Hi everyone!

So I've noticed a few threads on this site about people wanting to learn Japanese. I'm thinking to give it a shot myself, and to that end I've found websites and collected resources. But I have to say, it seems like a daunting task. I'm in the medical field, so I'm not afraid of hard work and slow progress, but I want to know if it's achievable.

So is there anyone who has successfully learned Japanese? How fluent were you able to get and how long did it take? And of course, what methods worked for you?

Also, what were the biggest hurdles for you? Kanji? The difference in syntax between English and Japanese?

I'm interested to hear about your experiences, and I'd appreciate any advice you could give me.

Arigatou gozaimasu!!

I want to know this also. Just out of curiosity OP what resources do you plan to use?

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Fujoshis rule!

I guess I'm not the one to talk about "speaking Japanese", as I'm not fluent, but from knowing words like "arigatou" or "oniisan" to passing JLPT N4 and knowing about 400-500 kanji (which is enough for simple talks or texts) it took me 3.5 years (though I admit that the last year was more of "forgetting Japanese", because I had no time to practice). I didn;t attend any classes , I used mostly books, but the ones I used are only available in Polish. I guess if you have a teacher it might be easier, and you won;t slack off so much..
The things that worked for me was watching anime, especially in pronouciation. And writing down kanji. A lot.
The biggest problem was kanji, not the writing, because you'll get a hold of it easily (it's just 100 simple elements in different combinations) but the fact that they can be pronounced in 234700341 ways each. And keigo - I still don;t get which level of politeness is appropriate in which conversation ("would you please be so grateful to consider allowing me to drink tea in your honorable presence?" or three different words meaning "to give" depending on the difference of status..)

I plan to take the JLPT N3 soon (they recently added a fifth level) and am a Japanese major in university. I've studied it for 6 years, but the first four were in high school and paced very slowly. It was in a classroom setting, so my experiences are probably different from what you'll be facing. I'd say I'm fairly fluent, though I still definitely have a lot to learn.

I've used several different textbooks, and the easiest to use and most intuitively organized is the Genki textbook. If you're not a beginner (know most basic grammar, have studied 2.5+ years, know 300 or more kanji), you may want to consider the Tobira textbook, which is great for independent study at an intermediate level. You'll really want to invest in an exercise book, and there are companion ones for both of these texts. This is primarily for learning grammar.

Learning kanji is quite different. People learn it differently, but my one recommendation is to learn to write them, not just to read them! You'll learn them better and won't run into the issue of forgetting as many if you don't practice. I've tutored enough students; believe me, it makes a difference.

In terms of speaking, there are a lot of online resources to meet foreign language partners. Mixxer, Lang 8 (though I've never used this one) and sharedtalk, to name just a few. Speaking will always be the most difficult, simply because it's often hard to come by conversation partners. Don't learn from emulating anime voice actors or non-native speakers. You'll pick up awkward mannerisms and figures of speech or just bad, incorrect habits in the case of the latter. Dramas and live action shows are much better for this, though there's still a tendency to overact.

Good luck in your language learning endeavors!

I've been studying for 4 years. A year at university and self study. I can read/write/speak while not fluently I am able to understand 80-90% of what I read/hear.

One of the things I stress after learning Hiragana/Katakana, basic sentence patterns, and kanji - is to expose yourself to Japanese everyday - even as little as writing a sentence in order to build upon what you have learned and for it to stick. Because you will forget it if you do not keep up with it. I would say look at N5/N4 Grammar/vocabulary/kanji lists after getting down Hiragana/Katakana. Lean basic level sentence structures. How are you? I'm going to to the store. Learn the basics.

I'm not sure what your goal is - just reading/writing or also speaking/listening but if for reading and writing - READ + WRITE lol pick up manga (in Japanese) you have read or reading and read it side by side with the English version. Try reading small easy passages or simple paragraphs. This is what we did during first year Japanese at my university. Writing by hand is hard so get journal or something and write in it everyday. it's easy online and but if you want to be able to write too then you gotta practice everyday. I do not kid - my professor says to give 2 hours day but since that not possible all the time just do something small.

For listening - listen to Japanese pod casts or better yet find drama cds of manga you have read - often times they follow exactly what is written in the manga. You can start to get use to hearing native speakers (even if you don't understand anything pay attention) you can pick up how words are pronounced, what is stressed, etc. Also listen to music, look at the lyrics it's also a fun way to learn and practice.

Speaking - Find native speakers! Join a Japanese language exchange club/group if any where you live. You get to practice and it's a great way to learn and make friends Often times (99% of the time) they are super happy to help and more than excited to see someone take an interest in learning.

Finally, have fun & don't be afraid to make mistakes - I said really crazy/incorrect things before and used the wrong kanji when writing words but that happens - it's a learning process and you laugh about it later - and the internet is your friend.



Last edited by Sakura_Hikizaki at 6:54 am, Jan 6 2015

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Translating those lovely Boys Love stories

Well, I'm not fluent but:

I was able to translate manga after roughly 1/2 year of self-study. I've been translating for 1.5 years and I can fluently read casual Japanese by now.

Reading formal Japanese and speaking is a different matter (I'm not good at either), but you can advance pretty quickly if you dedicate a lot of time to it.

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First, i'm gonna write based on my experiences on self study of Japenese (I took classes, but they did not help me much, so I ditched them pretty early in my journey).

I passed the N1 last year (highest level a foreigner needs in Japanese, it mainly used for companies/employers to attest your Japanese level, it is comparable to a highschool level of Japanese). I know people that didn't take any level of the JLPT and they speak better then me, so take that as you will.


It took four years of part-time study to get the N1, 3 hours everyday (except Sundays and sick days), half of those, just studying Kanji. Some materials that I used:


WaniKani: Spaced repetition website involving Mnemonics. Has a paywall of 10$ a month (People from the Beta and Alpha days have a 50% discount).
Main Use: Kanji & Vocabulary Learning

I think it's worth it because it streamlines the whole Kanji and Vocabulary learning process for you, you just need to show up everyday and study. It doesn't teach you how to write (unless you're in a cellphone or computer), but seriously, when was the last time that you needed a pen and paper to write something? I think that learning how to write will only slow you down. I'm not saying don't do it, i'm saying that you need to prioritize your learning, and spend more time on things that actually matter.

Foreigners/and even Japanese people in general write like crap unless they did Japanese calligraphy or something like that. Your chances to write something, even in Japan will be few and far. Most of the time you'll spend in front of the computer/cellphone or talking to people so take that as you will.


Anki: Anki is a flashcard program that uses SRS to drill information into your head, wanikani in function was largely based in this program, which was based in even older program called SuperMemo. You can download premade decks. It shows you a set amount of new cards each day (default 20) and will show you the same cards again when you are most likely to forget them, which is predicted through algorithms. This program has a lot of features that can?t be covered here, so read the manual if you wish to totally utilize Anki. You can also get this on your mobile device and sync your deck between both versions. The official App Store version costs money (to support the devs) so you might just want to use Safari in that case instead. Turn to Anki if you don't want to Pay for wanikani.
Main Use: Kanji and Vocabulary Learning (jōyō kanji and core 6000 decks)


Genki: Probably the most hyped textbook from English speakers learning Japanese, and it delivers. It's probably the best textbook to study basic Japanese grammar. Genki makes Japanese look easy, make yourself a favour if you use it, and grab the audio as well, Genki lose most of it's effectiveness if you don't use it. The main problem of genki is it's slowness. I took half a year to complete just 1 volume. Making a year to complete the whole series (2 volumes). If you want something faster I don't recommended Genki. Look for something like Japanese for Everyone
Main Use: Hiragana, Katanaka, Kanji, Vocabulary, Speaking and Listening Practice.

Tae Kim Grammar Guide Tae Kim is the man, when you don't understand anything, turn to Tae Kim for help. He covers N5 to N3 material in his guide.
Main Use: Grammar Learning

Visualizing Japanese Grammar: If you're more of a visual person, i greatly recommended this as a supplement to Genki. Shoko Hamano is a great teacher, wished i had someone as good as her when i made the mistake to go to Japanese classes in my local university.
Main Use: Grammar Learning

Japanese the Manga Way: This book teaches grammar through examples from actual Japanese executed in a practical manner. It works well as a Genki supplement, or as a simple introduction to the major grammar points of Japanese. It uses too much romanji, but the material is good.
Main Use: Grammar Learning

An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese The most logical step after Genki, the reading is more dry and less "fun", but that's to be expected
Main Use: Reading, Writing and Grammar Learning


Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese The logical step after Integrated Approach, it's to be expected that the hand holding ends here.
Main Use: Reading, Writing and Grammar Learning

Lang-8:Here, you can write journal entries which are corrected by Japanese natives, and in return, you correct theirs. This is a great way to increase your writing/production ability and also meet people to talk to. Most important to N3/N2 level. You'll outgrown Lang-8 quickly enough.
Main Use: Writing and Reading Practice

All Japanese All The Time: Sometimes it's not about study materials that you need, sometimes it's just your head, your mentality. If you want someone to lift you up when you're feeling down, is this guy here. Read his tips, they help, a lot.
Main Use: Motivational and Learning Language techniques

SkyPeech: Here's a site for finding some natives on Skype to talk to. This a Japanese site for Japanese people, so do not misunderstand and think that everyone here has an interest in learning English, French, Spanish or whatever your native language is.
Main Use: Speaking Practice

Rikaisama/Rikaikun: Rikaisama is a tool that shows you equivalent or close meanings (in English) of Japanese words in plaintext format, by hovering over them. Has many useful features such as audio playback and the ability to save words to a file or import it straight into Anki.

Rikaikun is Essentially an unfortunately inferior clone of Rikaichan/Rikaisama, but still serviceable enough if you just can't let go of the botnet.
Main Use: Dictionary

Yotsubato!: Probably the cutest and most uplifting manga ever, it'll probably by your first complete read in N5/N4 level, and I do recommend it.
Main Use: Reading Practice

There's way more things that I did, but it'll turn the post even longer, so i think this is enough to get you started.


I have as well, B2 in French (Working on C1), C1 in Spanish, Band 8 in IELTS (English is not my native language), My native language is Portuguese. So I technically, can go to any country in the American continent (+Japan) and make myself understood.




Last edited by Samken at 7:32 am, Jan 6 2015

Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone! I honestly did not expect such detailed answers.

Along with being able to read, I would also like to speak and write Japanese. I'm a total beginner, so right now my goal is just mastering the N5 level, and then I'll go from there. The resources I'm planning to use are:

-Tae Kim's Grammar Guide, as well as the Complete Guide to Japanese from the website.
-Anki.
-http://nihongoichiban.com/ has pretty detailed lists of required vocabulary/ grammar/ kanji divided according to JLPT level. It's still a work in progress, but the N5 level is mostly complete. They also have a free workbook for N5 level kanji, with their meanings, onyomi/ kunyomi readings, and writing practice grids.
-Jim Breen's WWWJDIC app on my phone for kanji recognition.
-I'm going to pick up Genki as per Caiman and Samken's recommendations.
-I've also got all the episodes of the J-drama Oshin in Japanese with English subtitles for listening practice, lol! I watched it as a child dubbed in my native language, and I remember it was hella depressing, but I guess it's time to give it another shot now 8P

Has anyone tried James Heisig's Remembering the Kanji? I've seen both good and bad reviews about it, so I was wondering.

Chrum, Caiman, Sakura_Hikizaki, and Samken: thanks for the guidance! And duuuuuude, you guys passed exams and stuff *staring in awe~* You guys are Amazing. With a capital A.

And shiratori, as a born manga-leech, I sincerely thank you, lol!

I can understand what japanese tourist are saying if i walk past well enough and i can do basic stuff like ordering food because i have been watching subs only for 15 years. If i have visuals like in raw anime or life action i get a surprising amount right. You do learn subconsciously though repetition. Proper reading is the beast i have to master still and would like to thank everyone for posting. I took notes. I wonder if learning a West Germanic(so english) language is to asians as hard as the reverse is to us.

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

First of all I recommend almost everything Samken recommended, since I used/use pretty much the same stuff.
Personal experience:
I started learning Japanese some time during summer 2013 and passed the N3 in summer 2014 after intense self-study. Will take the N1 this year in summer if my schedule allows it. I'm the type that studies best on his own, but that really depends on the individual, so attending classes might be a good idea.

Stuff I recommend:
- Heisig's book, I personally liked it but I guess that also depends on the individual. But I'd recommend it especially for self-study.

- Watching anime/drama without subtitles, watching news in Japanese. Doesn't matter if you don't understand everything, it'll get better over time.

- Japanesepod101.com: There's a free trial and you can of course just create a new account every time or download all the stuff you need in one go. It's a site with tons of audio lessons (and other stuff but that's all I use), a good idea for longer trips. I use it every time I go running.

- The Minna no Nihongo books, though they might be expensive if you're getting all of them. Of course we're on the internet so there are ways... You might also want to check your local library.

- Once you're more advanced I recommend reading lots of stuff, I like reading web novels since they're free. You can read them here: http://yomou.syosetu.com/ Never forget getting Rikaichan. Rikaichan is god.

- Getting some games in Japanese might also be worthwhile. If reading a book is too boring, playing a visual novel might be an idea. Since games are all pretty similar, even if you don't understand everything, it's often obvious what you have to do.

What I found the most difficult:
At first it might be the Kanji, but it's just a matter of memorizing so rather than difficult it'll just take some time. Just be patient. What's bothering me most nowadays is learning vocabulary. There'll be no end to it ever.

EDIT: I forgot the most important thing. Never give up. That's really what it is about. And of course have fun. A new language is the door to another world, you'll get access to tons of things, become capable to talk to tons of people and it'll broaden your horizon. I will never regret learning this language and I hope it'll be the same for everyone who wishes to give it a try.

Last edited by RoxFlowz at 12:31 pm, Apr 10 2015

About Heisig: I like Heisig idea, that's why i recommend wanikani, it takes Heisig idea (mnemonics) and expands it to a better use of the student time (actual kanji and radical learning), but his execution is terrible, especially after Kanji 500 or so, where he basically let go of the student hand, I have a personal friend that got pretty far in Heising, and almost completed, but he let it go at the end because well, he still didn't understand any written Japanese. So he still needed to study the readings, it didn't body to him that well that he still needed to do Volume 2 (That even Heisig fans think it's bad) to have the complete knowledge down. So he stopped. If someone still wants to go thought heisig, at least use the made by fans website Reviewing the Kanji. It tries to cover the main weaknesses of the method, and the forum members are really helpful.

About Minna: Minna no Nihongo and Genki basically cover the same material grammar wise (and it's just as slow), so it's more of a personal preference. I think Minna no Nihongo is too dry for most beginners, the dialogues are mostly work and daily life in Japan centric, more geared for young adults.

Vocabulary wise minna edges genki (exchange student...really Genki?), but the student needs to fight the boredom of going thought.

Minna has audio (tapes and CDs), videos, and a grammatical notes book (translated to many languages, English, German, Portuguese, Spanish and many others) scattered around as well. So it's extremely wise if someone wants to go thought Minna to pick them up.

Overall, good tips all-round, just wanted to note these 2

Last edited by Samken at 10:37 am, Jan 6 2015

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm really impressed that you got so far in just 2 years. Good luck on your test!
I study best on my own as well, so I'll only look in to classes if I can't do it.
And yes, all my media is in Japanese. I've only ever used subtitles so I'm pretty used to the flow of the language. The sentence structure is similar to my native language as well, as opposed to English, so I hope that helps me out in learning grammar.
As for vocabulary, I get what you mean. Can you ever say that you know all the words of any language?

Residentgrigo, from what I've learned from watching K-dramas and such is that they find learning English every bit as difficult. I guess it's about how frequently you encounter it. In my country, the school curriculums are all taught in English, examinations are in English, menus, movies, and many other things. So practically everyone is bilingual. But in Far Eastern Asian countries, English is only ever taught in schools as a second language, as far as I know.