How to Learn Japanese with chatGPT – Conversation and Vocabulary
Who needs to have real world conversations when you have chatGPT? This AI knows just about everything about everything! You can play games with it, ask questions, get help with learning about almost anything! And best, it can speak several languages including Japanese!
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Can I use chatGPT to have a Japanese Conversation?
Yes, you can use chatGPT to speak Japanese. ChatGPT may not be human but boy does it come close. You can ask chatGPT to talk in various styles, and even customize it to learn more about you!
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/ChatGPT still does not replace human conversation. It can however definitely provide you with hours of Japanese practice!
Let’s take a look at first how it can teach you vocabulary and then more about how to talk to our AI friend.
Japanese Vocabulary with chatGPT
Can chatGPT help you learn vocabulary? Well, can you chatGPT? List the top frequent Japanese words by category:
Numbers and Counters:
- 一 (いち) – One
- 二 (に) – Two
- 三 (さん) – Three
- 十 (じゅう) – Ten
- 百 (ひゃく) – Hundred
- 千 (せん) – Thousand
- 万 (まん) – Ten thousand
Family and Relationships:
- 家族 (かぞく) – Family
- 父 (ちち) – Father
- 母 (はは) – Mother
- 兄 (あに) – Older brother
- 妹 (いもうと) – Younger sister
- 友達 (ともだち) – Friend
- 彼氏 (かれし) – Boyfriend
- 彼女 (かのじょ) – Girlfriend
Time and Seasons:
- 時間 (じかん) – Time
- 日 (ひ) – Day
- 週間 (しゅうかん) – Week
- 月 (つき) – Month
- 年 (とし) – Year
- 春 (はる) – Spring
- 夏 (なつ) – Summer
- 秋 (あき) – Autumn
- 冬 (ふゆ) – Winter
Common Objects:
- 本 (ほん) – Book
- 電話 (でんわ) – Telephone
- 車 (くるま) – Car
- 電車 (でんしゃ) – Train
- 自転車 (じてんしゃ) – Bicycle
- コンピュータ (こんぴゅーた) – Computer
- 鍵 (かぎ) – Key
- お金 (おかね) – Money
Food and Drinks:
- 食べ物 (たべもの) – Food
- 水 (みず) – Water
- ご飯 (ごはん) – Rice, meal
- 魚 (さかな) – Fish
- 肉 (にく) – Meat
- 野菜 (やさい) – Vegetables
- 果物 (くだもの) – Fruit
- お茶 (おちゃ) – Tea
Basic Actions and Verbs:
- する – To do
- 行く (いく) – To go
- 来る (くる) – To come
- 見る (みる) – To see, to look
- 聞く (きく) – To listen, to ask
- 言う (いう) – To say
- 食べる (たべる) – To eat
- 寝る (ねる) – To sleep
The output is what that question gave me. Wow!
ChatGPT is great for giving you custom vocabulary lists. But there is a limit however over how much chatGPT can produce at one time. That means if you really want the top most frequent 5,000 words you have to keep asking:
- の (no) – possessive particle
- は (wa) – topic marker
- て (te) – conjunctive particle
- いる (iru) – to be (animate objects)
- する (suru) – to do
- ない (nai) – negative form of verbs and adjectives
- と (to) – and, with
- が (ga) – subject marker
- に (ni) – to, in, at
- た (ta) – past tense marker
- も (mo) – also, too
- え (e) – picture, drawing
- か (ka) – question particle
- で (de) – at, by, with
- こと (koto) – thing, matter
- よう (you) – way, manner
- 人 (hito) – person
- これ (kore) – this
- それ (sore) – that (near the listener)
- ある (aru) – to be (inanimate objects)
See?
It only gave me the top 20. So I had to asked again for the next 1,000 but it only gave me the next 80. This is not too big of a deal. But just remember that chatGPT has a character limit of the information it can provide at once.
Japanese Conversation Practice with chatGPT
Sorry, I actually tested German with chatGPT which I’ve studied but don’t really know. So I thought it would be better to start there to see how it feels for a beginner to learn a language. My verdict, It was great!
I didn’t have that nervousness of making mistakes, being judged, laughed at, called names! All that stuff that doesn’t actually happen. Regardless it was great! the only other option would be talking to a real person. That can be scary if you are afraid of making mistakes. ChatGPT though does not care! (Most real life people don’t care either…)
Actually, I do use chatGPT in both English and Japanese so I know it works fine. You can even use chatGPT’s customization option to say something like:
Correct my Japanese if I make mistakes.
That way it will (some of the time) correct it for you!
ChatGPT does not always correct everything. Sometimes You must ask specifically what to correct. So, here is where a tutor may do better for you. A tutor would be able to tell you if you make mistakes, or if you say something that does not sound natural.
Also, chatGPT can give you the impression that what you are saying makes sense. ChatGPT will respond to just about everything you say. Even if you say something that makes no sense. A real person would need to think about the context of the conversation.
They will more often ask for clarification if something does not make sense. Not chatGPT. No, this AI just keeps on responding to everything you say like there is no tomorrow.
Japanese Conversation and Context with chatGPT?
chatGPT will not teach you to speak or improve your listening. You need to have really audio for that. You can absolutely use chatGPT to prompt you for ideas, or use it to improve your thinking in Japanese to better create sentences in your mind. But, a real life Japanese person as of now is still the best source to learn how Japanese is actually used.
ChatGPT will give you descriptions of how words are used. But, if you don’t have a Japanese person available to talk with, try reading comments on social media platforms, blogs written in Japanese by Japanese people, YouTube channels, or whatever you can find. That way you can get a more natural sense of how Japanese is used.
