{"id":28139,"date":"2019-12-14T17:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/?p=28139"},"modified":"2023-05-31T01:55:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T01:55:10","slug":"learn-japanese-from-manga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/blog\/learn-japanese-from-manga\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn Japanese from Manga: Where should you start?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it really possible to learn Japanese from manga<\/em><\/a>? Well, maybe not completely but it can actually be a very effective tool for practicing reading. Just make sure that you combine it with some properly structured learning and pick the right texts. Otherwise, you\u2019ll find you\u2019re well versed in pirate slang and not much else.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve put together some more reasons to learn Japanese from manga<\/strong> and a few keywords to look for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kanji<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve already started learning Japanese you\u2019ll likely have come across kanji<\/em> and realised that it will be one of the biggest challenges when it comes to learning Japanese.<\/p>\n

Learning kanji takes time, study, and a lot of repetition. Manga is actually an excellent way to get used to seeing kanji<\/strong> in context and in an engaging way. On the most part the kanji found in Japanese comics has the furigana<\/em> alongside each character so you know what the pronunciation is. Furigana is small kana that is printed next to the relevant kanji to show how to read it.
The point of this is to make the stories accessible to a broader audience. If you are looking to use this as an aid then do check first as some manga for more adult audiences won\u2019t have the furigana and you don\u2019t want to get stuck with a book you struggle even more to read.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, having the kanji in a narrative form and accompanied by images gives you plenty of context to decipher the meaning quickly and effectively.<\/p>\n

Ateji<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Another element of kanji worth exploring in manga is the ateji <\/em>(\u5f53\u3066\u5b57, “assigned characters”). Ateji are kanji that represent a word based on phonetics, not meaning. That is to say that the kanji used for a word may not have meanings that are relevant to the actual word but do have the correct sounds for it.<\/p>\n

The most commonly used example of this is sushi<\/em><\/a>, which is written with the words for “longevity” and “director”(\u5bff\u53f8), both of which have absolutely nothing to do with food.<\/p>\n

Nowadays you might be more familiar with loan words being written in katakana<\/em> to obtain the same effect but previously atejis were a much more common practice.<\/p>\n

These are particularly useful to learn because you\u2019ll find they are quite commonly used in newspapers and articles. In particular, countries often have ateji. Here are a few examples to get you started.<\/p>\n

\u4f0a:<\/strong> Italy<\/p>\n

\u82f1:<\/strong> England<\/p>\n

\u7c73:<\/strong> USA<\/p>\n

\u53ef\u611b\u3044:<\/strong> kawaii<\/em>, although this is usually written in hiragana<\/em><\/p>\n

\u6ca2\u5c71<\/strong> (takusan<\/em>): “many,” this is also usually written in hiragana<\/p>\n

\u6ec5\u591a\u306b<\/strong> (mettani<\/em>): “rarely”<\/p>\n

\u5408\u7fbd<\/strong> (kappa<\/em>): “raincoat,” from the Portuguese “capa”<\/p>\n

\u6ec5\u8336\u82e6\u8336<\/strong> (mechakucha<\/em>): “absurd”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Onomatopoeia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is something you might be used to seeing in English comics too. Words that are written as the sound they represent. Whether Mickey Mouse is your favourite or Batman, you will have seen plenty of \u201cAhhh!\u201d, “Crash!” and “Boom!\u201d.<\/p>\n

They add a level of dynamism<\/strong> to the story, particularly when accompanying images and you\u2019ll see they are commonly used in manga too.<\/p>\n

The Japanese language itself has a strong love of onomatopoeia both in and outside of manga. Whether animal sounds, animal movements or even as far as each type of rain, there are many of these words and they are rather delightful when seen written down or used in a conversation.<\/p>\n

Given the enormous amount of these words in Japanese, it\u2019s difficult to know where to start learning which is why manga is good for it. We thought we\u2019d get you started though with a few common ones.<\/p>\n

\u3042\u306f\u306f:<\/strong> the classic “Ah! Ha! Ha!”, a cheerful laugh<\/p>\n

\u3046\u3075\u3075:<\/strong> A lighter laugh. Often suggests that the character is hiding something<\/p>\n

\u304f\u3059\u304f\u3059:<\/strong> grinning to oneself<\/p>\n

\u3044\u3072\u3072:<\/strong> a derisive laugh<\/p>\n

\u3054\u308d\u3054\u308d:<\/strong> a rumble of thunder<\/p>\n

\u3056\u30fc\u3056\u30fc:<\/strong> incessant rain<\/p>\n

\u3057\u3068\u3057\u3068:<\/strong> a light rain<\/p>\n

\u3057\u30fc\u3093:<\/strong> indicates absolute silence<\/p>\n

\u3058\u30fc:<\/strong> the sound of an insistent look<\/p>\n

\u307c\u30fc\u3063:<\/strong> looking lost in the void<\/p>\n

\u304c\u3070\u3063:<\/strong> a sudden movement, often used when the character wakes with a start<\/p>\n

Adverbs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are a few more unusual ones that are used more to indicate a feeling for a character<\/strong> or a change of sensation rather than physical things. These adverbs expressed as onomatopoeic words are also very common in manga.<\/p>\n

\u3059\u3063\u304b\u308a: <\/b>translates as “completely” alone, in the form of onomatopoeia, it indicates something beautiful, which generates a pleasant sensation.<\/p>\n

\u3059\u3063\u304d\u308a: <\/b>\u201cfeeling reborn\u201d, \u201crefreshed\u201d, although it can also be used to indicate something is clean.<\/p>\n

\u3044\u3089\u3044\u3089: <\/b> indicates the character is irritated.<\/p>\n

\u3054\u308d\u3054\u308d:<\/b> takes on different meanings depending on the situation. It may indicate a tummy grumbling, a cat purring, the roar of thunder, an object that rolls …<\/p>\n

\u307a\u3089\u307a\u3089: <\/b>normally used to indicate a person who is fluent in a foreign language, in the case of onomatopoeia it is used with talkative characters, or it represents the noise of sheets that are peeled apart.<\/p>\n

\u3074\u304b\u3074\u304b: <\/b>something that shines or makes sparks, very easy to remember if you think that it is also the sound of the famous electric-type Pok\u00e9mon, Pikachu.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Making friends<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Are you on Facebook, Instagram or Whatsapp? Then manga is a great way to get used to using these in Japanese and understanding the slang that younger Japanese people use.<\/p>\n

Here are a few words to get you started with if you\u2019re chatting to your new friends.<\/p>\n

\u534d<\/b> (\u30de\u30f3\u30b8): although they have many variations, it has no real meaning. It is used when one is excited about something and we could translate it as “I can’t believe it!” Not to be confused with the Nazi swastika, this kanji is originally a symbol commonly used in Buddhism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u308a\u30fc:<\/b> or alternate versions are \u308a\u3087 e \u308a\u3087\u308a\u3087,\u00a0it is an abbreviation of \u308a\u3087\u3046\u304b\u3044 (\u4e86\u89e3), \u201creceived\u201d, or \u201cunderstood!\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u8349: <\/b> this one could be confused by reading the “grass” kanji, but on the internet it is used to indicate a big laugh, as in the case of \u7b11\u7b11.<\/p>\n

\u30a8\u30e2\u3044: <\/b>derives from the English word “emotional” and indicates a very strong emotion, which can be both positive and negative.<\/p>\n

If you love manga and Japanese why not take your studying further and make use of your passion in your practice?<\/p>\n

Want to explore other study methods and learn more about life in Japan then keep up to date with the rest of the Go! Go! Nihon blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it really possible to learn Japanese from manga? Well, maybe not completely but it can actually be a very effective tool for practicing reading. Just make sure that you combine it with some properly structured learning and pick the right texts. Otherwise, you\u2019ll find you\u2019re well versed in pirate slang and not much else. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":28143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[404],"tags":[666,661,680],"class_list":["post-28139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-japanese","tag-language","tag-pop-culture","tag-study-in-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}