The number of people who watch thousands of hours of anime and dramas around the world is large. But less than 10% of these people learn the basics of Japanese. These people spend hours and hours on the screen, watching shows with subtitles, but don’t know a bit of the language, except for things like Kawaii and Senpai.
If you intend to learn Japanese by watching anime and dramas, keep in mind that it will be a great battle, with a small success rate. In this article, we will see some tips that can help you learn and increase your vocabulary with anime.
We also recommend reading:
- Meaning of Kawaii – Culture of cuteness in Japan
- Senpai and Kouhai – What is the meaning and the relationship between them?
- How to find the name of animes, dramas, and series?
Table of Contents
Get rid of the subtitles
If you really want to learn Japanese with anime and dramas, the subtitles will not help you. While you see something in Portuguese on the screen, your brain will focus on the subtitles, being the easiest option to understand.
Of course, if you are going to watch an anime for the first time for fun, and don’t have much knowledge of the Japanese language, there is no need to remove the subtitles, otherwise you won’t understand anything. But we have found many people who enjoy re-watching anime, so why not take this opportunity and watch without subtitles?
Put on the subtitles
We just told you to remove the subtitles, but now you should put them on. Yes, you should use subtitles in Japanese. This way you learn reading and writing. Of course, for this, you need to know hiragana, katakana, and a little kanji.
Moreover, following the subtitles in Japanese can help you understand the meaning and grammar of the sentence, and know how to differentiate the thousands of similar words that exist in the language.
There is a great site where you can find subtitles in Japanese:
You can also explore the subtitles by opening the [.ass] or [.srt] file with Notepad. This way you can find the lines and phrases from the anime, translate them, copy them, and study them.
Be patient
If you think you will learn Japanese just by watching episode by episode, you are mistaken. You will get stuck on an episode until you understand and learn everything.
It doesn’t have to be necessarily like that, but you have to be prepared to resolve all the doubts you encounter while studying. If you don’t understand a sentence or word, go back and research and understand. Most of the time, you will hear words that are too fast, or you will think it’s one word, but in reality, it’s another.
Make sure you can read the subtitles, try to pronounce the sentences that the characters say, try to engage in the dialogue. You can develop your way of studying the dialogues in the anime, do it however you want, just be patient and do things right.
Don’t forget the songs
The openings and endings of anime can also be of great help, especially if you are used to singing karaoke, even better. When we sing, we use another part of the brain, and we may find it easier to sing with the lyrics in Hiragana than to read. If you are already used to memorizing the song in your head, take the opportunity to examine its lyrics and meanings. If you are just starting now, the best thing to do is analyze the openings and endings.
We recommend reading: KANA: Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana – Japanese Alphabet
The easiest way
If you don’t live in Japan, with little contact with Japanese people, watching anime and dramas is the best way to experience Japanese dialogues. There is no better way to learn Japanese than to witness and create dialogues. But before that, study a lot of hiragana, katakana, and kanji, and expand your vocabulary a bit, so you can understand the conversations present in anime and dramas.
An easier way to study dialogues is by playing visual novels. Unlike anime, you experience calmer dialogue with subtitles present, and you have plenty of time to research the meanings. But know that there is nothing better than reading a good Japanese book and practicing dialogues with friends. And of course, we cannot forget about manga.
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