Remembering the JLPT2 Word List

During my last challenge I learned about 1,000 words from the JLPT2 word list. Over the last 29 days I managed to finish up the remaining 2,286 words on the JLPT2 word list.

Here are some statistics and graphs from Anki.

Recent Work
In last week 4237 reps/7 days
In last month 14265 reps/29 days

Average New Seen
In last week 586 (83.7/day)
In last month 2286 (76.2/day)

Total cards reviewed: 2,286
Total active cards: 1,968
Leech Rate (words I didn't remember): 14%

First Answered - This graph displays how many new cards I learned per day. I did 100 new cards on most days. There are a few days where I didn't have time for new cards so I only did review cards.

It's important to recognize when you need a break from new cards in any SRS system. A lot of people get carried away and do too many new cards without finishing their reviews. This is a trap I've fallen into a few times. As you can see I grew impatient at the end of the challenge and did 300 new cards on my last day.



Review Time and Reps - These graphs are pretty similar. One represents total time spent per day and the other total repetitions per day. Most days I spent around 45-60 minutes to complete reviews and new cards.





Cumulative Due - This graph represents how many review cards I have to do. If I do nothing for 30 days I will have 2,000 review cards waiting for me. Obviously not something I would do however you can see how SRS systems like Anki can be problematic when you miss a few days and have an endless pile of review cards. SRS works best when you can discipline yourself to do daily reviews. SRS reviews are the first thing I do when I wake up.



Due - The due graph represents the total number of reviews I have to do in the future. This number constantly changes as you review cards.



Conclusion

It feels good to be more or less done with the JLPT 2, 3, and 4 word lists. Although I do not have a 100% recall rate I don't think it's necessary. The remaining words will come to me through other important channels like reading and listening.

There are some 2,500 words remaining for me in the JLPT 1 word list. Although I feel confident that I could muscle my way through the list I'd like to take some time off. My new challenge should be posted in a few weeks. I'm thinking about doing an extensive reading campaign to try and reinforce all the new vocabulary I just learned.

Studying for the JLPT2

Why JLPT2?

I decided recently that one of my study goals is to pass the JLPT2 exam. Why not level 1? Well, my goal is really to have qualifications to do professional Japanese-English translations. I've hard that if you pass level 2 it's not too difficult to get translation work.

Practice Exam Results

This past weekend I decided to try my hand at some JLPT practice exams. I received a borderline passing score on the level 3 practice test. When I took the N2 practice exam I received a ~30% on the reading section and a 100% score on the listening section. The biggest difficulty with the N2 exam is the vocabulary and grammar.

Memorizing Words

I've decided to do to prepare for the N2 exam by memorizing more vocabulary words. Since I recently finished all of the Joyou Onyomi readings I think now is the perfect time.

During my previous challenge I managed to consume about 1,150 words from the level 1 list (19%) over 23 days. It was grueling to say the least and I was spending several hours a day going over reviews. I burned out and put the challenge on the shelf.

I've studied the JLPT2 list for about 10.65 hours over the last 2 weeks. I've memorized a total of 850 words in less than an hour per day. I'm really surprised and pleased by the results. I attribute this entirely to memorizing the Onyomi readings.

Current Goal

My current goal is to complete the JLPT2 word list over an unspecified period of time. I've been averaging about 61 words per day. Some days I do 100 new words and other days I might just do reviews with no new words. I'm not forcing myself to adhere to a daily goal this time. I estimate I'll complete the remaining 2,486 words over the coming months. Next year I'm going to own the JLPT2 test :)

Yakuza 4 - Amazon Review Translation

I translated this review today. For my next translation I think I'll choose a professional editorial from Famitsu or Kotaku.

龍が如くをやるためにPS3を買い。クリアした結果。本当にPS3を買って良かったです。

I bought a PS3 so that I could play Yakuza 4 (Like a Dragon). I played through the entire game. I'm really glad that I bought a PS3.

グラフィック、モーション、システム、基本的な物は3からほとんど変わっていませんが、自分はストーリーと桐生一馬やキャラが好きなので、その辺は気になりませんでした。

The graphics, animation, and game mechanics haven't really changed. Personally I liked the story and the character Kiryuu Kazuma (桐生一馬).
* I'm not sure what その辺は気になりませんでした means but I think it means this thing isn't very important. I couldn't find it in any of my grammar books.

シリーズ4作目なので新しい物を求めてる人にはマンネリ化かもしれませんが、今回は主人公が四人いて、その四人が繋がっていくストーリーに大いに楽しませてもらいました。

People looking for something new in the latest game of the series might be disappointed however this time there are 4 main characters. This was a lot of fun because all 4 characters are tied together in different ways.

四人とも格好よく、最後に四人揃うとこなんかは思わずニヤニヤしてしまいましたね。

The main characters are really cool and they all come together at the end. I finished the game with a big grin on my face.

ストーリーもコテコテと言ってしまえばコテコテですけど、それでも引き込まれる物語(まぁ好みの問題ですが)魅力的な登場人物。

You can say the story is over the top however the way it draws you in is amazing (if you like things like over the top storys).

毎シリーズクリアするたび次回作が待ちどうしいです。

Every time I finish a game in the series I look forward to the next one.

シリーズのどれかをやって面白いと思った人は是非買って欲しいですね。

If you enjoyed playing other games in the series you'll definitely want to buy this game.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to having my translations reviewed for accuracy. Overall I think I've captured the spirit of the review.

Translating Japanese into English

I decided recently that one of the professions I'd like to pursue is translating Japanese into English. As part of my studies I think attempting to do simple translations will help me acquire new words and better understand sentence structure.

Periodically I will pick some Japanese text from the wild and attempt to translate it. For today I've chosen an Amazon review of the video game Red Dead Redemption. Here are the results to my first draft. I will have it reviewed by a Japanese friend and post corrections later this week.

You can view the original review here.

My goal in translating this review is to strike a balance between accuracy and literalism. I guess that's one of the difficulties in translation work but I know little of the subject. Anyway, here goes!

プレイし始めたばかりなので基本的な部分をレビューさせてもらいます。
Although I just started playing I'd like to do a basic review.
* This is a very humble sounding sentence. It literally says something like "please let me review the game for you" which sounds very strange in English.

まずグラフィックですが、オープンワールドのゲームとしては、かなり綺麗で作り込まれています。
First of all the graphics are really nice for an open-world game.

アサシンクリードほど緻密だとは感じませんでしたが、そのぶんかなりマップが広く、入れる建物も多くて、中までしっかり作り込まれています。
It doesn't feel as detailed as Assasin's Creed but the world map is pretty big. There are many buildings that you can enter and they are detailed inside as well.

遠景描写もかなり細かくハッキリ見えます。
The background environment is really detailed and clear.

GTA4で不満だったフレームレートも滑らかになっています。
I was disappointed by the frame rate in GTA4 but they smoothed it out in this game.

操作性もGTA4と比べるとストレスがなく、流行りの壁をよじ登るアクションがあるのも嬉しいです。
The controls are stress-free compared to GTA4. I'm also glad that they added the ability to climb over walls like many other new games.

牛や馬などの動物が見た目も動きもかなりリアルです。
The animation of animals like cows and horses is very realistic.

ただ序盤のミッションで小さくて可愛いウサギを狩らなくちゃいけないのは生理的にキツかったです。
Even the first mission of the game where you have to hunt cute little rabbit is psychologically intense.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading and if you can offer any comments or corrections it would be much appreciated.

Jouyou Onyomi Readings

Although I haven't posted for 2 months I've been very busy studying Japanese. Over the past 2 months I've managed to memorize the Onyomi reading for the 1,945 Jouyou Kanji. This is a standard list learned throughout grade-school by kids in Japan.

The Challenge

The challenge was to remember the reading (pronunciation) of the most commonly used Onyomi (Chinese Reading) for the 1,945 Kanji in the Jouyou list. I didn't begin this as a challenge and therefore didn't have a set goal of doing this is in a prescribed period of time. It was only after I made it about halfway through the list that I realized I was going to finish rather quickly. I owe it all to Anki flashcards and images as mnemonic devices.

How I Implemented Mnemonics

I did an analysis of Onyomi readings a few months ago where I discovered that there are a total of 348 unique sound patterns associated with the 2,500 most frequently printed Kanji in the Asahi Newspaper. With this in mind it was my goal was to choose a mnemonic image for each unique sound. By the time I finished learning the Jouyou set I created a collection of roughly 130 images. Each one represents a separate sound.

My goal was to remember the readings as quickly as possible. This is why I decided to use images instead of full text mnemonic devices like the ones used in Heisig. In some cases I have fuller mnemonics that associate a story or sentence with the Kanji and image. It's difficult to explain so here are a few examples.

Mnemonic Images

Reading: メツ or metsu

When I started this challenge I didn't initially try using images. This was the first mnemonic image I used when I started. I was struggling with remember a particular Kanji reading (滅) when it occurred to me that the reading sounded an awful lot like Mets. The character 滅 means destruction. I thought to myself "The Mets are destroyed by the Yankees." Sorry Mets fans but it's the first thing that popped into my head!

Here's what the card actually looks like (front and back) in Anki.

After I came up with this mnemonic I figured it might be helpful to stick an image of the Mets logo in the card. It looked nice just having an image without all the extra text for the mnemonic cluttering the flashcard. This is when I decided it might be worthwhile to simply associate an image with each reading and then just stick the image in the card. That's when I looked up the reading for "metsu" and laughed out loud when I realized there is only one character with that reading!

Luckily there are many sound patterns associated with at least 2 or more Kanji. Here are some examples that I came up with along the way that are higher frequency.

Reading: エン or en

For those of you unfamiliar with Japanese currency that is a 1 Yen coin. The word for Yen in Japanese is actually En.

Example: 垣 The meaning of this character is hedge/fence/wall. I don't use a text mnemonic for this character. I simply have an image of a wall of 1 Yen coins. The image popped into my head after I inserted the image into the flashcard. It wasn't so much a conscious decision. Ever since then the character was simple to remember.

Reading: モ、モウ or mo, mou

This is a picture of my friend Moh. I never told him that I was using him as a mnemonic to remember Kanji readings but I suspect he will be happy to have his likeness used in such a way. Moh is also a student of Japanese.

Example: 網 The meaning of this character is netting or network. The mnemonic for this character is "Moh is good at networking." It's true. Moh is good at speaking and networking with people! Thanks Moh!

Reading: フ、フウ　or fu, fuu

This one is pretty obvious. There are dozens of characters with this reading. If you need a text mnemonic device it's pretty easy to start it out with "I pity the fool that...". It's primitive and nerdy but it works.

Example: 浮 This character means float. When I learned the etymology and stroke-order for this character my mnemonic contained something about a rubber duck. I don't remember the full mnemonic anymore because I don't need it. However, this character started out as something like "Mr. T likes to play with a rubber duck in the bathtub." Try getting that image out of your head.

Reading: リュ、リュウ or ryu, ryuu

Ryu is a popular character from the Street Fighter series. I was never a huge fan but the character is iconic and Japanese.

Example: 流 This character means current or flow. My mnemonic is "Ryu is the current champion in SF4." The meaning of current in this case isn't the same but it doesn't matter. Remember that mnemonics are like training wheels. You don't need them for long so don't over think things.

Reading: ケン or ken

This is obviously Ken from Street Fighter.

Example: 拳 This character means fist. I don't have text for this (in fact none of my ken characters have text) but the connection is obvious. None of the other characters read ken really have a connection but it doesn't matter for the most part. The image of Ken from Street Fighter is stuck in my head.

Retrospect

In retrospect this is a very effective way to rote memorize the readings for almost 2,000 Kanji. My only regret is that I didn't do this last year immediately following my completion of James Heisig's Remembering the Kanji.

According to Anki it took me approximately 62.4 hours to complete this task. It's definitely higher than that if you account for the time I spent finding mnemonic images and the time I will spend doing reviews over the coming weeks but overall not a bad way to kill a few days.

Day 20 - 100%

Total challenge time: 14.71 hours.

2252 sentences
72% accuracy on first review
75.5% accuracy all time (2163 of 2866)
88.6% accuracy with young cards

Failed cards: 366
Cards waiting for review: 1250

I'm going to spend the next few weeks going through the failed and review cards at a casual pace. Hopefully later this week I can write up a review of the challenge.

Day 17 - 82%

My current project is winding down with only 400 new sentences to go. I should be done on Tuesday at which point I'll spend another week or so doing reviews and wrapping up the failed cards (currently at 231).

This has been a really good challenge so far. I think the challenge is good in length. I'll have finished all new sentences in 21 days. The rest of the cards (reviews and fails) will be complete about a week after that for a total of 30 days. My first card accuracy rate is still floating around 73% of 1855 sentences.

It's probably not too early to say that in retrospect the project has some flaws. For one I think 100 sentences is too many per day (Flashcards, not reading in general!). Furthermore, I think the content is too easy. I would prefer fewer, more challenging sentences. It's a very difficult balance to find. Try finding 10 sentences in your target language that you want to learn. It's time consuming. I think when I move onto the intermediate level sentences I'll either do about half as many cards per day or do less sentences in the challenge.

I'll write a thorough postmortem next week.