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New threadhow do u deal with words having 50 meanings??
so im trying to study this word and it means like flexible but ALSO illegal??? wait maybe i got the translation wrong. anyway how do you guys deal with words having like 50 meanings because im losing my mind trying to flashcard them all. actually maybe it was history class where i saw it? no wait. what was i asking again? oh yeah do you just learn the first definition or do you try to memorize the WHOLE list
Oct 2, 20262 commentswhy does 切手 mean stamp... is it just me?
okay so i was looking at this letter from japan and i saw the word 切手 and literally my brain stopped. isn't that 'cut' and 'hand'??? like... why is a stamp a cut hand?? am i missing some horrific history here or is my kanji just completely broken lol. wait is this a dumb question to ask on here? i didn't even google it first but now i'm staring at it like... please tell me nobody is cutting hands
Oct 2, 20262 commentssaw 開 on a door and my brain just gave up
Seriously. I saw 開 on some shop sign today. Is it hiraku? Aku? Akeru? I looked it up and apparently there are like five ways to say 'open' depending on some arbitrary nuance. I'm so done. People tell me 'just learn the context' but the context is always just 'it means open.' Why do we need fifty verbs for one basic action? I guess my brain is just closed for business.
Oct 2, 20264 commentshow do i not sound like a robot lol
so i literally just got back from this awful job interview and my throat is so dry because i was talking non stop and also i spilled coffee on my white jeans on the bus anyway i was trying to practice some basic vocab earlier and i swear my tongue just dies when i try to say double consonants or flat tones like how do i even know if im doing it right like does anyone else just sound totally stupid or is there a trick
Oct 1, 20262 commentsis 潰 actually a bad word or did i get lied to lol
so i learned 潰 means to crush like a bug but then my friend said people use it for killing time?? like 暇つぶし? that sounds so violent lol. and wait is it true that if you say 潰す in an office you get fired because it means bankruptcy? i think i read that on a blog. also is the reading 'tsubu' or 'kai' because i saw both and now im scared to use either. maybe i should just stick to easy kanji idk
Oct 1, 20262 commentstextbook says 注目 is attention but idk
literally had the worst morning spilled my matcha latte all over my white jeans on the train and this guy was staring at me so hard i wanted to die. anyway i finally sat down at this cafe to study and opened genki to the chapter with 注目. it says it means attention/notice but the example sentences feel so stiff?? like is it for when you want someone to look at you or is it more like police attention? please help my br
Oct 1, 20262 commentsZero excuse vocabulary routine for busy weeks
First you must divide your day into precise fifteen minute blocks. Second you calibrate your SRS intervals to exactly 2.5 hours for young cards. Third you must download a screen locker that forces a 10-card review before unlocking your phone. Do not sleep until your queue is absolute zero. If you miss a slot you must double the next day's active recall sessions. This is the only way to prevent decay.
Oct 1, 20263 commentstextbooks are completely wrong about 止まる
Textbooks make 止まる look way harder than it is. Actually, it literally only applies to things with legs stopping. A person? Yes. A dog? Yes. But a clock? No. If a machine stops, you have to use 制約 or just say it's dead. Actually, maybe a car can 止まる if it's parked, but definitely not a watch. Stop overcomplicating it guys, it's just about legs.
Oct 1, 20264 commentsStop translating in your head, it's ruining your progress
Stop using Anki deck translations, it's literally poison. Every native Japanese person actually bypasses language entirely and processes kanji as pure emotional concepts. Textbook learners always get stuck translating because they study like robots. Just watch raw content until your brain clicks. If you're translating, you aren't actually acquiring the language.
Oct 1, 20263 commentshow am i supposed to drill 交流 without dying of boredom
people hyping up 'immersion' and 'active recall' for vocab like 交流... please stop. i’ve been staring at 交流 on my screen for twenty minutes trying to 'drill' it. 'cultural exchange' my ass. the only thing i’m exchanging is my remaining sleep for a massive headache. tried writing it down ten times, tried making a stupid mnemonic. none of it sticks. what’s the point anyway, it’s not like i’m ever going to have a real 交流
Sep 30, 20264 comments開始 is just for news anchors and nobody else
spent hours drill-carding 開始 thinking it was the holy grail of 'start' only to realize everyone just says スタート or 始まる. like congrats to me, i can now read a boring corporate PDF about 'commencement of operations' but i sound like a literal robot in actual conversations. another textbook victory, i guess. back to doomscrolling.
Sep 30, 20263 commentswait is 触 the same word for playing music?
ok so my textbook says 触 means 'to touch' but in spanish 'tocar' is both touching and playing an instrument. is 触 the same word for playing guitar too?? or wait is it like touching someone's feelings? i asked my friend and they looked at me weird. is this dumb? idk im so confused with how verbs work here
Sep 30, 20264 commentshow to stop translating in head??
OMG so today was literally the worst my cat threw up on my rug right when i was trying to study my vocab deck and then i spilled coffee anyway so i was trying to review these political words and every time i see them i just translate to english instantly and it takes like 5 seconds per word which is so slow and exhausting ugh. how do u guys like stop doing that and just know it?
Sep 30, 20264 commentschill ways to practice writing?
so i bought like a BILLION notebooks at the bookstore to practice writing but they just sit there... i wanted to write daily but it feels like too much? i need to find a good device to start small. like just one step at a time but then i get distracted by my cat and forget what i was even trying to write in the first place... wait what was my question again? oh yeah how do you guys do it without getting
Sep 30, 20264 commentshow i actually memorized 星座 without losing my mind
Drilling 星座 is so easy if you actually have a linguistic background. In Spanish we have 'constelación' which is basically just 'set of stars', but 星座 is literally 'star seat'. I just picture stars sitting on chairs. I don't get why people find kanji hard, it’s literally just a direct translation of Latin roots if you actually think about it. Stop writing it 100 times and just use your brain lol.
Sep 30, 20264 comments