im using the sentence method with about 233 sentences in my srs. i've noticed my comprehension has gone up higher then with any other method of learning.

but heres my problem when im trying to read really simple manga sentences i can't understand them completely because i dont know the slang and the emphasis words they use in it. and i doubt the text book im currently taking sentences from will ever use these words and i can't find a dictionary that can tell me what these words do or what they mean. what should i do about about these words?

Watch anime? That's how I learned slang. It's easier to understand slang in writing once you're already familiar with it.

subbed or raw?

Just be careful not to USE any slang you find in anime or manga (or drama) until you hear it in the speech of real-life native speakers of your gender & age & social "role" (as in, not a ヤンキー or やくざ etc).

One of my friends learned a lot of his Japanese from (萌え萌え系）anime and his girlfriend, and thus everyone constantly teases him about his girly Japanese & expressions.

ouch! but how about emphasis words how do i learn those?

Well, examples? What kind of slang are you talking about, exactly? Actual newfangled words (Oh those kids!) or just casual mutations? Stuff like わかんね, こえー, etc? Because those have pretty simple logic behind them, if you just know it.
Edit: And since you posted while I was typing this - what's an emphasis word?

Subbed if you want to know what the slang means... Slang is often just contractions of other words and phrases. I mean, if you watch it raw, it'll take a lot longer to make the connections. Just my opinion.

Granted I haven't watched subs in years, but I've never seen one even come close to doing a good translation of slangy text. Usually they seemed to either skip the slang and translate it as proper speech, or replace it with a bunch of expletives.

I did watch a subbed music video on youtube a few weeks ago and it seems like the translator just made up their own lyrics cause they had almost nothing to do with the Japanese ones. So maybe translations have gotten worse

exactly thats what im worried about. im scared of using translations like that T_T.

I think a lot of subbers just make up something for parts they don't understand. And, most people won't ever know it's wrong as long as the easy parts are right. In other words, if it's a word an "otaku" probably knows, translate it right, otherwise just make up whatever you like and nobody will ever know.

Some subbers have said they'll make up their own lyrics if they thought the Japanese lyrics were stupid, so music videos tend to be the most off.

You can't tell me this atrocity is intentional:

Babelfish actually translates it more accurately than the subs. Whoever did it clearly has 0 knowledge of slang and a very minimal grasp of vocabulary and grammar (they don't know -tai form or -naide form!) I've never seen Naruto, but it would be funny if all those Narutards out there are falling in love with a story that is translated extremely incorrectly as this is.

Omg, this sub in the youtube video is realy hideously wrong!

But, hey it is not only anime, hollywood movies are translated here the same way. It has been this way from the beginning of times and nobody cumplains.

HEY! im a total narutard and actually people don't usually watch those subbers naruto. they usually watch dattebayo's subbed version seems to be more accurately subbed but what do i know im just starting with my japanese sentence study.


wah! WHAT ABOut me! how do i learn teh slang if subs aren't trust worthy!?

Dont use subs. I watched anime with subs for years without learning anything. As soon as I dropped the subs, my comprehension is skyrocketing.

wait so if i start to watch anime without subs you think i'll learn the slang they use in it?

It's all gibberish to me.

Is it worth listening/watching the same episode over and over again? Feels kind of pointless going through a whole series not knowing what's going on when you can just do so with one episode.

Though saying that, that would be incredibly dull.

What is an emphasis word? What slang are you talking about?

Pretty much all slang can be found in 新語辞書, and the manga I read isn't filled with slang at all.. are you sure you're simply not good enough at Japanese yet to properly parse the sentences? It's very easy to think something is a word when it is in fact two words etc.

maybe your right. maybe i won't try to read manga until i get to j-j.

That looks like somebody just started learning Japanese the week before, then decided they're good enough to sub something. Looked up words in a dictionary without understanding, then when something was too hard they just made something up.

Really, I think the best way to learn slang is just ask about the words you don't understand. It's faster than just trying to figure it.

hmm simple yet affective i'll do that

I find drama is more effective than anime mainly because it is usually easier to understand, although you need to find one with slang of course. Still, if you focus is only slang I have seen books that are about Japanese slang.

If you're after common slang, try watching London Hearts or any other popular variety program.

i have one called "Beyond Polite Japanese" hmmm.... yeah know what i've had this book for about a year and a half and i never thought about mining the sentences from it. well i feel stupid.

PrettyKitty Wrote:Really, I think the best way to learn slang is just ask about the words you don't understand. It's faster than just trying to figure it.

Maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I say "read a lot of manga with a lot of slang" is the best method of learning slang. But if you have access to somebody who can answer your questions, that's awesome and too good to pass up.

Re: that song: Passes the KY? I know stuff like this can be difficult, but seriously did no one see a problem with that! That is painful to watch. And I like how the they reuse the subtitles at the end of it... but don't even reuse the right ones.

PrettyKitty Wrote:I think a lot of subbers just make up something for parts they don't understand. And, most people won't ever know it's wrong as long as the easy parts are right.

http://www.darkmirage.com/2007/10/22/gun...on-errors/

Quote:In other words, if it's a word an "otaku" probably knows, translate it right, otherwise just make up whatever you like and nobody will ever know.

Surely you wouldn't translate those! The list of 'need to know' word that people won't translate seems to get bigger and bigger as time goes on.


I don't watch a lot of anime, and don't really know which are considered good groups and bad groups, but I would take anything you see in a fansub with a grain of salt.

If you can ask people, that's the best course. I think it's better to make sure you're getting it right.