Learn Japanese Sentence Structure to move from Beginner to Intermediate
Understanding Japanese sentence structure is key to fluency. If you understand how words fit together in a sentence you can move to the intermediate level. As a beginner, you are still learning words and concepts. At an intermediate level, you are combining those ideas together to be able to actually say something.
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Putting the Blocks together in Japanese Sentences
The words, grammar rules, and pronunciation you learn as a beginner are building blocks. Just having this knowledge is not enough. You need to combine these blocks to form full Japanese sentences containing meaning. Using these sentences you can have real conversations or understand Japanese material.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/When you are able to freely combine words and sentences to say what you are thinking then you are fluent. The key to reaching fluency is to get comfortable with long phrases and sentences in Japanese. And the way you get comfortable is by exposing yourself to full Japanese sentences.
How learning Sentences helps you learn Japanese better
Learning sentences helps you to remember and recall words and phrases better. That is because a full sentence is a full thought. Full thoughts are easier to visualize. Being able to visualize what you learn helps you learn it better. Also, the words in a sentence link together logically which also helps you learn.
Connecting Thoughts together
Learning is a process of connecting thoughts together. When you learn one word and connect it with a second word it strengthens the memory of both words. Also, having words connected helps you recall easily. The reason is that when you bring up one word in your mind, other connected words also pop up. Every time you recall a word like this, you learn that word better.
Applying Sentence Patterns to other Situations
Sentences are the ultimate key to taking advantage of this feature of our brain. When you learn a sentence you remember not only the words but the sentence structure. Learning this structure then allows you to swap out words for other ones. Being able to swap out words is how you speak also. If you have some basic sentence templates ingrained in your brain then when you speak all you need to do is pull out those templates. Then, you just add words into those templates and you are speaking.
Automatically learn Grammar
It is possible to learn Japanese grammar structure just through learning about the individual blocks. However, this takes more work. When you learn in sentences you automatically learn grammar. That grammar you learn then later can be extracted out of your sentences and applied to other situations. This process of applying sentence structures to various situations is fluency.
How do you learn Japanese Sentences?
In the beginning, if you don’t know a lot of words it can be difficult to learn sentences. The main reason is that sentences are long. So, what I would suggest in the beginning is to start with short two word phrases. Once you get used to that you can add more words. Start with simple word structures such as one noun and one verb. After that try adding adjectives in front of the nouns and other words to the sentences you already know.
Also, you can take the same sentences and try learning them with different verb forms. This process of building off of the sentences you know will help you get used to speaking in sentences.
After you do this for a while and learn several different sentence patterns a few things will happen.
1. You will start to feel more comfortable with Japanese.
2. You will better remember words and when you think of speaking in Japanese words will come easier.
3. You will start to notice where words start and end and be able to listen at the sentence level.
This takes a huge load off of the listening process and will improve your comprehension.
Where should you find Japanese sentences?
You can find sentences from textbooks, online or create them yourself. The point is to get a representative bunch of sentences that cover various Japanese grammar structures. Since the point is to learn sentences and get used to the patterns feel free to swap out words in the sentences you find with other ones. One good trick I suggest is to make a list of short, easily visualized words in Japanese and re-used them in several different sentences. What this does it takes a load off of trying to remember the meanings of the words and allows you to focus on the whole sentence.
