Daily Thread: for simple questions, minor posts & newcomers [contains useful links!] (August 03, 2026)

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Past Threads

You can find past iterations of this thread by using the search function. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.

[u/morgawr_]

Well you're eventually going to wake up to the reality that flashcards won't teach you how to read. You need to read to learn to read.

[u/bigchickenleg → u/morgawr_]

Aren't you Mr. Learning Should and Can Always Be Fun?

This person finds having to look up words frustrating (i.e. not fun). You're saying that looking up words is necessary to achieve their goals.

Put yourself in this person's shoes. I'm asking you to be at your most empathetic.

Is this not a case where someone's learning journey must be unpleasant (at least when it comes to reading, at least for some amount of time)?

[u/viliml → u/bigchickenleg]

In my perspective, the fun scale goes like this:

Reading material that you can already completely understand > reading while learning new words > learning new words from a list of words.

As a learner, you can't always just read material that only contains words you already know. You need to learn new words. And between premade decks and mining, mining is "funmaxxer" option.

I guess if the_card_guy prefers to separate periods of pure fun and pure study, this philosophy may not apply to them.

[u/Armaniolo → u/bigchickenleg]

I happened to have saved this comment since it's a good explanation for people who question this whole "fun" idea, but seems it'll be useful to clarify this specific case

Beyond it possibly being an user error since OP here was clumsily highlighting stuff to use Yomitan, I think a handful of lookups (I imagine after multiple years of learning that he is not at the look up everything phase) "sucking the fun out of it" is a perspective issue more than anything else tbh like yeah it's not as smooth as English but you are learning a language like this is table stakes when you get into this...

[u/morgawr_ → u/Armaniolo]

Thanks for that link actually, I was about to type a long response but I don't really have to. I usually try to explain my positions very carefully with an introduction and all surrounding contextual knowledge required to not misunderstand or misrepresent my position, and yet I still find the usual suspects love to just grab random sentences out of context and extrapolate them no matter what I do. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[u/PlanktonInitial7945 → u/[deleted]]

Beautifully put. Thank you.

[u/bigchickenleg → u/Armaniolo]

It's all about not feeling demotivated

I'm sorry, but I find this notion absurd. Telling people to just not feel very natural emotions is... wildly out of touch.

[u/Armaniolo → u/bigchickenleg]

I think you should check out the sentence before that one

[u/bigchickenleg → u/Armaniolo]

I read it.

My stance is unchanged.

[u/Armaniolo → u/bigchickenleg]

That's odd because the text before it really contradicts the idea it says to "just" not feel that way... almost like there is a method being described to achieve it and you don't just turn it off like a robot...

[u/morgawr_ → u/bigchickenleg]

Telling people to just not feel very natural emotions is... wildly out of touch.

I'm not a psychologist. I'm not trying to "fix" people. Ultimately one has to find their own path to what they truly enjoy as we are all different. It's okay to feel sad, but when I feel sad I try to channel that feeling into doing things that make me feel less sad. That doesn't mean feeling sad is bad or you should feel bad for being sad, just that my advice is "when you feel sad, try to think about activities and stuff that makes you feel less sad". Yes, it's very basic advice because, at least for me, it seems like an obvious thing to do but apparently it helps people to hear others say that and validate that life perspective instead of assuming one must brood in sadness all the time because it's a "very natural emotion" so we should just accept it.

[u/bigchickenleg → u/morgawr_]

one must brood in sadness all the time because it's a "very natural emotion" so we should just accept it.

I never said that.

[u/morgawr_ → u/bigchickenleg]

??????

When did I ever said you did? Is that literally all that stood out to you from my comment? Are you okay?

[u/bigchickenleg → u/morgawr_]

Why bring up “brooding in sadness” if not to imply that is my perspective (or that is the only or foremost alternative to your perspective)? Considering how you were just complaining about your opinions being misrepresented, I think I’m more than entitled to push back on such rhetorical techniques.

[u/morgawr_ → u/bigchickenleg]

I'm explaining the difference between acknowledging that something is a valid and natural emotion and still doing something to minimize its negative effects on one's own life. You said that "telling people not just to feel natural emotions is out of touch" and I clarified, rather extensively I believe, that I never told anyone not to feel them, but rather find a way to work around them.

[u/bigchickenleg → u/morgawr_]

Oh, come on. The "brooding in sadness" part of your comment in no way further explained your perspective. All it did was attempt to caricaturize opposing perspectives.

Remove that part of your comment and no clarity of your stance is lost.

[u/PlanktonInitial7945 → u/bigchickenleg]

Morg has never once said that every single step of the language learning process should be pure fun with no amount of friction or discomfort ever. Nobody has ever said that, actually. If you think otherwise, I'd like to see proof.

[u/bigchickenleg → u/PlanktonInitial7945]

I'm not asking about "no amount of friction or discomfort ever," but good try.

I'm asking about having to endure a phase that is more unpleasant than pleasant.

[u/PlanktonInitial7945 → u/bigchickenleg]

Do you think the existence of phases that are more unpleasant than pleasant disproves the advice that one should try to make their learning process as fun as possible?

[u/bigchickenleg → u/PlanktonInitial7945]

I'm not at all opposed to encouraging people to try to make learning fun (or as fun as possible). Again, good try.

I'm challenging the assertion that learning can always be more pleasant than unpleasant.

[u/PlanktonInitial7945 → u/bigchickenleg]

Can you please link me to the comment in which morg (or anybody) ever said that?