The Secret to Learning Japanese! Amazing!

Secret to Learning English

Finally! Someone has come out with a strategy for learning Japanese that is easy, simple, and not all that hard. I don’t know why I didn’t come up with this before…oh wait, I did.

Learning Japanese shouldn’t be a complicated thing. People often think that it is, and overcomplicated things for themselves. Granted, learning another language can be a difficult thing, but it shouldn’t be a complicated one. Going around finding “this program” or “that program” will waste more time than it will gain you. You’ll be spending time taking shortcuts and come out way behind in the end. The best way to learn Japanese is to sit down and study it. A lot. Every day. It won’t come right away, and you won’t feel like you’re making progress, but I promise, you are!

The real secret to learning Japanese is perservering, which is pretty fitting since the Japanese culture is obsessed with that concept. I know it takes more time. So many people, though, want to rush through things and they end up coming out with patchy Japanese that they forget a week later. If you want to take Japanese language learning seriously, then you will have to work hard at it. You’ll need to want it. I want you to want it too. I know way too many people who study for about a week and then decide that they don’t care enough anymore (then go back to watching anime 24/7, of course)

Another thing that might help you learn is to watch this video, though it will probably just tickle you a bit.

[yframe url='www.youtube.com/watch?v=flBMpY7ZNX8']

Please feel free to comment below and tell us how you study your Japanese. How are you going to learn? How are you learning? What do you do to keep yourself accountable? Share your knowledge a little with the rest of the world.

Also: Make sure you go over to whatjapanthinks.com and vote for your favorite Japan blogs!

  • http://www.myspace.com/chrispy_aisan_dude Chrispy

    hey nice vid, its kinda sad but true….i kno a whole crap load of ppl who wants to learn japanese and some who think they know just because they watch anime with english sub. and i think your right there isn’t a trick or secrete on how to learn. im one of those ppl who doesn’t really have so much time to learn japanese but wants to, and i am gonna try to fit it in with me learning spainish, tagalog and just school work…hehehe i like to be multilingual some day. and japanese is one of the main languages i want to learn, heh im not gonna be like my ignorant friends having their head up their asses complaining,”i wanna learn japanese. i can’t learn japanese, why can’t i learn japanese?” well im gonna be the one who pulls his head out of his ass and actually break the teachings.

  • http://www.myspace.com/chrispy_aisan_dude Chrispy

    hey nice vid, its kinda sad but true….i kno a whole crap load of ppl who wants to learn japanese and some who think they know just because they watch anime with english sub. and i think your right there isn’t a trick or secrete on how to learn. im one of those ppl who doesn’t really have so much time to learn japanese but wants to, and i am gonna try to fit it in with me learning spainish, tagalog and just school work…hehehe i like to be multilingual some day. and japanese is one of the main languages i want to learn, heh im not gonna be like my ignorant friends having their head up their asses complaining,”i wanna learn japanese. i can’t learn japanese, why can’t i learn japanese?” well im gonna be the one who pulls his head out of his ass and actually break the teachings.

  • wolf

    Agh, the Nova Usagi song at the end? Don’t you know how painful that song is for some people?

  • wolf

    Agh, the Nova Usagi song at the end? Don’t you know how painful that song is for some people?

  • http://milkberry.blogspot.com Milkberry

    Hello~ I found your blog via Youtube. LOL kawaii boushi desu!

    I actually think there is a trick to learning Japanese the fast (and ironically, the hard) way when it comes to speaking. But I guess it only works when you’re actually living in Japan. Watch the television everyday and every night until you understand what they’re saying. LOL. That’s what my husband did to me. We also have a ‘Speak Japanese Day’ every Thursday and whenever we go around town my husband will have random quiz about the place. I think these methods help a lot.

    As a result, I can understand Japanese quite well now, however the downside is that I still can’t read Kanji (T_T)

    I don’t think there’s another way around it when it comes to writing or reading, though. I’m slowly learning kanji, and I find that Kanji pictographs work like a charm for me, because its fun and I understand the meaning a lot more. Eventually, I’ll enroll in a Japanese language class… one day.

  • http://milkberry.blogspot.com Milkberry

    Hello~ I found your blog via Youtube. LOL kawaii boushi desu!

    I actually think there is a trick to learning Japanese the fast (and ironically, the hard) way when it comes to speaking. But I guess it only works when you’re actually living in Japan. Watch the television everyday and every night until you understand what they’re saying. LOL. That’s what my husband did to me. We also have a ‘Speak Japanese Day’ every Thursday and whenever we go around town my husband will have random quiz about the place. I think these methods help a lot.

    As a result, I can understand Japanese quite well now, however the downside is that I still can’t read Kanji (T_T)

    I don’t think there’s another way around it when it comes to writing or reading, though. I’m slowly learning kanji, and I find that Kanji pictographs work like a charm for me, because its fun and I understand the meaning a lot more. Eventually, I’ll enroll in a Japanese language class… one day.

  • Amnell

    I started watching anime in Japanese and that’s what interested me in the learning the language. I don’t use anime as a learning tool. Having said that, watching anime in Japanese has made my ability to ‘listen’ way much more better than it ever was when I was learning Spanish. I’ve also picked up a few colloquialism (sp?) and such from watching FMA and Ranma 1/2. Honestly, though… Until I started doing research online and got into a class at my local JC, I had no concept of grammar or any major convention of the language *other* than that “verb is at end”.

    I guess what I’m saying is that I agree with you: anime will not teach you to speak Japanese.

    Going to a class and doing a lot of research and study online will.

  • Amnell

    I started watching anime in Japanese and that’s what interested me in the learning the language. I don’t use anime as a learning tool. Having said that, watching anime in Japanese has made my ability to ‘listen’ way much more better than it ever was when I was learning Spanish. I’ve also picked up a few colloquialism (sp?) and such from watching FMA and Ranma 1/2. Honestly, though… Until I started doing research online and got into a class at my local JC, I had no concept of grammar or any major convention of the language *other* than that “verb is at end”.

    I guess what I’m saying is that I agree with you: anime will not teach you to speak Japanese.

    Going to a class and doing a lot of research and study online will.

  • Kenji

    Agh, I want to learn japanese. ANd Im willing to spend years on it. But can anyone direct me to a decent website for learning the language without any gaps in fluency? Everything I find seems like some sort of…of phrase book, and I dont think anything will give me a fluent understanding of japanese. Especailly that half the times I compare the website, one will tell me the word Anata, then the next website tells me that anata is very impolite and should be avoided.

    Im just asking, if anyone is willing to spare the time, could someone please post a website that is safe, and I wont be afraid of getting incorrect information from. Also, A nice website for kanji would realy help. I AM willing to spend a few years learning the first few thousand kanji. Ive only spent a few weeks on japanese. Though I dont think Im making progress, Ive only learned japanese worth about 1 hour of conversation and probably.

    Im greenporing on youtube.

  • Kenji

    Oh, also, yes, it is a horrible Idea to learn japanese through anime. I dont say this looking from an outside point of view unfortunately. I too, was once an idiot. Well, not really, but its not even an good idea to EXPAND on what your already know through anime. The first few words I thought I learned were some curse word, A word I thought meant I like actually meant feels good. And a word I thought meant hello, Moshi Moshi, is only supposed to be used on phones. etc.

  • http://none Kenji

    Agh, I want to learn japanese. ANd Im willing to spend years on it. But can anyone direct me to a decent website for learning the language without any gaps in fluency? Everything I find seems like some sort of…of phrase book, and I dont think anything will give me a fluent understanding of japanese. Especailly that half the times I compare the website, one will tell me the word Anata, then the next website tells me that anata is very impolite and should be avoided.

    Im just asking, if anyone is willing to spare the time, could someone please post a website that is safe, and I wont be afraid of getting incorrect information from. Also, A nice website for kanji would realy help. I AM willing to spend a few years learning the first few thousand kanji. Ive only spent a few weeks on japanese. Though I dont think Im making progress, Ive only learned japanese worth about 1 hour of conversation and probably.

    Im greenporing on youtube.

  • http://none Kenji

    Oh, also, yes, it is a horrible Idea to learn japanese through anime. I dont say this looking from an outside point of view unfortunately. I too, was once an idiot. Well, not really, but its not even an good idea to EXPAND on what your already know through anime. The first few words I thought I learned were some curse word, A word I thought meant I like actually meant feels good. And a word I thought meant hello, Moshi Moshi, is only supposed to be used on phones. etc.

  • Doinaka

    Kevinnwhat suggested Tae Kim’s website for learning Japanese, but there are so many incorrect examples and explanations scattered among the correct Japanese that I don’t think it’s very useful. People like it because it’s online and has a clickable table of contents (unlike a real, solid, old-fashioned textbook). But the howlers in the example and explanations are presented so nonchalantly that it makes it dangerous. It LOOKS so authoritative, but it’s full of the kind basic grammar mistakes that college students in Japanese make on their exams when they don’t QUITE nail it down from class.

    Get a real textbook and use it. It costs money, but the grammar isn’t so wackily far off base as Kim’s site.

  • Doinaka

    Kevinnwhat suggested Tae Kim’s website for learning Japanese, but there are so many incorrect examples and explanations scattered among the correct Japanese that I don’t think it’s very useful. People like it because it’s online and has a clickable table of contents (unlike a real, solid, old-fashioned textbook). But the howlers in the example and explanations are presented so nonchalantly that it makes it dangerous. It LOOKS so authoritative, but it’s full of the kind basic grammar mistakes that college students in Japanese make on their exams when they don’t QUITE nail it down from class.

    Get a real textbook and use it. It costs money, but the grammar isn’t so wackily far off base as Kim’s site.

  • 樱奈

    Hi.. i want to learn how to read/speak japanese.. i’ve bought a dictionary but it only has basic”travel” words.. what do you suggest?

  • 樱奈

    p.s how did you learn japanese?

  • 樱奈

    Hi.. i want to learn how to read/speak japanese.. i’ve bought a dictionary but it only has basic”travel” words.. what do you suggest?

  • 樱奈

    p.s how did you learn japanese?

  • kat

    My japanese class used the Minna no Nihongo series. You can buy it from thejapanshop.com. They have fantastic prices. You should buy the Minna no Nihongo 1 textbook( Shokyuu beginner), the Minna no Nihongo 1 English translation and grammatical notes, the grammatical patterns exercise workbook (orange) and the pink workbook(Hyoujun Mondaishu). Also buy the cd if you can’t find the audio for it anywhere else.

    They also have a kanji series but I liked the book we used in class more.
    http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Kanji-Book-Vol-1/dp

    anyways you don’t have to take my advice. Good luck!

  • kat

    My japanese class used the Minna no Nihongo series. You can buy it from thejapanshop.com. They have fantastic prices. You should buy the Minna no Nihongo 1 textbook( Shokyuu beginner), the Minna no Nihongo 1 English translation and grammatical notes, the grammatical patterns exercise workbook (orange) and the pink workbook(Hyoujun Mondaishu). Also buy the cd if you can’t find the audio for it anywhere else.

    They also have a kanji series but I liked the book we used in class more.
    http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Kanji-Book-Vol-1/dp/4893580914

    anyways you don’t have to take my advice. Good luck!

  • Megan

    I taught myself Japanese, for about 2 years now since I was 12. At first I just learned basic stuff from anime XD But then when I was 2 I started to get really serious about it, and I’m half Chinese so I could already understand some of the kanji. At first I just bought a dictionary and learned some vocabulary and simples sentences from that. Soon I had a bigger vocabulary (oh but not that impressive XD) and I started watching J-dorama and loved J-rock.

    So from the J-rock songs and J-dorama I began to learn how the sentences and words they used made sense, and tried learning what they were saying. And I joined some Japanese community and blog sites to see how Japanese people used Japanese. So after I felt kind of comfortable with Japanese, I started talking to this Japanese transfer student at my school, and I still can’t speak as much as I can understand, but I managed! So now I practice whenever I meet with a Japanese person…

    On some websites I did notice they said different things about stuff, like anata was impolite or anata was common, but I just avoided that and looked at what people said >>;;

    Oh also I suggest TaeKim’s website too! It helped me a lot with grammar! It’s really good! :D
    http://www.guidetojapanese.org/completeguide.ht

  • Megan

    I taught myself Japanese, for about 2 years now since I was 12. At first I just learned basic stuff from anime XD But then when I was 2 I started to get really serious about it, and I’m half Chinese so I could already understand some of the kanji. At first I just bought a dictionary and learned some vocabulary and simples sentences from that. Soon I had a bigger vocabulary (oh but not that impressive XD) and I started watching J-dorama and loved J-rock.

    So from the J-rock songs and J-dorama I began to learn how the sentences and words they used made sense, and tried learning what they were saying. And I joined some Japanese community and blog sites to see how Japanese people used Japanese. So after I felt kind of comfortable with Japanese, I started talking to this Japanese transfer student at my school, and I still can’t speak as much as I can understand, but I managed! So now I practice whenever I meet with a Japanese person…

    On some websites I did notice they said different things about stuff, like anata was impolite or anata was common, but I just avoided that and looked at what people said >>;;

    Oh also I suggest TaeKim’s website too! It helped me a lot with grammar! It’s really good! :D
    http://www.guidetojapanese.org/completeguide.html#part1.start.html

  • Randomman

    Hey I just randomly scrolled onto your video’s on youtube and I must say that you are quite amusing. About a year ago I did try learning japanese through Anime but I realized that it would take far too long. If only I had seen the video sooner. Well keep it up (Yes nothing bad was said ^.^)

  • Randomman

    Hey I just randomly scrolled onto your video’s on youtube and I must say that you are quite amusing. About a year ago I did try learning japanese through Anime but I realized that it would take far too long. If only I had seen the video sooner. Well keep it up (Yes nothing bad was said ^.^)

  • nick

    so am i supposed to remember all the different kinds of writing and reading (hiragana,katakana etc…)?

  • nick

    so am i supposed to remember all the different kinds of writing and reading (hiragana,katakana etc…)?

  • JESSICA_777

    I JUST GO TO:
    http://www.seedgenesis.net/index.php?action=lea
    to learn japanese

  • JESSICA_777
  • Izeyhec

    i was trying to get in some summer studying so i thought i would type in learning japanese in you tube where i happened to bump into this video and i have to say i thought it was awsome i ended up spending hella long looking for all the videos i could find that you did and they are all great lets see back to the topic i have takin japanese classes for a year and a half (failed the first time threw got a B+ 2nd time ^.^) and what i learned in that class was all hiragana katakana some kanji and we had alot of vocab words that well as much as i memerised them for the test and quizez that we had every week 2 to 3 times after i passed a test i would never look back to theo’s words now i realise that is my fault when it comes to learning and the one thing that i stress if u learn words and u think u have them memerized make sher after u learn new words restudy the old ones or u will have a vocabulary of like 15 words and it will change every week

  • Izeyhec

    i was trying to get in some summer studying so i thought i would type in learning japanese in you tube where i happened to bump into this video and i have to say i thought it was awsome i ended up spending hella long looking for all the videos i could find that you did and they are all great lets see back to the topic i have takin japanese classes for a year and a half (failed the first time threw got a B+ 2nd time ^.^) and what i learned in that class was all hiragana katakana some kanji and we had alot of vocab words that well as much as i memerised them for the test and quizez that we had every week 2 to 3 times after i passed a test i would never look back to theo’s words now i realise that is my fault when it comes to learning and the one thing that i stress if u learn words and u think u have them memerized make sher after u learn new words restudy the old ones or u will have a vocabulary of like 15 words and it will change every week

  • Louise

    Your video is great, I know some people just like that, who want to learn Japanese from anime, I’ve never thought about it actually, maybe because I always knew it was kind stupid… “So what the hell were you looking for videos to learn Japanese ??” you say…. well, I study Japanese about one year now, and I’m planning on traveling next year to Japan, so everything that I can find about Japan and Japanese is helping. I’m going to be there 2 months alone without speaking Portuguese at all (I’m Brazilian by the way…) … so I guess I have to work hard here, taking class, studying by myself, learning the kanjis… I like the challenge, always did, I study French too…. everybody thinks I’m a little bit crazy…. but i like, can’t help it…
    =) so… would be awesome if you had some more advices to give me :)
    o//

  • Louise

    Your video is great, I know some people just like that, who want to learn Japanese from anime, I’ve never thought about it actually, maybe because I always knew it was kind stupid… “So what the hell were you looking for videos to learn Japanese ??” you say…. well, I study Japanese about one year now, and I’m planning on traveling next year to Japan, so everything that I can find about Japan and Japanese is helping. I’m going to be there 2 months alone without speaking Portuguese at all (I’m Brazilian by the way…) … so I guess I have to work hard here, taking class, studying by myself, learning the kanjis… I like the challenge, always did, I study French too…. everybody thinks I’m a little bit crazy…. but i like, can’t help it…
    =) so… would be awesome if you had some more advices to give me :)
    o//

  • Sherry

    learning a new language would be nice but im sooo lazy so i watch anime but not to learn jap or anything i just watch for fun! anyways, i learned a few words, but not enough to survive japan =,= so, ill just keep going to jap sites trying to learn… if that’s possible… i’ve got down the basics like I… o.o and numbers from 1-10 but i’m a newbie when it comes to any language.. the language i speak is always a problem for other people for some reason… i tell them what it is, and they ask me wth is that? it’s like YOU JUST ASKED ME WHAT LANGUAGE I SPEAK SO WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS? and i get pissed over that *sigh* i over react too much….

    ~Cookie(Sherry)

  • Sherry

    learning a new language would be nice but im sooo lazy so i watch anime but not to learn jap or anything i just watch for fun! anyways, i learned a few words, but not enough to survive japan =,= so, ill just keep going to jap sites trying to learn… if that’s possible… i’ve got down the basics like I… o.o and numbers from 1-10 but i’m a newbie when it comes to any language.. the language i speak is always a problem for other people for some reason… i tell them what it is, and they ask me wth is that? it’s like YOU JUST ASKED ME WHAT LANGUAGE I SPEAK SO WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS? and i get pissed over that *sigh* i over react too much….

    ~Cookie(Sherry)

  • Dego Flamron

    Great tips. I will be sure to learn Japanese without relying too heavily on Anime now.

  • Dego Flamron

    Great tips. I will be sure to learn Japanese without relying too heavily on Anime now.

  • http://www.sebbylearnsjapanese.blogspot.com/ Sebby.Japan

    Hey koichi,
    I keep myself “accountable” by actually blogging about my progress. ( http://www.sebbylearnsjapanese.blogspot.com/ )

    Knowing that people read on and/or study along keeps me going. Right now I’m just doing some intro self-learning but I’m starting university classes in the fall.

  • kofth99

    People say that if you know Japanese its easier to learn Chinese.
    Is it truth that Japanese and Chinese are almost the same language?
    What do you think?

  • http://www.tofugu.com koichi

    The only thing that's similar between Japanese and Chinese is the Kanji. Knowing the kanji in one language would definitely make it easier to learn the kanji in another, since all you have to do is apply different sounds.

    I personally think Chinese is much more difficult than Japanese, but that's just my opinion

  • kofth99

    Thanks!
    Where were you born in U.S. or Japan?

  • cyrusjp

    hey there koichi, iv recently started to learn japanese and i am learning from berlitzt japanese do you think it is a useful resource for learning the language?, and also the partical ga what does it mean because everytime i hear it it frows me off my learning :S i keep searching for a meaning but cant seem to find 1 :( ty

  • http://www.myspace.com/makeone galo make Canote

    hahahaha – omoshiroi desu ne. Nihongo o benkyoo wa muzukashii desu ne. cho muzukashi desu demo…cho omoshiroi!!

    video wa very funny.

  • Emi

    Which site? I would love to know because I have some of the lyrics, but I do not know how to match the words to the symbols…

  • Yordi (netherlands)

    haha i like the piece you say: its not my panda hat

  • Invincibob

    Japanese is easy to learn, and I've found quite a few ways to do it without paying a dime for textbooks or dictionaries. The problem is no one looks for what it is they really want to find. I copied a ton of Japanese words(using romaji) onto note cards, and am using them as flashcards. It's actually easy if you learn to try and focus on one thing at a time. And also, GAKKOU ASHI DESU!!!

  • Lizzy G

    I just started learning japanese this year at my university. It is hard as heck, and while we meet everyday…the real learning comes with the amount of work you do outside of class. As I'm learning, you can't just “get it” so to speak. You have to study…A LOT.

  • Tyler_bRoKeN

    Hello! My name is Tyler. I have a youtube account, but I don't make videos.

    I know this is old, and I can't make videos; so I can't make a video response…because of the lack of technological skill.
    But anyways, I wanted to make sort of a response to the video you made way back in December “The Secret to Learning Japanese! Amazing!”.

    Well, first of all, I'm a sophomore in high school. I've always had an incredibly small group of friends, until my small group of friends mixed with a different group of friends in my freshman year. The group my friends mixed with (and I mixed with, too) were all taking Japanese 1 for their language in freshman year. I was always SO jealous, as it was too late to take Japanese 1 with them. (insert ultra-sadness) But after a while, I decided to take Japanese the next year. I always regretted not taking Japanese 1 my freshman year, but my Japanese 1 class this year gets A LOT of praise from our sensei, Miyazaki-sensei. She is a really nice teacher, and I have a lot of fun in that class! I mean…

    Before, I was just taking Japanese to be like my friends, you know? Sort of like a trend, or something more we could do just to be different (something weird like that), but during this last summer, I studied Japanese a lot, and found a passion for it. It really is a beautiful language, and I have an ambition to be fluent in it some day. So, anyways, A CORRECT RESPONSE TO YOUR VIDEO, would be this.

    What I do to learn Japanese, at first, take it in high school. I have Japanese every other day, for 1 1/2 hours. Besides that, I take about 30 minutes each day (besides Japanese homework) and write down all of what I learned so far in the course. What I've known for a while, I look up the kanji to the correct words. Other than that, I take about 30 minutes to an hour each day trying to analyze this manga I have. Not too long ago, (here in St. Louis) we had a Japanese festival at the Botanical Gardens, and I bought a Japanese manga at one of the booths. It's called “20th Century Boys”, and from what I have figured out, it's really interesting. At first, I got insanely frustrated at my inability to read it, except for the hiragana and katakana. But after a while, I looked up a lot of the words, and the kanji, and it all makes sense! I write down the kanji and words I learned from the manga on that day, and then form sentences with those words (considering my limited Japanese fluency/vocabulary, and the fact I've only been taking Japanese for about two months.)

    I hope that answered what you wanted as a response. (even though it was like, nearly seven years ago) “dog” years

    Hope to read and comment on more of your blogs!

  • Kenny

    I just thought I'd randomly throw this out there, I found your videos because I was looking up
    “方言”…and I saw your Hawaiian accent video and the “how Americans stereotype Japanese people” and I thought some were quite true (except you forgot to mention how many Americans think Japanese people, or all Asians for that matter eat DOGS…)…but I didn't really understand the one where people think japanese people only say yes… because I never got that stereotype here in Colorado.
    But damn, after reading most of these comments I realized a lot of schools teach Japanese, I wish my high school taught Japanese…considering the fact that I was born there I'm half Japanese and I lived there for about 5 years and i visit frequently; my Japanese is shit, like seriously, I probably have the reading and writing level of a third grader and I speak in a heavy Osaka dialect. But regardless, I wanted to ask you if you have any advice on freshening up on my Japanese, because I know only a handful of kanji so reading articles is out of the question, despite my asianness I'm not too much into anime even though you mentioned not watching anime to study Japanese, so maybe if you could recommend like some books you had on learning Japanese that covers more intermediate to advanced Japanese, I would truly appreciate your help, I need to freshen up on my Japanese because I was hoping to move back there once I graduated high school and I'm still thinking about whether I should get a citizenship there (since I have dual citizenship), just in case McCain gets elected (insert Hank Hill gasp).

  • 7Star

    I started learning Japanese at High School in year 8 and did it for 2 years there. But for some reason in those two years I could only learn the hiragana for 'no' and two words: 'watashi' and 'nagai'.

    Though now I do self study with books and tapes with I borrow from the library.
    The best one I have had was one which gives you a few words to learn everyday and then it gives you dialog to read without english translation and maybe a quiz at the end.
    But I have come across a problem lately….

    I can read (hiragana & katakana) and understand Japanese. But, I find I am not very good at speaking it… =S

    How do you improve on something like that?

  • http://youtube.com rivasgirl

    I want to learn Japanese and I try to go on webs, also repetition. I like to see results fast and this was not giving me any. So I star studding for a while then stop and star and so o n and on. Japanese is something that I am interested in, because I want to be able to use at work and also in my personal life. There is also the fact that I would love to go to Japan and be able to understand at what I am looking at and at whom I am talking to. So far I can truly say that I have learned nothing at all, may be just arigato and gomenasai. After watching your video I think it open my eyes a bit more. And I can see that there are so many places I can go and learn, practice and do. But most of all thank you for giving me my confidence and drive to want to learn this language that I really love.