"Narau" and "Manabu" (To Learn)

When I read sentences written by people who learn Japanese on Lang-8, I found that "narau" is often confused with "manabu".

You can say just "I learn Japanese" to mean both "nihongo wo narau" and "nihongo wo manabu", but there is a determinate difference between these Japanese sentences.

In most cases, "narau" means to be taught something by someone.

On the other hand, "manabu" means to remember or study something by oneself.

Therefore, it's unnatural to use "narau" when teaching yourself something, and you should use "manabu" in such a case.

By the way, it is said that "manabu" is derived from "manebu", which means "to imitate".

「習う」と「学ぶ」

Lang-8で日本語を学んでいる人の文章を読んでいると、「習う」と「学ぶ」が混同されていることがあります。

「日本語を習う」と「日本語を学ぶ」はどちらも "I learn Japanese" と表現できますが、日本語では決定的な違いがあります。

「習う」はほとんどの場合、誰かから何かを教わることを意味します。

一方で「学ぶ」は、自分で何かを覚えたり勉強することを意味することが多いです。

そのため、独学で勉強する場合に「習う」という表現を使うのは不自然で、そのような場合は「学ぶ」を使うべきです。

ちなみに、「学ぶ」は「真似（ぶ）」に由来すると考えられています。

You have the Great essay, very clear! Thank you very much!

• "Narau" and "Manabu" (To Learn)
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• When I read sentences written by people who learn Japanese on Lang-8, I found that "narau" is often confused with "manabu".
• When I read sentences written by people who are learning Japanese on Lang-8, I found find that "narau" is often confused with "manabu".

• You can say just "I learn Japanese" to mean both "nihongo wo narau" and "nihongo wo manabu", but there is a determinate difference between these Japanese sentences.
• You can say just "I learn Japanese" to mean both "nihongo wo narau" and "nihongo wo manabu", but there is a determinate definite difference between these Japanese sentences.

• In most cases, "narau" means to be taught something by someone.
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• On the other hand, "manabu" means to remember or study something by oneself.
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• Therefore, it's unnatural to use "narau" when teaching yourself something, and you should use "manabu" in such a case.
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• By the way, it is said that "manabu" is derived from "manebu", which means "to imitate".
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

Thank you very much!

I knew narau meant to be taught by someone but I didn't know manabu.