I want to show you how I study Japanese vocabulary. I've been studying Nihongo for almost 2 years now and so far, this is the best way I've found in learning new words. It's really effective to me since it helped me recall and use the words I've learned easily.
This is how I study new words. I learn them through context. I look for the definition of the word and write down sample sentences. At night, I will review my notes and create my own sentences.
I've already collected and written words from N5 to N3 level. To make my sentence mining easier, I categorized the words by their types on my notebook. Meaning, I've already determined if the words are い- adjective, な-adjective, noun or verb. This way, it would be easier to figure out how they are used in a sentence.
One important habit that I've applied in my studies is I'm always using hiragana, katakana and kanji characters. I never depended on romaji as I think that it won't help me progress in a pace that I've set myself to achieve. At first it's really hard, and takes time to really adjust into it but now that I'm learning the language for quite some time, I'm already used to it and I'm able to read and write hiragana and katakana easily. Learning Kanji is the real battle though, because there's a lot! It takes years to remember them all so I make use of everyday to learn new words like what I'm doing now.
When I have work during the day, I use lunch breaks to study grammar and new words. While I commute back and forth to work, I'm also practicing to write Kanji stroke orders on my mobile phone. During the weekends, I use whole day just to study. It's really tiring sometimes, but whenever I see my progress from day 1 to where I am now, I feel fulfilled and it motivates me to study more! The key is to always be consistent.
There are times I stray away from this kind of schedule though. Sometimes it's better to have some breaks from our studies too, to refresh our minds and not cause burnout. It's okay to rest for a while and not forget to enjoy.
Let me share to you some words and sample sentences that I've collected in studying new words through context. (Click here to watch the video I've made so you will see how I've written them on my notebook)
1. 賑やか (にぎやか) - bustling, busy
- そこはとても大きくて賑やかな都市だ。
- そこはとてもおおきくてにひやかなとしだ。
- It's a very big and busy city.
2. 嫌い (きらい) - dislike, hate
- 読書が嫌いというわけではなく、時間が無いのだ。
- どくしょがきらいというわけではなく、じかんがないだ。
- It's not that I dislike reading; it's just that I have no time.
3. 大切 (たいせつ) - important, valuable, worthy of care
- あなた自身の感覚を持つことが大切だ。
- あなたじしんのかんかくをつことがたいせつだ。
- It is important to have a sense of your own.
4. 元気 (げんき) - health(y), energy, vigour
- 彼はそのよい知らせを聞いて元気が出た。
- かれはそのよいしらせをきいてげんきがでた。
- He was cheered by the good news.
5. 下手 (へた) - unskillful, poor, awkward
- 僕は走るのが下手です。
- ぼくははしるのがへたです。
- I'm not good at running.
6. 有名 (ゆうめい) - famous
- あそこに座っている人は有名な歌手だよ。
- あそこにすわっているひとはゆうめいなかしゅだよ。
- The man sitting over there is a famous singer.
7. 大丈夫 (だいじょうぶ) - safe, all right, okay
- 彼女は今のところ大丈夫です。
- かのじょはいまのところだいじょうぶです。
- She is all right at the moment.
8. 結構 (けっこう) - splendid, nice, fine
- 「何をさしあげましょうか」
「いや、けっこう。ただ見て回っているだけだから」
- 「なにをさしあげましょうか」
「いや、けっこう。ただみてまわっているだけだから」
- Can I help you?
"No, thank you. I'm just looking around."
9. 便利 (べんり) - convenient, handy, useful
- 彼都市生活の面で便利な面を強調した。
- かれとしせいたくのおもてでべんりなおもてをきょうちょうした。
- He stressed the convenient aspects of city life.
- 彼が間違っているのは確かです。
- かれがまちがっているのはたしかです。
- It is certain that he is wrong.
- テレビで盛んに新車の宣伝をしている。
- テレビでさかんにしんしゃのせんでんをしている。
- The company is promoting a new car on TV.
- お便り楽しみにお待ちしております。
- おたよりたのしみにおまちしております。
- I am looking forward to hearing from you.
- お伺いできないのが残念です。
- おうかがいできないのがざんねんです。
- I regret to say I cannot come.
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