Day 16 – I Forgot Everything… So I Started Remembering

Today is Day 16 of learning Japanese. And let me be real with you—it hit me: the more I learn, the more I feel like I’m forgetting.

I’ll come across a new word, and my brain goes, “Cool! Add it to the list!” But then... wait. What was the old word?
“ゆき? Was that snow? Or courage?!”
“Was it とる or とおる?!”
Suddenly everything blurs and I feel like I’m juggling noodles with chopsticks. Slippery.

So today, instead of pushing ahead blindly, I stopped. I revised. I went back and reviewed what I already learned—especially the 長音 (Chōon), aka Long Vowel Sounds.

Here's what I refreshed:

• おばさん (obasan) = aunt

• おばあさん (obaasan) = grandmother / older woman

• おじさん (ojisan) = uncle

• おじいさん (ojiisan) = grandfather / older man

• ゆき (yuki) = snow

• ゆうき (yuuki) = courage

• え (e) = picture

• ええ (ee) = yes

• とる (toru) = to take

• とおる (tooru) = to pass through

• ここ (koko) = here

• こうこう (koukou) = high school

• へや (heya) = room

• へいや (heiya) = plain / field

It's wild how a single stretched vowel can change everything. Respect to Japanese for keeping me humble.

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Then came numbers... Oh boy.

Counting in Japanese feels easy at first—until you try to go past 10. Then you’re like, “Why does 10000 have its own word? Why is 300 not just ‘san-hyaku’?!”
But once I saw the pattern, it clicked. Here’s how I tackled it:

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🔢 Japanese Numbers – Made Easy (Sort of)

1–10

• 0 = ゼロ (zero) / れい (rei)

• 1 = いち (ichi)

• 2 = に (ni)

• 3 = さん (san)

• 4 = し (shi) / よん (yon)

• 5 = ご (go)

• 6 = ろく (roku)

• 7 = しち (shichi) / なな (nana)

• 8 = はち (hachi)

• 9 = きゅう (kyuu) / く (ku)

• 10 = じゅう (juu)

After that: It stacks like LEGO.

• 20 = にじゅう (nijuu)

• 25 = にじゅうご (nijuugo)

• 33 = さんじゅうさん (sanjuusan)

Hundreds

• 100 = ひゃく (hyaku)

• 200 = にひゃく (nihyaku)

• 300 = さんびゃく (sanbyaku) ← yes, it changes

• 400 = よんひゃく (yonhyaku)

• 500 = ごひゃく (gohyaku)

• 600 = ろっぴゃく (roppyaku) ← changed again

• 700 = ななひゃく (nanahyaku)

• 800 = はっぴゃく (happyaku) ← yep

• 900 = きゅうひゃく (kyuuhyaku)

Thousands

• 1,000 = せん (sen)

• 10,000 = いちまん (ichiman)

• 100,000 = じゅうまん (juuman)

• 1,000,000 = ひゃくまん (hyakuman)

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🧠 How I Remember Numbers:

1. Chunk it.
Instead of memorizing 1–100000, learn in layers: 1–10, 10–100, then 100s, 1000s.

2. Say it out loud.
Saying “にじゅうご” 10 times while pacing in your room makes it stick. Looks weird. Works great.

3. Mix and quiz.
Pick random numbers and say them:

• 47 → よんじゅうなな (yonjuunana)

• 83 → はちじゅうさん (hachijuusan)

• 108 → ひゃくはち (hyakuhachi)

4. Use it in fake scenarios.
“What's your salary?” Me: ひゃくまんえんです (One million yen!)
Dream big, right?

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Final Thoughts

Some days, language learning feels like climbing a mountain. Today, it felt more like finding the right path down the mountain—slowing down, going back, reinforcing the trail behind me.

So if you’re learning something—Japanese or otherwise—and feel like you’re forgetting more than you're learning, don't panic. That’s just your brain reorganizing.

Repetition isn’t failure. It’s maintenance. And maintenance is progress.

Stay connected. Stay consistent.
がんばって！(Ganbatte!)
– Made Made Desu 💪📖

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