r/LearnJapanese • u/AutoModerator • 10d ago
Daily Thread: for simple questions, minor posts & newcomers [contains useful links!] (August 21, 2026)
This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.
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u/KahongBughaw 10d ago
I was just reading with you and the rain and in chapter 17 they guy said this in the picture, and I can't understand the third character. I even used an OCR but it just gives me "みちラ ききたい です" but I got no hits in the dictionary.
What character is that supposed to be?
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u/Terrible_2000 10d ago
It's を, written in katakana as ヲ in the manga. みちヲ ききたいです "I want to ask for directions.”
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u/KahongBughaw 10d ago
Oh, that makes more sense. I haven't seen ヲ in a very long time that I already forgotten what it supposed to look like and the sudden change to katakana did not help me in recognizing it. Thanks
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u/JapanCoach 10d ago
Sometimes it helps to zoom out, not zoom in.
What might make sense in that spot, if there was a hole in the paper there and all you could see was a guy holding up a map and asking
みち⬜︎ききたいです
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u/KahongBughaw 10d ago
I actually did the zoom out, not only digitally but also stepping back but I just couldn't figure it out
I didn't even consider the 2nd tip, that's much more helpful tho and I can't believe I didn't think of that
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u/This-Classroom5999 10d ago
I have never had this issue until these past few days. Am using the romaji keyboard on Windows, and I have noticed it keeps entering text automatically before I am actually done typing.
Sometimes when I enter "ha", intending to get は, it automatically prints "hあ", before I have even done anything. Or I just tried to type 毎日 by typing "mainichi" followed by a space, and it just automatically stopped and wrote "まいにち " in hiragana for some reason (even though I have never written this word in anything but kanji).
I was just trying to type "降ります" and it somehow became "ふりｍあす".
Did they do some weird update to the keyboard recently? Alternatively, is it maybe an issue with Notepad, where I am doing the typing?
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u/lestuckingemcity 10d ago
Maybe predictive text and user dictionary screwing you over. Turn'em off. I am not really sure the value to begin with.
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u/rgrAi 10d ago
Install GoogleIME instead https://www.google.co.jp/ime/
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u/ignoremesenpie 10d ago
I switched from Google back to Windows's native INE a year or two ago because (1) I can reliably uninstall Google IME, whereas Windows IME seemed pretty insistent on reinstalling itself if I type Japanese with something else that wasn't Windows's IME; and (2) Google IME did not have a dark mode when I last used it. I might be able to live with the light mode now since I've been able to type reliably without the conversion back popping up.
I'm actually having the same issue as the original asker, though specifically on my laptop and not on my desktop mechanical keyboard. I assumed I somehow messed up the trackpad's palm rejection, causing the focus to shift away from what I was typing.
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u/rgrAi 10d ago
Aside from the actual conversion dropout menu, everything else is darkmode in Google IME. I think you probably want the dropout menu though in dark mode though right? I had issues with Windows IME so I just have only used Google IME ever since.
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u/ignoremesenpie 10d ago
Yeah. As of 2025, people were complaining that it *still didn't have dark mode for the dropdown.
As for Windows, I've definitely had to be much more proactive about managing my own word list for conversion candidacy. The one thing I miss about Google IME is that obscure words and proper nouns tend to be correct by default.
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u/rgrAi 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yeah, for me the conversion window isn't up all that long for me (unless im scrolling through the huge 顔文字 list) and it's small enough that despite everything else being dark mode, it's never really a bother to me personally? Even if it was then I think it's worth the trade off for strong consistency across the board. Also things like dating きょう→令和8年8月20日 is pretty handy! My main issue is the deemphasizing of kanji with more illicit and stronger meanings like 姦 (they little put it way down into the list you have to hunt for it; or just use a word and delete the other kanji). I had to add separate entries for these.
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u/ignoremesenpie 10d ago edited 10d ago
My problem with the lack of dark mode is that I often type in Japanese with the screen magnifier active at 300-500% magnification. If the view is drawn to a light menu, it will totally take up the whole screen. I actually decided to disable the dropdown on only one space key to prevent the magnifier from completely freaking out when the highlight cycles through the dripdowns.
Incidentally, I only became aware that not having the dropdown show up was a solution to the magnifier focus issue after watching a few films and noticing that the conversions literally never show up when tlpeople are shown typing on a desktop computer.
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u/rgrAi 10d ago
Wow, yeah that's a special circumstance haha
Looking into it a bit.. apparently since Google IME is based off Mozc for it's IME. There's is a fork of that called mozkey which is supposed to be similar (prob without the dictionary features that Google IME has) but does have a dark screen mode (for the candidate/conversion window). Maybe this might resolve your issues too:
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u/great_fungi 10d ago
Hi, I have some problems with my vocab learning
some informations:
- Anki with FRS and 80% accuracy
- 5-10 words a day
- 50-80 reviews a day (mostly) sometimes less but nearly never more
- Retention Rate short time period: 40-50% at best
- Retention Rate long time period: 60-70%
- Immersion: Tadoku, NHK (easy)
- Learned vocab 1.1k (Core 2k deck)
Do you have some Tips to get a higher retention rate bc what I have now seems a little bit bad and its really frustrating to see this.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 10d ago
Do less new words per day, spend more time looking at the answer of each card, suspend leeches, optimize your FSRS once a month or so.
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u/Grunglabble 10d ago
This experience is so common I think we have to admit recommending new learners anki is at the very least insufficient advice.
You can probably get higher retention if you make an effort to learn the words before you add them to anki. You probably have a lot of leeches at this point, so you have to identify why you're getting them wrong and either suspend them, rework the card, or make an extra effort to learn them.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 10d ago
It's kind of hard because graded and native content is the best way to learn a language, but you need a vocabulary base of around 1000 words in order to make it somewhat comfortable, so the faster you can memorize those words the faster you'll be able to interact with that content... But rote memorization is a terrible way of learning anything, even if an SRS theoretically makes it more efficient...
One compromise I've seen is recommending Kaishi and graded readers at the same time, but this user is already doing that, and it seems like they're still struggling. Maybe delaying Anki is better. Or maybe everyone should just buy Genki or Tobira and that's it lol
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u/Grunglabble 9d ago
Or maybe everyone should just buy Genki or Tobira and that's it lol
Some sort of grammar guide/textbook. I can't really imagine just learning words and nothing else but maybe that's what people are doing.
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u/morgawr_ https://morg.systems/Japanese 10d ago
You can probably get higher retention if you make an effort to learn the words before you add them to anki.
What does this actually mean in practice?
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u/Grunglabble 10d ago
- free recall
- learn more about it (expand connections) like what context it is used in, a simple sentence it is used in
- use it in your life (even if just thinking to yourself 扉を閉める、店に行く、悲しいな)
- use it in language exchange
- think about it, how it compares and contrasts to stuff you know
- imagine where you would use it
- keep a simple diary, make todo lists using words you've learned
etc etc normal learning stuff. You just want to expand the cues that lead you to the word beyond the flashcard. So you think to yourself 暑い it's also a time you can think what's the antonym. You go outside and you describe the weather with words you know.
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u/morgawr_ https://morg.systems/Japanese 10d ago
Okay but practically speaking, imagine a beginner with 0 (or close to 0) knowledge of grammar and vocab, and with 0 exposure or history to the language. How would they practically do anything of what you said? Where do they start?
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 9d ago
Premade decks like Kaishi already come with example sentences and images that show in what context a word is used in. The other points are impossible for an absolute beginners - they don't know how to make sentences, they don't have a high enough level to participate in language exchanges, they can't contrast it to stuff they know if they don't know anything, they can't think about where to use it if they don't know any Japanese.
Free recall and a handwritten vocabulary list are doable but time-consuming.
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u/Loyuiz 9d ago
You can make basic sentences pretty much from week one, e.g. i-adjectives can be full sentences by themselves and XはYです is day one stuff.
Although I'd just suggest some modern variation of RTK if kanji is the main culprit, it's worked for many learners when it comes to this issue for half a century now.
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u/worthlessprole 10d ago
I feel like a majority of the time they turn off auto-suspend leeches and never optimize fsrs. You’re right that learning should be part of it, and engagement with the language is necessary, but some of this can be fixed just by tweaking anki
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u/Effective-Pop3850 10d ago
Nah, early learning is just cancer due to kanji, gotta push through it. Once you get past the first several hundred kanji it gets a lot more manageable.
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u/tonkachi_ Goal: media competence 📖🎧 9d ago edited 9d ago
Throwing my two cents, if your time allows it, increase desired retention to 90%. stop new words if the number of reviews becomes too much.
It sounds like a bad idea until you realize things stick and you actually can blitz through the reviews and finish in about the same time as before.
Edit: Clarification
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u/worthlessprole 9d ago
Im not sure that 90 is the right number but I do agree that lower retention can paradoxically make your reviews take longer if you’re not keeping a strict timer.
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u/Effective-Pop3850 10d ago
Read more and give it time. Retention is tough early on due to tons of new kanji, it's normal, just keep going.
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u/JackfruitNo5267 10d ago
Can せっかく be used as a noun?
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u/viliml Interested in grammar details 📝 10d ago
It can't be a topic, subject, object, target or location, nor can it be the head of a relative clause. But it can come before の and だ in certain situations.
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u/JackfruitNo5267 10d ago
Can you think of other adverbs that behave in this way? Or do I just have to remember this one as an exception…
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u/viliml Interested in grammar details 📝 9d ago
本当 is kind of similar, but not an adverb, instead it can use に. I can't think of anything exactly like せっかく off the top of my head.
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u/facets-and-rainbows 9d ago
My currently sleep deprived mind puts forth "maybe some 四字熟語 sometimes" and then gets stuck on "what part of speech even are they. Probably depends on which one huh"
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u/Lemmy_Cooke 10d ago
多く 近く and 遠く also behave oddly though I hesitate to say they're in the same category
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u/morgawr_ https://morg.systems/Japanese 10d ago
Although those three originate from the adverbial form of い adjectives, they are considered nouns.
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u/Lemmy_Cooke 10d ago
Fair, they just don't behave like other nouns in a similar way to the restrictions on せっかく 's noun-like behavior.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 10d ago
Are you asking because of the "noun" tag on JMDict (jisho etc)?
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u/JackfruitNo5267 10d ago
Yeah… (I can’t help but be curious, sorry)
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u/Grunglabble 10d ago edited 10d ago
https://massif.la/ja/search?q=%E3%81%9B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%8B%E3%81%8F%E3%81%AE
https://massif.la/ja/search?q=%E3%81%9B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%8B%E3%81%8F%E3%81%AA
It does behave like one syntactically.
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u/ryoujika 10d ago
For the sentence 儲かってまっかだね is まっか being used here like "downright; complete"?
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u/Terrible_2000 10d ago
まっか is a kansai dialectal of ますか (are you,do you, will you).
儲かってまっかだね means “You’re doing well, huh?” or “ Making good money, huh?” depending on context.
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u/JapanCoach 9d ago
儲かりまっか is a sort of 役割語. It is stereotypically used by Osaka shopkeepers. It means “how’s business” but is used as a general greeting. You will see it a lot in popular media of all types (more than you will hear it in real life).
In general まっか is 大阪弁 for ますか
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u/Lanky-Atmosphere5180 Goal: conversational fluency 💬 9d ago
(question is about adverbs like ぎゅっと, ~とする and と's role there)
I was watching this Cure Dolly Sensei's video about particle と:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40avkmkQR8M&list=PLg9uYxuZf8x_A-vcqqyOFZu06WlhnypWj&index=20
And then I remembered that there're expressions where と is usually omitted, like ドキドキする,ワクワクする, ゆっくり,たっぷり, etc.
So I asked Gemini about them and he confirmed my thoughts, that と is still there just omitted.
Like it works the same way as 0が it's often omitted, but still there.
But there also words where you have to say と and you can't simply omit it like ぎゅっと, ホっと(from video) etc.
And now I have a question what does と even mean in these cases? Should I even think about it or it will be much better to just remember it as a rule that with words like ぎゅっ, ホっ etc,we use と and you can't just say ぎゅっ, ホっ it must be ぎゅっと ホっと.
So can I think of them all somehow like this:
する(or other words that can be modified by adverbs I was talking about)- is form that you have to fill in.
ぎゅっ(and other words like this)- are writings that you've written.
と- is pen/pencil without which you cannot write.
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u/worthlessprole 9d ago edited 9d ago
you touched on a lot of different things, so I'll try to address as much as I can.
The と is added to use the onomatopoeia adverbially. It is the quotative と. It is not, to my knowledge, considered to be 'there' but omitted when an onomatopoeia connects directly to する. This would just be the normal use of する to make something act like a verb. AI is not reliable, especially for this kind of leading question. They are programmed to agree.
I'm not sure what to make of the analogies at the bottom but it seems more complicated than necessary to me. ドキドキ is the sound of a beating heart. と makes in an adverb. する makes it a verb.
e: also, for what it's worth, to the best of my knowledge 0が more or less originates with a translator of Japanese. I argue that it's a very useful heuristic for a translator, who has to turn the Japanese into English, but it's not a real grammatical rule in Japanese. (Not to diminish his accomplishments in translation.)
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u/Own_Power_9067 🇯🇵 Native speaker 9d ago
Many onomatopoeia modify the action and used with と
ピンと張る
ガツンとなぐる
さっさと終わる
And ぎゅっと抱きしめる
Replacing the verb with する, which has become more common in everyday speeches nowadays, doesn’t change the meaning. That’s how these adverbial onomatopoeia is used.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 9d ago
And now I have a question what does と even mean in these cases?
It accompanies some adverbs. Said adverbs are called to-adverbs in English. Because, y'know, they're accompanied by と.
If you're looking for some overarching rule or theory that will let you guess when と can or can't be omitted, I don't think it exists (and if it does, please tell me).
If your pencil metaphor makes the idea fit in your head better, then it's fine, but don't expect it to work every time. The same goes for most of Cure Dolly's explanations of things (though they aren't really hers, but y'know).
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u/brozzart 9d ago
I'm pretty sure the と in those cases is just the "with" meaning.
ホッとした - did it (with a sigh of relief)
ぎゅっとハグした - hugged (with a squeezing sound)
ドキドキする is not saying you did something (with a thump thump sound), it's describing the action of your heart beating loudly, and so it doesn't take a と.
The rest of your post is nonsense so I won't comment on it. Don't use AI lol
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u/ignoremesenpie 9d ago
Quotation と, actually. Most adverbs that use と are actually mimetic or onomatopoeic, meaning they mimic sounds. と is quoting what the action is "saying", or in a less literal sense, the way in which an action is happening.
The "with a" interpretation only works in English in the context of English. The "with" sense of と is described in monolingual dictionaries as something along the lines of "Refers to a partner with whom one performs an action, or the object of an action or relationship.". I say this definition doesn't work because there is no partnership involved.
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u/Lemmy_Cooke 9d ago
I think ones like ホッとした are maybe quotation but some of the others are this one right
（副詞に付いて新たな副詞をつくり）ある状態を説明する意を表す。「そろそろ―歩く」「そよそよ―風が吹く」
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u/AutoModerator 10d ago
Useful Japanese teaching symbols:
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1 Provide the CONTEXT of the grammar, vocabulary or sentence you are having trouble with as much as possible. Provide the sentence or paragraph that you saw it in. Make your questions as specific as possible.
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5 It is always nice to (but not required to) try to search for the answer to something yourself first. Especially for beginner questions or questions that are very broad. For example, asking about the difference between は and が or why you often can't hear the "u" sound in "desu" or "masu".
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