable dictionaries that include 和英 in their name. For example, 斎藤和英大辞典.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#dictionary-groups",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Hunspell dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Hunspell is a popular spell checker used by many applications, including GoldenDict-NG. It helps deinflect Japanese words, catch typos and provide suggestions when searching. To set up Hunspell dictionaries in GoldenDict-NG, users need to download and install them first. Users of pacman-based distributions can install hunspell-ja-git. Others can install the package manually from GitHub. If you are learning other languages, install Hunspell dictionaries for them too. For example: hunspell-en_us hunspell-ru The advantage of installing Hunspell dictionaries with pacman (or the package manager of your distro) is that all of them will be placed in the same directory: /usr/share/hunspell. GoldenDict-NG doesn't have an option to load Hunspell dictionaries from different folders. Once installed, open GoldenDict-NG, go to \"Edit\" > \"Preferences\" and finish setting them up. Screenshot.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#hunspell-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pronunciation audio",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Forvo.com pronunciation collection for GoldenDict is a collection of audio files from Forvo.com. Among other languages, this torrent includes 292,342 native pronunciations of Japanese words. You can use these folders in Goldendict after unpacking them into a directory of your choice. To add a new folder, open GoldenDict-NG, go to \"Dictionaries (F3)\" > \"Sources\" > \"Sound Dirs\" > \"Add\", then paste the path to an extracted folder. Sound Dirs Settings. Search Forvo audio. Note: GoldenDict scans the sound directory on each startup. It may take a long time because audio files are stored in folders, each folder being named after the person who recorded the audio clips. To help the scanning finish faster, flatten the directory by moving the audio files from the subfolders into the parent directory. You can do it by launching a terminal in the directory and executing: find . -type f -exec mv -n -- \"{}\" ./ \\; find . -empty -delete",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#pronunciation-audio",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"gd-tools",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"gd-tools is a collection of tools for GoldenDict-NG that aim to help in learning foreign languages. To install gd-tools, follow the instructions on GitHub. Arch Linux users can install the program from the AUR. External programs can be added by opening Preferences (F4) and going to \"Sources\" > \"Programs\". Screenshot. Available features: Sentence parsing. Image search. Stroke order diagrams. Example sentences. Query Anki collection to see if you already have a card for the word you're lookin up.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#gd-tools",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentence splitting",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"gd-marisa is a part of gd-tools and can be used to split sentences into words. Each word is clickable. It allows you to look up a full sentence and then click on individual words. Add the following command as and external program. gd-marisa --word %GDWORD% --sentence %GDSEARCH% Screenshot.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#sentence-splitting",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki integration",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Read how to connect with anki to configure Anki integration. Additionally, you need AnkiConnect installed. Screenshot. On the \"Network\" tab fill the following fields: Deck: The name of your Anki deck. Model: The name of your Note Type Word: Headword, vocabulary Text: Selected text, definition. Sentence: The contents of the translate line. To create a new Anki card, select the definition, right-click and select \"Send to Anki\".",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#anki-integration",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mpvacious setup",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"More information on Mpvacious is provided on subsequent pages. Mpvacious can work with GoldenDict-NG. If you append autoclip_method=goldendict to the config file (subs2srs.conf), mpvacious will send every subtitle line directly to GoldenDict-NG instead of copying text to the system clipboard. A video demonstration is available here.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#mpvacious-setup",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Lancet OCR setup",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"More information on Lancet is available on subsequent pages. lancet can send recognized text directly to GoldenDict‑NG instead of copying it to the system clipboard. To enable this, set \"Copy to\" to \"goldendict\" in Lancet's preferences.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#lancet-ocr-setup",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tips",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#tips",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Enable clipboard scanning",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Many third-party programs, such as crqt-ng can copy text to the system clipboard when it is selected. GoldenDict-NG can watch the clipboard and automatically perform lookups when new text is copied. To enable scanning, click on the light bulb icon on the toolbar. You can configure this feature under \"Preferences\" (F4) > \"Popup\". Enable the \"Track clipboard change\" checkbox.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#enable-clipboard-scanning",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Disable Popup",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"The annoying dictionary Popup may significantly degrade user experience. Thankfully, it can be disabled in Preferences. Navigate to \"Preferences\" (F4) > \"Popup\", and check the \"Send translated word to main window\" checkbox. Screenshot.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#disable-popup",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Disable main window stealing focus when searching",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"When a search is triggered (for example, by mpvacious), the main window focuses itself even if it's already visible, which may be undesirable for some users. To change this behavior, go to \"Preferences\" > \"Advanced\" > disable \"On a new search, focus the main window even if it's visible.\"",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#disable-main-window-stealing-focus-when-searching",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Focus the translate line",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Pressing Ctrl+L puts the mouse cursor inside the translate line. This keyboard shortcut is the same as in web browsers, such as Firefox, so it's easy to remember.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#focus-the-translate-line",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Make the translate line larger",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese characters look tiny on the translate line. But you can click on it and press Alt++ to make it bigger.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#make-the-translate-line-larger",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Unclutter the top panel",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Disabling \"Edit\" > \"Dictionary bar\" hides toggleable dictionaries. Screenshot. A wider translate line is more convenient when editing pasted sentences. Alternatively, enable \"View\" > \"Search Pane\". The advantage of this mode is that there's a separate box for search suggestions.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#unclutter-the-top-panel",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Set example sentence",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"If a dictionary has example sentences, it is possible to send an example to the translate line before making an Anki card. To do so, select the sentence, right-click and choose \"Send sentence to the input line\".",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#set-example-sentence",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Disable Full Text Search",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Full Text Search can cause the program to utilize 100% of the CPU all the time. This is likely a bug. Disable the feature in \"Preferences\" > \"Full-text search\".",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#disable-full-text-search",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Keyboard shortcuts",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"All the available keyboard shortcuts are listed here. It's nice to memorize some of them to make navigation easier.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#keyboard-shortcuts",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Jump between definitions",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Pressing Alt+Up arrow or Alt+Down arrow switches to the previous or next dictionary definition.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#jump-between-definitions",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Remove duplicate display of EPWING headwords",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Paste the code below in a file named article-style.css in a folder with a name of your choosing in the styles folder of GoldenDict-NG. GNU+Linux folder location: ~/.goldendict/styles/. Windows-like (ReactOS) folder location: C:\\Users\\<user>\\AppData\\Roaming\\GoldenDict\\styles\\. Restart GoldenDict-NG and enable the style in \"Edit\" > \"Preferences\" > \"Add-on style\". CSS for GoldenDict-NG /* Add padding and a horizontal bar between each entry for the sake of readability */ .mdict { border-top: 0.15em solid #c4c4c4; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding-top: 0.5em; } .gddictname { position: relative; z-index: 9; margin-bottom: -0.16em; } /* Remove duplicate headers in EPWING dictionaries. */ .epwing_article h3 { display: none; } .epwing_text:first-line { text-indent: -1em; } .epwing_text { padding-top: 0.5em; padding-left: 1em; border-top: 0.15em solid #c4c4c4; margin-bottom: 0.5em; }",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#remove-duplicate-display-of-epwing-headwords",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict-NG is an excellent tool that offers users a comprehensive range of features. It is easy to install, set up, and users have access to many dictionaries. The program is capable of generating Anki cards, which is ideal for people doing AJATT. Additionally, the option to create tabs makes it possible to do recursive look-ups.",
    "url":"setting-up-goldendict.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Setting up GoldenDict-NG"
  },
  {
    "title":"Passive immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When we talk about immersion, we usually divide it into active and passive. Active immersion requires full attention to the content and can be practiced through reading and watching content in the target language. Passive immersion means listening to the language while engaging in other activities. When listening passively you're not fully focused on the content, instead you're doing something else while having the speech in your target language play in the background.",
    "url":"passive-immersion.html",
    "date":"2023-03-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is passive immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Passive immersion is a form of immersion which does not require your full attention. It basically means playing audio or video in your target language and listening while actively doing something else. In terms of attention quality, passive immersion sits at the bottom. It's the most relaxed immersion activity. During intensive immersion you are totally focused, you are looking everything up in a dictionary and making flashcards. During free-flow immersion you are paying attention to the content but don't look anything up and don't make flashcards. And during passive immersion you're only partially engaged, you are just listening to the audio playing in the background.",
    "url":"passive-immersion.html#what-is-passive-immersion",
    "parent":"Passive immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"When to do passive immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"As pointed out before, active immersion is the primary activity in language acquisition. Under ideal circumstances, all your immersion would be active immersion, and would take up your entire day. However, the reality is that busy people are not able to incorporate a large amount of active immersion into their daily schedules. Nevertheless, most of us still have moments in our day when we can listen to our target language. We do passive immersion during times in a day when we can't actively engage with the language, such as when cooking, exercising, cleaning, driving or commuting. Various chores and tasks that do not require much mental effort can be done while listening to the target language. Many people may opt to listen to music or to nothing during these times, however, we advise to use those moments to learn your target language. Sometimes your busy schedule may leave little time for language learning, but passive immersion offers a solution. Utilizing passive immersion is an excellent way to fill the gaps in your day with your target language and increase your total amount of immersion time. Although your attention is divided during passive immersion, because at times you don't have a choice to immerse actively, it is still better compared to no immersion at all. As noted in one of the previous articles, there are countless opportunities to do passive listening throughout the day. The secret to passive immersion is to make it a habit. Every moment of your life has to be spent interacting with your TL. Every time you have an opportunity to listen to something, choose audio in the target language. Since passive listening is easy to do, we suggest dedicating at least 6 hours a day to it. Have headphones or earbuds with you all the time to make it effortless. Those hours can quickly add up, which has the potential to significantly improve the rate of language acquisition, contribute to your listening skills and overall comprehension. I use MPD as my audio player. By having all my immersion content play all the time in MPD, I can easily accumulate several hours a day of passive listening without any extra effort.",
    "url":"passive-immersion.html#when-to-do-passive-immersion",
    "parent":"Passive immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Role of passive immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In the beginning passive immersion doesn't contribute much to comprehension gains, instead it helps you start distinguishing sounds and phonemes of your target language. Focus your attention on hearing the sounds. Maybe at first you won't even be able to hear where one word ends and another one starts, but as you progress, expect passive listening to boost your phonetic awareness and eventually start contributing to your comprehension. While you're listening, your brain is subconsciously learning even if it might not feel that way. It is essential to learn to tolerate the ambiguity and keep listening to build the habit of constant, mass immersion. It will pay out greatly in the end. Passive immersion doesn't do much without active immersion. You shouldn't neglect either of them. Remember, all types of immersion will yield more results over time, so don't be discouraged if as a beginner you don't understand much. As your vocabulary and listening skills improve, you will comprehend more of your passive immersion content. At some point, you'll be able to listen to new media, such as podcasts, audiobooks, and talk shows, and understand them the first time, close to 100%, without having to actively study them.",
    "url":"passive-immersion.html#role-of-passive-immersion",
    "parent":"Passive immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rules of passive immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Passive immersion can lead to very little or no language gains if done wrong. Stick to the following whenever you engage in passive immersion. Re-listen. Focus on listening passively to the content you've already engaged with actively and comprehended via dictionary lookups, attention to scenery and other means of making input more comprehensible. Re-listening creates repetition, and repetition is good for the brain. Repetition gives your brain another chance to notice new sounds and words, and to internalize previously learned knowledge. If you listen to something you haven't previously watched and comprehended, it is essentially going to be white noise, and it won't help you much. Rotate immersion content. Repetition becomes boring if done too many times, and boredom impedes learning. It's important to rotate immersion, in other words regularly add new content and remove the old content from your playlist. Later you will discover how to extract audio from what you have watched and how to rotate immersion content. The topics are covered in Tech for passive immersion.",
    "url":"passive-immersion.html#rules-of-passive-immersion",
    "parent":"Passive immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Choosing content",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The best source of passive immersion is audio from TV shows you've already watched. Another option is to listen to an audiobook of a novel you've previously read. These two options help the most because you already know the story. The material will be more interesting and easier to understand. Moreover, re-listening provides your brain with opportunities to pick up on pieces that you might have missed the first time. Everything you have consumed must be reused for passive listening. Watched another episode of anime? Extract the audio and add it to your playlist. Read a book? Take the audiobook and add it to your playlist. Watched a YouTube video? Download it, extract the audio and add it to your playlist. 10,000 hours of immersion won't accumulate themselves, so you have to listen all the time. Listening to podcasts and radio shows is not recommended for beginners. It is difficult to make such content comprehensible because it lacks transcriptions and visual context. Though if you're outside, and you have nothing else to listen to, you must choose something. If you're an advanced learner, it is okay to use purely audio-based material such as podcasts as one of the primary sources of both passive and active immersion. Music is the worst content for passive immersion. It contains unnatural speech, and it is difficult to hear the lyrics. We tend to mishear lyrics even when we listen to songs in our native language. The effects of passive immersion depend on the content and your level of focus. Pay close attention, and you'll gain more from passive listening. Select something that ignites your interest to keep you from becoming bored, as boredom can hinder your learning. If you find yourself losing interest, switch out the material for something more enjoyable.",
    "url":"passive-immersion.html#choosing-content",
    "parent":"Passive immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Active immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Active immersion is a crucial part of language learning and requires full attention to the content you are consuming. In this article, we will look in more detail at what active immersion is and how to practice it. We will also discuss the different types of active immersion, and how to deal with the ambiguity that can arise when immersing.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html",
    "date":"2023-03-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is active immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Active immersion is the most crucial element in language learning. During active immersion, you are paying your full attention to the material you are consuming, be it audio, video, or text. It is where language acquisition really takes place. Your attention alerts the brain, allowing it to start detecting patterns and make guesses. Even if the material is mostly incomprehensible, your mind is still working hard trying to find language patterns, become accustomed to the sounds, constructing a model of the language. It can even be argued that doing active immersion alone is sufficient to become fluent. Of course, passive immersion helps, but it is not imperative. One can also stop using the SRS and still reach fluency, although it will take longer. But without active immersion everything falls apart. As we know very well from experiences of other people, just memorizing words and grammar is not going to lead anywhere.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#what-is-active-immersion",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Starting to immerse",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"It is vital to discover content that captures your interest. Explore the available content in your target language, experiment with different media, different genres. To be able to immerse for hours and hours every day, the content must be \"compelling\", as Steven Krashen often calls it. You have a long journey of learning ahead of you, so it's essential to have a strong passion and enthusiasm for something in the language. Only compelling content will be able to captivate you and hold your attention. Most people before they start AJATT already have a passion for otaku content, such as anime, manga, ranobe, or other types of Japanese media. For them, learning Japanese provides an opportunity to further enjoy and appreciate the media they love. It takes thousands of hours of watching, listening, and reading in the target language to become fluent. The more you immerse, the faster you progress. To maximize progress, exposure to the target language should be maximized while exposure to other languages should be minimized. In AJATT, we advise that you start immersing as much as possible from the beginning. Active and passive immersion combined should take up more than 12 hours a day in order to make rapid progress. If a chosen immersion medium becomes boring, then let it go and move on to something more stimulating, something else that seems fun. A new anime, a new manga. To maintain motivation to learn your target language, keep engaging with interesting content. We have compiled a list of places where one can find immersion content to make it easy for beginners to get started. Click here to explore it.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#starting-to-immerse",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dealing with ambiguity",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When beginning to learn a new language, you're going to consume unfamiliar content that may seem impossible to understand at first. For a while, you're going to have to deal with not understanding or not understanding everything. However, it is important to acknowledge that this is a natural part of the language acquisition process and to remind yourself that it is only temporary. Accept that for a while you won't be understanding much. While immersing, you're actually learning all the time. Your brain does most of the work subconsciously. It learns to parse the sounds, notice and recognize words, infer meaning from the context. Additionally, analyzing the material and doing dictionary lookups can further aid in the learning process. To quickly expand your vocabulary and overcome the initial challenges, for the first few months we recommend learning from our pre-made Anki deck. This deck is thoroughly explained later, and will help you reach a comprehension rate of 75%, making immersion easier and more enjoyable down the road. To help yourself during the early stages of language learning, you can watch TV shows and movies with subtitles in the target language, although not all the time, as developing your listening ability is also important. There are several reasons why TV and movies with TL subtitles are an excellent choice. The visuals can provide additional context which aids comprehension. You can hear the proper pronunciation of the words you are reading. As you hear the subtitles spoken aloud, through pauses and intonation, you can better interpret the sentence structure and parse the clauses. Words in Japanese sometimes can have multiple readings, and the meaning of a word can depend on how you read it. For instance, I saw this one student who looked up the phrase あなたが空から降ってきた in a dictionary, and they assumed 降る was read as くだる, when in fact the appropriate reading is ふる. Hearing the word spoken first would have resolved this ambiguity. Finally, the language in TV and movies is generally simpler than books, blogs, or news articles. The lack of understanding can lead to a feeling of despondency. You may want to turn on English subtitles or subtitles in your native language. Don't do it because watching with English subs doesn't work. Trust the process of immersion. You can also immerse in content you have consumed before in another language. For example, if you have watched a lot of translated anime before starting to learn Japanese, now you can rewatch them in Japanese. Since you already know the plot, it will help you understand the shows in another language. For shows that you have not watched yet, reading synopsis before or after watching will help you understand the story better. In order to remain engaged and maintain motivation, it is probably not a good idea to watch content twice. Doing so can increase one's comprehension due to prior knowledge of the plot, however, it can also be quite boring and tedious. Rather, consider re-listening to what you have already actively watched during passive immersion. This way you don't waste your active immersion hours on repetition. When first getting started, things like science fiction or fantasy novels will be too difficult to read. Choosing content that has simpler language is another great technique for beginners. For example, slice of life shows or romantic comedies can be a good choice. However, avoid content made for children as it is often not enjoyable for adults. The language is too simple even for a beginner language learner. The plot is too silly and dumbed down. After learning your first 1,000 words from a pre-made Anki deck, you won't need to restrict yourself so much, as frontloading vocabulary in the beginning greatly improves comprehension. We recommend starting with slice-of-life anime and gradually moving on to media with more complex language as your comprehension improves. However, there are some additional strategies you can employ in the beginning to make understanding the content easier: Read a summary of the anime in a language you know before watching it. Read a Wikipedia article about the anime in a language you know prior to watching it. If the anime is adapted from a manga, read the manga in a language you know before watching the anime version. These activities help make the anime easier to follow and comprehend. Because you are doing them in a known language, they shouldn't take too much time away from your immersion. For example, reading a manga chapter that corresponds to the anime episode you are about to watch will only take a couple minutes. In return, you significantly enhance the quality of your immersion. We don't recommend watching translated anime and then watching the same anime raw though. The reason is that anime has some duration built into it. It is hard to skip or speed up without losing information, and it will waste a lot of your immersion time. Additionally, watching the same exact thing twice makes the second time more boring.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#dealing-with-ambiguity",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Types of active immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Learners often wonder how often they should look up words while actively immersing. You can look up every word and strive to comprehend 100% of the material, look up nothing and just let your brain slowly absorb the language, or try to balance the two. In practice, trying to decide when to look up and when not to look up can be tiresome and lead to decision fatigue. Do you look up every Nth unknown word? Or do you look up every N minutes? Do you have to measure the time? There are many uncertainties. Rather than trying to find a center point between the two extremes, it is recommended that you carry them out as separate exercises, intensive and free-flow immersion.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#types-of-active-immersion",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Intensive immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When you look up everything trying to comprehend 100%, it is known as intensive immersion. During intensive immersion you're in a more conscious mode where you're thoroughly analyzing the language as you're going. As you immerse, you are carefully examining the language, utilizing dictionary lookups to decipher the meaning of each sentence, and creating SRS cards to ensure that you don't forget what you have learned. Intensive immersion is the most effective way to notice, save, and memorize new words. It is, however, a mentally demanding activity. Our daily cognitive resources are finite, and staying focused requires lots of energy. To maximize the benefits of immersion, it is advisable to engage in intensive immersion when you are feeling more refreshed and alert, switching to free-flow immersion when your cognitive capacities are depleted. A plethora of tools exist to facilitate intensive immersion, There are dictionary apps, browser extensions, mpv plugins, etc. They make it effortless to look up words and create SRS cards during immersion. In the beginning, you won't always be able to fully understand every single sentence during intensive immersion. You may not be able to understand some sentences even with the aid of a dictionary. This is to be expected. If a sentence is too difficult to understand or there are too many unfamiliar words, it is best to save it for later in Anki and come back to it in a few weeks, or even months. It is better to focus on the simpler phrases first, the things your mind is ready to absorb. As your comprehension grows, the formerly challenging language will become easier and easier.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#intensive-immersion",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Free flow immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you sit all day and mine sentences, you're going to lose your mind, or die from exhaustion. Free-flow immersion is when you allow yourself to relax without having to mine or look up words, while still paying attention to the content. You don't disrupt the flow with pausing and lookups. Instead, you're embracing ambiguity and letting your subconscious take the lead and interpret what is being said on its own. Free-flow immersion is a mid-ground between passive immersion and intensive immersion. Free-flow immersion may seem relatively ineffective, but this is far from the truth. Your comprehension will continue to improve as you infer meanings from the context. Even minor details can improve your understanding. As your level of comprehension further grows, this form of immersion becomes increasingly important and helps you make faster progress. The more things you can do in free-flow, the closer you are in a way to a native. So it's necessary to cultivate this skill. As you know, natives don't spend time analyzing every sentence, and they don't sit with a dictionary checking new words, they absorb the language gradually. When I was learning Japanese, I did a lot of free-flow immersion, even during my early stages as a beginner and lower intermediate learner. One of my preferred methods was watching ongoing anime. As is common with such shows, they are often not readily available with Japanese subtitles, and so I opted to watch them in their raw, unsubbed form rather than waiting for the subtitles. Remember, we all learned our native language entirely through free-flow immersion, so I believe that free-flow immersion is more important than intensive immersion in the grand scheme of things. Intensive immersion, on the other side, is great for expanding your vocabulary. During free-flow immersion, it is a good idea to try to understand without relying on TL subtitles. Listening practice is imperative for achieving all around fluency.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#free-flow-immersion",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Finding the ratio",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Every day, you are supposed to be engaging in passive, free-flow, and intensive immersion. All three play a role in the process of language acquisition. It is easy to determine when to do each one; passive immersion is best when you are occupied with something, intensive immersion is the best option when you have the energy and motivation to look up words, and free-flow immersion is the best choice when you are too tired for intensive immersion. As mentioned briefly above, we recommend selecting some content for free-flow immersion and other content for intensive immersion. For instance, if you're watching an anime series, you could watch one episode in free-flow, and then switch to intensive mode for the following episode. Alternately, you could watch one series in free-flow, and another in intensive mode. It is best if the genres are alike, so that the language in both shows is similar, and you gain more exposure to the same vocabulary. One thing about free flow immersion is that a lot of times some words that don't show up extremely frequently will go unnoticed, and you won't pick them up. Thus, it is vital to practice intensive immersion to close the gap between our lexicon and that of a native speaker. As we don't have 20 years of time to acquire all the vocabulary naturally, through free-flow immersion alone. We have to use dictionaries and create SRS cards in order to really expand our vocabulary. The best way to do this is to read extensively.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#finding-the-ratio",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Immersion gets easier over time",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"As you begin your AJATT journey, your first reading material will be challenging. You will likely encounter numerous unfamiliar grammar patterns and unknown words in nearly every sentence. This is a natural part of the learning process. The key is to trust in the effectiveness of immersion: the more you read, the easier it becomes. Similarly, when you first attempt to watch a Japanese drama episode, you may find it difficult to follow along. The rapid speech, lack of visual cues, and underdeveloped listening skills can make it challenging to understand. However, as you consistently engage with this type of content, your listening comprehension will steadily improve. Both reading and listening are essential skills, and it is crucial to dedicate time and effort to developing proficiency in both areas. With persistence and a commitment to immersion, you will witness a gradual yet significant enhancement in your overall language abilities.",
    "url":"active-immersion.html#immersion-gets-easier-over-time",
    "parent":"Active immersion"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reading books",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Reading a book is a simple process. You don't need much technology to read a book. In contrast, when watching a movie, you need software that can create Anki cards from the subtitles. Or, when reading manga, you need an OCR tool to extract text from the images. But to read a book, all you may need is a dictionary on hand to look up unfamiliar words. And a program that can open and display books, of course. If you have a paper book, you don't even need a computer. Nevertheless, there are some tips I'd like to discuss here. In this article, we'll discuss a few tips and tricks to help make reading books in Japanese easier and more enjoyable.",
    "url":"reading-books.html",
    "date":"2023-03-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtaining books",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There are many ways to obtain books. For your convenience I have compiled a list of various places in Resources. In my experience Zlibrary together with torrent sites are able to satisfy most needs. Things to avoid are Amazon, books with DRM.",
    "url":"reading-books.html#obtaining-books",
    "parent":"Reading books"
  },
  {
    "title":"Book reader software",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Most book readers listed on Arch Wiki suck ass. But some are okay. I have tried a lot, and for the most decent ones I have written short reviews. crqt-ng is what I use these days. It does a lot of things right. It runs natively, without nasty technologies like Electron, JavaScript, etc. It can display furigana correctly. You can set up Japanese fonts instead of Chinese fonts, which is important because Chinese kanji and Japanese kanji are printed differently. It doesn't lag. You have a continuous view mode. You can create bookmarks. Bookmarks can be easily accessed, you can have any number of them, and they are easy to spot visually. It can automatically send text to the system clipboard when you select it. This is extremely useful if you want to use crqt-ng alongside Rikaitan Search, Qolibri or GoldenDict. crqt-ng and Rikaitan Search, side by side in i3wm.",
    "url":"reading-books.html#book-reader-software",
    "parent":"Reading books"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reading on Android",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you have an Andriod device, try KOreader from F-Droid. KOreader is a book reader application that was designed to be used on E-ink devices, but it can also be used on Android. It properly displays furigana. This app supports StarDict dictionaries. You can download the dictionaries from here, or you can use your own dictionaries, converting them to the StarDict format with PyGlossary. The dictionaries should be placed in /sdcard/koreader/data/dict. Refer to the Wiki for further details. If you want to create Anki cards, install Anki plugin for KOreader.",
    "url":"reading-books.html#reading-on-android",
    "parent":"Reading books"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reading alongside an audiobook",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"This is a tip for people who aren't used to reading in a foreign language yet. Hearing the audio as you're reading helps comprehend what's going on and teaches you how the words you read should be pronounced. If a book is old, for example if it's something by 夏目漱石, audiobooks can be grabbed directly from YouTube. But to find audiobooks for most modern books you have to search on Torrent sites or elsewhere. Mpvacious can create Anki cards from audio files. Creating cards from audiobooks is similar to creating cards for movies and TV shows, except you have to set timings manually, and it won't create a picture because there is no video stream. If you have mpvacious installed, open an audio-book in mpv just by calling mpv /path/to/file. Each time you want to create a new card, press a to bring up the advanced menu, press s to set the start time, seek forward with arrow keys or the h and l keys to the end of the phrase, and press e to set the end time. Press n to create a card, or update an existing card by pressing m.",
    "url":"reading-books.html#reading-alongside-an-audiobook",
    "parent":"Reading books"
  },
  {
    "title":"Remove silence from an audiobook",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Before listening to an audiobook, it may be desirable to remove any sections containing no spoken dialogue (silence). To accomplish this, a command like the following should suffice. You need FFmpeg installed to run it. ffmpeg -i /path/to/audiobook -af silenceremove=stop_periods=-1:stop_duration=0.3:stop_threshold=-50dB -c:a libopus /path/to/output.opus Add this command as a function to your .bashrc to avoid copying it every time. See this reference.",
    "url":"reading-books.html#remove-silence-from-an-audiobook",
    "parent":"Reading books"
  },
  {
    "title":"Hand-held book readers",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There are dedicated mobile devices made specifically for reading books. My advice regarding them is the same as with Andriod: find a device that you can use without running any non-free software. Definitely don't buy Amazon Swindle. Often people want to read on an e-ink device. I have never owned one, but it would probably be nice to have! The main advantage is apparently that your eyes don't get tired as much compared to reading on a computer screen. One example of such a device is PineNote. KOreader is a book reader application designed for e-ink devices, and it supports installing dictionaries, which is great for language learners. Try it if you have an e-ink device.",
    "url":"reading-books.html#hand-held-book-readers",
    "parent":"Reading books"
  },
  {
    "title":"Luke Smith says that you will not learn a language by consuming media. Doesn't it contradict the AJATT theory?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"There's this lazy idea that somehow if you passively sit around and watch people using a language this will somehow endow you with the ability to flexibly produce a language in the same way you see others using it. People want to believe it because they want to be able to watch TV or play a cell phone game like Duolingo or valueless Rosetta Stone-like software and somehow gain competence in a language. It's not going to happen ever. Learning to play a boring computer game using words from a different language is not the same as learning to speak the language. You might say of \"just listening to speech\" that \"that's what children do,\" but that's not true at all. Children try pretty hard to participate and understand conversation. They sometimes have a desperate personal need to understand each passing sentence and hear the language they are trying to learn for hours a day for years. You watching some forgettable movie in the background as you play with your phone don't. — Notes on Learning Languages - Luke Smith We talk about input and immersion a lot on this site. But the most important point to take away is that the input should be at least somewhat comprehensible and active attempts should be constantly made to make the unknown bits more comprehensible. If you just sit around watching something that you don't understand at all, don't expect to gain any competence in the language. Some remarks about children: children learn to understand their native language first, and then learn to speak it. If you think about it, it's pretty obvious. If you learn a set of phrases in your target language, and then have a conversation with a native speaker, how are you supposed to understand what the person says back to you? As language learners, we need to practice speaking after we learn to understand. In his post Luke talks specifically about Duolingo and Rosetta Stone. They are indeed very ineffective, but they have nothing to do with consuming media. Instead, they require active, deliberate yet extremely inefficient studying. We do not recommend apps like Duolingo as their methodology conflicts with AJATT's ideas of immersion learning. These resources base their instruction around constructing sentences from grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary in a specific order, and using questionable translations and low-quality text-to-speech software instead of audio recordings of native speakers. Duolingo attempts to present itself as a game, yet those who have tried it know that it is not a very fun game to play. Duolingo has even implemented a notification system intended to prompt those who have stopped studying to come back. AJATT's concept of \"consuming media\" is different. It involves learning by reading, watching, and listening to authentic content in the target language, without relying on any phone apps. Anki is likely the only app one may need, but it is primarily a desktop app, with the phone version playing a minor role. Luke also talks about watching TV or a movie in the target language. That's a completely different activity from using a phone app. First, I think, not so many people would actually watch a movie they can't understand yet without trying to make at least some attempts to understand what they're watching. You are watching a movie in your target language because it's fun, and you want to understand it. It makes no sense to watch it without trying to understand. You either watch a movie and try to comprehend it using a wide range of tools available to you, primarily dictionaries, or you already understand the movie pretty well, and you don't need intensive work to make it comprehensible. In AJATT we call the former intensive immersion, and the latter free-flow immersion. It sounds like in his post Luke talks about something similar to free-flow immersion. During free-flow immersion you're paying attention to the content but don't pause, don't look up words and don't make flashcards. While it may not be as effective as intensive immersion in terms of learning vocabulary, it still has a positive effect on one's ability due to the fact that you can already understand most of the story, you are paying your full attention, and you can infer the unknown pieces from the context. Free-flow immersion is enjoyable and helpful, especially if you are an intermediate or advanced learner. However, it's not the only type of immersion you should be doing. You have to do intensive immersion to improve at your target language, but at the same time you need to acknowledge that it's not feasible to sit and do intensive immersion for 12 hours a day. You get tired of constant pausing and lookups. Free-flow immersion is a compromise between doing nothing and doing immersion. AJATT also has passive (background) immersion. Passive immersion is when you listen to an audio recording in the foreign language while doing something else. Passive immersion is less intensive than free-flow immersion, is done only through listening and involves only partial attention. While doing passive immersion, usually you don't look anything up in a dictionary. Before immersing passively in a piece of media, AJATT recommends that one must first immerse in it actively. As an example, you could watch a Japanese movie and read its Japanese transcript (subtitles). Only then you extract the audio track to play it in the background. You need to learn the new words and grammar encountered during active immersion, as this will make it easier to comprehend the same piece when listening passively. When doing passive immersion, you're mostly letting what you've already learned sink in. You're not trying to learn new stuff. Again, listening to incomprehensible audio is not going to help you. To summarize, what Luke says is mostly accurate, but he mixes together activities that are distinct from one another, and uses terms that have different meanings in the context of immersion learning. Sometimes he correctly identifies a problem but draws a wrong conclusion. Phone apps are not effective. Intensive immersion accompanied by using dictionaries and looking up words you don't know — works really well. Watching TV and movies in a free-flow mode is beneficial, but only when the learner is actively paying attention. Free-flow immersion becomes more and more effective as your level in the target language grows. Passively listening — works, but only if the learner has actively immersed themselves in the content before. Watching or listening to incomprehensible content — doesn't work or works poorly at best. It is, however, suggested that listening to incomprehensible audio has some positive influence on the ability to discern sounds.",
    "url":"luke-smith-and-consuming-media.html",
    "date":"2023-02-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"When reviewing cards, if I could only remember a word due to the surrounding context, how should I grade the card?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"This means that you've formed a context-dependent memory. Context-dependent memories can form no matter what card template you're using, including word cards, since no context is a type of context in itself. If you find that you can't remember a particular word on an Anki card, and you are only able to understand it due to the context of the sentence, it implies that the card is not meeting its intended purpose of helping you recognize and comprehend the word. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for context-dependent memories. It takes time and exposure to the word in various contexts to fully acquire it. If the card isn't fulfilling its intended purpose, failing it or grading it good will not make any difference. After you've successfully identified that the card is not helping you, the best course of action is to modify the card by either swapping the sentence with another one or converting it to a word card when applicable (e.g. when it is a concrete noun). An argument against this would be the time it takes to edit the card, but it's probably not that difficult and time-consuming these days since with cabl you have example sentences at your fingertips. The final decision is up to you. Personally, I prefer not to fail the card since relearning it won't correct the flawed memory. Instead, I do one or the combination of the following: Swap the card with a different card with the same target word. Introduce a second card with the same target word (there's a caveat though). Edit the card and swap the sentence. Do nothing, just proceed with my reviews and hope to eventually learn the word properly through immersion. If you believe that failing the card will be beneficial in some way, then there is fundamentally nothing wrong with that. However, should you continue to fail it, the card will eventually become a leech. If Anki suspends the card, you need to create a new one with the same target word but a different sentence.",
    "url":"i-can-only-remember-word-due-to-context.html",
    "date":"2023-02-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I watch with Japanese subtitles while going through the kanji phase?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It is not a bad idea to watch with Japanese subtitles while progressing through the kanji phase (JP1K or isolated kanji). Doing so can improve motivation and further increase your learning rate as it provides opportunities to practice the knowledge gained from studying kanji in a different context than SRS cards. However, I think one must be careful when watching with Japanese subtitles as a beginner. It should not constitute the majority of your immersion, as the focus should be on building listening skills. Watching with subtitles is more akin to reading than listening, and premature reading negatively affects one's ability to perceive sounds and understand spoken language. So you have to be really moderate about it, maybe keep it to less than one third of all your active immersion. Subtitles can be of help no matter what stage in the process of learning Japanese you are at, but it is also important to spend a lot of time without them. Watching with subtitles is acceptable as long as you regularly train your listening ability as well.",
    "url":"should-i-watch-with-japanese-subtitles-while-going-through-the-kanji-phase.html",
    "date":"2023-02-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it important to practice reading tategaki?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No, you don't have to practice reading tategaki. In Japanese, the term tategaki (縦書き) is used to describe text written vertically. This style of writing is read from top to bottom, then right to left, and was traditionally the standard for Japanese writing. However, in modern times, horizontal writing is more common due to the prevalence of the internet and other digital media. Modern Japanese people often read both horizontal and vertical text. You don't have to go out of your way and practice reading text written vertically. It is not something to be overly concerned about. As someone learning Japanese, it is unavoidable to come across vertical text, just like it's hard to avoid reading text with kanji. So as long as your immersion is balanced, and you regularly read manga or light novels, you're set. In light novels and manga text is always vertical, maybe with some exceptions. If you only read on a computer screen, it is possible that the program you are using to read books shows the text horizontally and does not support tategaki. If so, don't worry about it too much, as manga alone will still provide you with sufficient practice to become proficient in reading tategaki. Reading tategaki is not difficult. I find that reading both vertical and horizontal Japanese is natural, and there is no difference in terms of difficulty. Even if you totally avoid media that has tategaki, it is unlikely to have a major negative impact on your reading ability. You still will be able to read vertical Japanese text, much like you can read vertical English text. Maybe your reading speed will be a bit slower, but it's not something that trips people off. Ultimately, there are more important and challenging aspects of Japanese that could benefit from focus and deliberate practice.",
    "url":"is-it-important-to-practice-reading-tategaki.html",
    "date":"2023-02-14"
  },
  {
    "title":"I'm not a kid anymore. Am I too old to learn a language?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No matter your age, it is never too late to learn a new language. Research and anecdotal evidence have both proven that adults can acquire languages similarly to how children do it. In fact, adults aquire languages faster than babies. The advantage of being an adult is that we can use various tools and techniques to speed up the process, such as the AJATT method, which can typically help one become fluent in a language within just 2 years. This is a far cry from a typical 4-year-old child who, despite having been exposed to language input constantly, still doesn't sound very good and still makes some mistakes.",
    "url":"im-not-a-kid-anymore-am-i-too-old-to-learn-a-language.html",
    "date":"2023-02-14"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pausing. How often should I look things up while actively immersing?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"If you never pause, it means you don't look up words at all. The more you look up, the faster you progress. If you have to look up a word in every sentence, it quickly becomes tedious. So your task is to try to find the balance between enjoyment and frequent lookups. You can watch raw and try to understand only through the visuals, watch with subs and actively look up unknown words, or do something in between. When it comes to doing something in between, it boils down to looking things up only once every couple minutes. In practice, however, I find that most people can't do it. It's a lot of work to sit with a timer or somehow arbitrary track time and decide when to look up and when not to look up. So I recommend splitting your time between media where you look up everything and media where you don't look up anything. One of our community members, ﾌｪﾘﾍﾟ, shares the following routine: I always keep two TV-shows. One for mining everything and the other one for pure enjoyment, without lookups. I agree with this. I never look up when I'm watching raw, and always look up when I'm watching with subtitles. When reading, I always look up unless I can easily infer the meaning from the context. But be careful when skipping lookups when reading because you might run across a word written in kanji and assume that it is read one way when it is actually read differently. This is not a problem when reading alongside an audiobook though. If you find yourself looking up too many unknown bits too often, switching to easier content is a solution too. You can go back to the difficult medium once you increase your skill level.",
    "url":"pausing-how-often-should-i-look-things-up.html",
    "date":"2023-02-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"In order to increase my reading speed, should I force myself to start skimming?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Khatzumoto recommended skimming mostly as a motivational tool. You skim boring parts to get to the fun parts, and it keeps you focused on your immersion. When it comes to reading speed, skimming won't help. If you read a lot, your reading speed will improve naturally. To increase your reading speed you need to read at your natural speed, and read a lot. Slowly over time your natural reading speed will get better. The more you read, the more your brain will be able to recognize patterns and group words together. For example, when you first start learning Japanese, you may need to read each character individually to understand long patterns such as ○○ざるを得ない, ○○もさることながら or どちらかと言うと. But as you become more familiar with the language, you will be able to recognize longer patterns instantly, without having to say each syllable in your head. Your brain will become able to process multiple characters and multiple words as single units. With practice, you start to chunk the language into larger and larger pieces. As you become more accustomed to picking up groups of words as single units, your reading speed increases due to the decreased number of chunks you have to process. So the key to being able to read faster naturally is building the mental infrastructure in your brain. Forcing yourself to read faster than you are comfortable will not lead to the desired result. Speed is only achievable through dedicated practice and time. I don't recommend skimming, as it can lead to missing important information. It is much more beneficial to be able to actually read and recognize each piece of the text, rather than just jumping through words, skipping chunks and inferring the meaning from the context. While it can be possible to comprehend and infer the meaning of Japanese text without certain parts, such as conjugations and particles, the lack of exposure to essential words and grammar may impede one's ability to use them when speaking. For language acquisition it is important that you pay attention to each bit of information in the text so that your brain can absorb the patterns and acquire grammar. Avoid skimming in order to gain maximum exposure to all elements of Japanese.",
    "url":"to-increase-reading-speed-should-i-start-skimming.html",
    "date":"2023-02-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it more efficient to stick to one genre/domain instead of jumping around?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It's definitely more efficient to focus on one genre or one domain at a time. But of course you need to take enjoyment into account. If you stick to one domain for too long then it can become really tedious. In the guide I said that in the beginning I recommend immersing in slice of life movies and TV shows. In slice of life shows you've got a limited range of vocabulary, and the words that are being used are common across the entire language. This is the recommended first domain. Having a solid foundation in the initial domain makes it much easier to learn new domains. When you know the most basic vocabulary, you can move forward really quickly. You build up a strong base in one domain, increase your overall comprehension, and then use that to your advantage as you move on to new domains. If you focus your attention on a specific domain of your target language, it will be much easier for your brain to absorb the patterns. By narrowing your field of study and taking it one domain at a time, you can ensure that your brain can fully focus on one thing and master it before moving on to another. This approach is much more efficient than trying to learn many things at once. Every time you choose a new genre, move to a different domain, it will have a different set of commonly used words and expressions. Domains can be similar to each other or very different from each other. Some specialized domains can be quite difficult to understand without lots of study. Try not to jump to a new domain that is too distinct from other domains you have immersed in. Also, try to get a solid foothold in the domain before moving to the next domain. Once you reach advanced stages, worrying too much about differences between domains is not going to be productive. For example, if in the beginning you're immersing only in slice of life TV shows, in later stages you don't have to distinguish between anime and reality shows, or anime and dramas. Moving from one domain to another becomes pretty easy. If you immerse in only one genre, you're going to quickly increase your understanding of the content in that genre. Once you understand a certain genre well, your overall progress in the language will slow down until you tackle a new domain. So, sticking to one genre for too long is also a bad idea, but jumping between many genres will result in facing too many unknown words if you're not fluent yet. Ultimately it's about finding the balance between trying to master domains of the language in the most efficient way and immersing in what looks interesting. Prioritize enjoyment over \"efficiency\". The fun cut to Japanese is almost always the shortcut.",
    "url":"is-it-more-efficient-to-stick-to-one-domain.html",
    "date":"2023-02-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"I'm not motivated and don't enjoy learning Japanese, is it still worth my time?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Being unmotivated means that you don't actually want to learn Japanese, but you want to \"want to learn Japanese\". And if so I highly recommend quitting. Don't learn Japanese. It's just honestly stupid. Just don't. There's no point to learning Japanese. There's nothing special about it. It's completely meaningless. And that's the honest truth. Doing Japanese means making a lot of sacrifices. To get good at Japanese you have to permanently change your life in a certain way. You have to spend multiple years reading, watching, listening, looking up words, making flashcards, reviewing flashcards, and so on. If you hate all of that then it's not going to be worth it for you. Being fluent in Japanese is not going to make you happy if the process didn't. And even if it did, I don't think the result is worth suffering for several years. When I was learning Japanese, I never had problems with motivation. I had a concrete goal. I knew that I wanted to understand untranslated anime. Before I started Japanese, I had been watching anime for 7 years, so I simply pegged learning Japanese to an existing habit. I was going to watch anime almost every day anyway, so why not do it in Japanese. You have to have a strong passion about something in Japan or about Japanese. Otherwise, it's not going to work. Instead of learning Japanese enjoy Japanese because it's there. Read this book, watch this movie, read this manga, listen to this song. Play the short games. AJATT is a method that involves living your life fully immersed in the target language, much like being born and raised in the country where the language is spoken. And if you look at the process this way, motivation is out of the equation. Japanese people are never off the AJATT grind. Japanese people are never bored with Japanese. They simply live their daily lives in the language. So, what do you typically do each day? Try doing it in Japanese. Do you enjoy watching anime? Watch it in Japanese. Are you interested in cooking? Learn new recipes in Japanese. Stay up-to-date with current events by reading news in Japanese. By incorporating the target language into your daily activities, you will find it increasingly difficult to fall out of the habit. Now, if you had motivation before, but lost it, that's a slightly different problem. You've probably lost your goal. You need to rediscover it, or find a new one. What do you want to do in Japanese? Have you watched every movie there is to watch? Have you read every book there is to read? There's no magic pill for fixing motivation, but there's lots of fun things to do in the language. Do Japanese because it's fun. Lastly, think back to when you didn't know anything at all. It's important to appreciate how far you have come, how much you have learned, and how much you already know. You have already made it this far, and you can continue to make more progress.",
    "url":"im-not-motivated-and-dont-enjoy-learning-japanese.html",
    "date":"2023-02-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"I am struggling to switch from English to Japanese media. Should I go cold turkey?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"You shouldn't have this problem. Most people before they start AJATT already have a passion for otaku content like anime, manga, ranobe, or other types of Japanese media. For them learning Japanese is a means to get more enjoyment out of the media they are fond of. If you decided to learn Japanese out of the blue, and you don't like any of the above, it's going to be very hard to immerse without quitting and going back to English. If you like anime, there will be no temptation to watch crap in English. Anime exists only in Japanese. Most of the stuff people like in Japanese has no alternatives in the English world. So you can either consume translated media which is always worse, or you can learn Japanese and experience the original to its fullest. A lot of stuff isn't even translated, and isn't going to be. Find something you like in Japanese. Try to discover new stuff, something that has no alternatives in English. I feel like most people reading this already have an answer. If you look at this from the opposite side, there's no difference. Let's say you're Japanese, and you're learning English. There is unique, interesting English content. You just have to find it, find what you like. When it comes to should you go cold turkey, you can't do it until you find media you're passionate about. When you do, I bet you're going to jump cold turkey without a second thought. If you don't find unique and compelling content, immersion will feel like study, like going to classes, and your willpower is not going to last long. If there's English media that interest you, it's okay if you do English once or twice a week on schedule. If you do only Japanese, you will be constantly craving the English media you used to consume. There's a chance that you end up losing to the temptation, dropping Japanese immersion and going back to all the English content you've been abstaining from. It will be worse than occasional breaks.",
    "url":"i-am-struggling-to-switch-from-english-to-japanese-media.html",
    "date":"2023-02-06"
  },
  {
    "title":"How much reading is required to counteract not SRSing?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"You can't fully counteract not SRSing. This is true for every use case of the SRS, especially when learning things like math, programming, physics, anatomy, biochemistry, etc. In language learning it is less noticeable, which leads to the idea that one can stop SRSing and experience no negative effects. This idea is more common among language learners. Now, if you learn a language to some level of proficiency, and then stop using it completely, including immersion and the SRS, one day you'll forget all of it. If you immerse a little, it will happen later. If you immerse a lot, you will be improving. This all is pretty obvious. Nonetheless, language consists of domains of various sizes. Much like if you go to a math class, learn something, and then stop contacting or using that information, you will forget it, without the SRS you have to regularly come back to every domain you've immersed with, or you'll forget vocabulary specific to that domain. There are many corner-case words that could be easily lost without repetition. These are words that come up maybe just a few times a year or less. Things like names of different animals, plants, food, fish and birds, stars and planets; words related to various skills, fields science and art; and many more. It's true that they are not very important, but they still come up occasionally. Every time they come up, you're going to feel like you're a child who's lost. The SRS is the reason why AJATTers can have passive vocabulary larger than an average native their age. They're able to surpass natives in 5-7 years. A native speaker has spent their entire life using the language. When you take out the SRS, you start forgetting words you don't run into often enough, and as a result it takes you way longer to catch up to a native. Without enough immersion every day you may never be able to do it. That's why it's not possible to counteract not SRSing — there are too many domains to worry about. Even if you read all day, there's always some vocabulary you're not contacting. When you stop using the SRS, the rules change, and you enter the game of fighting a leaking bucket. The SRS becomes especially important when there's not enough repetition of any kind of information. Khatzumoto has an article on this topic, If You’re Fluent, Why Do You Still SRS. In the article he says that once he stopped SRSing, he started forgetting words that normally you don't see very often, words that you maybe don't see every day but need once in a while. Khatz was frustrated with his inability to improve without the SRS, so he started SRSing again. Throughout my Japanese learning journey I always knew the consequences of dropping the SRS from reading about what people before me, including Khatz, experienced, so I never stopped SRSing. Once you've used SRS for a while, you start applying it to all aspects of your life, not just language learning. You start SRSing your exams, for example. When you have a variety of different topics in your SRS, it becomes harder to quit it. If you have too many due cards each day, consider optimizing your settings and retiring mature cards. You could even delete some decks that you're sure you don't need anymore, though I'm not a fan of deleting entire decks.",
    "url":"how-much-reading-is-required-to-counteract-not-srsing.html",
    "date":"2023-02-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"I only do passive immersion and things aren't working, what's wrong?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The answer is obvious. Do active immersion. Even if you have headphones on all day, without active immersion you can't expect any improvement. The whole point of passive immersion is to get additional exposure to the sentences you already have learned to some extent. Especially in early stages during passive immersion you generally consume exactly the same content that you learn from during active immersion. During passive immersion your brain should be exposed to what you've been working on actively. If you're doing only passive listening, your brain is going to filter the information out as background noise. During active immersion you need to give your full attention to the immersion and try to understand as much as possible. Make flashcards for the unknown bits. Then, when you're going to re-listen to the same content passively, listening is going to help you solidify the knowledge. Passive immersion only helps to the extent that you are also doing active immersion. If you skip active immersion, you won't understand what's going on. But if you listen to familiar content, it is easier to follow the story. Even if your attention moves to something else, when you move it back, you can still understand what's going on because you already know the plot. It is possible to learn a language without passive immersion, but it is almost impossible to do without active immersion. You need to actively immerse and look up as many words as you can while doing so. If you do no active immersion, passive immersion does little to nothing. If you are doing lots of active immersion each day, then passive immersion starts to become very beneficial. So what I recommend everyone to do is watch anime, movies and dramas actively and then put each episode through impd to get condensed audio. Listen to the condensed audio in the background until impd archives it. The process should not require much time, you only need time to watch a few episodes every day.",
    "url":"i-only-do-passive-immersion-and-things-arent-working-whats-wrong.html",
    "date":"2023-02-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to learn readings after finishing isolated kanji study?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Through targeted sentence cards. Various methods of isolated kanji study usually don't cover kanji readings. If they do, they have you learn the most common reading, as KanjiDamage does, for example. Knowing the most common reading helps a little, but you still need to learn how to read actual words you come across by yourself. After you're done with isolated kanji study, learn kanji readings in context. Readings should not be learned in isolation. You're going to learn words and their readings at the same time. So what you need to do is read a lot of native Japanese content, look up words and make TSCs. At first, you may want to use a premade deck. I recommend downloading Ankidrone Essentials and learning from 1,000 to 3,000 cards from it. The deck has Japanese sentences on the front, English translations on the back. It also comes with native audio. You learn what the words mean and how to read them. So you learn each word by itself, as a single unit, and over time your ability to predict kanji readings becomes stronger.",
    "url":"how-to-learn-readings-after-finishing-isolated-kanji-study.html",
    "date":"2023-01-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to make monolingual TSCs for vocab and grammar?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The process of making monolingual TSCs for grammar and vocabulary is essentially the same, as there's no significant difference between the two. After you go monolingual, you'll continue sentence mining in much the same way as before. While reading books, watching things with subtitles, browsing the web, you will come across sentences where you know everything in a sentence except for one grammar point or one word. Take that whole sentence and put it on the front of your SRS card. On the back, put the monolingual definition for the grammar point or word you didn't know. Some preparations, as explained in the main article: Download and install monolingual dictionaries for tools like GoldenDict, Rikaitan, etc. In Rikaitan, keep JMdict enabled (but hidden) for times when your monolingual dictionaries don't pick up certain words. Monolingual dictionaries tend to be smaller than JMdict. Mine sentences as you usually would. Don't add English definitions to your cards. Having both English and Japanese definitions is acceptable only during the transition period. You will run into grammar points that only have English definitions. Use Rikaitan to identify the grammar pattern, then consult Weblio or any search engine to look it up. Searching the web should lead to explanations in Japanese. Additionally, try monolingual dictionaries for grammar. They cover additional topics and can help when other dictionaries fail. Some people would prefer to install as many monolingual dictionaries as possible to cover even more ground and minimize the need to look up words online. Once you learn the very basics, the strict distinction between grammar points and vocabulary pretty much dissolves. For instance, take the phrase ならでは. While JLPT might classify this as a grammar point, I see it simply as another piece of Japanese. If you look up ならでは in a monolingual dictionary, you'll find what it means. Similarly, if you take ながら, looking it up in a monolingual dictionary will show you how it's used and what it means. Beyond the basics, there isn't a clear distinction between vocabulary and grammar points. I would just think of them as pieces of the language that you don't know yet. Whether that's a noun, or an adverb, or a verb in a specific form, or whatever, everything will be in the monolingual dictionary somewhere. You just have to know how to look it up correctly. The process remains the same. Place the sentence on the front of your card and what you need to understand it on the back. When reviewing the card, read the target piece, ensure sure you can read the kanji, ensure that you understand what the target word or grammar means roughly, and what the overall sentence means roughly. If you can do that, you're good to go.",
    "url":"how-to-make-monolingual-tscs-for-vocab-and-grammar.html",
    "date":"2023-01-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to rep audio-based sentence cards?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"By pressing Ctrl+Delete. Audio-based cards are completely useless. Unlike text-based sentence cards, audio-based cards are easier to cheat on. You end up memorizing the answer based on the audio clip which doesn't necessarily help you remember the target word. Doing audio-based cards has no effect on kanji ability. To learn how to read kanji one needs to train reading kanji. It is also unclear whether audio-based cards can actually help develop listening ability because listening to the same audio clip over and over is not the same as listening to different representations of words being spoken in authentic content.",
    "url":"how-to-rep-audiobased-sentence-cards.html",
    "date":"2023-01-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to develop a personality in your L2?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Unless you're a schizo, you shouldn't think about it at all. One thing I can say is that if you want to learn how to be a nice person in another language, how to fit in the society, how to be funny, how to make a good impression on new people, etc., you first have to learn what people in the country like, how they interact with each other. You learn that through lots of immersion and through observing and paying attention to natives.",
    "url":"how-to-develop-a-personality-in-your-l2.html",
    "date":"2023-01-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is Rikaitan Search?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan Search is a dictionary search tool that can be used in the web browser. It lets you use Rikaitan similarly to Qolibri, but in addition it can parse and analyze entire sentences. Install Rikaitan if you haven't already. After you set it up, you can access Rikaitan Search by pressing Alt+Insert or by clicking on the toolbar and pressing \"Search\". It has a clipboard monitor which is something I use all the time. When enabled, it listens for changes in the system clipboard and automatically pastes text from the clipboard to the search page. Mpvacious was made to be paired together with Rikaitan Search. Rikaitan Search is also quite handy when mining from manga and reading books. Alternatives to Rikaitan Search are: Qolibri's Watch clipboard button. GoldenDict's \"Enable Scanning\" button.",
    "url":"what-is-yomichan-search.html",
    "date":"2023-01-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"How can I improve at reading Japanese names?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Reading Japanese names is more tricky than reading regular words because in addition to 音読み and 訓読み readings, in Japanese names 名乗り readings are also used. So if you have never practiced reading names, often you may be lost. Even Japanese people oftentimes are not able to know with certainty how a name is going to be read like. In addition, it's not uncommon for a name to be read many ways. For example, you can read 幸子 as ゆきこ, さちこ or こうこ; 裕子 as ゆうこ or ひろこ; 晶子 as あきこ or しょうこ. With regular words this doesn't happen so often. Words like 経緯 which is read けいい／いきさつ or 故郷 which is read こきょう／ふるさと are rather exceptions. So how do you learn names? Practice in Anki, of course. Make an Anki deck and fill it with Japanese names. The deck could include names of celebrities, politicians or even anime characters. Most anime characters have normal Japanese names unless it's a weird fantasy show. On the front of the card you'd have the name itself written in kanji. On the back put the name with furigana. A photo and some basic information about the person would be nice to have on the back as well. Don't make cards for random people, instead add names of people you've seen or heard of a few times before. This is going to ensure that the names are somewhat frequent. Also, don't make cards for just a name or just a surname. Any given name or surname can have a number of different readings. Only a concrete person can have their name read only one way. For example, the name 福沢諭吉 identifies a real person and has only one correct reading. Through learning lots of names you're feeding your brain input, creating a bank of names, training a neural network in your brain. You start seeing patterns. So next time you see a new name, you can take a more correct guess.",
    "url":"how-can-i-improve-at-reading-japanese-names.html",
    "date":"2023-01-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"How broad or narrow is a \"domain\" of language?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Domains of language are arbitrary. They can be broad and narrow. Books and movies are different domains, fiction books and non-fiction books are different domains, Drama and comedy are different domains, mystery anime and slice of life anime are different domains, and so on. In practice language domains are treated similarly to genres. As language learners we often want to tackle one domain at a time in order to increase comprehension, speed of learning, the frequency at which we come across domain-specific vocabulary, etc. The smaller a domain is, the quicker you can master it. But don't pay too much attention to domains. Being strict about sticking to a set genre or domain can lead to boredom and eventually to burnout. You've got to find the right balance. The key to succeeding at learning a language through immersion is having fun. Can you really imagine yourself having second-thoughts like, \"I really want to immerse in this content, but I can't because it belongs to a different domain.\"? Just immerse using the content you like. Having said that, domain boundaries can pose challenges to beginners. Every time you switch to a different domain, your comprehension drops. Each new domain contains new, unknown vocabulary. For the first few months try to keep your domain narrow. In the guide I recommend watching only slice of life anime, for example.",
    "url":"how-broad-or-narrow-is-a-domain-of-language.html",
    "date":"2023-01-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"If a word has more than one kanji spellings, which do I mine?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The most straightforward and easiest approach is to mine the exact spelling that you saw in your immersion. And it should work in most cases. An exception would be when you see a word written in kana but want to add it to the SRS in kanji. A less efficient but more mistake-proof approach would be to mine all spellings that appear in a dictionary. But since making several targeted sentence cards for one word is more work, I would make a TSC for one spelling and SWCs for all other spellings. A more optimized approach is to put each spelling in a search engine. Mine the one that brings more results. Usually search engines tell you how many results have been found for each search term. When searching, restrict the language to Japanese, or there will be Chinese sites in the results, and the number of occurrences of a word will be incorrect. rankspellings is a script from my dotfiles that searches words on Google or Yahoo and prints the number of search results for each. You can use it to find the most common spelling of a word. For example: > rankspellings -g 川蝉 翡翠 魚狗 翡翠 19300000 川蝉 487000 魚狗 6130 翡翠 appears to be the most useful spelling among others.",
    "url":"if-a-word-has-more-than-one-kanji-spellings-which-do-i-mine.html",
    "date":"2023-01-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can I get fluent in Japanese with 1 hour a day?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No, but you can get fluent with 12+ hours a day. In Mass immersion I said that if you study 18 hours a day, it will take you 1.5 years to basic fluency. Progress takes commitment. With one hour a day it might take you 15 years. Think about it seriously and ask yourself the following question. Even if you somehow magically got fluent today, would you really need it if you were going to spend just one hour a day doing Japanese? What do you need Japanese for? Why do you want to know Japanese? Maybe Japanese isn't exactly what you want to do, and you need to consider something else. And once you reach fluency, you want to maintain it. You don't want to forget the language. To maintain a high level of proficiency, you have to spend more than 1 hour on Japanese each day anyway. So even if you magically got fluent, it wouldn't last long. In the very beginning it is easier to improve. Until a certain point studying Japanese for one hour a day is going to be sufficient. But it gets harder as you approach higher stages. Unless you up your immersion later in the process, before reaching a lower intermediate level you're going to reach a plateau, where you will be stuck. If a low intermediate level is enough for you then it would be okay to go for it. However, this is not the level where immersion becomes enjoyable. So if you want to know Japanese and reach the highest levels of fluency where you can express yourself comfortably and effortlessly, what should you do? If you don't have time now, you could consider doing 1 hour a day for a while, but as soon as you can you've got to switch to the mass immersion mode and start doing All Japanese All The Time.",
    "url":"fluent-with-1-hour-a-day.html",
    "date":"2023-01-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's more harmful: early output or letting your reading ability get too far ahead of your listening ability?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Both are undoubtedly dangerous, but why are you worrying about this? If you're aware that reading dominates your immersion, cut it out and listen more. Immerse the right way, and everything will be fine. People who start outputting early end up speaking with grammar mistakes and a foreign accent. Bad grammar comes from trying to form sentences without having acquired an intuitive knowledge of sentence structures. Bad pronunciation comes from trying to pronounce new and unfamiliar sounds without having heard them enough times. Most grammar and phonetics can only be acquired through immersion. Practice speaking incorrectly, and you'll develop muscle memory that will stand in your way of mastering a foreign language. People who delayed outputting until after they have learned their target language, but didn't listen enough and learned mainly through reading, end up having decent grammar but still have a foreign accent. Here bad pronunciation comes from the phenomenon known as subvocalization. The act of reading activates muscles in the throat. Hence, in this scenario the learner also develops bad speaking habits. This makes early output more harmful.",
    "url":"early-output-or-reading-ahead-of-listening.html",
    "date":"2023-01-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"I want to learn a difficult language (Japanese) and an easy language (Spanish). Should I learn them at the same time?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Stop sucking at two languages and get good at one. — from the AJATT site. It is possible if you manage it, but I don't recommend it. Learn the easy one first and do laddering and/or find a way to maintain Spanish while learning Japanese so that you don't forget it. I started Japanese after I was already proficient in English. I learned one then went to the other. So even though I still regularly immerse in English, I can dedicate almost all my time to Japanese. If I started Japanese and English at the same time, I would definitely fail at both. All European languages are closely connected. They are similar to each other. They borrow large chunks of vocabulary from each other. So learning another European language will be easy. It should take you around a year to basic fluency. But if you do it alongside Japanese, you may never see the end. Japanese is so deep and complicated that even after reaching fluency you're going to have to polish your skills and learn some corner-case things here and there. Due to the above, starting a new language while doing Japanese is nearly impossible due to the effort required to maintain and improve at Japanese. If you simply drop Japanese, you're going to forget a large portion of it during the time of learning another language. So I recommend doing the European language first, no doubt about it.",
    "url":"difficult-language-and-easy-at-the-same-time.html",
    "date":"2023-01-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Did you track your daily immersion hours during your hardcore phase?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No, never. Do I have to start a timer every time I open a browser tab with a Japanese website? Do I have to start a timer every time I open a book? Play an anime episode? Read manga? That's too tedious. Change your environment and control your space instead. I would just aim for a constant stream of immersion that lasts all day. It's much easier to control space than to control time. If you change your environment then, you won't have to \"choose\" anything. Your environment will essentially make your choices for you. Don't [choose to] do Japanese. Only have Japanese to do. — Khatz In other words, if you only have Japanese books, TV and movies at hand, immersing in Japanese is the only thing you can do. All your time is immersion time, so you don't have to measure it. From what I have observed, people who tried measuring how much time they spent on Japanese weren't actually that good. They were so focused on optimizing their immersion that they didn't immerse. If you discover a way to measure your progress that isn't complicated and doesn't require manual work, then you could benefit from it because what might be happening is that you are spending less time immersing than you think you are. The only way to find out that you immerse less than you think is by measuring it. So maybe it is worth spending like a week tracking your progress to test yourself. For example, if you log anime you watch on Myanimelist, it will provide you with some statistics, including hours spent watching. Things like the number of episodes watched or the number of pages read can be used for tracking your progress without having to manually measure the hours.",
    "url":"did-you-track-your-daily-immersion-hours.html",
    "date":"2023-01-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"I have many bad habits due to being forced to prematurely output for many years in school. How should I go about fixing these bad habits?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"In an ideal situation you want to avoid premature output because the bad habits you form are very hard to get rid of later. Once a bad pronunciation habit is formed, it doesn't go away. It becomes like a crease in paper. So you want to speak correctly the first time. In order to achieve that you avoid early output until the time when you would intuitively know the right way to say something. If you already have bad habits, you have to amass lots of input first. Go through a silent period. A silent period is when you don't output and listen a lot. Listen to your target language all the time for about a year to ingrain the sounds of the language into your brain. You need to build an intuitive understanding of the sounds separate from your muscle memory. From my experience and experience of other learners, if you have bad habits, immersion alone won't fix all of them. Even after thousands of hours of immersing in the language your pronunciations won't recover completely. After the silent period many of the bad habits may still be present. You are going to fix your listening ability and perception of phonemes, but you still have to address your muscle memory which has formed due to early output. We can see this in real life when we look at other people. They move to a country they have never been to before and don't speak the language. They learn the language eventually, but because they were forced to output from the start, their pronunciation fossilizes in a way. They retain foreign accents despite seemingly continuing to immerse all the time. And they are repeating the same mistakes over and over, essentially practicing their bad habits instead of trying to correct them. To correct the remaining bad habits, study tongue placement and imitate native speakers. When imitating native speakers, pay extra attention to the sounds in each word and record yourself to see where you're off. So for example you would try to repeat sentences in an audiobook word for word while recording yourself. When you listen to the recording, you get feedback and can figure out what your most glaring bad habits are. Then you could work on each pronunciation mistake one at a time. Focus on mistakes that sound the most foreign. Practice saying each piece correctly over and over until you get it right. Eventually it becomes automatic. You could also cut a short clip where a native speaker says it and listen to it on repeat. To find example pronunciations you could use Youglish, Captionpop, or your local sentence bank in Anki. To record audio on the spot there's a script called dmenurecord. English learners should always check the IPA notations of the words they are learning to pronounce. For Japanese learners knowing IPA isn't necessary, but they need to pay attention to the pitch accent.",
    "url":"bad-habits-due-to-being-forced-to-prematurely-output.html",
    "date":"2023-01-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I change language in Telegram to Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Visit the official Japanese translation page.",
    "url":"how-do-i-change-language-in-telegram-to-japanese.html",
    "date":"2023-01-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"I just quit WaniKani after learning 1,300 kanji. Should I do JP1K or just jump into sentence mining?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Just go to the next step. Do the N5 and N4 levels of Ankidrone Essentials, then jump into sentence mining. JP1K is made for beginners, for people who don't know any Japanese yet. Before you start sentence mining, you need to reach the point of kanji fluency. If you have learned more than 1,000 kanji, then it is highly likely that you already have kanji fluency. There's no need to continue studying kanji in isolation or with a JP1K deck. You just need to start sentence mining. The kanji you don't know yet can be learned through learning whole words.",
    "url":"i-just-quit-wanikani-should-i-do-jp1k.html",
    "date":"2023-01-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I look up words when I read manga?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Using OCR software (Tesseract, Transformers) with a dictionary. The Mining from manga article explains how to automate it. If your OCR tool fails, open Google Translate, enable handwriting and draw the word. Another option is to find kanji by their parts on Jisho.",
    "url":"how-do-i-look-up-words-when-i-read-manga.html",
    "date":"2023-01-21"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to look up words on web pages?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"See popup dictionaries. I have a guide on how to set up Rikaitan here. Don't forget to install AnkiConnect if you want to make Anki cards.",
    "url":"how-to-look-up-words-on-web-pages.html",
    "date":"2023-01-21"
  },
  {
    "title":"How should I review monolingual word cards?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"A word card has just one word on the front. It's different from a sentence card which has a sentence on the front. If the word you're testing yourself on is a concrete noun, recall how it looks or what it is. Usually concrete nouns represent objects that you can see, like 鼯鼠 or 翡翠. Your task is to recall how to read the word and kind of imagine how it looks like. If the word is not written in kanji, then just recall how it looks. It's a good idea to have a picture of it on the back of the card to test yourself. Because this is a monolingual card, you are supposed to have a monolingual definition on the back of the card. The definition is there for you to understand what the word means. As I've said many times, don't recall the whole definition verbatim. That's way too much work, takes too long and uses too much brain power. Your goal isn't to memorize the definition, it's to memorize the meaning of the word. The definition is just one way of writing that meaning. If the word is not a concrete noun, you're better off making a TSC instead.",
    "url":"how-should-i-review-monolingual-word-cards.html",
    "date":"2023-01-17"
  },
  {
    "title":"How much listening should I do before I start reading?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Essentially, language learners face two primary options. Start practicing reading from the beginning or postpone reading until a future point. If your sole goal is to understand your target language, be able to read books effortlessly, but you don't care about speaking or interacting with natives, then reading early is a good idea. As an adult, learning foreign languages through reading is considerably easier than learning by listening to spoken language. You can improve much more quickly. However, reading early on comes with a significant drawback: you're going to develop bad phonetic habits. Reading biases your perception of the language. Without acquiring a solid intuitive understanding of the language's phonetics, the way the language sounds in your head while reading will be incorrect and foreign. Undoing these habits later is harder than avoiding them in the beginning and requires thousands of hours of listening. Learning through listening alone is more difficult and takes more time. You must rely solely on sound to understand what's going on. Yet, listening practice is precisely what gives you very strong listening abilities. The quality of your pronunciation is also largely determined by your ability to perceive sounds and detect subtle differences. If you want to develop excellent listening skills and pronunciation, I recommend focusing exclusively on audio-visual input (TV shows, movies, anime, dramas) in the beginning. While it's hard to completely avoid reading because you'll still need to create Anki cards and use dictionaries, minimizing reading will help prevent many bad phonetic habits. The most optimal approach is to learn to read kana and kanji from the beginning, but avoid active reading practice beyond reviewing text-based flashcards. Your primary focus should be listening all the time and learning to understand spoken language. Do it for the first year. This will give you a strong foundation in the language's phonetics. After this initial period, you can gradually introduce light reading. Start with easy comic books or manga, then progressively move to more difficult content like novels. Even if you're eager to start reading immediately, never neglect listening. Listening is convenient and easy to do. You can do it while doing something else, in the background.",
    "url":"how-much-listening-should-i-do-before-i-start-reading.html",
    "date":"2023-01-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to approach words with multiple meanings? Should I make multiple cards?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Consider the word 念. What does it mean exactly? 念のため and 不安の念 express drastically different concepts. 出す has 8 meanings in 旺文社 and 29 in 大辞林. The main way we do sentence mining is by adding sentences from our immersion to the SRS. The SRS is designed to test on very small pieces of information. So if you want to make multiple cards, each card should cover only one meaning. In other words, one meaning equals to one targeted sentence card. When you notice a new word in your immersion, it is sufficient to make just one card with the sentence the word appears in. Before you make the card, you look up the word in a dictionary. If a word has many meanings, there will be multiple definitions listed. In monolingual dictionaries the number of definitions can be especially large. You can either paste every definition on the card or put just the one that applies to that situation, that particular meaning. Either is fine as long as the back of the card has the meaning that is used in the sentence on the front of the card. Which definition or definitions to choose is highly specific to the target word. When you review the card, test yourself only on one meaning. Grade it \"Good\" if you remember the meaning relevant to the context of the sentence. You certainly don't want to be trying to recall many meanings at once because if you forget one, you fail the whole card. Having to recall multiple things at once violates the minimum information principle. So should you make 29 different targeted sentence cards just for 出す？ It's not necessary. If you want to make cards for all meanings of the word, you'll have to look for additional example sentences that express each meaning. This is not efficient. Don't do it. When a word comes up in your immersion that you already learned, but it is used to express a different meaning, then it's acceptable to make another card. In this case you already have an example sentence at hand, and since the sentence comes from your immersion, it is authentic. Making another card does not contradict the minimum information principle because the extra information is added in extra cards. However, I wouldn't learn the card that same day. I would instead assume that I'm going to be able to remember it without the card. If you can't remember it the next time it comes up again with that same new meaning, then go back and learn the card. When you know something, you have an entry for it in your head. It's a lot easier for the brain to add new information into the same box. Creating new memories is what's hard.",
    "url":"how-to-approach-words-with-multiple-meanings.html",
    "date":"2023-01-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"How important is passive immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When you're a beginner, active immersion plays a much bigger role than passive immersion. You need to watch something actively first and make it as comprehensible as possible before reusing the same content for passive immersion. At this stage it is not advised to immerse in something passively for the first time because you haven't worked with the content and haven't comprehended it. However, when you're already pretty good at understanding Japanese, which happens after around a year if you're serious about pursuing the language, you become able to understand your passive immersion really well too. At this stage you gain a lot more from passive immersion. When you reach this point, you can use completely new content for passive immersion and still understand it close to 99% if you pay enough attention. Because of that, it makes sense to value passive immersion more past the beginner stage.",
    "url":"how-important-is-passive-immersion.html",
    "date":"2023-01-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"Does time spent in Anki count as immersion time?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Yes and no. If you use Anki, it has to take some time from the total amount of time available to you. Anki occupies a part of your study time. Whether to call Anki immersion is really a philosophical question. In a way it is because in Anki you read sentences created by native speakers that you saved previously. But since Anki is used for repetition and doesn't provide you with new content, it's not a source of immersion. That's why I personally wouldn't call it immersion. When someone asks you how many hours a day you immerse, usually you are expected to separate Anki from other activities. State both numbers, how much you spend in Anki and how much you do other stuff. Depending on your answers people will give you different advice.",
    "url":"does-time-spent-in-anki-count-as-immersion-time.html",
    "date":"2023-01-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to learn Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"You learn Japanese by self-study through immersion. Our guide contains everything you need.",
    "url":"how-to-learn-japanese.html",
    "date":"2023-01-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"How many water bottles do you go through in a day?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Zero. I assume drinking from bottles is some weird American thing. I drink from cups.",
    "url":"how-many-water-bottles-do-you-go-through-in-a-day.html",
    "date":"2023-01-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do you still watch anime?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I watch anime almost every day. Watching anime is a great way to learn Japanese. Most people who want to learn Japanese love anime. Anime is easy to download, and you can watch it with Japanese subtitles if you don't understand something. Plus, if you watch ongoings, every week you have to show up for the next episode, which keeps you engaged, you don't lose your momentum or motivation. However, the dialogue in anime is often intentionally unrealistic. To truly appreciate just how unrealistic it can be, you need a deep understanding of natural, everyday Japanese. Ironically, if you rely solely on anime to learn Japanese, you might not be able to appreciate anime to its fullest potential. It's important to immerse yourself in other types of media as well.",
    "url":"do-you-still-watch-anime.html",
    "date":"2023-01-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"Have you talked to Khatzumoto?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No. Back in the day you could email Khatzumoto and he would post your message on the AJATT site along with the reply. He also used to do consultations with people, though they costed money. But I was born too late for all of that. By the time I started learning Japanese, Khatzumoto was long gone from the Internet.",
    "url":"have-you-talked-to-khatzumoto.html",
    "date":"2023-01-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"How does the space between words function in Japanese? In English you have a space between words but I can't see that in Japanese.",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Usually spaces aren't used in Japanese. You understand word boundaries just by reading. The alternation between kana and kanji makes it visually easier to tell words apart.",
    "url":"how-does-the-space-between-words-function-in-japanese.html",
    "date":"2023-01-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to start reading as a beginner?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Start watching movies, TV shows and anime with Japanese subtitles. Read the subtitles and try to understand them. Reading alongside audio is easy compared to raw reading practice, so that's a good way to start, and that's how I started too. The audio should guide you as you read. Then try manga and eventually novels. Use a popup dictionary (like Rikaitan) to look up unknown words.",
    "url":"how-to-start-reading-as-a-beginner.html",
    "date":"2023-01-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I add a directory to the PATH?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Let's say you want to add ~/.local/bin to the PATH. According to Arch Wiki, to add a directory to the PATH for local usage, add or edit the following environment variable: export PATH=\"${PATH}:${HOME}/.local/bin\" Replace ${HOME}/.local/bin with the path of the directory you want to add.",
    "url":"how-do-i-add-a-directory-to-the-path.html",
    "date":"2023-01-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do your Tango decks have audio or text on the front? Which way is better?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials contains bilingual TSCs with sentences on the front. Don't put audio on the front of your cards.",
    "url":"do-your-tango-decks-have-audio-or-text-on-the-front.html",
    "date":"2023-01-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"I forget kanji readings in sentences. Should I use furigana?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"If you add furigana on the front of your cards, you're not going to learn the readings. One of the points of using the SRS is to learn kanji readings, so you're defeating the point. To learn something with the SRS, the answer should be hidden until you reveal it. First you try to recall it, then you see if your guess was correct. What I always did is I followed Wozniak's recommendations and memorized different representations of a particular kanji. So, I would take the kanji I have trouble remembering and look it up on Jisho.org like this. Then I would deliberately find example sentences with the words that use the character and make Anki cards. Let's say you can't remember how to read 悠長. You make targeted sentence cards with the following sentences. 悠々とビールを一杯飲んだ そんな悠長なこと言ってる場合じゃない 我々は悠久の時を生きるわけではない Three sentences, three different words that use the same kanji. The kanji is read ゆう in all three examples.",
    "url":"i-forget-kanji-readings-in-sentences-should-i-use-furigana.html",
    "date":"2023-01-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"How has learning Japanese changed your outlook on language learning?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Before I started learning Japanese, I had been learning English for many years. I knew that to progress I had to watch and read a lot of native content. I also knew from experience that classes and textbooks are entirely useless and don't help. I had an intuitive understanding of how one should learn a language, but I knew nothing about Krashen, AJATT and immersion learning. Discovering AJATT helped me understand why what I did to learn English worked. It gave me a systemic view on the process of language acquisition and a framework to talk about immersion learning.",
    "url":"how-has-learning-japanese-changed-your-outlook-on-language-learning.html",
    "date":"2023-01-04"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do you learn how to write Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"See my Writing Japanese article. If you want to learn how to write in Japanese, bear in mind that it's going to take a lot of time. You may want to reach a reasonable level of fluency before you choose to do that. So unless you are scheduled to arrive in Japan tomorrow, it's more important to focus on those aspects of the language that are more helpful and take less time to master. If you want to live in Japan, writing Japanese is going to be important. Otherwise, only learn to write if you're passionate about it. These days the ability to produce kanji from memory isn't nearly as important as it used to be. Most people type on their phones or computers, and typing is done phonetically.",
    "url":"how-do-you-learn-how-to-write-japanese.html",
    "date":"2023-01-04"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I get corrections from native speakers?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Some learners assume it's important to ask their native friends for corrections. In my opinion it's unnecessary to get corrected by native speakers, and it's also a bad idea to rely on other people to correct your output. Most AJATTers who sound good never relied on corrections. Instead, they got many thousand hours of input and imitated native speakers through a technique called \"imitation exercises\". If you haven't got enough immersion and can't output naturally yet, don't say anything. You're going to sound too bad, a native speaker won't be able to correct every mistake you make, and you won't be able benefit from the corrections. Without thousands of hours of input you can't reach a level required to understand, apply and learn from the corrections. If you've got enough immersion, you don't make a lot of mistakes, your Japanese is mostly correct, then when you accidentally make a mistake, you will know it. Your own language intuition and conceptual knowledge of Japanese will give you feedback. Much like in your native language when you accidentally say something stupid, you immediately know it. If you're not that good yet, and you're in a situation where you have to say something, but you don't know the correct way, your only option is to say what you can and assume it's incorrect. Later try to find a similar phrase in your immersion to check yourself and make a mental note.",
    "url":"how-do-i-get-corrections-from-native-speakers.html",
    "date":"2023-01-04"
  },
  {
    "title":"How much progress can I expect in a year?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It heavily depends on how much you immerse each day. Let's say you start learning Japanese today. If you're doing Japanese all the time, after a year you can expect around 95% comprehension of your typical input. But I can't be totally sure because everyone progresses at their own pace.",
    "url":"how-much-progress-can-i-expect-in-a-year.html",
    "date":"2023-01-04"
  },
  {
    "title":"Given that reading can harm pronunciation, when is the ideal time to become an avid reader?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I find that for people who want to have a native accent ideally it should be as late as possible. Depending on when you start reading, you trade faster progress and literacy for better pronunciation. If you want to have a good accent, I recommend getting into reading novels after about a year. Waiting longer is likely to give diminishing returns, but go for it if you don't like reading, or if you strive for perfect pronunciation. Some people don't really care about their pronunciation in which case they might focus on reading right from the beginning. Of course reading novels will be difficult for beginners unless they immerse a lot before they become readers. And of course you can improve your pronunciation later. To do that you'll have to go through a period where you focus on listening instead of reading, deliberately practice your pronunciation by doing imitation excercies, etc.",
    "url":"ideal-time-to-become-an-avid-reader.html",
    "date":"2022-12-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"How much more efficient is AJATT than Refold?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Refold started out as a copy of AJATT with some parts reworded. There wasn't much difference between the two. The biggest thing was that it was directed at casual language learners who don't want to spend that much time on their target language. I'm not that knowledgeable about Refold's teachings, but I understand that Refold was designed to be less effective than AJATT. Depending on how much time you have for immersion, what you immerse with, and how you use Anki you can progress faster, and I wish you do. Then some time after the initial launch Refold was transformed into a language learning scam. On top of monthly donations, it started pushing T-shirts and cups from their store. Then they added paid Anki decks, with the prices getting higher over time. Finally, courses and coaching were introduced. It's clear that their site is made to deceive people. I recommend ignoring it.",
    "url":"how-much-more-efficient-is-ajatt-than-refold.html",
    "date":"2022-12-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"How many new cards to learn each day?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I recommend learning 10 to 30 new cards a day. The more new cards you do, the more reviews you'll have complete. See Daily amount of cards.",
    "url":"how-many-new-cards-to-learn-each-day.html",
    "date":"2022-12-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"How strict were you about ALL Japanese ALL the time?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When I started AJATT, I was a full time university student, so it wasn't easy, but I tried to immerse as much as possible. I had earphones on in class and while commuting. When I would finish my daily duties, I would go back to living my life in Japanese. I always kept the immersion going at home. I spent all my free time doing something fun in Japanese. The biggest thing I never did in Japanese was studying programming. Even though you can read books about programming in you target language, I think English is the only language where we have high quality programming resources. All programming languages are essentially based on English. And of course I would have to pause my immersion when I would hang out with my friends who didn't care about Japanese.",
    "url":"how-strict-were-you-about-all-japanese-all-the-time.html",
    "date":"2022-12-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to do monolingual RTK?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Don't do monolingual RTK, it's stupid and tedious. After you've achieved basic fluency, do production TSCs instead. RTK is a huge waste of time if you do it monolingually because then you have to reinvent it. You have to rename all the components using Japanese names, and you have to come up with your own mnemonic stories in Japanese. RTK is focused on learning to write kanji in isolation, but when we write Japanese, we always write words. So if you do production TSCs instead, all you have to do is find a sentence you like, occlude a word in it and practice writing the hidden word. If you're fluent in Japanese, you probably won't need stories to memorize how to write most words because you've already seen these kanji so many times, you already have a vague picture of them in your head. If you just look at a word once, draw it on a piece of paper and pay attention to the strokes, then you'll remember it.",
    "url":"how-to-do-monolingual-rtk.html",
    "date":"2022-12-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review and grade TSCs?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"TSCs are very flexible in how you can review them. When you learn a card for the first time, read the full sentence and understand its meaning as a whole, as well as meanings of individual words in isolation. When you review the card later, you can choose to skip the sentence and instead only read the target word. Read the word, then reveal the back of the card and read the definition. If the word is written in kanji, pass the card if you understand the meaning and reading of the target word. If the word is not written in kanji, pass the card if you understand the meaning. A definition is just one of many possible ways to describe the meaning. Don't recall the definition in case of a monolingual card, or the translation in case of a bilingual card verbatim. Your goal is not to memorize a definition, it's to memorize the meaning of a word. Having a general idea of the meaning in your head is enough. If the word has more than one meaning, don't recall all of them. Focus on the context of the TSC in question to determine what particular definition you are tested on.",
    "url":"how-to-review-and-grade-tscs.html",
    "date":"2022-12-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to change the font in an entire Anki deck?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Change the styling of your card template. Go to \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\" > select the note type > \"Cards\" > \"Styling\". Change font-family to fit your needs. See this example.",
    "url":"how-to-change-the-font-in-an-entire-anki-deck.html",
    "date":"2022-12-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"I can only recall kanji when in the context of the specific sentence I learned it in. How do I fix this?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"If you've been learning words using sentence cards or TSCs, and you have developed context-dependent memories of the words, that is not abnormal. It happens to many people. It goes away naturally over time as you continue reading with a dictionary and get more comfortable with kanji. Beginners are more likely to form context-dependent memories. Word Cards may work better for them in particular, at the cost of slightly increased difficulty of reviews. But if you want to stick to TSCs and don't want to experiment with card templates, all you need to do to correct a context-dependent memory is look the target word up a couple of times when reading in the wild. Then your brain should draw the necessary connection, and it will stick.",
    "url":"i-can-only-recall-kanji-when-in-the-context-of-the-specific-sentence.html",
    "date":"2022-12-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to change note types?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Download or create a new note type. Any Anki deck you download from the internet comes with a Note Type. If the same Note Type does not exist in your Anki collection, it will be added. Our collection of Note Types can be found on GitHub. From the Anki main screen, go to \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\". There you will see all the installed note types. The process of converting notes to a different note type is not difficult. First make sure that you've imported the desired Note Type. Then open the Anki browser (shortcut: b) and select the notes you wish to convert. The whole deck can be selected by pressing Ctrl+A. Lastly, choose the option \"Change Note Type\" from the context menu or go to menu \"Notes\" > \"Change Note Type...\" (shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+M). The rest is a matter of mapping the right fields and pressing OK.",
    "url":"how-to-change-note-types.html",
    "date":"2022-12-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I make a file executable?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"$ chmod +x path/to/file -x will remove the executable flag.",
    "url":"how-do-i-make-a-file-executable.html",
    "date":"2022-12-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is comprehensible input?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Comprehensible input is a term Steven Krashen uses a lot. We acquire language in one way and only one way: when we understand messages. We call this comprehensible input. We acquire language when we understand what people tell us. Not how they say it, but what they say. Or when we understand what we read. — Steven Krashen on Invidious Understanding spoken and written language input is seen as the only mechanism that results in the increase of underlying linguistic competence. — Input hypothesis In practice comprehensible input is some content in a foreign language. It can be anything, text, audio, video. The content contains something new, something you don't understand yet. However, it is prepared in a way that makes unknown bits comprehensible. Or you can make it comprehensible yourself by unlocking the unknown bits. Anything can be used as a tool to make input comprehensible. For example, images. Comic books are more comprehensible than novels because they contain pictures. Pictures give you clues, hints, help you understand what's going on in the story. Cartoons, movies are even more comprehensible. By paying attention to how people talk, how they're moving, what gestures they use you can understand what they're saying better.",
    "url":"what-is-comprehensible-input.html",
    "date":"2022-12-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Have you ever had any plateaus? What to do when you're stuck?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I haven't. You can't be stuck if you're doing AJATT, but you can be stuck if you slack on your immersion. I've had a feeling of not progressing, which is what people call the plateau. Almost everyone who has learned a foreign language had this feeling at some point in the process. It didn't bother me. I knew that I was actually improving because I trusted the AJATT method. I knew that the solution is just to get more input, continue doing what I was doing. It helps to always seek input that is slightly above your current level. Let's say if you're a beginner, you watch slice of life anime and make tons of progress. But if you continue watching slice of life anime later down the line, you're not going to progress nearly as fast. So maybe you need to switch to fantasy anime, or read a light novel, or watch a jdrama about something hard like lawyers, bankers or whatever.",
    "url":"have-you-ever-had-any-plateaus.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do you play video games? Are video games good for immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Personally, I do not find video games interesting or engaging, and as such, I never play them. However, I used to play them as a teenager, until I grew frustrated with the limitations of Windows and proprietary software. Since switching to GNU+Linux, I have stopped playing video games altogether. Most games are proprietary, and I refuse to run proprietary software. From an efficiency standpoint, most video games offer low-quality immersion due to their low language density. While reading books or listening to podcasts offer a continuous immersion experience, video games only allow for occasional interaction with language, with most of the playtime being action-oriented. However, visual novels are an exception as they offer a similar experience to reading a book, but with added visuals. Unfortunately, most visual novels and games in general are proprietary, which means that playing them comes at the cost of losing one's freedom. Furthermore, video games are bad for immersion because they're difficult to mine sentences from. There are hardly any tools available to automate the process of extracting text, pictures, and audio from games. In conclusion, while video games may offer entertainment value, they are bad for language learning due to their low language density and lack of tools for sentence mining. Additionally, the proprietary nature of most games goes against the principles of freedom.",
    "url":"are-video-games-good-for-immersion.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki to immersion ratio. How much time should I spend SRSing?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The most popular community guideline is 1 hour a day. You can't directly control how much time you're going to spend on Anki. The amount of time is determined by what card type (template) you use, how many new cards you add each day, your retention ratio, and how fast you can read Japanese. If you notice that you overspend you time on Anki, try TSCs instead of normal sentence cards, reduce the number of new cards you learn per day, install Speed Focus Mode Anki add-on. Also read: How should I divide my study time?",
    "url":"how-much-time-should-i-spend-srsing.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"I did RRTK, but my kanji ability still feels shaky. Should I do the JP1K?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Decks like RTK, RRTK, KanjiDamage and Ankidrone Foundation are designed to give you training wheels so that you could practice kanji in a modified environment for a while and then transition to reading real Japanese and learn real words. The goal is to achieve kanji fluency, an ability to recognize kanji the same way you recognize people's faces. If you can look at a kanji and reliably tell if you have seen it before or not, then you have it. It doesn't matter if you don't remember its name. If you have completed one such deck, you don't need to do another one of the same kind. What you have to do from this point is to learn to associate words written in kanji with how to read them and what they mean. Move to the next level and do Ankidrone Essentials. Eventually your goal is to start sentence mining while consuming native content. Even if you feel like you lack kanji ability, just continuing to learn words is going to improve it. Remember, many people never learned kanji through a dedicated deck, they learned words right from the start.",
    "url":"i-did-rrtk-but-my-kanji-ability-still-feels-shaky-should-i-do-the-jp1k.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"How many reps did you do a day on average?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"My daily average was ~300 cards.",
    "url":"how-many-reps-did-you-do-a-day-on-average.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"How should I divide my study time?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"You can divide your active study time roughly in three parts. Spend 1/3 of your time reading, 1/3 listening, and 1/3 reviewing Anki cards. Limit your Anki usage to no more than 1 or 2 hours a day. Dedicate the rest of your time to immersion. Watching movies and TV shows with subtitles counts as reading. Note that here we don't take into account passive immersion. In other words, immerse as much as possible. Try to immerse all the time, but additionally dedicate 1 or 2 hours a day to the SRS to help retain what you learn. I would recommend never spending more than two hours total on SRS, which includes an hour reviewing cards and an hour making cards. If you try to learn too many new cards a day, you'll quickly end up with a massive pile of reviews. Most people don't really enjoy Anki that much, even if they can tolerate it to some degree. Most people, once they hit around 300 reviews a day, they typically can't maintain that pace and fall into \"Anki hell\", burning out and ultimately quitting. And burning out is definitely the worst thing that can happen to your learning process. For example, on a bad day when you only have 3 hours to study, spend 1 hour on each activity. On a good day when you have, say, 12 hours, allocate 1 hour to Anki, 5.5 hours for listening, and 5.5 hours for reading. We know that due to subvocalizing too much reading as a beginner causes harm in long term. Depending on your goals, when allocating your study time, you may want to increase the time spent listening (and watching raw content) at the expense of reading time. Without immersion, Anki helps very little. Trading immersion time for more Anki is definitely not a good idea. Related: How much time should I spend SRSing?",
    "url":"how-should-i-divide-my-study-time.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"How would you go about learning programming?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Read books about programming. Get a degree. Study the code others wrote. Make Anki cards for questions and snippets you often look up. For example, \"how to shuffle a list in Python\". Write programs you would use yourself, and learn how to do it in the process. Since this site is mostly about language learning, you could make a program that helps people learn languages.",
    "url":"how-would-you-go-about-learning-programming.html",
    "date":"2022-12-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it harmful to always have TL subtitles on?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Watching with subs is a reading activity. If you have subtitles on all the time, you have less, maybe even no time to practice listening to the target language. If you're not fluent yet, and you practice reading more than listening, your listening ability starts lagging behind your reading ability. On the other hand, having target language subtitles on is going to help you learn a lot more quickly. If developing good accent and listening ability is important for you, always watch raw and turn the subs on only when you hear an unknown word. If getting a native-like accent is a priority, you should also cut down on any reading practice and learn entirely through listening. If you're not that concerned about it, you could keep two types of TV shows, one for watching raw and one for watching with subs so that you still have some dedicated time to learn through listening. And if you don't care about accent at all, maybe if you're learning your TL only to be able to read TL books or watch TV shows with subs, then it's okay to have them on all the time. The amount of passive immersion you're doing also plays a role. You can allow yourself to watch more content with subs if you listen a lot in the background. If your listening ability is underdeveloped by the time you reach fluency, catching up will take more effort than if you listen a lot from the beginning. But the process is pretty intuitive, to develop your listening ability all you have to do is listen a lot over a period of time. In my experience neglecting listening as a beginner can be crippling for your speaking. Before I started learning English through immersion, I had spent several years not listening to any native English content and being forced to prematurely output at school. I was able to improve my listening relatively quickly after starting to immerse. Today I can understand everything I hear in English, maybe except some strong accents. However, when I speak, I don't know how to pronounce words correctly, and often I'm lost trying to recall or guess the right pronunciation. I don't have the same experience in Japanese because I took a listening-heavy approach from the start. Lastly, I notice that it's hard to let go of TL subtitles if you already have them downloaded. A solution is to decide what shows you watch raw and what shows you watch with subs. If you watch something raw, don't download subtitles at all. I also recommend watching ongoings. When you watch an ongoing anime, you download a new episode every week. Because the episode is still new, there are no subtitles for it yet. Your only option is to watch raw.",
    "url":"is-it-harmful-to-always-have-tl-subtitles-on.html",
    "date":"2022-12-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"I would like to start adding pitch accent to my cards. How should I grade the cards once I add pitch accent?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Don't change anything about the grading process. Put pitch accent information on the back of your cards, but don't take it into account when grading yourself. If you force yourself to recall the target word and its pitch accent at the same time, failing to recall either one will mean you must press \"Again\" on the card. For example, you will have to fail a card if you remember the meaning but not the accent. Piotr Wozniak's 20 rules basically advise against that. If you consider an item that is composed of two sub-items, you will need to make repetitions that are frequent enough to keep the more difficult item in memory. If you split the complex item into sub-items, each can be repeated at its own pace saving your time. — Twenty rules of formulating knowledge To learn pitch accents of individual words, make separate cards. Put the word on the front and its pitch accent on the back. For example: Front Back What's the accent of 出来る? 中高 （2） What's the accent of 入る（はいる）? 頭高 （1） If a word has multiple readings, include furigana on the front. Note that many Japanese words have multiple correct pitch accents. It's often easiser not to make cards for those, since you'll likely get them correct regardless of which accent you use. You don't need to make pitch-accent cards for every word. Include only words that are common and that you are likely to say often. Roughly the 2,000 most common words, no more.",
    "url":"how-should-i-grade-cards-once-i-add-pitch-accent.html",
    "date":"2022-12-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it OK to make cards for sentences I don't fully understand?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I would make a card and save it for later instead of learning it right away. Come back to it after some time. You can also swap the sentence with a simpler one from a sentence bank or from a dictionary. If you're using TSCs, you can learn MT sentences just fine. You're not restricted to only 1T sentences. When you learn a new TSC, you learn the target word. You're being tested on the target word. Everything else on the card serves the purpose of increasing your comprehension. So because it is not mandatory to know the context, you can pay little attention to it. Ideally you want to stick to the 1T rule and only make TSCs for sentences you understand. A good sentence can help you understand the target word better. But if there's no other choice, you can go with a sentence that's not fully comprehensible. If you just started sentence mining, or you're a beginner learning from a premade deck, there will be MT sentences. It's okay to tolerate them. When learning a TSC that contains an MT sentence, or just a sentence that is 1T, but its meaning is somewhat blurry, what you really need to make sure is that you fully understand the target word, even if the sentence is not 100% clear. Otherwise, there's just no point in learning a word you don't understand. Also keep in mind that repping should be fast. Don't get caught in trying to understand a sentence in the middle of doing your reps. It's just going to stretch your review times. The SRS exists to minimize forgetting. Language acquisition should be happening during immersion.",
    "url":"is-it-ok-to-make-cards-for-sentences-i-dont-fully-understand.html",
    "date":"2022-12-19"
  },
  {
    "title":"Thoughts on Khatz's \"multiplexed input\"?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Multiplexed input is an idea from the original AJATT site. It is when you're trying to immerse with multiple sources at the same time, trying to listen to two different things. Khatz even tried to use it to immerse in two different languages at the same time. He listened to a Japanese podcast while watching a YouTube video in English. Multiplexed input is supposed to increase density of immersion. If so, I think listening to condensed audio is a better choice. It's more organized. If you try to listen to two or more sources at the same time, if you try to understand what two or more people are saying at the same time, you're going to distract yourself from all of them. But condensed audio takes one immersion source and turns it into a stream of constant talking with no empty spaces and no distractions. Humans can't truly perform multiple activities in parallel. But they can do them asynchronously, meaning that they quickly alternate between the tasks. So you can listen to one person talking for a few seconds and then switch to the other person, but there is no way to pay your full attention to both at the same time. In my opinion this is a very chaotic way of doing immersion, and you're unlikely to reap more language gains from it compared to condensing your audio. So I would say that you're going to get the most benefit if you do one thing at a time and give it your full attention. On a side note, doing passive and active immersion at the same time would be a form of multiplexed input. Doing Anki reps while listening to something in the background also falls in this category. In my mind these are bad ways to immerse because by passive immersion you're distracting yourself from the active task. Passive immersion is powerful when what you're doing actively is not related to your target language, like driving, cooking or cleaning.",
    "url":"thoughts-on-khatzs-multiplexed-input.html",
    "date":"2022-12-19"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is it OK to create mnemonics to help remember kanji readings?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Unless you did RTK or Kanjidamage before you started reading, creating mnemonics is not going to be that easy because you never learned components of kanji and lack a more in-depth understanding of how kanji are formed. You also haven't practiced creating mnemonics for Japanese before. In this case I would recommend not worrying about mnemonics and trying to memorize readings without them. For example, in Kanjidamage mnemonics for readings are pegged to their system of naming kanji parts. Without learning the system you can't understand the mnemonics and make similar ones yourself. Of course, you can create your own system, but it also has to be based on some clues, triggers. When you see a kanji, you recall its reading through that. If you did Kanjidamage or Kanjidamage+, you already know ~2 thousand premade mnemonics for kanji readings, and they're going to help you a lot. For me this was pretty much the case. However, the benefits don't last long. Kanjidamage's mnemonics helped me out at first, but I quickly moved past them as I continued to learn new words. And the more words I learned, the easier it was to learn more words. I eventually forgot all the mnemonics I used to know. Because the benefits are going to be short-lived, I don't see a strong reason to recommend mnemonics. The better you get at Japanese, the less you are going to need to rely on them. I think that instead of creating a system of mnemonics it's better to spend that time on learning a few thousand Japanese words even if at first it's harder. If you choose to use mnemonics, don't rely on them for too long. You don't want to be an advanced learner who still thinks of mnemonic stories when trying to read every word. To recall something through a mnemonic you have to take an extra step. First you have to recall the mnemonic and then the thing itself. Reading Japanese should be automatic, like reading in your native language.",
    "url":"is-it-ok-to-create-mnemonics-to-help-remember-kanji-readings.html",
    "date":"2022-12-18"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is JAV good for immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"JAV stands for Japanese Adult Video. It refers to porn produced in Japan. JAV typically features very little dialogue. When watching JAV, consider skipping the sections where people aren't talking. If you enjoy erotic content, I recommend reading doujinshi, perhaps something from Nhentai or a similar site. Doujinshi often contain plenty of dialogue, which is great for immersion.",
    "url":"is-jav-good-for-immersion.html",
    "date":"2022-12-11"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is learning to understand Kansai-ben difficult?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"You can pick it up through immersion over time. However, if you study it deliberately, it can be difficult. Kansai-ben is not so different from Standard Japanese. Most differences are surface-level, such as sentence endings and suffixes. The pitch accent is pretty different, but you don't need to learn the Keihan accent to understand it. If you want to learn to speak Kansai-ben, that's where you'll need to put in more effort. In nearly every anime or drama, there's a character who speaks the dialect. The amount of exposure you get is significant enough to learn to understand it just through immersion.",
    "url":"is-learning-to-understand-kansaiben-difficult.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is listening to TTS (text-to-speech) bad?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No TTS can compete with a native speaker. There's so much professionally voiced content in Japanese that going out of your way to use TTS doesn't make sense. With anime alone, you can listen to native speech all the time. Content that isn't voiced can be set aside until you know enough Japanese to read it without help. The robot voice doesn't sound like real Japanese. Particularly, it makes a lot of pitch accent mistakes. Even if you don't count pitch accent, the computer-generated audio is still very bad. You never want to be feeding your brain toxic input. On the word level, pitch accent data may be wrong, outdated, or there could be multiple accents. When the pitch accent depends on the usage, the algorithm often can't pick the right one. On the sentence level, text-to-speech is even less accurate because there are rules that modify pitch accents of words in a sentence. Computers don't necessarily know these rules. Always listen to real native audio. For example, instead of generating text-to-speech audio for a book, download an audiobook. Instead of adding TTS audio to your Anki cards, copy pronunciations from Qolibri, Forvo, or other sources (banks) that provide native audio. Also, just mine sentences from movies and TV shows more often. They have audio built in.",
    "url":"is-listening-to-texttospeech-bad.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is studying grammar required?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Studying anything is not a requirement for using the AJATT method. AJATT is about acquiring a language through immersion. The core idea is that if infants can do it, adults can too. There is a big difference between acquisition and studying. Instead of studying, AJATTers strive to understand messages in the target language when they immerse. If by studying grammar you mean learning from a grammar guide, we often recommend doing it because it optimizes your path to fluency. It accelerates your progress and helps remove obstacles along the way. By learning common grammar patterns early on, you can significantly improve your comprehension.",
    "url":"is-studying-grammar-required.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is SuperMemo better than Anki?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"SuperMemo is proprietary software, so it should not be used. Mnemosyne is an alternative SRS that also respects your freedom.",
    "url":"is-supermemo-better-than-anki.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is there a Japanese syntax parser similar to Jisho.org but with no English?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Mecab. I bet Jisho uses Mecab behind the scenes too.",
    "url":"japanese-syntax-parser-similar-to-jisho.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is there a way to view the cards I have failed the most times on Anki?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"You can list them in the Anki Browser. For example, to see cards that have lapsed more than 5 times open the Anki Browser (shortcut: b) and type prop:lapses>5. Likewise, prop:lapses>10 will show cards that have lapsed more than 10 times, etc. I recommend resetting leeches. The extra time required to drill them in is not worth it. After resetting edit the corresponding notes to make them simpler and avoid lapses in the future. For example, change the example sentence. Afterwards relearn the updated cards.",
    "url":"a-way-to-view-cards-failed-the-most.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Isn't 18 hours each day quite a lot?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Of course. Khatz himself admitted that he was rarely able to do so much, but he always tried. We all have different amounts of time available for studying our target language. Immersing 18 hours a day is not always possible. I think trying to get to the goal every day is the most important thing though. If you do 12 hours, or 8 hours, or 6 hours, that's not a crime. Just try to do better the next day.",
    "url":"isnt-18-hours-each-day-quite-a-lot.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji in the current year",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Back in my day RRTK didn't exist. The JP1K method didn't exist either. I did KanjiDamage+. If I were to start today, I would probably start learning words right away. If I couldn't handle it, I would pause and try the JP1K method.",
    "url":"kanji-in-the-current-year.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Are there any language learning YouTubers that you like? What YouTubers do you like in general?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I don't watch YouTube because almost all content it offers is low quality. Staying away from it seems like the best strategy, especially considering that YouTube can be defined in two words — spying and censorship. I can't recall any good language learning content ever posted on YouTube. If you want to familiarize yourself with language learning theory, search written guides online. It will take you less time to go through them because reading generally is faster than listening. The obvious examples are the AJATT site, Antimoon, the Norsk experiment and this site of course. Specifically language learning YouTube channels are never about immersion learning, so there's no reason to ever watch them. Instead, they try to learn languages using blue-pilled methods. In the past there were some YouTube channels making \"ajatt update\" videos where people documented their progress learning Japanese and other languages. I don't see those being around anymore. When it comes to immersion content, however, YouTube can offer something you'll like. Things like streams, podcasts or news are good to listen to, especially for passive immersion. Explore the YouTube guide for details.",
    "url":"language-learning-youtubers.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"I just learned that I was reviewing the Ankidrone Foundation deck completely wrong. What should I do from here?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The JP1K method is structured in a way that is a little hard to grasp for some people. Normally on an Anki card you only have one question and one answer, but Ankidrone Foundation and other JP1K-style decks out there have you review each card in multiple steps. If you suddenly realized that you didn't follow the instructions, e.g., recalled only meanings of words and didn't try to recall the readings, or graded yourself based on the readings and meanings, it clearly means that the JP1K method is not for you. Find another method of attaining kanji fluency. There are several paths to take from here. Switch to Ankidrone Essentials. Abandon the idea of learning kanji and start learning words. When doing Ankidrone Essentials, try to learn each word as is, through the so-called brute force method. Memorize how the word is read and what it means. This path is for people who failed to reach kanji fluency with the JP1K method but already learned more than half of the deck. Do Kanjidamage+. Or RTK. Or any other isolated-kanji deck. This is for people who couldn't stick with a JP1K deck at all and dropped it before the halfway point. Start the deck over and try to stick to instructions. If you noticed your mistake very early on, try again but follow the instructions properly. This way you still have a chance to benefit from the JP1K method.",
    "url":"i-was-reviewing-the-kanjitransition-deck-completely-wrong.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"I'm a beginner. Do you recommend learning the \"advanced grammar\" within Tae Kim's grammar guide?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"This answer applies. When I learned Japanese, I read Tae Kim's guide completely, but I did it in chunks. First I learned some vocab, then I read the first section. Then I learned more vocab and read the second one, and so on. Decide if you're ready before starting the \"advanced grammar\" part. Maybe you need to learn more words first. Tae Kim has vocabulary lists built-in, but they're pretty much useless without example sentences. It's better to learn vocabulary using targeted sentence cards. This is another reason I started recommending \"All About Particles\" more.",
    "url":"learning-advanced-grammar-from-tae-kim.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"How should I go about making cards for words that are written identically but pronounced differently?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When you spot a pair of words that are written identically but read differently, make TSCs with those words and use furigana with × on the front to distinguish between the readings. For example, you can read 昨日 either きのう or さくじつ. Make a card where on the front you have 昨日[×きのう] and 昨日[さくじつ] on the back if you want to train recalling one reading but not the other. I have given examples here. This trick works for words that share the same meaning and for words that have different meanings. Alternatively, if two words are written the same way, pronounced differently and also mean two different things, when you make a card, you can pick a specific example sentence that will hint at the right reading. The last option would be to make a normal card and simply recall both readings at the same time. Recalling two things at once is harder, and this will only work for pairs where the meaning is shared but pronunciations differ.",
    "url":"making-cards-for-words-that-are-written-identically-but-pronounced-differently.html",
    "date":"2022-12-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is there a \"bare minimum\" amount of Anki you would recommend to people who hate Anki?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"There are more people out there who hate Anki than those who like it. I somewhat dislike Anki too. So you're definitely not alone. Since around 2020 Anki has undergone significant changes that outraged the users. Many existing add-ons break with each new release. Maybe Anki needs to be completely replaced by another SRS, provided that it will be FOSS. I still use Anki because the benefits outweigh the costs. The way I think about it is that some amount of Anki is better than no Anki at all, provided you do daily immersion. Without mass immersion Anki is not very effective. When using Anki as a supplement to immersion, it helps you learn more efficiently than you would be doing otherwise. If you power through and do just 20 reviews a day, that's 20 words that you won't forget for quite some time. If you hate Anki because you dread your reviews, you should just change the settings. It is very easy to make Anki unusable by applying the wrong settings. Try to find something that works for you. On this site you can find my recommended settings. Some tips on Anki settings: Reduce the penalty for failing cards. By default, if you fail a card, its interval gets reset after you relearn it. If you set New Interval to 50% instead, failing a card won't be that big of a deal. Change Starting ease and Interval modifier in order to fix Ease factors and prevent them from reducing after a lapse. Don't do too many new cards a day. Often people learn a gorillion cards a day, get overwhelmed by the reviews, burn out and start hating Anki. The bare minimum amount of time you need to spend SRSing is highly individual. Usually we calculate it as 1/3 of total study time but no more than 1 hour a day. As long as you can finish your daily reviews, learn new cards and add several new cards from your immersion, you should be fine.",
    "url":"minimum-amount-of-anki.html",
    "date":"2022-12-03"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can Morphman help me with the monolingual transition?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It's unlikely. Back in the day I saw a bizarre method of going monolingual by making a sentence bank of J-J definitions ripped from a monolingual dictionary, sorting the sentence cards with Morphman and learning them until you can understand J-J definitions well. Though such an approach will work, it's too complicated and extremely tedious. The method said that you have to learn 2000 sentence cards this way. Considering how unnatural sentences in monolingual definitions can be, it's a torture. Another way is to have a normal sentence bank made from anime, movies and TV shows, like most people do, but put defining vocabulary in the Morphman's priority.db file. Morphman then will prioritize sentences that contain defining vocabulary. This is not a bad idea in theory, but I don't really think that this would help much because defining vocabulary is rarely used outside of dictionaries. It is almost never used in movies, in anime, etc. Using monolingual dictionaries is a separate skill that you have to train by reading lots of monolingual definitions. Read them for a while, and you'll figure it out.",
    "url":"morphman-for-the-monolingual-transition.html",
    "date":"2022-12-02"
  },
  {
    "title":"Passive immersion playlist structure?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"There are two rules of passive immersion. First says to listen to familiar content. The passive immersion playlist should contain language-dense material that you've actively consumed before. If you listen to something that you've never interacted with before, it can be hard to keep up with it and understand it, especially when you're not that fluent yet. Intermediate learners may include podcasts in the mix. The second rule says to rotate immersion content. If you listen to something for too long, it gets boring, so you need to remove old content from the playlist and add something new. After I watch an anime episode or a movie, I add it to Immersion Pod. I shuffle the episodes I've added and listen to them as passive immersion. After an episode gets 10 days old, I remove it from the playlist. impd does all of this automatically for me.",
    "url":"passive-immersion-playlist-structure.html",
    "date":"2022-12-02"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are your current recommendations related to how to sentence mine?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"To make cards you can use GoldenDict or Rikaitan. There are also tools that help create cards depending on the type of media. For movies and TV shows, I recommend mpv scripts. For manga, refer to my Mining from manga article to set up OCR. When you can't use the sentence you've encountered the word in, try to find example sentences online. When it comes to what card templates to use, before 2020 I used to recommend sentence cards. Now I don't recommend sentence cards anymore. Instead, I recommend using TSCs and SWCs depending on the context. For details, see Discussing various card templates.",
    "url":"recommendations-related-to-how-to-sentence-mine.html",
    "date":"2022-12-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"If I come across a word in kana, but the dictionary says the word also has kanji, do I kanjify the word when I make a targeted sentence card for it?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Yes. When you make a card, convert the target word into kanji. Khatzumoto did it all the time, and it's practically a common thing among ajatters. I do it as well. Examples: 沢山 鼬 蝸牛 海豚 蒟蒻 If you can read the kanji, then you can automatically read the kana. But the reverse is not necessarily true. If you can read the kana, it doesn't mean that you can read the kanji. By learning the kanji version you're getting both at the same time. Some might argue that learning kanjified words is more difficult, but I don't see it as a big problem. Memorizing kanji readings can be difficult in the beginning, but it becomes easier with practice. Moreover, learning kanjified words helps create stronger memories. If you already have a targeted sentence card that teaches the kanji version of a word, then the next time you make a card that has that word in it, you don't have to change it to kanji because it's not the target word anymore. However, if the word is written in kanji in the original text, do not convert it to kana. Most words in Ankidrone Essentials are kanjified for this reason.",
    "url":"should-i-learn-kanji-forms-of-words-usually-written-in-kana.html",
    "date":"2022-12-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I limit how many sentences I mine from a single source?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No. You can mine as many sentences as you want. For instance, if you come across a lengthy anime series that is compelling to you, feel free to mine sentences from it until it ends. There are no limitations as long as you enjoy the process and continue discovering 1T sentences. However, over time, there may come a point where you have mined most of the commonly used vocabulary from that particular source. At this stage, you might struggle to find enough new sentences to reach your daily goal. When this happens, it is recommended to limit the amount of time you spend immersing in that specific source. Instead, seek new materials to immerse in and start mining sentences from them. Even if you immerse yourself in various sources within the same domain, it is inevitable that you will eventually exhaust the pool of new vocabulary within that domain. Therefore, switching from one domain to another is also important for making faster progress.",
    "url":"should-i-limit-how-many-sentences-i-mine-from-a-single-source.html",
    "date":"2022-12-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I limit how much dubbed content I immerse with? What are the downsides of dubbed content?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I have a few points regarding this. Any dubbed content is stripped of basically all cultural interaction, it's just pure language. You're going to miss out on all the body language, gestures, concepts unique to the country. In dubs actors say things that native speakers would rarely say if it was just a regular movie in your target language. In dubbed content you learn about foreign countries where people don't speak your target language. You're investing your time in irrelevant cultures when you could be learning more about your target language's culture. It's pretty hard to find dubbed content compared to native content in case of Japanese. There are sites with dubbed American movies, but their libraries are rather small. Japanese has an abundance of native content. There's absolutely no need to substitute it with dubbed content. I imagine it's not a problem for other languages either, unless we're talking about languages that are spoken in poor countries that can't make a lot of their own content. For example, I was surprised how many television dramas exist in Russian, probably even more than in Japanese, and they make new ones every month. Taking all this into account, dubbed content is not as good as native content. I advise you limit how much you use it in your immersion. But keep in mind that real Japanese people watch dubs. They know about the most popular American movies, for example. It can be fun.",
    "url":"should-i-limit-how-much-dubbed-content-i-immerse-with.html",
    "date":"2022-11-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I make cards for grammar to study in my SRS?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Mining grammar points from a grammar guide is not required. But I did it, Khatzumoto did it too. If you decide to do the same, you may end up creating cards for very basic grammar, in which case delete them once you progress towards intermediate. I don't recommend mining every sentence like Khatz did, instead try choosing only the ones that look challenging. Don't add duplicate cards. The same grammar point should not already in your SRS, even if the example sentence is different. Mining grammar very much like mining regular words. You create TSCs as usual. Grammar points become target words.",
    "url":"should-i-make-cards-for-grammar-to-study-in-my-srs.html",
    "date":"2022-11-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I make mnemonics to learn new words?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No. Making mnemonics for every word takes too much time. Recalling the mnemonics also takes additional time. In addition, you want to have a short connection between a word and its meaning in your head. A mnemonic would just stay in the way. It may be hard to remember new words in the beginning. If you can't remember a card after a few tries, let Mortician bury it for you. Bury or suspend difficult cards to learn more easier cards.",
    "url":"should-i-make-mnemonics-to-learn-new-words.html",
    "date":"2022-11-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I put English translations on Bilingual TSCs?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"On a bilingual TSC you'd normally have: Sentence. Target word. English definition of the target word. Audio and image, if necessary. Reading just the definition of the target word should be enough to understand the entire sentence. If that's not the case, the sentence is not 1T. If the sentence is not 1T, it means there's something else you don't understand, and you shouldn't learn the card. Instead, you should save the card for later. Never look at the English translation, ever. From a language learner's perspective, any Japanese sentence is always different from its English translation. Individual words don't translate literally. Word order and other nuances are often deliberately changed. English grammar and Japanese grammar have very little in common. Even in grammar guides where you have literal translations, the English and the Japanese sentences are not fully equivalent. Especially if you're watching something like anime with fansubs, the quality of translation is notoriously low. You definitely don't want to trust it. You know this first hand, otherwise you wouldn't be learning Japanese. Often beginners say that they understand better after looking at a translation. This is a common misperception. Since the English translation and the original are separate, you might think that you understand the Japanese better by reading the translation, but in reality your understanding of the sentence in the target language hasn't changed, you simply understood the English version. Instead, try to understand in Japanese the first time. Learn to tolerate the ambiguity and let your mind clear it naturally over time. Translations exist for people who don't speak the original language. They help catch the gist, transmit the meaning. If a translation is good, it is still not a language learning tool. Machine translation is even worse. Don't use Google Translate or anything like that. Reading English sentences is acceptable in: Premade decks, such as Core10k and Ankidrone Essentials. Grammar guides, such as Tae Kim and All About Particles. In these cases translations are made for language learners. They are aimed to increase understanding of the target language. Subtitles, especially fansubs, are made for casual audience.",
    "url":"should-i-put-english-translations-on-bilingual-tscs.html",
    "date":"2022-11-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"As a beginner learning Japanese through anime, should I lower the speed to hear the words better or should I leave it at normal speed?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Audio recordings become robotic and distorted when you lower the speed, but in some corner cases it helps catch a word you would otherwise not hear. Surprisingly, increasing volume helps too, but you also should only use it for specific words instead of a whole recording. The key takeaway is that if you always immerse while slowed down, you're not inputting real, authentic Japanese. While doing AJATT we practice understanding native speech as it appears in real life situations. We have to practice as we play.",
    "url":"lower-speed-to-hear-words-better.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I read sentences aloud when doing Anki reps?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"I don't necessarily recommend it. See Reading sentences aloud.",
    "url":"should-i-read-sentences-aloud-when-doing-anki-reps.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I read through Tae Kim while going through the Tango decks?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Reading a grammar guide like Tae Kim is very helpful as a beginner. You can read a grammar guide while doing the Tango decks or separately. Most likely you will be unable to complete the Tango decks without referring to a grammar guide. Tango decks don't teach grammar points as thoroughly as a grammar guide would do. If you stumble upon a card that you don't understand even after reading its back, refer to Tae Kim (or \"All About Particles\") for explanations. Studying grammar will make sentences in the Tango decks more comprehensible to you. So the strategy of doing grammar+tango in a combo is the most efficient, and probably the most popular. As for how you'd do it, each day you could read a chapter of Tae Kim and do 10 to 20 new Tango cards.",
    "url":"should-i-read-tae-kim-while-doing-tango-decks.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Google or Microsoft IME?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Both Microsoft and Google IMEs are proprietary, and thus are malware. I recommend Fcitx with kkc or any other free/libre input method. Also read: How to type in Japanese.",
    "url":"google-or-microsoft-ime.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"As a beginner should I study tongue placement and imitate native speakers, or should I just listen?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"It's a good idea to study tongue placement, but it's not a top priority for beginners. Speaking practice usually comes after you've developed a solid understanding of the language and after your speaking ability has emerged naturally. Unfortunately, I don't know of any great resources for learning tongue placement. Such content is pretty scarce. However, you can try searching for specific sounds online when you're unsure how to pronounce them. For example, search \"how to pronounce the Japanese R sound\" on Invidious. Some Japanese sounds do require special attention, like らりるれろ and し, while others are easy to pick up without much practice. Imitating native speakers is also a good idea, but not for beginners. It's a practice that works best after you've immersed for a while and your speaking skills have emerged naturally — usually after around a year of studying. Imitating native speakers and speaking in general can lead to more harm than good if you don't have a solid foundation in listening. The sounds you're trying to pronounce do not exist in your native language, and if you can't hear them clearly yet, you're setting yourself up for mistakes. When you do start imitating native speakers, try to find someone with the same gender and similar age to yours. There are sizable gender differences in Japanese. Men and women speak and act differently, use different expressions, pronouns and sentence endings. People's speech patterns also change as they age. A 75-year-old man doesn't sound the same as a 15-year-old girl, and that's true for many languages. Imitation involves listening to native recordings and mimicking them. By comparing your voice to the recording, you train your brain to notice and copy even the subtlest patterns of native speakers. As you do this, your brain starts to internalize the native sound system on a subconscious level. Just listen a lot. It's the best thing you can do until you reach a more advanced phase when you're ready to start practicing speaking.",
    "url":"should-i-study-tongue-placement.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I trust Cure Dolly and \"Organic Japanese\"?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Cure Dolly is sometimes recommended as a grammar resource. After giving it a try, here's what I found. First, let's touch on some AJATT theory. To really understand grammar, it's crucial to understand it in Japanese. Language acquisition happens when we comprehend what's being said, not necessarily how it's said. When a guide uses English building blocks to invent a model that resembles Japanese grammar, there's a limit to how accurate the explanations can be. So from AJATT's point of view, it is best to make the explanations short (very short) and provide as many usage examples as possible to feed your brain the essential input. The brain needs this input to decipher and figure out the structures, rules, and building blocks of your target language. This process mostly happens unconsciously, but providing the right input can expedite it. The issues with Cure Dolly that stood out to me: The grammar explanations are a complete joke. I'm not saying that any alternatives are perfectly correct either because they rely on English to describe Japanese, but Cure Dolly takes it to another level. Cure Dolly's delivery can be off-putting. It can come off as a bit creepy. Not everyone's going to have enough willpower to sit through its robotic voice. It's lengthy. Most of the content is in video format. I'm not a big fan of videos. Reading a written grammar guide is going to be more efficient. A good grammar guide should be concise and have natural example sentences with translations for each grammar point it covers. Example sentences are more important than explanations. The text version is long. Over 1,000 pages long! By the time you finish it, you will still not know Japanese, while someone who started AJATT instead of Cure Dolly will be already fluent in Japanese. In lesson 41 (page ~370) we finally learn: Nearly all Japanese words fall into one of three categories. Just three. And those three categories are: Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives. Long before you hit page 370, the grammar guide should be over. To succeed, Japanese learners have to spend a lot of time on mass immersion. A 1,000 pages book in English will just eat away the immersion time. Although Dolly provides some example sentences, the ratio of sentences to explanations is very low. The examples provided are sparse and often feel contrived or artificial. There are two whole lessons dedicated to criticizing Tae Kim. Instead of learning Japanese, you are invited to learn the reasons why Tae Kim is bad. Tae Kim is not the best, but at least it gives readers more comprehensible input with multiple example sentences for each grammar rule. The biggest problems of Tae Kim are that it has unnecessary conjugation tables and vocabulary lists to memorize, but you can skip those. On this site, we recommend reading one of the recommended grammar guides to get a rough understanding of what each of the most common grammar patterns means in order to comprehend more of your input. My personal favorite is All About Particles. We don't worry too much about applying rules to produce Japanese because that comes naturally with immersion. Humans learn grammar by understanding messages, so a grammar guide should provide plenty of examples. It's also helpful to add the example sentences to the SRS to remember them better. Most grammar rules are not covered in guides. You will pick them up by looking up unfamiliar constructs in a dictionary, for example with tools like Rikai-tan. Later, when you become fluent, consider learning Japanese grammar in Japanese, using resources designed for native speakers.",
    "url":"should-i-trust-cure-dolly-and-organic-japanese.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I up my active immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Yes, not only active. What is your goal? If you want to progress as quickly as most ajatters and reach fluency in under 2 years, you should always aim at 12 to 18 hours of total immersion per day, as the AJATT site says. After you've been ajatting for 18 months, you can end your \"hardcore phase\" and start doing less immersion. However, many choose to continue their hardcore phases until up to several years. If your goal is to reach fluency in a longer period of time, 5 or even 10 years, then you probably don't have to up your immersion.",
    "url":"should-i-up-my-active-immersion.html",
    "date":"2022-11-27"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I use a smaller font when reading to get used to small fonts?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Avoid small fonts, they're bad for your eyes. Because today almost all reading is done on a computer, you can set a larger font no problem. Plus, computers make lookups and sentence mining easier. Some printed books are written in small fonts, but you don't need to practice reading at smaller font sizes in order to get used to them. People who are fluent in reading Japanese percieve kanji as single units without paying attention to individual strokes. Therefore, if you can read Japanese in a large font fluently, you're going to be able to read in smaller fonts too if you have to.",
    "url":"should-i-use-a-smaller-font-when-reading.html",
    "date":"2022-11-25"
  },
  {
    "title":"I'm struggling with kanji while working through Tango decks. Should I go through RTK?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I wouldn't recommend that. If you do RTK (lazy kanji or traditional), you'll have spent ~3 additional months on kanji. That time is better spent practicing reading. You're still in a very early stage. Struggling with kanji is normal during this time. If you haven't finished Tango N5 yet, try the JP1K method instead of RTK. It should help train kanji recognition and teach you all words from the Tango N5 book at the same time. If you have already finisehd Tango N5, start watching anime with Japanese subtitles. It's an easy an effective way to practice reading. The audio will act as training wheels.",
    "url":"struggling-with-kanji-while-working-through-tango-decks.html",
    "date":"2022-11-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are your current thoughts on Morphman? Do you recommend it?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I used Morphman for brief periods of time in 2018-2019. Its card sorting feature always seemed too intrusive to me. I don't use Morphman anymore, and I don't recommend it for intermediate learners, but beginners may benefit from it. This is how I would use Morphman: Have a large enough sentence bank. 2,000+ sentences should be enough, but the more, the better. You can use subs2srs to generate sentence banks. Install Morphman, set it up. Recalculate the database, then disable the add-on. Morphman will have tagged all cards that it thinks are 1T for you. Manually pick what cards you're going to learn from the ones marked as 1T. If you don't understand how to use Morphman, search for a guide online. For example, this article from the old Mia's site. Or this video guide by OhTalkWho. To keep your main profile clean, it's advised to store your sentence bank in a separate profile that you don't sync with AnkiWeb. With Cross Profile Search and Import you can import selected cards into your main profile. In my current mining workflow I use mpv with mpvacious. mpv is a video player. Mpvacious is a plugin for mpv. With Mpvacious you can make an Anki card that has audio and a picture with one button press while watching something in mpv. Mpvacious offers a number of pros that really make it way more efficient than Morphman+subs2srs. With subs2srs every subtitle line is its own card. But often you want two or three subtitle lines on one card because together they form a single sentence or are inseparable in some other way. To work around this problem people use Merge Notes. Mpvacious lets you join together multiple subtitle lines when making a card. You have no direct control over how subs2srs cuts audio. You have to time your subtitles perfectly before you run it, or you will end up with incorrectly cut clips with missing or undesirable parts. Mpvacious allows the user to set exactly where the audio starts and ends. Morphman is bad at guessing what words you know. It looks at your Anki collection to determine that, and you can also supply it with a custom word list. Still, it constantly feeds you useless cards that don't teach you anything or that you don't understand at all. For example, a proper noun or a different spelling of a word you already know. You have to manually tag those cards to stop them from appearing. Morphman is not a very polished program. It is buggy and bloated, and it constantly does something you don't want. It can be intrusive because by default it wants to reorder your entire collection.",
    "url":"thoughts-on-morphman.html",
    "date":"2022-11-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do Japanese people pronounce “?” and “!”?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"疑問符, ハテナマーク. 感嘆符, ビックリマーク.",
    "url":"how-do-japanese-people-pronounce-question-mark-and-exclamation-mark.html",
    "date":"2022-11-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Thoughts on listening to podcasts while playing a video game?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Listening to podcasts is a form of passive listening. Passive listening is good for you. The more your brain is exposed to the language, the better. By doing it you signal to your brain that the information is important. Listening to podcasts in your TL is a good idea if you're at a stage where your level of comprehension allows you to understand them without much effort. Mind that podcasts are usually harder to comprehend due to a lack of visuals and transcriptions. If you end up listening to white noise, it won't do anything for you. The content must be comprehensible. If you immerse while playing a video game, you artificially decrease the quality of your attention. I don't see why you'd want to do that. I recommend quitting playing video games completely. They are totally unnecessary and avoidable. Most games these days are proprietary, and proprietary software should not exist. Moreover, games are made to be addicting. They try to pull you in and have you play more and more. I know just one good game that is actually worth spending time on. It's called vimtutor.",
    "url":"thoughts-on-listening-to-podcasts-while-playing-a-video-game.html",
    "date":"2022-11-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to extract audio from immersion content for passive listening?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I recommend that you take a look at impd. It's a program that is specifically designed to automatically manage background immersion. It extracts audio, removes chunks where no one is speaking and saves the files to your mpd folder automatically. Being able to increase immersion density is really useful, and in practice such condensed audio files are up to 2 times shorter than if you just extracted the original audio. If you're a brainlet, subs2srs has a built-in tool to extract audio from video. If you want more customization, learn how to use FFmpeg from the terminal. It's very versatile. You can take it further and write scripts in Bash that would use FFmpeg to automate the process. FFmpeg can also record audio from your computer in case you're watching some DRMed trash that you're unable to download. dmenurecord is an example of a script that can automate recording of audio and screen with FFmpeg. Audacity is graphical program that can record audio coming out of your computer.",
    "url":"how-to-extract-audio-from-immersion-content-for-passive-listening.html",
    "date":"2022-11-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"If someone has watched anime with English subs for thousands of hours before starting to learn Japanese, how much of a head start does that give them?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Remember the \"watch 10,000 hours of Eng subbed anime\" joke from DJT? Well, I actually did watch anime with English subs for thousands of hours before starting to learn Japanese. I can't talk for everybody of course, but my experience was that I knew literally nothing before I sat down and started formally studying the language. I picked up probably no more than about 50 words total, things like お前はもう死んでいる, ただいま, 行ってきます and 馬鹿変態. When you're watching anime with English subtitles, you're reading the subtitles. You're only partially listening to the audio. So I imagine that the only advantage a person who had an experience similar to mine would have is a little more phonetic awareness. It would be easier to parse the sounds. Phonetic awareness contributes to pronunciation down the line. They would still have to build their understanding of Japanese almost from zero.",
    "url":"anime-with-english-subs-for-thousands-of-hours.html",
    "date":"2022-11-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I use pictures instead of English definitions?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Yes, for concrete nouns on your SWCs. You don't have to replace English definitions completely, but it's very helpful to put a picture on the card if it's a card for a concrete noun. It's not that important for TSCs. Usually we make TSCs for words like adjectives and verbs. They are quite difficult to describe with a picture alone.",
    "url":"should-i-use-pictures-instead-of-english-definitions.html",
    "date":"2022-11-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I watch anime with English subtitles?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Yes, if you want to learn English. This is actually how I learned English as a teenager, not even joking. I was so fed up with the quality of fansubs in my native language that one day I just decided to switch and start watching anime with English subs. It was insanely hard at first, and I spent hours looking up every word in a dictionary. However, after a few months I only had to look up a couple words here and there. If you are serious about learning Japanese, don't use English subtitles. Watch with Japanese subtitles or without any subtitles at all. When reading subtitles, your own subvocalization interferes with and shadows the audio. Therefore, you learn the language of the subtitles, not the language of the audio. That's why we say that watching with subtitles counts as reading immersion. I learned English because I was reading English subtitles. And it didn't help my Japanese at all because I wasn't actually paying attention to the Japanese. We've all seen countless anime fans who've watched thousands of hours of English-subbed anime and still know less than 100 Japanese words.",
    "url":"should-i-watch-anime-with-english-subtitles.html",
    "date":"2022-11-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can I use Netflix to learn Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Please read this excellent article by Richard Stallman: Reasons not to use Netflix. There are plenty of ways to obtain immersion material and keep your freedom.",
    "url":"can-i-use-netflix-to-learn-japanese.html",
    "date":"2022-11-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do you have any thoughts about struggling with katakana-words while immersing?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Words commonly written in katakana, including 和製英語 and 外来語, are annoying because you have to read katakana. Due to the shapes of the characters, reading katakana is more difficult, especially long katakana-words. Even Japanese people hate reading such words. With training, you can get used to reading any alphabet, but it's inevitable that a badly designed alphabet takes longer to adapt to. Maybe one day Japan will switch to the Cyrillic script. Until then, we have to deal with what we have.",
    "url":"struggling-with-katakana-words-while-immersing.html",
    "date":"2022-11-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tae Kim: is \"essential grammar\" enough?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"As far as I see, the Tae Kim guide gets divided into 4 sections. Basic Grammar Essential Grammar Special Expressions Advanced Topics So the question becomes, \"Can I drop Tae Kim after reading the first half?\" The truth is that all 4 sections describe pretty basic grammar. You can stop at any point and start sentence mining. Looking up grammar and making targeted sentence cards with grammar targets is no different from making cards for regular vocabulary. Eventually you'll catch up. I read and mined the entire guide, but I took breaks between sections, so it wasn't a continuous, boring process.",
    "url":"tae-kim-is-essential-grammar-enough.html",
    "date":"2022-11-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"FAQ",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"This is Tatsumoto's AJATT FAQ. You can search questions you're interested in if you press Ctrl+f. I'm going to update this page as I receive more questions. If your question hasn't been answered, ask it in our chat.",
    "url":"faq-about.html",
    "date":"2022-11-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"What should I be \"doing\" while actively immersing?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Trying to understand as much as you can. Using a dictionary when you don't understand. Active immersion is all about making your input comprehensible. The main way that we make input comprehensible is through dictionary lookups. Aside from that you can pay attention to scenery, intonation, pitch accent, levels of politeness (keigo) and other cultural things. When you're a beginner, you will often unable to keep up with the plot. Try to pick up as many words and phrases as possible, little chunks that you understand. When you're intermediate, following the plot becomes an option. Shift towards getting the gist of what's being said. Fill the gaps by learning the unknown bits. When you're advanced, you've already beat the game and understand almost everything. At this point you can shift your attention to things that help you output. For example, what exact phrases people say in what situations, how they talk, what gestures or body language they use, Japanese pitch accent.",
    "url":"what-should-i-be-doing-while-actively-immersing.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What time of day should I do Anki?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"As long as you finish your daily reviews, any time is fine. Some people do Anki first thing in the morning, some spread their reviews throughout the day. The worst option would be to do Anki in the evening when you're tired. I personally try to do Anki in the morning. By dedicating myself fully to finishing my daily reps in one continuous chunk of time, I can finish them faster. To have as little distractions as possible, I usually use a dedicated device (a laptop) with only Anki installed/running.",
    "url":"what-time-of-day-should-i-do-anki.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's immersion?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Immersion is the process of reading or listening to the language you're learning, your target language. It is not necessary to move to the country or talk to natives to immerse. As long as you have access to content in your target language, you're covered. The immersion content should be made by natives for natives of that language, and it should not be translated to your native language. Japanese learners can immerse by watching anime, movies and j-dramas, reading books, light novels and manga. In Japanese there is a lot of content that can be used for immersion, and it makes Japanese very easy to learn. In AJATT there's the concept of Japanese Immersion Environment. Learners create an environment that simulates the process of living in Japan by using immersion content — media in Japanese. Japanese Immersion Environment is created by switching from media in your native language to media in your target language. Learners maintain their immersion environments by doing most of the daily activities in their target language. Read news in the target language in the morning, listen to radio in the target language while commuting, watch a movie in the target language after coming home, etc. Immersion is also commonly referred to as input. Usually we divide immersion into passive (background) and active. Active immersion requires full attention to the content while passive immersion is when you're listening to the target language while doing something else.",
    "url":"whats-immersion.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's input and output?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When we say input or immersion, we mean any form of listening or reading in the target language. When we say output, we mean writing or speaking in the target language. To begin to output we first need to acquire the language through input. Output ability is the result of subconscious acquisition, and this acquisition happens by comprehending input, AKA, speech and text, in your target language (this is known as the input hypothesis).",
    "url":"whats-input-and-output.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"When and how to go about dropping the SRS?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"We don't recommend stopping using the SRS completely, even after you make it. If you stop using the SRS, you'll notice that you have forgotten many things here and there that you used to know. Maybe you would still like to remember them because you could use them yourself in your output. If a word is rare enough, you'd be unable to maintain it in your memory only through immersion. This is assuming you don't hone your immersion to the language domain where the word appears more frequently. A few minutes of SRSing each day is a hundred times better than no SRSing at all. If you feel overwhelmed, try to reduce the time spent SRSing by deleting or suspending cards with very large intervals and deleting or suspending easy cards containing basic vocabulary that you may have made when you just started learning your target language. In Japanese that would be words like 私, 走る, 月曜日, etc. As you progress, you slowly approach a point where your vocabulary is large enough that it becomes challenging to find unknown words. Reaching this point helps you naturally reduce the number of new cards you add per day. You can also reduce the number of new cards you learn each day to a certain number in Anki's settings.",
    "url":"when-and-how-to-go-about-dropping-the-srs.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"When do I make a card, and when do I just keep going?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"With some rare exceptions, you always make a card. When you find a new word, without a card you can't be sure that you won't forget it the second you close a dictionary. If you create a card, it doesn't mean you have to learn it. I have new cards per day set to 0 and learn the cards I select manually from my sentence bank. Whether to learn the mined card depends on your current level. Beginners should focus on learning common words. There are various tips to achieve that. Using frequency lists. Frequency lists are not perfect, but they give you a rough idea of how useful a word is. Don't mine the word if it has no frequency data. If the word is found in a frequency list, mine it. If you want to be strict, mine a word if its frequency is high enough. Learning only the words that you have encountered at least once before but haven't memorized. When you see an unknown word, check if you already have it in your Anki deck. If you have a card, but the card is still new, learn it now. As you progress, these tips help less and less. Frequency lists become inaccurate very fast. You need more specific lists. After just the first ~1000 words on a list, the frequency of the words begins to vary significantly depending on the specific sources from which the list was created. If a word has high frequency according to a list, you might still rarely see it in your immersion. Words you learn are not common anymore, and it takes a long time to encounter each word twice. Some words come up maybe once or twice a year. Making cards doesn't take as much effort as it used to in 2010, so it's easy to make a card just in case even if you won't need it. With Rikaitan you can press the + button and continue reading. In GoldenDict you can use the context menu and click \"send to Anki\". In mpv with mpvacious you press Ctrl+N. Advanced learners definitely don't need any excuses to make a card. In my experience, after reaching a certain point I quickly stopped caring about frequency lists or anything else. I started mining everything that simply looked interesting. If you're feeling lazy then just don't mine, as long as it's not your permanent state. Immersion learning is not math, you're not going to get a bad grade if you don't learn something. If the word is important, it will come up again. The \"always make a card\" approach is better than having to decide every time. It comes with only two downsides. You have to clean your Anki collection from cards that proved to be unnecessary. To do that, you can filter new notes by their creation date. For example, type is:new -added:365 to see cards that were added more than one year ago but haven't been learned. If you're a beginner, having to save everything could be too tedious. When there's a new word in every sentence, no technology can help you overcome the initial struggle. If you are stuck and don't want to pause your immersion, let it go. This won't be a big problem once you get more advanced, but for the time being, decide to mine no more than 10-30 cards a day, for example.",
    "url":"when-do-i-make-a-card-and-when-do-i-just-keep-going.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"When should I change my devices to Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When you can read Japanese comfortably. Not when you're still a total beginner because it will just make everything harder. But you want to do it sooner for additional Japanese gains. It will increase the time you spend with your target language. User interfaces use a limited range of relatively specific vocabulary. If you want to speed things up, frontload the vocabulary before switching your devices. Here I have a list of sentences ripped from Android's system UI. Go through the list and use Rikaitan to make targeted sentence cards for words you don't know.",
    "url":"when-should-i-change-my-devices-to-japanese.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"When should I make the monolingual transition?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Once you reach ~2000 TSCs that you mined yourself. Premade ones don't count. Or if you know at least ~3,000 words total. The longer you wait, the easier it becomes. And the earlier you make the transition, the more difficult it will be. One of the requirements for going monolingual is learning defining vocabulary, or words that appear frequently inside monolingual definitions but aren't common otherwise. Chances are, if you go monolingual later, you won't have to learn so many of them because you'll have learned them from your immersion. It's very rare for a word in one language to have an exact, one-to-one correlate in another language. Thus, when you learn a word using a bilingual dictionary, by creating an association between it and a similar word in your native language you gain a slightly incorrect understanding of it. If you don't switch to monolingual dictionaries, you'll have to keep correcting the misunderstandings through immersion, which is a process that takes time. No one guarantees that through immersion alone you can undo all false associations.",
    "url":"when-should-i-make-the-monolingual-transition.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Who can teach me Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No one can. You have to do it yourself. Languages can only be acquired through massive amounts of watching, listening and reading. Now you must be excited because you don't have to hire a teacher or go to classes. You can do everything by yourself, at home.",
    "url":"who-can-teach-me-japanese.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why does premature reading cripple phonetic awareness?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Native speakers absorb language subconsciously through constant exposure, whereas non-native learners often rely on reading and analyzing sentences when acquiring their target language. Premature reading can interfere with developing a native-like understanding of the language, and it can harm phonetic awareness and negatively affect your pronunciation. This article explores how premature reading can limit your ability to internalize phonetics, and why balancing listening and reading is crucial for mastering any language.",
    "url":"why-does-premature-reading-cripple-phonetic-awareness.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Impact of Reading on Perception",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Native speakers process language on a subconscious level, so it's only logical that the best way to learn a language is through immersion. When people read, they inevitably analyze the language. They can go at their own pace, taking time to process and think about every word. Consequently, when you learn through reading, you engage entirely different parts of your brain compared to those of native speakers. Essentially, you end up learning not the language itself, but rather how to translate it into your own mental model, a sort of mathematical formula defined by words and grammatical rules. Once your brain gets used to understanding language through this analytical lens, there's no going back. It's hard to revert to the natural intuitive processing that native speakers use. At best, you might be able to train yourself to a point where it becomes automatic, but the experience will still differ from the natural perception of a native speaker who learns to read years after acquiring the language.",
    "url":"why-does-premature-reading-cripple-phonetic-awareness.html#the-impact-of-reading-on-perception",
    "parent":"Why does premature reading cripple phonetic awareness?"
  },
  {
    "title":"How Spoken and Written Language Differ",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Consider, for example, how things are said in English. In casual speech, natives often use contractions or altered forms that aren't reflected in their writing. For instance, instead of saying \"let me,\" they might say \"lemme\". \"Going to\" often becomes \"gonna\", and \"want to\" might sound like \"wanna.\" In writing, native speakers make mistakes that no second-language speaker would make, such as writing \"their\" instead of \"they're\" because they sound alike. When natives speak, their speech flows continuously with no clear boundaries between words. There's no telling where one word ends and another word starts. Everything is connected. In contrast, second-language speakers, who rely on reading to learn a language, perceive the language through its written form, and it influences how they hear and speak it. When they listen to spoken language, their brains map what they hear to an internal text-like representation. Consequently, when they speak, their output tends to be segmented, word-by-word, with noticeable pauses between words. These examples illustrate how native pronunciation diverges significantly from the written language because natives process language differently. Therefore, early reading can shape your perception of language in ways that prevent you from hearing, speaking, and thinking naturally.",
    "url":"why-does-premature-reading-cripple-phonetic-awareness.html#how-spoken-and-written-language-differ",
    "parent":"Why does premature reading cripple phonetic awareness?"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Impact of Reading on Pronunciation",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Reading, along with the use of text-based flashcards and dictionaries, leads to subvocalization. In other words, the act of reading activates the muscles in your throat. If you have not yet developed a solid, intuitive understanding of the phonetics of your target language (TL) through listening, your subvocalization during reading will be incorrect and foreign. This is akin to deliberately practicing poor pronunciation. Premature reading fosters bad pronunciation habits and negatively influences how you perceive spoken language. Undoing these habits later is much more challenging than avoiding them in the first place. It may take thousands of hours of listening practice, pronunciation training, and extensive study of phonetics and pitch accent.",
    "url":"why-does-premature-reading-cripple-phonetic-awareness.html#the-impact-of-reading-on-pronunciation",
    "parent":"Why does premature reading cripple phonetic awareness?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Prioritizing Listening Over Reading",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"At the start of your AJATT journey, focus more on listening than reading. Passive listening also counts toward your total listening hours. When you immerse with voiced text, like watching movies and TV shows with TL subtitles, it counts as reading practice. While reading might be difficult at first, it's not too hard to get good, and it's never too late to start. However, mastering listening and speaking is much harder. If your reading skills outpace your listening skills, your brain will become reading-dominant, which is nearly irreversible. It cripples you almost permanently. That said, relying solely on listening is more challenging and takes longer to achieve fluency. You have to rely entirely on sound to understand meaning. And this approach is nearly impossible to sell to beginners who often feel discouraged when they don't understand anything during immersion. Therefore, in AJATT, we must find a balance between listening and reading. Reading can accelerate language acquisition and achieving literacy. However, relying too much on reading will negatively impact your pitch accent and speaking skills. The most challenging decision you'll face is finding the right balance between listening and reading. For most learners, we recommend starting with media like anime and avoiding reading at first. Use text-based flashcards and dictionaries to learn sentences you hear while watching. Limit reading to only flashcards and dictionary lookups. Once you've built a solid foundation, you can gradually add reading materials like manga and novels. While some negative effects from reading are unavoidable, they can be minimized through pronunciation training and studying phonetics and pitch accent.",
    "url":"why-does-premature-reading-cripple-phonetic-awareness.html#prioritizing-listening-over-reading",
    "parent":"Why does premature reading cripple phonetic awareness?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Final Thoughts",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When you're just starting out with a new language, reading will have negative long-term effects on your perception and pronunciation in that language. The impact on perception affects the language flow, or how quickly and effortlessly you can construct sentences in your head compared to native speakers. The impact on pronunciation affects how you sound and how your pronunciation differs from that of native speakers. When learners rely heavily on written text before fully internalizing the language's sound system, they develop bad pronunciation. If you're learning your target language primarily to enjoy content, such as reading light novels or watching anime, and you don't plan to live in a country where the language is spoken or speak with native speakers, you don't need to worry too much about your accent or the balance between listening and reading. In this case, feel free to immerse in any content you enjoy. However, if you aim for perfect pronunciation, consider delaying reading until you can understand the TL through sound alone. This approach can help you develop a more native-like linguistic intuition.",
    "url":"why-does-premature-reading-cripple-phonetic-awareness.html#final-thoughts",
    "parent":"Why does premature reading cripple phonetic awareness?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why should I avoid Discord, Reddit, 4chan, etc.?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"People reading this site most likely want to find a good community to talk about learning languages. The good news is that we already have our own. Related: Forum Classification Project.",
    "url":"why-should-i-avoid-discord-reddit-4chan-etc.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Discord",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Discord is substantially worse than any other messaging app. It's a proprietary spyware program. They call it \"Discord servers\" but that's a lie. You don't really have your own Discord server. It's not free software, you can't actually host it yourself and do anything, it's not serious. Most people there have no idea what they're saying, they don't know Japanese. It's gaymer trash.",
    "url":"why-should-i-avoid-discord-reddit-4chan-etc.html#discord",
    "parent":"Why should I avoid Discord, Reddit, 4chan, etc.?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reddit",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Recaptcha is required to register. Absolutely terrible privacy policy. People who don't know any Japanese. Requires JavaScript to function.",
    "url":"why-should-i-avoid-discord-reddit-4chan-etc.html#reddit",
    "parent":"Why should I avoid Discord, Reddit, 4chan, etc.?"
  },
  {
    "title":"4chan",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Has Cloudflare. Blocks TOR, VPN and proxies. Requires JavaScript to function.",
    "url":"why-should-i-avoid-discord-reddit-4chan-etc.html#4chan",
    "parent":"Why should I avoid Discord, Reddit, 4chan, etc.?"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is the technique of \"laddering\" helpful when learning a new language?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Laddering is when you learn a new language by using resources in the previous language you have studied. For example, when you use your second language (L2) to learn your third language (L3) instead of using your native language to learn any new language. Khatz talked about laddering on the old AJATT site. That's how I learned Japanese. I exclusively used resources in my L2 (English). If you have learned English as a foreign language, and you want to learn Japanese, you should definitely use English resources to do that. English has many good resources for learning languages. I wouldn't recommend using your L2 just because it's your L2. Use the language that has the best resources. Usually, but not necessarily, it's the closest language to your target language (TL). For example, you can use Korean resources to learn Japanese or Russian resources to learn Ukrainian, assuming you know those languages of course. The idea is that the closer a language is to the target language, the more accurate it can be at describing the target language. Another point is that if you keep using L2 resources for the sake of laddering, it will slow you down. The best way to learn any language is by using resources made in the language itself. Go monolingual as soon as possible by switching to resources and dictionaries made for native speakers of the target language. Until you go monolingual, when looking up a word, reading bilingual definitions in several languages will give you a much better understanding than reading a dictionary in just one language because in each language there will be a slightly different translation of the word. When you fuse all the angles together, you get a more comprehensive view of the word. Laddering is often presented as a tool for maintaining your L2, but it does a very poor job of doing so. The only time you are going to be contacting your L2 is when you look up a word, and when you read a grammar guide. When you're learning a language through input, all your time is spent immersing, you're not spending that much time with the base language. After you go monolingual, you completely stop getting exposure to the L2. To summarize, when applied literally, laddering is rarely helpful unless your L2 is closer to your L3 than your native language. It is more helpful to use all your languages to find the best resources.",
    "url":"what-is-your-opinion-on-laddering.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What Japanese documentaries do you recommend?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"See Documentaries.",
    "url":"what-japanese-documentaries-do-you-recommend.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What do you think of \"animecards\" (high quality vocab cards)?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"When people say \"animecards\" or \"high quality vocabulary cards\", they mean WCCs. WCCs contain the same information as TSCs, but the information is ordered differently. There's only the target word on the front, other fields are shown on the back. WCCs have context — an example sentence, and it's shown on the back as well. The difference between WCCs and SWCs is that you have context which is shown on the back of a card. WCCs are designed with the intention of mining from anime and similar audio-visual sources. Often a WCC will contain a screenshot from the scene and an audio file with the example sentence said by a voice actor. SWCs and WCCs essentially test the user on the same information — a single word out of context. The extra info on the back of a WCC is only used for reference to explain usage of the word and is added so that when learning the card the user could form more vivid memories. Although this type of of cards might be preferable for certain people, my personal opinion is that TSCs are better than WCCs. I don't use WCCs in my studies. WCCs are harder than TSCs due to the lack of visible context. They place more mental burden on the user. WCCs can't fully protect from context-dependent memories, but it's fair to argue that the memories that you create are less likely to be context-dependent. Use-cases of WCCs overlap with SWCs, and making a SWC is often faster. There's maybe a slight benefit in time spent repping compared to TSCs, but they're pretty close. A lot of times when WCC users rely on a hint field, TSC users don't need any modifications. WCCs violate the practice how you play principle since most words in immersion do have context. When using the SRS ideally we want to replicate real life situations.",
    "url":"what-do-you-think-of-animecards.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What do you think of the Core 6K deck? Is it a good replacement for the Tango decks?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Core 6K is a part of Core 10K. Download Core 10K if you want Core 6K to get the extra cards. You don't need to \"replace\" Tango decks with anything. Try both decks, see which you like more. Core 10K and Tango are quite similar. Both are TSC decks with vocabulary and sentences voiced by a native speaker. You can get them from here. I recommend Tango over Core10k. In Tango the sentences are a little more natural, and the presented vocabulary looks more useful in everyday life. Tango decks have you learn the cards in the 1T order, even though it's not always perfect. Core cards don't follow the 1T principle at all.",
    "url":"what-do-you-think-of-the-core-6k-deck.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What do you think of using MCDs to train production?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"MCD is the card format Khatzumoto came up with in 2012 or so. On an MCD you have a large chunk of text, spanning multiple sentences, on the front of the card. There's one word hidden. Your task is to recall the word. You don't have to read the whole text to do that, just enough to be able to recall the word. Essentially they are just cloze cards, with the emphasis put on having a whole paragraph of text on the front. Because MCDs require active recall, they can certainly be used to train production. When it comes to writing practice in particular, they should work. But I think MCDs are not the best for training production. When using cloze cards for language learning, there is always an infinite number of answers for any given \"fill in the blank\" question. For this reason cloze cards stop working once the intervals grow big enough. You either memorize the card itself, and your mind goes, \"oh, it's that card, so the answer should be this.\" Or you just guess the word that goes in the blank. So I can't imagine a good application for MCDs and cloze cards in general when learning languages. If you want to practice writing, do production TSCs. On a production TSC you have the desired word spelled in kana, and your goal is to write the kanji version. Having context helps you tell apart words that sound the same, and you can't put in a wrong word. If you want to practice speaking, flashcards aren't really used for this, or at least they're not effective. Instead people rely on getting massive amounts of input, imitation exercises, writing essays.",
    "url":"what-do-you-think-of-using-mcds-to-train-production.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What good things are there to watch for a complete beginner?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Slice of life shows. You can categorize content in your target language by domains of interest. The easiest domains to start with are children's shows, slice of life and romance anime. Because TV programs for kids often have very little dialogue and overly simplified language, most people skip them in favor of slice of life and romance anime. Gradually, they expand to other anime genres until they can comfortably handle a wide variety of content and understand it. To find beginner-friendly anime, try searching on MAL. Exclude more complex genres (like mystery or sci-fi) to avoid running into shows that might be too difficult. Search: Search slice of life anime. Search romance anime. Easy genres: Sort results by members or score. For any given anime check the full list of genres to make sure that more difficult genres aren't included. All CGDCT anime. All Romance anime. All School anime.",
    "url":"what-good-things-are-there-to-watch-for-a-complete-beginner.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is a 1T sentence?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"A 1T (one-target) sentence is a sentence that contains only one word or grammar structure that you don't know. For a more detailed explanation see this article.",
    "url":"what-is-a-1t-sentence.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is the anime you mined the most?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The first season of Steins;Gate, simply because it was the first anime I mined.",
    "url":"what-is-the-anime-you-mined-the-most.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is the minimum to maintain fluency?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Depends. The minimum to maintain fluency is highly individual, it depends on your current level. To maintain fluency, continue immersing as frequently as you can. The longer you have studied Japanese, the longer you can maintain your ability without much immersion. If you've studied your target language for many years, you can even last multiple months. The two easiest things you should to to maintain your ability are keeping up with your SRS reps and immersing passively. The SRS doesn't take up much time. In maintenance mode you're not adding any new cards so the number of due cards each day will be getting lower. Passive immersion is practically free, it doesn't take any extra time at all. Then you should do at least some active immersion, and the exact amount of time is going to depend on how long you've been studying your TL prior to going into maintenance mode. I would say at least an hour a day is necessary.",
    "url":"what-is-the-minimum-to-maintain-fluency.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is the カ゚ symbol I see in dictionaries?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"See this page. This is called 鼻濁音.",
    "url":"what-is-the-gna-symbol-i-see-in-dictionaries.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What operating system do you use?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"On my desktop and laptop, I use the GNU operating system with linux-hardened. And the distribution of GNU that I use is Arch Linux. On mobile, I use LineageOS without Google Apps and install applications from NeoStore or from F-Droid.",
    "url":"what-operating-system-do-you-use.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's AJATT?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"AJATT stands for All Japanese All The Time. It is a method of reaching fluency in Japanese in a relatively short period of time. It encourages doing as much Japanese as you can every day, immersing yourself in the language and culture of Japan without having to travel to the country, take classes, use outdated and boring textbooks, or spend any money. Essentially, this means that the shortest path to fluency is to integrate Japanese into your daily life with the help of the Internet and modern technology. The AJATT method primarily involves learning the language through a combination of reading and listening. This could include watching Japanese movies and TV shows, as well as reading Japanese books and manga. The method emphasizes that fun and learning go hand in hand, that Japanese should not feel like \"work\" or \"study.\" Enjoying the learning process is absolutely essential. If the process is not fun, one should either stop or figure a way to make it fun. Key aspects of AJATT include Stephen Krashen's Input Hypothesis, the use of SRS to help remember new words and phrases, learning kanji through the JP1K method, the focus on learning sentences instead of isolated vocabulary and grammar, and the use of TSC. AJATT was also influenced by Antimoon, another input-based language learning method. While Antimoon focuses on learning English, AJATT mostly revolves around Japanese. However, the principles can be adapted for learning any language by replacing the Japanese-specific elements. AJATT was created by a person named Khatzumoto in 2006. Following Khatzumoto's retirement in 2023, Tatsumoto took the reins as his successor and now governs the guidelines and structure of the AJATT method. Here on this site and within our community, we not only teach the AJATT method, but also continue to refine and enhance it. Over the years, we have developed new ideas that have not been discussed elsewhere and created tools that make language learning easier. Our goal is to share AJATT's insights with a broader audience while consistently updating and improving the method. As Khatzumoto once said, AJATT does not remain static. It is flexible and should evolve. Therefore, we are excited to continue his work. To start learning with the AJATT method, read our Table of Contents.",
    "url":"whats-ajatt.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's fluency?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Fluency is when you understand at least 98% of your immersion. For example, a typical episode of anime contains 300-400 lines of dialogue. If you watch the episode and encounter only 7-8 or less unknown words, you can call yourself fluent. Your level of comprehension depends on the domain of interest. If you are not a mathematician, watching a lecture on mathematics may result in a lower percentage of understanding of the material, until you learn what you don't know. But, if you have a near-perfect comprehension of everyday speech, anime and dramas, comic books, then that is considered fluent. In other words, fluency means being comfortable living your life completely immersed in another language.",
    "url":"whats-fluency.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Top 10 anime of all time?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita Mitsuboshi Colors Yuru Yuri Adachi to Shimamura Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka Gabriel DropOut Machikado Mazoku Comic Girls Kiniro Mosaic Ichigo Mashimaro Just off the top of my head. The order doesn't imply anything.",
    "url":"top-10-anime-of-all-time.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Watching raw or watching with Japanese subs?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Both have their advantages. When you watch with Japanese subs, you train your reading comprehension. When you watch raw, you train your listening comprehension. Try to balance the two. No matter what you choose, it is important that you watch raw at least some of the time. If you always watch with subs, your listening ability won't be improving. I like the idea of watching raw and only turning the subs on when you don't understand something.",
    "url":"watching-raw-or-watching-with-japanese-subs.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What about reading physical books?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I don't recommend reading physical books because usually they're not free, and they're harder to mine from. Almost all digital books are free, and while reading a digital book you can easily look up words in a dictionary which is a great advantage.",
    "url":"what-about-reading-physical-books.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are the AJATT recommended Anki settings?",
    "tags":[
      "faq",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This page has all the recommended Anki settings laid out for you.",
    "url":"what-are-the-ajatt-recommended-anki-settings.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are the downsides of using WaniKani?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"TL,DR: Instead of Wanikani do this. WaniKani is inspired by Remembering the Kanji. Similarly to RTK, in WaniKani kanji are presented in an efficient order, and mnemonics are employed to aid memorization. The pros end here. Let's list the cons. The mnemonics are pre-made. WaniKani doesn't let you write your own stories. Other systems like KanjiDamage use prebuilt mnemonics as well, but while you're going through a KanjiDamage deck, you can change them to your own personal, vivid mnemonics if the ones given to you are not sticking or you simply don't like the stories. RTK encourages you to create your own mnemonics. Personal mnemonic visualizations tend to improve learning and recall compared to premade ones. It forces you to use it's personal built-in SRS. The fact that you can't use Anki with WaniKani is a huge downside. Note that on the Internet you can find third-party Anki decks ripped from WaniKani. If you want to try WaniKani, download them instead of using the site and paying for it. They should be easy to found on AnkiWeb or other places. It's a paid service. It costs money. It also means that if you want to keep reviewing so that you don't forget what you've already learned then you have to keep paying which is pretty lame. Learning Japanese from the zero to fluency without spending any money is the main idea that stands at the core of our method and this site. I cannot approve of things that contradict it. It makes you learn isolated kanji readings and vocab out of context. Learning a bunch of similar information at the same time out of context is a recipe for memory interference. WaniKani users end up being unable to read kanji with multiple readings. On top of that, this sort of knowledge is impractical because in Japanese kanji are always used to write words. You either know in advance how to read an entire word or you can never guess with 100% certainty based on readings learned out of context. If you decide to learn kanji out of context, it is more efficient to create a mental dictionary entry for each character by only learning its meaning so that extensive knowledge of readings and meanings can then be easily gained intuitively through context. WaniKani's built-in SRS never has you write out kanji from memory, it only has you recall the meaning given the kanji. Anki lets you easily create production cards to train writing out kanji if you wish to do so. You are forced to go through WaniKani at a snail's pace. Apparently if you learn as fast as the WaniKani system lets you it will take you around 18 months to get through the most common 2,000 kanji. On the other hand, it takes less than 3 months to get through KanjiDamage or Remembering The Kanji. Isolated kanji study is outdated. Today there's the JP1K method which is built around the idea of learning Japanese words from the beginning. When studying kanji out of context you have to learn English keywords, and that's never going to be as efficient as learning words.",
    "url":"what-are-the-downsides-of-using-wanikani.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are your current thoughts on removing cards once they pass a certain interval?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"The idea of removing (or suspending) cards once they reach a certain interval is harmful, especially if the interval is relatively short. Once you delete a card, you can't be sure that you will be able retrieve the information when you need it. I would speculate that this idea was born in an attempt to lower the review load caused by using sentence cards. Sentence cards take longer to review compared to other card types. In order to lower review load people suspend older cards and only spend time on relatively young cards. Instead of sentence cards I recommend using targeted sentence cards because they allow you to take shortcuts and review faster. It's alright to suspend or delete cards once they reach obscene intervals like 10-15 years. To find such cards, you can open the Anki Browser and type prop:ivl>3650. The number 3650 corresponds to card's interval in days. For more details see Card retirement. Several Anki add-ons have been created to retire old cards automatically. They interfere with Anki's scheduler and have been reported corrupting users' Anki profiles.",
    "url":"thoughts-on-removing-cards-once-they-pass-a-certain-interval.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are your plans regarding moving to Japan?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"As of now, I don't want to move to Japan. Many Japanese people are very xenophobic, and you can't overlook that. Plus, I don't look Asian, and I don't want to stand out.",
    "url":"what-are-your-plans-regarding-moving-to-japan.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are your thoughts on timeboxing?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"For those who don't know Timeboxing is a time management technique that helps improve productivity and overcome procrastination. To put it in a nutshell, instead of committing to a task until it's finished, you decide how long you're going to work on it. You set a timer and start working. When the timer rings, you take a break. Then the cycle repeats. Ever since I found out about timeboxing from the AJATT site, I've been doing it often. I usually stick to a simple Pomodoro routine, but sometimes I use shorter intervals. In language learning, timeboxing can be applied almost everywhere. It is most useful when there's a large number of SRS reviews to complete since those can be kind of boring. One can also use timeboxing to divide time when reading novels, manga, watching long TV shows or movies, or just as a general productivity tool. I think a physical device, e.g., a kitchen timer, would be nice for timeboxing, but since I currently don't have one, I use a Bash script instead. To learn more, read my article about timeboxing.",
    "url":"what-are-your-thoughts-on-timeboxing.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What do you do for fun, related and unrelated to Japanese?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Watch anime, read manga. I also make sure to spend some time immersing in English, to maintain it. It's both beneficial and fun.",
    "url":"what-do-you-do-for-fun.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"What do you think about graded readers?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"I think they're still in use because people are scared to leave their comfort zone, not because they are magically effective. Most creators of language learning materials have never learned a foreign language to a high level and don't understand the mechanics of language acquisition. I never used graded readers or any learner's materials in my Japanese studies besides a basic grammar guide. Nor did I use them when learning English. By immersing in real authentic content I was able to reach a point of being able to read Japanese novels quite comfortably within 2 years. Thus, it's hard for me to buy into the idea of things like \"graded readers\". I know from experience that you can learn from materials for natives from the beginning. Graded readers are dumbed down for the sake of a learner, and thus do not teach you the real language. They can never be as exciting as understanding something that was meant for real native speakers. AJATT is about reading stuff made for natives. If you're a beginner, watch anime with Japanese subtitles to learn the basics of reading. Then start reading simple manga, and then finally jump into reading real books. Another thing to consider is that there's a trap when people continue to read these oversimplified beginner resources forever, and they never make the move to authentic content. The reality is that you can't prepare for the challenge of reading a novel. No amount of graded readers can help you. We don't learn a language to read learner's texts, we learn it because we want to understand native texts. Don't lose the objective.",
    "url":"what-do-you-think-about-graded-readers.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I read Khatzumoto's blog?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"In my previous article, \"What's AJATT,\" I introduced the AJATT method, which was created by Khatzumoto in 2006. If you're interested in learning more about Khatzumoto's original ideas, you may want to read his blog. It can help answer some of your language learning questions. Khatzumoto was active from 2006 to 2010, during which time he wrote a series of articles that formed the bulk of the original Table Of Contents. Although the site disappeared from the Internet around 2023, you can still access the articles on archive.org. Not everything on the old AJATT site is particularly useful. Before diving into the archives, I recommend reading the new guide to ensure you're familiar with the latest version of the AJATT method. The method has evolved since Khatzumoto left, and it's important to be aware of the new approach before learning about the old ways. Once you're ready, focus on the AJATT Table of Contents and ignore everything outside of it. I also recommend exploring the older version which contains less junk. The latest available version of the old AJATT blog is a mess. Although AJATT began as a free blog, the articles outside the Table Of Contents are cluttered with ads for Khatzumoto's language learning products. They are frankly just useless junk of questionable quality. There are free (and libre) alternatives available. Therefore, reading only the Table Of Contents should suffice.",
    "url":"should-i-read-the-ajatt-site.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Thoughts on reading before listening?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Reading is very powerful, but it harms you if you don't have enough phonetic awareness. If I were starting today, I would keep reading at a minimum for the first year. In this guide we try to balance listening and reading to accelerate progress without sacrificing listening abilities too much. It is recommended to avoid reading for the first year in order to allow listening abilities to mature. Therefore, active immersion mainly consists of watching anime, dramas, movies, etc. Afterwards audio tracks are extracted from the video files and reused for passive immersion. A limited amount of reading is necessary to grow one's vocabulary. Target language subtitles are used to look up unknown words, but are best kept disabled, hidden for the most part of the playback. Text-based flashcards are used to aid in memorization since audio-based flashcards don't work very well. By listening to the language as much as possible, preferably all the time, the adverse effects of premature reading are minimized. What's more, by reading subtitles and reviewing text-based flashcards in the SRS one can learn kanji and prime themselves for reading real texts later on. In Japanese literacy is impossible without knowing kanji, and we have to address that.",
    "url":"thoughts-on-reading-before-listening.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I buy a Kindle to read Japanese books?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"No, please! If you already have one, get rid of it. Amazon Swindle is a malicious device designed to handcuff you. Read the following: https://stallman.org/amazon.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/ebooks-must-increase-freedom.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html https://www.defectivebydesign.org/amazon-kindle-swindle There are good software alternatives for reading books listed here. If you need a physical device, obtain one running GNU/Linux or Android. PineNote has been suggested for an e-reader that respects your freedom.",
    "url":"should-i-buy-a-kindle-to-read-japanese-books.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Itazuraneko recommends reading Yotsubato with a specific reading pack. Is that still a good way to get started with reading?",
    "tags":[
      "faq"
    ],
    "body":"Yotsubato is often recommended as a \"beginner manga\". While Yotsubato is relatively simple compared to many other manga, it includes a lot of colloquial speech, slang, slurred speech, sentence endings, and grammar that can drive beginners crazy. The vocabulary in the manga is undoubtedly basic, and there aren't many words, but it's not the vocabulary that trips people up. I've seen countless questions like, \"What does this line in Yotsubato mean?\" When reading the manga, people often get so confused, they can't find unknown phrases anywhere in grammar books or dictionaries, leaving them with no choice but to beg other learners for explanations on forums. This is not what beginner material should do to you. Second, Itazuraneko recommends reading Yotsubato very early on, before you've had a chance to get used to the sounds of Japanese. Since there's no audio, you won't know how Japanese speakers pronounce what you're reading. Reading anything without accompanying audio at this stage is a recipe for failure and is going to negatively impact your listening ability. As a result you're wasting hours trying to read a single page, and you're reading with a thick foreign accent in your head. From day one, listen a lot. Listen all the time. Immerse both passively and actively in voiced Japanese media to train your ears. Complete Ankidrone Foundation. It contains natural, correct, and easy to understand sentences with clear native audio. Before starting to read manga, watch lots of anime with Japanese subtitles. Reading along with audio is easier and should serve as training wheels to prepare you for reading without audio. The general rule of thumb is to improve your comprehension using anime before moving on to manga. After you've done that, feel free to go back and read Yotsubato if you want. Although I personally would choose some other manga, I don't find Yotsubato particularly interesting. As with anime, it is recommended to start with slice-of-life as your first domain and then gradually move on to other domains that feature more complex language as you gain proficiency in Japanese. You also need to set up OCR to make it easy to select text and look up unknown words in manga.",
    "url":"yotsubato-reading-pack.html",
    "date":"2022-10-26"
  },
  {
    "title":"Plumbing for language learners",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In this article let's talk about passing text between applications. Usually people simply select and copy-paste text from one window to the other, but there's a way to make it faster by using the concept of plumbing. Plumbing is something that can make using a computer so much more convenient and fast. I think everybody should use it.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html",
    "date":"2022-09-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is plumbing",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Plumbing is a style of passing messages between applications. Usually it works as follows. You can select a piece of text with your mouse and call a plumber program. Depending on what the text is, the plumber will perform or suggest you different actions. For example: A URL opens a browser window. A file opens in a text editor. A name of a command invokes a man page. On GNU+Linux you can make a simple plumbing script in Bash, taking advantage of the fact that the primary selection always contains the last selected text. Bind the script to a key combination (like Mod+C). When you run it, it asks you what to do with the text stored in the primary selection. Then you can select an action to perform on the text. Among other things, the concept of plumbing can be used to help learn languages. When the user selects a word in a foreign language, it can be sent to a dictionary application or a site with definitions, example sentences, images or pronunciations. With a plumber you can do a lot of things faster and without having to assign dozens of extra keyboard shortcuts. Another way to understand plumbing is to look at Android's share menu. Android's Share menu makes it easy to pass information to any compatible app on your phone. The difference is that on Android you have to use a touch screen. On a GNU+Linux machine you operate a plumbing script using the keyboard.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#what-is-plumbing",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Demonstration",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Watch the video below. I select some text and press Mod+C to call the plumber. Using Rofi I can choose to send the selected text to various apps and websites. Video demonstration.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#demonstration",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"You can get an example plumber script from my dotfiles. The script is called cabl. If you're using my dotfiles, you already have it. To install cabl manually, save this file to ~/.local/bin. $ curl -o ~/.local/bin/cabl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tatsumoto-ren/dotfiles/main/.local/bin/i3cmds/cabl' Make sure the directory is added to the PATH and the file is executable.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#installation",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dependencies",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The script depends on: dmenu xclip xorg-xprop ffmpeg - optional task-spooler - optional Install dependencies: $ sudo pacman -S --needed dmenu xclip xorg-xprop If you use Rofi as a replacement for dmenu, you can add this script to the PATH to redirect dmenu calls to Rofi.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#dependencies",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Bind to a shortcut",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To add a keyboard shortcut, you can use options of your WM or DE. You can also use sxhkd. Here is a snippet from my ~/.config/i3/config showing how to bind cabl to a keyboard shortcut. # Run cabl bindsym $mod+c exec --no-startup-id cabl # Run cabl on clipboard contents bindsym $mod+Shift+v exec --no-startup-id cabl clip The first bind takes text from the primary selection. The last one takes text from the system clipboard.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#bind-to-a-shortcut",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"While doing anything on your computer, select some text and press Mod+C. A menu will appear asking you where to plumb the selected text. You can type or select options the same way you use any other dmenu prompt. If you press Mod+Shift+v, the script will read the content of the clipboard instead of the primary selection.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#usage",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Functions",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"This plumbing script has a number of useful features directed at language learners. add to impd - add selected URL to immersion pod, for example a YouTube video. ankisearch - Search text in your Anki collection. aozorasearch - Search text in Aozora Bunko novels, find example sentences. forvo - Find pronunciations on Forvo. webliosentences - Find sentences on Weblio. captionpop - Find sentences with audio on Captionpop. weblio - Search Weblio for a word's definition. kotobank - Search definitions on Kotobank. jisho - Search text on Jisho. massif - Search example sentences on Massif. nyaasearch - Find text on Nyaa. For example, if it's a name of a TV show. pronunciation - Search text on Forvo and add found audio file to the Anki collection. The audio's code is copied to the clipboard. qolibri - Launch qolibri and search for text. sakuraparis - Search definitions on Sakura-Paris. simplytranslate - Translate text with Simplytranslate. weblio - Search definitions on Weblio. webliosentences - Search example sentences on Weblio. wikipedia - Search text on Wikipedia. wiktionary - Search text on Wiktionary. youglish - Search text on Youglish. youreijp - Search example sentences on 用例. furiganainfo - Search text on Furiganainfo. Show different readings of a Japanese word. most common spelling - Find the most common spelling from a list of words separated by spaces, dots or commas. Use this when you don't know which is the most common way to write a specific word. This function requires my dotfiles to be installed. audiodl and youtubedl - download audio and video from YouTube (or Invidious).",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#functions",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Extra",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Luke Smith has made a video about plumbing. The original Bash script from the video is no longer available, but mine has all the same functionality plus more.",
    "url":"plumbing-for-language-learners.html#extra",
    "parent":"Plumbing for language learners"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mass immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"AJATT targets people who want to reach a high level in the language and truly become fluent. One of the most important parts of AJATT is immersing yourself in Japanese as close to 24 hours a day as possible, combining that with spaced repetition and other technology. Immersion is quite important, we already know that. Let's figure out how much immersion is necessary. Listening, listening, listening. Lots and lots of listening. Like, hundreds and thousands of hours of listening. — Khatz Traditional language learners think of Japanese as an activity that you do separate from the rest of your life. You have your life which is done in your native language and then you study Japanese for a certain amount of time. Once you're done, you go back to the world of your native language to do something else. But All Japanese All The Time says that Japanese is the ground. That is your life. You live your life in Japanese. You might take a break from that to do something in English or another language for a little, but as soon as you finish that, you go back to Japanese. Khatzumoto said that language is not a hotel, it's a home. You move into it. You don't just chill there for a week and go back to your old home. The mindset of taking any crack in your life and seeing that as an opportunity to study Japanese is at the core. If you adopt this mindset, almost all your time can be spent immersing. This is what leads to the most progress. People learn their native language because it's there. It's the only reason. They live in the language and absorb it. You don't have to choose what to do in Japanese and what to do in another language. There is only one option. There are countless opportunities to immerse throughout a day. If you lead a busy life, you can still find plenty of time when you're idling or waiting for something. Just take that to the extreme. You can do Japanese in the shower, as you're getting ready, while taking a walk, driving, going somewhere, cooking meals, on the bus, on the subway, while exercising, etc. No matter what type of lifestyle you have, you should be able to fit in multiple hours a day of immersion, mainly through listening. Fill every single crack in your life with Japanese. Every waking moment counts. Put your computer's operating system into Japanese. Only watch Japanese movies. Get the Japanese dubs of western shows you plan to watch. If you are learning about something, get a book about it in Japanese. Just do whatever you would be doing anyway, but do it in Japanese. Some people are averse to immersion because they don't understand Japanese yet. They decide to study more grammar and vocabulary to strengthen their understanding and some day finally be ready to start immersing. If you are considering putting aside immersion for later, think about the following. No one says, \"I'm going to stop using training wheels once I can ride without them\". You first take them off. But you often hear, \"I'm going to watch an anime without subtitles once I'm fluent.\" This makes no sense because the only way you're going to get fluent is through watching anime without subtitles. Start watching anime in Japanese from day one. Keep doing that, and you will get fluent. You don't learn a language, you acquire it, absorb it, get used to it. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Building a foundation in grammar and vocabulary through traditional study is extremely helpful, and this is what we are going to be doing a lot in the beginning, but study and immersion have to be done together. We all have jobs, go to school, or have something else we just can't do in Japanese. I believe these things are not obstacles to learning a foreign language. I started AJATT when I was in university, and my degree had nothing to do with Japanese. In fact, Japanese was kind of my way of taking a break from the studies. I just watched anime to chill after university, and I learned Japanese that way. Every day finish what you have to do, and come back to your Japanese home. Of course, there are people who just can't find the time. They say, \"Your method is wrong because I don't have enough time to do it\". No one claims that you should be able to master another language in a relatively short amount of time while working on it as a side project. Fluency is something you have to invest in. Getting fluent in Japanese takes around 10,000 hours. Most people don't put in even a fraction of that time or use very inefficient methods, that's why they never get good. Therefore, how many hours you immerse each day determines how fast you accomplish the goal. If you immerse 18 hours a day, it's going to take you 1.5 years to amass those 10,000 hours. Sometimes we call the first 10,000 hours \"hardcore phase\" because you are supposed to be cramming as much immersion as possible every day during that time. The more you expose yourself to the language, the better. It really just comes down to a matter of time. Immerse actively when you can. Immerse passively to compensate for those times when you are busy. Assuming you lead a normal lifestyle, spend maybe 3 to 6 hours a day actively doing something in Japanese whether that is reading a book, watching anime or a Japanese TV show, without subtitles or with Japanese subtitles. Of course you should do more if you have the time. Spend another hour or so reviewing flashcards. Keep Japanese playing in the background as much as possible while you are doing chores, homework, etc. Just do whatever you can to get to the ideal of 18 hours a day. The bottom line is that If you don't spend thousands of hours with the language, you're not going to get fluent in it.",
    "url":"mass-immersion.html",
    "date":"2022-08-31"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese locale",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A Locale is a set of information that most programs use for determining country and language specific settings. Since you're learning Japanese, generate and enable the Japanese locale on your system.",
    "url":"japanese-locale.html",
    "date":"2022-07-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Importance",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Setting up locale is a prerequisite to: Typing in Japanese. Installing and displaying Japanese fonts. Thus, this article comes first. The instructions are intended for systemd. If you happen to have a different init system, you may have to perform different commands or edit different files. Consult Gentoo Wiki or a similar resource.",
    "url":"japanese-locale.html#importance",
    "parent":"Japanese locale"
  },
  {
    "title":"Instructions",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Uncomment the languages you use in /etc/locale.gen by removing the #s from their corresponding lines. If the file is empty, you have to add the languages yourself. At least English and Japanese should be enabled. See the example below. en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 ja_JP.UTF-8 UTF-8 Don't forget to enable other languages you want to use. Then save the file and regenerate the locale. $ sudo locale-gen Finally, edit /etc/locale.conf and set the system locale. It doesn't have to be set to Japanese. LANG=en_US.UTF-8 If you set your system locale to Japanese, the system logs will also be in Japanese. This is not convenient because sometimes we need to search the web for a system error, for example. For such searches, English works best. If you want to set your computer to Japanese, do it for a local user instead of the whole system.",
    "url":"japanese-locale.html#instructions",
    "parent":"Japanese locale"
  },
  {
    "title":"Change local language",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Note: This step is for people who know at least some Japanese and can read it. Create or edit ~/.config/locale.conf. LANG=ja_JP.UTF-8 Set LANG for your shell as well, by editing environment variables. Add the following line: export LANG=ja_JP.UTF-8 If you are using a desktop environment, such as GNOME or KDE, its language settings may be overriding the settings in locale.conf. You have to change language via the GUI menus.",
    "url":"japanese-locale.html#change-local-language",
    "parent":"Japanese locale"
  },
  {
    "title":"See also",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Since this is a very low-level topic, the steps for your system may differ. On this page I mentioned what I did for my system running vanilla Arch Linux. Read Arch Wiki and Gentoo Wiki for further explanations.",
    "url":"japanese-locale.html#see-also",
    "parent":"Japanese locale"
  },
  {
    "title":"Condensing active immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Watching movies and TV shows counts towards active immersion and requires full attention to the content. We can apply a little optimization to condense active immersion. This small trick helps if you're watching something boring or if you're tight on time. As mentioned in the article about passive listening, you can increase the density of your immersion by creating condensed audio. To make a condensed audio file we extract all fragments where something was being said and combine them into a single file. As a result we get audio for the original show with all the blank spaces taken out. But what about active immersion? You can apply a similar technique while watching a video in mpv. By fast forwarding parts where no one is speaking you increase the density of your immersion. Needless to say, manually increasing the playback speed when no one's talking is annoying and tiresome. No one does that. However, with a user-script for mpv it can be done automatically. sub-transition is a user-script that allows automatically skipping parts of a video that don't contain any subtitles. Skipping is done by speeding up playback while no subtitles are present. In addition, it can pause video before the end or at the start of a subtitle line. For the script to work it is necessary to have an active subtitle track. Follow the instructions on GitHub to set it up. Download sub-transition comes with an OSD menu that lets you easily control options, save settings and toggle transitions. To open the menu, press shift+n. Press t to toggle transtions. Use the vim keys (h,j,k,l) to move through the settings list and change values. Press s to save the settings.",
    "url":"condensing-active-immersion.html",
    "date":"2022-06-24"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kana Anki decks",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kana"
    ],
    "body":"These Anki deck teach hiragana and katakana. There's a Recognition deck and a Production deck. The Recognition deck teaches how to read kana, the Production deck teaches how to write kana from memory.",
    "url":"kana-anki-decks.html",
    "date":"2022-06-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"Download",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kana"
    ],
    "body":"Both Anki decks are available in a shared folder linked below. Download",
    "url":"kana-anki-decks.html#download",
    "parent":"Kana Anki decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Recognition",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kana"
    ],
    "body":"This deck is intended for people who just started learning Japanese. Learning kana is one of the first steps you take. For more details, read Learning Kana In Two Days. An example card. How To Study: Recall the pronunciation of the kana character. Press \"Good\" if your guess is correct. Otherwise press \"Again\".",
    "url":"kana-anki-decks.html#recognition",
    "parent":"Kana Anki decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Production",
    "tags":[
      "decks",
      "kana"
    ],
    "body":"This deck is intended for people who already understand Japanese to an extent, and want to start learning how to write by hand. For more details, read Writing Japanese. An example card. How To Study: Recall how to write the kana character with correct stroke order. Write the character on a piece of paper. Press \"Good\" if your guess is correct. Otherwise press \"Again\".",
    "url":"kana-anki-decks.html#production",
    "parent":"Kana Anki decks"
  },
  {
    "title":"Matrix quickstart guide",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"This article is a user guide to Matrix. It also covers the most popular Matrix client program, Element. Note: Due to privacy concerns I no longer use Matrix. If you need a private means of communication, please look elsewhere.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html",
    "date":"2022-06-15"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is Matrix?",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Matrix is an internet chat protocol. You can message people personally or in group chats, send files, and use end-to-end encryption to secure your communications. Unlike Discord or Telegram, Matrix is federated. It consists of many servers, each server hosts Matrix accounts and chats. You make an account on a Matrix server, it talks to other Matrix servers on your behalf and sends the data to you. Email is an example of a federated protocol. On Matrix, usernames are referred to as MXIDs (Matrix IDs), chats as rooms, servers as homeservers. You can also group rooms together to form spaces. Matrix spaces behave like Discord \"servers\".",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#what-is-matrix",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why Matrix",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"There is a number of major advantages to Matrix that attract new users. Protection against jannies. If you pick a trusted homeserver or host one yourself, you won't lose your account or your chats. On Discord, it is not a rare thing for \"servers\" to get banned. As a result, you have to create a new one and invite the old members back. No one guarantees you won't be banned again. Although Matrix homeservers can ban rooms, they can't command other homeservers to do the same. A room exists as long as there's at least one homeserver that has not banned it. So much freedom. Every piece of the Matrix ecosystem is Free/Libre software. This guarantees that you're not running malware on your computer, and you know what the software is doing. Encryption. Encryption ensures that only you and the people you're talking to can read the content of the messages. Encryption is supported by many messengers, but in Matrix it is trustworthy and made easy to use. The message encryption system used by Matrix has been independently audited. Note that encryption may or may not be enabled by default depending on the client application and the homeserver you use. It is recommended to enable it when creating private rooms but leaving it disabled when creating public rooms. Public rooms can be read by anybody anyway. Large rooms start lagging if they are encrypted. All the usual features of messaging software. Group chats, direct messages, voice messages, voice and video calls, emoji and stickers, file and media sharing, etc.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#why-matrix",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Matrix rooms",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"All communications on Matrix happen through Matrix rooms. When you message someone directly, you also create a room, except it is tagged as direct in your account settings. When a new user joins a room, the room is copied to their homeserver. This action might take some time to complete. If the server already has got a copy of the room, the user joins immediately. Homeservers participate in rooms on behalf of their users. Since each server has a copy of the room, this creates redundancy. While at least two different homeservers participate in a room, the room stays alive even if one of the servers goes offline. When the last participant on a particular homeserver leaves a room, the room is supposed to be deleted from the homeserver. When the very last participant leaves the room, it becomes inaccessible and no one can join it ever again. Homeservers can shut down (ban) rooms. If you try to join a banned room, you get an error saying, \"This room has been blocked on this server.\" This indicates that you should ditch your current homeserver because it is run by control freaks. Room admins can blocklist homeservers. If you try to join a room that has blocklisted your homeserver, you get an error saying, \"Server is banned from room.\" This indicates that you need a new account on another homeserver to join the room. Rooms have versions. When creating a new room, you want to pick the latest version to get all the possible features. The room's version can't be changed in the future, but the room can be upgraded to a newer version. Upgrading creates a new room with the same name and links the old room to the new room.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#matrix-rooms",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Matrix spaces",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"A Matrix space is a special room that contains references to other rooms. When a user enters a space, they see its description and a list of rooms to join. Spaces may reside inside other spaces. A room can belong to more than one space. Car parts (space) Wheels Engine Seats Windows Normally you don't send messages to a space. Spaces only act as collections of other rooms.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#matrix-spaces",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Matrix accounts",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"You create your account on a server. The server stores all the data about your account. It also stores all your rooms and their message history. When you register a new account, a homeserver may ask your Email address and/or a phone number. The server's admin can see this data, for extra privacy you want to find a homeserver that doesn't ask for it. Unlike Matrix rooms, there's no redundancy to Matrix accounts. If you think that your homeserver may go offline at some point or ban you, keep a second account (an alt) registered on a different homeserver. At some point Matrix may become more independent of homeservers and allow the users to keep their account data locally. Until then keep in mind that homeservers can die unexpectedly and take accounts with them.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#matrix-accounts",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Install a client program",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"To talk on Matrix you need any Matrix client. All Matrix clients are listed on Arch Wiki. If you are a phone poster, open F-droid and search for Matrix clients. Usually people install Element or Fluffychat. Nheko often requires this fix.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#install-a-client-program",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Choose homeserver",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"See List of Matrix servers. If you have your own site, you can host a Matrix server on it. If not, pick a server that has open registration. Never use matrix.org for anything other than trolling purposes, and be aware that matrix.org admins will sell your data to Israel.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#choose-homeserver",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Running Element locally",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Element-Desktop is built with Electron. You may not like it because it runs in a separate browser instance, takes too much time to start and consumes a lot of RAM. Unable to bear that, you could switch to another popular client. Alternatively, you can run Element in your browser. The easiest way to do it is to open an instance someone else has set up. However, you may not want to do that either, because: Your homeserver doesn't have in-house Element. Connecting to a remote instance is slow. You don't trust another third-party. The solution is to serve Element locally with a web-server and access it in a web browser. You'll need: Any web server, like nginx. I use darkhttpd. element-web. If you already have element-desktop installed, you automatically have element-web. The final part is to run the server and open Element in your web browser. darkhttpd /usr/share/webapps/element --port 8000 --addr 127.0.0.1 --daemon --log /dev/null Now go to http://127.0.0.1:8000/ and sign in to your account. I have written a little script to quickly start and stop a local instance of element-web. Caveats. element-web doesn't work well with uMatrix. uMatrix blocks third-party connections, so you have to unblock your homeserver's URL. It won't even start unless you block the default homeserver (set in /etc/element/config.json). If you like trying out different homeservers, this quickly becomes annoying. Certain features of Element rely on the ability to copy or paste content to the system clipboard with JavaScript. If you use Firefox or its derivative, you may have to set dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled to true to upload images and media files stored in the clipboard and dom.allow_cut_copy to true to copy room links to the clipboard.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#running-element-locally",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Configuring Element",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Element has a Settings menu. Unfortunately, there are some settings that can't be accessed without altering the config file. If you're running element-web locally, edit /etc/element/config.json. If you're running element-desktop (the electron app), create or edit ~/.config/Element/config.json. Create the file if it doesn't exist yet. In the config file, enable \"Labs\" to access the hidden settings. { \"showLabsSettings\": true } After you restart Element, the Labs will appear in Settings. Labs in Settings. Inside Labs, I recommend enabling the following. Message Pinning. It lets you see pinned messages in rooms. Threaded messaging. Lets you access threads inside rooms. A thread is a sub-timeline where people can talk independently of the main timeline. Developer mode. Makes it easier to access certain things. Show hidden events in timeline. Further configuration. A documentation for Labs features can be found here. There are way more things you can alter in config.json, see this page for the list of settings. You can also snitch a config file from an existing instance. For example, like this. # curl 'https://element.midov.pl/element/config.json' -o '/etc/element/config.json' Every public instance of Element has its own config file.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#configuring-element",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Multi-accounting",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"If you want to use multiple different accounts at the same time, try the following options. Element-desktop supports multiple profiles. This is how you can start a new profile. $ element-desktop --profile \"profile-name\" You can have multiple container tabs in Firefox each running Element. Ferdium. A desktop app that helps you combine various services into one application. It is based on Chromium and is rather bloated (over 300 MiB after installation).",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#multi-accounting",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Joining rooms",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"To join a room you can click on a room link if someone has shared it with you or accept an invitation if someone has invited you.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#joining-rooms",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Finding rooms and spaces",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"There's a built-in way to find public rooms. Open Element and press \"Explore rooms\". Some spaces are listed there as well. The public directory of matrix.org can be accessed without registration here https://view.matrix.org/ To find more Matrix rooms, you can search matrix.to/#/ links on 4chan. 4chan find archived.moe desuarchive arch.b4k.co and other similar indexes.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#finding-rooms-and-spaces",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"There was an error joining the room",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"If you're trying to join a new room and keep constantly getting \"There was an error joining the room\", you have to wait until your server downloads the room. This error happens on garbage homeservers. Create a new account on another homeserver if the error doesn't go away.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#there-was-an-error-joining-the-room",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Privacy",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Your homeserver stores copies of all rooms you've joined. This leads to your homeserver operator knowing who you're talking to, even if they can't read the messages. Because we don't yet have peer-to-peer messaging on Matrix, this can be seen as a privacy concern. Choose a homeserver you can trust or set up your own. This is still not as bad as Telegram or Discord where you give away all your data.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#privacy",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Create a room with the latest version",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"In Element, you can create a new room by pressing the \"Add\" button. When you create a new room via Element, it chooses the room's version for you. Often this is not what you want because the version it chooses is older than the latest version available. You can work around this by creating rooms with curl. The client-server API provides a way to do it. #!/usr/bin/env bash readonly SERVER=matrix-server.com readonly TOKEN=my_access_token curl -X POST -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \"https://$SERVER/_matrix/client/r0/createRoom\" --data-binary '{ \"room_version\": \"10\", \"name\": \"My chat\", \"preset\": \"public_chat\", \"topic\": \"Welcome to my chat\" }' At the time of writing 10 was the latest version. SERVER and TOKEN are your homeserver's URL and your account's access token. In Element, they can be obtained by going to \"Settings\" > \"Help & About\"l > \"Advanced\".",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#create-a-room-with-the-latest-version",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Upgrading to a new room version",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"When there's a new room version available, you can choose to upgrade to the latest room version. #!/usr/bin/env bash readonly ID='!room_id:server.com' readonly SERVER=server.com readonly TOKEN=my_access_token curl -X POST -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \"https://$SERVER/_matrix/client/r0/rooms/$ID/upgrade\" --data-binary '{ \"new_version\": \"10\" }' If this doesn't work, you can try upgrading manually, step by step. When you upgrade a room, a new room is created and replaces the old one, thus the room's ID changes. In Element to obtain the old room's ID, go to \"Room Settings\" > \"Advanced\". Don't forget to obtain TOKEN and SERVER following the previous section. During an upgrade, a tombstone event is sent to the old room. The tombstone event closes the old room and links it to the new room.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#upgrading-to-a-new-room-version",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Publishing your room",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"If you choose to publish your room, it will appear in the public directory of your homeserver. Other users on your homeserver will be able to find it on the \"Explore rooms\" page. To publish a room, go to the room's settings and click on \"Publish this room to the public in server's room directory\".",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#publishing-your-room",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Publishing your space",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Element lets you publish regular rooms to the public directory of your homeserver, but for some reason there's no such option in the Space settings. To publish your space and make it easier to newcomers to find it, run the following script. #!/usr/bin/env bash readonly ID='!room_id:server.com' readonly SERVER=server.com readonly TOKEN=my_access_token curl -X PUT -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \"https://$SERVER/_matrix/client/r0/directory/list/room/$ID\" --data-binary '{ \"visibility\": \"public\" }' Alternatively you can enable developer tools, right-click the space, press \"See room timeline\", and then \"Settings\". It will open Settings for regular rooms.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#publishing-your-space",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Enabling invites",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"For some reason, newly created rooms and spaces only allow admins to invite new users. Often that's not desirable. Change it by going to the room's Settings > \"Roles and Permissions\" > \"Invite users\".",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#enabling-invites",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Linking to your room",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Normally you can share your room using a link that looks like this: https://matrix.to/#/#room:server.domain. The downside of using such links is that new users who haven't registered a Matrix account yet will be sent to app.element.io and suggested creating a matrix.org account. This is never what we want. To work around it, we can link a specific Element instance. If you're using an instance of the web version of Element, open the room and copy the URL in your web browser's address bar. Usually the link will look like this: https://element.anontier.nl/#/room/#g-rust:matrix.org. The URL may not work depending on Element settings set by the instance's operator, test it in a private browser tab first. See Servers that support links to rooms for a list of Element instances that can replace app.element.io.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#linking-to-your-room",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I greentext?",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"You can greentext like this. QuickMedia supports greentext out of the box. How people greentext.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#how-do-i-greentext",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tips for room admins",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"If you decide to create and manage a large public room, it is very important that you don't lose access to it. Even big homeservers sometimes disappear never to return. Always keep at least two admin accounts in the room, each hosted on a different homeserver. If one homeserver goes offline or decides to ban you or shutdown your room, you will still be able to control the room via the other admin account. The number one thing you should be aware of as a room admin is room shutdowns. A room shutdown is when a homeserver admin forces all existing members registered on the homeserver out of your room and prevents all future joins. A room shutdown only affects users on the server that initiated the shutdown. To minimize possible damage that a shutdown would cause to your room always tell your members to use homeservers you trust. Choose a server which runs the latest version of Synapse. Newer versions give you access to higher room versions. To check a server's Synapse version, run the following shell command. Replace homeserver.name with the URL of your homeserver, e.g. midov.pl. curl -s 'https://homeserver.name/_matrix/federation/v1/version' Alternatively, paste the server's URL to federation tester. It's a good idea to ban certain servers from participating in your room completely, using Server ACLs. Server ACLs let you block all accounts registered on unwanted homeservers from being able to join your room. The homeserver which gets blocked the most often is, you guessed it, matrix.org.",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#tips-for-room-admins",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"Further reading",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"https://glowers.club/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:newfriends https://www.schotty.com/Services/Matrix/ https://community.kde.org/Matrix https://calcuode.com/matrix/",
    "url":"matrix-quickstart-guide.html#further-reading",
    "parent":"Matrix quickstart guide"
  },
  {
    "title":"How Anki works",
    "tags":[
      "anki",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Since in this guide we are going to use Anki to study our target language, let's talk about how it works. Studying in Anki consists of the following points. Creating notes. Learning new flashcards. Reviewing previously learned flashcards. Notes and cards in Anki are not the same. You create notes, but study cards. A note is a piece of related fields of information. A Japanese vocabulary note would have fields for the word itself, its reading, the definition, and so on. A question and answer pair is called a card. When you create a note, one or more cards are generated automatically using Card Templates. Card templates define how cards look, what fields are shown on each card and how they are arranged. Each flashcard will have a front side and a back side. On the front side there's a question that needs to be answered. The answer is placed on the back side. Language learners most often place a word, a phrase or a sentence in a foreign language on the front and its meaning on the back. New cards in Anki are the cards that you haven't learned yet. A new card can stay new any amount of time waiting for you to learn it. Anki lets you choose how many new cards you want to learn each day. Once you have learned a card, it \"graduates\" and becomes a \"review card\". After a certain amount of time the card has to be reviewed. The act of learning new cards and reviewing existing cards is done in the form of quizzing oneself. Anki shows the front side of the card to you. You try to recall the answer and reveal the back side. You compare your memory and the information on the back side of the card. Anki asks for your feedback. You have to answer whether you knew the answer to the question. This feedback is used to calculate the next time you should see the card. The way Anki schedules flashcards is easy to understand. First a card is created. Then you learn it, and it receives a starting interval, 1 day by default. After the interval expires, the card needs to be reviewed. If you tell Anki that you remember the card, that means you've \"passed\" the review. Each time you successfully review a flashcard after its interval ends, the interval increases. When using the default Anki algorithm, the interval grows like this: New interval = Old interval * Ease factor * Interval modifier The Ease is 2.5 by default, and Interval modifier is 1 by default. We have two different parameters because the Interval modifier is set for a deck (or multiple decks) and the Ease factor is attached to each individual card, so two cards can have different Ease factors. If you have a card, and you constantly answer \"Good\" when it comes up for review, its interval will grow something like this: 1 day, 3 days, 8 days, 20 days, etc. The Interval modifier, initial Ease factor, Starting interval, and other variables can be changed in Settings. If you forget a flashcard, it enters a \"relearn\" queue and has to be relearned. After a previously forgotten flashcard is relearned, its interval gets reduced or reset depending on the settings. Each day Anki forms a queue of cards for you to review. Every card whose interval has ended on that day or before that day will be in the queue. It is important to keep up with reviews, or you will forget what you've learned. As you can see, Anki doesn't approach scheduling intelligently. It doesn't \"predict\" anything, and it doesn't \"guess\" when you're going to forget things. It only multiplies interval of a flashcard indefinitely. The algorithm is simple but it works well. With Anki you can synchronize your flashcards across multiple devices using the built-in synchronization service. It enables you to study at home from a PC and outside from a phone, for example. To have a better understanding of Anki I advise you to read Getting Started part of the Anki manual.",
    "url":"how-anki-works.html",
    "date":"2022-06-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Spaced repetition",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To study efficiently and help you keep track of the learning process one of the first things you're going to want to do is obtain a spaced repetition system. In this article let's cover the theory behind spaced repetition, why you need it and what system to use.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html",
    "date":"2022-06-12"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's spaced repetition",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When you have memorized something, you need to review that material, otherwise you will forget it. Spaced repetition is a memorization technique where you review learned information at gradually increasing time intervals. Any learned material gets forgotten over time, but when we review something right before we forget it, we can extend how long we know it for. An example of progressing intervals. In order to get the best results, the intervals between revisions of the same piece of information gradually increase. When you first learn something, the memory of it is weak. If you don't review the information soon, you are likely to forget it. To keep remembering it, you need to review it very frequently. If you continue reviewing, over time the memory grows stronger. The stronger the memory is, the less often you need to review it. You are keeping the old information in memory while spending less and less time maintaining it. SRS is short for \"spaced repetition system\". A spaced repetition system is a program that automates spaced repetition helping you retain large quantities of information long-term. When using an SRS you create electronic flashcards. Flashcards test you on information contained in them, forcing you to actively recall what you've memorized. The system shows you a flashcard before you forget it, so you can maintain and strengthen your memories.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#whats-spaced-repetition",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"The forgetting curve",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered the forgetting curve back in nineteenth century. The forgetting curve shows how information or knowledge stored within the brain is lost over time if the individual makes no attempt to retain it. Forgetting curve. Memory gradually declines with the passage of time. The curve shows that we eventually forget whatever we don't review. If we actively practice recalling it, the rate at which the memory declines slows down. In order to overcome the forgetting curve and retain a learned word in your long-term memory, it needs to be reviewed occasionally. Ideally, the most optimal time to review something is right before you forget it. The memory becomes stronger with each review. By spacing out sessions over time we create room for new information. This idea is similar to building a muscle. If you practice lifting weights, and the weights are too heavy, you won't be able to practice at all. If they're too easy, you won't gain anything. When practicing recall, if you review learned information too late, you find that you have forgotten it, and you have to learn it again. If you review too early, the information is too easy and doesn't leave any impression on the brain. The SRS algorithm tries to schedule recall sessions so that the difficulty is just about right.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#the-forgetting-curve",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"Retention rate",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There's no way to completely eliminate forgetting. Instead, an SRS helps you forget less or forget strategically. SRS is set to promise you a certain retention rate. Your retention rate refers to the percentage of cards that you successfully remember when reviewing. With some SRS you directly input the desired retention rate, and the system is trying to deliver the results. With other SRS you can't control the retention rate you want, but you can influence it by changing other settings, like the multiplier of intervals between repetitions. If your retention rate is 90%, on every review session you forget 10% of the flashcards that come up for review. Every forgotten piece should be relearned. Chasing 100% retention turns out to be impossible in practice. You're good as long as you review your flashcards every day and relearn forgotten material. Essentially if you want to ensure you never forget something, you have to review it every minute, which requires unlimited time.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#retention-rate",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"SRS applications",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Currently, there are many SRS applications available.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#srs-applications",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Anki is a Spaced Repetition System, an SRS. Anki was created by Damien Elmes in 2006. It's cross-platform, rich with features, and supports add-ons, written in Python. The catalog of add-ons is massive. There are many add-ons that greatly aid language study, including a few of my own. Because of the add-ons it's in my opinion really the only SRS application worth taking seriously. What's most important, Anki is libre software that respects the users' freedom and community. Today Anki is considerably worse than it was back in 2006, or even in 2017. It's noticeably slower, clunkier, harder to use, easier to break, etc. But I still think it's worth using for all the benefits it gives, and if you take into account that it practically has no competitors. With the help of add-ons we are able to fix some common problems of Anki and make the app more user-friendly. There are many reasons to hate Anki. In fact, each new version adds a few more reasons. Some people refuse to put up with the new \"features\" of Anki and the constant flood of changes for the sake of making changes. They keep using an older version, like 2.1.35. This choice means missing out on new add-ons and suffering from old bugs. Other people choose to upgrade and witness the rush towards decay Anki is at right now. The gradual downfall only affects the desktop version. AnkiDroid, the Android application, is developed by a separate group of people and is completely fine as of now.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#anki",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mnemosyne",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Mnemosyne is another flashcard program that uses a spaced repetition algorithm. Mnemosyne aims to be a user-friendly flash card program, with a clean, deceptively simple interface that does not require you to wrap your head around complicated concepts before you can start using it. Mnemosyne can import Anki decks. Anki has a Mnemosyne .db file importer. With the mutual support you should be able to migrate back and forth if you want.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#mnemosyne",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"Supermemo",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Supermemo is a proprietary malware program. You can't use Supermemo on GNU/Linux and Android. The algorithm Anki uses is actually based on an older version of Supermemo.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#supermemo",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"Alternative to the SRS",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you had the misfortune of visiting some language learning forums that shall not be named, you may have encountered an opinion that using an SRS is not necessary to learn a foreign language. Strictly speaking, it's true of course. The central part of AJATT is immersion. The SRS doesn't play a crucial role in the learning process, it is often called \"a supplement\". Many people have become fluent without using spaced repetition. One alternative to using spaced repetition is randomly coming across the same word multiple times. If you're taking an immersion-based approach to language learning, eventually you will see the word enough times to acquire it. Another alternative is keeping a notepad with a list of words you've looked up. The list has to be reviewed at times, but unlike the SRS the process is not automated. A major problem that happens when learning languages is that a learner is liable to forget a word over and over until the word is seen many times. The SRS takes care of that constant \"leaking bucket\" problem where you only remember things learned recently. With the SRS you are sure you don't slide down, you are only moving forward. Anki is popular among people learning Japanese, and apparently Chinese, but it's not that popular among learners of other languages. The reason Anki is popular is most likely that Japanese learners have to memorize how to read words written in kanji. I've been using Anki for many years, and I notice that most of the time when I fail a card it is because I don't remember the reading, not because I don't remember the meaning. People learning other languages don't have to deal with kanji, so it is easier for them to get to fluency without using the SRS. We recommend that people following the AJATT method use spaced repetition. For the majority of people the benefits are limitless. SRS applications help to learn vocabulary faster, overcome forgetting, close the gap between you and native speakers. But if using the SRS reduces your motivation or enjoyment, it may be in your best interest to forgo using any SRS and instead focus on the core of the method, getting input.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#alternative-to-the-srs",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"The chosen SRS",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Anki still remains my SRS of choice. I use it every day for language learning and to study other subjects. In later chapters we'll discuss how to install and set it up.",
    "url":"spaced-repetition.html#the-chosen-srs",
    "parent":"Spaced repetition"
  },
  {
    "title":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"3000 Essential Vocabulary for the JLPT N1, also known as JLPT Tango N1, is a textbook to prepare for the JLPT N1. It contains ~2000 Japanese sentences and their English translations. The book includes vocabulary found commonly on the JLPT and often used in everyday life. With the help of our chat members, we have created an Anki deck from sentences listed in the book and native audio that comes with it.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html",
    "date":"2022-04-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"About",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"After JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck was released, we started working on the N1 deck. We took sentences from the book, downloaded audio from the publisher's website and combined them to make this Anki deck. This deck is meant to be used with the AJATT method of language learning. It assumes that you are immersing in Japanese media, mining sentences and studying Japanese grammar on your own. We recommend this deck if you want to learn vocabulary for the JLPT N1, frontload basic vocabulary to increase your comprehension or to aid the process of sentence mining. The deck has cards formatted as bilingual targeted sentence cards. A sentence is shown on the front, the target word on the front is highlighted. Readings, translation, meanings of words and audio are on the back. Refer to the linked article if you don't know how to review TSCs. A card from JLPT Tango N1. Each card also comes with a MakeProductionCard field that, when filled, turns the card into a production TSC. On a production TSC the target word is spelled in kana, and you have to recall how to write it in kanji. As it should be obvious by its title, the book was designed with the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in mind. However, we were interested in the book for quite different purposes. You can download audio recordings for all the sentences in the book from the publisher's website. By combining audio with the sentences extracted from the book we were able to create a high quality TSC deck.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#about",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Download",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"To download the deck, get Ankidrone Essentials version 7 or later.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#download",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Rest of the Tango Series",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The JLPT Tango N1 book is actually one in a series of JLPT prep books. There are five books total, one for each level of the JLPT. Prior to starting this deck I advise you to complete Tango N5, N4, N3 and N2 decks. They are available as a part of Ankidrone Essentials.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#the-rest-of-the-tango-series",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"How To Study",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"If you follow the method of language learning described on this site, by the time you start this deck, you should already be doing sentence mining. While you go through the cards in the deck, delete the ones you already know. We recommend continuing to sentence mine while learning cards from the deck. Learn between 10~30 cards a day total. Keep in mind that the more new cards you learn each day, the more daily reviews you'll have in the long term. For more detailed instructions see How to review.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#how-to-study",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Commentary",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"This is the last deck in the Tango series. Its release completes Ankidrone Essentials, the basic vocabulary deck I worked on for two years. Ankidrone Essentials has been immensely successful, and since it first came out in February 2020 it has helped thousands of people with studying Japanese. The work is not totally over though. If there are any typos or errors found, I will be correcting them and uploading new versions. While editing the deck I went through every sentence present in it. My impression is that the words featured in the book are easy enough to be correctly described as basic vocabulary. I don't know if this is what JLPT N1 is supposed to be like. If I take JLPT in the future, I might be able to tell whether the books match the test levels they're marketed for. However, if you're doing AJATT and aren't planning to prepare for JLPT, the Tango decks should be a perfect supplement for you. They contain easy and common words, and going through the decks will help you better understand your immersion.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#commentary",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Additional information",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Furigana was mass-generated using the AJT Furigana add-on. If you notice that the machine-generated readings contain errors, please report them in our chat. Pitch accents were mass-generated using the AJT Japanese add-on. On cards where vocabulary definitions didn't make much sense we replaced them with definitions from JMdict. The number 3000 that you see in the original book does not represent the number of sentences in it. The actual number of sentence items is around 2000. Images were sourced from a Vietnamese Tango deck which was deleted from AnkiWeb before this deck came out.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#additional-information",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Feedback",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"We'd love to hear from you! DJT space has a Tango deck feedback room to give feedback on the deck. If you have any questions, ideas, or errors to report, please join us.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#feedback",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Credits",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Thanks to everybody who helped put this together. Feripe nb Alxindrs Kimchi Waalalaa Tatsumoto",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n1-anki-deck.html#credits",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N1 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"What's grammar? Should you learn grammar? How to learn grammar? Let's answer these question in this article.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html",
    "date":"2022-03-31"
  },
  {
    "title":"What is grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In essence grammar is a set of specific words or phrases that don't bear any meanings themselves, but are used to connect and define relations between adjacent words. For example, the particle は, commonly referred to as the \"topic particle\", connects the topic of a sentence with the rest of the sentence that describes it. By itself it means nothing. Some grammar points are regular Japanese words with special usages. For example, あげる, くれる and もらう are verbs used to express giving and receiving, but unlike most words they are bound by certain rules that describe how they must be used. Grammar rules tell us how to arrange and inflect words to make proper sentences. Obviously, the rules weren't created in advance, before the language was spoken, therefore it's better to think of them as \"common speech patterns that native speakers find acceptable.\" Besides, no language is fixed, and all languages change over time, and the rules may change too.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#what-is-grammar",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"The role of grammar study",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Grammar guides are for making it easier to understand things, not to learn how to say them. Native speakers perceive language entirely on a subconscious level, so it makes sense that the best way to learn a language is through immersion. When you try to analyze the language by studying grammar rules, you end up using completely different parts of your brain than native speakers do. Once your brain gets used to perceiving language through this analytical lens, it's nearly impossible to revert. At best, you can train yourself until it becomes automatic, but it will still feel different from a native. It is entirely possible to skip formal grammar study and learn grammar points solely through immersion. The arguments in favor of studying grammar are quite similar to those for learning basic vocabulary from a premade Anki deck. Doing so can give you a head start and improve your comprehension of real Japanese while you are still a beginner. We usually recommend using grammar only as a tool to enhance comprehension. In other words, we don't waste time drilling rules or verb conjugations. Instead, we focus on understanding what each structure means in a sentence. This makes it easier to understand speech during immersion. To really understand grammar, it is crucial to understand it in your target language. Knowing what it means in English will not be very helpful. Language acquisition happens when we understand messages, when we comprehend what is being communicated. From the AJATT perspective, to fully acquire a grammar rule, it is best to read as many usage examples as possible to provide your brain with the essential input. The brain needs this input to decipher and figure out the structures, rules, and building blocks of your target language. This process largely happens unconsciously. Overanalyzing language with your brain's logical side may be counterproductive. The best source of examples is immersion. The primary reason to consult a grammar guide is to learn what specific grammar points mean when they are used. While you can learn everything through immersion, we believe that reading a grammar guide can expedite the process. For example, by learning from a guide what the construction \"としても\" means, you won't have to look it up when you encounter it while watching anime. Knowing what common grammar patterns mean will make it easier to follow your immersion and help you acquire your target language through extensive listening and reading. A good grammar guide should provide concise explanations and include many example sentences. Language courses that do not follow the AJATT method may suggest that you study grammar to learn how to speak your target language. They tell you to memorize grammar rules and vocabulary, and then combine them to form sentences. This approach does not work for several reasons: Language is highly specific in unpredictable ways. You have to know ahead of time how certain thoughts are expressed in your target language. You cannot invent language on the spot. Invented language almost always sounds unnatural. Consciously thinking about grammar rules while speaking is too slow. You won't have enough time to apply that knowledge. By the time you construct a grammatically correct sentence, your conversation partner will be long gone. It is impossible to memorize every rule and exception. Even linguists don't know all the rules because rules are formed on an ad hoc basis. Output ability is the result of subconscious acquisition. In our native language, most of us don't know grammar rules. We just know what sounds right and what doesn't. When speaking, we don't have to think about grammar or vocabulary. We just think about the meaning we want to convey, and the words flow naturally. The only true way to acquire grammar in order to use it in your speech is by immersing in the target language, seeing the grammar being used in the wild many times until your brain internalizes it.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#the-role-of-grammar-study",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"When to study grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There is no distinct stage where you should learn grammar. Since grammar connects words together, basic grammar and basic vocabulary must be studied approximately at the same time. You cannot learn grammar after learning the kana and before learning vocabulary because to understand how grammar works, you need to know at least some basic vocabulary. You cannot learn basic vocabulary before learning grammar because to understand how words function in sentences, you need to know at least some basic grammar. After learning the kana, start going through a basic vocabulary deck. The vocabulary decks we recommend on this site are Ankidrone Foundation and Ankidrone Essentials. As you progress through a vocabulary deck, you will encounter new grammar used in example sentences. Learn this extremely basic grammar. As you continue to immerse, you will see less common grammar until you learn most of it. By learning grammar and vocabulary simultaneously, you can better understand how words are connected and how they function in sentences. This approach allows you to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the language as you progress through your studies.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#when-to-study-grammar",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to study grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Learning grammar, at least in Japanese, is not very different from learning words. Without a grammar guide it is done by reading sentences and looking up unknown parts in a dictionary. Beginner grammar guides list frequently used grammar points together and provide translated example sentences. With a grammar guide you can front-load basic grammar and expand your comprehension. Read about the basic grammar of your target language from a grammar guide. Dedicate a short chunk of time, up to 30 minutes a day, to studying grammar. If measuring time is not your thing, read one, two or three chapters per day, for example. Because the nature of grammar is that it's hard to explain in human language, and most grammar takes lots of input to acquire, you're looking for quick and dirty knowledge. Don't try to wrap your head around what are all the usages of a grammar construction, which item is used in what particular situation, etc. Just note roughly what it means in a sentence. Continue to immerse. Use the time spent immersing to notice the new grammar being used in different situations. There are grammar guides that tell you to memorize conjugations, do exercises or drills. They are attempting to teach grammar similar to math, treating grammar as formulas. Since grammar is made up of speech patterns native speakers often say and find natural, the focus should be on learning the patterns, getting used to frequently spoken collocations, phrases and sentences. Note that at this stage of the AJATT journey you don't need to worry about things like all the different types of verbs and exactly how they conjugate. Casually read through the guide and focus on understanding example sentences. When you see a word in a different form, all you need is to understand what it means. As grammar explanations don't directly help to acquire language, they take a secondary role. We think that if you don't understand some grammar, it won't be beneficial to spend more time trying to understand the explanations. It's better to read more example sentences if your grammar book provides them.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#how-to-study-grammar",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar guides",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The goal of grammar study is to increase comprehension. There are many Japanese grammar resources out there. Below you'll find the ones I think are worth reading. If you decide to read a grammar guide outside this list, proceed with caution and apply the AJATT philosophy to spot the good stuff and filter out unnecessary parts. Note: third party guides may contain what Tatsumoto considers to be ineffective language learning advice. We recommend making use of their grammar explanations but disregarding their language learning advice. All About Particles. A nicely organized book simply described as \"godsend\". For each grammar point in the book there's a short explanation and several natural example sentences with translations. Khatz used this book a long time ago when he learned Japanese. Sakubi. It is written with immersion learners in mind. The guide stresses the importance of reading and listening as opposed to drilling and memorizing. Tae Kim. Written with traditional learners in mind, but is still a good guide recommended by many. Sections you need to read are \"Basic Grammar\", \"Essential Grammar\", \"Special Expressions\" and \"Advanced Topics\". You have already covered everything else. Don't touch any conjugation tables and exercises. In AJATT, the goal of studying grammar is strictly to increase the comprehensibility of your immersion. Ixrec's Guide to Japanese (archive). You can skip the \"Alphabets\" page as you have already covered that. Example sentences are listed at the end of each page. Each sentence is broken down into pieces and translated. All About Particles. Example sentences help understand the grammar. Choose one guide to follow. Reading multiple grammar guides usually just leads to learning about the same information. Recognize that without enough immersion you won't be able to fully activate the knowledge. As they say, you will be like someone who has read 10 books on how to swim but has never been in a pool.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#grammar-guides",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"On \"basic\" grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In grammar guides, items described in the basic sections are usually not basic in a sense that they're easy to grasp. They are listed as basic and taught very early because they're frequently used. And since you can't understand most Japanese sentences without them, you have to learn them early on. It is actually a mistake to hope that you can perfectly acquire basic grammar just because it's basic. This false assumption causes language learners a lot of frustration. Particles like は and が, に and へ are taught in the very beginning, but most Japanese learners can't fully acquire them and understand the differences between them until they reach a high level in the language. If you studied English before starting Japanese, you had to learn the differences between articles a and the or demonstratives this, that, these and those. Undoubtedly they were not easy, particularly at first. Often English learners acquire such things only after years of practice. When approaching basic grammar, accept that it will take a long time for you to understand all the bits and pieces. Don't get frustrated just because you've been learning Japanese for months or years but aren't quite sure when you should use a certain grammar pattern in your speech. If you're taking an immersion-based approach to learning a language, you don't really have to do anything. As long as you keep immersing, everything will eventually become clear on its own. When going through a grammar guide, simply read the explanation of what a structure means, and don't make any more effort to master it. Just notice it each time it comes up in your immersion and focus on understanding the message being conveyed without attention to details. Your understanding will get better each time you see the structure in your immersion. Grammar that doesn't stick until much later in the learning process is one of the reasons why we delay speaking and writing practice until we can understand the language at a high level. Trying to use words and structures you haven't fully acquired inevitably leads to making countless mistakes and building bad habits.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#on-basic-grammar",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mining grammar points",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you notice a new grammar in the wild, usually you want to make an SRS card for it (sentence mining, covered later). But should you mine grammar points you read about in the grammar guide? When we discuss it, there are two opinions. First, \"just skim it\". In other words, read the guide and don't mine anything. Second, read the guide and make cards for all necessary grammar constructions. It's up to you to decide whether you need to incorporate mining into your grammar study.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#mining-grammar-points",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to make cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Back in the day, I learned at least one example of every grammar point in the book. — Khatz For each grammar point, you choose an example sentence and add it to the SRS. Put the sentence on the front of the card. Highlight the target grammar point by making it bold, color it or underline it. On the back put everything necessary to understand the grammar point. Make simple cards. Too much information will only slow down the review process. When I learned Japanese, I went with the Tae Kim grammar guide. I made Anki cards for grammar concepts that I didn't know and skipped the sentences that I already understood pretty well. Don't mine every sentence. Most examples in grammar guides are similar to each other. Choose at most one sentence per grammar point. Some grammar points are very easy, and you don't need to make cards to memorize them. Don't mine from multiple grammar guides either. They mostly cover the same topics. The number of cards you'll have to make if you mine excessively will quickly surpass 1,000. Don't worry about not covering some topics. Grammar study doesn't end after you read a grammar guide. Grammar is endless, and most recommended grammar guides only cover the basics. In fact, there are grammar constructions that aren't explained in any grammar guide, and you have to learn them through immersion relying on context to infer what they mean. When you finish studying grammar formally and start making cards solely from your immersion, you'll have plenty of opportunities to encounter new grammar in the wild and fill the gaps. An SRS card made from an item in the Tae Kim guide.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#how-to-make-cards",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"Long grammar guides",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There are guides out there that are too big in volume. Namely, Imabi and DoJG. You don't want to choose them for a basic grammar guide, they're supposed to be used more like dictionaries. For this reason we don't include them in the list of recommended beginner guides above. Instead, we mention them here. You may refer to them to look up individual grammar points on a case-by-case basis. DoJG DoJG Anki deck Itazuraneko Master Reference Other grammar resources Don't learn cards from the DoJG deck in order, rather keep it as a reference and as a source of example sentences. It's a waste of time to try to cram a 5000-cards deck while you can rely on your immersion to guide you and tell you which cards you need.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#long-grammar-guides",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar in the wild",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Studying grammar in a structured way with a grammar guide is not for everybody. You can skip it and learn new grammar on the spot, when you see it. Even after completing a grammar guide, if you choose to do so, you will be encountering new grammar while immersing. Take a look at the following checklist to see some points we recommend you take when you notice an unknown grammar pattern. Look it up in a regular dictionary. Most things should be defined there. Rikaitan and Qolibri are covered later in this guide. Consult a grammar guide or a grammar dictionary. This is where DoJG or the DoJG Anki deck come handy. Tae Kim is another good source. Use the web search. Search engines can do a lot for you, especially if you search in Japanese.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#grammar-in-the-wild",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"Beyond grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"It's impossible to wholly describe Japanese grammar in English. There's a limit on how accurate the explanations can be. In order to truly understand grammar you have to understand it in Japanese. A guide like Tae Kim uses English building blocks to make a mental model that resembles the Japanese grammar, but it's not all the way there. Once you get fluent in your target language, go back and study your target language's grammar in the target language. To do that, use resources for native speakers. Studying keigo in Japanese can also be seen as a part of this process. See Resources for grammar resources in Japanese.",
    "url":"learning-grammar.html#beyond-grammar",
    "parent":"Learning grammar"
  },
  {
    "title":"Immersion with YouTube",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"YouTube is a popular website where people can upload and watch videos. Through watching YouTube you can immerse with native Japanese content. Such content can be of particular interest to people who want to understand colloquial Japanese, speech with a lot of mumbling, slurs and slang. There are many language-dense streams and podcasts on YouTube that can be used for background listening. You can also find news channels with more formal speech.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html",
    "date":"2022-03-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to access",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Like many popular big tech websites today, YouTube uses proprietary JavaScript code, which is not safe to run. If you go to the website, it won't work if you block proprietary JavaScript code from running. In addition to that, YouTube contains privacy violating trackers and collects data about users. To access the videos, use various alternative ways that minimize tracking. There are several ways you can watch YouTube. Invidious. Invidious is an alternative front-end to YouTube. It lets you choose from a number of instances based on their health. A list of Invidious instances can be found on https://api.invidious.io/. Invidious gives you direct download links for every video. yt-dlp. yt-dlp is a program to download videos. To search for videos and obtain their links, you still need to use a front end such as Invidious or youtube-viewer. mpv. mpv is a video player. It can utilize a built-in yt-dlp hook to play YouTube videos. I recommend downloading videos before watching them, however. Storing immersion material locally makes sentence mining substantially easier. Not using YouTube at all. Explore privacy-respecting platforms like PeerTube and Odysee. Chances are, you'll find Japanese immersion content there too. yt-dlp works on these websites as well.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html#how-to-access",
    "parent":"Immersion with YouTube"
  },
  {
    "title":"Subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Subtitles play an important role for language learners. On YouTube, you can find a wide variety of videos in Japanese with built-in Japanese subtitles. Not every video has human-made subtitles, and auto-generated subtitles aren't accurate. Avoid using them if possible. To find content with subtitles, open Invidious, click on [+] Filters and under \"Features\" enable \"Subtitles/CC\". Or you can try adding \"字幕可\" or \"CC\" at the end of the search term. After downloading a video and subtitles for it, you can put it into subs2srs or watch it in mpv with mpvacious and make flashcards. The following sites offer video search based on target language subtitles: YouGlish CaptionPop We recommend utilizing their search features but using mpv to watch the videos.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html#subtitles",
    "parent":"Immersion with YouTube"
  },
  {
    "title":"yt-dlp",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"yt-dlp is a program that can be used to download videos from YouTube and similar sites. yt-dlp can also download audio tracks separately. On Arch Linux, yt-dlp can be installed by running this command: sudo pacman -S yt-dlp yt-dlp-ejs If you're on Ubuntu, it is recommended to use pipx. pipx install \"yt-dlp[default]\" To download a video, execute: yt-dlp 'https://youtube.com/<video>' If you want to download just the audio (for example, music), use this command: yt-dlp --embed-metadata --extract-audio --format bestaudio/best 'https://youtube.com/<video>' Tip: add these commands as aliases to access them without too much typing. yt-dlp reads its configuration from ~/.config/yt-dlp/config. See my example configuration file. This configuration enables yt-dlp to automatically download Japanese (ja) subtitles in ass format and save the downloaded files to a dedicated folder. Change output location (marked with -o) to a folder of your preference. See man yt-dlp for a comprehensive list of options.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html#yt-dlp",
    "parent":"Immersion with YouTube"
  },
  {
    "title":"mpv",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"It is possible to open a YouTube link directly in mpv and watch it without saving the video on the hard drive. All you need to do is pass a video link as an argument to mpv. mpv 'https://youtube.com/<video>' I personally don't do so because there's a few hiccups that interfere with things like rewinding and making Anki cards.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html#mpv",
    "parent":"Immersion with YouTube"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mobile devices",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you have an Android device, install one of the YouTube clients from F-Droid to access YouTube and keep your privacy. NewPipe. LibreTube An alternative frontend for that uses the Piped API to load data and play videos. Tubular. NewPipe with SponsorBlock.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html#mobile-devices",
    "parent":"Immersion with YouTube"
  },
  {
    "title":"Notes",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"YouTube No Translation. Web browser add-on that prevents YouTube's automatic translations. It keeps titles, descriptions, and audio in their original language. BlockTube. This browser extension allows you to block videos and channels that are not in your target language. It is for people who use the official YouTube website. pipe-viewer is a lightweight YouTube client for Linux. In my dotfiles I have a script that sorts Invidious instances based on the number of users. The least used instances are usually faster. Install Privacy Redirect or LibRedirect to avoid accidentally going to the official website when opening YouTube links. If you go directly to youtube.com, keep Watch on Odysee enabled to be notified when an alternative Odysee version of the video is available. UntrackMe for Android redirects YouTube links to Invidious. On top of that it can transform many other links. If you add 24/7 or ライブ behind your searches on YouTube, you can find channels that stream Japanese all day. charts.youtube.com/jp. Songs trending in Japan.",
    "url":"immersion-with-youtube.html#notes",
    "parent":"Immersion with YouTube"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Fediverse",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Do you use the Fediverse (Pleroma, Mastodon, or Misskey)? All three platforms use the same protocol, ActivityPub, so you can easily communicate with users on Misskey even if you're on Pleroma, for example. Misskey is a Japanese technology, which is pretty fascinating on its own. It seems that nearly everyone using it is Japanese. After Elon Musk bought the anti-social media network Twitter, rebranded it as \"Ex-Twitter,\" and turned it into a platform spreading falsehoods, hatred, and unreason, millions of people joined the Fediverse in protest. I have a Pleroma account that I use to post about Japan. If you're interested in exploring the Fediverse, register an account and let's talk about Japan and language learning! Some Pleroma instances for new users: freesoftwareextremist poa.st eientei shitposter.world",
    "url":"the-fediverse.html",
    "date":"2022-02-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"Understanding monolingual definitions",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"A typical entry in a monolingual dictionary looks similar to this: あした [3] 【明日・朝】 （名） （１）今日の次の日。 （２）夜が終わって，明るくなった時。あさ。 Every dictionary usually has its own, unique system of notation. On this page I primarily use 大辞泉 as an example. If you need help finding monolingual dictionaries, see the Dictionaries resources section.",
    "url":"understanding-monolingual-definitions.html",
    "date":"2022-01-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"Back of the book",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"If your dictionary has an EPWING version, chances are that you can open the back of the book section in Qolibri. The back of the book will tell you exactly what symbols the dictionary uses and what they mean. If you're out of luck, try searching the web. The keywords that should work are 凡例, 記号一覧, 約物一覧 followed by the name of the dictionary.",
    "url":"understanding-monolingual-definitions.html#back-of-the-book",
    "parent":"Understanding monolingual definitions"
  },
  {
    "title":"Headword",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"First you see the word in kana. The number to the right in square brackets [] is pitch accent. You'll find about pitch accent at the end of the page. If next to the hiragana reading you see a slightly different reading in katakana, it likely indicates how the word was spelled before World War II. きのう ｷﾉﾌ [2] 【昨日】 Inside the fat brackets 【】 you see how it can be written in kanji. Different kanji spellings are separated with a ・. It means that the word can be written multiple ways. きゅう‐か【球果・毬果】 Inside the kanji notation you may see triangles like this. くじゃく【▽孔▼雀】 ▼ or × mean that the kanji character is not standard, not a 常用漢字. ▽ means that the kanji reading is not standard. Parts of okurigana may be inside round brackets. This means that the okurigana inside the （…） can be omitted. E.g., 売り上げ becomes 売上げ. うり‐あげ【売〔り〕上げ・売上】 - or = indicate 熟字訓. あした【明＝日】 熟字訓 is when a Japanese reading is assigned to a kanji compound. In other words, it means that there's no relation between the reading of a word and the kanji used to write it. ‐ indicates that this reading is listed in the 「付表」 section of 常用漢字表. ＝ means this reading is not listed in the 「付表」 section. There is no clear reason why kanji end up in 付表. It's just another way Japanese people like to shoot themselves in the foot. 熟字訓 can be seen in words such as: 果物(くだもの) 土産(みやげ) 素人(しろうと) 五月雨(さみだれ) etc. In addition to - and =, in other dictionaries 熟字訓 can be marked as 《word》, ｛word｝ or 〈word〉, like this. あひる【〈家鴨〉】(名) マガモを飼い慣らして改良したカモ科の家禽。",
    "url":"understanding-monolingual-definitions.html#headword",
    "parent":"Understanding monolingual definitions"
  },
  {
    "title":"Parts of speech",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"After the kanji reading inside round brackets the entry is telling you the part of speech. For example, 名 means it's a noun, 動五 means it's a 五段活用 verb, etc. The part of speech notation can be a bit complex and has to do with 学校文法, so I recommend getting familiar with that. If you have recursive lookups enabled in Rikaitan, hover over the part of speech to see what it means. Sometimes after [文] it tells you what part of speech this word was in classical Japanese. In the example below it says that the 下一段 verb was 下二段 in classical Japanese. たす・ける [3] 【助ける・扶ける】 （動カ下一）[文]カ下二 たす・く 力を添えて人や動物を，死の危険や苦痛・災難から逃れさせる。 Different parts of speech, from デジタル大辞泉. Symbol Meaning ［名］ 名詞 ［代］ 代名詞 ［動五］ 動詞五段活用 ［動五（四）］ 動詞口語五段活用、文語四段活用 ［動四］ 動詞四段活用 ［動上一］ 動詞上一段活用 ［動上二］ 動詞上二段活用 ［動下一］ 動詞下一段活用 ［動下二］ 動詞下二段活用 ［動カ変］ 動詞カ行変格活用 ［動サ変］ 動詞サ行変格活用 ［動ナ変］ 動詞ナ行変格活用 ［動ラ変］ 動詞ラ行変格活用 ［動特活］ 動詞特殊活用 ［形］ 形容詞 ［形ク］ 形容詞ク活用 ［形シク］ 形容詞シク活用 ［形動］ 形容動詞 ［形動タリ］ 形容動詞タリ活用 ［形動ナリ］ 形容動詞ナリ活用 ［ト・タル］ 「－と」の形で副詞、「－たる」の形で連体詞 ［連体］ 連体詞 ［副］ 副詞 ［接］ 接続詞 ［感］ 感動詞 ［助動］ 助動詞 ［格助］ 格助詞 ［接助］ 接続助詞 ［副助］ 副助詞 ［係助］ 係助詞 ［終助］ 終助詞 ［間助］ 間投助詞 ［並助］ 並立助詞 ［準体助］ 準体助詞 ［ ］(スル) サ行変格活用の動詞となる 〔接頭〕 接頭語 〔接尾〕 接尾語 〔語素〕 語素 〔連語〕 連語 〔枕〕 枕詞 ［文］ 文語形",
    "url":"understanding-monolingual-definitions.html#parts-of-speech",
    "parent":"Understanding monolingual definitions"
  },
  {
    "title":"Meanings",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Meanings are usually shown as numbered lists. After each definition there may be one or more example sentences in 「」 brackets. When there's only one meaning, it's not numbered. ひるがえ・る ﾋﾙｶﾞﾍﾙ [3] 【翻る】（動ラ五［四］） （１）ひらりと裏がえる。「木の葉が風に―・る」 （２）旗などが高く上がってひらひらと動く。「校旗が―・る」 （３）今までの態度や言動が急に変わる。「悪心たちまち―・りて/仮名草子・伊曾保物語」 You may want to grab the example sentence when making Anki cards. If you see a slash inside the brackets, the sentence comes from a piece of literature, and the name of the work is written after the slash. Contrary to normal example sentences, such sentences often come from pretty old literary works. They tend to be quite difficult, and you probably don't need to bother trying to understand them. Symbols found inside definitions. Symbol Meaning ⇒ その項目を見よ → 参照せよ ⇔ 対義語・対語 [補説] 語誌・表記などの補説 ［アクセント］ アクセント表示 《季 》 季語 ［歌枕］ 歌枕 ［可能］ 可能動詞 ［派生］ 派生語 ［類語］ 類語 ［下接句］ その語が下に付いてできる句 ［下接語］ その語が下に付いてできる語 ［用法］ 用法の使い分け Kanji entries Symbol Meaning ［音］ 字音 ［訓］ 字訓 （慣） 慣用音 （呉） 呉音 （漢） 漢音 （唐） 唐音 ［名のり］ 人名に用いる訓 ［難読］ 難読語",
    "url":"understanding-monolingual-definitions.html#meanings",
    "parent":"Understanding monolingual definitions"
  },
  {
    "title":"Understanding pitch accent",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"The pitch accent number that you see in dictionaries indicates where the pitch drop occurs, counting by moras. A mora can be defined as a single kana character except small kana (ゃ,ゅ,ょ but not っ), optionally followed by a small kana. Each mora is given the same amount of time when pronounced. Examples: にゃ is one mora. あ is one mora. ー (long vowel mark) and small っ each count as one mora. 東京(とうきょう) has 4 moras: と, う, きょ and う. Every mora is either pronounced with low tone of voice or with high tone of voice. In most Japanese words, the pitch starts low, then raises after the first mora, and then drops somewhere after the second mora. There can be only one pitch drop in any single word, unless it's a combination of two words. Pitch accent number in a monolingual dictionary tells where tone of voice changes from high to low. The word おうだんほどう【横断歩道】 has accent [5] which means that the drop occurs after the 5th mora. In other words, お is pronounced low, moras after お are high, all moras after ほ are low. The word is pronounced like this: オ↑ーダンホ↓ドー. If the accent number is [0], it means there is no pitch drop. The word is pronounced with a flat accent. The first mora is low, and every mora after the first is high. After the word ends, the following syllables remain high until there's a drop in any word that comes after in a sentence. The word せいかつ【生活】 has accent [0] which means that the drop doesn't occur. せ is pronounced low, moras after せ are high. The word is pronounced like this: セ↑イカツ. If the accent number is [1], it means that the first mora is high and the drop occurs after the first mora. Then the accent stays low until there's a rise in any following word in a sentence. The word かいがい【海外】 has accent [1] which means that the drop happens after the first mora. か is pronounced high, moras after か are pronounced low. The word is pronounced like this: カ↓イガイ. Any Japanese word has one of the 4 pitch accent patterns. Pitch accent patterns make categorizing Japanese words easier since instead of memorizing a number it is sufficient to memorize what group a word belongs to. 平板型. Pitch number is 0. Flat accent. The first mora is low, then accent stays high. Examples: しんじん【新人】, ピアノ, じょゆう【女優】, ふくそう【服装】. 頭高型. Pitch number is 1. Accent on the head. The first mora is high, the following moras are low. Examples: あう【会う】, らいげつ【来月】, スーツ. 中高型. Pitch number is 2, 3, 4, and so on, but is always less than the number of moras. Pitch drops somewhere before the end of the word. Examples: はやい【速い】, おてあらい【お手洗い】, へいわじょうやく【平和条約】, うごきまわる【動き回る】. 尾高型. Pitch number is equal to the number of moras. Pitch drops immediately after the end of the word and stays low until there's a rise in any following word. The 尾高型 pattern is different from the 平板型 pattern which doesn't cause pitch to drop. However, when said in isolation, 尾高型 words sound just like 平板型 words. Thus, when listening, it's impossible to tell if a word is 尾高型 or 平板型 without hearing the following word because the two patterns are distinguished by the presence of a drop after the last mora. Examples: ゆき【雪】, しっぽ【尻尾】, いもうと【妹】. Sometimes a dictionary entry contains several pitch accent numbers. It means that the word can be pronounced with either of them. In real life one of the accents is usually more common than others. To tell which accent is dominant and how you should say the word, you need to listen to native speakers and find out how they say it. The 5th version of Shinmeikai may list two pitch accent numbers separated by a colon. This means that only the second one tells you the pitch accent of the word in its dictionary form and the other one you can ignore because it tells you the pitch accent of the word when it modifies a noun.",
    "url":"understanding-monolingual-definitions.html#understanding-pitch-accent",
    "parent":"Understanding monolingual definitions"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to type in Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Ever wondered how Japanese people type? No one knows the answer. Some people say that they use huge keyboards with hundreds of keys like on the picture. Luckily for us, we don't have to imitate Japanese people and buy a keyboard like that. There are programs called Input Method Editors (IMEs) that help us do the same thing on a regular computer keyboard. With an IME you type Latin letters and the software automatically converts them to Japanese characters. Typing words in a dictionary, searching the web or talking to people who pretend to be Japanese on the Internet all require being able to input Japanese characters. If you're serious about learning Japanese, you need to learn how to do it.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html",
    "date":"2021-12-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese input",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"In Introduction I briefly mentioned what writing systems Japanese has. Typing in Japanese requires you to be at least somewhat familiar with hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The writing systems are covered in their own articles. For now you need to understand that due to complexity of these writing systems they can't be typed directly. In order to type in Japanese, you need to install a number of programs on your computer.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#japanese-input",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"How an IME works",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"On a PC, the process is as follows. You type a Japanese word in roman letters. For example, hiiragi. ひいらぎ appears on the screen as the IME immediately converts what you type to kana. To convert ひいらぎ to 柊, the word's kanji form, you need to press Space and select from a number of choices. Or you can leave the word as is by pressing Enter. Japanese people themselves type with romaji when using a computer keyboard. Often in Japanese, a single word can be spelled multiple ways, and different words can be read the same. For example, しんちょう could be written as 慎重, or as 身長. This is why you may be given multiple options to choose from when you press Space. Let's walk through how to install a Japanese keyboard in GNU+Linux. There are actually two components you have to install to set everything up. One is called an Input Method Framework (IMF) and the other one is called an Input Method Editor (IME). An IMF is a program that allows the user to switch between different IMEs, whilst the IMEs are responsible for converting Latin characters to Japanese. You can have several IMEs installed and running at the same time, but you can only run one IMF at a time.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#how-an-ime-works",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Locale",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"It is possible that your computer would not let you input Japanese unless your locale is correct. Set it up following the instructions here.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#locale",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Input method framework",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"In this tutorial, I'm going to explain how to use Fcitx5 [ˈfaɪtɪks], but other frameworks are also available. Other IMFs IBus is preinstalled in GTK-based environments like GNOME. If you're using GNOME, chances are that you don't have to configure anything at all. Just go to the Settings and enable Japanese input. Because I've had problems getting IBus to work with i3wm, I don't recommend it. This is what you need to do. Install Fcitx. Enable Fcitx to run on start up. Install an IME. Configure everything. To install Fcitx, run the following command. sudo pacman -S fcitx5-im fcitx5-qt is needed to use Qt6 applications (like Anki 2.1.50 and later) with Fcitx. If you're not running an Arch-based distro, find the appropriate packages in the repositories. Next on the list, you need to enable autostart. Assuming you're starting X11 (Xlibre) using startx/xinit like a Chad, the best way to achieve it is to modify ~/.xinitrc, adding the following lines. export GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx export QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx export XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx fcitx5 -dr & I've also noticed it's better to put fcitx5 -dr & in ~/.config/i3/config (if you use i3wm) instead of X11 startup files, because unlike fcitx4, fcitx5 can fail to initialize properly if started before a window manager. Note that the xinitrc file may be located anywhere on your computer, depending on how you set up your dotfiles. If you have an xprofile file, and you source it on start up, it is also possible to put the commands there. It doesn't really matter which file you put the commands in as long as it is sourced on startup. If you previously used localectl, setxkbmap, or X configuration files for setting a keyboard layout, edit or remove those settings because key bindings set via X11 will interfere with Fcitx. You need to disable the key bindings you plan to use in Fcitx. For example, to disable the config file created by localectl, run: sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf{,.old} Also, check other config files located in /etc/X11/ or /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d. If you have setxkbmap commands in your xinitrc, edit them as well. Note: You can look at the contents of my xinitrc file here. I run this script on startup to automatically start Fcitx when I log in.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#input-method-framework",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fcitx5 and Kitty",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"By default, kitty does not work with fcitx. To fix that, add this to your xprofile or xinitrc. Source. export GLFW_IM_MODULE=ibus",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#fcitx5-and-kitty",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Input method editor",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Note: A Wiki page with all input methods. I recommend either KKC or Mozc. KKC is not as feature-rich as Mozc, but it offers a more plug-and-play experience. Install fcitx5-kkc. $ sudo pacman -S fcitx5-kkc Although Mozc originates from Google Japanese Input, it is free/libre. Install fcitx5-mozc. $ sudo pacman -S fcitx5-mozc",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#input-method-editor",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Configuration",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"To configure Fcitx, run fcitx5-configtool. You can also launch it from an application launcher like Rofi. To add input methods, type their names into the \"Search input method\" box. Input methods usually do not need extra configuration. If you want to explore their settings, open the method's menu by clicking the icon that looks like ☰ (horizontal lines). Fcitx settings. By default, you switch between IMEs with Ctrl+Space. I prefer an add-on called Input method selector instead. In the config tool, remove the default Trigger hotkey. Then go to \"Addon\" > \"Input method selector\", press \"Configure\" and set Trigger Key. I use Super+Space. Enable Input method selector. Alternatively, edit ~/.config/fcitx5/conf/imselector.conf and set: [TriggerKey] 0=Super+space Now, when you press Super+Space, a menu will appear where you can choose an input method. Input method selector.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#configuration",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Using an IME usually means typing what you want, then pressing Space to convert it. Every IME wants you to suffer, so usage differs slightly between them. Don't expect the same keyboard shortcuts across IMEs. Some shortcuts may be missing entirely. To enable Japanese input in Fcitx, press Super+Space and select it (Kana-kanji, Mozc, etc.). Or click the Fcitx icon in the taskbar and choose a Japanese input method. The Kana-kanji keyboard layout has multiple input modes: あ ア ｱ A Ａ. To cycle between Latin input modes, press Alt+L. There are two Direct (Latin) input modes: Half-width (English) and the full-width (Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ). Direct Input types letters exactly as they appear on your keyboard, like an English layout. To cycle between Japanese input modes, press Alt+K. There are three Japanese input modes: Hiragana (ひらがな), katakana (カタカナ), and half-width katakana (ｶﾀｶﾅ). Hiragana mode activates the input method editor (IME) as you type and attempts to interpret your input as Japanese. Fcitx can remember the input mode you were using, either per-app or per-window. Configure this in fcitx-configtool > \"Global Config\" > \"Share State Among Window\".",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#usage",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tips",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"Typing with Alt pressed down forces Latin input. When in Hiragana mode, pressing Alt+` switches to Latin mode. KKC: Alt+K toggles between hiragana and katakana (and their half-width forms). KKC: Alt+L cycles between full-width and half-width Latin letters. Finish and commit edit: Enter. Discard current edit: Esc. Convert, or press again to select a different candidate: Space. Autocomplete: Tab. Navigate candidates: Up and Down, or number keys for quick selection. Convert to hiragana: F6. Convert to katakana: F7. Convert to half-width katakana: F8. Convert to full-width romaji: F9. Convert to romaji: F10 Undo last edit: Ctrl+Z. How to type X?",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#tips",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Android",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "ime"
    ],
    "body":"On Android, you'll need to download a Japanese keyboard. To do this, use the F-Droid catalog. Mozc for Android. Available Japanese input apps: スミレ 日本語キーボード. Sumire is a privacy-first Japanese keyboard for simple, fast typing. F-Droid. Fcitx5. Supports Japanese input via the Anthy Plugin. Mozc. Mozc's F‑Droid build is old and may have issues on newer Android versions. Gboard. Google's proprietary app Gboard is malware. If you still choose it, block the app's internet access to limit telemetry. Install it using Aurora Store. Other FOSS keyboards have open issues requesting a Japanese layout: Helium FlorisBoard Once you've installed an input method, launch the app and follow the instructions to set it up. Most Japanese people prefer a 12-key layout. Here's what the keyboard looks like. In this layout, you tap and flick toward the character you want. Once you get used to it, it's much faster than the QWERTY layout because typing words requires fewer total keystrokes. Japanese keyboard. To type the small っ character, select つ, then tap on the 大⇔小 button and pull up. In order to type brackets, simply swipe left and right on the や key. By default, if you simply pressed the あ button twice, you would end up with い instead of ああ. This happens because the two inputs register as toggling. Instead you need to press あ, then the right arrow (>), then あ again. If you don't like the 12 keys keyboard layout, you can switch to the QWERTY layout in settings.",
    "url":"how-to-type-in-japanese.html#android",
    "parent":"How to type in Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"2500 Essential Vocabulary for the JLPT N2, also known as JLPT Tango N2, is a textbook to prepare for the JLPT N2. It contains ~1,500 Japanese sentences and their English translations. The book includes vocabulary found commonly on the JLPT and often used in everyday life. With the help of our chat members, we have created an Anki deck specifically for the JLPT Tango N2. We took sentences from the book, downloaded audio from the publisher's website and combined them to make this Anki deck.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html",
    "date":"2021-12-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki deck",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"This deck is meant to be used with the AJATT method of language learning. It assumes that you are immersing in Japanese media, mining sentences and studying Japanese grammar on your own. We recommend this deck if you want to learn vocabulary for the JLPT N2, frontload basic vocabulary to increase your comprehension or to aid the process of sentence mining. The deck has cards formatted as bilingual targeted sentence cards. A sentence is shown on the front, the target word on the front is highlighted. Readings, translation, word meanings and audio are on the back. Refer to the linked article if you don't know how to review TSCs. Each card also comes with a MakeProductionCard field that, when filled, turns the card into a production TSC. On a production TSC the target word is spelled in kana, and you have to recall how to write it in kanji. As it should be obvious by its title, the book was designed with the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in mind. However, we were interested in the book for quite different purposes. You can download audio recordings for all the sentences in the book from the publisher's website. By combining audio with the sentences extracted from the book we were able to create a high quality TSC deck.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#anki-deck",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Download",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"To download the deck, get Ankidrone Essentials version 6 or later.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#download",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Rest of the Tango Series",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"The JLPT Tango N2 book is actually one in a series of JLPT prep books. There are five books in total, one for each level of the JLPT. Prior to starting this deck I advise you to complete Tango N5, N4 and N3 decks. They are available as a part of Ankidrone Essentials.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#the-rest-of-the-tango-series",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"How To Study",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"If you follow the method of language learning described on this site, by the time you start this deck, you should already be doing sentence mining. While you go through the cards in the deck, delete the ones you already know. We recommend continuing to sentence mine while learning cards from the deck. Learn between 10~30 cards a day total. Keep in mind that the more new cards you learn each day, the more daily reviews you'll have in the long term. For more detailed instructions see How to review.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#how-to-study",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can I pass JLPT N2 if I finish this deck?",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"If you're doing AJATT, passing N2 shouldn't be a problem for you, even without this deck. If you're not an ajatter, most likely you have to study more and use a variety of resources in order to pass. We made this deck because we wanted to help people learn basic vocabulary and understand more immersion, we didn't concern ourselves with whether it helps passing a certain test.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#can-i-pass-jlpt-n2-if-i-finish-this-deck",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kana words",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Because the JLPT Tango N2 was originally a JLPT prep book, it only uses kanji that are tested on the JLPT. This means that lots of words that are usually written in kanji in real life show up written with kana in the book. Because this deck was designed for people who are doing AJATT and thus naturally have a strong foundation in kanji, we went over the cards and converted kana words to kanji.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#kana-words",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Additional information",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Furigana was mass-generated using the AJT Furigana add-on. If you notice that the machine-generated readings contain errors, please report them in our chat. On cards where vocabulary definitions didn't make much sense we replaced them with definitions from JMdict. To obtain the images some cards were merged with cards from this deck, using the MergeNotes add-on. Images were converted to webp with the Paste Images As WebP add-on. The number 2500 that you see in the original book does not represent the number of vocabulary in it. The actual number of sentence items is 1546. In this Anki deck we decided to remove or split certain cards, so the final number also differs.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#additional-information",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Feedback",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"We'd love to hear from you! DJT space has a Tango deck feedback room to give feedback on the deck. If you have any questions, ideas, or errors to report, please join us.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#feedback",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Credits",
    "tags":[
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Tatsumoto made cards 1-250, 1151-1250 and 1401-1500. ﾌｪﾘﾍﾟ made cards 622-700 and 1501-1546. Wisketchy Dobrov made cards 751-1000 and 1301-1400. Ras made cards 501-621. Froas made cards 1001-1150. fakana357 made cards 1251-1300. Anonymous made cards 251-500.",
    "url":"jlpt-tango-n2-anki-deck.html#credits",
    "parent":"JLPT Tango N2 Anki deck"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentence mining",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Sentence mining is a process of extracting sentences that contain unknown words from the content you read, watch or listen to in your target language and adding them to Anki in a form of targeted sentence cards (TSCs). You put an example sentence in the question field and the definitions, pictures and pronunciations in the answer field (fields). Sentence mining and immersion are the two most important components of our method. Immersion provides you with new vocabulary to be mined, and mined sentences become fuel that advances your language learning. Finding your own sentences is much more fun than learning from a premade deck, or, god forbid, a textbook. Because you're creating Anki cards out of vocabulary found in your immersion, you're always learning what is relevant to you. Once you reach this stage, it is way harder to quit Japanese, as the foundation is already in place.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html",
    "date":"2021-11-30"
  },
  {
    "title":"Preparations",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Before you really get into sentence mining, I recommend learning basic grammar and basic vocabulary. Once you do it, you are going to encounter way more 1T sentences in your immersion. I started doing sentence mining after I learned 1,000 words. At first, I mixed sentence mining with learning sentences from a premade deck, but eventually I stopped using premade decks and switched to solely using my immersion to find new sentences. If you haven't finished Ankidrone Foundation, do it now. If you wish to continue supplementing your study with a premade deck, go back to the Basic vocabulary.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#preparations",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mining process",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The process of mining sentences roughly consists of: Noticing an unknown word in your immersion. Looking it up in a dictionary. Selecting a 1T example sentence. Creating an Anki card with the sentence and the definition of the unknown word. Learning the card later. We recommend picking the original sentence you found the word in. Using a sentence from a familiar source greatly aids memorization. Try to abstain from picking MT sentences. When reviewing a card, you shouldn't force yourself to recall more than one difficult thing at the same time. If for some reason the sentence is not comprehensible to you, substitute it with a different sentence from your sentence bank or from an online sentence bank. You can generate a large sentence bank by processing several TV shows with subs2srs. See Examples and pronunciations for available sources of sentences. When you notice an unknown word, there are two ways you can go about mining it. Pause your immersion and make a card. Save the sentence you wish to mine somewhere else to deal with it later. The first method is the most straightforward, but you need to pause and properly create a card every time. The advantage of the second method is that you are not pausing your immersion. Reading definitions and adding them to cards takes time, so some people may prefer to do it after they finish their immersion session. Generate a subs2srs deck before watching a TV show. While immersing, mark the 1T sentences in the subs2srs deck by pressing Ctrl+K or by tagging them. Delete the cards you haven't marked. Mpvacious allows you to send sentences directly to Anki by pressing Ctrl+N. When reading manga, screenshot the part of the page that contains a 1T sentence. Later go back to the sentences you've saved and finish making the cards.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#mining-process",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Words and sentences",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Though in certain cases it's fine to make a word card, making a targeted sentence card instead brings more advantage. The meaning is only half of the picture. To understand a word, how it's used, and be able to use it correctly when speaking you need to know how the word connects with other words. Without an example you may misunderstand the word's meaning without realizing it. That's why making word cards is only recommended for concrete nouns. It is unlikely that you will misunderstand the meaning of a concrete noun, but you can cut a corner and save some time if you don't add an example to your card. If a word has multiple meanings, the context on the targeted sentence card will tell you which meaning to focus on. Make separate cards for other meanings when it's necessary. The role of example sentences is to provide context. Thus, the question field may contain more than one sentence if it helps clarify the usage of the target word. However, prefer examples that aren't too long. You can affect your review time if you often choose long context. It's okay to add parts of longer sentences to Anki. The clause must remain grammatically correct and retain a distinct meaning.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#words-and-sentences",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to choose words",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Being a hardcore ajatter, you probably want to eventually learn every word in your target language. Most of us pursue the same goal. Bearing this goal in mind, there are certain words you might prioritize learning now and others you can hold off on until later. Useful words should be added to the SRS to ensure you don't forget them. When it comes to identifying which words deserve attention, there are a couple of major strategies to follow: Take advantage of frequency lists. Choose frequency lists that align with the material you're consuming during your immersion. If a word is not included in your frequency lists, perhaps don't mine it. If the word is present but is not ranked as a frequent term, you might decide to mine it, but then keep it for later by repositioning or suspending it in your SRS, instead of learning it right away. Mine all words you come across, but don't learn them. Hold them off. Later, if you notice that you're about to make a card for a word that is already in your SRS, that's your cue to learn it. This way you're only learning the words that have appeared at least twice in your immersion. In the beginning it will be impossible to mine every sentence you come across each day. To manage this, you're going to have to decide when to stop adding new cards to Anki, or you'll go crazy trying to chase every word. Determine your daily sentence quota. Once you hit that number, stop collecting new sentences and just continue immersing freely. But continue paying attention to your active immersion during the time. Setting the daily quota will quickly become unnecessary as your comprehension of the language improves. As you advance, you'll be coming across fewer unknown words. At some point you turn the tables and have to look for more difficult content to maintain the same number of words you mine per day. Frequency lists gradually become useless as you progress. Once you have mined most common words, essential or core vocabulary, the relative frequency of less common words becomes more variable, shifting notably based on the domain of the language and the genre of your immersion content. If at that point you continue relying too much on frequency lists, it can cause you to skip words that are actually useful to you, given the input you are consuming. Frequency lists are inherently incapable of accurately reflecting the frequency of rarer words, so advnaced learners can move past them. At this stage, feel free to mine any word that simply looks interesting.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#how-to-choose-words",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Many cards for one word",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Avoid making multiple cards for the same meaning of the same word. In specific cases this might be helpful since memorizing different representations tends to improve memories, increase the expected recall rate, but normally it's not recommended. Let's say that making multiple cards for the same meaning of a word only makes sense for about 3% to 5% of all cards in your collection. However, if a word has multiple meanings, then creating separate cards for each meaning can be necessary. You don't have to do it for every word with multiple meanings, but only when a new meaning is ambiguous. Since the word in isolation is not enough to differentiate between different meanings, you should use targeted sentence cards.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#many-cards-for-one-word",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Card template",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To help you learn a word effectively, you should always choose the most suitable card template for the word. In a nutshell, SWCs work best for concrete nouns, whereas TSCs are used for everything else. Refer to Discussing various card templates to get an idea of what to put on your cards and how they should look. If you're using the card template introduced in the beginning of this guide, you don't have to set up everything yourself. If you wish to make your own card template, follow these rules. Put an example sentence and/or the target word on the front. It should be the only thing you have on the front. All hints should go on the back. Furigana, pronunciation, meaning is what you test yourself on. Having any of them on the front will spoil the target word. Focus on comprehension. The reason you're mining sentences is to understand Japanese. Speaking comes naturally through absorbing input.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#card-template",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Extra information on the front",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When creating cards for new words, it is inadvisable to include extra cues or context, such as images, on the fronts of cards, as this can result in the formation of memories that are reliant on the extra cues — context-dependent memories. Context-dependent memories hinder your ability to recall the target word when you see it in your immersion. Your cards should imitate reading practice in real life situations. Therefore, don't put pictures or audio clips on the front. Out in the wild the hints won't be there to help you. Normally, on the front side you see only the target word or an example sentence that contains the target word.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#extra-information-on-the-front",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Aim for high quality cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Cards that contain audio recordings, pictures or screenshots of the scenes they were taken from on the back are referred to as high quality cards. Additional information on them helps you remember the target word better. If the target word is a noun, a picture can be even more helpful than a definition. Try to make more high quality cards instead of cards that contain only text. There are many tools available to streamline adding audio and images to your cards. They are linked on the Resources page. Recommended card format.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#aim-for-high-quality-cards",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In essence grammar is a set of special words or phrases which don't bear any meanings themselves, but are used to connect the words that surround them. For example, the particle は, commonly referred to as the \"topic particle\", connects the topic of a sentence with the rest of the sentence that describes it. By itself it means nothing. There's no need to make a distinction between regular words and grammar points when sentence mining. TSCs can be used to learn both vocabulary and grammar the same way. Grammar points can be looked up in a regular dictionary, both bilingual like JMdict and monolingual like 大辞林. Let's say you want to learn what によって means. Make a TSC with the grammar point as the target. On the back of the card, put a definition from a dictionary or from a grammar guide. Personally, I mined sentences from grammar guides in my beginner days. Although it may seem dry, I recommend this practice.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#grammar",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Translations",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"You can consult a translation while you're immersing to clarify certain nuances of the original word or sentence, but putting full translations on cards is discouraged. Translations are never accurate and don't make any sense if you compare them with the original word-for-word. Even in premade decks like Core and Tango the translations are far from perfect. Machine translations are the least preferable.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#translations",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Daily amount of cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Every day you create or import a number of new cards and learn a number of new cards. These two numbers don't have to match. If you make more cards than you learn, the extras sit in your sentence bank. There's no fixed number of cards we recommend you should make. Some people batch-create cards on weekends and learn them slowly during the week. Some people make cards and learn them immediately. Others learn the cards they made the day before. You can create more cards than you learn each day. It's fine to keep them in your sentence bank. You might need them later. What matters is that you always have sentences in your deck ready to learn. Choose how many new cards you want to learn each day, and stick to that number. We recommend learning 10–30 new cards per day, depending on your preference, schedule, and how much time you have for Anki each day. One way to determine your organic limit is to start with 10 new cards a day and see how it goes. Increase the daily amount if you can handle more. Don't introduce too many new cards at once. The number of new cards and your retention rate determine how many reviews you'll need to complete. If you feel overwhelmed by daily reviews, you can influence future review load by lowering your daily new-card count or stopping learning new cards entirely for a while. If you have headroom, raise the number of new cards. You can get away with more new cards if you raise your Interval Modifier, but expect your retention to drop. Don't cap reviews by lowering the Maximum reviews/day setting to make room for more new cards. It only hides due cards from you. Not completing reviews on schedule creates a backlog. Worse, the backlog stays invisible because Anki hides it.",
    "url":"sentence-mining.html#daily-amount-of-cards",
    "parent":"Sentence mining"
  },
  {
    "title":"Retiming subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Reading target language subtitles is a great way to improve at your target language and grow your vocabulary when watching movies and TV-shows. Often, after downloading an archive with subtitles for a show you find that the subtitles are not in sync with the video files you have on your computer. In this article let's discuss what you can do to sync them.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html",
    "date":"2021-10-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtaining subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese subtitles can be found in Resources.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#obtaining-subtitles",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Loading subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"mpv can automatically detect and load subtitle files when opening a video. To set mpv to load all subs containing media filename, enable fuzzy searching. To be able to store subtitles in their own subfolder, specify a list of desired folder names separated by colons in sub-file-paths parameter. Add the following settings to ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf. sub-auto=fuzzy subs-with-matching-audio=yes sub-file-paths=ass:srt:sub:subs:subtitles:subs.en:subs.ja Although you can load a subtitle file if you drag and drop it into a mpv window, this requires you to have a graphical file manager installed. These days almost everyone uses terminal-based file managers. I recommend renaming subtitles before opening a video to have mpv load them for you. The best tool for doing it in my opinion is vidir. In addition to vidir, I advise you to install lf. It's an excellent terminal-based file manager. You can configure it to bring vidir for you when you press a certain key. Another helpful program you might need is atool. Atool is going to help you extract archives with subtitles downloaded from the Internet. Add the following settings to ~/.config/lf/lfrc. # Set the `b` key to call vidir. map b $vidir # Extract archives by pressing `E`. map E !atool -x $fx If you don't have vidir installed, you can use this bulkrename cmd. It works the same way as vidir does. Add it to your lfrc file. cmd bulkrename ${{ tmpfile_old=\"$(mktemp)\" tmpfile_new=\"$(mktemp)\" [ -n \"$fs\" ] && fs=$(basename -a $fs) || fs=$(ls -A) echo \"$fs\" > \"$tmpfile_old\" echo \"$fs\" > \"$tmpfile_new\" $EDITOR \"$tmpfile_new\" [ \"$(wc -l < \"$tmpfile_old\")\" -eq \"$(wc -l < \"$tmpfile_new\")\" ] || { rm -f \"$tmpfile_old\" \"$tmpfile_new\"; exit 1; } paste \"$tmpfile_old\" \"$tmpfile_new\" | while IFS=\"$(printf '\\t')\" read -r src dst do [ \"$src\" = \"$dst\" ] || [ -e \"$dst\" ] || mv -- \"$src\" \"$dst\" done rm -f -- \"$tmpfile_old\" \"$tmpfile_new\" lf -remote \"send $id unselect\" }} map b bulkrename",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#loading-subtitles",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Renaming subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Let's see how you can quickly rename subtitles with vidir. For this example I took subs for Steins;Gate from Kitsunekko.net. Watch this video on to get a gist of how it's done. By default, vidir will try to use the text editor that is set via the EDITOR environment variable. I have it set to nvim. To use nvim, install Neovim and add export EDITOR=\"nvim\" as a new environment variable.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#renaming-subtitles",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Extracting internal subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Often you want to extract internal subtitles to use them as reference for retiming. Most likely the internal subtitles are going to be English fansubs and the ones you want to retime are Japanese subtitles downloaded from kitsunekko. To extract all internal subtitles from videos in a folder in one go you can use a bash loop. for video in ./*.mkv; do ffmpeg -i \"$video\" -f srt \"${video%.*}\".srt done Sometimes a video contains multiple subtitle tracks. To find out which one to extract, use ffprobe. ffprobe -loglevel error -select_streams s -show_entries stream_tags=language,title:stream=index -of compact video.mkv To select a stream to extract, specify the -map parameter. E.g., to extract track #1 you use -map 0:1. ffmpeg -i video.mkv -map 0:1 -f srt subs.srt Similarly, use a bash loop to convert existing subtitles from one format to another. You can swap ass and srt in the example. for sub in ./*.ass; do ffmpeg -i \"$sub\" -f srt \"${sub%.*}\".srt done",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#extracting-internal-subtitles",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Retiming methods",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"There are two methods of retiming subtitles available today: Manually adjusting timings using the retimer included with subs2srs or by adjusting the subtitle delay in mpv. Using an automatic tool, ffsubsync or alass. FFsubsync and alass fail to retime subtitle files with lots of commercial breaks unless the same breaks are present in the video file, which is almost never the case. Otherwise, the automatic tools are almost always faster than using a manual retimer.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#retiming-methods",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Manual retiming",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#manual-retiming",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"In mpv",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"If the timings are not too far off, you can adjust them in mpv by using built-in commands. Add the following lines to ~/.config/mpv/input.conf. # Add/subtract 100 ms delay from subs Z add sub-delay +0.1 z add sub-delay -0.1 # Adjust timing to previous/next subtitle X sub-step 1 x sub-step -1 Try to find the right timings by pressing z, Z, x and X. z and Z change the subtitle delay, x and X jump between adjacent subtitles. In my experience, this method is usually sufficient. However, if you are unable to adjust your subtitles using MPV alone, consider other options.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#in-mpv",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"With subs2srs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Subs2srs ships with a sub retimer tool. After you install subs2srs, you can find the retimer by its desktop entry. This tool is helpful when you have a reference subtitle file that is already synced. By selecting subtitle lines and pressing \"Time shift\" you \"copy\" timings from one file to the other. The retimer tool automatically applies time shifts to all subtitle lines following the one you select. Screenshot.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#with-subs2srs",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Automatic retiming",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#automatic-retiming",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"With FFsubsync",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"FFsubsync is an automatic synchronization utility. When synchronizing, you can use a correctly synchronized subtitle file or a video as a reference for synchronization. To install FFsubsync, first install ffmpeg, pipx, then the program itself. sudo pacman -S --needed ffmpeg python-pipx pipx install ffsubsync Read Usage on GitHub to understand how to use the program to retime individual files. I recommend retiming subtitles in bulk, using a bash-loop. For this example let's say the videos are stored in the current directory, the subtitle files I want to retime are stored in the subs.ja directory the reference subtitles are stored in the subs.en directory and all subtitles are in ass format. This loop retimes all Japanese subs in the folder using the corresponding English subs as reference. for reference in ./subs.en/*.ass; do to_retime=${reference//.en/.ja} retimed=${to_retime%.*}_retimed.${to_retime##*.} ffsubsync \"$reference\" -i \"$to_retime\" -o \"$retimed\" done This loop retimes all Japanese subs using the corresponding videos as reference. for reference in ./*.mkv; do to_retime=./subs.ja/$(basename \"${reference/.mkv/.ass}\") retimed=${to_retime%.*}_retimed.${to_retime##*.} ffsubsync \"$reference\" -i \"$to_retime\" -o \"$retimed\" done",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#with-ffsubsync",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"With alass",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"alass is a program similar to FFsubsync. It works exactly like FFsubsync but its command line interface differs a little. Arch Linux users can install alass from the AUR. You can use the example bash loops shown above with alass if you remove -i and -o since alass doesn't need them. Refer to the docs on GitHub for more detailed instructions.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#with-alass",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"With autosubsync-mpv",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Retiming with FFsubsync and alass can be further automated by using autosubsync-mpv. Autosubsync-mpv is an add-on for the mpv media player. Watch this video to see how it works and how to set it up. To use autosubsync-mpv first ensure that mpv, ffmpeg, pipx and ffsubsync are installed. Run the following commands. sudo pacman -S --needed mpv ffmpeg python-pipx pipx install ffsubsync Download and install the mpv add-on. mkdir -p ~/.config/mpv/scripts/ git clone 'https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/autosubsync-mpv' ~/.config/mpv/scripts/autosubsync When you watch a video in mpv, press n to bring the add-on's menu. It's going to give you the following options: Sync to audio Sync to another subtitle Save current timings. Choose Sync to another subtitle if you have a reference subtitle in another language. Otherwise, choose Sync to audio. If you have made changes to the timings by pressing z and Z in mpv, you have an option to permanently save them to a file if you choose Save current timings.",
    "url":"retiming-subtitles.html#with-autosubsync-mpv",
    "parent":"Retiming subtitles"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setting up Qolibri",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Qolibri is a Qt-based dictionary viewer. It lets you search multiple dictionaries at one time so for every word you look up you immediately get multiple definitions. Qolibri remains one of the most widely used Japanese dictionary viewers for GNU/Linux. By itself, Qolibri is just a viewer. To utilize it, you need dictionary files. The dictionary files Qolibri reads are called EPWINGs. EPWING (electronic publishing WING) is a dictionary format that was allegedly utilized in portable electronic dictionaries. Qolibri is much better than Rikaitan at searching a big number of dictionaries at the same time. If you try to use more than 5 dictionaries with Rikaitan, it quickly becomes very cluttered and hard to navigate. Qolibri lists all dictionaries you have on a sidebar. It is easy to jump between them if you need to. If you haven't started using Japanese to Japanese dictionaries yet, feel free to skip this article for now. Though Japanese to English dictionaries for Qolibri exist, their number is not very large. The main reason you want to use the program is to browse monolingual dictionaries.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html",
    "date":"2021-09-29"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"On Arch Linux-based distributions you can install Qolibri with trizen or any other AUR helper. $ trizen -S qolibri If you don't want to build it yourself, install qolibri-bin: $ trizen -S qolibri-bin If you're running a different distribution of GNU/Linux or not running GNU/Linux at all, check out the GitHub page for installation instructions.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#installation",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dictionary files",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Without dictionary files, Qolibri is just an empty window with buttons. Download the dictionaries and save them to a folder on your computer. EPWINGs are usually larger compared to Rikaitan dictionaries. You need several GiB of disk space to store them. You can find dictionary files here. To import the dictionaries to Qolibri click \"Setting\" > \"Book and group settings\" and insert the location where the dictionary files are stored on your computer. Then press \"Start search\". Once the dictionaries are loaded, put the ones that you use most often at the top to have them display first when searching. Due to the nature of the format, most Qolibri dictionaries are old, they date back to the 1990s. But don't worry about it, in rare occasions when you can't find a definition for a new word or slang, you can use the web search or consult online dictionaries.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#dictionary-files",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Recommended dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"These dictionaries are recommended the most among Japanese learners. Here I list generic names stripped of version notations, editions, etc. 大辞林 新明解 大辞泉 明鏡 広辞苑 Usually people keep NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 at the very top to quickly access pitch accent information and audio.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#recommended-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Searching",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"To search in Qolibri, insert what you're interested in finding into the search box and press \"Search\". There are multiple search types you can choose from. Exact word search (完全一致). Search for a headword that matches exactly with the query. Forward search (前方一致). Search words that start with the query. Backward search (後方一致). Search words that end with the query. Full text search (全文検索). Search whole page. These types split the search query by whitespaces: Cross search (クロス検索). Searches multiple words inside headwords. E.g., if you search 繰 返, it's going to find entries like 繰り返す or 繰り返し. After testing this search type I must say that it's far from perfect and often finds nothing when you expect it to find something. Keyword search (条件検索). Like cross search, but searches words in the books' contents, including headwords. Most of the time you want to use Exact search.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#searching",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Invoke search from a shortcut",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Qolibri can accept search queries via command line arguments. If you have xclip installed, you can write a small bash script that will send the content of the primary selection (or the clipboard, if you want) to Qolibri. Configure your DE, WM or a tool like sxhkd to bind the following command to a key: qolibri \"$(xclip -o)\" Now you can select any text and then press the key you've set to quickly search it. I recommend enabling \"Server mode\" in Qolibri's options. Otherwise, every time you press the hotkey, a new Qolibri window will be opened instead of a new tab. Note: Cabl has a built-in function that sends selected text to Qolibri.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#invoke-search-from-a-shortcut",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Watch clipboard",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"If you click the \"Watch clipboard\" button on the top toolbar, Qolibri will automatically search any text you copy to the clipboard.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#watch-clipboard",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Playing NHK audio",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"One of the dictionaries available for Qolibri is NHK 日本語発音アクセント辞典. It shows pitch accents of words and lets you play wav audio recordings when you click on the blue links. NHK dictionary with audio recordings. If you face problems when playing audio inside Qolibri, chances are Qolibri is not configured correctly. If you can't hear anything when clicking on pronunciations in the NHK dictionary or other dictionaries, download qolibri-mpv, a script that can be used to play Qolibri's audio with mpv. Naturally, you need mpv to be installed for it to work. Save the script in ~/.local/bin. To make it executable, run chmod +x ~/.local/bin/qolibri-mpv Make sure ~/.local/bin is added to the PATH. In Qolibri, go to \"Settings\" > \"Options...\" > \"External program\" and specify the name of the executable. Qolibri's options. In addition to playing the files as you click on them, qolibri-mpv also copies them to clipboard. You are able to play an audio and paste it in an Anki note as an ogg/opus file. Video demonstration.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#playing-nhk-audio",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Set browser font",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"To change the font used in the browser, go to \"Settings\" > \"Set browser font...\". Recommended fonts can be found here.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#set-browser-font",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"Custom CSS",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"You can change the way definitions look using CSS. To edit the style sheet, go to \"Settings\" > \"Edit style sheet\" > \"Dictionary style sheet...\". I use a theme that looks similar to the style of my Anki cards. To get it, download this example CSS file. The default CSS file Qolibri ships with can be found on GitHub. Definition.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#custom-css",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to use the dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"If you click on the \"Search/read book\" button on the left side of the window, the magnifying glass icon changes into a book. Choose a dictionary in the dropdown menu and click the button that says \"Open book\". The program will show you a page that explains how to use the dictionary. Often dictionaries don't have this information, but 新明解, 大辞泉, 明鏡, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 and several others do. Here you can find the explanations what all the symbols mean.",
    "url":"setting-up-qolibri.html#how-to-use-the-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up Qolibri"
  },
  {
    "title":"One target sentences",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Let's define a \"target\" as any unknown piece of information in a given sentence in a foreign language. It can be either a word or a grammar structure. We can divide all sentences we encounter while immersing in our target language into three groups: 0T, zero-target. Sentences that don't contain anything you don't already know. 1T, one-target. Sentences that contain one unknown piece of information. 2T+, MT, multi-target. Sentences that contain multiple unknown pieces of information. If a sentence is 1T, you should be able to understand the meaning of the whole sentence perfectly after looking up the definition of the unknown word or reading the explanation of the unknown grammar structure. If you still don't understand it after a lookup then it's not a 1T sentence. When making TSCs, I recommend that you only take 1T sentences and avoid MT sentences. In other words, stick to the minimum information principle. If for some reason you choose to add an MT sentence to Anki, only test yourself on the target word which you have highlighted. A word can be highlighted in Anki by selecting it and pressing Ctrl+b to make it bold or by setting up Rikaitan to do it for you. Having to recall several unknown words at once is very difficult and lowers your retention. If you have several words you want to learn, create different targeted sentence cards for each of them instead of putting all the words on one card. Don't fail a card because you couldn't recall a word that is not the target word of the card in question. Needless to say, there's no point in adding a 0T sentence to Anki. You won't gain anything by making it into a card. Learning through targeted sentence cards proves to be fast and efficient. Ajatters often refer to it as \"picking low-hanging fruit\". As you progress in the foreign language, 1T sentences become 0T, and sentences that were MT turn into 1T and become ready for learning. Finding 1T sentences can be challenging in the beginning. This is partly the reason why we recommend learning basic vocabulary from a premade deck to \"unlock\" as many 1T sentences as possible. Keeping a large bank of sentences is another good approach. The best sentence banks are made by converting anime and dramas to Anki decks with subs2srs. You can also download a collection of premade sentences from here. Note: Often people use terms \"1T\" and \"i+1\" interchangeably, though they mean slightly different things. The term \"i+1\" was coined by Stephen Krashen as a part of his Input hypothesis. It refers to a level of input that is slightly above the learner's current level. Krashen called this level of input \"i+1\", where \"i\" is the learner's interlanguage and \"+1\" is the next stage of language acquisition. \"i+1\" input contains unknown pieces of information whose meanings can be inferred entirely through context, while \"1T\" implies that there's a concrete sentence that can't be understood until one particular piece of information is looked up in a dictionary.",
    "url":"one-target-sentences.html",
    "date":"2021-09-09"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ankidrone Sentence Pack",
    "tags":[
      "vocab",
      "decks"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Sentence Pack is an Anki deck that contains over 67,000 Japanese sentence with native audio. This deck is not to be learned from back to back, its purpose is to aid you in finding example sentences for your targeted sentence cards. There are times when you want to mine a new word you've found in your immersion but the sentence it appears in is not 1T for you. In such situations you can either make a SWC or search in a sentence bank. I encourage you to build your own sentence bank using tools like subs2srs or mpvacious. If you don't have a bank yet, Ankidrone Sentence Pack is going to be a good starting point and the first building block of your bank. The deck is a complete offline copy of the Sentence Search website. The list of sentences used on the site can be found here. Additionally, the pack was expanded with sentences from many premade Anki decks I found online. Each card has a tag that indicates the underlying source. Audio files were converted from mp3 to a superior Opus format to save disk space. Anki supports Opus on both PC and Android. Sentence Search contains sentences from the Core10k deck (iKnow, core10k) and Tango decks (Ankidrone Essentials), thus this data is also present in Ankidrone Sentence Pack. If you already have these decks in your collection, delete the duplicates after importing the deck. Download If you have a different profile to store your sentence bank, use Cross Profile Search And Import to copy cards from the bank profile to your main profile. This deck is not a replacement for Ankidrone Essentials. It doesn't contain dictionary definitions. I recommend you start with Ankidrone Essentials if you're a beginner.",
    "url":"ankidrone-sentence-pack.html",
    "date":"2021-09-07"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Correctly accenting Japanese words when you speak is essential for sounding like a native speaker, and in some situations essential for communication. In this article, we will introduce you to the way accents work in Japanese, help you understand how to determine the correct accents of words and sentences, show you some commonly confused word groups, and explain how to look up accents in Japanese dictionaries.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html",
    "date":"2021-07-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"Preparations",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Ensure that you have installed GoldenDict, Qolibri, or that you have imported monolingual dictionaries into Rikaitan. You need access to monolingual dictionaries because they provide information about the pitch accents of words. In particular, 大辞林 (or スーパー大辞林), 新明解, and NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 contain pitch accent information, so you need to import them. Downloads are listed here.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#preparations",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"What are pitch accents?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese is a pitch-accented language. Slight differences in the pitch of sounds are used to differentiate words and convey sentence structure. This is different from a stress-accented language such as English, where certain sounds are emphasized by changing both the pitch and the duration. In Japanese, the duration of each sound that makes up a word (known as a 'mora') remains consistent, and only the pitch varies. As a result of this rhythmic consistency, it is sometimes inaccurately claimed that Japanese does not have accents. However, this is not true. The pitch does vary within words and sentences. If you do not reproduce this accurately when speaking, your Japanese will not sound natural. In some cases, multiple words use the same sounds but differ in pitch, so you may actually be hard to understand if your pitch is incorrect.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#what-are-pitch-accents",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Intonation",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"In Japanese, pitch accent is correctly referred to as 高低アクセント. However, casually, Japanese speakers may mistakenly call it イントネーション. While this is incorrect, when a native Japanese speaker who is not a linguist tells you that your intonation is bad, they most likely mean that you need to work on your pitch accent.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#intonation",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do I need to learn pitch accent?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Having correct pitch accent improves your speaking and allows you to sound native or almost native. If you're doing AJATT, you've been listening to Japanese a lot, and your listening ability and phonetic awareness is really strong. Having great listening skills thanks to AJATTing leads to naturally acquiring a significant portion of native pitch accent, much like native speakers who never consciously study pitch accent. You will never confuse 橋 with 箸, or 神 with 髪. You will be better than 90% of gaijin out there. However, based on our observations, even AJATTers typically do not achieve native-level pitch accent through immersion alone. Their pitch accent is usually only 50%, maybe 60% correct. So they still make lots of mistakes when they speak. Because we read a lot, use text-based flashcards, and use dictionaries, we progress faster in acquiring the language and achieving literacy, but we also damage our pitch accent and pronunciation. Avoiding this issue is hard because the alternative would be learning Japanese entirely through listening, identical to how infants learn. Obviously, it will take much longer to become fluent this way. And it's impossible to sell this approach to beginners who initially feel overwhelmed by their inability to understand anything during immersion and will refuse to listen to white noise for many months. So, most AJATTers learn the usual way, by utilizing reading, dictionaries, and text-based flashcards to speedup acquisition. To sum it up, if you want to narrow the gap between yourself and native speakers in terms speaking ability, studying pitch accent is a good idea. If not, it's perfectly fine not to learn it. That said, every once in a while you run into situations where understanding pitch accent is necessary for comprehension. Some jokes in Japanese involve pitch accent as well. Even if you don't want to live in Japan and speak to natives, knowing a little about pitch accent can improve your immersion experience.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#do-i-need-to-learn-pitch-accent",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mora",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"When you read about Japanese pitch accents, you will often come across the term \"mora\", which is a linguistic term used to refer to a single \"unit\" of sound in a language. Note: \"mora\" is singular, while the plural form is usually \"moras\" in modern English. But since it is derived from a Latin word, \"morae\" is also acceptable. A mora can be defined as a single kana character excluding small kana (ゃ,ゅ,ょ but not っ), optionally followed by a small kana. Each mora is given the same amount of time when pronounced. Examples: にゃ is one mora. あ is one mora. ー (long vowel mark) and small っ each count as one mora. 東京(とうきょう) has 4 moras: と, う, きょ and う. 借金(しゃっきん) has 4 moras: しゃ, っ, き, ん.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#mora",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mora vs syllable",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"In English, we use the term \"syllable\" to describe the sounds that make up a word. Although the terms \"syllable\" and \"mora\" are sometimes used interchangeably, they have slightly different meanings. Both syllables and moras refer to the sounds that make up words in a language. In a language such as English, which is not a rhythmic or timed language, the sounds that make up a word may have different durations. Thus, the standard \"unit\" of sound is a syllable. In contrast, Japanese is a rhythmic language where each consecutive sound has the same duration. Therefore, the standard unit of sound is a mora.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#mora-vs-syllable",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch number",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese dictionaries utilize pitch number notation to define pitch accents. This notation is used in monolingual dictionaries and provides the shortest way for readers to understand the accent of a word. If you know the number, you know the accent. For more details, see the linked article. The pitch accent number indicates the position of a mora after which the tone of voice drops from high to low. The first mora has number 1, the second mora has number 2, and so on. 0 is used to indicate that there is no downstep. Look up 人生 in スーパー大辞林 Look up 生活 in スーパー大辞林 In order to use this notation, just count the number of moras in the word. Remember that small kana symbols (except for っ) are included with the previous character. So, きよ is two moras, but きょ is only one. When the pitch of a compound word is based on the pitch of the words it comes from, the pitch of each word is shown joined by a hyphen (-).",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#pitch-number",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dialects",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"This guide explains the pitch accents of words in 標準語 (ひょうじゅんご), or \"Standard Japanese\", which is the form of Japanese taught in schools and used by NHK announcers. In the real world, accents vary significantly across Japan, meaning that a single word can be pronounced differently depending on the region. Even in Tokyo, the way people speak differs from Standard Japanese despite the fact that 標準語 is often referred to as \"Tokyo dialect\".",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#dialects",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Words with Multiple Pitch Accents",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"There are cases where even in 標準語 one word can have several different pronunciations. Where that happens, Japanese dictionaries display each of the possible options, with the most common listed first. When you look up such a word, you will see several pitch accent numbers. For example, ちょっと (a little) has two accents, 1 and 0. Look up ちょっと in 新明解国語辞典. In real life one of the accents is usually more common than the others, but you cannot trust the dictionary 100% to determine which pronunciation is most commonly used by native speakers. To tell which accent is dominant and how you should say the word correctly, you need to listen to native speakers and find out how they say it.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#words-with-multiple-pitch-accents",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Accent patterns for Japanese words",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"All Japanese words follow one of just 4 pitch accent patterns. If you ensure that your speech always uses one of the four patterns, you will sound natural 90% of the time, even if you occasionally use the wrong pattern. The most \"unnatural\"-sounding Japanese comes from using a pitch pattern that does not actually exist in Japanese, because it is a mistake that no native speaker would ever make. Let's take a look at these patterns one by one.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#accent-patterns-for-japanese-words",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Heiban",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"The term 平板 (へいばん) literally means \"flat board\", so this accent pattern is generally understood to mean \"accentless\", or a flat pitch pattern. In any 平板 word with more than one mora, the first mora is pronounced with a low pitch, while all subsequent moras are pronounced with a high pitch. Any particle that follows the word is also pronounced with a high pitch. Since the pitch does not drop in heiban words, in monolingual dictionaries all 平板 words are represented by a 0. Examples: 気 (spirit; mind). In isolation: き With a particle: きが 国 (country). In isolation: くに With a particle: くにが 時間 (time). In isolation: じかん With a particle: じかんが",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#heiban",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Atamadaka",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"頭高 (あたまだか) means \"head high\". In this pattern, the first mora is high, and then all subsequent moras are pronounced with a low pitch. The drop in pitch is more pronounced than the slight rise in pitch we see at the beginning of 平板 words. Any particle following the word is also pronounced with a low pitch. Essentially, 頭高 is the opposite of the 平板 pattern. Since the pitch drops after the first mora, in monolingual dictionaries all 頭高 words are represented by a 1. Examples: 何時 (いつ, when). In isolation: いつ With a particle: いつが 天気 (weather). In isolation: てんき With a particle: てんきが 毎日 (every day). In isolation: まいにち With a particle: まいにちが",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#atamadaka",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Nakadaka",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"中高 (なかだか) means \"middle high\", and the key characteristic of this pattern is that the pitch drops from high to low at some point within the word. The first mora is low, and any particle following the word is also pronounced with a low pitch. Similar to 平板 words, the rise in pitch at the beginning of the word is smaller than the drop in pitch that occurs later. All 中高 words have at least three moras. Since the pitch drops somewhere before the end of a word, in monolingual dictionaries 中高 words are represented by numbers such as 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. However, the pitch number cannot be equal to the number of moras. There is another pattern name for those words. Examples: 一つ (one). Accent: 2. In isolation: ひとつ With a particle: ひとつが スポーツ (sports). Accent: 2. In isolation: スポーツ With a particle: スポーツが 工場 (factory). Accent: 3. In isolation: こうじょう With a particle: こうじょうが Note: In Japanese, the use of 'う' to lengthen the 'お' sound is primarily a written convention. For instance, When pronouncing a word such as 工場(こうじょう), the こ sound is simply extended, resulting in こお (or 'こー' as they also spell it). The 'う' is not pronounced. Listen to the example above to understand it better.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#nakadaka",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Odaka",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"尾高 (おだか) means \"tail high\". In this pattern, the first mora is low (unless the word only has a single mora), then the pitch rises and remains high until the end of the word. Any particle following the word has a low pitch. Since the pitch drops immediately after the end of odaka words, in monolingual dictionaries the pitch number of an 尾高 word is equal to the total number of moras in it. Examples: 木 (tree). Accent: 1. In isolation: き With a particle: きが 川 (river). Accent: 2. In isolation: かわ With a particle: かわが 二つ (two). Accent: 3. In isolation: ふたつ With a particle: ふたつが",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#odaka",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kifuku",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"You may encounter the term 起伏式 (きふく‐しき) describing pitch accent patterns. 起伏式 literally means \"undulating form\", and it is a collective term representing the three patterns 頭高, 中高 and 尾高. Another way to understand these accent patterns is that 平板 starts low and stays high, whereas each of the other patterns starts low, goes high, and then goes low again (in other words, undulates). Since this is just an umbrella term, kifuku is not one of the 4 pitch accent patterns. Flat accent. じかんが Undulating accent. ひとつが",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#kifuku",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rules for determining pitch accents",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rules-for-determining-pitch-accents",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 0. Any word that is not a particle has a fixed pitch accent.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"The pitch accent will remain the same whenever you encounter the word. If you learn the pitch accent of a particular word (and pitch accent rules), that's all you need to accent it correctly. However, you may not always remember the pitch of a word. Below we will cover some rules that will help you guess correctly most of the time.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-0-any-word-that-is-not-a-particle-has-a-fixed-pitch-accent",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 1. If the first mora is low, the second is high, and vice versa.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"If you look at the four basic patterns, you'll notice they all have something in common. If the first mora has a high pitch, the second has a low pitch. Conversely, if the first mora has a low pitch, the second mora has a high pitch. The pitches of the first and second moras in a standalone word are always different. It is impossible for every mora in a word to be either entirely high or entirely low. Low to high. くに High to low. いつ",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-1-if-the-first-mora-is-low-the-second-is-high-and-vice-versa",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 2 Once pitch drops, it stays low.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"We can see something else from our 4 patterns. Once the pitch of a word goes low, it remains low until the end of the word. No matter how long a word is, there will only ever be at most three pitches (low, then high, then low again). Note: This rule does not apply to particles or all inflected forms. We'll cover that in Particles below. 一つ (one). ひとつ スポーツ (sports). スポーツ お母さん (mother). おかあさん お巡さん (policeman). おまわりさん",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-2-once-pitch-drops-it-stays-low",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 3. If in doubt, guess 平板.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"If you are not sure about the correct accent of a word, this rule will be particularly useful. Among the 10,000 most commonly used words in Japanese, the 平板 pattern is used about 55% of the time. Therefore, if you are completely unsure of a word's accent, guess 平板 (start low, then go high and stay high). You will be correct more often than not. If you have any reason to believe a word is not 平板, the next most common pattern is 頭高, which is used in about 25% of the 10,000 most useful words. In this case, start high, then drop to low on the second mora and stay low. After 平板 and 頭高, the next most common is 中高, which is used about 15% of the time. However, it is hard to guess where pitch drops in 中高 words because the 中高 pattern covers all words which go low at some point in the middle of the word. The classification alone does not give you enough information to determine where in the word you should go low.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-3-if-in-doubt-guess-heiban",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Additional Considerations",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"There are two more points to keep in mind when you are trying to determine pitch accent. First, the accent of a word may change if the word is incorporated into a larger word. We will cover this in Caveats below. For example, when two heiban nouns form a compound word, they become nakadaka, and the drop occurs after the first mora of the second word. If you combine 携帯 けいたい (0) and 電話 でんわ (0), the result will be 携帯電話 けいたいでんわ (5). Second, when combining words into sentences, you need to understand how to address the pitch of particles and how to handle the overall pitch of the sentence. We will cover this in Pitch accents in sentences below. The pitch can be modified based on the other words in the sentence and the applicable rules. For example, odaka nouns followed by the particle の become heiban. If you take the phrase 部屋の中, it will be pronounced as へやのなか. There are countless pitch accent rules like these.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#additional-considerations",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Commonly confused words",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Most of the time, if you get the pitch accent of a word wrong, your Japanese will sound a little odd, but it will be perfectly understandable. However, in certain situations, it could lead to an unfortunate miscommunication. Some Japanese words which use the same sounds (known as 'homonyms') are distinguished by their pitch accent. Therefore, if you use the incorrect accent, you are actually using the incorrect word! Below are a few of the most common and important examples. ひ. 日 (day). Accent: 0. ひが 火 (fire). Accent: 1. ひが き. 木 (tree). Accent: 1. きが 気 (spirit). Accent: 0. きが いち. 一 (one). Accent: 2. いちが 位置 (position). Accent: 1. いちを かみ. 紙 (paper). Accent: 2. かみが 髪 (hair). Accent: 2. かみが 神 (god). Accent: 1. かみを はな. 花 (flower). Accent: 2. はなを 鼻 (nose). Accent: 0. はなを あさ. 朝 (morning). Accent: 1. あさを 麻 (cannabis, flax). Accent: 2. あさを ようい. 用意 (use). Accent: 1. ようい 容易 (ease). Accent: 0. ようい おもい. 重い (heavy). Accent: 0. おもい 思い (thought). Accent: 2. おもい かう. 買う (to buy). Accent: 0. かう 飼う (to have a pet). Accent: 1. かう はし. 橋 (bridge). Accent: 2. はしを 端 (edge). Accent: 0. はしを 箸 (chopsticks). Accent: 1. はしを かた. 肩 (shoulder). Accent: 1. かたを 型 (type). Accent: 2. かたを 方 (person). Accent: 2. かたを",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#commonly-confused-words",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Particles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Particles don't really have their own standalone pitch accent in the same way that other parts of speech do. The pitch of a particle is determined by the accent type of the word it follows. For 平板 words, the pitch of the particle is high. 会社 (company). Accent: 0. かいしゃが For 頭高, 中高 and 尾高 words, the particle pitch is low. 世界 (world). Accent: 1. せかいが 日本 (Japan). Accent: 2. にほんが 言葉 (word). Accent: 3. ことばが",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#particles",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Polite forms of verbs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"When ます attaches to any verb, it overrides the verb's original pitch accent. The original accent of the verb does not matter. ます. Drop after ま. 行く. Accent: 0. いきます 見る. Accent: 1. みます 食べる. Accent: 2. たべます ました. Drop after ま. 行く. Accent: 0. いきました 見る. Accent: 1. みました 食べる. Accent: 2. たべました ません. Drop after せ. Also applies to …ませんでした. 行く. Accent: 0. いきません 見る. Accent: 1. みません 食べる. Accent: 2. たべません For other forms, the pitch depends on the category of verb.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#polite-forms-of-verbs",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Heiban verbs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Note: Most Japanese words are 平板, and this is especially true for verbs. Nearly 65% of the most useful 1,000 verbs in Japanese are 平板. When a 平板 verb is inflected, most inflections retain the 平板 pattern. Inflections of 平板 verbs with the 平板 pattern: Plain. 言う (say). いう Plain negative. 言わない (does not say). いわない Past. 言った (said). いった \"Te form\". 言って (saying). いって Potential. 言える (can say). いえる Passive. 言われる (is said). いわれる Causative. 言わせる (make say). いわせる The following inflections of 平板 verbs do not follow the 平板 pattern, and these inflections do not have the same pattern in non-平板 verbs. Inflections of 平板 verbs with the 中高 pattern: Past negative. 言わなかった (did not say). いわなかった Conditional. 言えば (if I say). いえば Volitional. 言おう (want to say). いおう",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#heiban-verbs",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Non-heiban verbs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Verbs that are not 平板 are either 頭高 or 中高. There are no 尾高 verbs. Almost all of the 頭高 verbs have only two moras. Most non-negative inflections of 頭高 verbs are also 頭高. Inflections of 頭高 verbs: Plain. 見る (see). みる Past. 見た (saw). みた Te. 見て (seeing). みて Conditional. 見れば (if I see). みれば 中高 verbs are a little more difficult to predict, but some generalizations do exist. The downstep in the plain form always occurs before the final mora. Plain. 食べる (eat). たべる For the past, -te, and conditional forms, the downstep is on the third-to-last mora. Past. 食べた (ate). たべた Te. 食べて (eating). たべて Conditional. 食べれば (if I eat). たべれば For negative forms of both 頭高 and 中高 verbs, the downstep comes on the mora before the な. So, for two-mora verbs such as 見る, negative forms are also 頭高, and for longer verbs, they are 中高. Plain negative. 見ない (doesn't see). みない Past negative. 見なかった (didn't see). みなかった The remaining common forms of both 頭高 and 中高 verbs are 中高. Potential / passive. 見られる (is seen / be able to see). みられる Causative. 見させる (make see). みさせる -nagara. 見ながら (while seeing). みながら",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#non-heiban-verbs",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Adjectives",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"The vast majority of 形容詞 (い-adjectives) are 中高 with the downstep occurring before the い. In most cases, any conjugated form shifts the downstep one mora back. Plain. 暑い (hot). あつい Past. 暑かった (was hot). あつかった Te. 暑くて (hot...). あつくて Negative forms of い-adjectives are one of the rare exceptions to the 'once you go low, stay low' rule. Negative forms function as if they are a combination of the pitch pattern of the く form of the adjective, plus a suitably conjugated form of the 頭高 word ない (in other words, the な is high). Plain. 暑くない (not hot). あつくない Past. 暑くなかった (was not hot). あつくなかった 形容動詞 (な-adjectives) can be 頭高 or 中高 (most 2-mora and 3-mora words) or 平板 (most 4-mora words consisting of kanji only). 静か (quiet). Accent: 1. しずかな 安全 (safe). Accent: 0. あんぜんな 賑やか (lively). Accent: 2. にぎやかな Negative forms of な-adjectives are also exceptions to the 'once you go low, stay low' rule. Negative forms function as if they are a combination of the dictionary form of the adjective, plus では with low pitch, plus a suitably conjugated form of the 頭高 word ない. Plain. 静かではない (not quiet). しずかではない Past. 静かではなかった (was not quiet). しずかではなかった",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#adjectives",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentence-ending words",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Many common sentence-ending words, such as だ, です, でしょう, だろう, みたい, etc., follow a simple pattern: if the last mora of the previous word is low, they start low and stay low. If the last mora of the previous word is high, they start high and go low after the first mora. 秋です (is autumn, it is autumn). あきです 学生です (is a student, I'm a student). がくせいです",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#sentence-ending-words",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch accents in sentences",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"So now we are well equipped to pronounce individual words correctly, but what happens when we put words together in sentences? How do things change? What does the overall pitch pattern of a sentence look like? We can determine sentence-level pitch by thinking of it as a combination of three rules.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#pitch-accents-in-sentences",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 1. Pitch stays high across word boundaries until it reaches a downstep.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"When a word that ordinarily has a low pitch on the first mora (such as 中高 or 平板 words with 2 and more moras) follows a mora with high pitch, the pitch remains high on the first mora of the word. Let's use this sentence as an example: 私は日本語を勉強しています。 (I am studying Japanese.) Looking at the words individually, we would expect the following pattern: わたしは にほんごを べんきょう して います When we combine the words, we stay high until the first downstep, which occurs when we reach the ま of います. So the lower pitch at the start of にほんご, べんきょう, して and います is omitted, and the pitch stays high: わたしはにほんごをべんきょうしています",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-1-pitch-stays-high-across-word-boundaries-until-it-reaches-a-downstep",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 2. After a downstep, the next rise in pitch is not as high as the downstep.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"This pattern is known as 'terracing', because it creates a pitch pattern that looks like a series of steps going down from left to right. In fact, the whole pitch of a sentence starts high and gradually shifts downwards. Let's use this sentence as an example: 僕は先生をしています。 (I am a teacher.) Unlike our first example, we now have three separate downsteps: in 僕, 先生 and しています. So, looking at the words individually, we expect to see this: ぼくは せんせいを して います Applying our first rule, we would expect to see something like this: ぼくはせんせいをしています In fact, this is basically correct. But simply alternating between two levels of pitch sounds unnaturally robotic, and rule 2 tells us that the high pitch of ぼ is a little higher than the high pitch of んせ, which in turn is a little higher than the high pitch of ています. Here's a diagram generated by the OJAD tool. Note: OJAD is not perfect and makes many mistakes, but it is sufficient in this example. You don't really need OJAD that much, and it is not particularly useful because, essentially, either you already understand all the pitch accent rules at play, and you don't need the answer, or you don't know some of the rules. In that case, this site won't be very helpful because it doesn't actually explain the rules. It only gives you the final answer.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-2-after-a-downstep-the-next-rise-in-pitch-is-not-as-high-as-the-downstep",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rule 3. Words you want to emphasize should have a somewhat higher pitch.",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"The pitch pattern of the word to be emphasized does not change, but its overall pitch relative to its neighbors is somewhat higher. Using the same example as Rule #2, let's say we want to emphasize the fact that we are a teacher (as opposed to an astronaut). In English, we would do this by stressing the word 'teacher'. In Japanese, we do it by giving the word せんせい relatively higher pitch. Notice how the overall rise-fall pattern is the same, but now the word せんせい has the highest pitch.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#rule-3-words-you-want-to-emphasize-should-have-a-somewhat-higher-pitch",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Prosody",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"You will often encounter the term 'prosody' in connection with pitch accents. Prosody refers to the elements of real speech that convey meaning over and above the words themselves. A great example of prosody would be using rising pitch to indicate a question in a sentence that would otherwise be a statement. Looking at the sentence written down, you may not realize it is a question, but if you heard it spoken aloud, the prosody would make it obvious. In Japanese, prosody typically refers to changes in pitch at the sentence level, as described in the sections above.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#prosody",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Caveats",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese pitch accents are relatively straightforward, but as we have seen, they are not completely regular. Until repeated exposure trains your ear naturally, trying to remember the rules that govern accents can seem overwhelming. Try not to be discouraged. Correct accents can make you sound much more natural, but they are generally not vital for communication. As we have seen, most words in Japanese are 平板, and this is especially true for verbs. The 平板 pattern does not exist in English, so the most common mistake beginners make is imposing an English accent pattern on Japanese 平板 words. In American English, words are most commonly accented on their second syllable, which corresponds most closely to a 中高 2 pattern, where the downstep occurs after the second mora of a word. Consider the word \"America\": Americans pronounce the ME with a slightly higher pitch and a slightly longer duration: a-ME-ri-ca. While this pattern does exist in Japanese, it is not the most common one, so you will often sound unnatural if you use it constantly. One thing to be aware of is that numbers and counters are quite irregular. For example: 一つ (one) is 2 二つ (two) is 3 三つ (three) is 3 四つ (four) is 3 五つ (five) is 2 六つ (six) is 3 七つ (seven) is 2 八つ (eight) is 3 九つ (nine) is 2 The pitch accent of compound words is usually the combination of the pitch accents of the individual words. However, it is not uncommon for words to change their pattern when they are absorbed into larger words. For example: 日本 (Japan). Accent: 2. にほん 日本語 (Japanese language). Accent: 0. にほんご 日本人 (Japanese person). Accent: 4. にほんじん 日本海 (Japan Sea). Accent: 2. にほんかい Ultimately, you have to memorize pitch accent of each individual word you care about. We think that learning pitch accents of the most common 2,000 words would be enough for most learners.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#caveats",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to learn pitch accents",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Congratulations! If you have read this far, you have already taken the most important step in mastering pitch accents by familiarizing yourself with the categories and the basic conventions. The next step is to train your ear to recognize these categories when you hear them. If you do that, your brain will start to classify words into the correct categories automatically as you hear words in context. You will find that this \"automatic learning\" will significantly reduce the amount of rote memorization you need to do. However, some rote memorization will still be necessary, in particular for the easily confused words mentioned above. Study those carefully and test yourself on them. Finally, it is important to confirm that you can reproduce the correct accent even when you know it. There is no better technique for that than mimicking correct pronunciation. You can record yourself and then listen to yourself alongside the original to identify where you need to improve.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#how-to-learn-pitch-accents",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"Resources",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"In Resources you can find resources for studying pitch accents and Japanese pronunciation in depth. For a definitive written guide, you can't do better than one or both of these books: The NHK accent dictionary 「NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典」. The Shin Meikai accent dictionary 「新明解日本語アクセント辞典 第２版」. You can find both books in Resources, on Torrents, or in Zlibrary.",
    "url":"japanese-pitch-accents.html#resources",
    "parent":"Japanese Pitch Accent Primer"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Though Anki is an excellent piece of software, you can learn languages more effectively if you tweak some settings and know how to review. Even if you're using Anki for something other than studying human languages, this article may still help you.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html",
    "date":"2021-07-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki settings",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Make sure you've applied the settings from the Setting up Anki article. Below is a quick overview. Set starting ease to 131%. It's kind of a magic number. 130% is the lowest possible ease, but Anki doesn't allow you to reliably use it. By bumping it up 1% you avoid the limitation. Because the Ease effectively becomes locked between 131% and 130%, it can't decrease further. This way you hijack Anki's default behavior which otherwise would lead to falling into Ease Hell. Set Interval Modifier to not less than 190%. This initial increase counteracts the low Starting Ease. You can increase it further if your retention is high enough. I think up to 300% should be fine. Enable Anki 2.1 scheduler (V3 scheduler). It's a little less limiting, less buggy and more convenient. In newer Anki versions it's the default.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#anki-settings",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grading",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"When you're ready to grade a card, you're asked to choose from 4 different options: \"again\", \"hard\", \"good\" and \"easy\". Use only \"again\" and \"good\". Do not press \"hard\" and \"easy\" unless you're aware of the consequences. When you press \"hard\" or \"easy\", the card's Ease factor changes. As a result, the speed at which the card's interval is going to grow from that point onward also changes. Pressing \"hard\" makes the card's interval grow slower, and the card comes up for review more often. The new Ease factor stays in effect indefinitely until you do something that resets it back to the default value. When a card comes up for review more often than needed, you spend unnecessary time reviewing. Likewise, pressing \"easy\" makes the card appear for review less frequently causing you to be more likely to forget it at some point. Setting Starting Ease to 131% can mitigate some consequences, but not all. There is an Anki add-on that removes some or all answer buttons. I cover it a few sections below. When you see a card, grade it \"good\" if you understand the target word. To grade the card \"good\", you should be able to: Understand what it means in context, if there's context on the card. Read it phonetically, if the word contains kanji. If not, select \"again\" and relearn the card. Sometimes you need to press \"again\" multiple times until you memorize the card. But as soon as you understand the word, hit \"good\". Don't hit \"again\" over and over because you're not sufficiently confident in your memory. Anki never guarantees that you will remember every single item you put into it. It can only guarantee a certain retention rate, usually about 70-90% depending on the settings. Each review session, expect to forget a number of cards. It's a natural part of using the program. If you forget too many cards, it is possible that your cards are not optimally formatted or your Interval Modifier is too large. Decrease the Interval Modifier, remove excessive or redundant information from the cards, use different example sentences, add examples if you don't have any. If you rarely forget any cards, you're seeing them too often. This means you need to increase you Interval Modifier.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#grading",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Showing up",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Khatz's blog has an article about Showing up. 100% of winning is showing up. Dedicate the time, and you'll see the results. Not only this concept is important when using Anki to learn languages, it is mandatory. One of the objectives of using an SRS is to achieve long-term retention. Long-term retention is impossible without being consistent. The only way to benefit from using an SRS is to use it regularly. Anki expects you to do your reviews every single day. If you fail to do so, due cards quickly pile up. If you do a consistent number of new cards each day, the number of reviews tends to be consistent as well. So, if you miss a day, expect your review load to double the next day. If you miss two days, you'll have to do roughly 3 times as many reviews. Anki's algorithm schedules cards so that ideally they should come up for review just before you forget their content. If you don't do your reviews on time, expect to forget more cards. There are two distinct approaches to dealing with SRS reviews. Many people find that they are able to form a consistent habit if they do their reviews at the same time each day, such as first thing in the morning. Others prefer to fit in reviews between activities in their day. For example, they may use their phone to complete a few reviews while standing in line, taking a bus, or waiting for something. Your goal is to experiment and find an approach that works for you and enables you to consistently complete your reviews. Or you can choose a combination of the two approaches. Personally, I find that the first approach works for me well. I have a laptop dedicated to doing my Anki reps. Besides Anki, the laptop has almost no other software installed to prevent all possible distractions. But if for some reason I don't have time in the morning, I fall back to the second approach and try to finish my reviews on a phone in moments when I'm not doing anything in particular.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#showing-up",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reading sentences aloud",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Should you read sentences aloud when doing Anki reps? Personally, I don't think it's necessary. I rarely do it because it takes extra time. If a sentence interests me, I might read it aloud just for fun. There's also the risk of developing bad pronunciation habits when reading Japanese aloud and incorrectly pronouncing words. In this regard, I would definitely recommend avoiding doing it if you're a beginner. Any type of pronunciation practice requires you to have acquired large aspects of the language and have built strong phonetic awareness. If you lack these competences, you set yourself to repeat pronunciation mistakes over and over. Ideally, you should also actively think about pitch accent when you're practicing speaking, which requires you to know the rules and the accents of individual words. In short, first learn to understand the language, and then learn to speak it. In summary, reading sentences aloud can be beneficial, but only if you're already at an intermediate level or higher.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#reading-sentences-aloud",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Built-in Speech Training",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If your computer has a microphone, you can practice your pronunciation in Anki while reviewing your flashcards. To do this, you will need TSCs with audio. The best TSCs for practice are those you mined from anime, movies and dramas. If you've been doing AJATT for a few months, you likely have thousands of high-quality TSCs in your Anki collection, so this shouldn't be a problem. You can also import decks like Ankidrone Essentials and Core10k to get more high-quality TSCs, since every sentence in those decks includes audio. Pressing Shift+V lets you record your voice, and it plays back immediately after you stop recording. First, press R to listen to the native audio recording on the back of the card. Record your voice. Listen to your recording and compare it with the native audio. Try to correct any differences you hear. Pressing V again will replay your most recent recording. Alternatively, you can play the native audio and immediately start recording yourself. This lets you say the sentence while listening to the native version. Your voice recordings in Anki are temporary and will be deleted once you move to the next card. This method makes your Anki reviews longer, but because it integrates speaking practice into your SRS sessions, you don't need to set aside dedicated time for speaking practice. If you want to practice speaking, in the long run, doing it in Anki might even save you time. And if you don't want to practice speaking, you can simply skip this step. When grading your cards, don't take into account how well you pronounced the words and sentences. This training is an optional supplement to your flashcard reviews.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#built-in-speech-training",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Check your retention",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"I recommend periodically checking your monthly True Retention. Shift-click on the \"Stats\" button at the top of the Anki window. If you use a newer version of Anki, True Retention is available in the new \"Stats\" window. The recommended retention is 75%-90%. If you see that your retention stays out of these boundaries, act accordingly. Decrease your Interval Modifier if your retention is too low, increase if it's high. If your retention is below 70%, that's a call to action. Low retention rate renders Anki useless, can make you hate your reviews or even stop using Anki completely. Change your Anki settings, reformat your notes, delete problematic cards. Retention rate above 90% is considered sub-optimal. It means you review your cards too often.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#check-your-retention",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Filtered decks",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Don't review in filtered decks. After experimenting with filtered decks for multiple years I've come to the conclusion that they're too buggy and too unreliable. They're only good for temporarily storing cards (in case of backlogs, for example). Some bugs I've run into completely messed up intervals of my cards.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#filtered-decks",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fighting backlogs",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This is where filtered decks come handy. Ideally you want to finish your reviews every day. In practice, it's not always possible. There are going to be days when you accumulate backlogs. A backlog is an amount of cards that you should already have reviewed. Anki calls such cards overdue. If you miss your reviews, your review queue becomes divided between cards that are due today, most of which you still remember, and the cards that were due on the previous days, which you've likely forgotten a great number of. You can view a list of the overdue cards by typing is:due -prop:due=0 in the Anki Browser. If you were to try to eliminate the backlog by simply reviewing the cards until no more due cards remain, Anki would show you the overdue cards first. Anki is programmed in a way that makes it prioritize cards with older due dates over the cards that became due recently. If the backlog is large enough, this would put you in a long-lasting state of needless forgetting. If you go along with Anki's algorithm and prioritize relearning forgotten cards, then you will end up forgetting the cards that are due today, unless you manage to clear your entire backlog in one sitting. The solution is to create a filtered deck and use it to store the overdue cards. To do this, press \"F\" or go to \"Tools\" > \"Create filtered deck...\". Let's say my Japanese deck is called \"Japanese\". The Search field is going to look like this: deck:Japanese is:due -prop:due>-1 -rated:1 -is:learn deck:Japanese limits search to my Japanese deck. is:due tells Anki to select only due cards. -prop:due>-1 excludes cards due today. -rated:1 excludes cards that were already reviewed today. -is:learn excludes cards in the learning or relearning queues. Once you have the filtered deck set up, you've stopped the bleeding. Every day after you've finished your normal reviews come back to the filtered deck and decrease the number of cards it can store. The cards will be returned to your Japanese deck. Review those cards. Deck settings. The initial size is the number of cards in the backlog, but 9999 will pull all of them in. When you decrease the filtered deck's size, decrease it by the number of cards you plan to review. For example, 10 cards at a time. You can shrink the deck multiple times a day. Take a look at the \"cards selected by\" setting. It presents a number of options you can choose from to fight the backlog the way suits you. If you want to review cards that you're most likely to still remember, change it to \"Increasing intervals\". This way when you reduce the number of cards the filtered deck can store, the cards with the largest intervals will be pulled out first. On the other hand, if you choose \"Decreasing intervals\", the cards with the smallest intervals will be the first to go. The benefit of using filtered decks for fighting backlogs is that you don't move any cards yourself. Once they leave the filtered deck, they automatically return to the decks they were pulled out from. If this approach doesn't work for you, try suspending overdue cards instead. To do so, open the Anki Browser, type is:due -prop:due=0 and suspend the cards that will show up. Unsuspend the cards in chunks once you have time to review them. Accumulating a backlog and being unable to properly manage it is the number one reason people quit Anki altogether. Keep your backlog isolated in a filtered deck so that it doesn't overwhelm you.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#fighting-backlogs",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fighting flooded learning queue",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"It is not uncommon to find yourself in this situation. Anki window. Anki is terrible at queuing more than 30 cards from the learning queue. It is going to show you them over and over until they graduate. If the cards are not particularly easy, you may never get to the review queue. What I recommend you to do in this case is similar to the trick used to fight backlogs. Create a filtered deck with these settings. deck:Japanese is:due is:learn -rated:1 -is:new Send all your learning cards to this deck, then pull out 10~20 at a time and graduate them.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#fighting-flooded-learning-queue",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"New cards",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Choose how many new cards you want to learn each day and stick to that number. See Daily amount of cards.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#new-cards",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Leeches",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Leeches are cards that you keep forgetting and relearning over and over. Anki has a setting that controls how many times you can fail a card before it becomes a leech, called Leech threshold. It's important to note that this setting doesn't refer to the number of times you simply press \"Again\" on a card, but rather the number of times you fail a card that has previously graduated to the review queue. In other words, hitting \"Again\" on a card repeatedly on the same day doesn't make it a leech. Usually, Anki marks a card as a \"leech\" after it's been stuck in the forget-relearn loop for several days or more. We recommend keeping the leech threshold low (4-6 lapses) and suspending the cards when they become leeches. You have to properly deal with leeches instead of letting them rotate in your deck and slow down your progress. When Anki marks a card as a \"leech\", the card receives a \"leech\" tag. You can later find leeches by opening the Anki Browser and typing tag:leech in the search field. If \"Leech Action\" is set to \"Suspend card\", the card won't come up for review anymore. It's important to quickly pull leeches out of rotation by suspending them so that they don't waste your review time. By suspending leeches, you can focus on the cards you're actually learning. After you've neutralized a leech, decide what to do with it. Change the content of the card to make it easier to memorize or just wait until your brain is ready to learn it again. Before you re-learn the card, you have to reset it. There are several effective strategies for dealing with leeches: Delete them. For the small number of cards that just won't stick, it's best to just get rid of them. If you encounter the target word in your immersion often enough, you will eventually memorize it. But if not, you don't need to know the word. Instead of wasting a bunch of time on a single leech, it's more productive to learn several normal cards in its place. Keep them for later. If you can't remember a word after 4-5 lapses, it means your brain hasn't been primed to acquire it yet. Wait a month or two and try again. Often, you'll find that cards that would not stick before have become very easy. This indicates that your language ability has improved and the word's intrinsic difficulty now matches your level. Change the card. If a word is of high value to you, you can try to memorize a different representation of it. Find a different example sentence in your Sentence Bank or online. For example, on Weblio. Reset the card and edit it, or make a new targeted sentence card using the same target word but a different sentence. In my experience, most leeches pop up as a result of failed attempts to memorize kanji readings. The best way to force a particular reading into your memory is to memorize multiple words that use the same reading. For example, if you can't remember how to read 印璽, make cards for words such as 御璽 or 国璽 and learn all of them at the same time. If you can't remember a card due to a kanji reading not sticking, people also recommend putting furigana for the difficult word on the front of the card. Personally I wouldn't do this myself, but it's a cheap way out. Mortician automatically buries cars that you fail too many times. Use it to prevent potential leeches from wasting your time. Evidence shows that repeating a card multiple times in a single day does not significantly contribute to long-term memory, so your time is better spent on other cards or a shorter study session.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#leeches",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Deleting and suspending cards",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"There are situations when it makes sense to pull a card out of the review queue: You can't seem to remember the card. The card is too hard or too easy. It takes too much time to review. You mined it thinking it was a You initially mined it thinking it was a 1T card, but it turns out it's not. Proactively getting rid of cards that have the potential to become leeches or that are too complicated and waste your time is a valuable strategy. This approach can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed by the SRS in the long run. However, I advise you to be careful with deletions. It's much harder to restore a deleted card than to bring back a suspended one. Suspend cards instead. If you change your mind later, you can easily put the card back into rotation and try to learn it again.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#deleting-and-suspending-cards",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Card retirement",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Let's say you have 100 reviews each day, you learn 10 new cards a day, and your retention is 90%. If you continue your current Anki routine for an additional 15 years, your daily amount of reviews will be 200. This calculation indicates two things. You have to start suspending cards once they reach a certain interval, otherwise your review load will be increasing forever. This only becomes a problem once you've used Anki for many years. It's okay to suspend or even delete cards when they reach obscene intervals, like 5, 10 or even 15 years. To find such cards, open the Anki Browser and type prop:ivl>3650. The number 3650 corresponds to a card's interval in days, the search expression finds all cards that have intervals larger than this value. Now you can suspend the cards by pressing Ctrl+J. Next time when you search cards eligible for retirement, add -is:suspended to the search expression to filter out the cards you've already suspended. You can bookmark the current search expression by right-clicking Saved Searches and choosing Save Current Search. Anki Browser Search. Note: There are some add-ons on AnkiWeb that offer automatic retirement. They modify the scheduler unpredictably and have earned negative reputation among Japanese learners. Don't use any add-ons that mess with the scheduler. They often have bugs and may corrupt your collection.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#card-retirement",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Get the AJT Flexible Grading add-on",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"AJT Flexible Grading comes with three important features: Pass-Fail mode Grading from the front side The ability to hide some or all answer buttons. To install the add-on, follow the instructions on AnkiWeb. Download",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#get-the-ajt-flexible-grading-add-on",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pass-Fail mode",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The Pass-Fail mode essentially doesn't let you press \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons. There are two benefits associated with this. One being that having to decide between various options can actually make your Anki study less efficient. When you're deciding how to grade a card, you're wasting your mental resources. Do it a hundred times, and you'll experience something called decision fatigue. Instead of deciding how well you know something simply decide whether you know it or not. Another being that most Anki users don't understand what Anki's \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons actually do. Both buttons affect the cards' Ease factor. Using the \"Hard\" button can penalize you and greatly add to your review count over time. Using the \"Easy\" button can artificially inflate your card scheduling intervals and lead to forgetting and lower retention in the future. For the vast majority of us the best option is to simply use Anki's \"Good\" and \"Again\" buttons.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#pass-fail-mode",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Flexible grading",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Flexible grading refers to the ability to pass an Anki card without having to reveal the answer. If you believe that you really know the content of a flashcard, you may decide to skip its reverse side and immediately grade the card. It should speed up review time and save you some keypresses. Flexible grading is enabled by default in the add-on's options. You can grade the cards by pressing Vim-keys on your keyboard or by using the default Anki hotkeys. Vim bindings Default bindings Description h 1 Again, Fail j 2 Hard k 3 Good, Pass l 4 Easy Pressing 1-4 to grade cards is convenient, but it's not as convenient. Vim-like bindings let you grade the cards with your fingers lying on the home row keys, much like when you navigate a document in Vim. I'm sure you'll appreciate how much more quickly you'll be able to finish your reviews.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#flexible-grading",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Getting rid of answer buttons",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Once you get used to blasting through your reps with Vim-like hotkeys, you realize that the answer buttons are completely redundant. AJT Flexible Grading has an option to remove those buttons, making the Anki UI less cluttered.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#getting-rid-of-answer-buttons",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Last review stats at the top",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Have you ever had doubts like, \"did I grade that card right?\" after doing a rep? Maybe your finger slipped a bit, and you're not sure whether you've pressed the right button. AJT Flexible Grading shows the result of the last review at the top. It tells you what button you pressed and what interval the card has right now. By clicking on the stat you can bring up the card browser window showing the last answered card.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#last-review-stats-at-the-top",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Summary",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The SRS best practices: Starting Ease 131%. Interval Modifier 192%, increase if needed. Enable the V3 scheduler. Show up every day to do your reps. Don't review in filtered decks. Use filtered decks for storing old due cards (backlog). Do no more than 30 new cards a day, unless you know what you're doing. Have Anki suspend your leeches. Deal with them as they come up. Install AJT Flexible Grading. Use the Vim hotkeys when reviewing. Use the Pass-Fail mode to avoid \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons. Grade easy cards from their front side.",
    "url":"how-to-review.html#summary",
    "parent":"How to review"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese fonts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"On a freshly installed GNU/Linux distro Japanese characters may not look pretty. This can be fixed by installing Japanese fonts and creating a proper Fontconfig configuration file.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html",
    "date":"2021-06-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"Chinese glyphs",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Unicode is a retarded pile of crap maintained by morons. ― A comment on Ask Ubuntu One thing to beware of is Chinese glyphs. Unicode uses a unified database for CJK characters called Unihan. Unfortunately, kanji characters in Chinese and Japanese don't look the same. Depending on the font used, a single Unicode character may be represented by different glyphs. If your system prioritizes Chinese fonts over Japanese fonts, it will display kanji with a Chinese font instead of a Japanese one, and it's not what you want. No matter what OS or device you use, you may be affected if your settings are off. Certain kanji characters may look drastically different if a Chinese font is used. A prominent example is 直. This kanji is quite common and can be seen in words like 正直 or 直ぐ. Noto Serif CJK SC vs Noto Serif CJK JP. If 直 and 置 render without the vertical line on the left side, your browser is using Chinese fonts for Japanese. You need to install Japanese fonts and change your system settings.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#chinese-glyphs",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Locale",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"First and foremost, ensure that you have generated the Japanese locale. You may have font-rendering issues if you don't do that.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#locale",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installing fonts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Essential fonts are otf-ipafont or noto-fonts-cjk. I also recommend installing Noto fonts for non-Asian languages and the Noto Emoji font. On Arch-based distros you can do everything with this command: $ sudo pacman -S --needed ipa-fonts noto-fonts noto-fonts-cjk noto-fonts-emoji In Resources you will find other fonts I recommend. For example, 花園明朝 is a good fallback font. It supports over 100,000 characters. If you're installing fonts manually, they need to be saved in a directory known to Fontconfig. This is either ~/.local/share/fonts or /usr/share/fonts/. To list installed fonts, run fc-list. To update the font cache, run fc-cache -fv (usually unnecessary as software using the fontconfig library does this).",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#installing-fonts",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Managing fonts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Install font-manager to preview and manage fonts. This program lets you compare fonts side by side which is really useful. To compare two or more fonts, press the three-dots button in the topleft corner of the window and select \"compare\".",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#managing-fonts",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fontconfig",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Fontconfig determines the system-wide font settings. You can use Fontconfig to set the fonts for all the programs you use at once, instead of adjusting them one by one. This affects the fonts in your browser, Rikaitan popups, Anki, and so on. Note: as with most configurations, it is necessary to manually create the corresponding folder in your home directory before creating the configuration file: mkdir -p -- ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d/ Then, create a config file named ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d/99-japanese-fonts.conf. The name of the file must always begin with a two-digit number. The system reads this file to discover the preferred fonts and rendering settings. After making changes to the configuration file, you may need to restart the applications to load the new settings. Below you will find the recommended configuration file for rendering Japanese fonts. Download Without the settings, Japanese text looks pixelated. Truly a nightmare. A file manager app before and after applying Fontconfig settings.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#fontconfig",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Disable text glowing",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"With sub-pixel rendering set to \"rgb\", text glows and becomes hard to read. Chances are, your system enables it by default. To disable sub-pixel RGB rendering with fontconfig, remove the corresponding config file from /etc/fonts/conf.d. sudo rm -- /etc/fonts/conf.d/10-sub-pixel-rgb.conf Copy (or symlink) the file that disables sub-pixel RGB rendering from /usr/share/fontconfig/conf.avail to /etc/fonts/conf.d or ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d. cp -- /usr/share/fontconfig/conf.avail/10-no-sub-pixel.conf ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d In case this file is not available in your system, get it from my dotfiles. Tip: Install etckeeper to see when software updates mess with with your /etc directory.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#disable-text-glowing",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Bitmap fonts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"According to Arch Wiki, bitmap fonts are sometimes used as fallbacks for missing fonts, which may cause text to be rendered pixelated. If you think you need them, open 99-japanese-fonts.conf and set embeddedbitmap to true. Otherwise, set it to false. <match target=\"font\"> <edit name=\"embeddedbitmap\" mode=\"assign\"> <bool>true</bool> </edit> </match>",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#bitmap-fonts",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fonts in GTK apps",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Install lxappearance. The program lets you change various font settings. In the \"Widget\" tab select a font that can display Japanese characters. For example, \"Noto Sans CJK JP\". Antialiasing and hinting aren't too noticeable, feel free to experiment for yourself. I just leave them on. The setting that does noticeably affect how text looks is sub-pixel geometry. If it's set to \"RGB\", the text turns into a rainbow, so I recommend keeping it at \"none\". RGB on and off. Some applications ignore Fontconfig settings. You can work around this by using X resources. Below is a snippet from my ~/.Xresources file. Xft.antialias: 1 Xft.autohint: 0 Xft.dpi: 96 Xft.hinting: 1 Xft.hintstyle: hintslight Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault Xft.rgba: none Note: Make sure that you load the X resources file on login. If it doesn't happen automatically, you need to edit your .xinitrc file or change other settings. Refer to Arch Wiki for instructions.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#fonts-in-gtk-apps",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"i3wm",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To render Japanese characters in window titles and in the bar, i3wm users can specify Japanese fonts in the config file. Edit ~/.config/i3/config and define a list of fonts separated by commas. Font size is added once at the end of the line. Here's an example: font pango: Hack, IPAPGothic, Noto Sans Mono CJK JP, FontAwesome, Hack Nerd Font Mono 9 My i3 config can be found in my dotfiles. i3 config reference.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#i3wm",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Firefox",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Firefox should automatically pick up your Fontconfig settings. If it doesn't, go to \"Settings\" > \"Fonts and Colors\" and set the fonts there. It is a good idea to disable the \"Allow pages to choose their own fonts instead of your selections above\" setting. It can interfere with the fonts set with fontconfig.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#firefox",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rikaitan",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Likewise, no special configuration required. If you wish to specify a different font, edit the Popup CSS. Go to Rikaitan Settings > \"Appearance\" > \"Configure custom CSS...\". Use the browser's \"Inspect\" feature to find out CSS class names you want to apply font settings to. For example, the content of dictionary definitions can be styled by editing rules for .gloss-content. Alternatively, you can apply settings to body to change the font of the entire Popup. .gloss-content { font-family: Yu Mincho; }",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#rikaitan",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Anki has a feature that allows you to store font files in the collection.media folder and sync them with all your devices, including mobile. The purpose of this feature is not to enable Anki to display the right fonts, they should work properly as long as you've completed the steps above. It is to let you have the same fonts on all your devices without the need to install them on each device separately. The recommended example deck comes with built-in Japanese fonts, no additional action is needed. If you wish to use a different deck, follow the steps below. Copy the font file of your choice to ~/.local/share/Anki2/PROFILE/collection.media, where PROFILE is your profile name. The filename must start with _ or Anki will delete the file if you run \"Tools\" > \"Check media\". For this example I'm going to use a font called _yumin.ttf. Open your Note Type settings. Go to \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\" > choose your Note Type > \"Cards\" > \"Styling\". Paste the following CSS to tell Anki to load the font when you open the Reviewer. @font-face { font-family: \"My Yu Mincho\"; src: local(\"Yu Mincho\"), local(\"游明朝\"), url(\"_yumin.ttf\"); } The local setting makes sure the font doesn't get loaded if it's already installed system-wide. Mind what name you specify for the font. It is better if you make it unique because on certain systems you may run into a bug that prevents different weights of the same font from loading if a locally installed font has been found. Scroll down to .card class and change or append the font's name to font-family. .card { font-family: \"My Yu Mincho\"; } If you review on Android, note that there's a bug that causes AnkiDroid to run out of memory and crash when using fonts stored in collection.media. If this happens to you, consider installing a different WebView implementation or not using custom fonts at all.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#anki",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Android",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you happen to see Chinese fonts on Android, simply add Japanese to the list of system languages. To do so, go to \"Settings\" > \"System\" > \"Language and input\". A list of system languages.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#android",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Now that you've configured Japanese fonts, you're ready to learn Japanese. You won't accidentally learn Chinese versions of kanji because your computer refuses to render them with Japanese glyphs. How Japanese looks on my computer. Now I hope you see why GNU/Linux is the best OS for learning Japanese. On Windows, fonts look like shit no matter what you do to fix them. They're pixelated, and they literally glow. How fonts typically look on Windows.",
    "url":"japanese-fonts.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Japanese fonts"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mining from movies and TV-shows",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Sentence mining is the process of picking sentences from your immersion and making Anki cards. Each sentence has one unknown piece of information, which is referred to as target word. To mine sentences from movies and TV-shows you are going to need the mpv video player, and a plugin for mpv called Mpvacious.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html",
    "date":"2021-06-05"
  },
  {
    "title":"MPV",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"mpv is the best video player for language learners. It is fast, minimal, extensible and compatible with all video formats. mpv is available on most distributions of GNU/Linux. To install it on Arch Linux, execute the following command: $ sudo pacman -S mpv Make sure you have version 0.33.0 or later. If such a version is not available on your distribution, see here for different installation options.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#mpv",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"MPV configuration",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Start mpv at least once to create the config folder which will be located at ~/.config/mpv/. mpv reads its configuration from the following directories/files: ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf. The main config file. Contains settings related to the player itself. ~/.config/mpv/input.conf. Key bindings. Apart from the player's key bindings, it can also contain key bindings of third-party user-scripts. ~/.config/mpv/scripts. Contains user-scrips. User scripts are small programs that extend the player's functionality. Usually each user-script is installed in its own folder. ~/.config/mpv/script-opts. Config files used by the installed user-scripts. Some user-scripts don't have configuration files. Note that not all the directories or files listed above are created automatically. To configure mpv, create and open ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf. This step is not strictly necessary. Example configuration file # Define language preferences alang=ja,jp,jpn,japanese,en,eng,english,English,enUS,en-US slang=ja,jp,jpn,japanese,en,eng,english,English,enUS,en-US # mpv will resume where you left off when you reopen a media file save-position-on-quit=yes # Automatically use external subtitle files that contain the name of the media file sub-auto=fuzzy subs-with-matching-audio=yes # Additional folders for storing subtitle files. # You can drop all subs in the \"subs\" folder to keep files organized. sub-file-paths=ass:srt:sub:subs:subtitles # Subtitle font. Make sure the font you select is installed # and contains all characters that are included in your subtitle files. # https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/any/noto-fonts-cjk/ sub-font=\"Noto Sans CJK JP Regular\" # Change subtitle font size. sub-font-size=40 # Uncomment this if you want mpv to override styles from SubStation Alpha (.ssa/.ass) subtitles # sub-ass-override=force # Improves audio when the playback speed is changed. af-add=scaletempo2 # Screenshots screenshot-directory=\"~/Pictures/Screenshots/\" screenshot-template=\"%F_%wHh%wMm%wSs%wTms\" screenshot-format=jpg screenshot-jpeg-quality=90 screenshot-high-bit-depth=yes Note: To tell mpv to show subtitles in the font you selected in the config, press u. If you want to make the setting permanent, add sub-ass-override=force to mpv.conf. ~/.config/mpv/input.conf contains key bindings. For all available bindings, see /usr/share/doc/mpv/input.conf. Example input.conf # Increase / decrease subtitle font size # Works only when sub-ass-override=force # https://www.reddit.com/r/mpv/comments/dg5yzj/trouble_decreasing_subtitles_size/ / add sub-scale +0.1 ? add sub-scale -0.1 # Cycle video aspect ratios; \"-1\" is the container aspect A cycle-values video-aspect \"16:9\" \"16:10\" \"4:3\" \"2.35:1\" \"-1\" # Vim-like seeking l seek 5 h seek -5 j seek -60 k seek 60 # Cycle between subtitle files K cycle sub J cycle sub down # Skip to previous/next subtitle line (disabled - use Mpvacioius) #H no-osd sub-seek -1 #L no-osd sub-seek 1 # Search sub-text on Jisho.org # https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/issues/4695#issuecomment-609876072 Ctrl+j run \"/bin/sh\" \"-c\" \"xdg-open 'https://jisho.org/search?keyword=${sub-text}'\" # skip to next/previous file > playlist-next < playlist-prev # Add/subtract 50 ms delay from subs Z add sub-delay +0.05 z add sub-delay -0.05 # Adjust timing to previous/next subtitle X sub-step 1 x sub-step -1 # Toggle OSD visibility V script-binding visibility",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#mpv-configuration",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtain content",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Always download what you watch. This way it's easier to work with the files, make Anki cards, take screenshots, cut clips, make condensed audio, and so on. Don't use \"services\" that spy on you such as Netflix, Hulu, VRV, Funimation or Crunchyroll. Attempts to create flashcards from streamed video files often fail. As a workaround, the user can record audio and take a screenshot manually, but it is not convenient at all. Explore Immersion material to find Japanese content and Download tools for a ways to download it.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#obtain-content",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtain subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"To learn Japanese from visual content such as anime or jdramas, you need Japanese subtitles. Subtitles can be found on the Resources page. Don't forget that if you have English subtitles enabled, at best you're going to improve your English, but your Japanese is not going to get any better. I find that it's easier to download all the subtitles for all the shows and have them saved locally. This may require a few GiB of disk space, but it will save you the hassle of having to visit subtitle catalogs every time you need to find subtitles. For example, if you download the mirror of kitsunekko, you can use lf to browse it, and fzf to search it. Watch a demonstration on . In the video, I'm using a shell alias to enter the directory with Japanese anime subtitles. I'm also using keyboard shortcuts to call fzf and lf. Shortcuts and aliases can be configured in the .zshrc file. # Change directory alias subs='cd -- \"/path/to/directory\"' # Ctrl+O to launch lf file manager. bindkey -s '^o' '^ulf\\n' # Ctrl+F to search directory with fzf. bindkey -s '^f' '^ucd -- \"$(dirname -- \"$(fzf)\")\"\\n' To create your own local mirror of kitsunekko, use kitsunekko-tools. This simple program downloads all files from kitsunekko and saves them in a specified directory on your hard drive. You need roughly 8 GiB on your disk to store a copy of the entire subtitle catalogue. If you can't find target language subtitles for a video, you can generate them using pyTranscriber. You're going to get cursed subtitles, but it's better than nothing. I have used it a few times for Japanese. If you want to synchronize the subtitles, see Retiming subtitles.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#obtain-subtitles",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"SUP subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Sometimes the only subtitle files available for a particular video are image-based (.sup or .sub). Often this is the case with subtitles for movies. They don't contain any text and by themselves are not very useful. SUP files can be converted to plain text (.srt) using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) programs such as subtitleedit.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#sup-subtitles",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"User-scripts for MPV",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"mpv is highly configurable and extensible, allowing users to customize its interface and functionality. One way to do this is through user-scripts, which are scripts that can modify mpv's behavior and add new features. User-scripts are written in languages such as Lua or JavaScript. You can find a list of user-scripts for mpv here.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#user-scripts-for-mpv",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mpvacious",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Mpvacious is a user-script for the mpv video player that allows you to make Anki cards while watching movies and TV shows in your target language. Mpvacious can update Anki cards you add with GoldenDict, Rikaitan, or any other tool that works with AnkiConnect. When you create a new note, Mpvacious adds media (audio and images) to the note. Watch a demonstration on . The user-script has a long list of features and configuration options. For details explore the documentation on GitHub. Below I'm going to write about how I use it.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#mpvacious",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Requirements",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Mpvacious needs AnkiConnect to work. If you're using X11 (Xlibre), xclip is required to copy text to the clipboard. wl-copy is required on Wayland.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#requirements",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Mpvacious can be installed with git: $ git clone 'https://github.com/Ajatt-Tools/mpvacious.git' ~/.config/mpv/scripts/subs2srs",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#installation",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Configuration",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Download the example config file and save it to ~/.config/mpv/script-opts/subs2srs.conf. If you use the Note Type from the recommended mining deck, you don't need to change any settings at all. If you don't, make sure to adjust at least the following variables: sentence_field audio_field image_field",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#configuration",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"Make sure Anki is running. Open a video in mpv. Press Ctrl+T to activate clipboard autocopy. Open GoldenDict or open your web browser and activate Rikaitan Search. Enable GoldendDict's \"Scan Popup\" or enable clipboard monitor in Rikaitan Search. When there is a word you want to mine, create a new card. By default, Mpvacious will automatically add media to your card. If the \"new note timer\" is disabled, go back to the mpv window and press Ctrl+M. If you want to grab a sentence that spans multiple lines, press A to open the advanced menu. Then mark the lines you want to appear on the card by pressing C and moving the position with Shift+H and Shift+L. Finish by pressing M. The Anki Browser window should appear with the card updated. See How to for more detailed explanations.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#usage",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Creating cards without pausing",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"You can save sentences for later without adding definitions. Since you don't have to pause to read the dictionary, this approach is less disruptive. Press Ctrl+n to add the current subtitle line to Anki as a new card. When you finish watching, open the Anki Browser and type added:1 to display cards added today. Finally, add dictionary definitions to the cards. If you want to create a card from multiple adjacent subtitle lines, do it using the advanced menu as described in the previous section.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#creating-cards-without-pausing",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Updating",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"To update Mpvacious, run the command below: $ cd ~/.config/mpv/scripts/subs2srs && git pull",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#updating",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I use a \"text hooker\" page?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "mpv"
    ],
    "body":"No. Though you often see such recommendations, I think it unnecessarily complicates your setup. GoldenDict or Rikaitan Search can do the same thing simpler.",
    "url":"mining-from-movies-and-tv-shows.html#should-i-use-a-text-hooker-page",
    "parent":"Mining from movies and TV-shows"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning Kanji",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Unlike kana which you can learn in a matter of few days no matter what method you pick, learning kanji is apparently more difficult, and there are many methods of doing it.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html",
    "date":"2021-05-25"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to approach kanji",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To pick the right method you have to understand why you want to learn kanji in the first place. The \"practice how you play\" principle applies here as well. Kanji do not exist in a vacuum, instead people use them to write Japanese words. In order to \"learn\" them all you need to do is learn whole words. The only time you ever need to do anything with kanji is when you are either reading a word or writing a word. So, as long as you can read and write words, your kanji problems are solved. To learn a word means to memorize how it's read and what it means. Over time as you keep learning words, you unconsciously get better at recognizing the kanji. We advise against learning kanji readings in isolation. Very often a kanji character has a number of completely different readings. Not only learning all of them is an enormous task, but it's impossible to apply the knowledge to real native content when reading. Take, for instance, this kanji: 生. Looking it up on Jisho reveals that it has 10 readings. When you see a word that contains this kanji (for example, 生きる), knowing the individual readings is not going to help. You need to know the word itself to be able to pick the right reading. It is glaringly obvious, but people who have been exposed to Japanese textbooks and traditional language learning in general are trapped by dogma and have simply never actually thought it through.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#how-to-approach-kanji",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji composition",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To someone who hasn't started learning Japanese yet, kanji may look like blobs of random scribbles. Thankfully, in reality each kanji is just a composition of either simpler kanji or primitive components called radicals. For example, 曇 is a combination of 日, 雨 and 云. There are only about 200 of such basic components. This property of kanji can be and often used to aid memorization. Many kanji study methods exploit kanji composition and teach kanji in terms of their parts. Being able to see kanji in terms of their components makes learning words easier.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#kanji-composition",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Types of readings",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Usually, a kanji has one or more Chinese-derived readings (音読み, on-yomi) and one or more native Japanese readings (訓読み, kun-yomi). Occasionally, a kanji may have only kun-yomi or only on-yomi readings. Kun-yomi readings are the native Japanese readings of kanji characters. These readings are typically used when a kanji character appears as part of a standalone word or in combination with hiragana characters. Verbs like 逃げる (にげる), adjectives like 苦い (にがい), or standalone-kanji words like 肉 (にく) are pronounced using Japanese readings. On-yomi readings are borrowed readings from the Chinese language. When kanji characters were introduced to Japan from China, they brought along their Chinese pronunciation, which became known as on-yomi. On-yomi readings are often used in compound words, especially in formal or technical contexts. Compound words such as 特定, 原案, 脂肪 are read using Chinese readings. Understanding this trait of kanji will help you learn new words. If you see a kanji on its own (e.g. 木), it is likely pronounced with a Japanese reading. Likewise, if you see a kanji compound (e.g. 綺麗), it's safe to assume that the kanji within the word are pronounced using Chinese readings.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#types-of-readings",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji sounds",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The more words you learn, the easier it becomes to learn new ones. While each kanji character may have multiple readings, there are patterns that you start to notice as you grow your vocabulary. For example: Learning the word 人生 makes learning 生活 easier, as both share the character 生 pronounced as せい. Similarly, learning the word 会社 can help memorize 会議, given their common 会 character pronounced as かい. Understanding the following kanji trait can also aid in memorization. The majority of all kanji look like two less complex halves joined together (known as 形声 kanji). Such kanji are comprised of two different parts: a left part denoting the vague meaning (semantic component) and a right part indicating the pronunciation (phonetic component). In cases where there is no left part, the entire kanji represents both the reading and meaning. Examples include: Kanji 招, 沼, 昭, 紹, 詔 share the phonetic component 召 and are all read as しょう in words like 湖沼, 招待, 詔書. Kanji 冷, 鈴, 齢, 鈴 share the phonetic component 令 and are all read as れい in words like 年齢, 予鈴, 冷蔵. Kanji 経, 軽, 経 share the phonetic component 圣 and are all read as けい in words like 経済, 軽蔑, 経路. Kanji 償 and 賞 share the phonetic component 賞 and are read as しょう in words 弁償 and 賞金. Recognizing various patterns can enhance your ability to memorize words more efficiently.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#kanji-sounds",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji production",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Some methods insist that you learn to write kanji from the start. Due to the effort it takes we don't think it's a fair use of your time. Japanese typing is done phonetically, so as long as you can read kanji, you can type kanji as well. Instead, we recommend waiting until you're fluent and learn handwriting then. Learning to produce characters that you've already learned to recognize is going to be easier. It's not a surprise that in Japan handwriting is still important. But if you don't plan to live in Japan, we think it's perfectly reasonable to never learn how to write out kanji by hand.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#kanji-production",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji fluency",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Jumping right into learning words in the beginning is not easy. Similar characters often look the same and remembering words takes many repetitions. You have to somehow force the words into your brain and there are no mental anchors to help you. However, if you do this enough, eventually you arrive at the point when kanji stop being foreign anymore. Once you reach this point, your brain starts to recognize each kanji as a whole without paying attention to its component parts. You start distinguishing them easily from each other, and learning new kanji becomes effortless. This point is called kanji fluency. When you reach kanji fluency, recognizing a kanji becomes just like recognizing someone's face. It takes an instant to remember the face of a person. Later if you just look at the person again you immediately know if you've met them before even if you might forget their name or why you know them. With kanji, you're not analyzing the component parts but taking the whole character as one unit. When you see a new kanji, it will look like something to you. When you encounter that character again, you will instantly recognize it as the same exact character. In other words, if you wanted to test whether you have kanji fluency, you could do this experiment. Randomly select one kanji that you have never seen before in your life, look at it. Example: 賃. Wait a couple of days. Take a number of randomly selected kanji that you have also never seen before. The kanji you saw in step 1 can be among them. Example: 責 魔 歓 賃 脅. Ask yourself, \"which of these kanji is the one I saw a couple of days ago?\" Guess if the kanji you saw in step 1 happens to be among the others. If you could easily pass the test then that means you have kanji fluency. It means just by looking at a kanji you can remember it. Maybe you don't remember its exact strokes, maybe you don't remember its readings, maybe you don't remember its meanings, but you can still tell characters apart and recall which kanji you saw the other day. Of course, you don't have to do this test. It's just an imaginary algorithm that demonstrates what kanji fluency is. After you've achieved kanji fluency, you can continue to improve your kanji ability only by learning whole words, through a process called sentence mining. As long as you have that ability, with some additional effort you'll be able to memorize how to read and understand words that have kanji in them.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#kanji-fluency",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Methods of learning kanji",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Now that you undersand the concept of kanji fluency, it's important to keep in mind that the objective of learning kanji isn't just to memorize a set number of kanji characters. Rather, it's about reaching kanji fluency in order to start learning words later. Initially, it's crucial to focus on recognizing and distinguishing kanji visually without getting bogged down by their readings. The readings will come into play when you start learning vocabulary. Here are what I consider the most effective methods for learning kanji: In-Context Vocabulary Study. This method involves learning words from the start. You memorize their meanings and readings. It's a natural, authentic approach, reflecting how all Japanese words are typically learned. However, it can be challenging for beginners who haven't yet developed kanji fluency. To help beginners remember words that contain kanji, we've created the JP1K method. JP1K is a method of in-context kanji study, where learners memorize words and their meanings, but the readings of the kanji are not hidden. This method is like having training wheels, giving you a chance to peek at kanji readings to jog your memory. After learning 1,000 common words this way, you'll remove the \"training wheels\" and continue learning new words in the standard way. Out-of-Context Isolated Kanji Study. This method focuses on learning the meanings of individual kanji characters. Understanding the meanings of kanji helps to memorize words. Typically, learners dedicate two or three months to learn one to two thousand kanji characters Out-of-Context. Afterwards, like with the the In-Context approach, you'll proceed to learn words in the standard way. RRTK and KanjiDamage are examples of isolated kanji study methods.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#methods-of-learning-kanji",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"JP1K method",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The method is aimed at complete beginners who don't want to go through isolated kanji study but feel intimidated by the idea of learning whole words from the start. JP1K is intended to be a compromise between the two. To execute it, you need an Anki deck formatted in a specific way. On the front of each card you have a word, phrase or sentence in Japanese language written in full kanji and without furigana, but if you hover over it then the furigana readings will appear. On the back you have everything necessary to understand the flashcard, which may include English translations, dictionary definitions and native audio. The important part is how you review the deck: A flashcard comes up, furigana is hidden. Read the target word, or the whole sentence if you want. If the word contains kanji try to recall its reading. Then hover over the word to make the furigana pop up and see if you've recalled the reading correctly. Try to recall the meaning of the target word. It doesn't need to be precise. Reveal the back side of the card and see if the meaning was correct. When grading yourself, pass the card if you understand the meaning. Whether you remembered the reading or not doesn't matter. Avoid \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons as usual. This way when you review a card you may completely forget the reading, but then if you get the meaning right you still pass the card. The idea here is that this will make the process of going through the deck much more enjoyable because all you have to do is remember the meaning to pass the card. It's not that hard. The advantage over isolated kanji study is that you're going to start noticing the new words you've learned in your immersion much earlier. This should be enough to eventually achieve kanji fluency because every time you're still trying to recall the reading, you're just not taking it into account when grading yourself. On the other hand, if you could see the reading immediately then there would be no deliberate practice involved, so you'd eventually start ignoring the kanji. At AJATT, we have made an Anki deck for people who wish to follow this method. To download it, visit this page.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#jp1k-method",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Isolated kanji study",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Training kanji recognition through isolated kanji study can be used as a ladder to help you achieve kanji fluency and to make moving on to learning vocabulary less of a burden. You start by learning meanings of individual kanji. By doing so you create mental anchors in your brain which help you associate words with the kanji. Kanji are learned by breaking them up into their components and viewing each kanji as a combination of its parts. The method uses short stories or images called mnemonics. Each story ties the components together to make kanji easy to remember. You memorize 1000-2000 characters this way, and then you end up naturally reaching the point of kanji fluency. The main goal of isolated kanji study is not to learn what every kanji means, but simply to push learners to the point where recognizing a kanji feels similar to recognizing a human face. Now, another way to look at this is if we watch Chinese people who learn Japanese, they improve so much faster and reach higher levels than traditional Japanse learners from the West because they know the characters already. So you first need to become like a Chinese person. Chinese people don't know how to read the kanji in Japanese, but they know how kanji look like, and they know the meanings. After you catch up to a Chinese person then you can move on to learning words, sentences, and grammar. Many commonly used resources that encourage mnemonics are based on RTK. Originally, RTK refers to a book \"Remembering the Kanji\" by James Heisig. The ordering of characters in the book and its component-based mnemonic system are used in combination with the SRS. Kanji in the book are ordered by the complexity and number of their components. So for example before you learn 拐, you have to learn 手, 口 and 刀. Every character is given only one meaning (keyword) to avoid memory interference. If you're interested in learning more about the logic behind RTK, read the introduction at the beginning of the RTK part 1 book. Remembering the Kanji only orders kanji in terms of their components and gives mnemonics for some of them. Fortunately, there are many Anki decks created from RTK. They free you from the need to copy the kanji from the book into Anki by hand, preserve the ordering and mnemonic system, and add the benefits of spaced repetition. RRTK. Recognition RTK. It is an Anki deck intended to optimize RTK for training recognition. Compared to the original book, the number of characters was reduced to the most common 1,000 kanji. The reason for this is that the main goal of RRTK is not to learn what every kanji means, but simply to bring learners to the point of kanji fluency. Kanji are given on the front of the cards, and you need to memorize the meanings they represent. The format of the flashcards is similar to Lazy Kanji, which is a card format Khatzumoto from AJATT recommended. AnkiWeb has a large collection of premade RTK decks. You study kanji in isolation using the order presented in the \"Remembering the Kanji\" book. Depending on the Anki deck you download, you are given premade mnemonics, or you're encouraged to make them yourself. Kanji readings are not taken into account, instead the method insists on learning them in the wild from native content. Other options that use the mnemonic-based approach but are not based on RTK: KanjiDamage. A big improvement over RTK. Similarly to RTK, kanji are broken up into their components, but the components themselves are different from RTK. They have clever names invented to facilitate the memorization process. While RTK gives mnemonic stories for some kanji, KanjiDamage has them for every kanji. The mnemonics are usually pretty great. There's also a mnemonic for the most important reading, usually 音読み. KanjiDamage Plus. A slightly larger version of KanjiDamage which contains ~200 additional kanji. Some component names were renamed. You recognize kanji using premade mnemonic stories. One flashcard per kanji. For each kanji, the story includes its most common reading. See the online reference. The downside is that although this method makes it easier to remember words later on, it requires investing time into essentially memorizing English keywords that have a very loose connection to real Japanese. KanjiDamage gives you a little more benefit by incorporating the main reading of each kanji into the mnemonic story. Knowing the most common reading helps you trigger your memory as you take your first steps in reading native Japanese.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#isolated-kanji-study",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning radicals",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The question of whether one should learn kanji radicals is a common one. The answer is no. Here's why. If you're following an isolated kanji study approach, such as using Anki decks like KanjiDamage or RTK, you're already learning radicals and kanji composition. These methods introduce new radicals or kanji components (primitives) before presenting the kanji that use them. Therefore, there is no need to separately study radicals in this case. If you are following the JP1K method, radicals are not learned at all. The method is designed to teach kanji like pictures, as whole characters, rather than breaking them down into parts. The goal is to memorize kanji by repeated exposure. RTK and KanjiDamage teach kanji parts in English. It's important to note that the English keywords used for kanji components are chosen to facilitate the creation of mnemonic stories and may not accurately represent the Japanese meanings. While these English keywords can be helpful in the beginning, they are often forgotten once one becomes more proficient in reading Japanese, as they are useless for actual language comprehension. However, in spoken Japanese, people use radicals to explain how to write kanji. To better understand these conversations during immersion, you may actually want to learn the proper Japanese names for common radicals. You can do it after you learn more fundamental aspects of Japanese.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#learning-radicals",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There are three paths you can take: Learn words from the start. This is going to be a little difficult at first, but all of us learn this way past the beginner stage. Use the JP1K method to learn words without penalizing yourself for not knowing their readings. Study kanji in isolation using a mnemonic-based method such as KanjiDamage, KanjiDamagePlus, or RTK. For each kanji you memorize its meaning which later acts as a mental anchor making associating words with kanji easier. However, this path is likely the least preferable due to the loose correlation between English and Japanese names of the kanji parts. The latter two paths only serve as intermediate steps to prepare you for reading native content. Any of them should take about a month or two to complete. Either path will result in success so long as you persist, so the choice comes down to what you personally like more.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Notes",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#notes",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"RTK books",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There are 3 RTK books total. Teaches how to write ~2000 kanji. The list of kanji taught roughly matches the 常用漢字 list. Teaches readings of kanji introduced in the first book. Teaches how to write additional ~1000 kanji. The list of kanji taught roughly matches the 人名用漢字 list. For the purpose of training kanji recognition and reaching the point of kanji fluency it is sufficient to learn only ~1000 kanji from the first book, which is exactly what RRTK does. As mentioned before, learning how to write them is not recommended. The second book is not needed either, kanji readings should be learned in context.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#rtk-books",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Isolated kanji study and retention",
    "tags":[
      "kanji",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you decide to study kanji through any isolated kanji deck (RTK, KanjiDamage), it's common to see a good initial retention rate. However, a few months after completing the deck, you'll likely notice a significant drop in retention. This is a common experience for many learners. Initially, they remember most of the kanji, but the retention rate plummets to about 45-50% several months later. Once you observe this decline in retention, it might be time to consider deleting the deck. At this stage, you likely have some basic ability to read Japanese and no longer need to rely heavily on English keywords to recognize kanji. To mitigate the rapid loss of kanji recognition abilities before fully developing your reading skills, it's advisable to continue reviewing the kanji deck for some number of months after you've completed the deck. But don't try to continue reviewing it after your retention drops. The challenge with retention when learning kanji in isolation led to the creation of the JP1K method.",
    "url":"learning-kanji.html#isolated-kanji-study-and-retention",
    "parent":"Learning Kanji"
  },
  {
    "title":"Resources",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"This is the AJATT Resources List. With the help of our community we've gathered the links to help you in your Japanese studies. We prioritize libre software and content that you can download for free. Everyone is welcome to suggest more resources in our chat.",
    "url":"resources.html",
    "date":"2021-05-17"
  },
  {
    "title":"Typical problems with third-party websites",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"We can't guarantee any quality for third-party websites. The third party resources below may contain what AJATT considers to be ineffective language learning advice. If you find something that contradicts this guide, assume it's wrong or verify by asking people in our chat. Many sites also include non-free JavaScript or links to spyware and malware. Proceed with caution. If you use uBlock, disable JavaScript by default to protect your security and privacy (Settings > Disable JavaScript). Also, see No scripting and Blocking mode.",
    "url":"resources.html#typical-problems-with-third-party-websites",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Basics",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"resources.html#basics",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kana",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Learning kana in two days Kakugo. A kana training app. Kana recognition Anki deck. Kana production Anki Deck. Real kana. Train kana recognition online.",
    "url":"resources.html#kana",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Learning Kanji Ankidrone Foundation. Learn words with the kanji used to write them. Kanjidamage. The best mnemonic-based method of learning kanji in isolation. Kanjidamage+ reference. KanjiDamage+ kanji list on a single web page. RTK search. Kanji characters with Koohii stories.",
    "url":"resources.html#kanji",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki decks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Basic vocabulary You typically only need one deck to teach you basic vocabulary. All other decks that you download should go in your sentence bank profile. Ankidrone Essentials. This is our main deck. Other decks are third-party. Core 10k Anki deck. Core 2.3k. You have to change the card template from Word Cards to Targeted Sentence Cards yourself. Other sentence banks.",
    "url":"resources.html#anki-decks",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Learning grammar All About Particles. A nicely organized book simply described by many as \"godsend\". Khatz used this book a long time ago when he learned Japanese. Tae Kim's grammar guide. A guide to Japanese grammar. It breaks down Japanese in a logical and straightforward way and covers all the basics without going into too much detail. DoJG Anki deck. An Anki deck that contains example sentences from DoJG. Sakubi. A rather short guide written for immersion learners. Ixrec's Guide to Japanese On Djtguide. With better formatting. Archive.org. Itazuraneko's 文型一覧表. Master reference table of all grammar pattern entries from a number of grammar dictionaries. Grammar in Japanese.",
    "url":"resources.html#grammar",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"JLPT",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"dethitiengnhat. Here you can prepare by taking tests from previous years. JLPT Grammar List. Covers grammar for all JLPT levels. 問題検索室. Search JLPT questions by keyword. JTest4You. Practice tests and resources by JLPT levels. JLPT文法解説まとめ. Introduces you to grammar patterns that exist in JLPT. This site is much better than the rest and probably the best free way to learn grammar used in the JLPT exam. 毎日のんびり日本語教師. Described in Grammar in Japanese. The JLPT Study Page. Materials from N5 to N2. Includes vocabulary, kanji, expressions, reading comprehension, quizzes.",
    "url":"resources.html#jlpt",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Examples and pronunciations",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where you want to add a word to your SRS but the example sentence you've found the word in is too complicated, or you've lost it because you forgot to save it. In such cases sites with example sentences come to rescue. Massif. Allows you to search over 30 million unique Japanese sentences. Sentence Search. Contains voiced sentences from various premade decks. Grab an offline version here. Nadeshiko. A sentence search tool. Has API. Aozorasearch. Performs a full-text search on Aozora Bunko (digital library). Weblio英語例文検索. Made for Japanese people learning English but can be used in reverse. Forvo. Has many words pronounced in isolation but not so many sentences. YouGlish for Japanese and CaptionPop. Find YouTube videos with TL subtitles, download them and watch using mpv. AxTongue. YouTube subtitle search engine. Similar to CaptionPop. 用例.jp (Down? Archive.) Reverso Jisho.org. I don't recommend Jisho because it suggests sentences from Tatoeba. Many of them come from non-native speakers. NHK Accent Audio. Audio files from the NHK Accent dictionary, 1998 edition. Forvo.com pronunciation collection for GoldenDict. This torrent includes 292,342 native pronunciations of Japanese words. You can use these folders in Goldendict after unpacking them into a directory of your choice. If you have CroPro installed, you can use Anki decks as offline sentence banks.",
    "url":"resources.html#examples-and-pronunciations",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Immersion material",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Don't use streaming sites and sites for reading manga online if possible. Always download what you consume. Storing immersion material locally makes mining substantially easier. Can't decide what to immerse in? Explore Japanese Media Recommendations.",
    "url":"resources.html#immersion-material",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Torrent trackers",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A torrent tracker is a site that hosts user-uploaded torrent files. To download something (like an anime) using torrents you usually download a torrent file and open it with a torrent client. The torrent client then downloads the actual content. Before using the torrent sites, choose a torrent client. Nyaa. A torrent site with anime, manga, light novels and Japanese dramas. Contains 98% of what you need to actually learn Japanese. Unfortunately, Nyaa is blocked in some countries. Accessing it through Tor can be difficult due to DDOS protection. If you can't access the site, use a mirror. Available mirrors: ny.iss.one. nyaa.digital Nyaa Land. Tokyo Toshokan. A BitTorrent library for Japanese media. Rutracker. Another torrent site. Has lots of Japanese movies, dramas and anime. Ongoing anime gets uploaded with a noticeable delay. Refer to Nyaa first if you watch ongoings. This site can be accessed through Tor. Animebytes. A private tracker. Offers content similar to what you find on Nyaa ISS. AvistaZ. A private tracker for Asian movies and TV-shows. AsianCinema.Me. Asian private tracker for Movies only. JPTVTS.US. A private tracker for Japanese content only. JPTV.CLUB. Another private tracker. You can join if you have accounts on other private trackers. Here you can find Japanese TV programs. Most uploads contain Japanese subs straight from the broadcast. It's nice to have them for mining sentences. anisource. An aggregate site for high quality raws from Raws-4U, スカー Raws and Leopard-Raws. Private trackers. Everything else I didn't mention.",
    "url":"resources.html#torrent-trackers",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Streaming",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Note: To watch a m3u playlist, run mpv and pass it the raw playlist link. Example: mpv 'https://gitflic.ru/project/utako/utako/blob/raw?file=jp.m3u' Press < and > to switch channels. Some playlists can be found here as desktop shortcuts. Animelon. Watch anime with Japanese subtitles. Anjsub. A site similar to Animelon. B9GOOD. Watch raw anime online. Aniwatchtv.to, Aniwatch. Another anime streaming site. You can switch between audio and subtitle tracks in multiple languages. Anime Nexus. Animerulz. An Anime Streaming Website that Streams anime in many languages like Japanese, English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil. AQStream. Watch Japanese TV. BiliBili. A Chinese website with a bunch of TV shows. jp.m3u. A m3u playlist with Japanese IPTV channels which you can open in mpv. utako IPTV-JP project. Another m3u playlist. Run mpv and pass it the raw playlist link from here. TV garden. Japanese live TV streams. Only works with JS enabled. News24.jp. Lets you watch a live stream with news, but you have to allow to run an obscene amount of nonfree JavaScript code. To avoid running nonfree JS, watch the stream in mpv by creating a desktop shortcut. keylabo. Similarly to News24, lists a number of channels you can watch online. Unfortunately, not all of them can be opened in mpv. Tokyo MX. Tokyo MX desktop shortcut. テレビ朝日. TV Asahi desktop shortcut. テレビ東京. TV Tokyo desktop shortcut.",
    "url":"resources.html#streaming",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"YouTube with subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Immersion with YouTube Channels for pre-beginner Japanese learners. Onomappu. Meshclass Japanese Comprehensible Japanese. Inspired by Steven Krashen's idea of comprehensible input. The language is slow and is even easier than Tango N5. Regular channels. GitHub: Japanese YouTube channels with japanese subtitles Ixrec: Recommended YouTube channels テレ東BIZ. News. Doesn't have subs, but has transcriptions. Discovery Channel Japan Kurzgesagt. Science topics. Important: install Privacy Redirect or LibRedirect to safely watch YouTube videos via Invidious.",
    "url":"resources.html#youtube-with-subtitles",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"TikTok",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"You can watch videos from TikTok via ProxiTok. Browser add-ons like LibRedirect can automatically redirect from tiktok.com to a chosen ProxiTok instance. Public instances are listed here. Find Japanese videos by tags, for example: tiktokでニュース Browsing will lead you to more tags.",
    "url":"resources.html#tiktok",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Downloads",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"JAP DUB. A shared folder with movies and other content with Japanese dubs. You can use something like JDownloader to download from Mail Cloud. Terrace House BGND. Terrace House torrent files from Nyaa in one place. Compressed audio Condensed audio catalog",
    "url":"resources.html#downloads",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Drama",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Asian DramaWiki Forum. Gaki No Tsukai. jraws. Some jdramas.",
    "url":"resources.html#drama",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Documentaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"NHK specials. ザ・ノンフィクション.",
    "url":"resources.html#documentaries",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Manga",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Torrent sites. Explore them first. 少年マンガのパンツ カウンター. This site can be used to search for manga recommendations. For each series covered, the author notes the number of pages that depict panties. The site doesn't offer download links. When you find a manga you want to read, look it up on torrent sites. Reader Store. Adult manga catalog. nhentai. For a bit of light reading. Many mangas on the site are just 25-30 pages long, which is perfect for beginners who can't bear long reading sessions yet. Translations are also available. Make sure to only search in Japanese. The site is behind CloudFlare. Since CloudFlare is known to be a type of MITM attack, accessing this site maybe dangerous. I often can't access it at all because it shows a banner saying Checking if the site connection is secure that never disappears. Bilingualmanga. Bilingual manga reader where you can switch from English to Japanese with furigana. Raw Senmanga. View raw manga online. Make sure you disable JavaScript before opening the site. Don't click on any Discord links. Manga-zip. Manga archive. MANGA ZIP. A site that hosts download links to manga and novels. Rawdevart. Raw manga online. 同人あんてな. Free eromanga and doujinshi. raw-cans. This website has scans of a lot of manga, as well as shounen jump, young jump and other manga magazines. Itazuraneko 漫画. shinmoemanga. Manga Raw. Read manga online. MIKARAW. Read manga online. The site does not work with JavaScript disabled. マンガ図書館Z. Manga library. Read manga for free. となりのヤングジャンプ. A site where you can read manga online. DLRAW. Raw manga archived as zip and rar files. RAWKUMA. Like Senmanga, hosts manga online. The site does not work with JavaScript disabled. Don't click on any Discord links. Manga on 千手柱間",
    "url":"resources.html#manga",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Books",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Torrent sites. Explore them first. zlibrary. A library with books in any language. Anna's Archive. A catalog of all the books in existence. Has nearly everything. If it's blocked for you, use a proxy or Tor. For mirror status, see: Shadow Libraries. Open-Slum. 聖書 on Wikisource. Here you can read the Bible in Japanese. The 口語訳 version is written in contemporary language and is easy to read. 小説を読もう！. Lets you read web novels for free. カクヨム. Similar to 小説を読もう！. Search and read web novels online. 青空文庫. An Internet library of classic Japanese literature. Aozora Bunko archive. Books from Aozora Bunko in epub, pdf and other formats. DL-Zip.net. Download manga, light novels, magazines and books for free. Itazuraneko 小説図書館. A light novel library of questionable quality. Nyaa. You can find books on Nyaa too. boroboro epubs and azw3. A list of books in Epub and azw3 formats. Sōseki Project. Works of 夏目漱石 with a number of tools to assist the students of Japanese. アルファポリス. A site where you can read novels, manga, etc., for free. You can disable JavaScript but must allow cookies for books' pages to load. Japanese Learner’s Anthology v2 or Magnet. A torrent with 30,000 Japanese ebooks. Itazuraneko's 小説一覧表. Light novels downloads in epub, mobi, and azw3.",
    "url":"resources.html#books",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audiobooks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese Audiobook Collection Part 1 or Magnet Part 2 or Magnet Part 3 or Magnet Part 4 or Magnet Audiobooks on Itazuraneko Audiobooks on 千手柱間",
    "url":"resources.html#audiobooks",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Podcasts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Podcasts opml. About 200 Japanese podcasts for constant passive listening. Mirror. AuDee Podcasts",
    "url":"resources.html#podcasts",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Visual Novels and Games",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Beware that most games that exist today are proprietary. Proprietary software should not exist and should not be used if you want to have freedom. List of visual novels on Arch Wiki. Libre games Wiki",
    "url":"resources.html#visual-novels-and-games",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese boards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"librejp (Tor) Watkins 2channel おーぷん2ch Nishimura 2channel / 2ch.sc Talk.jp 嫌儲.org エッヂ Futaba channel / ふたばちゃんねる ぷにぷに したらば あにまん You may need a Japanese IP address for some of these.",
    "url":"resources.html#japanese-boards",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"NHK News Web Easy. News articles written in simple Japanese. NHK News Web Easy — Telegram Channel. Unofficial.",
    "url":"resources.html#other",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"See also: Mining from movies and TV-shows and Retiming subtitles. subtitles.ajatt.top. Japanese subtitles for Japanese anime, dramas, TV shows, and movies. kitsunekko.net. A large repository of Japanese subtitles. kitsunekko mirror. You can clone this repository to have all subtitles from kitsunekko saved locally. More details here. Xavier's Retimed JP Sub Pack or Magnet Jimaku Archive 12/01/2025. Archive of anime and drama subtitles. Magnet. 日本語字幕 on Itazuraneko. Outdated. Jpsubbers drama subtitles Jpsubbers drama subtitles — archive 動漫花園 Subtitles by BritVSJapan Nekomoe Kissaten This gist Japanese Movie Subtitles Anime Japanese subtitles jimaku.cc. A subtitle catalog, alternative to Kitsunekko. Includes links to Discord servers. Discord is known for spying on and politically suppressing its users. Whisper AI subtitle generator hugging face space. As always, autogenerated subs may be incorrect.",
    "url":"resources.html#japanese-subtitles",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fonts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Japanese fonts Noto Fonts. Google Noto TTF fonts. Noto Emoji fonts on GitHub Noto CJK on GitHub Source Han. The Adobe-branded Source Han Sans, Source Han Serif and Source Han Code JP typefaces. IPAフォント. Install the ipa-fonts package group. Kanji stroke order font 新正楷書CBSK1. A good brush font. Supports around 13,000 characters. Asebi Mincho. A font that displays all 新字体 kanji in their 旧字体(正字体) form, including all the undocumented changes as well. 花園明朝. This font is made by the glyphwiki project and supports all Unicode characters. A perfect back-up font. Related: Font test page with download links. アームド・レモン A font that imitates handwriting. The font covers all JIS第２水準 kanji characters. kanji-restoration. A custom font that only displays 旧字体. Motomachi. AJATT archive. The fonts I use. Contains Yu Mincho, semi-cursive fonts and stroke order fonts. You can simply extract the entire folder to ~/.local/share/fonts to install them.",
    "url":"resources.html#fonts",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Software",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"resources.html#software",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Recommendations",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Midek's software recommendations list Luke Smith's Programs and Equipment ALTERNATIVES TO BLOATWARE. A comprehensive list of software that has alternatives with less dependencies. Stuff that rocks digdeeper.club. Software recommendations, reviews. Privacy Tools. Privacy tools and services to counter mass surveillance with encryption for better internet privacy. Online Spyware Watchdog. Contains articles about popular programs with explanations of the spyware features found in them.",
    "url":"resources.html#recommendations",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"General",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"LibreWolf. A web browser based on Firefox that comes with an Ad Block by default. I recommend getting LibreWolf from Chaotic or from archlinuxcn so that you don't have to build it yourself, but you can also get it from the AUR. Additionally, there's pyllyukko user.js to harden the configuration. Before installing I recommend reading the user.js and commenting out the settings you don't need because no user.js can suit everybody's needs unmodified. Anki A free/libre flashcard application. Trackma. Track your immersion on one of the supported sites.",
    "url":"resources.html#general",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Localization",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Localization/Japanese Fcitx input method framework Japanese fontconfig",
    "url":"resources.html#localization",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Morphological analysis",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"mecab. mecab-ipadic. IPA dictionary for MeCab. mecab-ipadic-neologd-git. Neologism dictionary for MeCab.",
    "url":"resources.html#morphological-analysis",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Productivity",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Timeboxing tatsumato. Tatsumoto's Pomodoro timer. potato. A pomodoro timer for the shell. pomodoro. A simple dmenu pomodoro timer tool.",
    "url":"resources.html#productivity",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Image viewers",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"nsxiv An image viewer perfect for reading manga. Arch Linux package. sxiv-manga-reader. Simple manga reader made from a patched nsxiv. It extracts archives for you and opens them automatically with sxiv. It keeps your progress. Gomicsv. A very fast manga reader that can read zip/cbz files directly. It has a lot of features, like double-page mode and smart resizing to make the manga fit on your screen.",
    "url":"resources.html#image-viewers",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Work with subtitles",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"subs2srs. Takes video files and subtitle files and creates cards with screenshots and/or audio for each line in the sub file. Useful for batch extracting audio from videos. subtitleedit. A subtitle editor. It can convert image-based subtitles (.sup, .sub) to text-based (.srt) via an OCR engine such as Tesseract. pyTranscriber. A GUI program for generating subtitles using Google Speech Recognition. You can use it to generate subtitles for video files that don't have any subtitles or for audiobooks. The produced subs will contain errors due to the nature of speech recognition. kitsunekko-tools. A set of scripts for creating a local kitsunekko mirror. Whisper AI subtitle generator hugging face space. As always, autogenerated subs may be incorrect.",
    "url":"resources.html#work-with-subtitles",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"OCR for manga",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Mining from manga Optical character recognition (OCR) tools convert text in manga into a digital form. lancet. A powerful tool for mining sentences from manga. Press a configured keyboard shortcut and select a portion of the manga page to convert. The text is recognized and copied to the clipboard for lookup with Rikaitan Search, or sent to GoldenDict. mokuro. Can be used to OCR Japanese text instead of Tesseract. Poricom. Manga OCR desktop application. kanjitomo. An OCR program written in Java. Note that you can't use Japanese to Japanese dictionaries with it.",
    "url":"resources.html#ocr-for-manga",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reading eBooks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article Reading books crqt-ng. E-book reader. AUR package. After installation open Settings, go to \"Styles\" and set \"Default font\" to your Japanese font of choice to avoid Chinese fallbacks. Yu Mincho worked for me. Japanese Noto fonts did not, some text was still in Chinese. On the \"Page\" tab you can choose View Mode. I have it set to \"Scroll View\". On the \"Window\" tab you can tell the program to apply your kvantum theme. crqt-ng can automatically copy selected text to the clipboard, which is handy when using Rikaitan Search. To enable the feature, under the \"Window\" tab check \"automatically copy when selected.\" To add a bookmark, select some text and press Ctrl+B. To view saved bookmarks, press F6. Foliate. A simple and modern eBook viewer. Arch Linux package. If you can't open books, run the chmod command from their issue tracker. In Preferences, set \"When a word is selected\" to \"Copy\" and \"When multiple words are selected\" to \"Copy\". This should be enough to comfortably use Foliate with Rikaitan Search. Change Layout to \"Scrolled\" in Advanced section of the menu to prevent lags and ensure a consistent layout. Use keyboard shortcuts, \"n\" to go to the next page and \"p\" to go to the previous page. To scroll without the mouse, press \"j\" and \"k\". KOreader. KOreader is a book reader application that was designed to be used on E-ink devices, but it can also be used on a PC. It properly displays furigana. The best way to install it is to use the appimage AUR package Alternatively, the koreader-bin AUR package can be used, but it may not work for everyone. This app supports StarDict dictionaries. You can download the dictionaries from here, or you can use your own dictionaries, converting them to the StarDict format with PyGlossary. The dictionaries should be placed in ~/.config/koreader/data/dict if you're on GNU/Linux. Refer to the Wiki for other platforms. Under \"Font\" check \"Enable system fonts\" (the checkbox is at the beginning of the font list) to have access to your Japanese fonts. Then in document settings set the font to Noto Serif CJK JP or a similar Japanese font. If you want to create Anki cards, install Anki plugin for KOreader. Zathura. A minimalistic document viewer. Can be used to read novels. Doesn't display furigana correctly. calibre. Ebook management application. This program is primarily used to convert from various formats (including azw3) to epub. It's not very good as a reader app. AJATT Reader. A web-based book reader that supports Rikaitan. Not recommended because it requires keeping a web browser open.",
    "url":"resources.html#reading-ebooks",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"MPV",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"mpv is the best video player for language learning. Official website Arch Wiki page User-scripts for mpv mpv for Android Make Anki cards in mpv: Mpvacious",
    "url":"resources.html#mpv",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"mpd",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"With mpd you can listen to condensed audio, audiobooks and Japanese music. Passive listening how to. ncmpcpp. Probably the most popular mpd client. ncmpcpp cheat sheet — for new users. mpc. A CLI mpd client, great for scripting.",
    "url":"resources.html#mpd",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Torrent clients",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"qBittorrent. A free/libre torrent client alternative to µTorrent. Use search plugins, they save you so much time that you'd otherwise spend going to each torrent site individually. KTorrent. A BitTorrent client for KDE. Transmission. A light-weight and cross-platform BitTorrent client. See transmission-gtk.",
    "url":"resources.html#torrent-clients",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Downloading",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"yt-dlp. A command-line program that lets you download videos and audio from YouTube and more than a thousand other sites. See our setup guide. Tartube is a GUI front-end for youtube-dl. mangadesk. Download manga directly from your terminal. HakuNeko. A cross-platform downloader for manga and anime from various websites. Megatools. A command line client for Mega. JDownloader. A download manager that can download normal files and files from online file hosting services, such as Mail.ru Cloud.",
    "url":"resources.html#downloading",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Subtitle retiming",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"subs2srs includes a semi-automatic subtitle retimer. ffsubsync alass",
    "url":"resources.html#subtitle-retiming",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tools for condensing audio",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"impd. Create condensed audio and automatically rotate your mpd playlist. subs2cia",
    "url":"resources.html#tools-for-condensing-audio",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tools for extracting audio",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"FFmpeg MKVToolNix (official site) subs2srs",
    "url":"resources.html#tools-for-extracting-audio",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Android software",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Note: Please read our recommendations regarding using an Android device.",
    "url":"resources.html#android-software",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"General",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Japanese keyboards. Choose a Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) for typing Japanese text on a phone. Fcitx repo. Fcitx for Android. AnkiDroid. A free/libre flashcard application, Android version. AnkiConnect for Android. A program that helps create Anki cards on Android. Probably not needed because AnkiDroid has AnkiDroid API. SimplyTranslate Mobile. An alternative front-end to Google Translate.",
    "url":"resources.html#general-1",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Manga readers",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Tachiyomi. Free/libre manga reader for Android. Mihon (mihon.app) is a successor to Tachiyomi. Not in F-Droid. tachiyomiJ2K is a fork of Tachiyomi. Not in F-Droid. OCR Manga Reader. Android Manga reader with Japanese OCR and dictionary capabilities. Supports EPWING monolingual dictionaries.",
    "url":"resources.html#manga-readers",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Book readers",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Librera Reader. App for reading books. Was recommended in ラノベスレ. KOreader. A book reader. Typhon Reader. An EPUB reader for Android that lets you look up words as you read, similarly to Rikaitan. Also supports EPWING dictionaries.",
    "url":"resources.html#book-readers",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Video players",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"mpv for Android. See the mpv section. VLC. A fast and user-friendly video player for Android. Jidoujisho. A mobile video player tailored for Japanese language learners. Tubular. A libre lightweight streaming front-end for Android. Also adds features from SponsorBlock and ReturnYouTubeDislike.",
    "url":"resources.html#video-players",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audio players",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Audio players are used to play locally stored audio files. Although their primary purpose is to play music, for language learning a better choice would be to listen to audiobooks, podcasts or audio extracted from movies and TV shows. All available players are listed on F-Droid catalog. Vanilla Music Pulse Music AntennaPod. A podcast player for Android. Metro - A music player for Android",
    "url":"resources.html#audio-players",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"resources.html#dictionaries",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Offline dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict. Requires dictionary files. Has Anki support. Qolibri. A Qt-based EPWING dictionary viewer. Requires dictionary files. Refer to setup guide. EBView. A GTK2 based EPWING dictionary viewer. Like Qolibri, EBView requires you to specify where to look for the dictionary files. To set it up, refer to the official documentation, especially the 辞書グループの定義 section. Tagaini Jisho",
    "url":"resources.html#offline-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Popup dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan. Rikaitan is a browser extension that lets you easily look up unknown words. How to set up Rikaitan Rikaitan dictionaries Extension homepage dictpopup. Looks up selected (Japanese) text in your Yomichan/Rikaitan dictionaries and displays the result as a popup. Rikaikun. 10ten Japanese Reader. Formerly known as Rikaichamp, this browser extension lets you look up Japanese words with the hover of a mouse or tap of a screen. It doesn't support Anki and monolingual dictionaries, but is fine otherwise. cabl.",
    "url":"resources.html#popup-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Online dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Dictionariez. A popup-dictionary extension that works similarly to Rikaitan. Good for learners of English. jisho.org wadoku.de. Has pitch accent. weblio.jp goo辞書 Kotobank ichi.moe 広辞苑無料検索. Allows you to search many monolingual dictionaries. OJAD. A pitch accent dictionary. 日本語俗語辞書. A monolingual slang dictionary. 伏字検索. Helps you decipher words partially occluded by symbols like 〇 and ◯ (maru). ふりがな文庫. For any given word, searches through Aozora Bunko for all instances where it was used with furigana and shows the percentage of each reading. Great for when the dictionary lists multiple readings, and you want to know which is dominant. 書き順. A website that shows you how to write a given kanji and how it looks written in different fonts. 漢字辞典. Monolingual kanji dictionary. Kanjijoho 漢字辞典. A kanji dictionary. In addition to details such as radicals, stroke counts, and readings, it also provides examples of 熟語 and 四字熟語 that use each character. Kanjitisiki 漢字辞典. A kanji dictionary. It contains various details about Kanji such as meanings, readings, radicals, stroke counts, etc. Jotoba. An open source multilingual Japanese dictionary. 連想類語辞典. A dictionary of synonyms. Dictionaryphile — 日本語. A list of various online dictoinaries.",
    "url":"resources.html#online-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Android dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Ciyue. This dictionary supports MDX dictionary files. jiten sumatora Nani?",
    "url":"resources.html#android-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Something else",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Epistularum's Converted Dictionary Collection. Dictionary files. Stardict files are meant to be used with KOreader, Mdict with GoldenDict.",
    "url":"resources.html#something-else",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentence banks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Cross Profile Search And Import Any Anki decks with voiced sentences can be used to build a sentence bank. Most decks linked below are made with subs2srs. Ankidrone Sentence Pack. User Uploaded Anki Decks (source). Sentence bank. subs2srs decks. steins-gate-anki. Anki deck made from Steins;Gate. Has lots of voiced example sentences. GitHub repo. If you have Rikaitan installed, you can mine from online sentence banks. You can also try AnkiWeb, although pirated content is not common there.",
    "url":"resources.html#sentence-banks",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Translators",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The quality of machine translation is very low. Your goal is not to translate Japanese but to be able to understand it the first time. Don't use translators for anything serious. You've been warned. SimplyTranslate and SimplyTranslate Mobile for Android. LibreTranslate Lingva Translate. Alternative front-end for Google Translate .",
    "url":"resources.html#translators",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pronunciation and Pitch accent",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Japanese Pitch Accent Primer Pitch accent dictionaries for Rikaitan. When you look up a word with Rikaitan, they will tell you its pitch accent number. 韻律読み上げチュータスズキクン. Generate text-to-speech sentences with somewhat accurate pitch accent (don't assume it's correct). Japanese Accent Study Website. A useful site with pitch accent information for counters, verb conjugations, place names, surnames and Japanese celebrities. NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典・付録. A scan of the NHK Pitch Accent dictionary, specifically the sections at the back (which aren't in the EPWING) that explain the theory, rules and patterns. NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典. A PDF of the NHK Pitch Accent dictionary, 1998 edition. 新明解日本語アクセント辞典 第2版・付録. A scan of the Shinmeikai Pitch Accent dictionary, specifically the sections at the back that explain the theory, rules and patterns. 京言葉. A website on Kyoto dialect. Dogen's Phonetics Series. Pitch accent lessons. Yes, everybody hates Dogen because of his personality, but if your Japanese isn't good enough to read the NHK pitch accent dictionary, you can start by watching his tutorials. Magnet. Mega. Yandex. YouGlish for Japanese. Look up a word and hear a native speaker pronounce it in a YouTube video. 日本語標準アクセントの概要 + 詳細 助詞・助動詞のアクセントについての覚え書き 東京外国語大学言語モジュール. Listening comprehension and pronunciation training. 日本語の発音を知る. Pronunciation of phonemes described in Japanese. Uses IPA notation + has mouth/tongue diagrams. Practice Japanese Numbers. A page for training listening to numbers. Pitch accent perception word list. When immersing yourself in Japanese, actively listen for the words in the list and challenge yourself to identify the pitch patterns. For example, if you hear someone say the word 建物, you need to tell if it's atamadaka, heiban, odaka, or nakadaka.",
    "url":"resources.html#pronunciation-and-pitch-accent",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Past-beginner",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"resources.html#past-beginner",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar in Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"毎日のんびり日本語教師. A website run by a Japanese teacher living in China. Grammar is sorted by JLPT levels. The entries are in Japanese (monolingual definitions) and Chinese. Provides example sentences. 国語文法. Japanese grammar taught by a Japanese teacher. 国語の文法. 国語－文法 playlist YouTube playlist of 学校文法. A pedagogical framework for teaching grammar to native Japanese speakers. Not made for learners or linguists. 国語—古文. YouTube playlist of 古文, to help you learn classical Japanese. 初級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック. A book for learning Japanese grammar in Japanese, for learners & Japanese teachers. ISBN-10: 4883191559. ISBN-13: 978-4883191550.",
    "url":"resources.html#grammar-in-japanese",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanken (漢字検定)",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Brett Mayer's Kanken Site. Lists of kanken relevant vocab and kanji. 漢字検定一級・日本語検定一級に受かったロシア人. Site of a Russian national who passed Kanken 1. Tells you the contents of the exam and how to study for Kanken.",
    "url":"resources.html#kanken-kanji-kentei",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Language guides",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"resources.html#language-guides",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Old AJATT",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"How to learn Japanese on your own, having fun and to fluency. Khatzumoto's old blog where he talks about how to learn Japanese. If you're interested in learning more about Khatzumoto's original ideas, you may want to read his blog. See also: Should I read Khatzumoto's blog? Notable articles: Lazy Kanji. One of the many methods of learning kanji. 10,000 Sentences: How. The sentence mining method Khatzumoto used for learning Japanese. On Grammar. Anti-features: Includes links to the Amazon website. Amazon is known for spying on and politically suppressing its users. Contains outdated information. Talks about MCD, which is a flashcard format that hasn't received much adoption over the years due to being too difficult and complicated. Advertises unnecessary paid products. Tries to harvest Email addresses. Epub book version: link.",
    "url":"resources.html#old-ajatt",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Itazuraneko",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A collection of guides for those interested in learning Japanese. Anti-features: Includes links to non-free software, non-free games. Includes links to Discord servers. Discord is known for spying on and politically suppressing its users. Contains outdated information.",
    "url":"resources.html#itazuraneko",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Antimoon",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A site on how to learn English. Made by Poles who learned English to native-level fluency. What they used to learn English can be applied for learning any other language, including Japanese. Notable articles: Sentence cards Example sentence cards",
    "url":"resources.html#antimoon",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Misc",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Cornucopia of resources from the old DJT site. Japanese Mega Learning Pack or Magnet Japanese bookmarks by pachimon Mia's Japanese quickstart guide. Her guide is a little outdated but can still be useful. JM Project. Man pages translated to Japanese. 四字熟語人気ランキング Japanese Resources by 千手柱間",
    "url":"resources.html#misc",
    "parent":"Resources"
  },
  {
    "title":"Foreword",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Congratulations! You've taken your first step towards learning Japanese! This is Tatsumoto's Guide to Learning Japanese. I'm Tatsumoto Ren, and I'm excited to help you begin your journey to learn Japanese. This guide is designed specifically for individuals who want to master Japanese through self-study, without relying on traditional textbooks and classes. Are you eager to take control of your learning and achieve a high level of fluency faster than with any other method in the world? If so, you're in the right place. This site is dedicated to providing you with the theory, strategies, and tools you need to succeed.",
    "url":"foreword.html",
    "date":"2021-05-02"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to use this site",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Begin by reading the guide and the FAQ section thoroughly. It's essential to go through the entire guide, as you might overlook crucial information. However, you don't need to complete the guide before starting to apply the concepts discussed. Feel free to start your Japanese learning journey as soon as you grasp the initial steps. Once you've finished the guide, you may have further questions that aren't addressed in the FAQ. If that happens, don't hesitate to ask in our chat. It will help us expand the FAQ page and reduce the number of recurring questions.",
    "url":"foreword.html#how-to-use-this-site",
    "parent":"Foreword"
  },
  {
    "title":"Our approach",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"We divide the process of learning any foreign language into two major steps. Learn to understand the language at a high level. Use your comprehension to learn to speak the language by mimicking native speakers. This is similar to how kids do it. We focus on understanding before speaking, or input before output. If you want to learn how to draw, you've got to be able to see before you can draw. You can't have a conversation if you can't understand what the other person says. This approach makes the journey easy and fun because from day one you are encouraged to learn from compelling content made for native speakers of your target language. Most people who persevered and reached fluency watched their favorite TV shows in Japanese and read lots of books and manga every day. No amount of brute force can get you there, so forget about traditional approaches such as taking classes or hiring a tutor.",
    "url":"foreword.html#our-approach",
    "parent":"Foreword"
  },
  {
    "title":"All Japanese All the Time",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The method explained here is widely known as AJATT, or All Japanese All the Time. It is directed at people who want to get to fluency as fast as possible by spending a lot of time with the language. The key component to succeeding with AJATT is engaging with the language every day, all the time, going as hardcore as you can. The logic is very simple. The more time each day is spent learning, the faster one arrives at the destination. And of course, the learning process must be efficient. AJATT optimizes learning to achieve the best results. But since studying is boring and exhausting, AJATT strives to make learning fun and interesting. We recommend learning from the language that real native speakers actually use because textbooks, courses, classes and apps don't teach how people really speak. AJATT has very little formal structure and doesn't try to force any particular workflow. You learn the most common words, study basic grammar, but after that you are taught how to dive into authentic content. You learn new things as they come up in the content. The emphasis is very strong on input and comprehension in the beginning. You try to get to understand Japanese perfectly before concerning with trying to produce Japanese yourself.",
    "url":"foreword.html#all-japanese-all-the-time",
    "parent":"Foreword"
  },
  {
    "title":"It's free",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"It is important to be mindful of your finances when learning a foreign language. I learned Japanese without spending any money, and I encourage you to do the same. Everything you need to master Japanese can be found here and online. There is no limit to the amount of media and books you can absorb. With torrents, you can find any anime, drama, or manga ever made. The internet provides an unlimited number of resources for Japanese media. Additionally, you can easily access dictionaries, grammar guides, and software to facilitate your language learning. On the other hand, if someone tries to sell you language learning courses, books, software, or any other resources, it's best to avoid them. We believe these are simply scams. No one needs to pay money to learn a language. The AJATT method does not require any payments. However, because the method is based on self-study, you will need to study by yourself and ensure you follow everything the guide says. Everything depends on how well you study.",
    "url":"foreword.html#its-free",
    "parent":"Foreword"
  },
  {
    "title":"Technology",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"You are going to need a desktop computer or a laptop to learn Japanese effectively. This is because it's a lot easier to work with text when you have a physical keyboard. We use a variety of software to help in the learning process. The tools introduced in this guide are free as in freedom. We use what we recommend. We don't endorse proprietary software and services that mistreat their users.",
    "url":"foreword.html#technology",
    "parent":"Foreword"
  },
  {
    "title":"What's next",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The following articles we will will provide you with an overview of the method, and the most important steps you need to take. The remaining articles address each step in detail.",
    "url":"foreword.html#whats-next",
    "parent":"Foreword"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setting up Rikaitan",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan is a browser extension with a pop-up dictionary that allows you to look up unknown words with the hover of a mouse. On top of that Rikaitan can be set up to create Anki cards from the words which you look up. The process of picking sentences from your immersion and making Anki cards is called sentence-mining or sentence-picking. Each mined sentence has to contain one unknown piece of information, which is referred to as target word. You don't necessarily have to pick an entire sentence, but if you're a TSC user it is not necessary to keep mined items short. When you're out in the wild picking sentences, select the ones that are interesting to you. Your goal is not to mine every word.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html",
    "date":"2021-04-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Note: Avoid fake clones of Rikaitan.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#installation",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Gecko-based",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan is available for Firefox-based web browsers. We recommend LibreWolf as your everyday web browser. Release version Development version Caveats Add-on verification by Mozilla can take a long time. You can still install the extension if you open about:config and set xpinstall.signatures.required to false. Mozilla is making it difficult to install extensions on Android! To install an extension in Firefox for Android (Fennec) from a file, download and save the extension file to your device. In Firefox, open Settings, then About Firefox (Fennec). Tap the Firefox logo five times quickly to unlock hidden menu items. Return and open Settings again, then choose Install Extension from File. Browse to and open the saved extension file. When prompted, tap Add. The extension appears in the Extension list of installed extensions and is ready to use.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#gecko-based",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Chromium-based",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan is available for Chromium-based web browsers. We recommend ungoogled-chromium as your everyday web browser. Chrome Web Store",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#chromium-based",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"GitHub Releases",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"The official GitHub Releases page.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#github-releases",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"AnkiConnect plugin",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"In order to be able to create Anki cards later you need the AnkiConnect plugin. It can be installed by opening Anki and going to Tools > Add-ons > Get Add-ons... > Code: 2055492159 > OK.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#ankiconnect-plugin",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mobile devices",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"On Android devices you can install Fennec and then install Rikaitan from Firefox add-ons.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#mobile-devices",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Download dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan needs dictionary files to operate. Dictionaries are distributed in .zip archives. The archives should not be unzipped before installation. You can find dictionary files here.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#download-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Configuration",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"The great thing about Rikaitan is that it is customizable. To access the settings page, click the button in the browser toolbar and choose \"Settings\". In the bottom left corner enable \"Advanced\" to access hidden settings mentioned in this guide.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#configuration",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Backups",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"If you are installing the extension on a new device, export and import your setting by going to \"Settings\" > \"Backup\" > \"Export/Import settings\".",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#backups",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Install dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"To install a new dictionary, select \"Dictionaries\" on the sidebar, then click \"Configure installed and enabled dictionaries…\". The \"Import\" button in the bottom lets you choose a dictionary file. For the first month or two after finishing kanji and basic vocabulary you're going to need only the English JMdict and optionally the English KANJIDIC. The first one is a very popular Japanese to English dictionary which you can find on jisho.org, the second one lets you see information about individual kanji. Apart from regular dictionaries for looking up vocabulary, there are grammar dictionaries and frequency lists. They are not must have, but consider exploring them too. After you begin transitioning to Japanese-Japanese dictionaries, install them as well. My favorite ones are 大辞林, 明鏡 and 新明解.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#install-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch accents",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Pitch accent is taken very seriously among Japanese learners. If you don't know pitch accent of a word, you don't know how it's pronounced. To view pitch accent information in Rikaitan popups, you need to install Kanjium dictionary. You can find it in the archive with all the other dictionaries you downloaded earlier. To configure how pitch accent information is displayed, go to \"Settings\" > \"Appearance\" > \"Pitch accent display styles\". Enable \"Downstep notation\" and \"Downstep position\". I don't recommend enabling \"Graph\" because it doesn't show connections between moraes and their corresponding pitches.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#pitch-accents",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki settings",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"To set up Anki integration, go to \"Settings\" > \"Anki\". Make sure \"Enable Anki integration\" is on, Anki is running and AnkiConnect is installed. I advise you to disable the \"Check for card duplicates\" option unless you are sure that you need duplicate checking. Although it's a very useful feature, it is known to significantly affect performance to the point when Rikaitan and Anki freeze and become unusable. Scroll down and click \"Configure Anki card format...\" to select the Note Type for your mining deck. The settings below are for the Japanese sentences Note Type. You can install it by importing this example deck. We have a repository with user-created Note Types. It includes a very convenient system of importing and exporting the Note Types, and everyone is welcome to add their templates by making a pull request. Settings overview Field Value SentKanji {cloze-prefix}<b>{cloze-body}</b>{cloze-suffix} VocabKanji {expression} VocabFurigana {furigana-plain} VocabPitchPattern {pitch-accents} VocabPitchNum {pitch-accent-positions} VocabDef {glossary-brief} Screenshot Anki Cards settings. Commentary The value set for SentKanji lets you automatically make the target word bold. Alternatively, replace it with {sentence} if you don't want it to be highlighted. SentFurigana is left empty. You may have noticed that Rikaitan can add furigana to sentences with the {sentence-furigana} tag. Unfortunately, it uses a html-based ruby format which is hard for the user to edit. I recommend leaving the SentFurigana field blank and using the AJT Japanese add-on to generate furigana. SentEng can be used together with subs2srs and premade decks such as Ankidrone Essentials. MorphManFocus is a field for compatibility with Morphman. SentAudio and Image are to be filled by mpvacious. If you set VocabDef to {clipboard-text} you can manually select which part of the definition you want by pressing Ctrl+C before you make a card. VocabAudio is left empty. I don't recommend assigning {audio} because all default audio sources in Rikaitan often provide samples with incorrect pronunciation and pitch accent. For example, you get はは instead of はば or ぼせい instead of ほせい. It's pretty bad, even harmful for language learning. Furthermore, enabling {audio} significantly slows down card creation because Rikaitan has to access pronunciation servers and download audio every time. Instead you can use audio sources provided by AJT Japanese.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#anki-settings",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Handlebars",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Usually the term handlebars is used to refer to the formatting of Anki cards created by Rikaitan. Handlebars can be configured by going to \"Settings\" > \"Anki\" > \"Configure Anki card templates...\". Some people may recommend you to modify the handlebars but no matter what you do your settings are going to be broken on next Rikaitan update anyway, and you can't prevent it. Instead, it is advised to modify styling of your Note Type directly in Anki. For example, you can remove dictionary bullet points by copying the code below. The following snippet was taken from the Japanese sentences Note Type. ul, ol { list-style-type: none; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; }",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#handlebars",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Popup size",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"The default pop up box size is rather small which makes it difficult to work with monolingual dictionaries. To increase its size, go to \"Settings\" > \"Position & Size\" and set the size to a higher value. I use 480x480.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#popup-size",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Styling",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan offers rich capabilities for styling thanks to the use of CSS. The appearance of the popup window can be changed by going to \"Settings\" > \"Appearance\" > \"Configure custom CSS...\". Most people keep their settings rather simple, but there are a few important modifications I'd like to mention. Hide furigana. When you use the popup window, it shows you all kanji readings right away. This is not desirable because you want to recall the readings yourself before looking them up. The code below makes furigana appear only when you hover over words. ruby rt { visibility: hidden; } ruby:hover rt { visibility: visible; } Increase font size. By default, Rikaitan uses very small font. If you're using monolingual dictionaries, you're going to find the font uncomfortable. To increase its size, the following code can be used. .gloss-content { font-size: 1.5em; } Or, more complex rules with the popups and the search page styled separately. /* popup */ [data-page-type=\"popup\"] .gloss-content { font-size: clamp(1rem, 6.5vw, 4rem); font-weight: 300; } /* search page */ [data-page-type=\"search\"] .gloss-content { font-size: 2rem; } Adjust the size to suit your preference. Make tags smaller. Tags aren't that important, so it makes sense to shrink them a bit to save space. .tag-label-content { font-size: 12px; } [data-page-type=\"popup\"] .tag-label-content { font-size: 3vw; font-weight: 300; } Popup page in the Anki-card style. Makes your popups look similar to your targeted sentence cards. .content-body { background-color: #fffaf0; color: #2a1b0a; } [class^=tag], [class*=icon] { filter: sepia(50%); } [class^=tag] { font-size: 0.9rem; font-weight: 300; } Miscellaneous. CSS can do almost everything. To find the right class name to apply your styles to, right-click on the part of the popup window that you're interested in and choose \"Inspect\". You will be presented with the HTML structure of the popup. Classes are defined inside HTML tags. For example, the class name for the tag below is gloss-content. <span class=\"gloss-content\" lang=\"ja\">...</span>",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#styling",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Profiles",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Set up a second profile to make it easier to switch between mining simple word cards and targeted sentence cards. Go to \"Settings\" > \"Profile\" > \"Configure profiles...\". Under \"Conditions\" select: if \"Modifier Keys\" \"Include\" \"Ctrl\" Profile Conditions. The modifier key can be anything. To insert Ctrl you sometimes have to press both Ctrl and Shift at the same time, which appears to be a bug of Rikaitan. Change which profile is being modified under \"Profile\" > \"Editing profile\", go back to Anki settings and set up a second Note Type to mine simple word cards. An example Note Type can be found here. Now when you press Shift+Ctrl while reading, Rikaitan is going to use the new profile.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#profiles",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Replacement patterns",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"If Rikaitan fails to look up words such as 近々 or 屡々, try adding the following replacement pattern. Go to \"Settings\" > \"Translation\" > \"Configure custom text replacement patterns…\", then press \"Add\". Pattern: (.)々 Replacement: $1$1",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#replacement-patterns",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Recursive lookups",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"If you're someone who just started using monolingual dictionaries, you may often require looking up words inside definitions. Recursive lookups. To enable this feature, go to \"Settings\" > \"Popup\". Change the following settings: Allow scanning popup content - on. Maximum number of child popups - any high number. When using monolingual dictionaries, you want to be able to look up any words you don't know within definitons. Allow scanning popup source terms - on. Settings.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#recursive-lookups",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Keyboard shortcuts",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"There's one thing about Rikaitan that probably annoys everyone. That's having to scroll down to find the right definition. Before you lose your mind, change some keyboard shortcuts. Go to \"Settings\" > \"Shortcuts\" > \"Configure standard keyboard shortcuts…\". Go to previous entry: K Go to next entry: J These shortcuts let you jump between entries faster. You don't have to scroll anymore, especially if you keep many monolingual dictionaries installed. Shortcuts.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#keyboard-shortcuts",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Collapse dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Go to \"Appearance\" > \"Configure collapsible dictionaries…\". Here you can hide definitions from some dictionaries. Screenshot. This feature can be useful for going monolingual. After you install monolingual (Jp-Jp) dictionaries, hide JMdict and other bilingual dictionaries to avoid associating Japanese words with their English translations. This is different from simply uninstalling bilingual dictionaries. Often there are words that Jp-Jp dictionaries don't define. Rikaitan won't be able to parse such words if JMdict is not installed.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#collapse-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audio",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Since the offered pronunciations are not correct, just disable them and rely on other sources of audio. AJT Japanese can add audio files to Anki cards. \"Auto-play search result audio\" - disable. \"Enable audio playback for terms\" - disable.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#audio",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Miscellaneous",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"\"General\" > \"Show the welcome guide on browser startup\": disable. \"Scanning\" > \"Scan delay\": 0. You don't want to be slowed down by anything. \"Popup Position & Size\" > \"Scale\": adjust to your preference. \"Text Parsing\" > \"Show space between parsed words\": disable. \"Clipboard\" > \"Enable search page clipboard text monitoring\": enable. Scan delay.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#miscellaneous",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan popups appear when you hover over Japanese text while holding down the Shift key. You can try it with this text: 私達はイラク出身です。 Rikaitan popup. Inside the box you can see definitions grouped by dictionary. To hide the window press Esc or click outside the box. If you have KANJIDIC installed, clicking on individual kanji in the expression will bring up additional information about the kanji. Rikaitan Search is a tool that helps analyze text in the system clipboard. It is helpful when reading manga, books, or watching videos in mpv. By clicking on you can hear an approximate pronunciation of the selected word. Unless you're using a custom pronunciation server, don't trust the default audio sources and don't add the pronunciations to Anki for the reasons explained earlier. AJT Japanese for Anki 2.1 solves the problem with pronunciations by letting you add a custom audio source that features pronunciations made by native speakers. The audio files will be downloaded and added to Anki whenever a new cards is created or an existing card is updated. The button allows you to make Anki cards in one click. Assuming you've configured your Note Type, now you can create properly formatted targeted sentence cards while reading.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#usage",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rikaitan PDF Viewer",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan PDF Viewer. Read PDF files with Rikaitan text scanning.",
    "url":"setting-up-yomichan.html#rikaitan-pdf-viewer",
    "parent":"Setting up Rikaitan"
  },
  {
    "title":"Donating to Tatsumoto",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"I really appreciate you being here. Because almost all my content is offered free of charge, this site and the Ajatt-Tools project relies on donations and support from its community to stay alive. We do not have ads or privacy-violating trackers, we are entirely dependent on you. If this site, our community or the free software projects developed at Ajatt-Tools were useful to you, I'll appreciate if you donate to help me support myself and continue delivering new guides, tools and resources. You can support me over at one of the membership platforms or donate cryptocurrency.",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html",
    "date":"2021-04-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fundraising",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Our project exists solely on the funds of subscribers. Since 2020, I have been working on AJATT full time. AJATT cannot be sustainable if I cannot buy food and pay my bills. Thousands of people visit this site every day. If even some of them contribute $1, it will be a huge help for us! A small symbolic donation of $1 or $5 will not make you poorer, but will save our common cause! ❤️ Please follow the links below and donate according to your abilities. Any amount of help is important. Do not let our common cause fail! The money you donate primarily goes toward my paycheck for maintaining the website, paying for hosting and the domain name, updating and improving existing articles (lessons), and writing new lessons. The funds also support work on Ajatt-Tools, including making, updating, and improving our software toolset, Anki add-ons, Anki decks, and other resources used with the AJATT method. If funding is insufficient, I may have to seek job opportunities elsewhere, which would slow down the evolution and development of the AJATT method. Your continued support through donations is crucial to the ongoing progress and maintenance of this valuable resource for language learners. A huge thank you to everyone who stays with us! It is only thanks to you that we are still standing!",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#fundraising",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"Monero",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Monero is a privacy-focused and censorship-resistant cryptocurrency. The transactions are all hidden. There are many ways you can buy or sell Monero, one of the simplest ones is through ChangeNow.io. 47sD7pSagHF7mp41SwrDj4KF8dSj4kdK6YUZ9fkmnR8h587wVc1kW66iJy9m83maVjWXtDJxmCVxdieMyGZNFHZ2Fifrbr5 XMR QR",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#monero",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"TON",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"TON is a blockchain platform developed by Telegram. You can donate to Tatsumoto easily through the Telegram wallet. Send Toncoin (TON) to this address. UQAyVFHr_TSgoR3CkNUAh4kKEBv0ZYxULajueSES1v_wVnsj TON QR",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#ton",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"Bitcoin",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Bitcoin is another cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is not meant to be anonymous, but it's widely used. Here's a list of places where you can buy Bitcoins. bc1q5q36gjlclzhhqet2fkav82cr7y6dqwfk5s2lga BTC QR",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#bitcoin",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"Boosty",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"You can donate on Boosty too, which is a platform similar to Patreon. Boosty",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#boosty",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"Donate bot on Telegram",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"By clicking the link below, you can subscribe to monthly donations. You can set a donation amount at checkout in the Tip section. Subscribe",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#donate-bot-on-telegram",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"Cointree",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Donate crypto and send a message that I will receive via email. https://cointr.ee/tatsumoto Deprecated methods ## Liberapay Liberapay is a recurrent donations platform. Liberapay does not take a cut of payments. <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"md-button lp\" href=\"https://liberapay.com/Tatsumoto/donate\">Donate using Liberapay</a> ## Patreon You can support me over at Patreon by clicking the button below. <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"md-button patreon\" href=\"https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=43555128\">Become a patron</a> /Deprecated methods Thank you very much for your support! If you're unable to support financially, please read and share my articles, recommend this site to your friends, and of course be a part of our community.",
    "url":"donating-to-tatsumoto.html#cointree",
    "parent":"Donating to Tatsumoto"
  },
  {
    "title":"Passive immersion tech",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Passive immersion means listening to the language while in idle activities. When listening passively you're not fully focused on the content, instead you're doing something else while having the speech in your target language play in the background. Passive listening is one of the key components of the AJATT method, so it is important to make it as convenient as possible. If preparing immersion content is tedious, you are not going to do it. This article covers technology for passive immersion.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html",
    "date":"2021-04-12"
  },
  {
    "title":"Prerequisites",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you are not familiar with the theory behind passive immersion, read this article. Key points to take away: We engage in passive immersion when there is no option to do active immersion. For instance, when we are occupied with other, unrelated tasks, we can still listen to our target language while doing so. The hours spent on passive immersion contribute to the overall progress. Even though passive immersion is less effective than active immersion, doing passive immersion is always better than doing nothing. Passive immersion revolves around repetition. It is recommended to actively immerse oneself in the material prior to listening to it passively. This way, you are better equipped to understand what is happening. You know the words, know the story, understand what's going on. During passive immersion usually one pays less attention to the content. You can zone out, but when you turn your attention back, you will not be lost because it's not your first time. On the other hand, listening to unfamiliar gibberish is not particularly helpful. To maximize the effectiveness of passive immersion, it is beneficial to listen to the same audio file multiple times. But it is also essential to rotate the content after a certain point, removing the old files and adding new files on a regular basis. This can be done easily and automatically with the help of scripts.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#prerequisites",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtaining content",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Passive immersion is largely about repetition. So for passive immersion you are going to use the content you have previously downloaded and have already actively immersed in. For instance, if you watched an episode of a TV show today, that episode is going to become your passive immersion content. All you need to do is convert it to audio. To make things easier, make sure to download what you watch, so you can extract the audio and add it to your passive listening playlist. Other possible types of content to passively immerse in are YouTube streams, podcasts and radio shows. They are more appropriate for intermediate learners. Unfortunately, transcripts are usually not available for these types of content, so actively immersing oneself in them is not an option, thus reducing the quality of immersion.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#obtaining-content",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"mpd",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"First, to start listening you have to install a music player. mpd is a music player with a server-client architecture, it runs in the background as a daemon, and you need a separate client application to connect to it. The most widely used mpd client is ncmpcpp, but there are many alternatives listed on Arch Wiki. After you've installed mpd, create the config and playlists directories: $ mkdir -p ~/.config/mpd/playlists To configure mpd, edit ~/.config/mpd/mpd.conf. Make sure to specify your music_directory correctly. Example configuration file mpd must run in the background to be able to play music. To enable autostart, add mpd & (mind the trailing &) to your ~/.xprofile or ~/.xinitrc. Alternatively, use autostart settings of your DE/WM.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#mpd",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"ncmpcpp",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"ncmpcpp is a ncurses-based MPD client. It can help you manage your audio files and playlists, start and stop playback, and everything else you'd expect from an audio player. ncmpcpp reads user's settings from the ~/.ncmpcpp/config file. When configuring ncmpcpp make sure that mpd_music_dir points to the same directory as specified in music_directory in mpd.conf. Example configuration file Key bindings are configured in ~/.config/ncmpcpp/bindings. Example bindings file",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#ncmpcpp",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"Condensing audio",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The quantity of immersion is the greatest predictor of how quick you're going to be making language gains. One of the ways of increasing quantity of immersion is making it more language-dense. This is done by condensing the material you use for passive immersion. Language density is the amount of language per unit of time. If we look at subtitle files for episodes of anime, one episode may contain 450 lines of dialogue, while another may only contain 250 lines of dialogue. The two episodes differ greatly in language density, but if you remove the spaces where no one is talking, the densities will be equal. To increase immersion density of a given episode of a TV show, we need to extract all fragments where something was being said and combine them into a single file. As a result we get audio for the original show with all the blank spaces taken out. In practice, for a typical episode of anime the corresponding condensed audio file is usually around 50% shorter, which means that you're getting twice as much immersion when you listen to condensed audio compared to the original video file. Condensing audio enables you to spend all available time listening to your target language while passively immersing.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#condensing-audio",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"impd",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To create, store and play condensed audio files we're going to use impd, a small tool that simplifies passive listening down to a few commands. You can give it a folder with the anime and dramas you've recently watched, and it's going to make condensed audio for all the episodes stored there, automatically add them to your mpd music directory and start playing. To get impd, install the impd-git AUR package or follow the installation steps on GitHub. $ trizen -S impd-git # or yay To complete the installation, create a config file to tell impd where to search for the video files. $ mkdir ~/.config/immersionpod $ echo 'video_dir=/mnt/archive/video/anime' > ~/.config/immersionpod/config impd operates by rotating immersion material. To rotate your immersion, call impd rotate. Rotation consists of two steps: impd searches for recently added files in your video directory, extracts audio and condenses it if possible. The resulting audio is saved to the mpd music directory. By default, impd considers recent all videos that were downloaded or modified less than 10 days ago. impd doesn't touch old videos by default, so it won't pick up anime and dramas that you downloaded a long time ago. Old immersion material gets archived, i.e., moved to the archive folder inside your mpd music directory. By default, impd considers old audio files that were added to immersion pod more than 10 days ago. If you're rewatching an older TV-show or if the video file is stored outside the configured video_dir folder, you can add individual files to immersion pod by calling impd add. This command ignores modification dates of the video files. You can optionally set a keybinding in mpv's config to condense the currently open video. Add this line to ~/.config/mpv/input.conf: Ctrl+b run \"/bin/sh\" \"-c\" \"impd add '${=path}'\"",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#impd",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"When you're not home",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Synchronize your immersionpod folder to your mobile device. There are many programs for file synchronization. Syncthing Rsync When you're out, use a compatible music player of your choice to continue immersing. AntennaPod, a podcast player, can be used to play condensed audio instead of a conventional music player. After you synchronize your immersionpod directory, open AntennaPod, press \"Add podcast\" > \"Add local folder\" and select path to immersionpod/current.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#when-youre-not-home",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"Condensing audiobooks",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Audiobooks contain a lot of silence which lowers density of immersion. After you've read a book, you might want to condense it to listen to it later, but because audiobooks don't have subtitles, tools like impd won't help. Fortunately, Audacity has a function to truncate silence. Select the entire clip by pressing Ctrl+A, then press Effect > Truncate silence. After you adjust the settings, press OK. Truncate silence. Alternatively, you can use FFmpeg.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#condensing-audiobooks",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"Podcasts",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"I've got an immersion tip for constant passive listening involving podcasts. Take an Android device. Install AntennaPod or a similar podcast player. Import this podcasts.opml file (direct download). Start playing and just leave the device in the corner of your room. You can use this tip if you already understand Japanese to an extent. Listening to something you don't understand is not good for immersion. It's a very easy way to immerse, but it doesn't beat condensed audio. I also tried this method with radio, specifically RadioDroid, though the results weren't as good because radio is often more about music than talking.",
    "url":"passive-listening.html#podcasts",
    "parent":"Passive immersion tech"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mining from manga",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When reading manga in Japanese, you sometimes need to quickly perform OCR on part of the screen to look up new words and add sentences to Anki. You can use an OCR program plus a few helper tools to do this.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html",
    "date":"2021-04-01"
  },
  {
    "title":"Preface",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Our goal is to look up words in manga. Expected workflow: Capture a screenshot of the speech bubble containing Japanese text. Process the screenshot. Return the recognized text. Send the text to a dictionary program. For example, GoldenDict or Rikaitan Search. You can look up words and create Anki flashcards. To recognize text in manga, you can use Tesseract or Lancet. Tesseract is lighter but usually less accurate. Lancet requires installing many Python packages that take several GiB of disk space, but it provides much better recognition. This article explains how to set up both. The user workflow is the same for each (see the demo below). Video demonstration.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#preface",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Obtain manga",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"See Resources for places to get manga. For the best image quality, I recommend downloading manga from Torrent sites. If you don't want to wait, you can also read manga online on various websites. Either way, it's easy to find a great selection of manga to read.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#obtain-manga",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Image viewer",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To read manga, it's helpful to have an image viewer. I use nsxiv, but any image viewer will work for this setup. Many manga sites also let you read in a web browser. To open a folder of images in nsxiv, run: nsxiv .",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#image-viewer",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"File manager",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Another quick topic up front is your file manager. Manga often comes as an archive (*.zip, *.rar, etc.) which has to be unpacked, so it's convenient to bind a key to extract archives with a single keystroke. For example, my file manager is lf. To extract archives by pressing E, add this to the config file at ~/.config/lf/lfrc (atool must be installed as well). map E aunpack $fx lf supports tags. When you finish a reading session, tag the last page (image file) you read by pressing t so you don't lose your position. The next time you open the folder, you will see a red asterisk next to the tagged file. To have lf automatically select the image currently shown in nsxiv, add this to ~/.config/nsxiv/exec/image-info. The snippet is taken from my dotfiles. # If running as a child of lf, select the current file. if [ -n \"$id\" ]; then lf -remote \"send $id select \\\"$1\\\"\" fi You can also set a keyboard shortcut in nsxiv that tells lf to tag the currently displayed image. For example, to tag the current file by pressing t, add the following code to ~/.config/nsxiv/exec/key-handler. The snippet is taken from my dotfiles. while read file; do case \"$1\" in # ... # other keys you may have set # ... \"t\") # Tag the current file using lf. E.g, the last read manga page. if [ -n \"$id\" ]; then lf -remote \"send $id select \\\"$file\\\"\" lf -remote \"send $id tag x\" fi ;; esac done",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#file-manager",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"OCR method",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Although Lancet requires more system resources, I prefer it to Tesseract. It handles manga much better than Tesseract. Lancet Tesseract",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#ocr-method",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setting up Lancet",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Install lancet from the pypi. pipx install ajt-lancet Note: pipx installs Python packages in an isolated location (~/.local/share/pipx) so you can later remove them with pipx uninstall <package-name>. The first run will take longer than usual. On first start Lancet downloads OCR model files (~500 MiB) to ~/.cache/huggingface.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#setting-up-lancet",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Press the OCR shortcut (default Alt+O) to show the snipping window, then drag and hold the mouse to perform OCR. Lancet will ask you to select an area with Japanese text and will attempt to recognize it. The result is sent to GoldenDict or copied to the system clipboard. You can combine Lancet with Rikaitan Search for quick lookups in real-time. To send recognized text directly to GoldenDict instead of the clipboard, set \"Copy to\" to \"goldendict\" in Preferences.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#usage",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Autostart",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Before Lancet can recognize text, it must be running in the background. This is optional, but to minimize startup lag add the following command to your autostart. lancet Here's an example for i3wm: exec --no-startup-id lancet",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#autostart",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setting up Tesseract",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Install the following dependencies: $ sudo pacman -S --needed tesseract maim xclip imagemagick unzip tesseract is the OCR engine. It is considered fairly accurate, and many people like it. maim is a utility for taking screenshots which can take parts of the screen. xclip is a tool for copying text to the clipboard. imagemagick is a command-line image editor. It's going to come handy to edit the screenshots before Tesseract analyzes them. unzip is a tool for extracting zip archives. Download maimocr and save it as ~/.local/bin/maimocr. maimocr is a script we are going to use to recognize Japanese text. Make the file executable: $ chmod +x ~/.local/bin/maimocr The directory ~/.local/bin should be in your PATH.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#setting-up-tesseract",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Usage",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Tesseract doesn't work without trained data files. These files tell Tesseract how to read and recognize text from images. When you first run maimocr, it should download Japanese data files automatically. Check the terminal output to see if the process succeeds. When you run it the second time, maimocr will ask you to select an area with Japanese text and try to OCR it. The resulting text will be saved to the system clipboard. Use it in combination with Rikaitan Search to quickly lookup Japanese words in real-time.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#usage-1",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Keyboard shortcut",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Bind this script to a keyboard shortcut in your DE, WM, sxhkd, xbindkeysrc, etc. Here's an example for i3wm: bindsym $mod+o exec --no-startup-id maimocr Now you can quickly call maimocr anywhere by pressing the keyboard shortcut.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#keyboard-shortcut",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Expanding data set",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"By default, maimocr automatically downloads tessdata.zip (mirror) with Tesseract data files, then saves the files to ~/.local/share/tessdata. To use additional data files with maimocr, copy any new *.traineddata files to ~/.local/share/tessdata. Capture2Text files These instructions are no longer necessary. The files are included by default. Download capture2text. We won't need the program itself because it's garbage but the trained data files are going to be useful. Extract the contents of the tessdata folder to ~/.local/share/tessdata: $ unzip -j Capture2Text_v*_64bit.zip 'Capture2Text/tessdata/*' -d ~/.local/share/tessdata Alternatively, download just the Capture2Text Japanese files from here. Contents of the ZIP archive.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#expanding-data-set",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Troubleshooting",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you notice that the script fails to OCR certain images, try to zoom in or find a scan with a better resolution. Tesseract works poorly at low resolutions. Nonstandard fonts often fail to OCR properly. In this case I don't have a definitive answer at the moment. Try searching for more *.traineddata files online and adding them to the tessdata folder.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#troubleshooting",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Adding screenshots",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If you want to add a screenshot from a manga to your Anki card, maim can do that too. maimpick is a script that uses maim to screenshot parts of the screen and copy them to the clipboard. Install it to ~/.local/bin, make it executable and bind it to a key. Explore my dotfiles for details. In addition to maim, maimpick requires dmenu and xdotool to work. Note: ames is another program that can add screenshots to Anki.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#adding-screenshots",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other software",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"See Resources.",
    "url":"mining-from-manga.html#other-software",
    "parent":"Mining from manga"
  },
  {
    "title":"Table of Contents",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Foreword About Introduction What's AJATT? Introduction to learning Japanese Japanese Roadmap Avoiding bad advice Mass immersion Spaced repetition How Anki works Setup Japanese locale How to type in Japanese Anki Anki add-ons Card templates Fonts Immersion Active immersion Passive immersion Domains Things that smell Textbooks Classes Graded readers Machine translation Apps Basics Kana Kanji Ankidrone Foundation Basic vocabulary Ankidrone Essentials Grammar Dictionary programs GoldenDict Qolibri Rikaitan Dictionary files EPWING MDX Rikaitan On the journey One target sentences Sentence mining Reviewing Anki cards Tools and card creation Our immersion learning toolset Japanese support add-on Movies and TV-shows YouTube Manga Books Passive immersion tech Retiming subtitles Sentence banks Condensing active immersion Plumbing Timeboxing Subsequent topics Ankidrone Sentence Pack Going monolingual Understanding monolingual definitions Japanese Pitch Accent Pitch accent perception training Pitch accent cards Writing by hand FAQ Apocrypha List of resources Kanji composition Learning Kanji Radicals How to type something with Fcitx On motivation Premature reading Mitigating the Impact of Early Output Contact and Support Join our community Support",
    "url":"table-of-contents.html",
    "date":"2021-03-22"
  },
  {
    "title":"Writing Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"After you've got a few thousand hours of input and can read content made for natives relatively effortlessly, it makes sense to start practicing writing Japanese by hand. Bear in mind that being able to do so is not necessary unless you plan to live in Japan. Nowadays writing is done on a keyboard and doesn't require recalling characters from memory. However, writing practice has the potential to improve your overall reading ability.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html",
    "date":"2021-03-16"
  },
  {
    "title":"When to learn handwriting",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Let's say you want to learn how to write 薔薇 by hand. It would be best if you already knew the word, what it means and how it is read before learning to write it. Of course, you can do everything in one go and learn all three components at once: how to read it, how to write it, and what it means. But it will be more difficult. In my experience, it is much more difficult. Therefore, it is recommended to become comfortable with reading Japanese first and then focus on learning handwriting.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#when-to-learn-handwriting",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Preparations",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To write Japanese you need something to write on and something to write with. Paper, a few A4 sheets. A pencil or a pen. 原稿用紙 pdf, like this. There are quite a lot of options to choose from, so I'm going to link a search page where you can find any pdf you want. Print the pdf you've downloaded on the paper you've got, and you should be set. The point of printing 原稿用紙 is to have boxes that you should attempt to fit each character in. You can also draw a grid yourself or grab a math exercise book. Don't buy premade 漢字練習帳 or 原稿用紙 from somewhere, unless it costs $1 or less.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#preparations",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Writing kana",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Let's start with kana. Download the writing deck below. You should be able to complete it within two days. Each card contains a kana character written in romaji along with its pronunciation on the front and a stroke diagram on the back. Your goal is to write the character on paper. If you are able to do it with the correct stroke order then press \"Good\". Otherwise press \"Again\". Download Mirror",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#writing-kana",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Writing kanji",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"After you finish the kana, it's time to start learning how to write kanji. This step is more complex and is going to take much longer.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#writing-kanji",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"How Japanese do it",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"While watching real Japanese people in anime I noticed how they're tested on kanji in school. Episode 3 of 青春ブタ野郎はバニーガール先輩の夢を見ない. You are presented with sentences in Japanese, and each sentence contains a target word written in kana. The task is to write it in kanji. Since you are given example sentences, you should be able to differentiate words that sound the same but are written with different kanji. The screenshot above provides a good illustration of how to use the similarly sounding words 保証 and 保障. This method has been implemented in the TSC note type. When you download the deck linked below, you notice that each note has a field called MakeProductionCard. If you put any text in the field, a production targeted sentence card will be created. A production targeted sentence card. In my opinion this is the most natural way to learn writing. The method doesn't rely on English keywords whatsoever. Making mnemonics might be helpful but is totally optional. Feel free to use this note type for your own sentence cards. Download As with kana cards, if you could produce a word with the right stroke order, grade the card \"good\". If you couldn't write it, then mark the card \"again\". Because the method is aimed at people who are already fluent, it requires making your own cards. By the time you start learning to write, you should have plenty of sentence cards in your Anki collection to generate production cards from. However, if you want a premade sentence pack that can be used for writing, you can download Ankidrone Essentials.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#how-japanese-do-it",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to make your own cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"I recommend making production cards from your existing targeted sentence cards. To do this: Choose a kanji you want to learn. Find a note in your Anki collection where the target word contains this kanji. Fill the MakeProductionCard field to create a new Production card. Learn the card later. For example, if you want to learn how to write this kanji 鬱, open the Anki Browser (shortcut: b) and type the following in the search bar: is:review \"note:Japanese sentences\" card:Recognition VocabKanji:*鬱* This search query assumes you're using our Japanese sentences Note Type. If not, replace note:NoteTypeName with your Note Type and VocabKanji:*kanji* with the name of your Vocabulary field. is:review means that you're searching for cards that have graduated before. This is important because you don't want to try learning how to write words that you don't know yet, or the process is going to be too difficult. I advise against using recently learned or new vocabulary for production cards as this may have a negative impact on retention. You can add prop:ivl>180 to the search query to guard against freshly learned cards. Now let's say Anki has shown you a card with this sentence in the search results: 病院で鬱病と診断されると、抗鬱薬が処方されます The target word here is 抗鬱薬, and it contains the kanji you need 鬱. Now you can create a Production card from the existing Recognition card and learn it. You can see a list of all newly created Production cards by typing added:1 card:Production in the Anki Browser's search bar. If there are no results, you haven't learned any words with this kanji yet, and it's too early for you to learn how to write the kanji.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#how-to-make-your-own-cards",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Place production cards in another deck",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Instead of moving cards manually to a writing deck, you can put an override option on a specific card type, so all your production cards go in a specific deck when they are generated. If you want your production cards to be in another deck, open Anki's main window and select \"Tools\" > \"Manage Note Types\" > Select your Note Type > \"Cards\" > Select your production Card Type > \"Options\" > \"Deck override\". I put 筆記 here which is the name of my writing deck. Deck override.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#place-production-cards-in-another-deck",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"In what order should I learn words",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When applying this method, it is wise to start with simpler kanji first. The exact order may wary. I would like to note the following options: Working your way up school grades or JLPT levels. Start with the easiest level and make production cards for each kanji. The Kanji Grid add-on is going to help you determine what character to learn next. You can move production cards to a separate deck to make filtering easier. Following the RTK order. Make cards for each kanji in the Heisig's book. Check out this site for an online RTK index. Using a custom list. In such lists characters are sorted to ensure that no kanji appears before its parts. TopoKanji is a good example.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#in-what-order-should-i-learn-words",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning the stroke order",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"There's no need to specifically memorize stroke order rules. After learning to write a few hundred words in Anki you will naturally acquire the ability to guess the stroke order of most new kanji you encounter, and stroke order diagrams on your cards won't let you make a mistake and not notice it. The important part is to have a stroke order font included on your cards and precisely follow the order each time a card comes up.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#learning-the-stroke-order",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"What about Production RTK",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Sometimes you see people recommending doing RTK after you're fluent. This means taking the first volume of the book Remembering The Kanji by James Heisig and making each kanji into an Anki card. After the first volume people usually skip the second one and continue with the third. The second volume is skipped because it teaches readings of kanji, not their meanings. There are two ways of doing it that I know of: Using the English keywords provided by Heisig. You have a keyword on the front of the card, and the corresponding kanji on the back. Replacing English keywords with Japanese words partially written in kana. You have a partially occluded word on the front, and the hidden kanji on the back. The first method creates associations between a kanji and an arbitrary English keyword. Because English keywords do not connect to real Japanese it doesn't work. When you read Japanese there are no English keywords to reinforce your memory, and when you write Japanese there's no guarantee that being able to produce a kanji by its keyword is going to enable you to produce the word that uses the kanji given that the word itself isn't directly associated with the English keyword. The second method doesn't work because due to the way kanji are taught in the book you don't work at the level of words, instead you have to write each kanji separately. This leads to \"cloze\" cards where each card has a word on the front but only one character in the word is hidden. Learning how to produce parts of words doesn't guarantee the ability to write whole words when necessary. Moreover, this method requires to replace all Heisig's keywords with your own, essentially presenting a task comparable to writing your own RTK.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#what-about-production-rtk",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"A look into the past",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The AJATT community has come up with the current way to learn writing after years of practice, trial and error. A long time ago, it was recommended to use Traditional RTK. This is a method where people have to learn to write kanji from the very beginning, right when they start learning Japanese. To execute it, you take all kanji from the Heisig's Remembering The Kanji book, and create Anki cards where on the front you have an English keyword, on the back you have the kanji. The goal is to recall the kanji from the keyword and write it down on a piece of paper. However, this was found to be very difficult, with some people taking a full year to get through Heisig, despite it being designed to take about three months. It was mentally challenging to do Traditional RTK as a beginner who doesn't know any words yet. In response, it was suggested to do RTK without learning how to write. The method is known as \"Lazy Kanji\" or \"Recognition RTK\". It involves learning only the meanings of characters and how to recognize them. Then, the learners start sentence mining, and finally do Traditional RTK again once they reach fluency. The downside of this method is that it requires doing RTK twice, Also, after going through Heisig the first time, the memories are weak, and the characters are quickly forgotten. To avoid having to do RTK twice, and to completely avoid RTK, it was later suggested to replace RTK with learning to read words with hints. The JP1K method involves learning the first 1,000 words using cards where furigana is visible on mouse hover. Then, handwriting can be learned by using Production Targeted Sentence Cards. This is the method that is recommended today.",
    "url":"writing-japanese.html#a-look-into-the-past",
    "parent":"Writing Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese roadmap",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In the following articles you'll find out how to go through the learning steps. Continue reading this site for detailed instructions. Below is a quick overview.",
    "url":"roadmap.html",
    "date":"2021-03-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"Laying the ground work",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Build a Japanese Immersion Environment. Start consuming untranslated native Japanese content actively and passively. For example, watch anime in Japanese. This is the first and the most important part. Initially, avoid the consequences of premature reading, only immersing in audio-visual content, such as anime, movies, dramas, TV-shows. Set up a consistent sleep schedule. To improve your concentration and attention span, start meditating 5 minutes a day, first thing in the morning. Increase meditation time by 5 minutes a week until reaching one hour per day. Skip this step if your attention is already trained. Free yourself from (anti)social media, proprietary software (malware), gaming, and other distractions.",
    "url":"roadmap.html#laying-the-ground-work",
    "parent":"Japanese roadmap"
  },
  {
    "title":"Introduction",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Set up an SRS, such as Anki. Until you start reading practice, Anki will be the only place where you have to read in Japanese. Quickly learn the Japanese alphabets with a drilling app or an Anki deck. Do Ankidrone Foundation. Learn the most common 1,000 words up front to jumpstart your comprehension and unlock access to sentence mining from untranslated media. While doing Ankidrone Foundation, find a grammar guide you like and read it. Dedicate a short period of time every day, 30 minutes to an hour, to study grammar. Create your own mining deck. You will be adding everything else you don't know to this deck. You may add example sentences from the grammar guide to your mining deck. Do Ankidrone Essentials. This step is optional. Ankidrone Essentials contains thousands of premade targeted sentence cards that can help you improve your comprehension. Continue immersing and making Anki cards.",
    "url":"roadmap.html#introduction",
    "parent":"Japanese roadmap"
  },
  {
    "title":"Growth",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Start watching anime with Japanese subtitles and reading manga. Make the monolingual transition, and start only adding monolingual cards. Learn pitch accent theory. Start learning the pitch accent of words. Once you master anime with J-subs and manga, start branching out to books: ranobe, and eventually real novels. At some point in the process your ability to output emerges naturally. Start outputting. Do imitation exercises. Imitation exercises involve repeating after a recording of a native speaker talking. Write essays in Japanese. Have them checked and corrected by automated tools (e.g. Duck.ai) or native speakers.",
    "url":"roadmap.html#growth",
    "parent":"Japanese roadmap"
  },
  {
    "title":"Proficiency",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Start learning literally every word you come across. Start seeking out weak spots, and immerse with that you need. Start studying culture, history, keigo, and linguistics in Japanese. Learn classical Japanese. This step is optional. Continue immersing. Continue to fill holes in your knowledge. Watch anime.",
    "url":"roadmap.html#proficiency",
    "parent":"Japanese roadmap"
  },
  {
    "title":"Introduction to learning Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Below is a quick rundown of a typical Japanese learning journey that should get you to basic fluency in less than two years. We've designed the method for people who want to learn Japanese efficiently through self-study and are interested in Japanese media such as movies, TV shows or novels. If you have any questions, you can ask them in the Starting Lounge of the Matrix space, and people will help you. There are thousands people learning Japanese, and you should be part of it.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html",
    "date":"2021-03-10"
  },
  {
    "title":"The right mindset",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"I'm just one person who took ideas from other people, applied them systematically and found success with it. ― Khatzumoto Consuming the language is how you learn the language. You know, babies can only cry and poop their pants but within the first few years from birth they learn to speak their first language. They quickly absorb complicated grammatical principles and soon can speak with accurate grammar and near perfect pronunciation. It happens because they listen to people around them, especially parents, and they slowly begin to understand what is being said. Our brain is built to do that instinctively. Traditional language learners say that as you grow up the part of your brain responsible for language acquisition dies, and you lose access to it. They insist that adults have to learn languages the same way you learn math or science: with your rational, logical brain; by consciously memorizing rules and drilling exercises. This has proven to be untrue. According to Stephen Krashen, humans acquire language when they understand messages. Krashen calls it comprehensible input. The process of acquiring a second language is similar to the process that children undergo when learning their native language. You can do it no matter how old you are. We're not babies, we're smarter, and we can learn faster. Any adult with some help of technology can aquire a language through input, by immersing themselves in the language. Language acquisition can't be substituted with learning a language, e.g. taking classes or buying textbooks. Immersion is the most crucial ingredient of the entire process.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#the-right-mindset",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to immerse",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When newcomers hear the word \"immersion,\" they often mistake it for simply going to the country, being present where the target language is spoken, and asking a Japanese person to speak to them. In AJATT, we see that as a pretty bad, an impractical and ineffective approach. Instead, we're going to build our own Japanese immersion environment at home. Here, immersion refers to any form of listening or reading in your target language. The AJATT method encourages you to integrate Japanese into your daily life through different kinds of media, such as watching Japanese movies or TV shows, and reading books or manga. The method allows you to immerse yourself in the language and culture without needing to travel to Japan or take traditional classes. The best type of content to use is anything that genuinely interests you. As long as it's by natives for natives, it's fine. Simply surround yourself with Japanese content, and you will acquire the language. The process is divided into two steps. Watch a movie or a TV-show in Japanese. The visual component will help you understand what's going on. Use Japanese subtitles, if available, to look up unknown words and grammar. If not, you might be surprised at how much you can learn from simply watching raw, with no subtitles. This is called active immersion. Reuse what you've watched for passive immersion. Passive immersion is when you have audio playing in the background while you're doing something else. A popular practice among people doing AJATT is to take an episode of a TV show they have watched, extract the audio track and add it to a playlist. I am going to tell you how to do it in the article about passive listening. As for reading, the above applies if for a book you read you find the corresponding audiobook. If not, just read it and skip the second step. It is reasonable to ask how you're supposed to learn from native content if you still understand nothing. It is true that actively consuming native media, looking up words and trying to learn them is an immense task for a beginner. You're going to spend your first weeks learning the basics of the language. Your active study time during this stage will include learning the alphabets, kanji, basic vocabulary and grammar. Nonetheless, you have to do immersion from day one. What I recommend you do at this stage is watch easy anime without subtitles. Instead of looking up words rely on imagery and context to infer what's going on in the show. You can start using Japanese subtitles once you have a foundation in the Japanese writing systems. Passively listen to each episode after you complete it to maximize time spent immersing. By simply listening, your brain will slowly get better at parsing and understanding the language. Listening a lot is going to eventually enable you to understand spoken language, be it a conversation or your favorite anime. Once you learn the basic vocabulary, nothing stops you from learning just from immersion. Don't wait for too long. There are people who trap themselves into thinking, \"I'm going to start watching raw anime when I'm good\", \"I don't immerse because I don't understand Japanese yet\". This is a very dangerous pattern. You start wearing skates before you know how to skate. You start watching without subs before you understand. For passive listening try to choose the material that you previously actively watched and comprehended. The quality of passive immersion is lower if you don't actively work with it beforehand. Avoid listening to \"white noise\", you only really make gains when you understand the language you are consuming. You won't be able to comprehend everything right away, but as you learn new words from your immersion, expect your comprehension to quickly grow within the first few months. You have to make effort to make the content comprehensible. Look up words, rely on the imagery, choose material with simpler language. Slice of life anime is the easiest genre to learn from in the beginning. To find easy anime you can search MAL. Additionally, the ixrec website has a page with media recommendations. The more language-dense your immersion content is, the better. It's a good idea to choose content where people talk a lot, with some caveats. In general podcasts and radio are more challenging for beginners, and they rarely have transcriptions. Learning from such content is harder than, say, anime, where you can open a subtitle file and look up unknown words. I recommend podcasts for intermediate learners and above. Songs contain unnatural sentence structures, grammar, word choice. They tend to use more \"poetic\", uncommon words. Sometimes if a word can be read many ways, they choose to sing the less common version. It's hard to hear the lyrics through music. Even in our native language we often fail to hear or make sense of some parts of songs. Instead of listening to songs for the sake of immersion, it's better to choose a more comprehensible material. But music is fun. Reading song lyrics is a fun way to find new, often cool and rare words. Give it a try once you're advanced. I hope you'll find an immersion routine that suits your life. If you think you can't do it, don't worry. Even Khatz, the AJATT founder, said in his blog that he wasn't always able to immerse all day. He still tried to do as much as he could, while having a job and studying at a university at the same time. AJATT has existed for years, many people went through the program and achieved fluency.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#how-to-immerse",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Outputting",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"In AJATT, to output simply means to speak your target language, to interact with native speakers. Many language learners are eager to start speaking from day one. Unfortunately, this approach doesn't quite work, especially for those striving for true mastery of a language. While memorizing set phrases and practicing them can be helpful for very basic conversations, it is not a sustainable method for long-term progress. One of the core components of the AJATT philosophy is the idea of input before output. This basically means that that if you want to become fluent in a foreign language, the most efficient approach is to focus exclusively on learning to understand the language through listening, and later reading. We call this a silent period, which may be observed in infants too. They don't speak from day one. They acquire language before they begin to speak. The primary goal is to understand the language first. Without comprehension, successful communication with others becomes challenging, even if you have memorized basic phrases from a textbook. Premature speaking can have other negative effects, such as impacting your accent and reinforcing common mistakes. These effects are often evident in traditional language learners' speech patterns. It takes time to train your listening until you can hear native speech at natural speed and comprehend it. If you can't hear the sounds yet, there's no way you can repeat them without a strong foreign accent. Traditional language learners start speaking very early, from day one. As they speak, they get used to pronouncing words incorrectly. Think about Japanese people. After getting crippled by the school system that doesn't and can't offer enough listening practice they confuse the l and r sounds when they try to speak English. A lot of people think, \"I'll have native speakers correct me and tell me where I'm off\". Imagine a blind person trying to draw a self-portrait and someone telling them, \"oh, the nose is a little bigger\". That's not going to help them too much. If you want good pronunciation, you need to rely on your own ability to correct yourself. You need to develop a good listening ability before you start speaking. Mistakes are bad because they become habits. When you first start learning a new language, you're going to make many mistakes when you try to speak. If you make a mistake once, you are more likely to repeat the same construction the next time. Repeating the same mistakes over and over turns them into ingrained habits that can be very hard to overcome later. Don't hope that a native speaker will correct your mistakes. Unless the other party didn't understand you at all, they are not going to point out where you're off. Even if you ask them to correct all your mistakes, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to apply the corrections.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#outputting",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Go through a silent period",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Avoid speaking in your target language until your speaking ability develops naturally. Typically, this occurs after doing AJATT for about a year. If you want to sound good, you'll still need to practice speaking. Immersion alone isn't enough to make you speak like a native. But as a beginner, it shouldn’t be your primary focus.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#go-through-a-silent-period",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Output comes naturally",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Once you get a few thousand hours of input, your speaking ability is going to emerge gradually. Forcing it usually doesn't work. Again, remember how small children learn to speak their native language. Their output ability emerges as a result of immersion. Immersion + SRS = comprehension ability. Immersion + comprehension ability = output ability. Output ability + practice = output mastery.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#output-comes-naturally",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Controlled Output",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"When you start to notice that your ability to speak has emerged, that's when you can begin practicing output. When you already have high comprehension, your ears should be well-trained, so you'll be able to notice and correct your mistakes when you listen to a recording of yourself. You can practice speaking by repeating sentences aloud using recordings of native speakers, such as clips from anime, TV shows, or movies. This technique is known as \"imitation exercise.\" Imitation involves listening to a recording of a native speaker talking and repeating what they say, trying to match their speed, rhythm, and intonation as closely as possible. Record yourself and pay attention to your own pronunciation. Try to correct all the mistakes you notice. It's also helpful to start writing blog posts and essays. Always verify that your output is correct — control yourself. Correct your mistakes when you find them. You can have your essays checked and corrected by native speakers or by automated tools (e.g., Duck.ai, an AI chatbot that you can ask to check your text). Remember that you must not practice speaking until your listening ability is really good. If you start speaking before you can hear all the sounds of your target language, you'll reinforce bad habits, making them nearly impossible to fix later. Every time you say something incorrectly, you're training your brain to store that warped pronunciation. If speaking isn't your top priority, you can neglect speaking practice. However, evidence shows that avoiding output practice for too long has negative effects. If you never attempt to speak, your ability to output will remain dormant. Then, when you finally do go out and speak, you won't be ready. Your speaking ability might feel like a dry lemon, making it a struggle to squeeze out any words.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#controlled-output",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Software overview",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"We're going to use various programs to help us with Japanese. Since this is an intro article, you don't have to install everything right now. It's just an outline. The most important tools will be described in Our Immersion Learning Toolset. Afterwards, you'll be presented with articles that teach comprehensively how to use the tools. Additionally, we have more suggestions in Resources and throughout the rest of the guide.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#software-overview",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Desktop",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Install Japanese fonts. I suggest noto-fonts-cjk. Refer to Japanese fonts for detailed instructions. Install and configure Fcitx to type in Japanese. The Fcitx guide can be found here. The input method I use is fcitx-kkc but other options are also available. For passive immersion use mpd together with ncmpcpp. Keep your immersion material in a separate folder, for example ~/Music/immersionpod. Condense your immersion with impd. Condensing takes a video file with subtitles and removes all parts where no one is speaking, producing an audio file with increased language density for passive listening. The most recommended video player is mpv. It supports add-ons (user-scripts) many of which can be used to make language learning easier. Install and set up Anki. It's a flashcard program used to memorize words, phrases and sentences. The most popular offline dictionaries are: qolibri. GoldenDict Tagaini Jisho When you read in your browser, use Rikaitan to discover meanings of unknown words.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#desktop",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mobile",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Install Mozc for Android to be able to type in Japanese. Because Android lacks free/libre keyboards, you can also use Gboard if you want, but make sure to completely block it from accessing the Internet. AntennaPod is a great app for playing podcasts. This list of podcasts is a good starting point. Get AnkiDroid. It doesn't require any specific steps to set it up other than entering your AnkiWeb credentials to sync with the desktop. Offline Japanese dictionaries available are Sumatora, jiten or anything else you find on F-Droid.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#mobile",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Do not use",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Machine translators. Every translation differs from the original thought because no word has an exact equivalent in another language. Japanese honorifics, levels of politeness, and other things don't exist in English and get lost in translation. In order to truly understand anything in your target language, you have to understand it in the target language the first time. To achieve this, the goal is to receive thousands of hours of comprehensible input and acquire the necessary vocabulary and grammar. Machine translations are often unnatural, wrong, or misleading. While they may provide a general idea of what's being said, they cannot convey the full meaning and all the details of the original message. It is acceptable to use machine translations for individual words, although it is safer to consult a dictionary instead. Google Translate is good at recognizing drawn characters. You can use it to transcribe a kanji character that cannot be copy-pasted (when reading manga, for example) and in situations where OCR software fails to do so. Paid software. For language learning there is no paid software that offers any unique functionality that isn't available in the free alternatives or isn't useless from our point of view. Besides, if you're going to spend 10 years learning Japanese, do you really want to continue paying all that time? Proprietary software. Most proprietary software is malware, that's just the reality we live in.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#do-not-use",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Writing systems",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The three writing systems used in Japanese today are hiragana, katakana and kanji. Hiragana and katakana are two phonetic scripts, each containing 46 characters. Kanji come from Chinese and are complex characters that represent concepts.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#writing-systems",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kana",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Have a look at the Wikipedia pages on Hiragana and Katakana to understand what you're dealing with. Together they're referred to as the kana. The key points to take away: The two alphabets represent the same sounds. Katakana is mostly used to write loan words and onomatopoeia, Hiragana for everything else not written in kanji. Due to its purpose, katakana is not used as often as hiragana, as you will notice once you start reading. They are very easy. Each can be learned in a day. Any Japanese text not aimed at preschoolers contains kanji, so learning only the kana won't cut it. In the article about learning kana (later in this guide) I recommend using a training app or a premade Anki deck. Either way should take you two days or so to complete, and no more than a week if you're lazy.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#kana",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Kanji were imported from China a long time ago. They are logo-graphic characters used to write words and parts of words. To truly learn kanji you need to read native Japanese texts for thousands of hours. Kanji study is meant to prime your brain for recognizing the characters and make transition to reading easier. The most recent method for learning kanji is referred to as JP1K. In essence, it's a specifically preformatted Anki deck. The deck contains around 1,000 cards, thus the name JP1K. There's a specific studying technique associated with the format of the deck. Once you learn all cards from the deck, it gives you the ability to recognize the most common kanji characters together with words that represent them. On this site you'll find links to premade JP1K decks as well as instructions on how to convert any vocabulary deck into the JP1K format. The are other, older methods of learning kanji. One of the most well-known is called isolated kanji study. While we at AJATT don't recommend this method as much, it may still be of interest to some learners. Choose only one of the above methods. No matter what option you pick, don't bother learning to write the characters just yet. To learn how to write by hand you need to be able to read some Japanese first. There are better ways to learn to write which are going to be discussed later on this site. Japanese writing systems. You can totally skip the kanji phase and move straight to learning basic vocabulary. If you choose to do so, you're going to memorize words as is, with the kanji. For each word just try to remember how it looks, what it means and how it sounds. Treat kanji like pictures and memorize kanji compounds as single units. No doubt it is more difficult, but it works for many people.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#kanji",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Basic vocabulary",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"After getting familiar with the writing systems, use a premade Anki deck to build up the basic vocabulary. Completing this step makes learning from input easier, you won't have to struggle looking up every word on each page. Download Ankidrone Essentials and learn one or two thousand cards from it. You are free to continue learning new cards from the deck, but don't get stuck on this step and move to sentence mining (covered later) as soon as possible. Each card in Ankidrone Essentials has a sentence at the front. The target word of the card is shown in bold. The information needed to understand the sentence and the target word is provided at the back, it includes a rough translation and kanji readings. Your goal is to understand the target word. If you want, you can even skip reading the sentence, but neglecting the word's context can make the reviews harder.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#basic-vocabulary",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Children don't learn grammar rules from books. They learn by hearing lots and lots of language they can understand. Over time, their brains figure out how the language works all on their own. Your goal in this step is to read a grammar guide and just skim the rules. You're looking for example sentences. A good grammar book should have plenty of example sentences for you to absorb. Choose a grammar guide and read it. It's the only textbook you're really going to need throughout your AJATT journey. When I learned Japanese, I chose Tae Kim. Khatz used \"All About Particles\". Combining grammar study with the SRS can help you understand the grammar better. Put the example sentences in Anki if you like. Highlight the grammar point in the sentence to mark it as the target (targeted sentence cards, covered later). If you decide not to bother with Anki at this point, make sure to at least read through the whole grammar guide and pay attention to examples. Don't waste your time memorizing conjugation tables. Grammar is a tool to aid comprehension, and knowing the rules won't help you output. By the time you recall a grammar rule and apply it to your thoughts, your conversation partner will be long gone. A guide like Tae Kim doesn't cover everything. Even certain grammar in the advanced section can be considered pretty basic. As you continue to immerse, look up and, when necessary, make Anki cards for the rest of the grammar not covered in the grammar guide. The process is no different from making cards for regular words.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#grammar",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Create your own mining deck",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"The process of making sentence cards (or targeted sentence cards) for the words you don't know is called sentence mining (or sentence picking). A mining deck is an Anki deck you create yourself, as opposed to decks you download from the Internet, and fill it with sentences (and less often words) extracted from the content that you read (or watch with subtitles). Hence, you \"mine\" sentences from texts you read in the wild. While premade Anki decks might seem convenient, they can't teach you everything, so making your own cards is essential to long-term success with Japanese. Continue to immerse by reading and listening to content created by native speakers for native speakers, and use dictionaries to look up new words and mine sentences. Avoid creating too many single word flashcards. They're fine for nouns representing concrete objects but bad for other types of speech. Do not translate sentences. Understand them instead. There is a popular goal in the community to create 10,000 flashcards within the first 18 months. While this number is not special, having a goal to work towards can be motivating. I managed to learn 10,000 sentence cards in 11 months. Feel free to take on this challenge as well, but remember that Anki is just a supplement for immersion learning.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#create-your-own-mining-deck",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reading immersion VS Listening immersion",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"AJATT is based on learning languages the natural way, like children do. However, while reading immersion is powerful and can help you improve quickly, it's not how children actually learn languages. Children spend years mastering the spoken language before they read a single written character. They build a foundation in sound first, then learn to read. Reading in a foreign language harms perception and pronunciation. The impact on perception affects language flow, or how quickly and effortlessly you can construct sentences in your head compared to native speakers. The impact on pronunciation affects how you sound and how your pronunciation differs from that of native speakers. Native speakers process language subconsciously. Their speech is automatic and flows effortlessly without conscious attention to structure or word order. In contrast, when learning through reading, you analyze language and use different parts of your brain than native speakers, essentially learning to translate the language into your own mental model rather than intuitively understanding it. That limits your ability to produce natural, fluent speech. Adults who neglect listening and rely mostly on reading often develop good grammar but retain a foreign accent. This often stems from subvocalization. I.e., the act of reading activates muscles in the throat. Without a solid foundation in listening, learners make up sounds in their head while reading, forming bad pronunciation habits. This effect is similar to premature output. Because training listening comprehension requires more effort, their reading ability quickly outpaces their listening ability. Every time they see a word in text, their brain creates its own made-up pronunciation based on how they think it should sound, and they subvocalize it, effectively training themselves to sound bad. By learning to read before they can properly hear the language, they sabotage their ability to speak. To develop listening skills and a good accent, start with only audio-visual input (TV shows, movies, anime, dramas). It's hard to completely avoid reading, so try to limit it to looking up unknown words in Japanese subtitles, using dictionaries, and making Anki cards. Improving your listening after the damage is done will be a significant uphill battle, as the sounds in your head won't match what native speakers are actually saying. You want to avoid such an outcome at all costs. In the beginning, limit reading only to flashcards and dictionary lookups to train your listening skills. Avoid active reading beyond text‑based flashcards. Focus on listening to lots of native Japanese to build a phonetic foundation. Once you develop good listening comprehension, add light reading, such as easy comics or manga, then progress to ranobe and novels. Watching anime with Japanese subtitles is also considered as reading. Japanese subtitles are a crutch that can help you look up new words, but they do not improve your ability to understand the target language by listening. They are tempting because watching without subtitles is hard. Limit their use so you can train your listening skills. If you're learning Japanese primarily to enjoy content, such as anime, manga, or light novels, and you're not interested in immigrating to Japan, it's actually more effective to start reading manga and novels early. As an adult, learning foreign languages by reading is considerably easier than learning by listening to spoken language. You can improve much more quickly. You can still address accent later, but correction will take substantial effort.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#reading-immersion-vs-listening-immersion",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to divide your study time",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Learning a language involves three main components: Reviewing flashcards. Reading immersion. Watching with target language subtitles (never with native language subtitles), reading manga and books. Listening immersion. Watching without subtitles (raw), listening to audiobooks, radio, podcasts. Naturally, people often ask about how to allocate their study time effectively. The general guideline is to divide your time equally between listening and reading (maintaining a 1:1 ratio), with an additional hour dedicated to flashcards. However, beginners should prioritize spending more time on listening than reading, while advanced learners will benefit more from reading than listening. For beginners, reading is more daunting and has potential negative effects that most people would like to avoid. Reading leads to subvocalization. The act of reading activates muscles in the throat. If one doesn't have decent pronunciation yet, subvocalization will reinforce their bad pronunciation habits and further negatively influence the way they perceive spoken language. But learning through reading allows to learn vocabulary faster because the words are written down for you, you don't have to decipher them from speech, and you can read at your own pace. Learning through listening takes more time, but it doesn't have the same negative impact. Listening helps train your ears and enhances your ability to comprehend spoken language. In conclusion, it is advisable to begin with listening immersion only. For example, start by watching easy anime. Note that you need subtitles to look up unknown words, but you don't need them to be visible all the time. Then, gradually incorporate reading immersion into your routine. As you progress, increase the time allocated to reading. Adjust the ratio depending on your personal goals. We recommend not to exceed one hour per day on flashcards for two main reasons. First, most people find the SRS (spaced repetition systems) quite boring. Second, the SRS is just a supplement. It helps strengthen your memory, but language acquisition happens only while immersing. Watching with subtitles counts towards reading immersion because reading the subtitles creates an inner voice that competes with the speech in your target language. Consequently, you are not actively listening to the native speech but rather focusing on your internal subvocalization while reading the subtitles.",
    "url":"introduction-to-learning-japanese.html#how-to-divide-your-study-time",
    "parent":"Introduction to learning Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji composition in relation to reading Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "kanji"
    ],
    "body":"As mentioned briefly in Learning Kanji, kanji are formed from radicals or from other kanji. There are six classes of kanji characters. Altogether they are called 六書. りく–しょ【六書】 漢字の成立と用法についての六種の分類。 象形・指事・会意・形声・転注・仮借をいう。 These six fundamental principles govern how kanji are formed and used. This includes: Four ways that kanji can be formed: 象形・指事・会意・形声, Two ways in which kanji are used: 転注・仮借.",
    "url":"kanji-composition-in-relation-to-reading-japanese.html",
    "date":"2021-02-23"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pictograms",
    "tags":[
      "kanji"
    ],
    "body":"First up on the list is 象形. しょうけい 【象形】 六書(りくしょ)の一つ。 物の形を絵画的にかたどって文字とする方法。 「日」「月」「人」「木」の類。 This is essentially a pictogram, a simple visual representation of the object that the kanji is supposed to represent. For example, the kanji for tree 「木」 visually resembles a tree, the kanji for mountain 「山」 looks like a mountain, the kanji for sun 「日」looks like the Sun. You might have been told that all kanji originated this way historically. However, in reality, only 12.4% of all kanji are 象形 characters.",
    "url":"kanji-composition-in-relation-to-reading-japanese.html#pictograms",
    "parent":"Kanji composition in relation to reading Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Logograms",
    "tags":[
      "kanji"
    ],
    "body":"Next on the list is 指事. しじ 【指事】 六書(りくしょ)の一つ。 事柄や数などの抽象的な概念を象徴的に記号化して字形とする方法。 「一」「二」「上」「下」「本」の類。 In contrast to visual representations, these characters symbolize abstract concepts such as numbers. For example, 一・二・三・上・下. When you look at the kanji for two 「ニ」 or three 「三」, they consist of two lines or three lines respectively. Similarly, the kanji for up 「上」 and down 「下」 are representations of a line with something above or below it. Given that one, two, up, and down are not physical objects but rather ideas or concepts, they serve as symbolic representations rather than visual depictions. These characters are relatively rare, they account for only about 0.5% of all kanji.",
    "url":"kanji-composition-in-relation-to-reading-japanese.html#logograms",
    "parent":"Kanji composition in relation to reading Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Compound ideographs",
    "tags":[
      "kanji"
    ],
    "body":"Moving on, we have 会意. かいい 【会意】 六書(りくしょ)の一つ。 いくつかの漢字を結合し、 それらの意味を合わせて全体の字義を導き出す方法。 「人」と「言」とを合わせて「信」とする類。 This category involves merging several simple kanji characters. The meaning is a combination of the meanings of the two parts. For example, combining the characters for mountain 「山」 and rock 「石」 creates the compound character for boulder 「岩」. Similarly, combining two characters for tree 「木」 results in the compound character for thicket「林」. 会意 characters constitute 24.6% of all characters.",
    "url":"kanji-composition-in-relation-to-reading-japanese.html#compound-ideographs",
    "parent":"Kanji composition in relation to reading Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Semantic + Phonetic compounds",
    "tags":[
      "kanji"
    ],
    "body":"The remaining category, 形声, constitute 62.5% of all kanji. And if you take all kanji, not just the 常用漢字, it is estimated to be closer to 97%. けいせい 【形声】 六書りくしょの一つ。 いくつかの漢字を結合し、 一方を発音の記号（声符・諧声符）、 他方を意味範疇の記号（義符・意符）として、 全体の字義を導き出す方法。 例えば、「可」と「氵」（「水」の略体）とを合わせて「河」とする類。 諧声(かいせい)。象声。 形声 characters are comprised of two different parts. One part which tells you the vague meaning and one part which tells you the pronunciation. For example, take the character for copper 「銅」. On the left side, we have 釒 (かねへん) which is the radical for metal, while on the right side, we have 「同」(どう), which is the character which means same. Understanding why mountain plus rock equals boulder is clear. But why does metal plus same = copper? In reality, it doesn't. The character for same is used in the character for copper only because the on-yomi of that character is どう. And the pronunciation of the word copper is also どう. The left side of the kanji indicates that the meaning has something to do with metal, while the right side indicates that the pronunciation is どう. The original meaning of the right half, same, has no correlation with copper. It is there for its pronunciation value. This elucidates why most kanji may seem illogical if you solely focus on the meanings of the original radicals. Apparently, these principles would work perfectly in ancient China when kanji first emerged. If you were looking at a 形声 character, and you could isolate which part represented the pronunciation, you could be positive that you would know exactly how to pronounce that character. But because pronunciation changes over time, and that was 3,000 years ago, and we're learning Japanese, not Chinese, these principles don't work perfectly. Nevertheless, they remain relatively reliable if you're trying to guess the pronunciation of a character that you're seeing for the first time. Besides, if you can notice these patterns as you're trying to memorize the readings of characters, it can make it a lot easier to have them stick in your memory. When you come across a new character, presume that it is one of the 形声 characters because chances are it probably is. Then, try to isolate the part of the character that represents the vague meaning. This shouldn't be too hard because there's a very limited number of these basic radicals like the one for \"water\" (氵), or the one for \"person\" (亻), or the one for \"hand\" (扌). Then it's pretty safe to assume that the rest of the character represents the pronunciation. If you can recall another character you know with the same component, and you know its on-yomi, it's pretty safe to assume it'll be the same. For example, suppose you are already familiar with the word 構造, meaning structure. Then you encounter the new word 講演, and you've never seen that first kanji before. Notice that the left half of the character is 訁 (言偏), which is the radical which represents speech. Now you can infer that the rest of the character (冓) represents its pronunciation. Then you remember that the right part of the character is the same as the right part of the character 構(こう) in 構造. 講 → 冓 → 構 Now you can safely conclude that this new character has some sort of meaning related to speech and has the pronunciation of こう.",
    "url":"kanji-composition-in-relation-to-reading-japanese.html#semantic-plus-phonetic-compounds",
    "parent":"Kanji composition in relation to reading Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"How kanji are used",
    "tags":[
      "kanji"
    ],
    "body":"The other two components of the 六書, 転注 and 仮借, deal with how kanji can be used in different ways. The first is known as 転注. It refers to the process of assigning a new meaning to a kanji character. A kanji character can evolve to convey a different meaning which is similar to its original meaning. てん–ちゅう【転注】 漢字の六書の一つ。 ある漢字の本来の意味を他の似通った意味に転用すること。 「楽(がく)（＝音楽）」を「楽(らく)（＝たのしむ）」に、 「悪(あく)（＝わるい）」を「悪(お)（＝にくむ）」に転用するなどの類。 For instance, the character 楽 originally meant music. However, because when you listen to music you have a fun time, it also acquired the meaning of \"fun\". This explains why 音楽 and 楽しい use the same character. The last principle is known as 仮借. かしゃ【仮借】 漢字の六書りくしよの一。 ある語を表す漢字がない場合， その語の意味とは無関係の別の同音の漢字を借りて表す方法。 戈[ほこ]の意の「我が」を自分の意を表す文字として使ったりする類。 In ancient China, when a new concept emerged, they needed a new character for that concept. Sometimes, they would adopt an existing character with the same pronunciation as that new concept but a totally different meaning. The existing character would then acquire the new meaning. For example, the character 我, which has the on-yomi of が, was originally used to denote a kind of weapon. And then, completely independently of that, a first-person pronoun pronounced as が was created. Essentially, even though the first-person pronoun 我 had absolutely no relation to the weapon that was pronounced as が, people associated the first-person pronoun が with the original weapon character 我 because they were both pronounced が. When you look up a kanji in 広辞苑, it will provide you the etymology of the character. This information includes which of the four types it is. And for 形声 characters it explains which part represents what.",
    "url":"kanji-composition-in-relation-to-reading-japanese.html#how-kanji-are-used",
    "parent":"Kanji composition in relation to reading Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch accent perception",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Below is a list of common words, sorted into categories based on their pitch pattern (heiban, atamadaka, nakadaka, odaka). For the sake of clarity, words whose pitch changes depending on usage/context have been excluded. For each of the four categories, choose the 20 words that you feel you hear most often in your daily immersion. .compact_list :is(ul, ol) { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(150px, 1fr)); gap: 0.5rem; & li { padding: 2px 0; margin: 0; } }",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html",
    "date":"2021-02-14"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to Practice",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"Deliberate practice is key to improving your pitch accent perception skills. Deliberate practice is anytime when you engage in a specific activity where you can either succeed or fail, and receive immediate feedback on your performance. When practicing, the goal is to try to accurately identify the pitch pattern, then check whether you got it right or wrong. Engaging in this focused activity enhances your pitch accent perception skills. You can create an environment where you practice pitch accent perception within your immersion. To incorporate deliberate practice into your language immersion routine, organize a word list divided into four categories. Each category is dedicated to one of the 4 pitch accent patterns. For each pitch pattern (heiban, atamadaka, nakadaka, odaka), select 20 words from the list of the most common words, and place the list near your computer or wherever you normally do your active immersion. During immersion, whenever one of these words comes up, you pause, rewind a few seconds, and listen closely to the word, focusing on its pitch accent. Try to identify whether the pitch drops where it's supposed to drop. For example, if the word is odaka, you need to tell if it indeed sounds like odaka to you. You're trying to hear if it sounds like how it's supposed to sound.",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html#how-to-practice",
    "parent":"Pitch accent perception"
  },
  {
    "title":"Notes",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"The pitch of words often change when they combine with other words to make compound words. For example, adding “~的” to a word will make the entire compound heiban, regardless of the original pitch of the word. When the particle “の” attaches to an odaka word that’s two or more mora long, the odaka word is treated as heiban. For example: “頭の中” = “アタマノ ナ↓カ”. 中 is atamadaka so the pitch drops after \"な\". Heiban 学校 場合 生活 会社 活動 車 また 関係 問題 経験 計画 失敗 必要 最初 首 金（かね） お金（かね） 影響 情報 そして 女性 男性 少年 水 自分 俺 形 状態 鼻 高校 目的 目標 英語 日本語 わたし 重要 成功 予定 特別 最高 ここ そこ あそこ 実際 内容 結果 完全 先（さき） 後ろ 別（べつ） 別に 子供 対象 人気（にんき） 理由 人間 方法 有名 口 況 そんな こんな あんな 嫌い 動物 程（ほど） 敵 方向 確認 普通 途中 電話 反応 安全 原因 全然 暇（ひま） 調子 自然 成長 Atamadaka 今 中 人生 彼 彼女 世界 音楽 すべて 全部 すぐ 今日 まだ 本 事件 社会 特に 最後 文化 外 少女 朝 夜 海 神 中学 管理 女子 どこ 前 評価 後（あと） 春 秋 能力 変化 どんな どっち 猫 距離 言語 事故 方（ほう） 個人 現在 過去 未来 家族 人物 空 確か 静か 雨 Nakadaka しかし 少し もちろん 初めて(noun) 中身 卵 人々 それぞれ さまざま アパト 食べ物 飲み物 建物 飛行機 自由 例えば 表情 表現 条件 相性 湖 大丈夫 ひとり ひとつ 先生 職業 植物 学問 紫 一方 しっかり びっくり すっかり ほとんど はっきり いかに パタン 試験 面倒 不幸 機械 機会 物語 Odaka 駄目 ため(「そのために」) 物 好き 音 夢 色 川 街 話 言葉 相手 昼 紙 髪 花 橋 者 歌 頭 夏 冬 腕 足 胸 犬 家 方（かた） 弟 妹 ふたり ふたつ 親 楽（らく） 耳 返事 山 雪 力（ちから） こっち そっち あっち 部屋 実（じつ）",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html#notes",
    "parent":"Pitch accent perception"
  },
  {
    "title":"Heiban",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"学校 場合 生活 会社 活動 車 また 関係 問題 経験 計画 失敗 必要 最初 首 金（かね） お金（かね） 影響 情報 そして 女性 男性 少年 水 自分 俺 形 状態 鼻 高校 目的 目標 英語 日本語 わたし 重要 成功 予定 特別 最高 ここ そこ あそこ 実際 内容 結果 完全 先（さき） 後ろ 別（べつ） 別に 子供 対象 人気（にんき） 理由 人間 方法 有名 口 況 そんな こんな あんな 嫌い 動物 程（ほど） 敵 方向 確認 普通 途中 電話 反応 安全 原因 全然 暇（ひま） 調子 自然 成長",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html#heiban",
    "parent":"Pitch accent perception"
  },
  {
    "title":"Atamadaka",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"今 中 人生 彼 彼女 世界 音楽 すべて 全部 すぐ 今日 まだ 本 事件 社会 特に 最後 文化 外 少女 朝 夜 海 神 中学 管理 女子 どこ 前 評価 後（あと） 春 秋 能力 変化 どんな どっち 猫 距離 言語 事故 方（ほう） 個人 現在 過去 未来 家族 人物 空 確か 静か 雨",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html#atamadaka",
    "parent":"Pitch accent perception"
  },
  {
    "title":"Nakadaka",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"しかし 少し もちろん 初めて(noun) 中身 卵 人々 それぞれ さまざま アパト 食べ物 飲み物 建物 飛行機 自由 例えば 表情 表現 条件 相性 湖 大丈夫 ひとり ひとつ 先生 職業 植物 学問 紫 一方 しっかり びっくり すっかり ほとんど はっきり いかに パタン 試験 面倒 不幸 機械 機会 物語",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html#nakadaka",
    "parent":"Pitch accent perception"
  },
  {
    "title":"Odaka",
    "tags":[
      "pitch"
    ],
    "body":"駄目 ため(「そのために」) 物 好き 音 夢 色 川 街 話 言葉 相手 昼 紙 髪 花 橋 者 歌 頭 夏 冬 腕 足 胸 犬 家 方（かた） 弟 妹 ふたり ふたつ 親 楽（らく） 耳 返事 山 雪 力（ちから） こっち そっち あっち 部屋 実（じつ）",
    "url":"pitch-accent-perception.html#odaka",
    "parent":"Pitch accent perception"
  },
  {
    "title":"Join our community",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Daily Japanese Thread is a friendly place for people learning Japanese through immersion. Join us to make friends, get help, ask questions, contribute to our projects and find countless new learning resources! You can join us on Telegram or SimpleX chat.",
    "url":"join-our-community.html",
    "date":"2021-02-08"
  },
  {
    "title":"Telegram group",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Telegram is a messenger with a focus on speed and security. To use Telegram on GNU/Linux, install the official desktop client. Telegram also can be found on F-Droid. The package is named Forkgram. This is the main group for chatting about Japan, the Japanese language, and other things. Join us on Telegram",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#telegram-group",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Telegram channel",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"I post announcements in this channel. Telegram Channel",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#telegram-channel",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"SimpleX chat",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"SimpleX is a private and secure messenger without any user IDs. On GNU/Linux, you can install simplex-desktop-bin from the AUR in order to use SimpleX chat. On Android, install SimpleX Chat from F-Droid. SimpleX chat Scan the QR code with the SimpleX Chat app on your phone or tablet. QR code",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#simplex-chat",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Group for Russian speakers",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"I have a separate group chat for Russian speakers who are learning Japanese. Японский язык",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#group-for-russian-speakers",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pleroma",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"I post announcements and site updates on Pleroma. I also share posts about Japan and the Japanese language. Pleroma If you're new to the Fediverse, check out this article.",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#pleroma",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rules",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Speak English. Do not use your Japanese unless you're already fluent. Remember that talking is not practicing. Your time is better spent immersing. Be ethical. Do not post promotions or spam unrelated to learning Japanese. However, feel free to share with us your learning resources. Be minimally polite, don't troll and don't post porn. Stay on topic. Try to keep the conversation centered around immersion, software for language learning, Japanese language, the country and its culture. Everything else should be discussed in the room dedicated to off-topic which you'll find after you've joined. Read the guide. Most questions we get are already answered in our guide. Our members are volunteering their time to help everybody. Try to reduce the amount of reoccurring questions so that everyone has more time to immerse. No proprietary software. We don't use, support or recommend proprietary software. We use free/libre software because it is naturally more extensible and user-friendly. Our immersion learning toolset Communication software Certain rooms may have their own sets of rules.",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#rules",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Questions",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"If you have a question specifically for me, ping me in the chat by prepending your message with @tatsumoto on Telegram.",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#questions",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Community stickers",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"To install our community sticker packs, just click on the links below. Part 1 Part 2",
    "url":"join-our-community.html#community-stickers",
    "parent":"Join our community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"At Ajatt Tools we're designing tools to help you connect with another language. We hope that they and other libre projects developed by the community will help you in your language learning journey.",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html",
    "date":"2021-02-03"
  },
  {
    "title":"Overview",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Technical instructions on this site target GNU/Linux users. That's what I use. But most of the software I list here is cross-platform. So if you're currently not using GNU/Linux, don't worry! You should be able to use the tools on any OS in the meantime while you're preparing to upgrade to the better system.",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#overview",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"How we choose software",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"All software that we use and approve must respect the users' freedom. The point of free software is that we have control of our software and our computing. A proprietary program doesn't qualify because there is no way to tell if it doesn't have hidden malicious functionalities. Often it is the case. The good news is that the majority of language learning software that exist today is already free. So as far as language learning goes, feel lucky that you're learning Japanese because we have some killer tools and resources. Moving on, let's dive into our immersion learning toolset!",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#how-we-choose-software",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"GNU/Linux",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"If in doubt: Do I have to run GNU? GNU/Linux is a suitable replacement for Windows or macOS. I favor Arch Linux and distributions based on it, but any other distro is fine as long as it's not overly complicated or difficult to use as a daily driver. If you've ever used a Debian-based distro, you know how slow the package manager is. On the other hand, the package manager used in Arch-based distros is one of the fastest package managers out there. Possible options: Arch Linux. The default installation is very minimal, installation steps have to be executed manually. ArcoLinux. Arch Linux made easy and beautiful. Whether you’re just starting with Arch Linux or have been using it for years, there’s an option perfectly suited to your level of expertise and requirements. ArcoLinux installs with a graphical installer (Calamares) with ease and comfort. There are 3 major projects- Arconet(XFCE), Arcopro(bare arch-like install), Arcoplasma. Video EndeavourOS. A successor of Antergos, a lightweight distro close to Arch Linux. A really good, user-friendly starting distro. Video. Garuda Linux. A rolling release distro based on Arch Linux with Chaotic AUR enabled by default. Manjaro. Aims to be user-friendly and offers lots of goodies out of the box. Parabola. A fully free/libre equivalent of Arch Linux. Parabola doesn't ship proprietary firmware and uses the Linux-libre kernel. Devices that require proprietary blobs will not function. A lot of WiFi-cards on laptops are affected. Software packages tend to be outdated, especially the kernel. Hyperbola. A distro that aims to be stable and secure, as well as fully free/libre. Artix. Arch Linux without systemd. Alternatives suggested by our members: NixOS GuixSD Gentoo Also read: Reviews of All Linux Distros.",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#gnu-linux",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Create, manage and review flashcards to remember the words, phrases, and grammar points you've studied. Setting up Anki Japanese support for Anki Useful Anki add-ons Add-ons by Ajatt-Tools Our collection of Note Types",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#anki",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"mpv",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"mpv is a video player with support for user-scripts. Mining from movies and TV-shows User Scripts by Ajatt-Tools User Scripts that users of mpv have published",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#mpv",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"mpvacious",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Make instant Anki cards from movies and TV shows. AUR package Demo video Video tutorial",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#mpvacious",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"impd",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Passive listening is one of the key components of the AJATT method, so it is useful to make it as convenient as possible. impd is a small tool for managing background immersion. Create condensed audio, automatically add episodes of TV shows you've watched to your mpd playlist, and archive audio that you've listened to enough times. AUR package Passive immersion guide",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#impd",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"GoldenDict",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Goldendict is a libre dictionary program for GNU+Linux and other operating systems. It offers an easy-to-use interface and supports a variety of dictionary formats. It allows users to quickly look up words and phrases, create Anki flashcards, and can especially help during and after the monolingual transition. GoldenDict can be enchanced by adding external programs as dictionaries and displaying their output in the search results. Dictionaries External programs",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#goldendict",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"qolibri",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A QT-based EPWING dictionary viewer. Qolibri lets you search multiple EPWING dictionaries at the same time, so for any word you look up you get a list of different definitions. Since using a Japanese to Japanese dictionary can be difficult for beginners being able to see one word described in multiple ways makes it easier to understand what it really means. Setup guide Dictionaries External resources: In-Depth J-J Dictionary Walk through Making Monolingual Sentence Cards in Real Time",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#qolibri",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"crqt-ng",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"A cross-platform open source e-book reader using crengine-ng. Install from the AUR Reading books",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#crqt-ng",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rikaitan",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Look up unknown words with the hover of a mouse and make Anki flashcards with a single click. Setting up Rikaitan Dictionaries",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#rikaitan",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"ames",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Anki Media Extractor Script. Allows you to easily add screenshots and audio recordings to your Anki cards. AUR package",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#ames",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"subs2srs",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Related: Cross Profile Search And Import A small utility that allows you to mass-generate Anki decks based on your favorite foreign language movies and TV shows to aid in the language learning process. For example, if you had a Japanese movie and the accompanying Japanese subtitle file, you could use subs2srs to automatically create an Anki deck with one card for each subtitle line, along with the corresponding audio and snapshot. GTK4 port AUR package FAQ subs2srs opens up the possibility of making large amounts of high quality, original sentence cards extremely quickly. It also allows you to have native audio on all of your cards, which is extremely useful. The downside of subs2srs is that in order to use it, you need to acquire the file for the show/movie you want to use, along with a correctly timed subtitle file for that show/movie.",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#subs2srs",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"Android",
    "tags":[
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Having a mobile device is not strictly necessary for learning Japanese, but it can be handy. It can be used to review Anki flashcards when you're not home. You can use it for passive listening if you load it with condensed audio. Some people are even able to do active immersion on Android, though I think it's a torture with such a small screen. Not all Android phones or tablets are safe to use out of the box. If you do own an Android device, be sure to install F-Droid, which is an application catalog for libre programs. Liberate your device by flashing a new aftermarket ROM with no Google applications. GrapheneOS is a popular choice, but requires a compatible phone. If aftermarket ROMs are not available for your device, you could at least obtain root access and get rid of Google Play and other Google applications. F-Droid can be flashed using TWRP (or other Android recovery) or installed as a Magisk module to allow for automatic background updates. Most Android devices can't be fully liberated because they depend on non-free drivers and firmware. These drivers control things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microphone, camera. Don't buy iThings, you can't install a free OS on them. Most Anki decks linked on this site come with ogg/opus audio and webp images. These formats are not supported on iThings. Some people would like to completely reject mobile phones because they are surveillance tools. Further information: Android - Privacy Guides Liberate your device - FSF Android and Users' Freedom Recommended Apps from F-Droid - DivestOS Neo Store is a more modern F-Droid client. Android software for learning Japanese ROM suggestions: LineageOS, a custom ROM that supports many devices. /e/OS is a privacy-enabled ROM with no Google apps or Google services accessing your personal data. GrapheneOS.",
    "url":"our-immersion-learning-toolset.html#android",
    "parent":"Our Immersion Learning Toolset"
  },
  {
    "title":"Basic Vocabulary",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"After finishing kanji, kana and essential grammar the bulk of your AJATT journey will consist of learning vocabulary. As the first step in this process, it makes sense to go through a basic vocabulary deck containing the most frequent words in Japanese. As before, you are going to use Anki to do it.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html",
    "date":"2021-01-31"
  },
  {
    "title":"Motivation behind studying basic vocabulary",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Not all words are created equal. In Japanese, the most frequently used 1,000 words comprise around 75% of all written language. Similar ratios exist for virtually all languages. If you just prioritize the most vital words, the ones that you hear and see a lot, you can rapidly acquire a language. After memorizing the most frequently used 1,000 or 2,000 words learning vocabulary from immersion becomes easier. When reading you'll be able to recognize the majority of words in a given sentence. You will still have to look up many words per page, but the learning process is going to take less effort.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#motivation-behind-studying-basic-vocabulary",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Focus on understanding",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"On this site I recommend that you learn to understand Japanese through immersion before trying to speak it. Once you can understand the language, learning to speak doesn't take any effort. The Anki deck I'm about to introduce below is going to help you understand the language. Cards in the deck are designed to test your recognition instead of forcing you to recall words from memory.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#focus-on-understanding",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Words and sentences",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Our preferred way to learn new words is by reading and understanding sentences. We believe it's the most natural approach. When immersing we encounter sentences and phrases much more than isolated words. Besides, understanding sentences is easier than understanding words. The additional context triggers the memory at times when the meaning of a single word would slip away. Of course, it's not possible to start reading full sentences if you know no words yet. To work around this temporary hindrance we employ targeted sentence cards. A targeted sentence card is a flashcard that gives you context, but knowing the context is not mandatory to pass the flashcard. Only the target word is taken into account. So, if you know the context, it helps you out. If not, you treat the flashcard as an isolated word. This idea quickly starts working in your favor. Once you've learned even just a few hundred words, your comprehension expands substantially. As you're beginning to understand not just isolated words, any extra exposure you get from reviewing sentences in Anki reinforces your memory. Sentences help you better understand how the words are being used in speech, what roles they play in a sentence and how they connect with other words. You don't get any of these benefits if you use isolated vocab cards (word cards). Although learning sentences is the best way to get familiar with how language is used and grammar structures are formed, in practice when a new learner starts with one of the premade sentence decks available on AnkiWeb, it is rare for all sentences to introduce only a single unknown word. One way to deal with it is to make isolated word cards (vocabulary cards). Word cards have a different problem. They don't teach usages of words. From a word card it's impossible to learn how to use a word, what collocations it is typically used with, and where it's appropriate to use it. TSCs bypass the problem by making the target word the only tested piece of knowledge while retaining the context and the ability to read the full sentence.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#words-and-sentences",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki decks",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"There are two main Anki decks that can be used to learn basic vocabulary.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#anki-decks",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ankidrone Essentials",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Essentials is the universally recommended Anki deck for newcomers to Japanese who want to quickly learn basic vocabulary before they start mining. Since the first release in February 2020, it has helped many people and received positive feedback. Ankidrone Essentials is covered in this article. You can download it from there.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#ankidrone-essentials",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Core10k",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Ankidrone Core10k is an extra deck that contains sentences from iKnow. Before Ankidrone Essentials was released in 2020, this deck was commonly used for the same purpose of learning basic vocabulary. Core10k is a famous deck among Japanese learners. Its format is roughly similar to the Tango decks. Each card contains a target word within an example sentence on the front. You have readings, translation, word meanings and audio on the back. The additional 10,000 sentences are definitely an overkill for someone who has completed Ankidrone Essentials. I include Core10k here for reference. Use this deck to supplement your sentence bank in the sentence mining phase. You can refer to it to find example sentences. Don't learn it back to back because it will take a lot of time. Note that the words that this deck teaches largely overlaps with Ankidrone Essentials. Core10k can be downloaded from here.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#core10k",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to study",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"When learning basic vocabulary from a premade Anki deck, the goal is to learn just enough words to become able to learn the rest through immersion alone. As soon as you feel like you have learned enough, so you can understand large chunks of native Japanese, for example when you watch anime or Japanese movies, then it is time to put premade decks to the side and focus on learning new words from immersion and creating new Anki cards using sentences you find in your immersion. Typically, after you download a premade deck, learn the first 1,000 to 2,000 cards from it. Then start sentence mining using TV-shows with Japanese subtitles, and later manga and novels. While sentence mining, you can continue learning new cards from premade decks at a reduced pace. It shouldn't be a priority. It is critical not to spend too much time on beginner decks and focus on mining. The higher level you reach, the less benefit from premade decks you will get. Refer to premade decks when you have trouble finding example sentences.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#how-to-study",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"When a flashcard comes up, read the target word (usually marked bold), or the full sentence if you want. If the target word contains kanji, try to recall the reading of the word from memory. Try to recall general the meaning of the target word. Use the context as an aid to understand how the target word connects with other words. Reveal the back of the card. Confirm whether you recalled the correct meaning (and reading if the word contains kanji). Press \"Good\" if your guess is correct. Otherwise, press \"Again\". Don't use the \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons. Install AJT Flexible Grading to hide them. For more detailed instructions see How to review. Note: The meaning does not have to be precise. All you need to do is have a very basic understanding of what each word means. English translations are not enough to fully teach you the nuances of what a word means and how it is used. That level of understanding can only be achieved through immersion.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#how-to-review",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Tips",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"If you can't seem to remember a card, try Mortician. The add-on postpones difficult cards, preventing them from stealing your time. Feel free to skip words that exist in languages you know. Examples include many katakana words, such as タクシー, エアコン, イクラ. Even though they're pronounced differently in your language, you learn them easily from immersion alone. To suspend a card, press @ on the keyboard. Don't do too many new cards a day. At first, it may seem easy, but eventually Anki will overwhelm you with reviews. Our recommended boundaries are 10~30 new cards a day. Don't take English translations literally. The English translations of example sentences often don't match word-by-word. To understand their meanings in Japanese you need to know the underlying grammar structures. Studying sentences can't completely replace a grammar guide. If there are grammar patterns that trip you up, look them up in a grammar guide, a dictionary like Jisho.org, or on Google.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#tips",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"How many words do I need to learn from a premade deck",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"To maximize the benefits that premade structured decks bring, we recommended that you learn from 1,000 to 2,000 cards from a premade deck of your choice. Once you do it, your comprehension of the content you immerse with goes from 0% to more than 75%, which is enough to start learning on your own. From that point on, you can simply grab a book, watch a movie or do anything else you like doing in your native language and learn new vocabulary as it pops up. If you want, continue learning new words from premade decks. They can be handy even for intermediate learners.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#how-many-words-do-i-need-to-learn-from-a-premade-deck",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Is 1,000 words enough?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Knowing 75% of the words does not mean that you'll understand 75% of the sentences. In every sentence there will be 2 or 3 unknown words. You will understand something, but it's not a comfortable level. A comfortable level is when you understand everything, or at least 99%, so you'll have to continue learning new words for quite some time. Learning 1,000 words or even completing an entire Anki deck won't make you fluent.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#is-1000-words-enough",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to measure comprehension?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"If you want to know your real comprehension, you can do the following. Take an episode of an anime with Japanese subtitles. Watch it and make a list of all sentences where there was at least one unknown word. Then count the total number of sentences in the episode. Comprehension will be equal to the number of sentences you understood divided by the total number of sentences.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#how-to-measure-comprehension",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can't I build my own vocabulary deck?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"You should! No premade deck can replace mining your own sentences. In fact, the example mining deck introduced earlier contains a few dozen example targeted sentence cards to show you how your deck should look like. However, it's not a secret that making your own cards from native Japanese content is too difficult in the beginning. Premade decks exist to give beginners a shortcut to understanding native media and help them quickly reach a point where they can start building their own mining decks easily. You will learn about sentence mining later in this guide.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#cant-i-build-my-own-vocabulary-deck",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Should I delete my premade deck after completing it?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"We recommend moving the cards you have learned from a premade deck to your mining deck instead of deleting the entire deck. However, there are some very basic words, especially in the Ankidrone Foundation deck, and to a lesser extent in Ankidrone Essentials, that you might consider deleting because it's unlikely you'll forget them. For example, words like 凄い or 食べる. When these cards come up for review, feel free to delete them, as you may find them useless. If you delete the entire deck, you risk forgetting words that could still be useful to you in the future.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#should-i-delete-my-premade-deck-after-completing-it",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Intermission",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"From the BCCWJ語彙表 data set mentioned in the beginning of the article we find the following. Most frequently used N words % of written Japanese 1,000 75% 2,000 80% 3,000 85% 6,000 90% 10,000 93% 15,000 95% 32,000 98% 50,000 99% How do you calculate it? If you have downloaded the frequency list, you can calculate the percentage for the first N=1000 words with this Shell snippet. N=1000; { sed \"1d;$((N+1))q\" BCCWJ_frequencylist_suw_ver1_0.tsv | cut -f 8 | awk '{s+=$1} END {print s}' echo '/1000000' } | paste -s -d '' | bc -l You're expected to progress very quickly in your first months of doing AJATT. Unfortunately, the reality is that we quickly hit the point of diminishing returns. The more words you learn from that point, the slower your comprehension grows. The bright side is that you can use the numbers as milestones. Reaching each milestone is like winning a small game, and it makes learning your target language feel less like a routine.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#intermission",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other Anki decks",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "vocab"
    ],
    "body":"Resources page contains a Vocabulary section with Anki decks suggested by our members. AnkiWeb has a wide variety of premade decks for Japanese. When browsing the catalog, I recommend you prefer decks that contain audio recordings and example sentences. It is important that the example sentences always appear on the front of the cards because it is easier to learn words when you see them in context. If you download an incorrectly formatted deck, make sure to fix the card template in settings. A little trick you can do to filter results is search AnkiWeb with Google.",
    "url":"basic-vocabulary.html#other-anki-decks",
    "parent":"Basic Vocabulary"
  },
  {
    "title":"List of Matrix servers",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Matrix is a FLOSS protocol for open federated instant messaging. Matrix ecosystem consists of many servers which can be used for registration. This is a list of Matrix servers for people who ask what server to choose to register on. To use Matrix, install a client first. One of the most popular clients is Element. If you are new to Matrix, read Matrix quickstart guide. Note: Due to privacy concerns I no longer use Matrix. If you need a private means of communication, please look elsewhere.",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html",
    "date":"2021-01-29"
  },
  {
    "title":"Matrix.org users",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"If you already have an account hosted on Matrix.org, please deactivate your account and create a new account on another homeserver immediately. Matrix.org is the largest Matrix homeserver, and most Matrix apps suggest it by default. Many users new to Matrix end up using this server because they don't know that other servers exist. Unfortunately, Matrix.org is far from the best choice. Due to its absurdly strict rules, the server is known for frequent bans of rooms and user accounts, and it does so without prior notice. Basically, Matrix.org uses its size and special status to impose censorship. Luckily, changing Matrix homeservers is as easy as switching Email providers. Below I have a list of servers with less strict terms of service. Click \"Edit\".",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#matrix-org-users",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to choose",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Choose a server that doesn't engage in chaotic account or room purges. Being on such a homeserver is no different from being on Discord. If a homeserver has rules, read them to check if they're unreasonably strict. Keep an eye on the usual things that tend to stink. For example, if a homeserver is trying to suppress certain political opinions, restrict you from posting certain types of content or otherwise impose authoritarian environment.",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#how-to-choose",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"Recommendations",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Ideally you would host your own homeserver on your own hardware, but not everyone can do that. This section contains homeservers hand-picked by me and trusted third-parties. With a 🏆 I marked servers that have received a trophy of recognition from the Matrix HQ team. Not all the servers may be open for registration at any point of time. You may need to Email an admin to get an account. Server Web client Extra xmr.se nitro.chat nitro.chat midov.pl midov.pl Register here 🏆 w33b.cloud element.w33b.cloud matrix.thisisjoes.site thisisjoes.site eientei.org matrix.eientei.org matrix.im sibnsk.net element matrix.unredacted.org element last checked - closed",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#recommendations",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"Servers run by Japanese people",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"Server Web client Extra matrix.fedibird.com fedibird.com 🏆 last checked - closed matrix.juggler.jp juggler.jp",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#servers-run-by-japanese-people",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other servers",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#other-servers",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sorted list",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"I have a sorted list that updates automatically every 12 hours here. Selection criteria. Open registration Domain length Up-to-date version of Synapse The list is good for fetching new and updated servers, but there are no guarantees that the results are good.",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#sorted-list",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"Servers that support links to rooms",
    "tags":[
      "matrix"
    ],
    "body":"A separate list for servers that can be used to link rooms. This is very useful if you want to share a room with someone but don't want to use element.io or matrix.to because they are behind cloudflare or because your room can't be reached via matrix.to. To link a room append #/room/#your_room:example.com to the instance's Element address, like this: https://c.wfr.moe/#/room/#djtspace.midov.pl. https://element.fablabchemnitz.de/ https://im.tetaneutral.net/ https://matrix.eientei.org/ https://im.tetaneutral.net/ https://element.arcticfoxes.net/",
    "url":"list-of-matrix-servers.html#servers-that-support-links-to-rooms",
    "parent":"List of Matrix servers"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to save the Japanese learning community",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Even big figureheads in the Japanese learning community still recommend other learners to join their discord servers to ask questions and otherwise talk about languages. For example, on the Itazura website even today despite many complaints you can still find a link to so-called DJT Discord. It is needless to say that this situation upsets people in the community, but I want to believe that the main reason behind the discord links remaining on Itazura is simply that the site hasn't been updated in a long while. Otherwise, it would literally mean that the owner wants us to install malware on our computers and become victims of the mass surveillance. Most of us already know that discord is malware, and many refuse to use it. Unfortunately, while some simply avoid discord and don't search for alternatives, in general the need for a safe place to gather among Japanese learners remains unsatisfied.",
    "url":"how-to-save-the-japanese-learning-community.html",
    "date":"2021-01-20"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why should discord be avoided",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"I really hope that it's not the first time you read about discord being malware, silently logging and tracking every action performed within their app. There has been already published thousands of articles and videos describing this issue. Here are some of them: https://spyware.neocities.org/articles/discord.html https://stallman.org/discord.html https://cadence.moe/blog/2020-06-06-why-you-shouldnt-trust-discord/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230129105117/https://old.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/8lkb5s/friends_dont_let_friends_use_discord_the/ The key points: You are forced to run a nonfree client program, so the source code is not available. You can't study or modify it. Discord collects your personal data. Discord knows what programs you have open. Your data, including messages, can be sold to anybody. The government potentially has access to all of the information that Discord collects about you. Censorship. New and clearer rules for prohibited content Our Community Guidelines now officially prohibit misinformation and disinformation, malicious impersonation, and better define spam and platform manipulation. Anything that's not the official narrative will be now censored.",
    "url":"how-to-save-the-japanese-learning-community.html#why-should-discord-be-avoided",
    "parent":"How to save the Japanese learning community"
  },
  {
    "title":"The solution",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Long story short, our chat app should be: Libre Software. It should respect the users' freedom. Federated. Choose where your data lives, so you own it. Because one central authority doesn't control every single bit of information that goes through it, you can avoid censorship. No email address or phone number is required for registration. These are nice to have for more privacy respecting experience. Personally, I would recommend Matrix. It meets the requirements, and it's very easy to use. If you want to connect to our Japanese chat, follow this link. Unlike DJT discord, I can guarantee you that our members understand immersion learning, and many of them have achieved great results doing AJATT and other similar methods.",
    "url":"how-to-save-the-japanese-learning-community.html#the-solution",
    "parent":"How to save the Japanese learning community"
  },
  {
    "title":"How do I register",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Unlike discord, matrix users can choose a server (node) for registration. It's similar to the way you can choose to register your Email account on airmail.cc or on waifu.club or even on mail.ru. I have selected a few servers that have open registration. I also made sure that the sites don't use Cloudflare. List of Matrix servers",
    "url":"how-to-save-the-japanese-learning-community.html#how-do-i-register",
    "parent":"How to save the Japanese learning community"
  },
  {
    "title":"What matrix client can I choose?",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"If you're lazy, you can connect to our chat via your browser, but I still recommend you to install a desktop client. You can find a list of matrix clients here. All programs listed there should run on any GNU/Linux distro. And if you're still using Windows, make sure that you don't access Matrix/Element from a Windows machine because even the most secure messenger can't save you from Microsoft surveillance. Only log in from an OS that runs 100% free software.",
    "url":"how-to-save-the-japanese-learning-community.html#what-matrix-client-can-i-choose",
    "parent":"How to save the Japanese learning community"
  },
  {
    "title":"What if I'm a phone poster?",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Your only option is Element for Android. Though other clients do exist, I don't know any worth recommending. Make sure to run a matrix client on a phone without Gapps or other proprietary software installed that can potentially breach your privacy.",
    "url":"how-to-save-the-japanese-learning-community.html#what-if-im-a-phone-poster",
    "parent":"How to save the Japanese learning community"
  },
  {
    "title":"Discussing various card templates",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Many learners agree that the most effective way to acquire Japanese is to combine the SRS with immersion. After finishing learning kana and kanji you're going to continue to use Anki in your study time to memorize vocabulary. When memorizing new vocabulary, there are various card templates you can choose from. Card templates are differentiated by what you put on the front of the card. There are two major card templates that people tend to use: sentence cards and word cards. Both have their variations depending on what other information they contain. This article covers recognition cards. Production cards are covered here.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html",
    "date":"2021-01-14"
  },
  {
    "title":"How cards are created",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"In Anki, the user creates notes that store information the user intends to remember. A note is divided into fields, and each field can store some text. The simplest note has only two fields, \"Question\" and \"Answer\", or \"Front\" and \"Back\". Anki generates cards from the notes the user has made using card templates. A card template, or card type is an HTML and CSS template that defines how a card will look. You can have several cards per note, depending on the card templates you have created. For example, each sentence item would have a card to test reading and a card to test writing by hand.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-cards-are-created",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Various card templates",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The division of card templates is arbitrary. We introduce it because from the perspective of language learning it is important what we test ourselves on. Here, a card template is characterized by the field of the note that is placed on the front. The fields on the back of the card are less significant. Their purpose is to help increase your understanding of what is on the front. Word Cards test your reading comprehension of a single word. Simple Word Cards contain the minimum of information necessary to understand the word. Word Context Cards must additionally have an example sentence on the back of the card. Sentence Cards test your reading comprehension of a sentence or a part of a sentence. Targeted Sentence Cards test your reading comprehension of a single word in context. Other types of cards are rarely used, including cards with audio on the front. We approach card templates based on the idea that your practice in Anki should mimic real world situations. In other words, you should practice how you play. And in real world we read sentences, and we write sentences. So the preference is given to card formats that have sentences in them. Having said that, word cards have their place in your SRS. They are very effective for studying concrete nouns. Regardless of the card template, you create your cards from words and sentences you encounter while consuming Japanese. Learners utilize GoldenDict Qolibri, mpv scripts, Rikaitan, and other software to make card creation faster and easier.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#various-card-templates",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Simple word cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"By simple word cards I mean a word in the target language on the front of the card and a definition and usually audio and a picture on the back. No context is present on this type of cards. A simple word card. SWCs are the easiest to make and the fastest to review.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#simple-word-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review SWCs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Read the target word. Recall the meaning and the reading of the word. Pass the card if you understand the meaning and the reading of the target word. Otherwise, choose Again to review the card again sooner.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-to-review-swcs",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pros and cons of SWCs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"As mentioned in the beginning of this article, simple word cards are very powerful when learning concrete nouns. A concrete noun is a noun that you can see or touch. The nouns phone, dog, car are concrete nouns. If a word is not a concrete noun, learning it through a simple word card is not going to be effective. For example, words like 復活 or 走る require context to understand their meaning and usage. Without it, you will almost certainly misunderstand the meaning and won't know which grammar constructions should be used with the word. But because most concrete nouns have clear meanings, are used similarly and are surrounded by similar grammar patterns that can be easily picked up from repeated exposure, providing context is completely unnecessary in my opinion. Often you can understand the meaning of a concrete noun even without a dictionary. To understand what 猫 means, it's enough to look at a photo of it. The time saved by using SWCs for nouns outweighs the benefits of using sentence cards because one can add many more SWCs than sentence cards and can rep them much more quickly as well without thinking about context. By simply thinking of the reading and the meaning of a word you're making SWCs very low effort. I would argue that word cards should comprise around 15% of your total number of cards.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#pros-and-cons-of-swcs",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Word context cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"WCCs contain the target word on the front. The front of the card sometimes also contains hints that disambiguate certain aspects of the target word. The back of the card contains everything you need to understand the target word: Readings and pitch accents Example sentence Definitions Audio and so on. A word context card.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#word-context-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review word context cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"WCCs test your reading comprehension of a single word. Similarly to SWCs, press Good only if you understand how the word is read and what it means. The first time that you learn a new card, you read the sentence on the back of the card and listen to the audio to understand the usage of the word. After that whenever the card comes up for review you see the isolated word on the front, recall the meaning, and if you are able to recall the meaning well then you move on to the next card without listening to the audio or reading the sentence on the back. When using this card template you can go through the reviews extremely quickly because unless you forget the word, you don't need the sentence, and you don't force yourself to read it. You can just skip the sentence and go to the next card.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-to-review-word-context-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pros and cons of WCCs",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Like SWCs, WCCs should work great for concrete nouns. If you happen to find a concrete noun in context, mining a WCC would be a natural choice. The cons present themselves when learning other types of speech. WCCs take more time to make than SWCs. Some extra time is needed to add the context (sentence, image, audio) to the card. However, there are tools that can automate this process. For example, mpv scripts. WCCs should be as fast to review as SWCs. All you need to do is recall what the target word means. For words other than concrete nouns WCCs could take additional time to recall the meaning. If the word is abstract, it can be hard to tell whether you understand the meaning or not without context on the front. WCCs strip the context information from the front of the card forcing you to recall the meaning and the reading regardless of the context. This makes cards harder to learn and review. Because words other than concrete nouns are rarely seen in isolation, such practice is unnatural. Because the piece of knowledge you're testing yourself on is so small, it is difficult to associate the word directly to its meaning. You spend more time and effort recalling the meaning compared to a card with context on the front. It is easier to read an example sentence and understand the word in a sentence. If you can remember the meaning of an isolated word, that doesn't necessarily mean that when you read the word in a sentence you're going to understand the sentence. Because the context is missing on the front there's often a need to rely on additional field that serves to reduce memory interference — the hint field. The hint field is needed when a word has multiple meanings. For such word you can't recall the right meaning without looking at an example. A WCC with context on the front in essence turns into a type of sentence card. In this case I would definitely choose to create a targeted sentence card instead. If you choose to use them, Word Context Cards, much like Simple Word Cards, can be useful, but I wouldn't recommend using them as your primary card template.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#pros-and-cons-of-wccs",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sentence cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"A sentence card is an SRS card with a sentence in the question field. The sentence has one unknown word or phrase. Sentence cards originate from Antimoon. Some people might make cards with multiple unknowns, but it comes at the expense of harder reviews. If you have a sentence card that tests two (or more) words at the same time, you will need to make repetitions that are frequent enough to keep the more difficult word in memory. On the back you find readings and dictionary definitions. Optimally you also want to add audio for the entire sentence and/or the target word, pitch accent information and a picture if the sentence comes from a video. A sentence card.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#sentence-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review sentence cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The algorithm was originally explained in Khatz's blog. I simplified it a bit, below are the main steps: You read the full sentence. Know the meaning of every word in the sentence. Understand the meaning of the entire sentence. If the above requirements are satisfied, press Good. Otherwise, choose Again so that you will see the card sooner. There are other steps and nuances that Khatz suggested but most sentence cards users skip them. In particular, I don't think many people read sentences out loud or copy them by hand onto a piece of paper. These are not helpful and only make reviews longer.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-to-review-sentence-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pros and cons of sentence cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The first advantage of sentence cards is that they are easy to remember. You have a whole sentence as context shown to you. The context helps your brain remember what the target word means. If you just have a word on the front, especially if it's a word with a more abstract meaning, it can be hard to tell whether you understand the meaning or not. Sentence cards are natural and organic. What I mean by this is that the practice of reading sentences closely resembles real world situations. It's more akin to what you're doing in real life when reading a book. The target word is embedded in a context that helps make the meaning of the word clear. But they have certain weaknesses, the main being review time. On a sentence card the target word is not emphasized in any way. As a result during each rep you have to read the whole sentence and essentially test yourself on every word in it. On average, it takes 20 seconds to answer a sentence card. This is a lot of time compared to reading and recalling just the target word. Thankfully, there are some tricks to do reps faster, which are described in the TSC section. Sentence cards are criticized a lot because they can create context-dependent memories. If you always recall the meaning of a word when that word is contained within a certain sentence, sometimes you end up just memorizing that sentence instead of the target word. Then when you see that target word out of context or in a different context you're not able to draw the connection and recall what the word means or even realize that you learned that word. To a lesser extent this also happens with word cards because having no context is a type of context in itself. When seeing the word in immersion, one might be unable to draw the connection and recall it. It is likely that context-dependent memories can form when using any type of card templates. To combat context-dependent memories, immersion is key. The knowledge of a word internalizes after seeing it enough times in different contexts in the wild. Sometimes you see people say that by reviewing sentences you will build internal grammar and remember word usages, which is helpful in your output. I think it comes from a misunderstanding of the AJATT site. There's an embedded assumption that SRS can be used to learn how to output. In reality the role of the SRS is to aid comprehension by helping you memorize meanings and readings of words. Output can only come from lots of exposure and seeing words in different contexts. Reading sentences in the SRS can only play a minor role. Nevertheless, there is some truth to the statement. Though according to Wozniak passive recognition doesn't guarantee active recall, reading the same piece many times has an effect similar to TV commercials. You sometimes can recite them from memory just from repeated exposure. You can expect to memorize many sentences this way, but you will almost certainly not memorize all of them. I must point out that it's a mere side effect and shouldn't be treated as an advantage of using sentence cards.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#pros-and-cons-of-sentence-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Targeted sentence cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"TSC is an optimized card template designed for speed and ease of repetition. They are similar to sentence cards, but with a key difference: you always highlight the target word. The front side of a TSC typically includes a sentence, phrase, or a few sentences that provide context for the word you are learning. The target word should be highlighted to mark the part of the sentence which you're trying to memorize. If you accidentally forget some part that is not highlighted, it shouldn't be taken into account when grading the card. On the back side, it is enough to write the definition (or translation) of the target word. You can also include the translation of the entire sentence, although in the AJATT method, this is usually not practiced. If available, consider adding audio recordings, pictures, or screenshots to the back of the card. Additional information helps you remember the target word better. To highlight the target word in Anki, select it and press Ctrl+B, nice and simple. Rikaitan can also be used to highlight the target word if its settings are adjusted accordingly. A targeted sentence card.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#targeted-sentence-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review targeted sentence cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"TSCs offer flexibility in how you review them, allowing you to tailor the process to your preferences. Here are some options: Read the entire sentence and decide whether you understood all the bits and pieces. This approach is similar to reviewing regular sentence cards. Read the whole sentence but only test yourself on the target word. This method helps reduce the mental burden of testing yourself on too many things simultaneously. We think it is more preferable as it follows the Wozniak's minimum information principle better. Read only the target word, and probably a few words surrounding it. This way of reviewing TSCs is similar to WCCs and SWCs, and it can save a significant amount of review time. If a sentence is too long, start reading a few words behind the target word and stop as soon as you've understood the clause. Grade yourself based on the target word only. Don't penalize yourself for failing to understand other words. When learning a targeted sentence card for the first time, make sure to read and understand the sentence fully even if you don't want to read it every time the card comes up. Understanding the context greatly helps in understanding the target word. It is also important that you already know all the words besides the target word. You don't want to stumble upon unfamiliar words each time you review the card. This concept is called \"one target sentences\" and is discussed later on this site. To download a deck with example Targeted Sentence Cards, follow this link.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-to-review-targeted-sentence-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Make Rikaitan highlight the target word for you",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"I recommend setting up Rikaitan to mark the target word automatically when a new card is made. This saves you the extra step that you'd otherwise have to take every time you make a new targeted sentence card. mpvacious is aware of this setting and preserves highlighted words when updating sentences. Go to Rikaitan Settings > \"Anki\" > \"Configure Anki card format…\". Rikaitan settings. Note: All Rikaitan settings are covered in Setting up Rikaitan later.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#make-rikaitan-highlight-the-target-word-for-you",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Why TSCs?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"TSCs are stress-free. Because you do not have to read the entire sentence for every single card, you can review TSCs much faster. But at the same time you always have access to the full sentence on the front, so you can read it if you want, or skip reading if you don't have time to spend on your reviews. Drop the weight quickly and go back to the fun stuff. TSCs are easy to make. You can use mpv scripts such as mpvacious to make each card in just a few seconds. When you're reading a novel, Rikaitan alone can handle everything. Context is always there. You don't deprive yourself of the full sentence, and it makes your reviews easier. You see how the word is used. Because words are rarely found outside of sentences, you ensure that your practice in Anki closely resembles reading out in the wild. Even if you test yourself just on the target word, the information on the card should help you understand its usage. Eliminate the fatigue. You don't have to test yourself on every word. If you think that sentence cards test you on too many items at the same time which causes you to burn out mentally, then evaluate yourself only on the target word. TSCs give you the freedom of choice. TSCs are forgiving to beginners. When I just started learning sentence items, the ability to test myself only on the target word saved me lots of gray hair because I didn't have to recall meanings and readings of all the other words in a sentence that I still knew poorly or didn't know at all yet. Save yourself decisions when creating cards. You don't need to choose between various card templates because TSCs fuse word cards and sentence cards together in their own unique way. Any length will do. TSCs free you from the need to mine shorter sentences. Often short sentences lack enough context. Sentence cards users have to seek shorter sentences in order to shorten the reviews. You don't have to keep things short for the sake of quicker reps. At the same time long sentences won't overwhelm you because you aren't obliged to read them. Stay on target. Due to the format of the card template and the combination of the note fields TSCs always have only one target word per card, but they can contain more than one unknown word total. Adding only one-target sentences to the SRS is a good practice, it guarantees that all cards in the collection have similar intrinsic difficulties which makes reviews smooth and effortless. On the other hand, if you have to make a TSC with many unknown words, it does not become a burden — when grading yourself you skip everything but the main target. Keep your cards. There's an idea that cards should get deleted or suspended after they reach a certain interval. The idea is justified by an assumption that immersion alone is enough to keep any word in memory after it's been acquired. I think it's just a cope invented to deal with the fact that sentence cards take forever to finish one's daily reviews. If you're a TSC user, your reviews are quick, so don't buy into deleting all your old cards.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#why-tscs",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Are TSCs too easy?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Since TSCs allow you to look at the context, they are easier than word cards, but it's a good thing. On the contrary, by reviewing words in isolation you basically create unnecessary difficulty for yourself. You also violate the practice how you play principle by testing yourself on something that is rarely seen in real life. But what if I memorize the meaning of the sentence as a whole, and become unable to recognize or understand the target word in other contexts? First you won't be able to read very well at all until you actually practice reading and put in the hours. The SRS can only help a little. Second, it doesn't happen often. Yes, sometimes you will form context-dependent memories. To fully acquire a word and transfer the knowledge from being context-dependent to context-independent it has to be seen a few times in the wild. Most of the time it happens quickly. The reality is that the SRS doesn't guarantee that you will remember a word 100% anyway. You could make a word card for it only to find yourself not being able to recall it in the right time because of the flaw in the algorithm or because the memory of the word is still context-dependent. This can even happen to the cards that you nail every time in the SRS. Thankfully, most words according to Krashen are encountered in friendly contexts. It is actually less likely that you will fail to understand the meaning of a word when you read Japanese content so don't worry about being unable to recall what you've learned in the SRS. Lastly, the biggest problem Japanese learners face when learning how to read is remembering kanji readings. For most people failed attempts to recall readings comprise the majority of lapses in Anki, but meanings often come for free thanks to friendly contexts and semantic hints that kanji provide.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#are-tscs-too-easy",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Performance gains",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Time-wise you can expect the following gains: When you read the full sentence, you can rep TSCs up to 2 times faster compared to sentence cards. This is achieved by using Speed Focus Mode Anki add-on. You might as well only test yourself on the target word to speed up reviews a bit more. When you rep TSCs by only reading the target word, you are able to do it up to 4 times faster compared to sentence cards. This is achieved simply by skipping everything but the target word. You're still going to hear the sentence's audio (if provided) or read the sentence once the back of the card is revealed, but it's totally optional. For many years I studied with sentence cards. Although I achieved great results, my time investments were far from optimal. After you've seen a card enough times you don't need to continue reading the whole sentence every time it comes up. You can skip to the target word if you want. But with regular sentence cards you don't know what the target word was until you reveal the answer. With TSCs you highlight the target word when you create a card. Then, when the card comes up for review, you always have a choice to read just the target word. Keep in mind that any time you spend in the SRS is time you can't spend on immersion. So the purpose of these tips is to reduce the time spent reviewing and leverage the mental load of SRSing. By applying them you slightly reduce the benefits of using sentence cards, but I think that ultimately any technique that helps you stay in the game is a good trade-off. If you keep unhealthy relations with the SRS it is easy to start hating it and quit completely, which is the worst outcome compared to forgetting some words here and there. You can review TSCs really quickly, and you can either learn more cards in the same amount of time or just learn the same number of cards in less time and then have more time for immersion. It is also important to note that the SRS helps you keep mental dictionary entries for the words you put in. Even if you don't remember the exact meaning of a word, having a mental dictionary entry allows your brain to more successfully notice it in your immersion and store any new information about that word.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#performance-gains",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Can the hint field save the day?",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Users of WCCs employ a 'hint' field to disambiguate the correct readings and pinpoint one of the possible meanings in some words. I don't think it's a good idea. The need to create a separate field is far from the best solution, and it feels like a crutch. First for any card you review you have to identify that you're unable to grasp the meaning without a hint. Then you have to copy a part of the sentence to the hint field. Finally, when you review the card you have to read the target word and then jump to the hint and read it too. Because TSCs put sentences first, you are given all the tools to disambiguate both kanji readings and multiple meanings for free, and you don't need to invent anything. Reading phrases is easier than reading separate words with some text at the bottom, and it more closely resembles the way we read actual books. Distinguishing meanings Some words only appear in certain expressions. Some can have multiple meanings. The good news is that you don't have to worry about it when reviewing TSCs. The context on the front helps you identify the right meaning. You can also make a second card for another meaning if you want. TSCs provide a natural alternative to the hint field. What if an expression does not have an entry in a Japanese to Japanese dictionary? It most certainly has. If you can't find it in a Rikaitan dictionary, look it up on www.weblio.jp or use the web search. For example, here you can find a definition for 「頭角を現す」. What if it's not voiced in the Rikaitan audio? It's not a big deal, but you can try searching on Forvo. If you have added audio for the sentence, adding audio for the target expression is not necessary. Distinguishing readings If a word has many readings, there are two words that are written with the same kanji but pronounced differently, or if you want to avoid failing a card due to a common reading mistake you tend to make, TSCs let you use furigana on top to pinpoint the correct one. Make sure that your front template allows displaying furigana: {{furigana:SentKanji}} And to add furigana on the front you simply specify it in square brackets as usual: 稀に日蝕の 最中[×さいちゅう]に姿を消す者がある A way to prevent yourself from repeating the same mistake. Point to the right reading.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#can-the-hint-field-save-the-day",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Fallback cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The idea behind fallback cards is similar to that of targeted sentence cards, but the front side is different. When a fallback card comes up for review, it looks like a regular word card, but you can hover over the target word to reveal the full sentence. Fallback cards basically give their users all the benefits of targeted sentence cards but are designed for people who worry about forming context-dependent memories. Front side of a fallback card. One disadvantage is that this card template is somewhat tricky to make yourself. You have to play around with CSS and HTML of your cards to make the context appear when you hover over the word. A DJT user shared his card template on Pastebin, take a look if you need help setting up fallback cards. The template configures the shift key to toggle sentence visibility, you may want to install the Refocus Card when Reviewing Anki add-on to be able to use it. From here you can download the Japanese fallback Note Type made by ﾌｪﾘﾍﾟ.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#fallback-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Cloze cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Cloze cards (cloze deletions) are a type of flashcard where you have a piece of information occluded. They are different from other card templates in that they require you to fill in the missing information on an existing piece of text instead of simply recalling the answer to a question. For example, a cloze card might have a sentence with a word missing, and you have to fill in the word to complete the sentence.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#cloze-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review cloze cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The front of the card shows some text with a part blanked out. You have to fill in the blank. Recall the hidden piece and reveal the back side of the card. Press \"Good\" if your guess was correct. Press \"Again\" if you couldn't recall the right answer.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-to-review-cloze-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pros and cons of cloze cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Medical students use cloze deletion flashcards and image occlusion flashcards a lot. People who make Anki tutorials, many of whom are medical students, advocate for cloze deletion flashcards as the most important card template for learning. I think they are right. Cloze cards can be used to learn all kinds of things. For example, I have been using them to learn programming for many years. But the consensus is that while they can be powerful for memorizing facts, they are generally considered ineffective for language study. Cloze deletion flashcards work well when the task is to recall a specific fact, but they fall short when it comes to language learning. Typically, on a cloze card there is a target language sentence, the target language sentence has something missing, and you have to fill in the blank. The problem is that there is always an infinite number of possible answers for any given \"fill in the blank\" question. But the card only allows for one correct answer, so basically you have to memorize the card, and this knowledge is different from understanding the target language. Cloze cards only work well for questions where alternative answers are not possible, but language is never like this. Language is fluid, with many ways to express the same idea, which cloze deletion flashcards fail to capture. The problem gets worse especially if the card is old. As the intervals between reviews grow longer, cloze deletion flashcards become even less effective. When a card comes up for review, it becomes difficult to recall the specific word you entered as the answer when creating the card. You either memorize the card itself, and your mind goes, \"oh, it's that card, so the answer should be this.\" Or you just try to guess the word that goes in the blank. Another reason cloze cards are not good for language learning is that they aim to train you to produce the language. However, language learning is primarily about comprehending and acquiring the language, not just producing it. The exercise is to drill which words go with which sentences. It is based on the skill-building methodology and mindset. Skill building assumes that if you want to get good at expressing a certain idea, you should practice saying that idea repeatedly using a concrete formula, and then you'll be good to go. The problem with this approach is that you don't get good at saying something in your target language solely by practicing saying it over and over. Every word in a language has an entire web of nuances and connotations associated with it, and you should not attempt to use a word until you have fully acquired that web of connotations. Essentially, you cannot use a word until you have heard it said many times by different people in a myriad of different situations. Your brain first needs to internalize the word and acquire it through immersion. Often beginners ask questions like, \"what's the difference between 嫌い(きらい) and 憎い(にくい)\", and where should you use which. If you're trying to learn those differences through a cloze card, by trying to memorize in what situation you should say what word, you don't acquire an intuitive sense for exactly when one is used versus the other. It's going to lead to you probably using that word in cases where it doesn't fit. Cloze cards are rarely used in language learning, and for good reason. Your ultimate goal should be to learn to comprehend your target language so that you can acquire it naturally. So, if you want to get better at comprehending your target language, practice comprehending your target language in the SRS. For remembering vocabulary and grammar, TSCs and SWCs are more effective. TSCs challenge you to understand words in context. This works very well because it replicates real-life situations such as reading texts (novels, manga, websites, etc). SWCs test your understanding of specific words (nouns), helping you build a larger vocabulary in your target language. Filling in a cloze card is a very different mental activity from understanding a target language sentence. When you engage this \"filling in a cloze card\" type of activity, you're not activating your language acquisition part of the brain. Instead, you're using your crossword-solving skills. It's like a puzzle. This approach may help you answer intellectual questions, but it's not an effective way to learn a language. Getting good at answering these little mini crossword puzzles is a totally different skill than understanding native input in your language. So, there is no good application for cloze cards in general when learning languages. However, it's essential to remember that the cloze card template is in your tool belt. It is included in Anki by default, and you can use it when necessary. Cloze cards are just not for language learning. The screenshot below illustrates a good application of the cloze card template. It doesn't teach you how to say something in a language, it tests you on specific knowledge. The language used is irrelevant in this context. A cloze card.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#pros-and-cons-of-cloze-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Audio-based cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Audio-based cards, or audio cards, are a type of flashcard that features only an audio recording on the front side. On the back, you'll find the spoken piece in text form, along with its meaning. This type of card can be helpful for those who want to improve their listening skills by memorizing words based on how they sound.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#audio-based-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"How to review audio cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"When you review an audio card, the front side plays an audio file with a word, phrase, or sentence in the target language. Your task is to recognize it and understand what it means. Try to recall the meaning, then flip the card over to see the back side. If your guess was correct, press \"Good\". If you couldn't recall the right answer, press \"Again\".",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#how-to-review-audio-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pros and cons of audio cards",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"I think audio cards can be beneficial for some people. But I don't think they're the most essential or effective tool for the job. Personally, I didn't use them when I learned my target languages. To improve your listening skills, it's way more effective and fun to just listen to a lot of content, like watching anime, movies, or TV shows. One downside of audio cards is that they're easier to cheat on compared to text-based cards. When you listen to the same recordings in Anki, you might find yourself getting trained to answer those specific recordings instead of actually learning to recognize the sounds. This can lead to memorizing the answer based on the audio clip rather than truly hearing the sounds and understanding the language. It's also unclear whether audio-based cards can actually help develop your listening ability, since listening to the same audio clip over and over isn't the same as listening to different representations of words being spoken in authentic content.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#pros-and-cons-of-audio-cards",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Conclusion",
    "tags":[
      "guide",
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The lack of context makes word cards harder to learn, but they are quick to review and are effective for concrete nouns. Sentence cards take longer to complete your daily reviews, but because the target word has context, it makes meaning and usage of the word clear. Targeted sentence cards take the speed of word cards and combine it with the effectiveness of in-context learning with sentence cards, which makes them the best card template.",
    "url":"discussing-various-card-templates.html#conclusion",
    "parent":"Discussing various card templates"
  },
  {
    "title":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"In this article I want to talk about Anki add-ons I recommend using when studying Japanese. Anki add-ons are small Python programs that extend or change functionality of Anki. To install an add-on open Anki, go to \"Tools\" > \"Add-ons\" > \"Get add-ons\" and paste the code of the add-on. To find the code you need to open the corresponding add-on page on AnkiWeb and scroll down to the \"Download\" section.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html",
    "date":"2020-12-29"
  },
  {
    "title":"Install add-ons I use",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Anki has an option to install many add-ons at once. By following the instructions below you can install the add-ons I use in my everyday studies (not every add-on from this page). Open Anki and go to \"Tools\" > \"Add-ons\" > \"Get Add-ons...\". Paste multiple codes separated by spaces.1995103628 182970692 1021636467 1772763629 1715096333 1344485230 1151815987 1425504015 1255924302 819023663 196231552 Restart Anki.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#install-add-ons-i-use",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Add-ons worth trying",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#add-ons-worth-trying",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Japanese support for Anki The most important add-on you'll need is AJT Japanese. It's primary feature is generating furigana, which you're going to need every day. This add-on is similar to Japanese support. To configure the add-on, open Anki and select \"AJT\" > \"Japanese Options...\". The add-on can add pitch accent graphs to your cards. Note that Rikaitan has a similar feature, but this add-on can be used when Rikaitan doesn't have pitch graphs for the target word. It also lets you mass-generate pitches for all cards in your sentence bank.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#japanese",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Browser Play Button",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This add-on lets you play audio on your cards right from the Anki Browser window. Additionally, it has a configurable toolbar button and context menu actions.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#browser-play-button",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Flexible Grading",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Bring keyboard-driven reviewing to Anki 2.1. Use the Vim-keys of the keyboard to grade cards, answer cards from their front side and disable \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#flexible-grading",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Review Heatmap",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you look around you see that everybody uses this add-on. It visualizes your learning performance and encourages you to do your reps every day to keep your current streak. Set a goal for yourself - not a single empty square for the next 1000 days, and punish yourself if you won't be able to fulfill it. Maintaining long streaks is very easy.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#review-heatmap",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Speed Focus Mode",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"It is not uncommon for people to spend more time than necessary on their reviews. It is likely that they get stuck on some material for too long, their reading speed is slow, or they start mind-wandering in the process. With this add-on it is possible to stay focused and do your reviews quickly. The add-on takes a few days to adjust to, but after that you get used to reading your sentences faster. I don't recommend this add-on to beginners though. If you've just started mining sentences, you are lucky to read them at all, let alone doing it fast. At the intermediate stage the add-on is certainly useful, and becomes unnecessary once you're advanced. Screenshot. As the answers get automatically revealed, you can't spend too much time on a card unless you want to re-read the target word's definition. This also encourages you to add shorter sentences to your deck, which is a good practice.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#speed-focus-mode",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reset Card Scheduling",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This add-on turns selected cards back into new cards and erases any recorded lapse and repetition counts. It is very handy for dealing with leeches because you can reset a card and then change its contents to make sure that you won't forget it anymore, and then learn it again. Screenshot.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#reset-card-scheduling",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mortician",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Postpone difficult cards to the next day. Still can't remember a card after several Agains? Unfortunately, some knowledge just won't stick, and it happens randomly. Mortician will automatically bury cards that you've failed too many times in a given period of time. Usually the next day you find that the cards have become easy. That's how weird our brains are.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#mortician",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Quick Colour changing",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"mattvsjapan suggests marking the pitch with this add-on. You can select a word, press a keyboard shortcut, and the word will change its color to a value you defined in Settings. You can set multiple shortcuts, one for each color you need.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#quick-colour-changing",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji Grid",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Tells you exactly which kanji from a given deck you have learned and how many kanji you know overall. To use the add-on, Press \"AJT\" > \"Analyze known kanji...\". You can group the kanji by Kentei level, JLPT level, or school grade. Comes with the ability to limit results to the required field name and has a nice interface that shows kanji in a colored grid.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#kanji-grid",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Cross Profile Search and Import",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Main article: Cross Profile Search And Import With this add-on you can keep your subs2srs bank in a different profile and copy cards to your main profile on demand. It lets you keep your main profile clean and not overload AnkiWeb servers with hundreds of megabytes of media files. You can select decks to import from and search cards containing certain words.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#cross-profile-search-and-import",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Advanced Browser",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"An add-on that lets you sort your cards by a myriad of additional parameters and fields. Very useful when you want to sort a subs2srs deck based on its audio timestamps or if you want to sort a premade deck using a frequency list without the need to export it as a tsv file.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#advanced-browser",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"ResetEase",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"It is believed that the Ease factor can be harmful when memorizing items with similar intrinsic difficulties, such as sentence cards. After a card gets graded \"Again\" too many times, its Ease factor becomes smaller and prevents the card's interval from growing at a normal rate. ResetEase lets you control Ease of cards in your collection. Run this add-on once to set Ease of your cards to 131% and change Interval Modifier and Starting Ease of your decks accordingly. This is in my opinion the best way to solve the Ease Hell problem once and for all because in Anki any given card can't have Ease lower than 130%. After applying the settings you can uninstall the add-on. The Ease Factor Problem Guide to Anki Intervals and Learning Steps Settings.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#resetease",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learn now & Grade now",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This add-on adds new buttons to the card browser. The Learn now button immediately puts selected new cards in the learning queue. The Grade now button lets you grade selected cards without opening Reviewer. Easier than faffing about in the menus to do the same thing in 10 clicks. — Review on AnkiWeb Context menu. Learn Now moves selected new cards to the learning queue. The cards will be shown to you next time you go to the review screen. You can use this feature if you have a big collection of cards, and you find a card that you want to learn right away without manually repositioning it. Grade Now answers selected cards right from the Browser window. For example, imagine that you learn a new Japanese word. Then one day when reading a book in Japanese you see the word but can't recall it. In this case it would be rational to open Anki and fail the corresponding card. The card will be put in the relearning queue.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#learn-now-and-grade-now",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Add Hyperlink",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"As you know from the rule 18 of formulating knowledge: It is highly recommended that you include sources from which you have gathered your knowledge. The add-on makes it simple to insert hyperlinks to provide sources on your cards.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#add-hyperlink",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Edit Field During Review",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"An Anki add-on that makes it quicker and easier to edit cards while reviewing. You can edit cards while reviewing without having to open up a separate editor window. Simply click the field you want to edit and make changes directly on the card.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#edit-field-during-review",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Media Converter",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Convert images to WebP on-the-fly when you make Anki cards. As you're going to use Anki for years, expect your collection to slowly grow in size. It's nice to keep your media files small out of respect for people who run AnkiWeb servers as well as to make syncing faster. Paste Images As WebP helps to compress images on-the-fly when you make Anki cards. As the name says, it does that by converting images to WebP format which is famous for excellent compression. The add-on comes with a number of settings, namely you can define the desired resolution and quality. A video demo is available on YouTube. Settings.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#media-converter",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"MergeNotes",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The add-on is designed to fix premade subs2srs decks. Due to the way subs2srs works usually many sentences in the produced decks are split between two and more notes. MergeNotes lets you merge content of selected cards without copy-pasting. Context menu and settings.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#mergenotes",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Advanced Copy Fields",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"I use this add-on when editing Ankidrone decks. It helps mass-generate/replace/copy data. Repo.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#advanced-copy-fields",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ze Frozen Fields",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"When you add many cards at once manually, it lets you keep what's typed in a field. Note: This add-on is no longer needed on newer versions of Anki. You can achieve the same functionality by pressing the 📌 button.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#ze-frozen-fields",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"AnkiWebView Inspector",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This add-on adds a new button named Inspect to the right-click context menu in an Anki's WebView. For example, by clicking it in the Review screen you can see what HTML code Anki adds to your cards. It helps users tweak their Card Templates and developers make new Anki add-ons.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#ankiwebview-inspector",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Autocopy",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This simple add-on automatically copies text from a card to the clipboard. It is intended to assist in editing large amounts of cards. For example, when you select a fresh subs2srs (or mpvacious) card in the Anki browser, it will copy the sentence to the clipboard. Then you can analyze the sentence using Rikaitan Search and add dictionary definitions to the card. Autocopy - Settings.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#autocopy",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki Preview Reloader",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"This add-on helps when editing card templates. It allows you to edit your card templates in Vscodium and automatically reload the preview.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#anki-preview-reloader",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"True Retention",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Adds more info to the \"Stats\" window. Depending on the value of your True Retention for the past month you can adjust your Interval Modifier. Aim at around 75-90%. If you remember your cards too well it's worth increasing your IM and studying more cards a day or spending more time immersing. This is how True Retention is calculated: tr = passed / (passed + flunked) where passed is a number of review cards that you answered hard, good or easy, and flunked is a number of review cards that you answered again on. Note: on Anki 2.1.35+ you need to hold Shift down when you click \"Stats\" in order to view add-on based stats information. If you open the new Stats window, True Retention will be available without having to install this add-on.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#true-retention",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Add-ons to avoid",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"All Anki add-ons by design add some new functionality to the program. But among them are those that just feel like a fifth wheel and don't bring a lot of value for language learners. Nevertheless, they're popular, so I might as well mention them.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#add-ons-to-avoid",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji Colorizer",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you want to add stroke diagrams to your cards, use the KanjiStrokeOrders font instead. The font can be stored in your collection.media folder and used to display kanji on your writing cards. It comes with the example mining deck or can be downloaded separately from here. Example mpvacious writing card.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#kanji-colorizer",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Awesome TTS",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The plugin adds computer-generated audio to your Anki cards using text-to-speech. Obviously, listening to robotic voice is not ideal when you're learning a language. To acquire phonetics of your target language you need to listen to native speech, you don't want to pick up weird habits from the robot. And due to abundance of voiced native media in Japanese and the ability to mine sentences with mpv scripts there won't be many times when you actually need it.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#awesome-tts",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Add-ons that modify Anki Scheduler",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Basically everything that modifies the scheduler is completely unreliable and prone to breakage. If an add-on tunes the Ease factor on a card by card basis, you can't predict your retention and will likely be forgetting more cards. If an add-on modifies the Due value, a card may come up for review too early or too late, resulting in more forgetting. I provide some examples below. Straight Reward messes your Anki cards when you rate them \"Good\" or \"Easy\". The idea is that with the add-on your Ease will eventually recover after a lapse. After trying it for a week with default Anki settings I found that it simply doesn't work, and my cards aren't modified in any way. So the only thing I can recommend you is to set your Ease to 131% with RefoldEase and keep your Anki setup simple. Load Balancer prevents you from reviewing your cards on the right day, when they should be reviewed. Auto Ease Factor is similar to Straight Reward. It adjusts ease factor on cards automatically after each rep. Terrible idea.",
    "url":"useful-anki-add-ons-for-japanese.html#add-ons-that-modify-anki-scheduler",
    "parent":"Useful Anki add-ons for Japanese"
  },
  {
    "title":"Setting up Anki",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Anki is a Spaced repetition system (SRS), a program which allows you to create, manage and review flashcards. Many language learners find Anki useful to quickly memorize (front-load) core vocabulary of their target language (TL), as well as help them remember new material later. One of the downsides of Anki is that it can be a little difficult to learn how to use. Depending on how you use it, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying or make using Anki a living hell for yourself. If you find yourself confused about how Anki works, it is recommended that you read the Anki manual. However, because it's highly detailed and technical, the bulk of this article will focus on explaining the most useful Anki settings to help you get things up and running as quickly as possible.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html",
    "date":"2020-12-28"
  },
  {
    "title":"Installation",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"There are several ways to install Anki. Using your distribution's package manager (pacman, apt, dnf, etc.). Using pipx, a software installer for Python programs. By downloading a release from the official website. The first method guarantees that you'll have the right dependencies installed, but you may get an old version of Anki. Distro maintainers are not very good at keeping Anki up-to-date, although on rolling release GNU distributions this is not as noticeable. The second method guarantees that you get the latest version, but you need to make sure you have all the dependencies installed. And the third method is for operating systems that don't have package managers. Please don't install Anki via FlatPak, Snap packages or other non-native package managers. People have been reporting various problems connected to these installation methods. If you are running Wayland, please upgrade to X11 (Xlibre) to avoid possible issues.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#installation",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Using your package manager",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"On Arch Linux and other pacman-based distributions Anki is available in the official repositories. Install Anki with sudo pacman -S anki as any other package. If you're not an Arch Linux user, I'm sure you'll find Anki in repositories of your distribution. To find Anki for your OS you can use pkgs.org. Note: pkgs.org requires JS to be enabled. Ubuntu users can use the App Center to install Anki. However, be aware that under the hood it installs a Snap package. In addition, your collection will be stored in ~/snap/anki-desktop/ instead of the usual ~/.local/share/Anki2. Debian users and users of other stable distros should note that outdated versions of Anki work poorly with most add-ons, especially new ones. Use a version released at least 6 months ago or newer.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#using-your-package-manager",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Using pipx",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The latest version can be installed with the aqt package. $ pipx install \"aqt[qt6]\" Notes pipx places executable files in ~/.local/bin/ by default. Don't forget to add this directory to the PATH. To run Anki, type anki in the terminal and press Enter. However, having a desktop entry is more convenient. Download this file and save it in ~/.local/share/applications. If after installing Anki with pipx Fcitx doesn't work, add export QT_PLUGIN_PATH=/usr/lib/qt/plugins to the list of environment variables. Anki depends on mpv to play audio. You have to install it separately with pacman or another package manager. You may have to install PyQt5 (PyQt6) as well. Anki 2.1.50 and later additionally requires installing PyQtWebEngine and PyQt5-stubs (PyQt6-stubs) from PyPI. PyQt5 (PyQt6) and PyQtWebEngine can be also obtained from the official Arch Linux repositories. You can tell pipx to install a specific version. This is handy when the latest version malfunctions. pipx install \"aqt==2.1.60\" There are two versions, depending on which GUI toolkit is used, Qt6 and Qt5. You can change the toolkit like this: $ pipx install 'aqt[qt5]' $ pipx install 'aqt[qt6]' Normally, this is not needed.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#using-pipx",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"From the official website",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If your operating system has a package manager, like most GNU+Linux distros, it is not recommended to install directly from the official website, since a package manager can automate downloading, installing, uninstalling and updating. But some operating systems, especially Windows-like OSes such as ReactOS, don't have this feature. In this case, head to apps.ankiweb.net and read the instructions there.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#from-the-official-website",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Troubleshooting",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you're still unable to install or run Anki, refer to Anki Manual and Anki Betas guide. Some people report that they see a black screen on startup, and that you should run Anki with the no sandbox parameter: anki --no-sandbox to avoid it.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#troubleshooting",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Sync your mobile device",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"By signing up for AnkiWeb you can keep your cards synchronized across multiple machines. You can also sync between devices. Install AnkiDroid on your Android device and sync your collection. This will allow you to review your flashcards when you're outside and don't have access to your computer. I prefer downloading the latest alpha from GitHub because the releases on F-Droid tend to be slow. To sync your collection on desktop, press Y or click \"Sync\" on the toolbar.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#sync-your-mobile-device",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Import an example mining deck",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"After you install Anki, you need to set up a Note Type to keep your flashcards formatted as you like. Anki comes with a few basic Note Types, but they aren't suited for learning Japanese. Because making your own Note Type is a tedious process consisting of essentially adding the fields you need and copy-pasting HTML and CSS, I recommend you to import a pre-made mining deck. A sample mining deck can be found here: AnkiWeb Mirror",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#import-an-example-mining-deck",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Japanese language support",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Press \"Tools\" > \"Add-ons\" > \"Get Add-ons\" to download and install the AJT Japanese add-on. Then restart. The add-on is bundled with Mecab, so you don't need to install any additional dependencies.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#japanese-language-support",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki settings",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"In Anki you can learn languages, biology, math, physics, etc., and Anki isn't optimized for any of them in particular. To optimize Anki for language learning I recommend the following settings.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#anki-settings",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Preferences",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Preferences control behavior of your Anki collection. They apply to all decks. You can access preferences by going to Tools > Preferences… on Anki’s main window.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#preferences",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Appearance",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Video driver Vulkan is supposed to be the latest and greatest thing out there. If you encounter visual glitches, set this to OpenGL or Software. Style Enabling Native styles allows the user to apply their preferred kvantum theme and disables the childish Apple-esque theme that is set by default. Minimalist mode Newer versions of Anki come with an absolutely horrendous UI. The minimalist mode was added after a widespread backlash from the users. Enable it to debloat the UI.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#appearance",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Review",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Learn ahead limit I recommend keeping the value close to the default of 20 minutes. Mine is 35 minutes. When you finish your daily reviews and new cards, Anki will start ignoring intervals of cards in the learning queue less than this value and will start showing the cards to you right away. This is good for cards with small intervals because it lets you finish your reps without breaking the flow and waiting for your cards to become ready to be reviewed. But if you set the Learn ahead limit too high, cards with longer learning steps will be shown to you too early. Keeping the value on the lower side enforces the wait time of your steps. If you set this to 0, Anki will always wait the full delay, so it's not optimal either. Show play buttons on cards with audio When learning a foreign language, adding audio files to your flashcards is essential for learning accurate pronunciations. Spacebar (or Enter) also answers card I recommend disabling this checkbox. It is possible to accidentally press Space twice when grading. It's also confusing when one key serves two different purposes at the same time.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#review",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Editing",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Paste clipboard images as PNG Disable. PNG images take more disk space than WebP or Avif images. To paste images as WebP, install this addon.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#editing",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Syncing",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Here you need to ensure that your profile is synced with AnkiWeb. Log in and enable synchronize audio and images.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#syncing",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Third-party services",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Ignore this tab because it suggests using non-free network services. This tab should be removed from Anki completely.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#third-party-services",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Deprecated Show new cards after reviews. You always want to finish your reviews first, and you don't want new cards to slow you down. You can choose Show new cards before reviews if you are consistent and feel confident that you will never have a backlog of Anki reviews. Mixing is probably the worst way and will confuse you when a new card pops up after a streak of mature cards. Note: This option has been moved in newer versions. Anki 2021 scheduler. This is a new scheduler that comes with Anki 2.1.45+. If your version of Anki doesn't show this option, it has been already enabled by default. Otherwise, make sure to enable it. Preferences.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#other",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Options Groups",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Each deck has an Options Group attached to it. Options Groups define deck-specific settings. Every deck can have different settings depending on its Options Group. The sub-deck options will override the parent deck options. Click Deck > Options to access Options Groups settings. You can hit Manage to create additional options groups. Warning: If you're running Anki 2.1.45+, you will be presented with a new \"Options Groups\" settings dialog. As usual, Anki developers are making the app worse with each release. The new UI is bloated and is built with HTML and JavaScript instead of native widgets as before. If you want to bring up the old version of the dialog, click \"Deck Options\" while holding Shift. Consider creating separate Options Groups for each type of material you learn. You can assign each Options group to multiple decks. This is useful for making small adjustments to individual decks based on the cards the decks store. New menu The new Options Groups settings menu can be seen on Anki starting from 2.1.45. The options are described later in this article. Settings. Below are the options I recommended using.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#options-groups",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Daily limits",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Daily limits. New cards/day In general, this option controls how many cards you learn each day, but you can always learn more if you want. The default value of 20 cards is very reasonable and manageable for most users. However, if you feel overwhelmed by the amount of reviews you have to do, lower it to about 10 new cards a day. Doing more cards is also possible if you can keep up with the review load, but generally in the AJATT community it is advised to learn no more than 30 new cards a day. I keep my setting at 0. This is because I use Learn Now Button to manually pick and learn cards from my Sentence Bank. For me personally it's better than having Anki decide for me. Maximum reviews/day This value sets an arbitrary cap on the amount of reviews you can do each day. If the cap is low, your due cards won't magically disappear after you've done with the reviews. Instead, they will form a backlog of likely forgotten cards. Because you want to review all your due cards every day, set this at a high value like 9999.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#daily-limits",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"New cards",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"New cards. New cards — new UI. Learning steps This is the number of times you have to answer good on the card before it graduates. Pressing Again on a new card resets the learning steps. I recommend beginners to stick to the default learning steps of 1 10. When you get more familiar with Anki, you can add your custom steps and experiment with them. But don't overdo it. Too many steps will make you spend too much time in Anki for no substantial gain in retention. The learn ahead option set in the previous section will make sure that you won't be shown cards with large steps too early. You can experiment with so-called micro steps if you see that remembering new cards is more difficult than you thought. This means specifying an interval in seconds instead of minutes. For the new settings menu you just type 30s for 30 seconds. For the old menu you need to specify a decimal like this: 0.5. Graduating interval Every new card eventually passes its final learning step and graduates, becoming a review card. This parameter sets the first interval that a card gets after it graduates. 1 day means that you'll have to review the card the next day.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#new-cards",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Reviews",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Reviews. Most settings that were here have been moved to Advanced due to an unfortunate UI update.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#reviews",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Lapses",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Lapses. Lapses — new UI. Steps (in minutes) Works similar to the setting in the New Cards tab, except it’s for cards you've pressed “Again” on. It affects how well you will relearn your lapsed cards. Beginners should set one learning step and observe their experience. The default of 10 minutes is okay, but I prefer a slightly bigger one. Later you can experiment with more learning steps. Leech threshold and Leech action Leeches are cards that you keep on forgetting and relearning over and over. Keep the leech threshold low (4-6 lapses) and suspend the cards when they become leeches. You have to properly deal with leeches instead of letting them rotate in your deck and slow you down. Possible ways to deal with leeches will be explained in How to review.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#lapses",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Display order",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Here most settings are not that significant. They control how cards are ordered when you review them. Feel free to experiment for yourself. Display order — new UI. New/review order New/review order appears to be the new equivalent of the Show new cards after reviews setting that was formerly under Preferences. To maintain the same behavior, set it to \"Show after reviews\". You always want to finish your reviews first before learning new cards. New cards may slow you down and prevent you from finishing your reviews. If you have New cards/day set to 0, this setting should have no effect. Review sort order In newer versions of Anki (24.11+) descending retrievability is recommended. But this option is not for everybody because it will always try to show easy cards first. According to Dae, Decks can be sorted by descending retrievability. Simulations have shown this is a better choice when you have a backlog, and this sort order is likely to become the default in the future.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#display-order",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Advanced",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"FSRS FSRS is a new scheduler that replaces the default one (named SM2). For some reason the setting is located in \"Options Groups\", but it applies to the entire Collection (profile). Leave it disabled. FSRS isn't mature enough to say it's better than the default scheduler. Update: FSRS appears to be a dead end. The best solution would be to deprecate it and invent a completely new scheduling algorithm. I don't think FSRS will ever be \"ready\". Even its creators have admitted it. One community member tried FSRS and reported: I tried FSRS once. After about six months it finally optimized to roughly match the early learning intervals I was already using with SM2, and they were actually slightly shorter, so it was more work. To get there I had to endure its dumb default behavior: 1d → 8d → \"you got it wrong\" rescheduling, or on some older cards it did 18d → 7 months(!), and then of course I didn't remember it when it came back. It was a massive waste of time. Even after six months, FSRS had worse \"ease hell\" than SM2. It fell into a weird loop of 5d → 5d → 5d intervals repeatedly, and sometimes the next interval was shorter than the previous one (e.g., 15d → 11d), even though I'd just recalled it after 15 days. That was supposedly the \"lots of data, well optimized\" endpoint, and I gave up because it was wasting so much time. Maximum interval Intervals of your cards can never increase beyond this limit. I advise setting it as big as possible. The default is 36500 days, which is equal to 100 years. However, you can decrease this to a smaller number if you want to ensure long-term retention. Starting ease Every card has a property called Ease factor. Over time the Ease factor can change and cause negative side effects. Set the Starting Ease to 131% to avoid the side effects. More about it later. Easy bonus and Hard interval Extra multipliers that are applied to a review card's interval when you rate it \"Easy\" or \"Hard\". Ignore these settings as you should never use the \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons and don't need to introduce additional variables in the grading process. Hard and Easy buttons. The \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" buttons have counter-intuitive effects on Anki's algorithm, which causes long-term problems with Ease of your cards. Note: AJT Flexible Grading can hide unwanted buttons. It is covered in greater detail later. An alternative way to make \"Hard\", \"Good\" and \"Easy\" buttons behave the same would be using the V3 scheduler's custom scheduling mechanism. Interval modifier A multiplier that is applied to a review interval when answering Again. When you answer Good on a card, its interval is recalculated. New interval = current interval * Card's ease * Interval Modifier By default, new interval is 2.5 * last interval. At its default value of 100%, Interval Modifier does nothing. However, this is not what you want because you've just lowered Starting Ease to 131% in a previous setting. To restore the balance bump Interval Modifier up to 192%. 1.92 * 1.31 is roughly equal to 2.5. Later after you've used Anki for a couple of months and have had high retention rate, you can increase the value further and do fewer reviews. If you forget too many cards, it is recommended to lower it a bit. New interval You often still somewhat remember a word in Japanese even if you fail the card. A different context or another word, or studying it on a different day may jog your memory. Thus, we don't need to fully penalize a fail here. For example, if you use a new interval of 50%, when you lapse a card and relearn it, the interval won't be reset back to 1 day. It will be half of the previous interval. The recommended range in the AJATT community is between 50 and 75%. For a word cards deck you may set it to about 30-40% because word cards are noticeably harder than sentence cards. I explain differences between card templates later.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#advanced",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Synchronizing large collections",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Don't sync your collection with AnkiWeb if you store large files in it or if you are a heavy user of subs2srs. subs2srs decks take a lot of disk space. Use a different Anki profile to store them. The extra profile should not be synced. To make multiple profiles, press \"File\" > \"Switch profile\". Alternatively, use a personal Anki sync server. anki-sync-server is a sync server for Anki which you can sync against instead of AnkiWeb.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#synchronizing-large-collections",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Ease Hell",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Ease Hell is when Anki gradually lowers Ease factors of your flashcards, assuming they are more difficult than they actually are. A card with a low Ease factor has to be reviewed more often. As a result, you are forced to review too many cards each day. Anki decreases the Ease factor of a card every time you fail it or answer \"Hard\". This leads to intervals growing slower, and eventually most of your cards end up having a low Ease factor. This is when you are in Ease Hell. Similarly, pressing \"Easy\" causes the Ease to increase. The intervals of such cards grow faster than normal, which leads to forgetting in the future. Side effects of each answer button: Again - Ease decreases by 20%. Hard - Ease decreases by 15%. Good - No side effect. Easy - Ease increases by 15%. The reason I recommend never pressing \"Hard\" and \"Easy\" is to avoid the side effects. But this still leaves the problem with the \"Again\" button unsolved. The lowest possible Starting Ease in Anki is 131%. By setting Starting Ease to the lowest possible value while simultaneously increasing Interval Modifier you make sure Ease factors of your cards can't decrease anymore, essentially fixing the issue. There's a legitimate possibility that some cards in your collection are more difficult than the others. To account for that fact I recommend having a low Leech threshold. The hard cards are going to be suspended sooner. Once a card becomes a leech, you should investigate why it happened. Open the Anki Browser and type tag:leech to display your leeches. If you've been using Anki for a while before reading this page then you'll need to update your collection to reset the Ease factor of the older cards. To update older cards, use the ResetEase add-on. More about the Ease Hell: Guide to Anki Intervals and Learning Steps The Ease Factor Problem Ease Hell in Anki",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#ease-hell",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"GTK theme",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Anki uses the Qt toolkit. If you're not running Plasma (or possibly another Qt-based desktop environment) Qt applications won't be styled according to the GTK theme you may have selected. There are multiple ways to tell Anki to use your GTK theme. But before you proceed, go to \"Preferences\" > \"Appearance\" and make sure that \"Style\" is set to \"Native\".",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#gtk-theme",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"qt5-styleplugins",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If your version of Anki uses Qt5, install qt5-styleplugins. If your version of Anki uses Qt6, install qt6gtk2. Set the following environment variable: export QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=gtk2 Then re-login or reboot.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#qt5-styleplugins",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"kvantum",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"Install the requirements: kvantum, qt5ct, qt6ct. $ sudo pacman -S kvantum qt5ct qt6ct Launch kvantummanager, select \"Change/Delete Theme\" and select your theme from the combo box. Press \"Use this theme\", then \"Quit\". Open qt5ct, then qt6ct. Select kvantum as theme engine. Apply changes. Set the following environment variable: If your version of Anki uses Qt6: export QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt6ct If your version of Anki uses Qt5: export QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt5ct Then re-login or reboot. This method consistently works if Anki uses Qt5. Currently, there are problems with Qt6. To work around it, install the Qt5 version of Anki (and/or uninstall PyQt6-* packages with pip if they were installed) and instead of setting the environment variable system-wide, set it locally. It can be achieved by launching Anki like this: QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt5ct anki To make the setting persist, in the .desktop file (see pip install notes) change Exec= to: Exec=env QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt5ct anki %f",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#kvantum",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Trying different versions",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you want to install and test multiple versions of Anki at the same time, use the following functions. Add them to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc. Install a specific version. For example, run anki_test_install 2.1.45 to install Anki 2.1.45. anki_test_install() { local -r version=${1:?No version provided.} local -r dir=~/.local/share/anki_builds/\"anki_$version\" ( mkdir -p -- \"$dir\" && cd -- \"$dir\" || exit python -m venv --system-site-packages pyenv ./pyenv/bin/pip3 install --upgrade pip ./pyenv/bin/pip3 install --upgrade --pre \"aqt==$version\" ) } Run a specific version. This script uses dmenu to ask what version you want to run. anki_test_run() { local -r dir=~/.local/share/anki_builds if [[ $* ]]; then local -r choice=$* else local -r choice=$(find \"$dir\" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -printf '%f\\n' | dmenu) fi if [[ -n $choice ]]; then (cd -- \"$dir/$choice\" && ./pyenv/bin/anki) fi } These functions are available on my GitHub.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#trying-different-versions",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Unicode normalization",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"If you are studying certain 旧字体 characters, you may have noticed that when you put them in Anki, they are automatically converted to their 新字体 versions. For example, you make a card with 「禎」, and when you open the card again, the kanji is replaced with 「禎」. If you are studying 旧字体 characters, including certain 人名用漢字, and wish to prevent them from being converted into modern equivalents, open the debug console by pressing Ctrl+Shift+; and paste the following. Press Ctrl+Enter to apply. mw.col.conf[\"normalize_note_text\"] = False This setting should be applied to each collection (Anki profile) individually. Read this Anki forum post for reference.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#unicode-normalization",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"Note Types for Anki",
    "tags":[
      "anki"
    ],
    "body":"The AJATT community has developed a variety of note types to use in Anki for different purposes, including language learning. We store all of our note types in one Git repository for convenience. You can find the repository on GitHub.",
    "url":"setting-up-anki.html#note-types-for-anki",
    "parent":"Setting up Anki"
  },
  {
    "title":"EPWING dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"EPWING is a dictionary format that was commonly used in portable electronic dictionaries. To view EPWINGs you need Qolibri, a dictionary viewer that lets you search multiple EPWING files at once so you immediately get multiple definitions for every word. This article provides download links for EPWING dictionary files.",
    "url":"epwing-dictionaries.html",
    "date":"2020-12-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Downloads",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Our community member, Epistularum, made a collection of EPWING dictionaries. Download links Magnet Torrent file Note: you need a torrent client to download Torrent files. Other sources Packs: EPWING Collection on Nyaa EPWINGs.rar on MediaFire Mega by BritVSJapan Standalone dictionaries: NHK pitch accent dictionary EPWING. A very useful EPWING with pitch accent information. Shinmeikai EPWING with pitch accent Kenkyusha J-E Dictionary",
    "url":"epwing-dictionaries.html#downloads",
    "parent":"EPWING dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"MDX dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict is another dictionary lookup program useful for learning Japanese. GoldenDict supports MDX dictionaries. It can also read EPWING files, but that feature is clunky in my experience. Qolibri is much better for EPWING. This article provides download links for MDX dictionary files.",
    "url":"mdx-dictionaries.html",
    "date":"2020-12-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Downloads",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Epistularum made a collection of MDX dictionaries for GoldenDict. Download links Large version (66 GiB) Magnet. Torrent file. To reduce the size, you can exclude optional directories, such as: 11 他言語 (other languages). 13 書道 (calligraphy). Small version (19 GiB) Magnet. Torrent file. Note: you need a torrent client to download Torrent files. Other sources A collection of dictionaries is stored in Freemdict Cloud. It has a wider range of bilingual dictionaries. A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar Japanese Wikipedia",
    "url":"mdx-dictionaries.html#downloads",
    "parent":"MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Large version (66 GiB)",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Magnet. Torrent file. To reduce the size, you can exclude optional directories, such as: 11 他言語 (other languages). 13 書道 (calligraphy).",
    "url":"mdx-dictionaries.html#large-version-66-gib",
    "parent":"MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Small version (19 GiB)",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "mdx"
    ],
    "body":"Magnet. Torrent file.",
    "url":"mdx-dictionaries.html#small-version-19-gib",
    "parent":"MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rikaitan dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"This article provides download links for dictionary files for Rikaitan. Rikaitan is a browser extension with a pop-up dictionary that lets you look up unknown words by hovering your mouse. Follow this setup guide to install Rikaitan. To make Anki cards, don't forget to install AnkiConnect.",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html",
    "date":"2020-12-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"Beginner dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"For beginners, Rikaitan provides a set of basic bilingual dictionaries. Learners can use these for the first few months, then delete them after going monolingual (covered later). To enable Rikaitan lookups, you must download and import at least one dictionary. Downloads JMdict (English). JMdict is the most common Japanese–English dictionary for beginners. JMdict_english.zip. This is the JMdict but without example sentences. JMdict_english_with_examples.zip. This is the version of JMdict with example sentences from the Tatoeba Project. Note that Tatoeba doesn't always have correct example sentences. JMdict (Other Languages). Non-English JMdict files have fewer entries than the English version. Even if your native language is not English, Consider importing English too for better coverage. JMdict_dutch.zip JMdict_french.zip JMdict_german.zip JMdict_hungarian.zip JMdict_russian.zip JMdict_slovenian.zip JMdict_spanish.zip JMdict_swedish.zip JMdict_forms.zip. This is a version of JMdict that includes only the alternate forms of each entry. This is useful for conjugation lookup for those who do not wish to have any dictionary definitons, and is unnecessary if you are using the regular JMdict. JMnedict.zip. JMnedict is a dictionary of Japanese names. It tells you how to read names of people, places, etc. KANJIDIC. Kanjidic is a kanji dictionary. KANJIDIC_english.zip KANJIDIC_french.zip KANJIDIC_portuguese.zip KANJIDIC_spanish.zip Kanjium Pitch Accent dictionary. Made from Kanjium data. BCCWJ Frequency Dictionary (large, small). A frequency dictionary based on the Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese.",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#beginner-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mainline dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"An archive with dictionaries for Rikaitan can be downloaded by following the link below. Download links Download. Mirror. Sources The dictionaries were compiled from various places. Below is a list of public folders that were used. This Mega folder Shared by mattvsjapan Shinmeikai5 Pitch Accent Dictionary Go to Rikaitan settings and select the \"Dictionaries\" tab on the left side, then click the button \"Configure installed and enabled dictionaries…\". Press \"Import\" to import a new dictionary.",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#mainline-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"About",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Each folder in the main archive contains a file called \"README.md\". Open it to see additional information about the dictionaries.",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#about",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kaikki",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"kaikki-to-rikaitan is a catalog of dictionary files converted from wiktionary data from kaikki.org. Download links GitHub Releases. AWS Releases.",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#kaikki",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Don't import all Rikaitan dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"You need multiple dictionaries because Japanese-Japanese dictionaries have gaps. Some words appear only in specific dictionaries. A few examples: 夢海鼠 is only in 日本国語大辞典. 禿同 is only in 実用日本語表現辞典. Though you might think that using every dictionary in Rikaitan is a good idea and load up all of them, I would advise you not to do so. Sometimes the word that you're trying to look up isn't the one that comes up first in the dictionary. If you want to find it, you have to scroll down. And if you have many dictionaries imported, this is going to be pretty annoying. Each installed dictionary enlarges Rikaitan's database and can add several GiB to disk usage. So I recommend you keep as few dictionaries in Rikaitan as possible and use Qolibri or GoldenDict for words you can't find.",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#dont-import-all-rikaitan-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Custom CSS for images",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"If you want to use デジタル大辞泉 or 旺文社国語辞典, images may render incorrectly unless you append the following rules to your Popup CSS. If this happens, go to Rikaitan settings > \"Appearance\" > \"Configure custom CSS...\". Popup CSS for images .gloss-image-description { text-align: center; } .definition-item-content, .gloss-image-link { max-width: 100%; } .gloss-image-container { background: none !important; } .gloss-image-link[data-has-aspect-ratio=\"true\"] .gloss-image { position: static; max-height: 200px; } .gloss-image-link[data-has-aspect-ratio=\"true\"] .gloss-image-aspect-ratio-sizer { display: none; } .gloss-image-container-overlay { display: none; } img { will-change: transform; }",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#custom-css-for-images",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Custom CSS for Kanji Dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan's kanji dictionary viewer contains a lot of redundant information, such as duplicated tags, stroke order diagrams, and empty table rows for each entry. To make the kanji entries more concise when using multiple kanji dictionaries, you can add some CSS rules. In \"Settings\" > \"Popup Appearance\" > \"Configure custom CSS...\" paste the following CSS to condense displayed entries. CSS for kanji /* remove misc dict classifications/codepoints/stats */ .kanji-glyph-data > tbody > tr:nth-child(n + 3) { display: none; } /* remove stroke diagram, freq, header for next entries */ div.entry[data-type='kanji']:nth-child(n + 2) .kanji-glyph-container, div.entry[data-type='kanji']:nth-child(n + 2) [data-section-type='frequencies'], div.entry[data-type='kanji']:nth-child(n + 2) table.kanji-glyph-data > tbody > tr:first-child { display: none; } /* remove 'No data found' */ .kanji-info-table-item-value-empty { display: none; } /* reduce extra padding */ .kanji-glyph-data, div.entry[data-type='kanji'], div.entry[data-type='kanji']:nth-child(n + 2) .kanji-glyph-data > tbody > tr > *, .kanji-glyph-data dl.kanji-readings-japanese, div.entry[data-type='kanji']:nth-child(n + 2) .kanji-glyph-data dl.kanji-readings-chinese[data-count='0'] { padding-top: 0 !important; padding-bottom: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0 !important; } /* remove horizontal lines */ .entry + .entry[data-type='kanji'], div#dictionary-entries > div.entry:nth-child(n + 2) .kanji-glyph-data > tbody > tr > * { border-top: none !important; } /* change decimal list */ .kanji-gloss-list { list-style-type: circle; }",
    "url":"rikaitan-dictionaries.html#custom-css-for-kanji-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Rikaitan dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"In this article I provide download links for dictionary files. These files can be opened with various programs, including the ones mentioned below. They're almost indispensable for any language learner. Having them will help you learn new words and get closer to fluency. So, let's get started!",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html",
    "date":"2020-12-13"
  },
  {
    "title":"EPWING",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"EPWING is a dictionary format that was commonly used in portable electronic dictionaries. To view EPWING files you need Qolibri, a dictionary viewer that lets you search multiple EPWING files at once so for every word you look up you immediately get multiple definitions. EPWING",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#epwing",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"MDX",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"GoldenDict is another dictionary lookup program useful for learning languages. GoldenDict supports MDX dictionaries. It can read EPWING dictionaries too, but that feature is clunky in my experience. Qolibri is much better for EPWING. MDX",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#mdx",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Rikaitan",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Rikaitan is a web browser extension with a pop-up dictionary that lets you look up unknown words by hovering your mouse. To get Rikaitan follow this setup guide. To make Anki cards, don't forget to install AnkiConnect. Rikaitan",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#rikaitan",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Explaining available dictionaries",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#explaining-available-dictionaries",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Bilingual",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Bilingual dictionaries provide a rough tool to help you get by until you switch to monolingual dictionaries. You usually only use bilingual dictionaries at the beginning and stop using them after a few months of study. At this stage JMdict is enough for most people. If you want to explore other available dictionaries, see the recommendations below. I recommend getting the following dictionaries. JMdict. The same dictionary that used on Jisho.org. JMdict doesn't have example sentences. If you need them, try the resources listed here. 新和英. A dictionary made by Japanese people for Japanese people. You can use it in reverse to learn Japanese words. For speakers of other languages. 研究社露和辞典. A Russian-Japanese Dictionary. Russian speakers praise it a lot. Has example sentences. Япон-Монгол толь бичиг. A Japanese-Mongolian dictionary.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#bilingual",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Monolingual",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Once you've started the monolingual transition, it is time to use real dictionaries. JMdict is limited and only contains simple translations, many of which can be misleading because it's rare for a word in one language to have an exact, one-to-one match in another. Monolingual dictionaries are powerful because they provide detailed definitions and usage examples. With them you can learn the target language in the target language. Pick 3 or 4 monolingual dictionaries you like and import them into your dictionary program. Don't import all dictionaries into Rikaitan at once. It gets clunky and unusable quickly. Japanese-to-Japanese definitions are longer than Japanese-to-English ones, and it's easy to clutter Rikaitan popups with dozens of entries. GoldenDict and Qolibri can import entire dictionary catalogs and handle many dictionaries much better than Rikaitan. Some people say dictionary A has clearer definitions than dictionary B. In reality differences are minor, especially if you're already quite good at Japanese. Almost all Japanese-Japanese dictionaries copy each other, changing a word or two to avoid copyright issues. Provided example sentences are often identical. 新明解 is probably the only monolingual dictionary with notably original definitions, but it's harder to follow because it often backtracks. If you're new to monolingual dictionaries, expect a few weeks to adjust. Most recommended: Short list of dictionaries commonly recommended in the AJATT community. 大辞林 新明解 大辞泉 明鏡 These are generic names. Often the same dictionary has many versions, in which case the names can differ as well. For example, 大辞林 and スーパー大辞林, or 大辞泉 and デジタル大辞泉. Pick any version you prefer. 大辞林 and 大辞泉 are quite similar, have good definitions and many entries. Prefer デジタル大辞泉 over the original 大辞泉. It has an extra 120,000 entries and contains images. 明鏡 and 新明解 use simpler language and are considered beginner-friendly. 新明解 has fewer entries and a convoluted definition structure with redirections marked by △ and （）, which force the reader to jump around. But it's mostly very good. 大辞林 and 新明解 include pitch accent information, so you may want to import them first. Additional dictionaries: 旺文社国語辞典. A dictionary by Oubunsha. Advertised as easy to understand for people new to monolingual dictionaries. However, some definitions use harder vocabulary than 大辞林. The file for Rikaitan is large because it contains images. There's a version without images called 旺文社国語辞典 第十一版 画像無し. Weblio古語辞典. Archaism dictionary from Weblio. 新辞林. A simplified version of 大辞林. 日本国語大辞典. The biggest Japanese dictionary in the world. 精選版 日本国語大辞典 小学館 国語大辞典 岩波書店 岩波国語辞典 広辞苑 故事ことわざの辞典. Proverb dictionary.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#monolingual",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Frequency lists",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Frequency lists are special dictionaries that show how often a word appears in a given corpus. In Rikaitan they are shown as tags below headwords. Different frequency dictionaries use different notations. In some, a higher number means higher frequency. In others, the opposite. Use these to judge whether it's worth learning a word. More frequent words are generally more useful. Recommended: Netflix frequency list Anime & Jdrama frequency list These are must-haves if you watch dramas or anime a lot. Additional frequency lists: Innocent corpus. Based on 5000+ novels. Narou. Top 300 Narou stories. VN. Visual Novels. I don't recommend VNs because most are proprietary, but the frequency list may help you spot common words in other types of content, for example in manga and anime. BCCWJ. Based on Long Unit Word list data. Daijirin. Words that appear in the 大辞林 monolingual dictionary. Useful if you go monolingual and need to prioritize dictionary vocabulary.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#frequency-lists",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Grammar",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Dictionaries for Rikaitan that help you look up Japanese grammar. Nihongo no Sensei. Grammar by JLPT levels. Entries are in Japanese and Chinese. Has example sentences. Data comes from nihongo no sensei. 日本語NET. Grammar by JLPT levels. Entries are in Japanese and English. Has example sentences with English translations. Data comes from nihongokyoshi-net. 日本語表現文型辞典. English explanations. Has examples sentences. Data comes from donnatoki. Dictionary of Japanese grammar. Entries are in English. Has example sentences.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#grammar",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Pitch accent",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"Dictionaries for Rikaitan that display pitch accents of words. The default dictionary is Kanjium.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#pitch-accent",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kanji",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"In Rikaitan, kanji dictionaries appear when you click a kanji in the headword. KanjiDic English. A Japanese-English kanji dictionary. 漢字源. Monolingual kanji dictionary. Wiktionary. NipDb Kanji. Kanji information for around 6,000 characters from NipDb. Kanji Map. Information about kanji.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#kanji",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Other",
    "tags":[
      "dictionaries",
      "rikaitan",
      "epwing"
    ],
    "body":"JMnedict. Japanese names.",
    "url":"yomichan-and-epwing-dictionaries.html#other",
    "parent":"Rikaitan, EPWING and MDX dictionaries"
  },
  {
    "title":"Learning Kana In Two Days",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Learning kana is usually taken as one of the first steps to learn Japanese. As you know, Japanese has three different writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana and katakana are two phonetic writing systems, together they are referred to as \"kana\". Unlike kanji, kana characters don't represent unique meanings. All you need to do is to learn how they sound.",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html",
    "date":"2020-12-07"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kana how to",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Hiragana and katakana are the two alphabets that you need to memorize. Each alphabet is a set of characters. Each character is associated with a sound or a sequence of sounds. Your job is to learn all the character-pronunciation pairs. Hiragana and katakana happen to represent the same sounds. The symbols look different, but otherwise the two systems are completely identical. For example, あ and ア both share the same pronunciation. Then, why does Japanese need two identical writing systems? They are used differently. Katakana is used for words borrowed from other languages, to emphasize certain parts of text and to represent sounds. Hiragana is used for everything else. Symbols of hiragana: がぎぐげご ざじずぜぞ だぢづでど ばびぶべぼ ぱぴぷぺぽ あいうえお かきくけこ さしすせそ たちつてと なにぬねの はひふへほ まみむめも らりるれろ やゆよ わをん ぁぃぅぇぉゃゅょっ Symbols of katakana: ガギグゲゴ ザジズゼゾ ダヂヅデド バビブベボ パピプペポ アイウエオ カキクケコ サシスセソ タチツテト ナニヌネノ ハヒフヘホ マミムメモ ラリルレロ ヤユヨ ワヲン ァィゥェォャュョッ There are three things that may confuse you. The small tsu character. It is written as ッ (katakana) or as っ (hiragana). Unlike the other characters, it doesn't have a sound. Instead, it marks a geminate consonant. っさ sounds like ssa, repeating the s sound. あっ sounds like ah (a sudden stop). There are versions of kana with a ﾞ mark such as が or だ, or kana with a ﾟ mark such as ぱ or ぷ. Kana combinations (glides). A kana character may combine with one of the small ゃ, ゅ or ょ (or their katakana variants) to produce new sounds, such as きゃ, きゅ or きょ. The sounds of the two kana blend together. All glides require the second letter to be written smaller than usual. In the Tokyo dialect, ず, づ, ズ, and ヅ all have the same dzu sound. In addition to the characters listed above, there are 4 additional kana that you only see in old (pre-1946) books, hiragana ゐ, and ゑ, katakana ヰ and ヱ. I included them in my Anki deck (see below) but other resources may not teach them. Regardless, you'll get used to them with some practice. Each kana combination or kana character with a mark should be treated as a symbol on its own and memorized as a whole. In total, you have to learn 230 symbols. Below I present you different ways you can go about learning kana. Choose only one.",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#kana-how-to",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"Anki deck",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To follow this method for learning kana, you will need a custom Anki deck we have created for you. Don't forget to install Anki if you haven't done so. Download the deck at the link below. Download Mirror Now that the deck is downloaded, install it by opening Anki and pressing \"Import File\". An example card from the deck. When a card comes up, try to recall the pronunciation of the displayed kana character. Press \"Good\" if your guess is correct. Otherwise, press \"Again\". You should be able to learn all the kana within two days. Feel free to increase your daily new cards limit to do so. Continue reviewing this deck in the following weeks. Delete it once you move to studying sentences. When you read sentences, you also read hiragana and katakana, so you won't need to review them separately in Anki. I specifically don't provide nor recommend using any mnemonics for memorizing kana. Kana is very easy, Japanese children learn it early on when they're little. As long as you put in the effort, you're not going to have any trouble with the alphabets.",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#anki-deck",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"Mobile apps",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#mobile-apps",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"Kakugo",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"To learn to recognize kana I recommend the Android app called Kakugo. This is the app I myself used back in the day to learn the alphabets. With it, you can memorize the characters very quickly. If you practice a lot, you can do it within a couple of days. Download Killer features: Free software that respects your freedom. Available in F-droid. Very simple and straightforward. I don't recommend learning vocabulary or kanji using this app. Anki is way better for this purpose and will serve you well throughout your AJATT journey. Main menu. The only two options you need are hiragana and katakana. Hiragana menu. Once you select either hiragana or katakana, use the first option to drill the syllabaries. Don't forget to check the app's settings. You may want to toggle single button mode or hide answers.",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#kakugo",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"The Kana Quiz",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"Another app that caught my attention recently is The Kana Quiz. It is similar to Kakugo, just with a slightly different UI. Download",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#the-kana-quiz",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"Production",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"These days we rarely write by hand, and assuming you're doing AJATT, the first 1.5-2 years of your learning you're going to focus on input rather than output. However, writing practice is a good exercise because it forces you to actively recall the characters and helps you build muscle memory. Although I recommend learning to write once you're more advanced, because kana is generally very easy, you may try learning it through output the first time. Refer to my Writing Japanese article to get started. You're going to learn kana with a premade Anki deck. Don't forget to download Anki if you haven't done so. You are expected to complete the whole deck within a day or two. In the following weeks practice writing the letters daily. You can stop reviewing once you move to studying sentences since when you read sentences you also read hiragana and katakana.",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#production",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"Intermission",
    "tags":[
      "kana",
      "guide"
    ],
    "body":"As you've probably started to notice already, the Japanese writing system as a whole is completely ridiculous. There's no serious reason to have both katakana and hiragana in use. Spaces aren't used to separate words. The system of kanji readings is to say the least inconsistent. Sometimes one kanji can have dozens of readings. You can go on and on. I advocate that Japanese must switch to Cyrillic script. Cyrillic has worked remarkably well for many Asian and European languages.",
    "url":"learning-kana-in-two-days.html#intermission",
    "parent":"Learning Kana In Two Days"
  },
  {
    "title":"Removing Chinese from subtitles and the basics of vim",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"Let's talk about Japanese subtitles. Many of us have used Kitsunekko and have seen those strange subtitles with Chinese translation on the first line and then below it the actual Japanese on the second line. When you use mpv to mine sentences from these subtitles you almost never want Chinese to end up on your Anki cards. Here's where vim comes handy. So let's say I've downloaded this subtitle file, what do I do to fix it? When you open the file, you see that Chinese and Japanese lines are marked differently. In this particular example, Chinese dialog lines are preceded by Adachi,, and Adachi-JPCN,, and Japanese by Adachi-JP,,. Dialogue: 1,0:03:56.13,0:03:57.24,Adachi-JP,,0,0,0,,何かほしいの？ Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.29,0:02:49.68,Adachi-JPCN,,0,0,0,,{\\blur1}有你在的道路这世界就会变得不可思议地喜欢 Dialogue: 0,0:20:35.60,0:20:38.74,Adachi,,0,0,0,,这个关键词是从我的先祖那得来的 So to delete all lines containing Chinese dialogs, use :g with the d command, supplying the pattern: :g/Adachi,,\\|Adachi-JPCN,,/d The commands mean: :g - find all lines /pattern/ - matching your pattern \\| - equivalent to or in English /d - delete the matched lines And you're done! Now you can save the file and exit vim by pressing ZZ.",
    "url":"removing-chinese-from-subtitles-and-the-basics-of-vim.html",
    "date":"2020-12-03"
  },
  {
    "title":"Random Anime Ranked Easiest to Hardest",
    "tags":[],
    "body":"A list of anime shows sorted from shows for beginners to shows for advanced learners. Chobits Love Livel School Idol Project Mitsuboshi Colors Love Livel School Idol Project 2nd Season Isshuukan Friends Utawarerumono Dragon Ball Super Kobato Nagi no Asukara Tsurezure Children Tasogare Otome x Amnesia Slam Dunk K-On! Black Rock Shooter (TV) Ao Haru Ride Haikyuu!! Shingetsutan Tsukihime Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day Ano Natsu de Matteru Tales of the Abyss K-On!! (K-On! Season 2) Shirokuma Cafe Another Gakkou Gurashi! Clannad: After Story Nichijou Blood-C Hibike! Euphonium Noragami Haikyuu!! Second Season Kuroko no Basuke Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen Death Note Owari no Seraph Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Ajin: Demi-Human Steins;Gate Eromanga-sensei Koufuku Graffiti Elfen Lied Usagi Drop Free! Zetman Naruto Hai to Gensou no Grimgar Sidonia no Kishi: Daikyuu Wakusei Seneki Mirai Nikki Flying Witch Bleach Kantai Collection Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou Non Non Biyori Repeat Tari Tari Koutetsujou no Kabaneri Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo Samurai Champloo Boku dake ga Inai Machi Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! Clannad Kyoukai no Kanata Violet Evergarden Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru Nisekoi: False Love One Piece ReLIFE Bokurano Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku Tamako Market Nisekoi: False Love 2nd Season Megalo Box Tokyo Ghoul:re Sidonia no Kishi Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu White Album 2 Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2 To LOVE Ru Darkness Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni \"Shomin Sample\" Toshite Gets Sareta Ken Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Dagashi Kashi Fate stay night Rozen Maiden: Zuruckspulen Akatsuki no Yona Shiki Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitail Ren Non Non Biyori Hidan no Aria Sankarea Nanatsu no Taizai Shingeki no Kyojin IS: Infinite Stratos Guilty Crown Durarara!! Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler Gamers! Danganronpa: The Animation Himouto! Umaru-chan Aoharu x Kikanjuu Gabriel DropOut Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitail Busou Shinki Made in Abyss Robotics;Notes Seiren Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor Tokyo Ghoul Shirobako Furusato Saisei: Nihon no Mukashibanashi Sword Art Online To aru Kagaku no Railgun S Charlotte Noragami Aragoto Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku wo Ketsui Shimashita. Baccano! Accel World Barakamon Acchi Kocchi Devilman Crybaby Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka Fate kaleid liner Prisma Illya Inu x Boku SS Kill la Kill Angel Beats! Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Shinsekai yori High School DxD New Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Flat Tsugumomo Overlord Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge Haifuri (High School Fleet) Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Nyan Koi! RDG: Red Data Girl Prison School Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Overlord II Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 Ookami to Koushinryou Fate stay night: Unlimited Blade Works Daily Lives of High School Boys Ore, Twintail Ni Narimasu Hataraku Maou-sama! Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken (TV) Ookami to Koushinryou II Sword Art Online II Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Grisaia no Kajitsu Cowboy Bebop Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo Rewrite Aldnoah Zero Suisei no Gargantia Amagi Brilliant Park Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Zankyou no Terror (Terror in Resonance) No Game No Life Ping Pong The Animation Hamatora The Animation Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia) Re: Hamatora (Hamatora The Animation 2nd Season) Neon Genesis Evangelion Kekkai Sensen K Return of Kings Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars!) Outbreak Company Black Bullet Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru One Punch Man Dantalian no Shoka Toaru Majutsu no Index II Log Horizon Katanagatari Fate Zero Season 2 Mob Psycho 100 Heavy Object Sakamoto desu ga Jormungand Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Psycho Pass Maoyuu Maou Yuusha (Maoyu ~ Archenemy & Hero) Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri Fate Zero",
    "url":"random-anime-ranked-easiest-to-hardest.html",
    "date":"2020-11-27"
  }
]