Japanese Through Songs! - Nihongo Manabu

Heeey!

This is my first ever contribution to our site! (wooah~) And this entry will be all about learning Japanese!

Like J, I’m also a beginner in learning Japanese, despite my 10 years of exposure to anime, manga, and doramas. But I have always been content with subtitles, that I never really bothered to learn. All throughout the years, I picked up a word or two (or a hundred) in Japanese, but never got to learn how to use it or even construct a sentence.

And then there was a time, when the TV shows I love ceased to get subbed. I struggled and that really motivated me to learn the language more. I have been an avid fan of this Japanese Idol group called “Arashi”, so if you do hear me talk a bit of Japanese you will notice that I use the masculine form. LOL! What do you expect? My daily companions are these 5 middle-aged “supposed idols” dorks.

Besides TV Shows and Doramas, I got my vocabs through songs as well. And because I’m the type to sing her heart out when the music is playing, lyrics in hand (with English translation) help me a lot with my Japanese skills (or almost the lack of. :p). By learning a Japanese song, you’re already hitting two birds with one stone! You get to add new vocabularies in your arsenal, and you could polish your intonation, and pronunciation! Cause let’s face it, there are really difficult to utter words in Japanese. (teehee!) It also helps if the song is quite catchy and has an upbeat rhythm to it, but a slow ballad could also help you catch the words.

This can also help you memorize the kanji. When I listen to my playlist, I would read the kanji lyrics along. That kinda help me read the characters faster. Then after, try to check the English translation of the song too, and try to pinpoint words and it’s Japanese equivalent. It’s like a vocabulary exercise. I think all of you should try that! 🙂

So here are my top 6 8 songs!

1. BITTERSWEET – Arashi (嵐)

I know I did say I’m a fan of these adorkables, but if you try to listen to the song, it’s quite catchy and tbh, after the 2nd time I heard the song, I already nailed the first stanza! And no, I’m not forcing you to like those 33-year old men. Haha!

Still, if you like them enough, consider supporting the artist by buying the single. XD

Amazon: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
CDJapan: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
HMV: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
Play Asia: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]

2. Mou Sukoshi Mou Sukoshi – Atsumi Saori

This one, is the ending song of the anime “Midori no Hibi” (美鳥の日々). This one isn’t lively, but the words used are easy to pronounce. And like the first song, I nailed the whole song by the 3rd time I heard it. And this should really be in the number one spot on my list. But I’m biased and I love Arashi. LOL