How to use word association to master your tango Japanese

How to Use Word Association to Master Japanese

A good goal when learning another language is to try to remember words so that you won’t ever forget them. That last sentence contains quite a lofty goal. You make absurd associations that are meaningful to you and in this way by making absurd associations between something that reminds you of the meaning of the word in Japanese but sounds like something you can relate to in English. The more absurd the associations, the less likely you are to forget them, unless you forget the association related to the words you are memorizing. Take the following for example: tanjo^bi = birthday, anchovies have birthdays too or tan Jo be chilling cuz it’s her birthday yo wassup! Mentally picture a tan person named Jo talking ghetto cuz she be this and be that! Go berserk on absurd.

I know what you are saying. This method is nutz, and you are correct but whatever it take to memorize a word quicker and will help you retain that word so that you might use it sometime later on down the line, then more power to it, non? Hopefully you are catching my drift about this style of word, phrase memorization but through another example or two you’ll catch on. You know what I’m saying. Get down and ghetto you can speak Japanese fluently only if you try. So this tan girl or guy named Jo be hunh? She be what? Who cares! As long as you can relate meaning to sound in a way that helps you remember the word until you reach the plateau of usefulness. Once a word that is new to you in another language is used, from the very first time to the 50th time, you get better with each use of the word.

Another good method I have found that when you are practicing your conversation skills, replace during the day any word that you would want and set aside 2 hours where you speak only in the target language at all costs. In all situations I find that even with minimal to limited vocabulary knowledge, speaking words in the target language is so critical to developing fluency I can’t bear not to scream in the language, and that wasn’t too good but it helped me. I found that sometimes I didn’t have to say or gesture a thing and everything that I wanted communicated was comprehended. Through gestures too someway or another you can always get your meaning across.

You have got to have an earnest desire, and a disciplined method of study, but I find that methods like these, albeit ludicrous or seemingly absurd techniques for learning a second language work wonders for my Japanese language progression.

So now what? Simple!

Let’s say you learned the word for paper that day, or you learned the phrase ha o migaku, to brush your teeth, do you

A. Tell your mom or your roommates or whoever you live with that you are going to brush your teeth?

B. You say to them in Japanese and to all who will listen and put up with your intense desire to speak fluently the Japanese language, IIE HA O MIGAKIMASU or something to that effect?

Japanese Word Association Examples

SURU – Suru was the guy who would take over the ship in Star Trek if Captain Kirk couldn’t be there, and he was a busy guy. Suru was the guy who always was doing something. Make an association between the verb to do, and the guy named Suru on Star Trek. You’ll never forget words if they are associated in a meaningful or in some way absurdly memorable way. SURU in Japanese is the verb to do.

NEKO – imagine Cleopatra with a long neck and her long neck cat called necko or neko for short etc.

MIMI – the little girl whose ears were so cute you would always grab her by the ears O-mimi with the honorific prefix means the honorable ears, the ones affixed to your head.

DENKI – the electric light is so very tiny & dinky in Japan image etc.

Tofu can fly = TOBU means to fly, jump etc.

MUHO^SHU^ moo + hoe +shoe = free service, the cow said moo you ho, shoe get out of here this ain’t no free service – thus was born the word meaning free service - muho^shu

Young children often KURAI in the dark, I mean cry in the dark!

To sneeze is easy, in Japanese it sounds more like what we actually do than the English word to sneeze. In Japanese to sneeze is KURAKUSHON SURU (クラクション する).

The word for paint is already absurdly similar to the Japanese word Penki ペンキ.
The word for

Sometimes you as a language learner will succumb to certain idioms or language ideas that are too strong to shake. One example I know for me and a lot of other gaijin living in Japan was the word morau (貰う)– which means, to get. So When speaking to other gaijin 外人 in Japan we would speak all English until some phrase came up where we said we got something from somebody or somewhere as in

I morau’d (貰う'd) a nice silk tie from him. Or you’re always morau’ing (貰う'ing) some good stuff! Meaning - I got a tie, or You are always getting stuff etc.

One of the first Japanese phrases I remember learning was the Japanese phrase for don’t mention it or You’re Welcome - the don’t touch my mustache or Do^ itashimashite principle. I was told then that the way to remember how to say,” You’re welcome" was Don’t Touch My Mustache, which is basically the same as Do^ itashimashite with a little effort put in.

Now don’t go overboard with too crazy an association keep it just absurd or not absurd enough that will help you remember the way a word is pronounced. Don’t be going hidari maki 左巻 on us. There must be a point at which you can enter back into real study mode to pull out the real words you are after and not just what they sound like. Why would you do this? Because there will come a time when your speaking skills will not get any better until you start your journey into the Kanji. Ooh scary stuff. Just kidding, don’t let it scare you! Kanji is actually quite bitchin’ and rad!

As Always, Ganbatte Ne! Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei

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