Is it normal to not understand while reading?

Japanese
#1

Hey all,

I’m no stranger to trying to learn Japanese. I’ve dabbled in it for years/decades but never treated it with the attention I should have, rather than intermittently learning things a month here and there. I’ve been using WaniKani now for a year and have kept up pretty well with that too. The past few months though I’ve been really trying, taking it seriously, studying every day, and utilizing different resources (even hired a tutor on Italki last week).

Bottomline, my question is this. Is it normal for you to read a sentence in Japanese, your brain understands it, but you don’t actually know what it says/understand until your finished and break it apart to analyze each word? (if that explanation makes sense) I feel like I should be able to understand/translate as I’m reading simple sentences. However, it feels like my brain is static white noise as I’m reading and it’s not until after I’m done will it piece it together and looked at each word individually.

Just feels frustrating :expressionless:

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and reply.

#2

I’m actually at the same position right now. I’m able to read and understand simple stuff by doing it slowly and breaking things apart, but I don’t get the meaning of the sentence while reading it on real time, even if I understand every word. Of course that makes speaking/listening impossible for me :sweat_smile:

#3

Personally, I think it’s a question of practice and time. I’m doing Japanese class from October starting at an intermediate-advanced level and I had some trouble to read paragraphs because I didn’t read at all before but now I got better and understand more the intention with the sentence.

I think the more you do the better you’ll get at it and it’s ok to be slow and lost when you start. Hope it will be helpful

#4

I think this is actually normal and a high level function. We do this in our native language too. It’s the difference between extensive and intensive reading as well. When you break it down you are reading intensively.

I often read and just get the vibe without translating. Actually, the goal is not to translate, but to understand without translation. However, intensive methods and translating are good too, especially at earlier levels. Anyway, I don’t think what you’re experiencing is bad at all.

1 Like
#5

I agree with @cafelatte here. Enough exposure, you will not need to “piece” things together. I started watching videos with Japanese subtitles and audio less than a year in. At that point, I just let it flow and let my brain piece stuff together, and at this point in my learning journey, I do not experience many moments where I am completely lost and need to piece something together. Get used to understanding a little instantly and leaving more unknown than you are used to with English. The difference in contexts in the language also adds to this feeling of not understanding. Build your context understanding by mass exposure and that will help a lot.

1 Like
#6

I might be wrong on this, but in my experience, a lot of times when people struggle going from simple to more complex sentences, it’s often because there start to be more noun clauses and it can be easy to get lost in them. I often suggest pulling out the main parts, figuring out where the subjects are, what’s description/noun clauses, etc. and that does require a bit of unpacking.

That said, it’s also one of those things that the more you do, the better you’ll get. Things that a few years ago I would have had to dissect I now just “get”, so to speak, and that’s just from practice.

I also personally found that novels/short stories are easier to follow than essays in many cases, and so if you’re reading a lot of academic, news, or essays, you might find it easier to read prose instead as a way to bridge the gap.