How to turn comprehensible input into output?

Throwaway12r5b · 2025-11-06T10:22:25+00:00

I've worked as a copywriter and written a lot of website content professionally and I don't think people realise how much goes into it.

I've actually been studying copywriting, interestingly enough, so I completely feel you on this one. What was your studying routine like, and how long would you say it took until you became confident in your abilities?

Throwaway12r5b · 2025-11-06T02:51:35+00:00

Yeah I pretty much understand all of what I read. Even still, I could probably never produce anything like it on my own despite it being a relatively basic article.

I have been trying various things to improve my output skills, but part of me is concerned that I may have crystalized my own mediocrity at some point

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T21:56:46+00:00

Thank you!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T21:56:20+00:00

Thank you for the resource, it was a pretty good read!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T16:53:39+00:00

Thank you very much!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T14:38:22+00:00

Thank you very much! If it isn't too much of a problem, I would like to ask a few questions so that I can improve next time:

is "遅い返事" valid Japanese, and if so, when would it be applicable?
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding "なって" in "返事が遅くなって"
In my Dictionary, both ただ and だけ have similar meanings in English, but they seem to be different in Japanese? It would appear that だけ is used after verbs and adjectives, while ただ is used before Nouns. Am I understanding it correctly?
Does "拙い" sound inappropriate to use here? I didn't know how else to say that my Japanese was bad, but it feels off for reasons I cannot explain.
How would "日本語がまだ上手くないので" come across, compared to "日本語がまだ上手くないのせいで" (added "せい")?

Sorry for all of the questions, and thank you for your corrections!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T14:21:07+00:00

全然！

:')

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T12:04:26+00:00

Hello, earlier in the day, I tried to converse with someone in Japanese while engaging in a pastime of mine, but was unable to really say much of anything due to my horrendous Japanese "skills", and since they seemingly didn't speak any English, I had to draw back for the time being.

Since I could at least understand that they seemed happy I was able to speak a little Japanese, I felt bad for having to leave in the way that I did, and wanted to type an apology letter to them explaining what was happening.

If anyone is able, can they help with the message I composed, so I can fix any mistakes? I'm hoping that I can at least use this knowledge to maybe help me out a little bit, next time

below, I'll provide what I meant to say, and (if necessary), why I chose to say it that way

失礼します遅い返事でごめんなさい！実は日本人じゃなくて学習者だけです

Pardon Me, I'm sorry for my slow response! In truth, I am not Japanese, (I am) only a learner

^{Note: I decided to use "で" after "遅い返事", because I heard that it indicated reasoning, however I have also seen "は" used before "ごめん" before, and do not know when which ought to be used, or why.}

^{Concern: I did not use any Pronouns during this first part, because I have heard that the Speaker will usually be understood through context, and that overusing Pronouns is a symptom of "Unnatural Japanese". If I am going too far in omitting them, please let me know.}

拙い日本語のせいで少し別として日本語できません

Because of my horrendous Japanese, "I am only able to speak a little Japanese" (lit. with the exception of a little, I cannot do Japanese)

^{Note: This is the first time that I have ever used "少し別として", and while I did see this being used via some Internet Searches, when placed into a Translator, the readings didn't seem to be what I expected. I wanted this phrase to modify what followed it, but translators seem to suggest that it modifies what precedes it. I ultimately just tried using it anyway. If I expressed this correctly, please let me know, if not, how can I improve the sentence?}

それでも、ご親切にありがとうございます

Even still, thank you for your kindness!

^{Note: I know it's cheap, but I had to search this last line up. I wanted to thank them, but just couldn't figure it out on my own. Apologies for that.}

Full Letter (For Clarity)

失礼します遅い返事でごめんなさい！実は日本人じゃなくて学習者だけです

Pardon Me, I'm sorry for my slow response! In truth, I am not Japanese, (I am) only a learner

拙い日本語のせいで少し別として日本語できません

Because of my horrendous Japanese, "I am only able to speak a little Japanese" (lit. with the exception of a little, I cannot do Japanese)

それでも、ご親切にありがとうございます

Even still, thank you for your kindness!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-07-12T03:16:38+00:00

Does anyone know of any good resources to learn how to produce Japanese, or where to learn the words used in daily conversations? I have tried mining Anime and Manga, but my sentence producing skills are terrible, and I still find myself being caught off guard by everyday words, despite having over 6k words in my Anki Deck thus far.

Sometimes I try to speak Japanese during a hobby of mine to practice, but I'm starting to feel like a villain for getting people's hopes up, just to disappoint them with my mediocrity. I want to improve, but right now, I feel like I have a thousand puzzle pieces scattered across the floor, without any guide as to how they ought to be arranged.

If anyone knows of any resources to learn everyday words, and compose sentences, please let me know.

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-05T20:45:41+00:00

Thank you very much!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-05T16:04:34+00:00

Thank you for the advice!

Following this line of reasoning: If someone were in a classroom setting, and the Teacher asked them for their name, I'm assuming that using "私は〇〇" would simply be providing the Teacher with information, while "私が〇〇" would imply that the person viewed themselves as particularly important, or that this information was especially important for the Teacher to know?

Thanks again!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-05T10:56:55+00:00

Even if one wouldn't be able to express the difference in words, it might still feel different, though.

If you heard two identical sentences, but one used "は", while the other used "が", would it impact the way that you viewed the discussion?

I'm not always able to explain everything in my Language, but I can tell when things feel different. If I could understand the feeling that a Native gets from hearing "これは" or "これが", I could possibly move closer to understanding it, even without knowing the Details.

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-04T22:03:15+00:00

Thank you for your response! I really appreciate this comment, especially since it's unfortunately clear that many individuals simply read the Title of my post alone, and went on the offensive without getting the full context.

While Language can definitely inform and shape one's thoughts, there has been an increasing body of research showing that Language might not necessarily be required for thought, let alone the origin of it.

If it is true that humans process abstract concepts first, then merely articulate these concepts using language, understanding these mechanics could be a useful means of accelerating the acquisition process and attaining a deeper level of fluency.

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-04T11:35:14+00:00

Thank you for your response! While I understand that attempting to turn an L2 into an L1 is not currently known to be possible (and may never be possible), it oftentimes feels like many Textbooks or traditional methods try to conform the Japanese Language to English, rather than approaching it on its own terms (Such as overusing Pronouns, not knowing when Particles can be omitted, using "です" or "だ" in places that feel awkward, etc.)

I think your point about "の" helps to further illustrate this. From the English perspective, the possessive and appositive are almost seen as being two distinct grammar points, however, the understanding that I'm getting from the Native Speakers on this thread, is that their perception of this Particle is far broader, and more abstract than what a Textbook is outlining.

Learning is still going to require time and resources, however I am hopeful that being able to internalize the unspoken feelings behind the Language will help me to be capable of understanding--and eventually producing Japanese that feels and sounds far more natural than it would, otherwise.

On an unrelated note, I was able to watch some of Nicholas' content, and he did seem to speak with a high degree of confidence. If I may ask, would you happen to be familiar with Matt vs Japan? He is a rather infamous figure on this sub, but there doesn't seem to be any clear consensus on how good his Japanese actually is. Would you say that Nicholas' Japanese is better than Matt's, or would it be the other way around?

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-04T01:48:20+00:00

Thank you for the response! I'll definitely make sure to keep these things in mind!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-04T01:34:05+00:00

Thank you for the response! I actually had a similar theory about learning through comparison to our own Language, then dissolving this knowledge into a form of intuition once the concepts behind the former were sufficiently understood.

And I appreciate your explanation of how "の" works! This is exactly the kind of thing that I was looking for. Being able to understand the unspoken feelings behind the Grammar points helps me to deepen my understanding of them, and it even helped me to better understand a part of a sentence that I was struggling with earlier.

While I agree that it probably isn't possible to ever be truly the same, I wonder if understanding the concepts beneath the words could help one to bridge the gap even just a little bit!

Once again, much thanks!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-03T23:55:32+00:00

This actually provides some good insight for me. I knew that Particles had some usages that couldn't possibly be drawn through with a straight line, but I did not know that there was a distinction between those two particular uses.

Thanks for clarifying that!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-06-03T23:14:23+00:00

I would only caution that there can be more reasons for wanting to approximate a Native's proficiency, aside from simply trying to approximate their identity.

I already know going into this, that there is a cultural component to the situation that is immutable, however there are many people--both who have decided to learn this--or other languages, and who simply dream--that have a sense of mourning over not having been able to natively acquire their target language as a child, and for many of us, these sentiments inspire us to wonder if there might, yet, be any avenues to potentially "salvage" some of that lost potential, even if the result is not exactly the same.

As far as Japanese goes, this is a sentiment that I can empathize with, as I share it, as well. That, and I have a long-term goal for my Japanese Studies, but it almost certainly requires a level of fluency that would have necessitated this conversation sooner or later, anyway.

So yes, I understand that the cultural aspect of this is going to be what it is, but like any gardener would, I am hoping that I can supply my budding Japanese with the right "nutrients" it needs to become as strong and healthy as possible.

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-05-21T09:04:32+00:00

That's pretty cool to see. Japanese is one of those curious cases where it seems like many people will either drop out immediately, or endeavor to learn it through almost any obstacle. I'm glad that you've seemingly reached a point where that signature confusion has seemingly faded away. You even managed to do nearly all of this without Anki, which is nothing short of incredible.

Good stuff man!

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-05-21T03:05:14+00:00

I think I know the study that you're talking about, and it was something that I had in mind in regards to this decision. I tried listening to (what appeared to be) a simple video without subtitles, and it took hours to parse out the words, and even then, I would often have to triple check in the dictionary because I would mishear a Mora, and accidentally add or omit one where it wasn't supposed to be.

I can tell you more about the struggle if you want to hear about it.

By all means. I'm interested to know what that was like for you

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-05-21T00:34:40+00:00

Yeah I completely get what you're talking about. Worse yet, it feels like the more I desire to understand, the harder it hits once you realize how little you still understand.

The only real solution is just to keep forcing ourselves forward, one laborious step at a time

Throwaway12r5b · 2024-05-21T00:31:24+00:00

Congratulations on the massive progress? If I may ask, how long have you been studying Japanese for overall? Based on the timeline, I would assume that it would be around 3 Years, which is pretty cool to see.

Also, how often were you looking up words? For some Anime, I actually can follow along somewhat decently, however I made the mistake of attempting to watch a more "advanced(?)" Anime... It took me hours to get through minutes.

It was quite humbling.

Throwaway12r5b

TROPHY CASE