How do you memorize Japanese vocabulary

皆さん、おはようございます。いい天気ですね。

Yesterday, i had one new student in my N3 class and her question to me was “Sensei, how can i memorize Japanese vocabulary?”

I am sure this is a question that everybody ask. Even at times i ask myself. There are a few good ways which i would like to share and i hope it will benefit you.

1. Give yourself some tests

One of the things that i like to do is to give yourself some test. Memorize the words in blocks of 25 words. After that, print out 10-20 pieces of paper with their English translation and start doing one by one. After you finish one piece, mark yourself and identify those that you have gotten wrong. Go back and revise and start doing the next piece of test.

This method prove to be very useful to me when i was studying at my N5 and N4 stage. For N1-N3 level, the list is quite overwhelming. In this case, you need to filter what are the words which are more useful in real life — this is what the examiners will test you in the exam.

2. Flashcards

I see a lot of people relying a lot on flashcards. This is also a good way to remember. Good flashcard systems like Anki are available.

3. Reading aloud to yourself

I heard some of my students do this. I think it's a good try.

What are some of your other methods of studying Japanese vocabulary? Do share. (^_^)