How to start learning Japanese
*Disclaimer: this is not the only one set way to learn Japanese, but I get asked this question a lot so thought it would be useful to put all my tips into one post*
So you’ve decided you want to learn Japanese. But now what?
Find some Tumblr blogs for inspiration (ok this one’s a bit silly, but the studyblr community is really great to be a part of, especially when you’re starting out and have a million and one questions. Try searching the Tumblr tags for studyblr, langblr, japaneseblr etc)
Google around for some resources. Would you rather use a textbook? Video lessons? An online course? Find something suitable for your learning style, and look for reviews from other learners. I did a post on textbooks for beginners if you’re stuck with where to start looking
Get started on learning kana. There are courses on memrise for hiragana and katakana, and a lot of courses/textbooks teach it too. There are also plenty of videos on Youtube, and I did some printable worksheets. The pronunciation is important to get right at this point, so try and find something with audio to help you from the start
Don’t stress so much about having to learn kanji. You will probably pick up a lot as you learn new words and are just exposed to the written language. If the course/textbook you’re using doesn’t teach kanji on it’s own, it probably includes the kanji characters with the vocabulary. So if you see the same common words you will eventually become familiar with the kanji. Of course down the line you will need to put in the effort to learn the readings/meanings and stroke order etc, but while you’re starting out don’t worry about it so much
Learn some words. There are plenty of lists online of 100 core Japanese words, such as this one from JapanesePod101. Knowing some basic words first will help you when learning grammar, because then you can plug in different words to make different sentences using the grammar you’re learning
Start with the grammar basics and get them down! Do not rush learning grammar. Trust me, if you rush the basics it will only hinder your progress in the long term
Take your time to learn particles. Even if your grammar isn’t perfect, if you can use the right particles you can generally get your point across
Try and expose yourself to the language. You don’t have to understand it all, but just listen to music, watch films, read books. The more familiar you are with how the language looks and sounds, the more comfortable you will be studying and using it
Put what you are learning into practice. Try speaking with a native, or keep a diary if you’re too shy to talk to people the introvert struggle this will help you remember what you are learning as you are having to actually use it. Do this as early as possible, even if you have to fill some gaps with your native language
Just stick at it. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when learning a new language, but it’s ok. Set yourself some goals, maybe to finish your textbook by the end of the year or to pass an online test. It helps to have something to work towards to keep you motivated
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