nickelstudy

[nickelstudy]

I passed N1!

Yep, as the title suggested. I took JLPT N1 exam this July and the here's my result!

I didn't have time to write about how the exam was, so I'm using this as a good opportunity to write about it. Though, it won't be as clear as that very day.

Reading

I started off with my usual way, doing the 読解 very early. This time I tried to apply some tricks I learned from Sou-matome hoping it would help me which is

Skimming the first time -> Read again while making different symbols for different types of keyword including conjunctions too. I didn't have time to summarize each paragraph of course. I could only underline some phrases I think were important.

Knowing that I won't have enough time to do all of them, my time management was a little better. I skipped to finish the last reading problem first, the one with an information/table/graph.

In the end I couldn't finish only one big mondai which is fine. I did my best. And looking at my reading score, I was 1 point from failing which is really scary. If I take a test again, this is what I need to improve on.

Also the girl sat next to me finished it with 45 mintues left and took a nap. I wonder who she is...

Vocabs/Kanji/Grammar

Grammar part was actually the first section I do. This time I must say it was harder than I thought especially the star one. It was surprisingly confusing. There were a lot of problems I marked to do it later because I couldn't figure out the answer at all. Despite that, the format is the same as the last round. There was one polite language, and this time I didn't let it catch me off guard again because I was well prepared. Other than that, I kinda forgot...

Vocabs and Kanji, I did these when I had 10 minutes left. Kanji was so easy that I could speedrun through it. There were some that I wasn't so sure like 粘膜 or 誓約書 but in the end I correctly answered all 6 oft them. For choosing the right vocab, I'm okay with some. There are some that I felt stupid choosing, trusting my gut rather of my brain like when I choose 低迷 instead of 返上. I know the first one isn't that close but I chose it anyway...

Choosing the same words were almost all correct if it wasn't for the word ぞんざい. I've seen this word TOO MANY TIMES in the textbook or Anki but yet I could choose the right counterpart of it because it has too many meanings and I guess I wasn't so precise.

Lastly, the context usage. We have this 風潮 which I didn't even know how to pronounce it. It was hard deciding whter it litereally means as the kanjis show or is it something more figurative like a trend. (I chose the wrong one). There was 補填 and other words that mean a similar thing. I still couldn't figure out the differences lmao. And the last one, which was コンスタント. Should it be a constant (like a math) or constantly? or always or stable action? It was hard to choose but I made the right choice YIPPEE. I only 5 mintues but I had to read every single sentences so I was shaking a little bit but gladly, some are easy that I could tell from a glance like もたらす or how to use 撤回する -> 宣言撤回 from 籠り唄 by 悒うつぼ really helped me TT

Listening

There was no guarantee that I will pass the listening test. That's the scariest part. But I think I did pretty decent. Every time there is a listening mondai where they explain 4 things, could be 4 courses, 4 items, 4 rooms. And there will be a couple talking. Then you have to answer what each of them choose BUT THIS TIME THEY DIDNT DO THAT they go with what the girl choose first and what did both two have done I thought I could understand all of the 4 activities and I was going to be fine but nah. (maybe I really did)

Overall I'm just happy that I pass regardless of the score. All of the effort really paid off! The learning journey will continue despite reaching this level and I hope I can learn more and more from now on.

[nickelstudy]

6/10/2024

I can't believe Duolingo comments are gone.. It's one of the most useful function in the app so like why did they remove it. Plus, Korean Duolingo doesn't have any grammar points explanation, how are they expect the learner to understand the sentences? UNLESS what they want is to make learners be able to make and use the sentences intuitively :sobs:

I'm not happy with my Korean language progress right now. I shouldn't be using Duolingo to learn but rather, a refresher. But I'm not sure where I can improve my Korean besides reading stuff from the Internet more.

Let alone using, just understanding the text already takes time. That's why I want to find a way to use the knowledge I have...

Still trying to find a way

[nickelstudy]

6/10/2024

Ok, I'm back again. I made a reasonably good progress for my Japanese repreparation. I realized if I don't start studying it again, I will only have a week left to review all the contents which obviously isn't enough. I'm plannning to spent that week on going through test especially the listening part.

I decided to make use of my Notion account to note all of the things I'm learning

As you can see, there are several grammar notes already. I want to share them on this blog too but it needs to be refined because many sentences are taken directly from other places and I don't want to be accused of plagiarism.

I also use the database function to keep track of confusing vocabs!

Yes, it's not fully filled but I'll gradually fill them. I think it's very neat, because you can hide the meaning and also filter howevery you want just like- well... a database.

I tag some words as "hard" so it appears on the view I created, so I can review only those words.

Oh but how am I studying for the past few weeks? I'm doing the test from japanesetest4you website. I am speedrunning through grammar and vocabs. A little bit of reading just to keep my brain ready. I think in the next few days I should review the REAL test so I get a grasp of the scope the test.

That's all the update!

[nickelstudy]

Regardless, Whether, Examples, and more

It's been 2 months since I have updated this blog but I'm back with this big thread of similar grammar points. I've been busy with other things but I still keep my learning habits. Anyway let's get to the point.

Despite trying my best to do my research about these grammar points, there can still be some errors. Feel free to correct them!

We have grammar points that 1. Used two times or more 2. Used with more than one noun 3. Have a sense of viewing those nouns as the same thing/dismissing them

At least that's what a lazy person like me remember them which led me to this post. (We're gonna ignore や and でも because it's too easy, and もかまわず because you can just literally translate it)

TLDR with simple keywords

Giving Examples

～とか General examples

～やら Messy category

～だの Complaint

～なり Suggestion/Asking

～といい Evaluation

～といわず Everywhere

～といった Like, as such (functions like などの)

Regardless of/Whether or Not

～であれ/であろうと

～にしても

～にしよ/ にせよ

～かれ Limited opposite words

～問わず Clear choices

～にも関わらず Can use with opposite verbs

If you care to read more, let's dive in

Examples

One thing to note is that some of these can be translated as “whether” as well but I find it closer to giving examples

～とか - Just stating a general example

日本とか中国とか行きたい。 I want to go to Japan or China.

～やら

Messy arrangement of examples

Has a sense of “I can’t choose”

Can also use のやら with verbs

その箱にはおもちゃやら、本やらが入っている。 There are toys and books in that box.

悲しさやら悔しさやらで泣いてしまった。 I cried out of sadness and frustration.

～だの

Has a negative nuance (complaint, dissatisfaction)

Usually a spoken language

仕事だの家事だので、自分の時間が取れない。 I don’t have time for myself because of the work and housework. (notice the speaker feels troubled)

～なり

The speaker wants to suggest, beg, or ask a person to do the thing from examples

Can use with verbs

もう遅いから、タクシーなり電車なり乗ったほうがいいよ。 It’s already late, you should take a taxi or a train.

言葉の意味がわからなかったらわからないままにしないで、辞書で調べるなりインターネットで探してみるなりしてみたらどうですか。 If you don’t know what the word means, don’t just let it pass like that. How about trying looking up a dictionary or searching on the Internet?

～といい

The speaker evaluates from the examples they give. Can be good or bad

今住んでいるアパートは、家賃といい、部屋のサイズといい、このあたりの最善のチョイスだと思う。 Whether it’s for the rent or the room size, I think the apartment that I’m currently living in is the best choice around here.

～といわず

Everything, everywhere, every place or time is all the same

晴れといわず雨といわずジョギングをしている。 Rain or sunshine or whatever the weather may be, I always go jogging.

～といった

Used a long WITH other grammar like や or とか

Same thing as などの, or のような.

旦那は洗濯や料理といった家事は一切しません。 My husband does not do any household chores such as laundry or cooking.

Whether or Not/Regardless of

～であれ/であろうと (and also Vようと/ようが)

Whether it’s A or B, the result will still be the same/the speaker will do the same thing

Can also use a question word > どこであれ

Other variations include (と and が are interchangable)

Vようと + Vようと

Adjいかろうと + Adjいかろうと

N/Adjなだろうと + N/Adjなだろうと

文学であれ音楽であれ、芸術には才能が必要なのだ。 Whether it’s literature or music, art requires talent.

高かろうが安かろうが、必要なものは買わなければならない。 We need to buy the necessitites, expensive or not.

Taken from 灰Φ倶楽部/NILFRUITS

そうさ ﾈ申 ﾈ申 ﾈ申など在ろうと無かろうと もう解ってたんだ どっちだっていい That's right, I already get it. It doesn't matter if NEMO (God) exists or not.

～にしても/にしろ/にせよ

Same as であれ/であろうと

にせよ is used more in written work

彼が成功するにしても失敗するにしても、彼の努力は見逃せない。 Whether he succeeds or fails, his efforts cannot be overlooked.

旅行に行くにしろ家で過ごすにしろ、楽しい休日を過ごしたい。 Whether traveling or spending time at home, I want to have enjoyable holidays.

～かれ

Used with opposite adjectives

多かれ少なかれ is also common

良かれ悪しかれ、親の考え保守的だ。(read as あしかれ) Whether it’s good or bad, my parents’ thoughts are conservative.

～問わず

Usually used with an opposite word or words with clear choices 有無　(to exist or not), 男女 (man or woman), 季節 (spring, summer, fall, winter)

年齢を問わず、だれでもこのコンテストを申請できます。 Anyone can apply for this contest regardless of age.

この街は昼夜を問わずいつもにぎわっている。 This city is always bustling day and night.

～に関わらず

Can be used with a noun with or without (heh) clear choices

Can also be used with a verb pair > 行く行かない

Not to be confused with にもかかわらず (despite, regardless)

このバスは距離にかかわらず、どこまで行っても200円だ。 This bus costs 200 yen regardless of the distance you go.

この課題を出す出さないにかかわらず、成績に影響がありません。 Regardless of whether or not you submit this assignment, it will not affect your grade.

Ok that's pretty much it. I could go on and on linking the similar grammar but I think this the the best I can do without going out of the scope. Hope anyone find this helpful!

[nickelstudy]

3/17/2024

So The community courses in memrise are moving to a new website and it would last at least until the end of 2024. Will they shut down? I have no idea. But I am learning Korean words from there using Howtostudykorean.com word list.

Now, I wonder if it's still worth it to review vocabs from there or should I start finding alternatives. I'm thinking of coming back to Duolingo since I can be more active with using a language but the updates are hmmm I don't know, a little bit too much for me.

For the time being, I think I will still use the memrise course since i have like,,, 4 units there and it's such a huge progress for me.

[nickelstudy]

3/14/2024

Decided to borrow Sou-Matome N1 Reading today

**I'll add a photo later**

Luckily the due date is extended probably because the school semester is ending.

I'm planning to improve my reading speed while slowly reviewing grammars. I shouldn't waste time because I have only 1 shot left this July... Gotta be prepared!

I also did Korean vocab review too.. now that I'll be free soon, I think I can do it more regularly.

Extra: I have a Japanese internship interview in the upcoming days, I realllllly hope I learn something from it. Having N2 cert doesn't help you with this kind of stuff at all ahaha

[nickelstudy]

Did a Japanese lecture session with my friend today. I never talked this much lmao. It feels good that I get to use my Japanese knowledge to teach someone

[nickelstudy]

The Result Is Out

1/30/2024

It has been a little while since the JLPT result came out. Here's mine.

It's...not surprising considering that I can't finish the reading part in time. But I'm quite surprised I got listening more thatn half (though I could be lucky).

I'm a little sad haha. 9 points to pass, i think. Still, I had only 4-5 months to prepared so I don't think there was anything I could do.

I'll try it again this July because it's my last time before I'm busy with an internship.

But what I am going to do?

SInce I have more time, I'll take a closer look into the materials I've already have. Vocab farming is also crucial, considering that the range is very wide. And of course, read more. I think reading is the best way to learn vocab and improve my reading speed. ah but I should expand my reading topic.

That's it. Hopefully it won't be worse next time

[nickelstudy]

漢字でGO!

1/19/2024

漢字でGO! is my current obsession in the past week. My friend sent it to me last September, I had lots of fun but I didn't continue playing it. That is until I picked it up again recently.

The game is about typing the pronunciation of the given words containing Kanjis. Mainly, there are 6 levels with each level, the word become less straightforward to read and require LOTS of word bank to correctly answer.

Personally the first few levels are fun because of the joy I get from guessing the pronunciation right using my mere knowledge of each Kanjis. It's also interesting to see a nonsense looking word from the upper level. Or the kanji of loan words that I didn't even know it exists!

Well does this benefit anything to me? Not really, but it is still fun to brag that you know the reading of 「丿乀」 (へつぽつ）

Give it a try!

https://plicy.net/GamePlay/155561

[nickelstudy]

1/12/2024

Despite being amidst midterm and project hell, I borrowed these 2 books yesterday from a uni's library.

The left one is about Japanese's onomatopoeia and the other is about Korean slangs.

I'm currently reading the Japanese one first. I find it quite useful. But honestly, even if I feel like I can get the meaning from the feeling of them, I'll eventually forget that. Still, I'm gonna try to learn as much as I can. It even has exercises! I like that a lot.

For Korean slangs, I haven't started yet but looking at the year it was published (2014) I don't think it would be that useful. Langauges evolve a lot obviously. But I hope I can still find some useful.

I only have 2 weeks to finish them. I don't know if I can, but I'll do my best. (does this mean i'm gonna ignore school y- no of couse haha there's no way i would do that????)

Trying to keep my mind busy... I know I should be doing other stuff. Everyone has the same amount of time but it depends on how one will use it. I don't really know if this is the right thing haha. Like- everyone is getting better at their own thing, me as well, but I also feel bad when I'm not getting better at the same thing as others. It's the consequence of my choice why am I even feeling bitter about it. right? I can't help it

[nickelstudy]

Back to studying Korean again. I barely retain any words. It feels as if I have to start from square one lol.

Recognizing the words is still OK but actively recalling the word (translate to KR) is a big problem to me

[nickelstudy]

JLPT N1 Experience

So first of all, Happy New Year. It has been a while since I've updated this blog. I've been feeling depressed in the past few weeks, I think it's because of drawing? I feel like I haven't been performing well in art, and that it's hard to accept painful truth that I cannot please everyone- not that it matters on this blog, but it's WHY I decide to take some time to write an update here.

I was supposed to talk about my first experience with N1 but I got busy after. I caught up in many stuff, I guess, plus I was busy with my birthday and helping my family's work throughout the month. But now that it's over, let's talk shall we?

Before That

I haven't talked about my last week strategy, here's what I did.

Stopped learning Kanji and do the drills instead

Finished Shinkanzen Grammar in the first section. I had some days left, so I skimmed through the second section without doing the exercise (I did for A - D i think but- I definitely shouldn't)

Borrowed these two books (pic below). For reading, I did every bit of every question style (there were like 6 of them right? Short passage, Long, etc.)

And for listening, I tried to rush through it but I kinda gave up with the chapter III or IV I'm not sure.

I switched between two of them on the last day

FYI the blue book is actually fantastic! I think I've said it before but it has explanation for each answers. I think it's super cool.

Now For N1

Chapter 1: Before exam

For context, I travelled to the exam location alone, so I wasn't bounded by anyone and I could roam anywhere. I got out early, and arrived there pretty early. But walking from the entrance to the exam spot took a while, to the point where I doubted to myself if I was going in the right direction. There were many people there already. I think the morning peeps had already entered the room when I arrived.

I had lunch and... wander around (Typical Pikmin Bloom player). There wasn't much to do anyway. I decided to take a quick review of some onomatopoeia and other vocabs. I think at that point, nothing is more important than vocabs. It was a while before they allowed us to go up the building. Anyway, I SAW A KID in a highschooler outfit in front of the same room as mine! IM- I DON'T KNOW?? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO BE THIS GOOD AT THAT AGE?? And of course we entered the room. I sat not so far from the entrance.

One thing that bothers me is the fact that they never announced to bring a mask but they asked everyone to wear it in the room?? Luckily, I had it on already.

Chapter 2: The Exam

Sorry for the long introduction haha. SO, starting off with vocabs, grammars, and reading. I skipped to grammar secion first because it's not too hard or too easy. It's all fuzzy now but I did okay(?)

There was あっての that's pretty easy. But there was one of them that bugged me and I was wrong on that one too. It's といたしまして... so weird, I didn't expect it to answer that. ALSO, HONORIFIC VERB CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD but i think i answered it right.

Then onto reading section because I was really scared if I couldn't finished it. It- took me a while to finish each of them but in a fair amount of time. It's like 10 minutes left that I switched to doing vocabs with a lightning speed because I FORGOT there was a fill in the blanks and not just guessing kanji's reading.

I almost got 誇張 (こちょう) wrong as こうちょう

There were 奇跡、偏り、矛盾、賄う、軽率 in which i had no problems

Filling the words is where I had problem due to hurriness. I missed the 快挙 cause I don't know the word.

見返り too, because there was a word that I thought it meant (repay) and not the first

I GOT ONOMATOPOEIA WRONG ANYwAY HECC YEA i didn't know what つくづく means so i went with きっかり or きっぱり im not sure

Also there was a sentence that was supposed to mean "His body condition was..." I thought it was "worsen" so I went with 崩れる except no it's the opposite "ほぐれる". I didn't know that word but i've seen it before it's the goodamn spirit's name from the game.

I didn't know what 尺度 means or how it is read but I got the meaning substitution right (yay) (it's standard)

Here's the fun one. デマ... THIS WORD THAT I NEED TO GUESS HOW IT IS USED WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ITS MEANING. I tried to came up with the word this word could come from. Dermatologist? Demand? Theme??? (that's テーマ) I had no idea and got it wrong eventually. Can you guess?

It's "Demagogie", a German word meaning false rumor... WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED. I asked one of my Japanese if she knew. Of course she did. She even gave me an alternative for it too... but I forgot. I only know that's it in katakana (im sorry)

Last minute i left one Mondai randomly answered!

For Choukai, it was so goddamn fast. I am certain that if it wasn't fast, it would be manageable for me. I honestly don't know if I scored it well or not, the last listening part were as hard as ever. ONE THING ABT IT THOUGH, there was a part where they were talking in a cafe about how the shop owner use a coffee beans? I think?

ANd FOR GOD'S SAKE WHAT'S WITH THE BACKGROUND MUSIC??? My concentration was popped away, I kept glancing around wondering if what I was hearing was someone's phone or the tape's music. I don't even know what the question really was to be honest.

What's Next?

I- I don't know. I just need to wait for the result. But I'll try to slowly get back to learning a bit Korean and Japanese every day again. Probably need to brush up Memrise and Anki. At least 5 mins a day haha. Thanks for reading til here. Keep on learning! I'll make sure to do my best for learning languages this year too!

I don't have new year's resolution but I guess.. continue ASL? I got busy that I have no time to do it anymore. I doubt if I can do it, considering I'll be busy with internship next academic year.

Anyway, have a great year everyone. Hope you have a good luck and success with studying and anything you are willing to pursue this year.

[nickelstudy]

Learning languages is a messed up thing for me, because yes, I understand more of the concept of the languages and I can talk to more people! However, the more I learn, the more "ego' is building up inside me. I find it such a wonderful thing that some people are willing to understand each other despite the language barrier. I just can't... I have this ego that I MUST learn that language if I want to talk to them. Using a translator feels cheating.

"But isn't the point of learning languages to be able to communicate with more people?" Yes, it facilitates things a lot and come in handy at times. But goD the satisfaciton of using your knowledge contributes to the ego too.

[nickelstudy]

11/17/2023

I've decided to stop going through Kanji sets because it is a waste of time. I am now focusing on doing exercises from japanesetest4you. Well, if there is a chance for me to do the exercises from other resources, I think I will do it too.

Shinkanzen grammar is going on track. But lately, I haven't aced any drills at all. Maybe because I'm distracted or that they're actually hard. Could be either way *shrugs* but I'll try harder. I'm concern if my school projects will get in my way of learning, but I hope not.

Also, my friend has been trying to level up his Japanese. I recomended a few books for him and now he's actively reading, doing the exercises every day while we're waiting for class. It is... surprising. He surpasses my expectation because I thought he would stop doing it after a week.

Seeing him being passionate about it, asking me about the language reminds me of- something that I've been missing, something I lack of which makes learning Japanese a duty for me. Since when did that change? haha I still remember bringing a JLPT N4 book everywhere trying to go through it as much as I could. I mean i still bring it everywhere but..I don't feel the urge to read more once I reach my goal. (it's hard, that's why duh)

Well, I hope everyone's studies are going well too! I'm gonna do my best too.

[nickelstudy]

～ものの vs ～ものを

No one does it in English so I'll do it for myself. It's a rough one, please don't expect to know anything more.

TLDR: ものの = しかし、 ものを = のに

Both express contradiction and are rather formal.

～ものの

Use to express the concept that "Yes, it's true that ～ HOWEVER ー"

手術は成功したものの、まだ心配だ。 Though the surgery was a success, I'm still worried. 不景気とはいうものの、人々の表情は明るい。 Despite the economic slump, people's faces are cheerful. (there's also というものの!)

There is also a であるものの conjugation too.

～ものを

Use to express a hypothese of "What could have been" with a sense of regret (It didn't actually happened but it COULD have if you had done that) It's literally another のに but more formal. So if you can use it, then this shouldn't be a problem

一言声をかけてくれれば手伝ったものを。 If only you had call out to me, I would have helped you. 黙っていればバレなかったものを、どうして言っちゃうかなあ。 If only they had kept their mouth shut, no one would have found out. I wonder why they talked about it?

My honest thought? "It's literally another のに" is tricky, because のに can express what seems to be a normal contradiction (or so you think), which can get you confused. But the main point is that regretful nuance containted within the sentence(？？？？)

[nickelstudy]

11/7/2023

I think I'm doing good being on track. I almost finished Set 8. But it's not that I learned how to write them all, just meanings should be good. I'm also planning to do kanji drills from Japanesetest4you so I can know what mistake I could make.

Studying from Shinkanzen can be time-consuming haha (Is an hour a lot? Idk) because I have to look at eVERY grammar references in order to truly understand them. They're harder, that's for sure.

I have yet to summarize them oh god

[nickelstudy]

HAHA I'm back at my dorm

11/5/2023

This sounds like a diary lmao bUT yes I'm back at my dorm. To be honest, being at my home makes me study better because the routine is more fixed than here. Nonetheless, I'll keep trying.

Anyway, the update... I have skimmed through the kanjis and oh boy. I just don't see the point of studying them for some. They are mainly for names so they're not worth spending time learning it too much.

That's it! I'm on the 6-7th set right now. Hope I can be on track hehe