Everyone has their own reasons for learning Japanese, such as to work in Japan, to study in Japan, or watch Japanese anime and manga without subtitles.
When you decide to study Japanese, what should you do? You can learn Japanese by attending a Japanese language school, but it takes time and money, and many people may not have it nearby.
In this post, we will introduce recommendations for those who are starting to study Japanese without attending a Japanese language school.
Please read this post if you are about to start studying Japanese.
How long does it take to master Japanese?
Can you imagine how long does it take to learn Japanese?
According to the Language Difficulty Rankings announced by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) from the U.S. Department of State, it takes 2,200 hours to learn Japanese, but is it true?
Here is a summary of the study time required to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which is taken by many learners of Japanese around the world.
| Grade | Number of Kanji you need to memorize | Number of vocabularies you need to memorize | Approximate study time |
|---|---|---|---|
| N1 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 900 to 1200 hours |
| N2 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 600 to 800 hours |
| N3 | 600 | 3,000 | 500 to 600 hours |
| N4 | 300 | 1,500 | 300 to 400 hours |
| N5 | 300 | 1,500 | 300 to 400 hours |
It takes about 500 hours to pass the N3 intermediate level, which means that even if you study for one hour a day, you will need about one to two years.
What did people who passed N1 start learning Japanese?
We asked our non-native Japanese speaker employees (all of whom passed N1) what they started their studies with.
A. Native English speaker
I first became interested in Japanese through anime and games such as Pokemon and Dragon Ball.
When I was in junior high school, I was bought a book like a collection of conversational expressions for travel, but I couldn’t make progress in self-study. My desire to learn was strong, so I chose to go to a university where I could study Japanese and began serious study at the university.
B. Native Slovene speaker
I started my Japanese studies with simple expressions commonly used in daily life, such as greetings and self-introductions. I also learned hiragana and katakana at the same time.
C. Native Chinese speaker
I began my study with the pronunciation and writing of hiragana and katakana on the Japanese syllabary chart.
D. Native Chinese speaker
I started by watching Japanese anime with Chinese subtitles and playing Japanese games.
E. Native Korean speaker
I started studying with hiragana and katakana.
F. Native Korean speaker
I studied conversation while learning hiragana. After that, I studied kanji and katakana.
Looking at this, it seems that learning simple conversational sentences while learning hiragana and katakana is a good idea. With the exception of native Chinese speakers, the hardest part of studying Japanese is kanji, so it would be more enjoyable to study kanji later.
Recommended ways to learn Japanese
Since the language has four skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing, it is not possible to learn the language with only one study method. We recommend learning Japanese using a variety of media: books and websites for the basics of reading and writing, videos such as YouTude and anime for listening, and online lessons for speaking.
Textbooks
Have at least one textbook for beginners. The most famous books for beginners are Minna no Nihongo and GENKI, both of which are very good books for learning the basics. Also, Irodori created by the Japan Foundation is free and is recommended for learning everyday Japanese.
Minna no Nihongo You can look inside
https://www.3anet.co.jp/data/2300/?detailFlg=0
GENKI You can watch support videos and more freehttps://genki3.japantimes.co.jp/en/student/
Irodori You can download pdf files for free
https://www.irodori.jpf.go.jp/
Web sites
We recommend JF Nihongo e-Learning Minato operated by The Japan Foundatio of Irodori and NEWS WEB EASY: News written in easy Japanese operated by NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster, where you can learn Japanese for free.
JF Nihongo e-Learning Minato
https://minato-jf.jp/
NEWS WEB EASY News written in easy Japanese
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/
NEWS WEB EASY, as the name suggests, allows you to learn the latest news in simple Japanese. You can listen to audio as well as text, so it is a good way to study listening skills and learn about Japan today, so we recommend checking it every day.
Videos
There are many videos of Japanese lessons on YouTube. If you can find your favorite YouTuber, you can continue your study easier. It is also a good idea to watch Japanese anime on Netflix and study while having fun.
YouTube “japanese listening practice” video
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=japanese+listening+practice
YouTube “japanese lesson” video
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=japanese+lesson
Online Japanese lessons
There are many people who have studied hard and passed JLPT N2 or N1 in order to study or work in Japan, but the most difficult part after entering a Japanese university or company is actually speaking.
JLPT is a listening and reading test, so you can pass it even if you do not have writing and speaking skills. Therefore, there are many people who have passed N1 but cannot speak Japanese very well.
Especially in business, being able to speak Japanese fluently is important for career advancement, so you should keep practicing your speaking skills from the beginning.
If you have friends who are native Japanese speakers, ask them if they would like to practice conversation with you. They will be happy to do so.
If you do not have a native Japanese speaking friend, online Japanese lessons are recommended.
Compared to Japanese language schools, online Japanese lessons are much cheaper. Also, you can take lessons at your convenient time, and the teacher will arrange the lesson content according to your level. You can choose from a variety of teachers, so you are sure to find the right teacher for you.
So far, we have introduced recommended ways of learning Japanese for beginners. After reading this, please start studying Japanese today, no matter what you need to do. We hope you enjoy life of learning Japanese.
