So I hope that this article can act as a sort of GPS device to let you know what kind of nuanced territory you’re heading into and how to navigate it. I used the word “comprehensive” up there, but that just means I’m looking out for you – like comprehensive auto insurance. Trust me, this will be easy.

しか — “Only…and nothing more”

しかしか見ていない。

しか is on JLPT N5 prep guides, so even beginners should have this on their VIP lists – that is, the list for Very Important Particles. It was once explained to me that しか is like the mathematical ≤ or ≥ (it approaches a value and includes it, but just barely). It means “Only … and nothing more” or “nothing but…” as in the example:

私はローマ字しか読めない。(I can only read Romaji)

You can use this in a sentence easily: しか goes after the “only”-ified noun. Then, the verb or copula that comes after NEEDS to be negative.

Here’s another example:
君しか見ていない。(All I can see is you.)

Both of these examples have been nouns in front of しか, but you can also precede it with the dictionary form of a verb. This particle is used at any formality level, and in written or spoken Japanese.

さえ — “only” or “even…” or “(did) not even”

I’ll be honest: さえ still kind of confuses me. That’s not surprising, given its history, which I’ll get to in a bit. But look at the different ways it’s used:

君さえいれば、ほかに何もいらない。 (If only you’re here, I don’t need anything else.)

And this:
１２月でさえ暖かった。(It was even warm in December.)

And this:
ローマ字さえ読めない。(I can’t even read hiragana.)

So it can mean “even” sometimes, and “only” in other cases. Thankfully, if you look at the whole sentence, it’s easy to see a pattern: when さえ is followed by a conditional, it means only. But when さえ is more of the main focus, it means even (and with a negative sentence, means ‘not even’).

さえ appears on N2 grammar prep lists. Make note of its unique formation: (adj. く)さえ、(na-adj. で)さえ、(noun) or (nounで)さえ、and (verb stem)さえ.

I mentioned that さえ’s history might explain why it has a few different meanings. The way Haruo Shirane describes it in “Classical Japanese: A Grammar”, the Heian Period particle さえ reached out like a hungry amoeba, gobbling up a number of other particles’ meanings, including that of すら (225-226), described below. You’ll see that the poor particle すら is still a bit sickly.

すら — “even”

母国語すら スラスラと話せない。

According to Janet Ashby in “Read Real Japanese”, すら is “a more literary equivalent of さえ” (93). I’ve got a problem with that simplification because there are a lot of conflicting usages of さえ, while すら seems to pretty much work like this:

彼女は自分の名前すら書く事が出来ない。(She can’t even write her own name)

In Colligan-Taylor’s Living Japanese, an ecology grad student uses すら as she’s being interviewed. So すら can be spoken, too, but probably sounds highbrow. It’s sad that this particle is a little easier to use, but you won’t encounter it as often as さえ.

すら doesn’t appear on JLPT prep lists until N1, which is like… advanced land! Like さえ, though, it has a kind of unique formation, mimicking that of さえ.

Quantity? Or Surprise?

I’m still ナット into なっとう.

Often, these particles are thought of in terms of quantity or inclusivity. Which makes sense, doesn’t it? “The only thing I can see is you” suggests a quantity or capable range to what the person can see. But one researcher, Shigeko Sugiura at Tokyo Daigaku (AKA TouDai, AKA the Harvard of Japan, AKA the TouDai Of America), published a linguistics paper about how さえ and すら (along with も in certain instances) are not focused on quantity but on expectations.

To understand that, let’s talk a little about “implicature.” Implicature refers to how what you literally say isn’t always what you’re implying and communicating. Part of implicature is the notion that if you don’t specify some sort of scale in your words (“Some”, “even”, etc.), then such a scale may or may not exist but, regardless, isn’t important enough for you to mention. The implied meaning behind “Some girls like boys” is very different from “Girls like boys.” That last one is hetero-normative, while the first one implies that not all girls like boys. In other words, one provides a scale of possibility, while the other implies a massively black-and-white attitude. These are important distinctions to make to really express yourself and your thoughts, no matter the language.

But we’re talking about ‘even’, not ‘some’, and Sugiura argues that さえ、すら、and も aren’t based around quantifiable scales (like ‘all’, or ‘some’), but expectation-based scales. In other words, when an event occurs, does it fall inside the realm of the speaker’s expectations? This realm ranges from the highly probable to the least likely, but when it comes to using さえ and すら, the even-ified event won’t be anywhere on the radar.

Compare these:
メアリーさんはなっとうを食べた (Mary ate natto)
メアリーさんはなっとうさえ食べた (Mary even ate natto)
メアリーさんはなっとうさえ食べなかった (Mary didn’t even eat natto)

The first sentence is perfectly neutral. Nothing remarkable about Mary’s eating natto. The second suggests that Mary’s doing some crazy stuff, sure, but what’s really crazy and what wasn’t expected is that she ate natto. And in the third, Mary is in a situation, maybe a homestay, which demands a number of actions, and Mary didn’t even do the most likely thing: eat natto.

The second and third sentence, then, fall outside the realm of expectations.

The Takeaway

Let’s put it all together: If someone’s doing crazy things (or not doing the most normal, expected, bare minimum of things), さえ、すら、and も can all go in the blank below:

[Subject]は　[noun] ＿＿ [verb/copula (+ any formality, time, and negation mods)]

Such as:
私は日本に旅行したとき、１千円も使わなかった！
(When I traveled in Japan, I didn’t even spend a thousand yen/~10 USD/ ~7 Euro)

That’s pretty much impossible. Was this person camping the whole time and bicycling everywhere? Were they an honorary guest of the emperor? This is what Sugiura meant by an expectational scale. Sometimes there are quantities involved, but using さえ and すら and も this way suggests something crazy is going on (back to Mary’s eating/not eating Natto). It might depend on the situation whether something crazy is actually happening. But if the person uses these particles, they’re implying that at least they believe it’s crazy stuff.

Note, the “exceeding expectations も” is functioning in a different way than the adding kind of も, which you see in sentences like: 読書が好きだ。普通は本を読むけれども、たまに漫画も読む。(I enjoy reading. Generally I read books, but every now and then I read manga, too.)

See, I told you this would be easy. Some of these particles could get really confusing, but I think they’re worth practicing. The above formula particularly should give you an easy way to change up your conversational toolbox.

So What About だけ?

I used to act like だけ could be used in all the same times I would use the English “only” and, woh, did I confuse Japanese people and get laughed at. I’m not saying しか changed my world, but the more I learned, the more I was basing definitions of words and particles by their context, not by their translation.

さえ、and すら, meanwhile, have meanings that overlap with particles you definitely know, such as も and だけ, so if you learn them separately, maybe you’ll just think “I already know one way of saying ‘only’ or ‘even’. Why bother learning another?” To which I say: Translations don’t capture usage. You’ve already probably learned this with 好き and how it ‘means’ ‘like’/’love’. You know that it’s way more complicated than that. So once you’re ready, give さえ or すら some attention, and tell me what it’s like. If you’ve already taken that road trip, though, share your experience in the comments.

Sources

Ashby, Janet, ed. Read Real Japanese. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2008. p. 93

Colligan-Taylor, Karen. Living Japanese: Diversity in language and lifestyles. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. p. 84.

Shirane, Haruo. Classical Japanese: A Grammar. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. p. 225-226

Sugiura, Shigeko. “Expressions of Exceeding of Expectational Limits in Japanese and English”. Tokyo University Linguistics Papers 33 (2013), p. 273-292.

As a student of Japanese, this is probably the most discouraging thing in the world to hear. You might think, “if even he doesn’t feel good about his Japanese, how can I?”

But if you go beyond the article and into the discussion, there’s a bit more than meets the eye.

Reading through the comments, there are plenty of people who empathize with the author, saying that they’re in a similar place.

One the other hand, there are lots of people who say that the author is too hard on himself.

The JLPT And Other Standards Of Japanese Fluency

When you start talking about Japanese fluency, probably the first topic that comes up is the JLPT, or Japanese Language Proficiency Test for the uninitiated.

The JLPT is a test given a couple times a year by the Japanese government to foreigners who want to prove their Japanese language skills. When it comes to Japanese tests, the JLPT is the most widely-recognized and legit test out there.

Unfortunately, the JLPT isn’t a perfect test. It’s a multiple-choice test, so your written and verbal skills (which are important if you ever want to, y’know, talk to people) are never tested.

But if the JLPT isn’t the marker of fluency, then what is? This is where things get a bit hazy, and definitions of fluency become pretty arbitrary.

Everybody seems to have their own standards. Is fluency when you’re able to hold a translation job? Is it when you’re able to have a conversation with a stranger?

The weirdest standard of fluency I saw from the article comments was being able to have an affair with somebody entirely in Japanese. I guess that’s one way to see it.

If there’s disagreement on what it means to be fluent in Japanese, then it might be easier to figure out what it means to be fluent in your native language. How do you know that you’re fluent in your mother tongue?

Native Fluency

Even in your native language, there will be times when you forget words, stumble to find the right ones, and find words inadequate. Language is a big, complex, and imperfect form of human expression.

It’s scary to think about, but in your mother tongue, you only speak a very, very small piece of the language. Your accent and dialogue isn’t the norm everywhere, you don’t know the slang of every subculture, and you’re definitely not familiar with all technical terms.

“Mmm, quite.”

So when people say things like “you’re only fluent in Japanese if you know the on’yomi and kun’yomi of all the Joyo Kanji,” think about what that means in your own language.

What would the English-language equivalent of this be? The closest I can think of would be learning a slew of SAT vocab words, then breaking them down and identifying their Latin roots.

I’d like to think that my English skills are pretty good, but that seems like a tall order. Would you expect any given fluent English speaker to do that much?

Don’t hold yourself to a higher standard in Japanese than you do in your own language.

What You Should Aim For

If you study Japanese and were discouraged by “My Japanese sucks and always will,” don’t be. This kind of frustration is normal when you’re learning something new, but you shouldn’t view it as a permanent setback.

Instead, you should see this as an opportunity to learn from people who have been studying Japanese longer than you, people who hit obstacles before you do.

As a Japanese student, set actionable, concrete goals for yourself instead of saying you want to be “fluent.” Fluency is a big, abstract goal that isn’t really helpful to anybody.

But if you instead set a definite goals for yourself, you’ll be able to hit the mark.

To read more of the discussion, check out the article here, take a look at the Gakuranman’s Google+ post, or follow the conversation on Reddit.

[Header image source.]

Using a Japanese newspaper for kids, like Mainichi Shogakusei Shinbun above, I developed a 5 step study method designed to increase vocabulary and kanji identification, reading comprehension, and confidence for taking the JLPT!  Reading at the appropriate level makes it possible to practice reading similar paragraphs that will appear in the test and gives you the chance to identify vocabulary and kanji that are likely to appear in the JLPT.

1. Read the article without any helpful hiragana

2. Identify and list unknown words

3. Identify and list unknown kanji

4. Study the new lists

5. Re-read the article

Paired with Evernote and Jisho.org, this 5 step method should give you a good head start in your studying!

Step 1:  Read the article without any helpful hiragana

I know it’s frustrating, sad, and hard, but reading the article first without any help will help you out in a lot of ways in the long run so stick with it and don’t cry!  The first thing that will result from reading the article without any hiragana is helping you to honestly assess your reading ability.  It will show you the words you know and the ones you don’t in black and white.  The other important thing this step accomplishes is simulating the actual test.  There will be no helpful hiragana in the real test, so why practice with it?  If you are really serious about taking the test, you might also want to time yourself to see how long it takes to read a short article.

Using Evernote, I selected and added this text from an article on Mainichi Shogakusei Shinbun resulting in the above picture.  The rockin thing about Evernote in this example is that it automatically makes a title and takes note of the original page you visited so you wont forget later!  I then removed the pesky hiragana and gave reading the article my best shot.

Step 2:  Identify and list unknown words

Crap…as you can see I’ve got a LONG way to go!  In this step, highlight the words you don’t know in red and hope you don’t get an atomic red ink bomb like I did!  It is important to be HONEST with yourself here.  If you can’t read it without any help from hiragana, or if you look it up in the dictionary and say “Oh, right, duh!  I know this one!” mark it red Donny, because you are OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT! lol.  More seriously, just be conservative, if you don’t guess right the first time, it won’t hurt you to practice those borderline words a few times.  In the end, it is really good practice to identify difficult words as they are used in a paragraph.  When you are finished, your list should look something like this:

Step 3:  Identify and list unknown kanji

In the vocabulary list, find and highlight kanji in red that you can’t recognize right away as demonstrated in the example above.  Once identified, use a Japanese dictionary to make a list of kanji for future reference.  I found the website jisho.org VERY useful in completing this step.  Copy and paste the unknown kanji from the vocab list to the kanji list and as long as you don’t cut and paste anything else, you can simply paste it again into the kanji search page of jisho.org.  Once you look up the kanji, the website spits out more information than anyone can dream about that specific kanji.  I recommend at least taking note of all the different readings for the kanji and the definition in English.  One extra step I took was to include other words that that kanji appears in to practice recognition in general.  Jisho.org has a great feature to do this by pressing on the link in the “Kanji” page called “Words Containing” and usually zillions of words will come up that use this kanji, which can then be paired down to common words if desired.  Here is an example of a finished kanji list made from an article:

Step 4: Study the new lists

Now we get to the hard part: you have to remember all the stuff you just wrote down!  Making lots of lists is a waste of time if you don’t actually go back through them to learn the material.  Try to use the words in a sentence, look up more kanji combination, use them in a diary or homework assignment, or use Textfugu to learn about remembering radicals to help you retain the lists you just wrote.  Whatever you decide to do, be proactive and do something…anything!  It will pay off for the text and for the next step in this method.

Step 5: Re-read the article

Now that you are the master of all the vocabulary and kanji that stumped you in the article you read, go back and rock it!  Of course leave out the hiragana, and see how much you retained.  If there are still words and kanji that you miss, go back to the lists you made and study them for a while and re-read the article again.  Hopefully by the end of this process you will understand the meaning of the article, which will be a critical part in the new test.  Practicing reading full paragraphs will make life a lot easier for you when you actually sit down for the JLPT.  Good luck passing the JLPT!

LINKS

Newspapers for Kids:

• http://mainichi.jp/life/edu/maishou/index.html
• http://yomoyomo.jp/index.php
• http://kids.goo.ne.jp/index.html?SY=0&MD=2

Dictionaries:

• http://www.jisho.org
• http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C

Other Resources:

• http://www.textfugu.com
• http://www.tofugu.com/2010/04/06/tofugu-100-best-japanese-learning-resources/
• http://www.tofugu.com/2010/03/09/how-to-use-evernote-to-study-japanese-or-any-other-language/

This post was written by Nick W., who has traveled throughout many regions of Japan in search of unique cultural gems.  He is currently earning his MBA and has researched topics like folk music in WWII Japan and Ainu cultural revival through music.  His favorite Japanese musician is the late Nujabes.  Currently, he is studying for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level 2.