Study by subject
Japanese
In Japanese you memorise kana, kanji, vocabulary and particles. Lumi asks them back until the reading and the meaning come on their own, well before your trip or your exam.
How to turn this subject into cards
Make one card per kana, per kanji and per word, with the reading, the meaning and a short example. Learn the kana first, then kanji one by one, each with a word that uses it. The trap is recognising a character when you read without being able to say or write it. With Lumi you answer from memory before seeing the solution, and that test fixes the reading better than rereading (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Keep short regular sessions rather than one big block, because spacing makes you remember longer (Cepeda et al., 2006). Write particles inside whole sentences, not on their own. Add to each card an example from your own life, which makes the answer easier to find again.
What you need to know by heart
- The kana, hiragana and katakana, with their sounds and shapes.
- Common kanji with their meaning and readings.
- Basic vocabulary, each word with an example sentence.
- Particles such as は, が, を, に and で, and what each does in a sentence.
- Polite verb forms and the basic counters.
It depends on the country
Japanese has a well-known language exam, the JLPT, which measures reading and listening comprehension at several levels. You prepare for it with the same cards of kana, kanji, vocabulary and grammar that you make with Lumi. You pick the level you are aiming for, then write the cards that match what the test covers.
How Lumi helps you remember it
You teach your Japanese cards to Lumi, kana, kanji, words, particles. It forgets over time, like you do, then quizzes you right before you would forget. As your exam or trip approaches, the Mist settles over what you know less well and Lumi asks that first. You arrive able to say and recognise, not only to reread.
Example cards
Three cards the way you would write them, with the answer Lumi expects.
What does こんにちは mean?
Hello (konnichiwa).
How do you say thank you in Japanese?
ありがとう (arigatō).
What does the kanji 山 mean?
Mountain (yama).
Example card
Try it, Lumi turns it into fill in the blank questions in your browser.
Japanese · teach this card to Lumi
Hiragana starts with あいうえお, the five vowels a, i, u, e, o. Katakana is mainly used to write words borrowed from other languages. The particle は is read wa when it marks the topic. The word 水 (mizu) means water.
Lumi’s question
Hiragana starts with あいうえお, the five _____ a, i, u, e, o.
Pick the missing word
Answer right to light Lumi up
Its lamp fades when a fact slips away.
Frequently asked questions
- Where should I start with Japanese?
- Start with hiragana, then katakana, then your first words and particles. Kanji come next, one at a time, each with a real word.
- How do I remember kanji?
- Make one card per kanji with its meaning, its reading and a word that uses it. Answer from memory and let Lumi ask it again at longer and longer intervals (Cepeda et al., 2006).
- Does Lumi help me speak Japanese?
- Lumi fixes vocabulary, kana, particles and model sentences. To speak, you say them out loud as your answers and you also practise with other people.
Read next
Sources
- Roediger, Karpicke (2006). Test-enhanced learning. Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3). doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
- Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted, Rohrer (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks. A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3). doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
Teach this to Lumi
Give Lumi your japanese notes, it gives them back as questions at the right moment.