Learn Japanese With AAW

Konnichiwa, minnasan! If you've watched enough anime or spent some time surfing the fanweb, you probably already know what that means, and you've likely picked up quite a few other words, too. That's a good start, if you've got it, but we're going to go a bit farther here--these are some real lessons if you really want to speak some Japanese.

Since this isn't just a simple phrasebook, it's going to take more than just skimming over these lessons to get anything out of them--the examples may be silly, but the learnin' is real. You're going to have to read carefully, talk to yourself (make sure you're alone--people probably think you're weird enough already), and actually spend time thinking.

Just like homework, only with any luck you'll enjoy this more.

A few warnings, so you're good and scared before you start:

• Japanese is not an easy language. It's not a terribly difficult language, either (try Chinese for that), but the grammar is different, and most words are very different from English and other European languages.
• It's going to be a while before you can actually do anything useful. Learning a language is always like that--to most people, everything is very confusing at first, but at some point things start to stick. That can take a while, though.
• Although these are real Japanese lessons, they're not necessarily good ones. They are, however, free, and they should be a lot more fun than the standard "This is a Pen." and "My name is Smith." stuff. If you're serious about learning Japanese, you should probably go take a class at your local community college, or at least buy a professional book.

Are you quaking in abject terror, shaken to the very core of your being? Ok, so it's not that bad. But if you've ever picked up a real textbook you'll know I'm not kidding when I say they always start with "This is a pen." Why is a mystery.

Here's an index of what's available so far; Lesson 1 is mainly if you want to try speaking the language, so if you'd rather just start with grammar, you can skip to Lesson 2. Also note that we're in the process of adding audio clips to the lessons to help you with the sounds (or at least amuse you); these require that you have QuickTime 7 installed if you don't already. If you prefer the mute versions, there are links below.

Lesson 1: Basics

1. Pronouncing Things (soundless version)
2. Accent and Tricky Stuff (soundless version)
3. Writing and Too Much Formality

Lesson 2: Introduction to Grammar and Vocabulary

1. This is...
2. I, My, Me
3. This, That, the Other Thing, and You

Lesson 3: More Grammar

1. Questions and Answers
2. Adjectives!
3. Here, There, and Everywhere
4. Inside, Outside, Where, and More

Lesson 4: Verbs, Verbs, Everywhere

1. Doing Stuff
2. Not Doing Stuff
3. Doing Stuff Informally

New Lesson Announcement List

If you'd like to get an announcement when new lessons are posted (which is not very often), give us your e-mail. We will never do anything at all with it but send you a note on the rare occasion a new lesson is posted. Alternately, put your address in and click "Unsubscribe" to get yourself off the list.

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