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Learning Japanese
Should I learn Japanese?
Should I use NativShark or a textbook?
How long will NativShark last me?
Is GENKI worth the money?
Should I learn two languages at once?
What are native materials?
Using NativShark
How should I answer flashcards?
What keyboard shortcuts does NativShark have?
Why is the audio so fast?
Can I take a break during my studies?
How do I change my profile picture?
What if I’m color-blind or have color vision deficiencies?
Should I start from the beginning after a break?
JLPT
How does NativShark correlate to JLPT levels?
Not a beginner
I already know kana, can I skip it?
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Extra practice
What are Review Sets?
What are Shadow Loops?
How can I practice conjugations more?
Building NativShark
Why doesn't NativShark use English-to-Japanese flashcards?
How are NativShark lessons laid out?
Who writes NativShark lessons?
Why is stuff color-coded in lessons?
How does NativShark teach kanji?
Who writes and translates the example sentences?
How do you determine what vocabulary is "useful" or "common"?
What types of flashcards do you have?
Why are there always sentences on the front of vocab flashcards?
Do the lessons contain audio?
Features and tools
What is a Unit?
What is a Milestone?
What are Daily Badges and Days Studied?
What is “archiving” and how can it help me?
What is the Review Threshold?
What is Avalanche Recovery?
What is the Comprehension Rating System?
What are Formality Markers?
What are "smart flashcards"?
Can I use NativShark as an app?
Does NativShark have a dark mode?
Subscriptions and Payments
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Custom Flashcards
How do I add furigana to custom flashcards?
How do I upload my flashcards to NativShark?
Japanese keyboards
How do I type in Japanese on Android? (type Hiragana & Katakana)
Linking accounts
How do I link my NativShark account to my Discord account?
I use another platform to study Japanese, can I transfer my progress?
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Community
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On this page

    Why is the audio so fast?

    Listening to unnaturally slow audio reduces listening comprehension.

    By studying natural audio from the beginning, we'll get used to how Japanese sounds in normal usage. 

    This prevents us from needing to play catchup when we go out into the real world and start using our Japanese. 

    Examples of natural speed

    In the very first lesson a NativShark student ever sees, we have this example sentence:

    Formal
    Formal
    すみません。
    Excuse me. // I'm sorry.
    excuse me
    Female Voice
    Male Voice

    You'll notice that the female audio is a bit easier to pick up than the male audio. Both of them are quite natural, though.

    Sometimes you'll meet people who clearly enunciate each kana of each word, like our female speaker does above.

    But not everyone does this. For many native Japanese speakers, the natural pace at which they speak involves flying through certain kana, while clearly articulating others.

    We should be able to hear and understand both.

    Knowing a word isn't very useful if you can't actually catch it when people are saying it out in the wild.

    Formal
    Formal
    すみません。
    Excuse me. // I'm sorry.
    excuse me
    Female Voice
    Male Voice

    In this above sentence, you may find that the み (mi) in the male recording is particularly hard to catch. If you listen very carefully, however, you'll find that he is in fact saying み.

    Don't worry if you can't catch it at this point, it comes with time ^^

    Specifically, the male recording in the above sentence may sound indistinguishable from the string of kana being said in the male recording for this sentence:

    Formal
    Formal
    すいません!
    Excuse me! // I'm sorry!
    excuse me
    Female Voice
    Male Voice

    You will naturally get better at picking up subtle differences in audio like this as you get more exposure to Japanese.

    But only if you start getting exposure to Japanese spoken at a natural speed from the start.

    Our process for recording native audio

    First, we make sure that the native speakers who write our example sentences provide notes for voice actors regarding the context, type of speech that should be used, etc.

    Second, we have a native speaker hire multiple voice actors of multiple genders. Usually, we get 3-4 recordings per gender/actor per sentence.

    Third, at least two of our in-house native speakers review all of these recordings and select the ones that they feel are best for a particular sentence. When possible, we try to include a variety of natural-sounding, natural-speed audio.

    Making our speech more natural

    Next time you're reviewing a Japanese learning material, pay close attention to the way the audio sounds. Then compare it to the way native speakers sound when they talk to each other*.

    *Be wary of staged audio. For example, if it was recorded for an anime, then it is staged.

    The voice artist will almost certainly speak more clearly than if they were just chatting with friends and family. Look instead for examples of Japanese celebrities talking to each other while on TV, YouTubers chatting among themselves, and so on.

    Most importantly, don't mistake the speed at which people speak to you for being natural. In the vast majority of cases, it's not.

    Even if you're listening to some audio samples that are "JLPT N1" level, you'll find that the pronunciation is extremely clear, and they will probably put unnaturally long pauses after particles, periods, and commas.

    In contrast, consider how the male recording sounds for this sentence, which is also from a Phase One lesson:

    Textbook Casual
    Textbook Casual
    今日は雨だ。
    It's raining today. // It's going to rain today.
    today
    ・
    は
    ・
    rain
    ・
    だ
    Female Voice
    Male Voice

    It may sound to you like the male speaker is not saying the particle は (wa) at all. But I can assure you that he is.

    (Note は is pronounced like わ wa when it is used as a particle.)

    When a word that starts with an あ (a) sound, like 雨あめ (rain), comes after a particle ending with an -a sound, like は (wa) or が (ga), the a- and -a sounds merge together.

    Accordingly, unless you're listening very closely, it can sound like one of the two kana is not being said. That's why it may be difficult to catch the は (wa) in the male recording of this sentence:

    Textbook Casual
    Textbook Casual
    今日は雨だ。
    It's raining today. // It's going to rain today.
    today
    ・
    は
    ・
    rain
    ・
    だ
    Female Voice
    Male Voice

    The takeaway

    We can make our own speech sound more like that of a native speaker if we merge sounds in a similar manner.

    At the end of the day, the question of why we use natural-speed audio at NativShark is that we don't believe in dumbing down content to the point that it is unnatural.

    I personally (Niko here) wasted so much time listening to slowed-down speech, reading sentences without kanji in them, and missing idioms, abbreviations, slang, and so on.

    This is because the first several years of my exposure to Japanese was through learning resources. I didn't have access to Japanese friends and family, and I didn't live in Japan.

    When I finally did have access to those things, I found myself asking:

    “Why didn't they just teach me the way the language is actually used?!"

    The go-to excuse would be that I, as a beginner, was "not ready" for that highly natural Japanese. But I really wish someone would have just said, "This is the way the language is actually spoken, written, etc. It might still be too difficult for you, but that's OK."

    If I'd had that, I wouldn't have had to spend all those years catching up, figuring out how people actually say and write things, how fast they do or do not say a certain string of words in a phrase.

    My learning would have been more efficient. And that's what we want for NativShark students.

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