What are the top tips to learn Japanese in just 15 days?
Japanese, 日本語 “Nihon-go” in Japanese, is the official language of Japan, in East Asia. Japanese belongs to the Japonic language family, which also includes the endangered Ryukyuan languages. One theory says Japanese and Korean are related, but most linguists no longer think so. Other theories about the origin of Japanese are that it related to the Austronesian languages, the Dravidian languages, or the controversial Altaic language family. Interestingly, a different term is used for Japanese as a course of study by citizens: it is “kokugo” (国語), which means national language. Nonetheless, Japanese is still referred to as 日本語 by the Japanese.
Japanese uses three separate writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two are phonetic systems and so show the pronunciation of Japanese words, and kanji is the Japanese variation of Chinese characters and show the meaning of Japanese words. The three systems are used interchangeably, and all three systems can often be found in the same sentence. The three systems are each reserved for different purposes.
Let's look at what you can do to achieve big in Japanese in a short span of 15 days!
1. Use the Best Apps and Resources
Set your pace and schedule
There are so many apps out there that focus on daily lessons designed to fit a pace that the learner is comfortable with.
Want to jump right into hour-long lessons? Go for it! Only want to spare 15 minutes a day? This is doable.
But if you want to really get a handle on Japanese in four weeks, we suggest practicing Japanese and studying for 30 minutes a day at a minimum—aim for more study-time whenever you can!
Use apps to get you started
Japanese-learning tools and apps allow you to study wherever you are. Make use of that commute or replace your morning newspaper for a month with these, instead.
2. Learn the Japanese Sentence Structure, Grammar Basics and Word Order
A language isn’t just its vocabulary words or textbook full of common phrases. You absolutely should learn the basic phrases, especially if you’ll be visiting Japan with only a month to learn how to speak a new language (and we have some useful travel phrases for you later in this post).
But it’s also important to get a handle on Japanese grammar and sentence structure. This way, you’ll at least have a little bit of information memorized to help in a contextual situation where you’re not entirely sure what someone said or how to respond.
It’ll also get you ready to build more grammar and vocabulary into your Japanese knowledge. Finally, it’ll give you more versatile use of all the words you’re learning!
Below are some essential grammar concepts even absolute Japanese learners should know.
Learn proper particle use
Japanese particles are words that come after modified nouns, adjectives, verbs and phrases in Japanese.
These little words or sounds are an integral part of the Japanese sentence structure and indicate parts of speech, questions and exclamations and much more. Certain particles can also help show enthusiasm, cuteness, aggression, humor, etc.
3. Get the Gist of the Japanese Writing Systems
We mentioned earlier how important it is to focus on speaking, listening and comprehension in order to learn passable Japanese in a month. That being said, it’s still wise to understand the basics of Japanese writing systems.
Start with hiragana
Kanji is a complicated writing system that’s beyond the scope of this guide. Even native Japanese speakers spend years achieving fluency with kanji, so we don’t recommend tackling it in just a month.
However, you should definitely look into some of these resources that explain the common Japanese writing system called hiragana:
“Learn Hiragana: The Ultimate Guide” by Tofugu is a thorough visual guide to hiragana which uses images to help readers remember characters in a way they’ll never forget.
“Learn Japanese Hiragana” by Guide to Japanese has handy charts with stroke order and pronunciation guides for each character.
“Read, Write, Repeat: Japanese Hiragana Practice for Beginners” from FluentU is a massive list of resources for hiragana practice, both reading and writing.
“Hiragana Course 1” by Hiragana-Lesson introduces each character in groups with accompanying quizzes.
Some Japanese text is accompanied by hiragana readings of the included kanji (this is called furigana), so knowing hiragana is an excellent start to studying the written language.
Once you feel comfortable enough with hiragana, you can move on to learning the other writing systems of Japanese, starting with katakana then moving on to kanji—just be aware that kanji learning will be an ongoing process.
Don’t despair! Take it one step at a time.
4. Talk and Listen to Native Japanese Speakers
You’ll hear any linguistic teacher tell you this, no matter the language being learned: If you want to understand a new language, you can’t just study on paper. You’ll need to listen to native speakers.
This is true for many reasons, the biggest one being comprehension skills.
You may think you have an idea of what Japanese sounds like, but you really don’t get the nuances and pronunciation until you hear it from a Japanese person’s mouth.
It’s also crucial to listen and speak Japanese constantly to improve your fluency. Improving and growing in Japanese is like exercising a muscle: if you don’t work it out, it won’t get swole.
Communicate with native speakers
To listen to and communicate with native Japanese speakers, try out some language exchange sites. These sites match learners with native speakers: you teach someone English (or your native language) and in return, they teach you Japanese.
Here are some of our favourite language exchange programs:
HelloTalk is a chat program where learners can find and easily chat with native speakers.
WeSpeke is sometimes referred to as the “polyglot Facebook” and acts as a social media service for language learners.
Conversation Exchange matches users to native speakers in their area wishing to exchange language tips and help in person.
My Language Exchange allows users to reach out to native speakers and language learners from all over the world just to say “hi” or to start a conversation.
Finally, top it up with a little entertainment to fuel your passion
Watch Japanese media
If you don’t feel ready for one-on-one communication, you can still get some listening practice by watching Japanese movies, television shows and dramas as soon as possible.
Some of our favourite spots to binge-watch Japanese media are:
Crunchyroll has a huge collection of completed and currently-airing anime, from popular titles like “Naruto” to less-known gems like “Aria the Animation.”
Asian Crush is the place to go for Asian entertainment, including hundreds of Japanese TV shows, movies and web videos; check out “Irezumi, Art of the Japanese Tattoo” for a window into an aspect of the Japanese culture.
Netflix has an ever-growing library of animated and live-action titles to watch, including the popular Japanese reality show “Terrace House.”
What many people don’t realise is that you are more likely to get to your goal easier and faster if you have a passion for learning the language. The bulk of energy in our life comes from our emotions and feelings, not from our intellect.
Struggling to express yourself in a second language is for most people something that does not come naturally! It will take some time before you can express yourself as easily in a second language as in the first. It’s the passion that will keep you going in a way that will keep you focused and positive. But I recommend you stay strong, stay determined and keep learning!