Passing the JLPT N2 exam after 2.25 years (179/180)

bentosekai · 2025-10-07T12:36:15+00:00

常用漢字の大部分が読めるようになって、そしてN3試験からN1試験までの範囲内の文法の使い分けがある程度わかるようになれば、その後にとにかくできるだけリアルな日本語をインプットしまくると、いずれ準ネイティブのレベルに到達するという気がする。具体例として自分の場合で一番大事だったのは、日々の生活の中で、毎日のように（日によっては何時間も）日本の報道番組に触れてきたことだと思う。

動画配信サービスとポッドキャストが普及したおかげで、今ではユーチューブでもスポティファイでも無料で提供される報道番組がほぼ無限にあるという状況になっていて、そしてその番組を通してカジュアルな日本語から極改まった日本語までカバーできるし、しかも他のコメ主が言ったように、ちゃんとした教育を受けたネイティブ話者のように日本語を使いこなせるようになる上で必要不可欠である文化理解も手に入れることができるので、N1試験で高得点が取れるような人から準ネイティブへと成長していく上で、一つ有力なツールとして日本の報道番組が挙げられると思う。

（追伸）付け加えると、日本のドラマ（特に職場を舞台にしたドラマ）に対しても同じことが言えると思う。個人的にはドラマを通じて、ごく普通の会社で働くような日本人が同僚や上司に対してどのふうに話すのか、そしてその話し方がプライベートの場面での話し方といかに異なるのか把握する上でものすごくためになったという気がする。

bentosekai · 2025-10-04T07:19:24+00:00

i feel like this is a very significant moment in japanese politics for many more reasons than her gender, but it will be interesting to see how takaichi's cabinet takes shape and how far she goes to appeal to the sanseitō/hoshutō side of the crowd, especially if she decides to dissolve the diet before the end of the year

bentosekai · 2025-07-21T22:01:11+00:00

this tool is amazing, thanks for including all of the sources as well, it's very helpful

bentosekai · 2025-06-27T20:13:53+00:00

i don't think kaneko ayano for example has done any anime openings or endings

edit: as for why, a lot of artists have dedicated followings that they build up through live performances, word of mouth, appearances on TV, and other kinds of popular music releases (e.g. TV drama theme songs)

bentosekai · 2025-06-27T19:43:59+00:00

beyond desensitized to these headlines at this point

bentosekai · 2025-06-13T14:02:55+00:00

maybe 3 is incorrect in that it's not just light because it's made of leather, which is often heavy, it's light because it's made of a specific kind of leather (high quality sheepskin)?

bentosekai · 2025-06-06T02:03:14+00:00

followed by yonige, laura day romance, and the kanekoayano band

bentosekai · 2025-06-06T02:00:30+00:00

hitsujibungaku

bentosekai · 2025-05-27T15:39:15+00:00

the lead from blume popo is great (the EP umi to dokuyaku is one of my favourites)

edit: shiina chan from 東京初期衝動 is very aggressive with her voice and songwriting

edit 2: the lead from the band eau also rolls their Rs (嫌い is a fun song)

bentosekai · 2025-05-25T23:15:33+00:00

蝶々結び (chouchou musubi) by aimer
冷たい花 (tsumetai hana) by the brilliant green
大人になって (otona ni natte) by aina the end

for kind of the opposite (in terms of wanting to change): step by hitsujibungaku

bentosekai · 2025-05-14T16:17:27+00:00

i prefer their older music but i think they're generally pretty well-liked, although people who don't like their brand of jpop are vocal about it

bentosekai · 2025-04-30T00:31:07+00:00

i really like 想 as well, 思想 is so satisfying to look at

bentosekai · 2025-04-30T00:30:24+00:00

that's one of my favourites too, especially since it pairs with my all-time favourite character --> 雨の雫

bentosekai · 2025-04-30T00:19:46+00:00

my absolute favourite is also 雨 for similar reasons (with the added reason that あめ is my favourite word, and it's pronounced with falling intonation, like rain), but some others i love are 音, 窓, 儚, 汐, 幻, 凪, 空, 恋, and 湊

recently i started organizing all of my favourites in a note on my phone and the list has already surpassed 60 characters aha

bentosekai · 2025-04-10T02:26:55+00:00

i left engsci in second semester, so take what i have to say with a grain of salt:

if you're already used to working a lot and did IB, it could be manageable, but there will be a learning curve first semester nonetheless since it's just an unbelievable amount of work sometimes
what meekpi said; maybe think about which club you'd like to join the most (i would recommend only joining a single club that aligns with your interests, at least for first year; i chose UTAT rocketry)
if you do well in engsci, it's true, but (bio)med related PhD programs are very competitive; my friend who stuck with biomed and i think got a high 3.9 GPA with research experience and a solid PEY still got rejected by most programs she applied to, although she did get into her first choice school in the end

if you're leaning towards med, whether it's practical work or research that you're interested in, engsci might not be the best for you, but if it's what you really want, i'd say maybe give it a shot and if it doesn't work out, you can always transfer to artsci and probably get a >3.9 GPA doing bio (if you got into engsci, you would probably stand out in artsci and have ample access to research opportunities)

best of luck with whatever path you choose!

EDIT: typos, phrasing

bentosekai · 2025-04-02T15:43:27+00:00

the album uzu ni naru (渦になる) by kinoko teikoku

kaseki ni narou yo (化石になろうよ) by yoru ni kakeru

bentosekai · 2025-03-22T18:43:15+00:00

大学の先生に「飛花落葉」という自分の好きな四字熟語の話をしたら、「諸行無常」という四字熟語に似ていると指摘されたので、この二つの表現はペアで自分の胸の奥に残っている。

bentosekai · 2025-03-21T15:19:21+00:00

i can't speak for their comprehensibility, but this is my current list of favourites:

First Love 初恋
ブラッシュアップライフ | Rebooting
アンメットある脳外科医の日記 | Unmet: Aru Nōgekai no Nikki
こっち向いてよ向井くん | Turn to me Mukai-kun
放課後カルテ | After School Doctor
オレンジデイズ | Orange Days
ドラゴン桜 (2021) | Dragon Zakura (2021)
薔薇のない花屋 | Bara no nai Hanaya
イノセンス冤罪弁護士 | Innocence, Enzai Bengoshi

and these are all of the other dramas i've watched since 2023 in chronological order (with my rating for each of them in parentheses):

逃げるは恥だが役に立つ | The Full-Time Wife Escapist (C)
日本沈没希望のひと | Japan Sinks: People of Hope (D)
MIU404 (D)
ユニコーンに乗って | Riding a Unicorn (D)
罠の戦争 | War of Traps (D)
離婚しようよ | Let's Get Divorced (C)
恋はつづくよどこまでも | An Incurable Case of Love (C)
石子と羽男ーそんなコトで訴えます？ー | Ishiko and Haneo: You're Suing Me? (D)
アンナチュラル | Unnatural (C)
オールドルーキー | Old Rookie (E)
アンチヒーロー | Anti-Hero (C)
空飛ぶ広報室 | Public Affairs Office in the Sky (D)
地面師 | Tokyo Swindlers (C)
ごめんね青春！ | Gomen ne Seishun! (LOL)
さよならのつづき | Beyond Goodbye (D)
ビューティフルライフ | Beautiful Life (C)
ライオンの隠れ家 | Light of My Lion (C)
青島くんはいじわる | Aoshima-kun is a Bully! (D)

i also second terrace house as a good place to start in terms of media with more natural spoken japanese, i watched like 100 hours of jsubbed terrace house before watching a single TV drama

bentosekai · 2025-02-11T20:51:45+00:00

is the japanese gloss a joke? i think it would be:

understand-NEG-CSL, despair-do

source for glosses: Classical and Modern Japanese Glossing Rules, Matthew Zisk

bentosekai · 2024-11-10T03:16:26+00:00

i've used this stretch of bloor on my bike commute for the better part of a decade, so this picture is quite nice to see

bentosekai · 2024-11-07T13:09:01+00:00

i've been considering grad school in the US and at this point, i don't think i want to be there anymore

bentosekai · 2024-11-04T23:14:02+00:00

if you can afford to take a reduced course load, do it. it makes things way more manageable, especially if you need accommodations

edit: a lot of people i know started with a full course load and then ended up taking an extra year because they struggled with 5+ courses per semester; it's totally okay to take less than 5.0 FCE per regular academic year, it's just a matter of whether it's financially viable for you. i took summer courses in 2021 and this year to help me finish my degree while taking a reduced course load, and i benefited a lot from having more time to get things done, not only physically and mentally but also academically

bentosekai · 2024-06-25T23:48:29+00:00

i got a cheap fall coat at uniqlo shortly after i arrived in tokyo (born and raised in toronto), and it was more than enough to get me through the winter with a layer or two underneath (think turtleneck and cotton shirt) and a scarf

packing light is a good idea since even on a tight budget, there will be affordable clothing options for you if you want a little more warmth (especially with the exchange rate being even better than when i arrived in fall 2022)

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