How to Learn Japanese

Konnichiwa (こんにちは)! Japanese is a great language to learn, whether it’s for work purposes, receiving your favorite mass product (e.g. manga – Japanese comics), or chatting with friends. Learning Japanese can be a bit intimidating at first, because Japanese is not related to other Latin languages like Vietnamese. In Japanese, the writing system and honorifics are quite complicated, but the basic grammar, pronunciation and communication are quite easy to understand. Let’s start by learning some common phrases, and then learn more about the sounds and writing system in Japanese.

Table of Contents

Basics

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Learn the writing system in Japanese. Japanese has four writing systems, each with different letters. It may seem like you will have to learn a lot, but every word in Japanese, no matter what writing system it comes from, has a pronunciation that is a combination of 46 basic syllables. ^{[1] X Research Source} Distinguishing between different writing systems and how to use them is an important part of learning Japanese. Here is an overview of writing systems:

Hiragana is a set of rhymes with letters representing phonetics, forming a writing system in Japanese. Unlike the Vietnamese alphabet, each hiragana letter is a syllable, which can include both vowels and consonants.
Katakana is also a rhyme, often used to represent borrowed words or onomatopoeia. Hiragana and katakana make up all the sounds in Japanese.
Kanji are the kanji that make up a writing system in Japanese. Hiragana and katakana are simply phonetic characters, while kanji are hieroglyphs, which are meaningful characters. There are thousands of kanji with about 2000 in common use. Hiragana and katakana are both derived from these kanji. The 46 syllables for hiragana and katakana are also used to transcribe kanji.
The Latin alphabet is used in Japanese to represent acronyms, company names, and other words for aesthetic purposes. Japanese can also be written in a Latin script, called Romaji (meaning “Roman letters”). In Japan, Japanese is not written in Latin script, but many Japanese newbies often use Latin characters to “spell” Japanese letters. However, Latin letters are difficult to represent many syllables in Japanese, and they also make many homonyms with different meanings difficult to understand. Therefore, learners are encouraged to learn the Japanese alphabet as soon as possible and avoid relying on Latin letters.

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Practice Japanese pronunciation. The 46 syllables in Japanese are made up of one of five vowels or a combination of a vowel and a consonant, with the exception of one syllable made up of a consonant. The vowels in Japanese are not inflected (unlike English, the pronunciation of the “a” in the word “apple” and the word “ace” is different). You can start practicing pronunciation by learning how to pronounce each letter in the hiragana and katakana tables. See examples of how to pronounce Japanese on this page.

Focus on the intonation of different syllables. Variations of syllables change the meaning of words. A long sound can have a completely different meaning from a short sound (“o” and “oo”).

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Learn variations based on basic syllables. Japanese letters may add accents to indicate slightly different pronunciation, sometimes changing the meaning of the word they represent. This is similar to how the English letter “s” is sometimes pronounced as “z”.

Double consonants are pronounced with a break between two syllables.
The sound field is pronounced by holding an extra beat of the vowel. The sound field is different from the short sound, and at the same time represents a completely different word.

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Learn Japanese grammar. Mastering some basic grammar principles will help you understand Japanese better and create your own sentences. Grammar in Japanese is simple and flexible, so it’s pretty easy to pair words into meaningful sentences. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Sentences do not have to have a subject and can be omitted.
The predicate is always at the end of the sentence.
Nouns are not masculine/feminine. Most nouns also do not have a plural form.
Verbs do not change subject as in English (he/she/it). Verbs also don’t change number as in English (singular/plural, for example I/we or he/they). ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Particles always go after words to determine the role of subject, object, etc. of that word.
Personal pronouns (I, you, etc.) will vary according to the degree of politeness and respect needed in each case.

Manual document

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Download audio software to learn languages. Once you’ve completed the basics, it’s time to tap into outside tutorials to improve your skills. If learning Japanese is for fun because you like Japanese culture, for example manga (comic), anime (cartoon) or are passionate about travel, a CD with audio learning Japanese can satisfy all your needs. your request. Spending an hour a day studying Japanese will help you build grammar, access simple phrases and useful vocabulary.

Listen to audio software on the way to work, or download audio to your music player to listen to at lunchtime, on a shift break, or while walking in the park.
You don’t have to learn to read and write to enjoy the Japanese language and culture, so if you’re just planning a short trip to Japan, it’s much more practical to master a few useful phrases than to cram. Insert confusing letters.

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Sign up for the class. If you study Japanese for work or you want to live in Japan, consider taking a university-level course, an intensive language program, or an online class. Learning to read and write Japanese is paramount to your long-term success. It’s also a good idea to have a counselor when you start learning the language, as they will help you develop positive language learning habits, and they can also answer your questions about the Japanese language and culture.

Learn writing systems. It is advisable to start learning the four writing systems in Japanese early if the purpose of your language learning is to read and write. You can learn hiragana and katakana in a few weeks, and then use these two sets of characters to write whatever Japanese you want. About 2,000 kanji are now widely used in Japanese, so it can take several years for you to learn all of them. However, kanji is worth learning if you want to really understand and speak Japanese.
Use flashcards to learn new words and simple sentences. You can learn with flashcards while waiting for meetings, train rides, etc. You can also start with some free flashcards online, or buy higher quality cards online. or at university bookstores.
- To practice using kanji, look for flashcards with calligraphy on one side and examples of compound words on the other. You can also buy white cards with the size of 7×12 cm to make your own word cards with the exact content you want.
Participate in debates and activities in the language class. Do enough homework, raise your hand and participate as much in the construction as you can to get the most out of this class. Otherwise, your skills will not improve.

“Immerse yourself” in Japanese

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Join the Japanese communication group. You can find many communication groups online, or by calling your local library or community center. Train your headphones to capture what the speaker is saying. Even if you don’t understand, try to repeat what people have said before to start analyzing and building awareness.

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Make friends with Japanese people with whom you can regularly practice Japanese. A lot of Japanese want to learn English or Vietnamese, so you should be able to find someone willing to help you. On the contrary, you will support them to learn English/Vietnamese. Simply having friends to exchange notes with will help learners improve their abilities.

Besides “class time”, do other activities that use Japanese with your Japanese friend. If those friends have not lived long in the country where you reside, you should take them around the city. Let’s go sightseeing. Remember, you need to “cool off” often if you don’t want to be stressed by the kanji that you have to memorize. Play is the best way to achieve both goals at the same time.
On days when you don’t go out, call a friend and chat in Japanese for about half an hour. The more you practice, the faster you will improve.

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Consume Japanese mass products. Whether it’s newspapers, novels, movies or TV shows, read and watch popular products in Japanese every day. You can find a wide variety of TV shows online, from comedies to games and movies. Find products that match your interests and learning will become a lot easier. Japanese newspapers will bring you the most practical vocabulary and grammar. As you progress, you should read novels – products that give you a more friendly writing style. Change it up by watching classic Japanese movies or anime without subtitles, or watch with Japanese subtitles.

Comics (manga) can be suitable reading material, but be aware that the level of subtlety in each book will be markedly different. A comic book with mature, literary content will be great practice (especially when the pictures help you understand what you’re reading), while books for younger children are more likely to help. Full sound effects and slang. You should be careful when repeating the content in the comics.

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Study in Japan. This is simply the best way to put what you’ve learned into practice and learn more. Studying abroad is also an exciting and unexpected experience that immerses you in another culture, even for a short time. Even with thorough research, the actual experience of a place will give you things you can’t imagine.

If you’re at a university or college, ask about study programs in Japan. This is one of the best ways to gain long-term exposure to Japanese, and you may also qualify for financial aid.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t fully understand what others are telling you, or can’t read or write as well as expected. It will take years for you to master another language. The complexity and nuances of Japanese make it difficult to master, but that’s the beauty of the language.

Advice

Learn from the situation. If the person next to you is bowing or responding to someone else’s greeting in a certain way, do the same at the next opportunity. The most suitable people for you to observe are people of the same age and gender as you. What is suitable for an elderly man may not be suitable for a young woman.
It’s easy to forget the language if you don’t practice, so keep practicing. If you study Japanese for a few months and stop studying for a whole year, you WILL forget all the Kanji you’ve learned and most of the grammar. Japanese is a difficult language to learn all at once. Even Japanese people who have lived abroad for a long time share that they forget many kanji. Learning little by little over a long period of time is more effective than cramming once every few months.
When you come to Japan and try to speak Japanese outside of a formal or business setting, you will sometimes be refused to talk to. Some people simply don’t care about your story, as they judge your appearance and the Japanese you use – slow, imprecise and awkward. Don’t let this experience stop you from learning Japanese. There are far more people who are kind and patient enough to listen to what you have to say than those who don’t care about you.
Use caution when using assistive tools. You should not buy an electronic dictionary too early. They are expensive, and most of the functions are useless if your Japanese reading level is not at the right level. Ideally, you should understand 300-500 kanji before purchasing these tools.
Watch cartoons (anime) without Vietnamese subtitles, especially those that you’ve seen with Vietnamese subtitles. That way, you can see what the characters are talking about.
Understand that expressions and reactions to situations in cartoons and comics are often inappropriate to apply in everyday situations. Try to learn how ordinary people use language, rather than picking up bad habits or tendencies from pop culture figures.
When learning Japanese, don’t speak too fast or too slow. Always make sure you are practicing with Japanese speakers.
Make sure you pronounce vowels/consonants correctly, even if you think your voice sounds corny.
There are several free apps to help you learn Japanese.

Steps

Basics

Manual document

“Immerse yourself” in Japanese

Advice

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