How to learn Japanese the nerdy way (like a boss)

Japanese... this language has fascinated me for so long, the way it sounds, the beauty of its writing, love it or hate it it's hard to deny its usefulness at the least.

So for those who are unlucky and never got the opportunity to study this in formal schooling or even for those of you who are indeed lucky enough to be doing this at school etc then lets dig in!

For all my fellow nerds out there Japanese is probably one of the most accessible and indeed useful languages out there! Want to watch your anime in subs without having to read? Better learn Japanese. Want to read imported game manuals or pre production game info? Again you are going to need to get a basic grasp. 

So what are some of the ways you can learn easily just by being your nerdy self you ask? Well believe it or not there are heaps of things you can do that will both passively and actively boost your learning of this amazing language. 

Anime: This is obvious to most people that watch anime but you really can start absorbing words without even knowing it just by watching anime. Language experts often say the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it and for those of us that can't afford a trip to Japan anime is pretty much the next best thing.  With so many anime out there anyone can find something they like. So if your into anime already great! Keep watching and watch in Sub (Subtitles) and not Dub. If you haven't watched anime then give it a try, from love stories to adventure to space robots I promise there is an anime that will interest you out there. Again here watching it Japanese with subtitles is key. I myself have been watching anime in sub for years and can pick out and remember a tonne of words with no effort put in on my part! (Stuff like, always, everyone, dream, white, damn, I love you, I am, etc). Granted this is no substitute for actually studying it but boosting both your comprehension of sentence structure,  words and phrases with no actual work involved is a pretty sweet pay off for sitting down and watching some amazing stories. 

Ok you say so I can start to get a really basic grasp just by watching cartoons that's pretty neat and all but what I can do that is nerdy to actually study it? 

Well here are several nerdy things you can do with the help of word charts of Japanese Kanji for both Katakana and Hiragana. 

1. Pokémon Names: Have you ever wonder traded your Pokémon? Got some Japanese ones? Cool use the sheets to figure out the names of the Pokémon and the original Trainer! (write it down and keep a book) See if every now and then you can read them without using the sheet from memory!

2. Imported Games: If you have any Japanese imports use the sheets to try and figure out bits of the manual or game. (again writing it in a book can be helpful)

3. Pre-release game info:  If you love games  and the studio is releasing info before the release you can again use the charts to look up what the characters used actually spell so you can figure out what that boss is going to be and what the moves could be ahead of release!  A YouTuber Gaijin Goombah actually has a mini-series of videos on doing exactly this!

4. Last but not least you can use your internet skills! This may sound like a bit of a no-brainer but the internet is actually pretty jam packed with sites that will help you learn Japanese from Kanji sheets like the ones linked above to actual courses and lessons .

So there you have it folks! Ways to start or boost your leaning of a language just by being your fantastic nerdy self! 

Hope you enjoyed this article and as always if you want to fling me some pocket change so I can keep blogging you can donate via paypal to kara_mad@yahoo.co.uk all donations are loved and greatly appreciated. That is also the email you can get me on if you want to suggest content for me to blog about!