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A look at the differences between 勉強する, 学ぶ & 習う

Hey guys how are you doing today? Are you ready to learn? Ready to take lessons? Ready to study? Great because we are going to be learning about all of the different phases today as we will be looking at the differences between the Japanese verbs which are 勉強する(Benkyou Suru), 学ぶ (Manabu) & 習う (Narau).

Not only will we be looking at the differences of each of these verbs (as they have similar meanings) but we will also be looking at how we can use them individually. We will be breaking today’s lesson down into the following sections. 

1. What is the meaning of 勉強する(Benkyou Suru) and how can i use it? This will give us a deeper understanding of the verb.
2. What is the meaning of 学ぶ (Manabu)and how can i use it? This will give us a deeper understanding of the verb.
3. What is the meaning of 習う(Narau) and how can i use it? This will give us a deeper understanding of the verb.
4. The main differences between all three verbs. Learn to differentiate between 勉強する, 学ぶ & 習う.
5. We will look at an effective study technique that you can use to master all 3 verbs and be able to differentiate them all easily in the future.

So now we know what we are going to be learning, let’s get right into it and start the lesson. 

What is the meaning of 勉強する(Benkyou Suru) and how can i use it?

A deeper understanding of the verb.

We will start with the simplest of the selection today and that is: 

勉強する 
Benkyou suru
To study 

This is a really easy verb that you can use to let someone know what you are studying.

For example: I am studying French, I am studying science, I am studying this textbook etc. 

For this all you have to do is place the thing that you’re studying before を 勉強する.

Let’s look at a few examples.

In this first examples the speaker is expressing that they are studying french. See how “french” comes before を勉強する。

今フランス語を勉強しています
IMA FURANSU GO WO BENKYOU SHITEIMASU
I'm studying French now. 

This next example shows another example of the speaker expressing that students go to europe to study music. 

多くの学生がヨーロッパに行って音楽を勉強します。
Ooku no gakusei ga yo-roppa ni itte ongaku wo benkyou shimasu 
Many students go to europe to study music.

So that one should have been fairly easy to grasp and 勉強 benkyou can also be used as a stand alone noun as well to mean “Study” 

We are now going to look at the next verb which is 学ぶ manabu.

What is the meaning of 学ぶ (Manabu)and how can i use it?

A deeper understanding of the verb.

So now we will look at manabu. Manabu is a verb that means to learn and is definitely the most broad for general use. Let’s look at some examples:

学ぶ 
Manabu
To learn 

In this example you can see that when using Manabu you don’t have to specify what it is you are learning as this could be anything.

毎日少しずつ学びなさい。 
Mainichi sukoshi zutsu manabi nasai
Learn little by little every day.

You can be more specific with manabu too, take a look at this example:

物理学は学ぶのが簡単ではない。
Butsurigaku wa manabu no ga kantan de wa nai
Physics is not easy to learn.

So now we will look at the last verb of the lesson which is Narau.

What is the meaning of 習う(Narau) and how can i use it?

A deeper understanding of the verb.

習う
Narau
to take lessons in; to be taught

Narau is more focused on learning in a structured way. Ie from textbooks, lessons etc. 

Here are a few examples. 

The implication is that the speaker is learning from someone.

車の運転を習っています。
Kuruma no unten wo naratte imasu
I've been learning to drive.

私達は週３時間英語を習います。
Watashitachi wa shuu san jikan eigo wo naraimasu
We learn English three hours a week.

Although they all do seem fairly similar there are subtle differences between each verb. Let’s now look at those differences more closely. 

The main differences between all three verbs.

Learn to differentiate between 勉強する, 学ぶ & 習う.

When looking at the differences 勉強する is the easiest to differentiate. Just think of this as the english “to study” and you can’t go wrong. 

 学ぶ & 習う are a little harder to understand.

Both mean ‘learn’ but Narau is more to learn from someone. Manabu doesn’t always include the meaning ‘from someone.’ and can be often much more general. 

If you remember those differences you can’t go wrong! 

So now let’s look at some great study techniques you can use to master all of these verbs. 

An effective study technique that you can use to master all 3 verbs.

differentiate them all easily in the future.

1. Start by writing out all 3 verbs and their definitions
2. Read over the example sentences from today’s lesson and commit them to memory.
3. Write 5 – 6 example sentences for each verb, do this daily for the next few days
4. At the end of this technique you should have now grasped the usage and the differences very thoroughly.

It’s much better to have learnt something properly so you don’t forget it again later. If you end up learning things too fast and with not enough time it will be really hard to retain that information.

So guys that brings us to the end of today’s online Japanese lesson from Bonlingo. We hope that you can now understand the difference between the 3 verbs that we talked about today and be sure to not skip over the technique too. That is arguably the most important part of the lesson.

If you have any ideas or suggestions on content that you would like to hear from us next be sure to get in touch with us. As always, keep up the good work and we will see you in the next online Japanese lesson from Bondlingo. 

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