Is Duolingo Really a Good Way to Study Japanese? | A Japanese Man Reacts to Duolingo
We are often consulted by people who are interested in studying Japanese but do not know how to begin their studies. I am still unfamiliar with it, so I decided to try Duolingo, the most famous language learning application, first. As a Japanese person, what will my impression be after taking Japanese lessons?
*The content is based on personal studies and experience
There is no intention of denying other theories and cultural aspects
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▼Please support me through Ko-fi (a donation platform like Patreon)▼ ko-fi.com/letsaskshogo I have a new dream… It is to raise money to enroll in a school to become a Japanese language instructor (an official qualification)! I promise you that I will become the best Japanese teacher who not only teaches Japanese, but is also familiar with Japanese history and traditional culture. Things I want to do after I get the qualification: -Free Weekly/Monthly Japanese lessons on KZhead LIVE -Online private Japanese lessons etc. ▼The BEST online katana shop for decorations and cosplay: Mini Katana▼ minikatana.com/SHOGO *Get 15% OFF off all their products by purchasing through my affiliate link ▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼ kzhead.info/sun/ocx-kdGAnayvrJ8/bejne.html ▼Related videos in this channel▼ -The True Reason Why Japanese Uses Three Different Characters kzhead.info/sun/Z9KNp9B-gJWhenk/bejne.html -I Asked the World’s Most Renowned Polyglot How to Correctly Study Japanese kzhead.info/sun/rNSoYteKnaeXqYU/bejne.html -How to Do Everything Wrong at Japanese Drinking Parties | Japanese React to NAMIKIBASHI kzhead.info/sun/adV_j9CQmpNndas/bejne.html ▼MY DREAM▼ kzhead.info/sun/eMuop62Olp2Xmnk/bejne.html “To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in” I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more. ▼Join our Membership▼ kzhead.info/tools/n7DCb9ttrcw9h3vh9dfnVw.htmljoin ●Membership benefits -Limited behind-the-scene videos -Weekly Zoom call or live stream -Priority reply to comments ▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼ kzhead.info/tools/ZAe1VayWxp5NLO4Net78DA.html Please subscribe!! The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores. Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments. ▼Places recommended to visit in Kyoto | "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼ kzhead.info/channel/PLpIWoYf9KNFU7LIIFB0P_reDt_oMdkCOq.html ▼Instagram▼ instagram.com/lets_ask_shogo/ *Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠I do not use e-mail）
As just want to say congratulations on getting this job for teaching people the Japanese language
I'm really glad you made this video! I used Duolingo for a while, but didn't have much success with it. I'm still very eager to learn Japanese, but I don't know what resources are out there that are effective. I hope you decide to do videos about other apps in the future! :)
You should do a video reacting to duolingo memes.
I love the video! You should try drops next!
I am actually using DuoLingo to learn Japanese, so I want to see your reaction 😂😂😂
My problem with Duolingo is that my family was kidnapped after I missed a single lesson and it’s a bit too strict
is that all you got? im homeless because of it
Is that all you got guys And here my whole family was unalived by itachi😢
wait you guys have familys?
@@RainbowKittenswait u r alive?
@@gojoshisuna wait u exist?
2:39 shogo remarking "ohhh you can get a daily reminder to make your goal! perfect!" and then moving the mouse very clearly to the block button took me OUT
Yeah that one slayed me too hahaha
I thought I was the only one who noticed 😂😂😂
I'm so glad that, when I paused to see if I was alone in seeing that, I saw this...
Right? So two-faced! (just kidding, of course)
,,,with that perfect circular motion too 💀
A lot of people miss this, but every single question on Duolingo has a comment section. You can access by pressing the discuss button after answering the question. In the comments a lot of native Japanese speakers break down the sentence, explain the grammar and the formality of words.
OMG IT DOES TY
It says that "the conversation is limited" or something like that and comments don't show on any question i try 😢
@@Roonil69 the comment section is limited because there is too many comments, but you can still read it and people will most likely answer the question you had
Not anymore, unfortunately
Glad to know that the Comme ts are still there. That was a big part of the old Duolingo app. You could also translate articles to practice your skills, but that seems like it's gone?
Tips to learn Japanese more efficiently: - Do NOT attempt to learn more than one language at once. If in doubt, learn the one that you're most interested in. - Repeat every letter/word/sentence out loud to get a closer pronunciation (tip from Teuida). - Avoid trying to learn everything at one sitting to prevent yourself from forgetting words. - Try to memorize kana/kanji stroke order for more efficient writing. - If you feel unmotivated and/or tired, take a break and proceed your learning after a while and remember: you can do it! - Watch anime and practice singing in Japanese. They will help you to increase your vocabulary. - Try not to skip the difficult parts of learning. They may be essential. - Get yourself a partner conversation or use Teuida! - Use your Japanese knowledge in daily occasions (Example: whenever you're going upstairs, count every step in Japanese). - After finishing your studying session, write out everything you have learned so far, physically (pencil and paper) or virtually (note pad app on phone/computer) - Keep watching this video as many times as possible for days or weeks. It is not possible to learn everything in a few moments. Now, I wish you, the reader, a very happy learning, do not give up and give it your all! がんばってください! 💪✌️
THIS
This is different for different people. I’ve learned more than one language at once in the past, and in my experience it helped me learn each language better and increase my understanding.
Arigatou! This is helpful, I should be able to use this and get better!
anime is not suitable for learning Japanese
@@feedmewithhate hard agree. Informal Japanese, fast speaking, inaccurate English subtitles, exaggerated voice acting and pronunciation, makes you look like even more of a weeaboo, etc. etc.
I had a 180 day streak on Duolingo, but when I started studying Japanese in Japan, it became more stressful to keep it going. The biggest problem with Duolingo is that it doesn’t explain why things are the way they are, you just kinda have to figure it out on your own.
goddammit if it ain't true
On the website it's explained. On the app though..........
I’m currently at a little over 180 days.
True, to some extent. It explains in the Tips where you use a phase. But most of the time, you gotta figure out yourself why the phases become like that.
This is my problem. I took Spanish classes so I understand conjugations and how different letter combinations sound. I tried French on duolingo and can't for the life of me understand sounds different letter combinations make. It's so frustrating.
One time I was talking in Japanese to my friend who takes Japanese classes, and he was actually really confused with how casual the words that I learned were and said that it could be possibly insulting to a stranger. Thanks for the insight.
That seems to be an issue in other languages as well. I use Duo to review German and Czech. (Since I have been in the US so long and don't get to use those languages I am starting to forget.) And I noticed that they throw in a LOT of slang without marking it as such. Some of it would be downright rude. Certainly, nothing that should be used unless it is with someone you know very well. Or if you want to offend your coworker or boss.
@@tak60viz so are you Czech then or German?
@@tak60viz Could you tell me what insulting things you have learned in german from Duo? I am german, maybe i can learn a bit
@@paulglandorf4858from my experience it is the opposite. Nearly all phrases i saw were in Höfflichkeitsform and never explained why there is a „Sie“ and not a „du“. I am german tho so it’s a bit different, just saw it from friends and the german course i took out of curiosity
@@god3485 yup, i mean a "Du" probably wouldn't be as bad for everyday use either, but "Sie" sure is the safest bet.
I've been self-learning Japanese for around 2 months now, mostly because I plan on immigrating to study in Japan, while I recognize Duolingo is not a great app for coversational japanese, it was actually really helpful in teaching Hirigana and Katakana, as they use a flash-card system which makes it easier to memorize!
I agree
Another great site for it is Busuu. It has native speakers who are learning English that you can actually interact with. They’ll give you an exercise like “explain your morning” and then a native speaker can critique your grammar and may even record themselves saying it back. It’s super helpful. It also has a slightly different learning track than Duolingo that some find very helpful, and can change up your lessons based on your goals (reading manga, traveling to japan, watching anime, conversing with native speakers etc)
Thats the funniest joke I've ever heard
nah that's true, after like a week of learning i can already read like 90% of the hiragana and kanaka@@connerwine8705
@@connerwine8705?
"Oh so you can get notifications too, perfect" *Block*
For me the biggest problem with DuoLingo is that it gets really tedious after a while. It's the same kind of exercises over and over. The upside is the stories are really cute, and there are classes that are varying in quality, but at least you can start talking to real people. I've done a few of the beginner conversation classes, and they're okay! Another thing is that the progress quizzes are SO much harder than the material you're learning.
@@DREDD.7356 You could absolutely learn to speak a language at a party
I like that it's repetitive and tedious. It reinforces basic words and phrases. But that's just me.
You are compressing learning a language in a few years so in many ways it like re-reading a abridged dictionary cannot be helped. It takes multiple iterations to learn a language especially a one that completely different from English apart from lone words.
For me quizzes are usually kind of the same as normal lessons... But Android version may be different form others...
just do it daily 20 minutes or less a day. i literally cannot do it for more time.
Shogo should make an app to teach us
Fr
ya but it would probably cost $50 a month
I would download it
True :DD
@@kirby1676 Probably still cheaper than learning it in college
Duolingo actually helped me A LOT for starting off learning japanese, ever since the pandemic and classes being delayed, I had a lot of spare time on my hands so I decided to self-study japanese. A few months of Duolingo mixed with youtube tutorials, anime watching and music listening, I could understand A LITTLE bit of japanese but enough to understand simple conversations.. I still need to learn A LOT of other words and Kanji study using OTHER learning materials. As of now I can watch some Vtubers and sometimes listen to japanese radio through radiogarden, (radio is tough to listen to, they talk fast for me to follow, but that just means I ain't there yet).
Where are you at now after 10 months and do you have any advice hehe? I have been starting to learn Japanese and I know some of Hiragana already alongside some words in Japanese currently!
I'm also studying with Duolingo for my student exchange program to kyoto. Starting from November up to april.
Thanks for your like. I'm soooo looking forward to my stay in Kyoto.
congratulations
@@bramsamain4859 well how is life now?
@@kingcocamancoca1816 could be better. Who's asking and why?
Dkd you learn it I am learning Japanese for the future
Keep in mind that Shogo is from Kyoto and Duolingo is teaching standard Tokyo Japanese.
That doesn’t mean anything dude. It’s like saying someone from Liverpool can’t understand someone from London. Everyone known standard Japanese in Japan.
@@christopherluke9658 There are differences in dialect between areas of Japan. It's like how in the US, different parts use different words for the same thing
@@christopherluke9658 Tbh my relatives are from birmingham and when they come over I can barely understand what they're saying, despite us all speakig english. The dialect can be very different from different regions, even in england. That and although similar, Tokyo and Kansai dialect is still somewhat different.
@@christopherluke9658 there are always differences within any language. you go to italy you will have not only different accents but almost different dialects from city to city. venetians for example have a much more academic italian and romans have a more sped up and casual italian (in my opinion at least). if you put a brazilian and a portuguese side by side, not only their accents will be completely different in many cases so will words and grammar, even though the base is the same. a brazilian who has never been exposed to portuguese from portugal will have a hard time understanding (not my opinion, i have heard this from many brazilians)
@@n.m.fergus Exactly. This is the same thing with french; theres many way to say the same thing. Duolingo is badly made.
You can report errors in Duolingo too. So if something is really informal or your translation was right but, for example you used "cash" instead of "money" you can essentially protest and tell them, "No I was right!" Or "This is very informal!" It helps them improve.
I'm glad they're open to critique. It displays integrity on their part.
They don't really take it in consideration, it was very common on duolingo comment section that people were writing the date when mentionning mistake and some of them are not corrected after two years...
there was a forum inside, and they removed completely early 2022.
In the settings, you can turn off romaji to help memorize Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji sounds
But they ignore everything, their customer service is none existent. I raised an issue recently, response was -send screen shots. Did this, plus 3 more times and 3 weeks later still no response. So, i sent a complaint. Zero! Tumbleweed. It was a system error of which I couldn't progress course. Have now wiped my data and deleted them. Annoying cos I kinda liked it and i was learning quite well.... 🤷♀️
Currently I have a bit over 700 day streak on duologue practicing Spanish and japanese. Duolingo starts off really slow and you think there is no progress but because I’ve been so consistent I understand a lot more than I gave myself credit for.
I think Duolingo is fine. It helps you start off insanely easy with game-like experiences, and helps you keep consistency. I’ve personally used it before and the hiragana/katakana Flashcards are extremely useful. I will say that I got off the platform because of how slow it was. I studied with more serious tools like Anki and Genki and was able to skip through most of the Duolingo courses with a simple test.
I’m currently studying Japanese and using duolingo since I can’t rlly afford an actual teacher, plus it’s actually really useful. Thank you for this video, it helped :)
You know that the Japanese grammar is difficult when even a native speaker is having a difficult moment with it.
To be fair, the same is true with native speakers of many languages. For example, how many native English speakers do you know who have a flawless understanding of English grammar? I don't think even a single friend or family member I've known has. Most people make a variety of technical mistakes every day (using me instead of I, using who instead of whom, etc.), and that's how many languages tend to be used in common practice. This is doubly true when taking regional variations into account.
@@harbingerdawn I had a friend who was asking me why a Spanish speaking student was failing Spanish class... and I reminded him that a lot of native English speakers are also failing English class. The world of learning is cold blooded
@@harbingerdawn i don't even know alphabetical order of my native language. nor i can speak it properly. because i didnt study it like a language learner would. on the other hand i have no problems in sonkei go/kenjou go because i studied japanese
@@harbingerdawn yes like the people that don't know the difference between "to" and "too" or "their" and "there".
@@harbingerdawnFor example when most people say Me and my friend... instead of My friend and I...
The problem with DuoLingo is that it almost never takes you out of your comfort zone, making real situations be an impossible challenge even for someone that's practiced many hours in DuoLingo. Real word usage and input, even if simulated, is by far the strongest method to learn languages.
Duolingo is meant to help you know vocabulary and keep you consistent in studying. After a few months when you understand a lot of vocabulary you can then start with other resources like books or even movies. If it wasn’t for duolingo I would never find the time to consistently study languages everyday. And I’m sure most locals would be very happy with you trying to learn their language and correct your mistakes/pronunciation.
@@notradamaza4035 so true, i learn so many vocabularies from duolingo! and the goals set made me keep consistent with my learning
Its definitely not a full time resource. However, it is very digestible for a beginner, especially someone who’s never studied a language before and have no idea how to start. It keeps you doing at least a bit of study everyday. I find it makes a nice warmup!
I learned 5 years of english in school. But the time afterwards, speaking to natives and other L2 speakers from entirely different countries helped me more with actually learning to speak the language than school ever did. Learning a language and "learning" a language wre two entirely different things.
@@notradamaza4035 Duolingo is a terrible, inefficient way of doing that. Just memorize a bunch of vocab using SRS flashcards, much more efficient way. Other thing is memorizing the conjugation rules, which are complicated. DL doesn't tell you anything, and the conjugation rules are too complex to learn from it, IMO.
I really appreciate this video. I have really bad ADHD (medicated), but I just started using Duo Lingo to learn Japanese again after learning basic hiragana several years ago. I find the system *really* helps with the dopamine hits encouraging me to keep going every day. It's a relief to know I can at least get my foundations with it before moving on to actual textbooks and a real teacher!
Oh really ? Alright that's more incentive for me to start then, thanks for that input !
Your comment is amazing, I havent been able to pick up a book in years due to my adhd, and duolingo is actually able to get my focus!
I've been using Duolingo for about 4 months now, and I know it isn't perfect, but it was definitely great for learning hiragana and katakana through lots of practice drills, and it achieves the base level of being able to understand some of the vocabulary. I just visited Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto) for the first time this past October with my family, and while I couldn't really form many meaningful sentences to communicate, my ability to read signs in hiragana and katakana, and the ability to pick out certain key words when a Japanese person talks to me were instrumental in surviving the trip. I did sense that a few people were offended or frustrated at us not being able to communicate efficiently, but we did what we could with my base level of understanding on things (my parents didn't learn any Japanese prior to the trip). In the end, I don't imagine I'll be able to be a conversationalist from this app, but I hope that I would at least begin to understand the language in some small part, and I'll probably take some formal classes later on to reinforce my speaking ability.
My problem with duolingo is that my brain uses more efficient heuristics for determining the correct answers. So instead of thinking about what is correct, I just know what to choose because duolingo uses the same pattern/structure for everything. Eventually the repetition does start to take hold. But I have to make an effort to really study each exercise. Otherwise it just becomes a japanese language themed puzzle game to me
I had the same issue with learning Dutch on duolingo. I've always been a great test taker because I can pick up on patterns but that's never been reflective of how well I've absorbed the information.
@@ConswaMcGaga Blijven gaan 👍
This! For all my time using Duolingo it never felt like i was truly soaking in anything, pattern recognition was mostly at play
I do exactly the same! But you can jump to other topics to avoid that :)
@@IzzyOnTheMove they're usually give you the numbers in other exercises where you have to say how many things there are.
I started learning Japanese on Duolingo and switched to Spanish. Honestly, if Japanese had as much care and attention paid to it as Spanish does with the app, I would have stayed with it. There are Hiragana and Katakana flashcards that ask you to draw the figures, but I'd like the same for the Kanji in the lessons as well.
Thing is though, unless you are planning on actually LIVING in Japan, or you need it for some kind of exam, you don't really need to know how to write the kanji by hand. I mean, nowadays we rarely even have to write things anymore in general. Everything is done via keyboard.
Kanji is the most difficult in read a loud not in written of characters in levels of middle school or high school.
Writing kanji in the app would be hard
They've also updated their courses recently too
It is confusing because most of us are not from countries where English is the official language, but we have to translate from Japanese to English and from English to our language that we speak at home
There's an option to change your language options from English to your native one. The downside is that the choice of languages you can learn in your own language becomes very small. I chose Japanese as my first language to learn French, so it can be done.
Ako ništa Japanski ćeš lakše naučiti ako si srbin jer oni čitaju slova slično kao srbi osim što J čitaju ђ i ima jos nekih malih promena
I don't really have that problem because I can just think in English
I’ve always said that language is a forest, and each book, person, program or other lesson is a path in that forest. You cannot learn the entire forest from one path 🙏💕
Wow, such a beautiful metaphor!! 🤩👏
Well said.
I love that metaphor
As someone that is currently using DuoLingo, I found Shogo's "Mistakes" to be perfectly indicative of the experience. Typos or Unintended entry (do not the feed the animals), Narrow or Inflexible translations, or strict vs colloquial translations. Sometimes it is very easy to understand a sentence and be completely unsure as to how Duo will accept an answer. In the Skip Ahead test, Shogo had 3 Hearts, which is not the case for most lessons. While Mobile does have a hearts system that replenishes over time, PC does not have such a hindrance and you can make many mistakes.
putting the time and forgetting to put "it is " is infuriatnig for me,grrr
I think it's fair enough to reject extra words being inserted. The translation is in fact, incorrect. It might be a bit frustrating, but what do you expect from a computer program? Apparently many Duolingo sentences already have thousands or even tens of thousands of acceptable answers, but you can't expect it to catch every possible sentence with a similar meaning.
Yes the translation engine is clearly too inflexible - it should be able to spot that 'do not' and 'don't' are equivalent. Do not is simply applying more emphasis and is slightly more formal - it is also different between spoken and written English. Writing conversational English you are really supposed to use the spoken form..
I wish they'd remove from the mobile version the questions that require manually typing in answers. Unless you have a tablet, it's not exactly pleasant to type in full sentences using the virtual keyboard.
Yeah.. I never understood the difference between, "that's a big bed" and "that bed is big". Only the second one is right in Duolingo.
I'm a Duo Lingo User and I've been subscribed to your Channel since way before, But I'm studying Spanish since I'm a Filipino Spanish Citizen 🇵🇭 I hope Duolingo would Support your Channel. Also the Heart ❤️ Replenish everyday and other ways to gain more heart ❤️
One thing that wasn't mentioned here was the "discussion" section for each exercise. When you finish a sentence building exercise, there will be a speech bubble icon that you can tap and it will show you a discussion about that specific exercise. You will most likely find someone asking a very pertinent question and you will probably find a well researched answer. Other comments will further clarify what was used, and why it was used, and many other things.
That's useful ! Is it only on the website and not on the app ?
@@corruptedteka It's in both.
Not anymore…
I've been on DuoLingo specifically for Japanese for two years now -- I adore it. I know it's not perfect because language through an app just can't be, but it follows alongside some of the textbooks I have and threw Kanji at me really early on, which I super appreciated. I think it's important to note that no one should ever use one single source for learning. Even Duolingo suggests using other sources to supplement, but it keeps me coming back every single day and even teaches me newer references that a textbook wouldn't.
What textbooks or other sources did you use?
I stopped using duolingo due to the amount of kanji😭
This is my experience. I would never got this far without Duolingo. I’ve also cycled through , manga, watch lots of Slice of Life anime, and KZhead videos, and ordered paper dictionaries from Japan. It’s slow going, and even although I repeat early levels a lot to improve reading speed and comfort, I still make mistakes even with kana after 2 and a half years. The recent dramatic update of the Duolingo phone app, which I was initially shocked by, is making kana finally stick better. I also very much like the emphasis on words rather than isolated kanji, and have got used to-and developed a feeling for-the variant onyomi and kunyomi that it throws at you-in general onyomi is often given for kanji in isolation, but sometimes bleeds over into compounds where it wouldn’t normally be heard. It’s a pretty huge course, and I expect to take another couple of years at it to get to a reasonably comfortable level, even with spending an average of 1.5 hours a day on Duolingo, not counting the other resources I use. But I really couldn’t see any other system maintaining my interest and enthusiasm, with my personal learning style.
@@Oreocycllo I have the Genki textbooks!
i cheat the kanji by listening, and can only prevent myself from doing that by muting my phone. but if i'm pressed for time and need to preserve my streak, i'll just unmute the phone and listen to everything instead of trying to read.
Hi Shogo! I am licensed teacher in my country and I am impressed with your new goal of becoming a certified Japanese language instructor! Teaching has its ups and downs but I know that you'll love every minute of it! More power to youuuuu!
your editing style is very neat !
2:42 "Perfect" (block)
Duolingo is certainly not perfect but its goals are making language learning accessible and fun and I'd say it succeeds quite a bit. Its more engaging than a textbook, with stories, quests, and characters. And the encouragement and emphasis on forming a study habit are small things that will push a lot of people forward when they first start
Exactly. People seem to expect it to be perfect, but it got me interested in learning more
I feel like using Duolingo for casually learning and using an actual Japanese school textbook to refine it is best. That way learning the basic stuff won't be so tedious and boring, and going through the textbook you know most things so it's easier to get through. The possibility to practise more in Duolingo also helps.
This is the first Duolingo reaction video I've seen that isn't also trying to sell its own language learning product, and 99% of those act like it's not great for learning.
i agree with you so much i swear i see everyone bash all the tools i use except for reading ofc (except for one person who said it'll lead to hoarding 😂 yes he offered his program afterwards) and then offer me their expensive product
What about learning the basics like the alphabet
@@alanood9962 I use it for Japanese learning. It gives both Hirigana and Katakana alphabets.
Very, very happy with how much you a prove of this app, as I've been using it for around 2 and half years now. 👍
Recently started learning Japanese on Duolingo. Very important: you can turn off the romanization appearing above every word in the course settings. I doubt you would ever be able to learn the language through hiragana with it otherwise. I'm glad they have that option, it's really difficult to focus on the Japanese characters/immerse yourself otherwise. But most people won't see it, so I wish they had it disabled by default.
So helpful comment, I was discussing this with my siblings that I can't focus on japanese letters because of romanization
Finally a KZheadr that promotes Duolingo! Almost everyone says it's bad, but for me I used it for German a while ago, and when I started learning Japanese it made me hooked, and the system to learn Kana helped me memorize every character. I use Duolingo as a supplement to some textbooks and workbooks that I have. No access to a teacher, but I surround myself in Japanese to learn, and Duolingo was a motivator for me.
Which book do you use for japanese
I’m learning German with duolingo
Right? I don’t understand people always hating everything. I just started with Japanese and the kana learning system (even if sometimes repetitive) is still nice, and I see it just as a way to memorize it even better. Why do people always have to complain about everything…
@@BorutoOtsutsuki__ I'm using Genki 1 textbook and workbook right now. It's interactive, and has all the beginner grammar concepts. I would recommend!
@@MehDrac- me too 😊
I have 703 day streak on Duolingo, and while it’s helpful for learning vocabulary, I find that it’s only really useful for when you’re just starting out learning Japanese. I was able to master hiragana and katakana really fast because of it, but after that it doesn’t feel like I’m learning much 😅
703...well...cheers to your dedication
Gosh dang. Here I was thinking my 63 day streak was impressive.
"Learn Japanese words free" is an amazing app to try for vocabulary, I am using their apps for other languages, pretty cool.
Well... you learn Hiragana and Katakana in 7 hours... completely.
550 days and im loving it. As long as you complete all the levels language stays in your mind
Shogo made me feel very motivated when I first saw him on KZhead, he didn't only motivate me to study Japanese but also motivate me to study normal school subjects such as math since I really wanna be a teacher in Japan. Shogo is the best example for motivation in my opinion.
I was just flipping through videos about languages and IF I were to study Japanese YOURS are the videos I would use....and others of course but yours first. I am a big fan of DUO. But of course a serious learner should use various means to truly learn any language. Thanks and BTW, your attitude is wonderful. So refreshing.
Hi Shogo! I’m 99% sure you don’t remember but a couple months ago I posted a comment I was doing in an exchange year in Japan. I’m happy to say that I’m in Japan right now! I am situated in Yokkaichi-Kameyama (Mie-Ken) and I told my entire host family about you! I’ll be staying here for the next 9 months and I’m really enjoying myself. Hopefully I’ll be able to come visit the Dojo sometime!
Back in university I spent one year abroad in Japan and got a JLPT N3. Recently I’ve been using Duo just to keep Japanese in my head and learn a few new words. I can tell some things are not super accurate, but the playfulness really helps keep me practicing regularly! Altogether very positive for me!
I have gone through soooo many “on the go” apps and duolingo is something that definitely helps with my studies to GO ALONG with my Genki Books. I also enjoy the competitive aspect of the “leagues” and that’s basically a global leaderboard and you compete throughout the week for earning XP. You are seeing real people’s profile photo and username with a score right next to there name. I love competition and it’s a great motivator. ESPECIALLY when I first started.
I love your personality, this did not feel like a 24 minute video
I finished the Japanese course and am now studying spanish. I'm on a 1137 day streak. It's not perfect but it got me somewhat conversational and I continue to review the lessons!
I couldn't even do a 3 day streak. Thats amazing!
Amazing!! I'm on 360 days right now, only doing a lesson or two per day, I'm working through it slowly. The new one line track made it a bit annoing tho.
I still on Japanese unit11 on 45 day streak, I wonder if I can finish Japanese in one year ?
I’m learning Spanish! I want to go on a vacation to Japan with my best friend once we’re able to, and a year or two before we go I want to learn Japanese! I want to learn a lot of languages so I can communicate to others better 😁
Real Chad 💀
Actually I've been using Duolingo for 4 years to learn Japanese daily. But, this app gives you a repetition of exercises and it's very basic. And as you say it is an easy to go app to keep in touch with the language but not really useful for JLPT proficiency tests levels. I also use NHK world and NHK easy Japanese news to read which is useful to strengthen the difficult version while reading different news in Japanese.
Spanish or Vansish
I also use NHK its a great resource!!
@@upswithwings NHK has too much English
Thing about Duolingo that a lot of people criticise yet which I think it actually smart, is that the voices they use will introduce you to a wide range of speech types. Like child like voices, older person voices, faster or slower, more monotone etc. And while it makes it harder to listen, it also broadens your ability to recognize the sounds in more shapes. In real life, people speak differently - some speak crystal clear, others mumble, some speak fast, others slow. So that makes sense IMO. With grammar, Duo can't quite decide whether to use literal translations or not. So they mix things up. Sometimes this leads to awkward sounding English or Japanese. But I think that's overall a fine approach, because when you're learning a language, you want to understand the core of it. You shouldn't care too much about whether what you say is natural sounding or not - that comes later with immersion, not textbook study - while learning you should care most about understanding the core construction of what is being said. Let's be real, you won't find many natural sounding sentences or dialogue in any language learning textbook. Because for the purposes of learning the fundamentals, you need to present grammar in its more raw form. Everyday speech omits too much stuff. Natural japanese is missing half its particles and words most of the time because of context. Which is why in the video we can see a lot of slang in the higher level lesson. By that point Duo expects you to already understand the fundamentals and the more standard ways of saying something, so it's branching to more slang and ultra formal options. Though it is important to note that no app covers everything and you should absolutely mix several different sources for learning. I'd suggest bookmarking a dictionary like Jisho dot com, and google any grammar questions and read through a few of the sites for different perspectives. And of course start immersing yourself with native Japanese as soon as possible.
nah I'm just terrified of it
Excellent video on the Duolingo Japanese language! Have been studying for about a month now and I too wear a kimono while practicing. You know for immersion and to help my mind absorb it more readily :).
I think it’s nice to give you a taste and help you decide how much you really want to learn a language. And if it’s a rare language, like Scottish Gaelic, it may be your only place to start. But it’s never going to be anything like having a real class or a teacher.
I had one teacher that was way worse than Duolingo :( he only babbled stories about his life between Finland and Japan and taught us some words relating to his stories here and there + told us to work through the book at home on our own. So after 3 hours of class (once a week) I knew what a word like きれい meant but mostly I had learned details about him and had 30-50 pages of homework to complete (which we rarely - if ever - went through the next time). I ended up quitting after one course and sadly he was the only teacher available. So Duolingo has managed to teach me a lot more more in 10 days. Though of course actual classes are superior 99% of the time
As a Duolingo user, it was great to see your reactions! I've taken a few Japanese courses in college, and I'm SO glad I started there. Duolingo can't explain the "why and when" aspects of a language, and- like you said- is really mainly helpful as a supplement to what you already learned
I absolutely love your sense of humour and how humble you are 🖤 It was very interesting insight into Duolingo... Also... As a person who tries to learn japanese with English being my second language I can relate to translations getting very wild sometimes xD
You're awesome, thanks for this video!
I am studying Polish in DuoLingo and a friend is studying Swedish. I delight in earning Polish, and she is very half-happy. It depends on who creates the language lessons. The Polish is often hilarious! My favorite sentence is "Excuse me, I am an apple" which blew "the elephant is drinking milk" right off the scale. I did start with Transparent Language which is free from my library system. Having a dual view helps so much!! And I know native speakers of Polish. A great benefit.
the japanese lesson has the "i am an apple" sentence as well
My polish lessons on Duolingo always get me dying, I had a sentence once that read "the evil child drinks coffee" like tf 😭
@@xXghosttoastXx Oh, yes! That was a hoot!
I am Polish and I checked Polish lessons on duolingo. I can say that some sentences do not make sense or are hilarious, also there are often unnecessary words / phrases in the sentences
@@Kitsune_Miko unnecessary words? 🥺
I would never suggest ONLY Duolingo for learning Japanese. I enjoy using it, but I also use wanikani for kanji/vocab and satori reader for grammar/vocab. What I also like about Duolingo is that it's free, meaning a lot more people can mess around with different languages.
Quite great to see a Japanese Teacher out there.😊😊
So happy to finally see some positive thoughts about Duo-lingo. Some of the things i see and hear people say about it can be pretty discouraging. But so far, with only 3 days of learning, i can mostly read Hiragana, i can't understand it yet, but i can definitely read it. I've seen people say that Duo-lingo isn't enough on it's own and that it's too formal, but i fully expected this when i went into it. I've got a VPN and regularly connect to Japan and go to KZhead, watching plenty of content in pure Japanese without subtitles; and even playing some of my favorite games with Japanese text, just to familiarize myself with the characters as much as possible. and of course, Duo-lingo has recently updated their Japanese course about 2ish months ago, so now they've got ordering food as the first lesson; with a separate tab for the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets. They also have about 125 units now. The motivation aspect is also really great, from the daily streaks, to some friendly competition with leader boards, i regularly find myself wanting to continue my language learning journey!
I’d recommend for anyone using Duolingo on mobile, after you’ve learned hiragana and katakana, try switching from the word bank to typing it out, there should be a little keyboard icon one certain question. It’s really helped me memorize the lessons more effectively and helps me improve my reading speed since you’re getting more comfortable with each letter not just the words, plus it helps even when they start using kanji because you’re practicing remembering what that kanji sounds like in that situation. Duolingo definitely has issues and needs to be supplemented by other material, ie books, classes, speaking to native speakers etc. buuut getting in the habit of studying every day, practicing, and connecting with other people on the app really can help you stay motivated and focused at least at first Edit: my biggest issue is that the way it gameifies learning is counter productive, you should get more XP the harder the questions are, otherwise maintaining your position in a league is less about learning and more farming xp with quick and easy high reward challenges.
Have you tried to submit the lower part to duolingo? I would prefer that as well
I like Duolingo, but my fear when speaking other languages is accidentally offending people or starting in Japanese panicking then accidentally mixing in German and Spanish. The other problem is remembering what I learned. However, I learned more and retained more with Duolingo than books, and Pimslur. Great video though. Thank you so much 💖
It think that Duolingo just was not made for languages were the connotation weight so much like Japanese. It's a great tool, just don't works perfectly for every case.
If you do not remember what you have learned, you did not learn it. There is a difference between discovering something, getting to know something and learning it. Do not get manipulated
I’m so sorry but I chuckled a bit when I imagined someone speaking Japanese then all of the sudden speaking German and Spanish 😂 I hope I didn’t upset you or anyone but that’s just my idiotic humor
Wow omg ty i studied Duolingo and pinsluer glad to know duo is better
I wanted to thank you because I find your videos truly amazing and useful, also you always make my day. P.s. when you make Inu-chan speak I always smile and laugh a lot. Please take care and keep going❤
Great review! Some reviews seem to have an agenda from other app creators to attract users to their app, but your review was clean, fair, observed and pointed from a native Japanese speaker.
I just LOVE your dramatic pronunciation and explaining why something might not work, very entertaining and informative! ❤😂
Is it dramatic though? 😅
@@francis7336 yea nobody speaks japanese like that naturally
Yeasss😂
For me, the fact that you don’t really learn if a word is slang or keigo is one of the reasons I switched to French. I felt so awkward and thought I should just go back to the Genki textbooks
You went from learning japanese to learning french because the lessons are clearer in the french class? (On duo I mean)
@@Niklaus2112 yeah, my partner is French and he said that it’s mostly accurate. Sometimes a little bit old-fashioned or cringe but rarely a politeness issue
@@andthatsshannii As a French person myself, it's quite hard to teach French, as it's becoming more and more of a generational gap between Québec, scholar and older people, and the actual French that's spoken today, with more arabic words being borrowed, verlan slang etc. Also we have a lot of words that are only used in some regions, the most famous one being "chocolatine", in Occitany and southern Aquitaine.
@@stratonikisporcia8630 verlan is killing me! I get the general premise! Couple it with people talking fast, though? Yikes!
@@stratonikisporcia8630 I've heard that that's becoming an issue for a lot of languages. You would almost need a friend to write to/speak to to clarify what age group you'd be talking to with some of the sentences Duolingo throws at you.
I think many people judge Duolingo from the start and how simple it is. If you only ever do the first few units it's so simple.
when taking the n1 test in high school I had the same issue as you did with duolingo. I took it online, but I didn't know how to respond to some answers because there is the proper grammar as someone who isn't Japanese, and the proper way you'd say it as you'd hear it in a japanese native. I answered how my japanese teacher would say it and passed. As always loved the video and will probably use duolingo as a refresher.
I’m so glad you did a video on this because I’m actually using Duolingo to learn Japanese. 😊
I'm learning Japanese in University at the moment and I'm on week 1! I grinned when he said "Amerika-jin desu" because I learnt about introductions and nationalities in my first Seminar :)) I'm gonna watch more of your video's so I can practice :)
I use duolingo to help me with german as it’s one of my 3 priority languages (other 2 are [native] and english), I still have german lessons in school and private afternoon classes, duo helps a ton with remembering grammar and a more casual way to speak. But as you said it often uses slang without a warning 😅
As someone who has 300+ days in Japanese duolingo, this was a very fun video to watch! I had to like and sub then and there cause I learned a ton from you today! I also would like to say that it's awesome that uou want to teach Japanese. Hopefully we can all support ad much as we can because you'd make an amazing teacher.
Shogo don’t be surprised your native language is getting more and more popular thanks to japans soft power= culture,music,movies,manga and anime
i guess it's included in culture (as is the rest) but don't forget the delicious food!
@@chewtoy1107 Unhealthy though
@@TheCausalParadox Japanese food and unhealthy? R u sure
@@tvojejidlo8143 Positive. White rice as a staple... nutritionally void, empty carbohydrates. Copious consumption of sugar, sake, and soy in every meal. Approximately 13.5% of the Japanese population now has either type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Type 2 diabetes, in case you didn't know, is directly linked to diet. High carbohydrate diets, specifically sugar, grains, and soy are very destructive to human health. And lets not forget the crazy amount of chemicals and pesticides the japanese put in/on all their food. You might be confusing the fact that japanese people are generally skinny with an indication of health.... that comes down to portion sizes. But even if you only eat tiny amount of poisonous crap, its eventually going to catch up with your health on the inside.
@@TheCausalParadox im ngl Japanese food (especially just the avarage food in the supermarkets) is extremely healthy compared to america’s, i’d say.
This was so interesting. I've been studying Japanese on duolingo for a couple years now, and I took beginning Japanese in high school and college, so I feel like I have the basics down pretty solid. But I've been wondering if I should try another program to become more fluent, because I still don't feel like I could have a whole conversation with another person yet. I'll be curious to see what other methods you review!
To be fair, I was taught English since 2nd grade, grew up with English music, movies, TV and games and I still didn't learn to speak it conversationally, until I got internet access in my late teens and were able to communicate with actual, native English-speakers. I think very few people can learn how to converse in another language, without commucinating with native speakers in some way. That's why I got stuck on Italian, once I reached the most difficult part on Duolingo... They completely botched it, so I'm stuck at this point, without knowing any Italians I can ask for elaboration or practice with in general :/
@@VelkanAngelsu could find people who know the language you want to be friends with and talk to on language learning subreddit
I would love to see your thoughts on wanikani next! it's a program designed specifically for japanese with lots of mnemonics, I used it for about 6 months and I was very happy with my learning through it! it's a bit expensive though so I'd love to know if you think it's worth it.
ty for the info i haven't gotten that far into duolingo and thnx to your advice i found a better alternative from a youtube vid
Hey, thanks for the contextual video for my duolingo studies! Not sure if you've tried it or had anyone else mention it... I've interacted with or looked up long time players (not sure my sources) and they've recommended that once you get far enough into a language (or if, say, you're a native speaker of the other language!) it's worthwhile to start a second course inside the app that is the flip of what you're otherwise studying. So if you're studying Japanese from the context of English, start a course on English via Japanese. That way you can see both sides of what the languages focus on for structuring and whatnot. Hope I've offered something beyond two cents, thanks again for the Japanese! It's going to be a long time before I can try learning that language again, but it's been a long term dream for so long it's only a matter of time - so get your license and I might be able to buy your lessons ^_^
The problem is that the Japanise course is only in English, so if I want to learn it in Spanish I can't. I have the luck of being studying English so I can take the Japanese course but other people can't.
@@tizianoguy2904 i do that for German and English
I've actually thought about trying this to see how it differs
I started doing this around lesson 35 in the Japanese course and it has helped me a lot. Also watching Japanese streamers learning English either from Duolingo or other sources has been very helpful for me. Other than that I almost exclusively watch Japanese streamers and listen to Japanese music for immersion.
It works well for many courses. I did it in Italian.
As you said, duolingo has some definite limitations. But I still find it really valuable as something that makes it easy to get started and easy to do a couple exercises every day. And, it’s easy to build on, whether by writing out each exercise by hand to practice my handwriting, or reading manga and listening to conversation podcasts to help fill in the gaps that duo’s very vocab-focused exercises inevitably create. But of course, there’s no substitute for an actual teacher, or conversation with native speakers.
You helped me learn some more japanese i didnt know much before i only some of the basics like konnichwa,sayonara,etc.
Edit (5/12/23): it seems Duo has updated their app, and honestly I like it. They have broken down the lessons to make them easier to use-and in addition have different voices to say the sentences you have to type so you get a feel of different accents and talking speeds. For learning hiragana, they have implemented a system where you now to write the hiragana symbols to move on to the next section. I’m glad they’ve made these updates. Makes learning Japanese a lot better 😊 (What’s below is pre-Duolingo update) To be honest, I’ve been (trying) studying Japanese for like 5 years now, and one of the biggest things I hated about Duolingo was that it taught you sentences or phrases rather than words…like…it didn’t really teach you how to form the sentences (by which I mean why each part of the sentence goes where), nor did it explain the grammar (very well). It also didn’t explain (well) how to say certain phonics (like ra, ro, etc). I downloaded an app called Bunpo and that has helped me more in a month than Duolingo has in 5 years (albeit I was able to remember katakana and hiragana). I also wish it told you how to write the symbols or something. Not to mention, it would at random substitute hiragana for Kanji and it expected you to know that. Like, I remember when 人 showed up and it took me having to google why you either say “hito” or “jin”, because Duolingo didn’t explain that, but rather expected me to know that.
It's used to explain the grammar in the foruma, but they closed the forums 😢
Bunpo? I am going to try it.
Oh yeah, i found it too and i like it a lot! Would def reccomend
I study Japanese at a university and your whole vibe makes me really excited to do my best. It's really difficult, but it still feels like I get to do my hobby full-time. You are so encouraging, I can't wait for you to be an instructor and help and inspire more people!
The fact that YT showed me a duolingo ad before this is just perfect
22:12 Duolingo in that moment: *_Just one last mistake before you parents are dropped into a volcano! ^^_*
I'm so happy to see Shogo finally looking at Japanese Duolingo!
I think duolingo is such a nice tool to introduce a new language to someone. It's not a big deal to learn the whole thing, and it gets a bit tedious further, but sumetimes it's really enjoyable to go back to this app and answer their exercises just to remember some of the basics! ^^
Something important to note are the settings you can apply to how you read and answer questions. For instance, you can set the characters to have hiragana pronunciations instead of romaji. You can also swap out the word banks for a blank textbox that lets you just type your answers the way you want (assuming you have a Japanese keyboard)
I would gladly sign up for your class!
I think the problem with duo is it uses formal language more than conversational language. I think the idea is to give people basics on which to build using things like watching japanese media, or talking with japanese people
I know this is a months old comment but do you know where I can watch Japanese shows that can help me learn?
Anime is the biggest one but there are Japanese language KZhead channels
@@kumatheblackbear2616anime. Start watching Anime. I recommend MHA, Mob Psycho 100, Spyxfamily.
@@connerwine8705any recommendations?
Pimsleur is the best beginner's app for learning Japanese imo. What I like the most is that you don't get overburdened with the writing system, but instead focus on the essential things: speaking and listening.
Idk, learning how to write kanji is often discouraged for beginners but personally it helped me so much with memorizing kanji.
See, I want to learn how to read as I go. I know for a fact that my accent is going to be so heavy that people will struggle to understand me, so I'm putting all my effort into being literate first and foremost. I'll probably also never get to Japan in my lifetime because I'm poor (maybe when I'm old I'll get to go), so most of my interactions with Japanese people are going to be online. It's really important to me that I can read the language. The first things I taught myself in Japanese was hiragana and katakana.
My problem with learning reading and writing too early (apart from romanji) is, that our brain can’t refer to anything already known, so it is an extra layer of complexity. After all, we didn’t learn our first language and writing/reading at the same time.
@@ravenmusic932 this is probably mostly true, but I do remember I read a lot of books as a kid - so there were quite a few words I learned from context from reading, rather than learning them from speaking or from school. So it is entirely possible to learn like the alphabet, and how to read first, and then learn actual vocabulary and grammar and such.
@@chewtoy1107 And I absolutely wouldn't dispute what you have said. But don't forget that you already were pretty comfortable in your native language before you learned reading. Actually connecting new things (like letters from the alphabet) with already known things (like words) is the way our brain likes to learn.
I'm thinking about taking the 1 year all intensive course at the Nihongo Center in Kyoto when I arrive. I do want to get some more studying in before I go but self teaching from the books isn't really helpful to learn correct pronunciation. So if you think Duolingo would be a fun and interactive way to learn Japanese, then I'm all in. Thank you for the vid! Oh, and you did teach me something today. At the end you said "Arigato gozaimasta". I first learned "arigato gozaimasu" but then was told to drop the "su" at the end. I guess I have more work to do on just saying "thank you" in the several different ways to do that!
I loved practicing conversation through hello talk! It functions a lot like social media, but there are tools to correct sentences for reach other and offer language exchange. So like you talk with a native speaker via chat, voice, or video call, as well as make posts to a feed and ask people for help and feedback. It is a great tool for someone studying alone who needs more help with listening comprehension or reading, and native ways to say things instead of like textbook vocabulary lessons.
I started taking japanese lessons taught by an actual japanese person. I can say that duo did help very much but it really didnt explain why things were said the way they were. My only problem was that i only used duo to keep up my streaks and rankings rather than actually learning so i stopped using it..
The only issue I have with DouLingo is that it’s very hard to heard differences between words when different accents are used. I’m trying to learn some Japanese before I go to Japan.
I’m currently an Australian learning Japanese from absolutely nothing except for the word arigato (thank you) and a limited understanding of numbers. This video really helped me! Thanks shogo!
I think in those last questions, you should refute the result using that "Report" button, you can provide feedback on what you think should also be allowed as a correct answer. The "Discuss" button is also useful to comment and reply to other users regarding that particular question.
Would definitely be happy learning Japanese from Shogo, hopefully lessons come soon
When did he say he was going to teach Japanese
@@quandalequindinglequintavi5160 You tell me
Thank you for this video!! I’ve been studying Japanese off and on for the better part of 2 decades. I’ve been using Duolingo for a while now, but thought that some of the sentences come across as rather odd, so thank you Shogo for reviewing it! One comment: while you were speaking I heard you say “pronounciation”. In English 発音 is “pronunciation” not “pronounciation”. This is something that a lot of native speakers of English also say.
I’ve never seen someone so cheerful. This was an adorable video
I use duolingo, and I also get mistakes with the English part, as English is my second language. And it is a little frustrating, but when I started using it, there wasn't a course for Spanish - Japanese
same here 🥲
Same here and it’s frustrating when you know the answer but you mistake it in English😅
Saaaaaame
nearly same here (i miss german->japanese)
well at least we are learning two languages! 🇧🇷
It's great as a companion tool to learn a language, but I think you def need to be following up with some textbook studying to understand context, appropriateness, etc. They methods they use definitely help the info stick way faster than anything else I've used, so I use it to lay a foundation and then build on the knowledge after it's committed to memory. Currently doing Spanish, Japanese, and French. Not confusing or any more difficult than 1 language at a time, tbh!
100% and I think it applies to Japanese especially bc a big aspect is the written language and digital doesn't really help you get consistent and memorise
@@mdkl73 To me, I feel like digital would be really useful. Idk much about Japanese, I'm still VERY basic (I literally don't know all of the hiragana yet, I've been focusing more on Russian and Spanish), but most of my usage of Japanese, as well as my other target languages, will be digital. I'm not gonna hand-write much stuff in Japanese, I don't even hand-write a lot in English, which is my native language.
@@spiceforspice3461 ofc, I use digital most of the time, I'm js it needs to be accompanied by writing especially to get used to writing kanji because there is technique and stroke order that's way easier to learn when you do it holding a pen. In theory using a apple or Samsung pen would probably be as effective though
@@mdkl73 That makes sense. Haven't really thought about that.
One of the first things I learned was rock paper scissors in Japanese and it was very helpful because when I traveled there a lot of the kids wanted to play it with me. It was a great way to build rapport and connect with the kids. So I think it’s important to learn about how to play it in Japanese.😊
You should try out the feature where you can learn かな characters and review and go over them. Now that I am starting to learn Japanese again, all the characters from Duolingo that I had gone over I remember completely and are helping when I'm learning かな again now
I would absolutely love to learn Japanese from you, Shogo. You're awesome and very knowledgeable, and bring a lot of friendly and approachable energy to learning about Japanese history and culture. Your tutelage in the language would be a great experience!