Hello All,

I have just recently started to write in Japanese and I am looking for some guidance, and hopefully a few user stories - nothing like a "I've been there too" story to make you feel more confident.

First, what method do you use to find the right word (I.e., most apprioprate based on the meaning you are trying to express)?

I, personally, look at examples and use the common words setting on denshi jishio (I use yahoo dict jp mostly). I've also started to use monolingal yahoo dict jp, but might try shinseido (sp) as it's concise.

Second, what's your proof reading method? What do you look for? What's something you always check?

My issue is connective words (particles) and verb, adjective and noun congregaton, so I check those.

Finally, do you know any good resources/epic posts that can give me some more guidance?

Thanks for you replies. Please feel free to share anything you like below, off topic or on. I would love to hear what you think on this topic.

Many thanks!

If you go on Lang-8, try to find journals from native Japanese speakers who write entries in English and Japanese. Even if the English isn't always 100% correct, you can generally understand what they mean. You can compare the Japanese words to the intended usage in English and get an idea of what words can be used when.

The right words aren't in your dictionary. They lie in your heart.

When you see or hear a familiar phrase in your mother tongue, you can come up with various situations native speakers would use it in. You can instantly give tons of example sentences for different kinds of contexts, various usages and whatnot. That's why you can use the right word in the right context in your native language to express yourself.

When you talk about something unfamiliar, you have to keep looking for words and often come out awkward even in your mother tongue. If you're asking a question, you might sound like you don't know what you're asking. Think what happens when you're in a situation you've never experienced. You'd feel like words can't describe it. You might be lost for words. The situation might be beyond words.

Why does this happen when you're supposed to be a master of your native tongue? That's because you can't find anything even remotely similar to what's going on in the situation in the lexicon/grammar you're exposed to for your entire life. If you already heard/read words and phrases many times which fit in context pretty well, they'd naturally pop up on your mind so you wouldn't be stuck for words.

So, how should we choose words in Japanese, you ask? Pick the ones which naturally come to mind. They should be the ones you're pretty sure native speakers with personalities similar to yours would say in similar situations to express themselves. You should be able to intuitively guess what people around you would say from a massive amount of native material.

If you find yourself stuck for Japanese words in a normal situation, it just means you haven't been exposed to Japanese enough so your average everyday topic is already too unfamiliar to you and makes your brain say, "I've never been in this kind of situation (in Japanese)! It's beyond (Japanese) words (I encountered)!"

You're just experiencing the can't-find-words phenomenon when you're in a pretty common situation because it's not common at all to your Japanese self, if you will. Get more input, and the right words will always come out naturally.

If you're familiar with online forums, you probably already noticed how easy it is to spot "noobs." They misuse slang, don't get inner jokes, and always write with a different writing style than the majority of forum members with high post counts. That's because they're not familiar with the languages used on specific forums. The same thing happens in real life conversation. You can easily tell if a person is in the know from his language when he talks about stuff you're very familiar with.

"Lurk more" is always the best method for speaking like one of them. Familiarize yourself with what you talk about, and you start sounding like you know what you're talking about. The same applies to your foreign language. If you haven't been using the language for an extended period of time, it's natural your Japanese self is a noob for pretty much everything and knows nothing about anything.

So there is no method for choosing the right word when you don't know which. You either know it or don't.

The same goes for grammar, word usage, etc. They will come out naturally from your mouth the same way. So in principle, there is no special proof reading method for foreign languages. Do it the same way as native speakers do. You might think it'd be good to focus on the lines where words didn't naturally pop up on your mind. But they didn't come out because you can't express yourself precisely yet. So your intuition doesn't help, and it wouldn't fundamentally improve your speech or writing. You might be able to catch errors effectively, but that's pretty much about it.

Also, I think you should be pretty much immune to correction or feedback from anyone if you want to improve your Japanese so you can express yourself. I'm writing this post in my second language. Probably I made grammatical errors here and there. Maybe native English speakers can point out many unnatural word choices in this post. But I don't change my manner of speech/writing just because native speakers said my English sounds wrong. I pick up a new speaking/writing style only when I'm convinced through exposure.

Studying vocabulary and grammar is all well and good. Getting feedback from native speakers may help you pick up the language. But they're just rough guides at best. It's idiotic to believe one specific wording is correct because a few native speakers/teachers/dictionaries/textbooks/whatever said that's the correct way. It's more reasonable to believe in your own wording because you heard 100+ people actually speak the language the same way as you do 100+ times in real life.

I'm not saying you should avoid learning grammar or cramming vocabulary. If you find them helpful, there is no reason not to. But when you express yourself, the most important thing is to believe in yourself.