Learn Japanese through music - Complete Guide

Have you ever thought about learning Japanese through songs, but does it really work? What is the correct way to use songs to learn Japanese? This time we have written a guide that will help you to study Japanese music the right way.

Can music help you WHEN STUDYING Japanese?

Listening to Japanese music is a common practice among students of Japanese or those who appreciate Japanese culture. Japanese songs make the heart happy and bring satisfaction due to their poetic lyrics and varied instrumental.

Japanese music is rich in rhythms and ideas, in a way that is so different from Brazilian music. They can start with one rhythm and end with an entirely different one. The lyrics are rich and are not usually repeated in every stanza.

Most babies learn Portuguese through children's songs that teach words, colors, animals and everyday situations. These songs help thousands of children to learn Portuguese, the same can help you to learn Japanese.

Who never sang that AIUEO song when studying hiragana? That simple song that most Japanese students came across helped a lot to write and pronounce hiragana correctly.

Of course, listening to children's songs in Japanese is not practical and fun. Any song can have a positive effect on your life and even improve your knowledge. Music is something that is part of our life, so it's a must for Japanese language learners.

In addition to the language, songs can teach you about the culture of Japan. Many songs offer insight into the Japanese language and Japanese customs and ways of thinking about them. Listening to music can be like chatting with friends who speak Japanese.

There is scientific evidence showing that music can help Japanese students acquire skills. Music also contains colloquial and everyday language, full of common expressions that will help make your Japanese more natural.

THE MAIN mistake when studying Japanese with songs

I've always enjoyed translating songs from Japanese to Portuguese. With this method I learned several words and expressions, with time I managed to see the meaning of Japanese songs, but this is not the best way.

My friend Tarou Yamada made a video talking about this mistake made by Japanese students. Simply translating songs from Japanese into Portuguese will not help your learning at all.

You can even learn some words, correct pronunciation and phrases by translating the songs, but if you don't study Japanese, nothing will help. Thousands listen to songs in English every day, but they can't pronounce even a word.

Learning Japanese with songs - complete guide

To translate a song from Japanese to Portuguese correctly, you need to think in Japanese. This is a very difficult task for beginners. There are many words with similar pronunciations, false cognates and many things to hinder you.

Not all translations from Japanese to Portuguese will make sense, they are just adaptations. Not to mention that a Japanese word can have different meanings depending on the situation.

Spoken and written Japanese is totally different from Japanese music. When studying Japanese with songs, you may learn Japanese the wrong way, in a way that will only delay your learning.

Learning Japanese with songs - complete guide

When translating songs from Japanese to English, you will realize how difficult it is to create sentences that make sense in English. It's impossible for you to know if your translation makes sense to a Japanese or conveys the same idea as the composer of the song.

Note that when watching anime and dramas in Japanese and Portuguese, the translations are often totally different. Jokes, reasoning, sarcasm, references, puns and other things totally change from one language to another.

Yamada Tarou's video will make this very clear:

The correct way to learn Japanese with songs

Even if you don't like most Brazilian music like I do, the best way to learn Japanese with music is to do it the other way around, translating music from Portuguese to Japanese.

By translating songs from Portuguese to Japanese, you make your brain start thinking in Japanese. You will need to think of the best Japanese translation or version of the song. You have to search for words and grammatical expressions.

It is by translating songs from Portuguese to Japanese that you will get the best results when studying Japanese. All because you already know what the singer or songwriter of Brazilian music is trying to say.

Learning Japanese with songs - complete guide

When translating a song into Japanese, you will need to research words and synonyms and try to find the best option for your Japanese lyrics. You'll still have to think of words that make sense and match the rhythm of the music.

You will also improve your communication skills and can make this option a fun way to study Japanese. Writing, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation are just some of the benefits of translating songs from Portuguese to Japanese.

The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:

Translating songs from japanese to portuguese

If you still prefer to study with Japanese songs, don't despair. As much as it is a waste of time and a slow way to learn, we can facilitate your learning with tips that will speed up this immersion in the Japanese language.

Learning Japanese with songs - complete guide

Avoid songs with difficult or old language. Choose songs with common language, with good pronunciation and an easy-to-follow rhythm. No mixed songs with voice tone changes or that are too fast.

Look for lyrics and translation on specialized websites to avoid mistakes. Try listening to the song until you get tired and always try to sing along to the song until you memorize it. By doing this you will train your pronunciation and still become a good singer (LIE). We recommend reading our article that talks about how find japanese song lyrics.

Some think that resorting to English translations will help you understand what the phrase of the song is meant to say. In fact, I was even more lost when I found translations of the Japanese lyrics into English.

When you have a doubt about a certain word, try to look up its meaning in the famous jisho which presents different situations and use of the same word. Try to reflect on the meaning of the words, read the lyrics several times along with the music.

You can add phrases from the song to a spaced memorization program like Anki to help you remember expressions. Studying sentences is a more practical way to increase vocabulary and learn Japanese grammar.

Learning Japanese with songs - complete guide

You should also look for songs related to things you've studied or want to learn. Be very careful when studying Japanese music so that your learning is not wasted time. This is not the best way!

I hope you enjoyed this article's tips on learning Japanese with songs. If you liked the article, share it and leave your comments. Our website is full of articles with song translations and explanations of every word.

Read more articles from our website

Thanks for reading! But we would be happy if you take a look at other articles below:

Read our most popular articles:

Do you know this anime?