I Would Love To Learn Japanese But Finding The Time Is Hard

People want to learn Japanese for a lot of reasons. If you are thinking of going to Japan for a few weeks or on a business trip this is a good reason. You quite possibly don’t even have to speak Japanese but want to just for something to do. If you are able to talk in another language you will be given a wonderful feeling of achievement.

Although I wanted to learn Japanese for a long time I guess the main reason why I finally decided to do something about it was because I was planning a long trip to Tokyo. Considering I was going to be living there for 3 months I felt that I should try and communicate effectively in their language. I’m not sure if I can speak Japanese fluently, but am constantly asked that question.

I speak with confidence now I feel when talking Japanese, but there is always more that you can achieve. I doubt whether I will ever know it all to be honest. There’s more to learn even if you think you’ve taught yourself well. Being able to understand Japanese cartoons or movies now is a sure sign of how far I’ve come. If I can sit and watch a movie in English and know what’s going on, then there’s no reason with a little work I shouldn’t be able to do the same in Japanese.

I must admit I am getting closer to knowing almost everything but not yet. It’s been tough to go from not knowing any words or phrases in Japanese to knowing a fair amount and you are probably wondering how I managed it. I won’t lie, it took a lot of perspiration and many hours of effort. The trip from where I was and to where I got to was definitely not simple. In essence, learning any new language takes a huge amount of time and effort. I have to admit though that anyone who puts their mind to it can succeed as I have and speak Japanese.

It can be difficult to find time to study in between your work commitments and anything else that’s on. If, for example you use your time wisely you can fit in study.

Great Guideline For Learning Japanese Online

A vast amount of people would love to commence conversing Japanese right now. For many though they don’t know where to start. You may planning to start lessons, but you might want educate yourself without the need for lessons.

You must deal with anxiety if you are to learn Japanese. Anxiety is a problem in the mind that affects the abilities of many that are trying to speak Japanese. It’s going be a lot easier to learn Japanese once you get over the anxiety.

It is a common feeling that the older you are the harder it will be to learn a new language like Japanese. Learning a new language might not be as hard as you think though even if you are older.

It is thought that children are better than adults at learning a language as they are still open to learning without falling into bad techniques. As they are still open to anything, they will also be prone to change. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t break these habits as an adult.

In order to believe in their own ability, most people have to pretend they are speaking Japanese in a real life situation.

The truth is that a lot of people just don’t believe in their abilities enough to learn a second language. To be well on the way to success you simply have to believe.

Almost anyone can learn a new language by looking at sites and TV. By doing this you can grow to know the language. Sayings and phrases can be learnt and the speed and how to say them too. You will start to be aware of different trends etc.

When you listen to the language you will probably want a dictionary and attempt to work out what words you can hear. When you hear a word over an over again you should look it up in the dictionary and see what it means. The more you practice the quicker you will be able to compile sentences and paragraphs. It’s probably going to be beneficial to mix this method with a Japanese class or a software package.

One huge difficulty when learning Japanese is how your perceive yourself. As you have a lot of stuff on your plate during the day you have to try and motivate yourself. It is imperative to attempt to build up your self image as soon as you can.

Speaking Japanese Fluently And Mastering Pronunciation

How we pronounce words is all important in how we talk to others. As hard as you try to construct a well thought out sentence in Japanese or another language you normally can’t put yourself across as you hoped. You just learn how to avoid this. All languages focus on sounds when spoken. Others should speak sounds in the correct way when speaking English for example in an English speaking country. Depending on where you are, sounds are spoken in varying ways. We have to try and adjust to listening to a sound if we can’t recognize it and if we can’t then we may not understand what is being said.

The Blocks of Pronunciation - When looking at how words are spoken there are two factors to consider The first thing is to make the sound and then you must see how the sound is heard The older we get, the harder it gets to make the sound and recognize it. We can’t be put off from learning different languages, but just have to rely on extra help to succeed. Below are some guidelines to help us learn the language Am I saying it right? Attempt to say the letters. Check how your mouth is functioning. Physically knowing how a word sounds will make things much easier for you.

Some sounds are the same. English does have a vast amount more sounds than Japanese If you are learning a new language then there English sounds that get compared to words. Some sounds are very similar and a good dictionary will educate you on this Some sounds are difficult to say

Mark down which words are more difficult for you to master. Ensure that you should give these closer attention. Your mouth is all important in physically producing the sound. Anything written in the English alphabet is not necessarily spoken that way.

Out loud reading is useful Read from a course book or another to aid you. This will help you in two ways. Firstly, you get to pronounce letters and words. The second thing is that you can learn how to teach yourself sounds that you will hear and become accustomed to other sounds.

How easy will it be? This has been discussed for along time. Some of us just get by in a language and that’s enough. If someone else can understand what we are trying to say then that’s good enough. After that we have a decision to make. On occasion people can get very good at other languages. However, for a lot of us we never reach that height, but there is no reason why we can’t get others to understand us. Learning to speak Japanese fluently can be a very rewarding experience if you put in the time to truly master the language.

Easy Japanese With These Four Tips

Intimidating? Perhaps. Exciting? For sure! Those are the emotions you might experience as you undertake learning easy Japanese as a second language – just like grade school or middle school. While teaching my students to speak Japanese, I came up with these four tips that will help you learn the language quite easily.

1. Make Mistakes. Sounds odd but that's the best way to learn easy Japanese. So, give yourself permission to err, and you automatically give yourself permission to learn in a way you never would've realized. You or others may laugh when you fail, but you're learning to win! So, at first, don't be afraid of failing a lot!

2. Learn Katakana. A writing system the Japanese use for importing words from other languages into their own, Katakana is most used to express English words. Once you learn to read Katakana, you will be pleasantly surprised that you will be making the sounds of words that are very familiar to you, only they will be written in Japanese. Learning Katakana as you start your Japanese lessons can be a real help to your self-confidence.

3. Take Chances. Speaking in any language, even your own, can sometimes be risky business. Take the risk. The worse that can happen is that you will learn what NOT to do. Go ahead, take a chance. Chances are you'll win, and if you don't – you'll learn. You may be a stranger in a strange land when you visit Japan. You will become less of a stranger if you attempt to use the language; even if you flub a lot your hosts will appreciate your effort. No matter how much you bone up on your Japanese basic phrases and customs, you're going to be recognized as a tourist and you're going to make some gaffes. Realize you are what you are – a tourist; don't be so afraid of making mistakes that you don't have a good time.

4. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. It may get boring, but stick with it. Repetition fixes things in your brain so that they become almost automatic in response to certain situations. Hone your skills, especially regarding the language, so you can easily call them up when necessary.

If you have some idle time before dinner or bedtime, use that to work on new language or cultural endeavors. Commuting time shouldn't be wasted time. Listen to audio CD's in your car. Or down load lessons onto your iPod and listen to them as you walk, or take the train or bus, to get to work.

Japanese is an intriguing language to learn, being well-spoken in it can advance your career, earn yourself foreign friends, or ease your travels in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Use These Secrets To Learn Japanese Now

Don't be intimidated, it's very possible for you to learn Japanese now. With focus, commitment, and especially enthusiasm, you're setting yourself up for a good beginning. While these traits are valuable, it's necessary to know some basics. The Japanese language uses three writing systems, or “alphabets”:

* Kanji
* Hiragana
* Katakana

Kanji is a pictograph alphabet using characters taken from Chinese.

Hiragana and Katakana are syllabic scripts, more like the Roman and Cyrillic alphabets, and they are based on Chinese characters. Kanji and Hiragana, in combination, are the most used writing systems in modern Japanese. Used chiefly to depict the sounds of foreign words borrowed from other languages, Katakana is also used to depict other sounds like the meowing of a cat.

A running joke is that Asians do things backwards; well, Japanese scripts is written vertically, as opposed to the Western horizontal, and from right to left, as opposed to the Western left to right. This method is standard in almost every sort of publication, but the Japanese have adopted the Western style for scientific journals as well as computer displays.

Folks from Western egalitarian cultures may find it odd that the Japanese language takes on different subtleties when it comes to the class of the person speaking or spoken to, and there are levels of politeness as well. Beyond social class, the use of vocabulary, grammar, and tone of voice, it is possible to determine the gender of the person speaking as well as the gender of the listener.

As always, commercial language institutes promote the facility of their language lessons as being the best and quickest way to learn. To select a school or method of learning, keep the financial costs in mind, as well as the amount to time you're willing to spend, and even your level of interest. Every school or method involves a different approach to learning or a different curriculum to learn Japanese fast. What do you want or need to do? Do you want good reading and writing skills? Will you need it facilitate your ease of travel and communication with native speakers? Reading and writing is one thing, mastering conversational language is quite another.

Anyway, if you want to learn Japanese now, your first goal should be to engage the spoken language, it's much easier than the reading or writing. Audio files will help you pick up proper pronunciation and wording so find some produced just for that and, of course, employing native speakers. (Your focus may be on reading and writing, but if you shop around you'll find that books to help you with those skills also have CD-ROMs to assist you in learning to listen and to speak.) Japanese employs many subtleties of tone, it's important to listen carefully and imitate them.

Consider the amount of grammar and vocabulary you need to study and ingest. You're going to be using a lot of elemental words and phrases as you go about day-to-day life, focus on those so they are easily at hand when you need them. Learn the bare necessities of grammar, enough to help you construct easy sentences with facility.

Of course, as with any language, make sure patience and perseverance are both in your learning toolbox. Your personal qualities, your hopes are at least as important as textbooks, teachers, and drill exercises. Which classroom is always open? Which classroom can you find almost anywhere you go? Which classroom always has a curriculum suited to your needs? The one you carry with you!

Check out this article if you want to learn Japanese now.

4 Under-The-Radar Methods To Memorize And Use Kanji Today

For many people including me, memorizing nearly 2000 Kanji in the Japanese language is a sort of torture. I’m not going to sugar-coat it, memorizing all 1945 of these little buggers is going to take some work. Chances are good you will spend most of your energy on learning Kanji while studying Japanese. But here I will show you some tips which will hopefully make things at least a little easier so that you can hold your own next time you pick up a Japanese newspaper.

Tactic #1: Ignore the old learning order

The first step is to get familiar with the first 100 to 200 Kanji which are commonly used in Japanese, so that you can get started. But the next step will be getting to know the difficult words the moment you see them, no matter how rarely they are used. At the very start, it will feel hard, but this approach will actually save you time and energy in the long run because you won’t constantly be deferring certain Kanji into the elusive “future.”

Tactic #2: Notice the small things:

Learn 20 or 30 radicals which occur most frequently in Kanji with a simple Kanji dictionary, and put the rest of the 214 radicals aside temporarily, then you will have a solid understanding of a good part of Kanji. You will become quick at recognizing new kanji with less effort. You can sort of figure out what a Kanji means by looking at the radicals. You can call it chunking, and you will find learning 3-5 radicals takes less effort then memorizing 15 Kanji. The next thing you should do is just to put the radicals together.

Tactic #3: Dive into the hard things first

This tactic focuses on the written Kanji. If you really want to get a good understanding of Japanese, take the time to try reading something in Japanese each and every day. Getting familiar with the way Japanese printed writing works will help you understand common applications of each Kanji you see. With a little practice you should be able to start picking up things naturally.

Tactic #4: Read out loud:

Identifying the word, knowing what it refers to, and correct pronunciation are the 3 essentials in learning Kanji. Reading aloud when you can helps a lot. Reading Kanji aloud is a great way to kill three birds (learning structure/shape, meaning, and sound) with one, big, noisy stone.

Kanji learning is tough, but you can manage it with some determination. Follow my advice, and your learning speed will increase.

How Long Will It Take To Learn Japanese?

How much time will it take to speak Japanese fluently? When a lot of people first start out with Japanese, they wish to master the language as fast as possible. To answer the question, it really depends on how motivated you are about learning Japanese.

What people really mean when they ask how long it will take, is "how much work am I going to have to put in?" And undoubtedly, there is no clear-cut way to tell someone exactly how long or how much effort it will take to master the language. In the end, though, what separates the people that get good at Japanese fast and those that just get more books and software boxes gathering dust on the shelf is how much they really want to learn Japanese.

You can realistically learn spoken Japanese pretty quickly if you are serious about it. You'll find that there is a pretty wide spread of people out there. Some of them are so determined that they can learn Japanese in a few brief months, while other people actually live in Japan for several years and still rely on the point-and-grunt method of communicating.

Although expensive, the best way to learn Japanese is to take language classes or get a private tutor. Nothing works better than actually putting your Japanese into practice with real people. Most people can't afford classes, though, and so the next best action is to get some educational books or software programs that will show you how to speak Japanese. All of these options are great ways to get a solid foundation in the Japanese language and begin your journey toward the land of cherry blossoms and samurai.

The best way to become conversationally proficient extremely fast is to apply what you learn at every chance. Put aside the time to practice speaking Japanese with people that are already fluent in Japanese or other classmates too. When you start putting the Japanese you learn in the classroom into action, you will be astonished at how quickly you can take your Japanese to the next level. Talking to native speakers gives you the possibility to learn some useful slang that you won't learn in the textbooks.

A lot of people think that it is extremely difficult to learn to speak Japanese, however this is just a misconception. Once you begin, you'll see just how easy it is. However, I must admit, that learning to read and write Japanese, is probably going to be more of a struggle.

Learning all those new characters is going to be tough at first if you've only ever used the English alphabet. The Japanese have several writing systems. Hiragana and Katakana are in many ways similar to our alphabet, but when you get into the Kanji things will likely start getting tough. Each one has a unique meaning and I hate to break it to you, but there are nearly two thousand of these little buggers!

Before you get overwhelmed and give up, though, tell yourself that this is the same as learning to speak the language. All you need to do is practice, practice, practice. Stay away from relying on Romaji when you're learning to make things even earlier. Another great little trick for learning Japanese is to associate each character to something in your mind that will help you remember. For example the Kanji for "kawa" (or "river") looks like flowing water. With some practice, you'll discover imaginative ways to remind yourself of what each Kanji means.

So how long does it take to learn Japanese? It is going to take you just as long as you need. We each learn at a unique pace, but the most important thing is that you put focus and attention into all your efforts. Don't give up and take things one day at a time.

If you're ready to really learn Japanese, check out some useful Japanese phrases.

The Best Way To Learn Japanese Online

Studying a different language like Japanese is often genuinely rewarding and it can really expand your choices around work and where you go on your next vacation. However, lots of individuals don't have enough time to give to some sort of night course, due to family obligations. For people who are in this situation; there is a substitute, as there are online Japanese courses available.

Should you want to teach yourself to speak Japanese swiftly on-line, then you need not panic. These days, this kind of thing can be incredibly painless and enjoyable. Despite the fact that there are lots of Japanese resources on the web that take ages to complete, you can find an alternative number of speedy tutorials which you can make the most of.

Many times you just flat-out don’t have time to enroll in boring foreign language lessons. You may be planning on a last-minute get-away or sometimes you might have an out of the blue business appointment with a Japanese customer. If you’re looking for a way to learn Japanese really fast and you frankly don’t have time for the traditional methods, learning Japanese online can be a great alternative. Can you really learn Japanese online, though? Isn’t the internet just a place to go when you’re bored and want to pass some time?

If you get started with Japanese on the web, you should weigh a few things over first. Probably the biggest question is: do the lessons teach you the basics of pronunciation? Be sure the check and make sure that the course you use will show you how to actually pronounce the words. This will make things much easier for you in the long run. You’ll want to make sure that the lessons you use will give you a detailed and interactive experience of mastering pronunciation. The most effective way that most people learn a new language is when they see and hear something simultaneously and can make mental associations.

If you’ve done any shopping around at all, you probably know just how expensive those Japanese classes can get! If you’re not independently wealthy, learning Japanese online can be a much more reasonable means. If you put in some effort to your search, you can even find totally free ways to learn how to speak Japanese. The great thing about the internet is that you can find quality information on just about any subject if you take the time to search hard enough for it. But, when everything is said and done, are the free lessons really as good as the paid instruction you’d get elsewhere?

Free Japanese Lessons versus Paid Japanese Lessons

If you really give it an honest try and not just settle for the first thing you find, you may actually find some great online Japanese lessons. Just like anything else you’ll find for free, there are a lot of complete rubbish courses out there, but you can actually find some decent ones too. So you see, you can find some great Japanese resources online for free, but you need to wade through all the...um...”less than desirable” things out there. So if you really want to learn the Japanese language, you should really take the time and commit yourself to learning the language from a paid resource. The quality is much better and you’ll learn significantly more.

With the free lessons, you get what you pay for and you’ll probably not learn that much real Japanese. Instead, opt for the paid instruction and you’ll find that you’re going to be dealing with much higher-quality and you’ll actually learn faster. You’ll probably find that taking a paid-route will give you a personal Japanese tutor to help you with any specific challenges you encounter with learning the language. More often than not, you notice that these courses also have extra resources to help you learn the Japanese language faster. The paid lessons will generally give you a much higher value for your dollar.

If you're ready to take your Japanese to the next level, check out how to learn the Japanese sentence structure and find the best way to learn Japanese online.

5 Easy Ways To Learn Japanese

If you would like to get started learning Japanese, you might be wondering what is the best way to study it. There are strategies to learn aside from taking a class or reading a textbook. Keep reading to discover some interesting ways you can start studying the Japanese language.

The first thing to do would be to check out some Japanese cartoons called "Manga". These kinds of Japanese cartoons are made for kids but also adults too. You'll see businessmen read their favorite manga on their way to work. You might see some businessman get their copy of their favorite Manga on the subway and read them on the way to work. Manga could make your casual Japanese better and it is full of casual Japanese and slang that you probably won’t find in many textbooks.

The second thing to try and do is to visit restaurants that serve Japanese food. This will let you practice your communicating and reading skills when you go to a Japanese restaurant. The menu might be written in Japanese and you can test yourself if you are able to read the words in Japanese. Impress your waiter by ordering in Japanese. If you can't order in Japanese, you can practice simple words like "Thank-You" (arigatou).

Third, read some local Japanese newspapers. In many large cities around the world where there is a Japanese community, you will find free Japanese newspapers or magazines. They are directed to the local Japanese community. Even if you only know a few characters in hiragana, katakana, or kanji you might be able to understand some advertisements and articles. If you can understand a few words and symbols to see them used in real situations, it will feel great!

The fourth activity is to learn Japanese with a computer program. Having a computer is great because it could help you learn the language and pronunciation. You can find games or other methods to help you learn or you can buy Japanese language software. Programs on the iPod or iPhone are also popular for understanding and learning Japanese.

Lastly, an effective way to experience Japanese language and culture firsthand is to go to Japan. You will be astonished at how quickly you can master the language once you are in the actual country. One of the great way to meet people and push yourself to speak Japanese is in a homestay program.

You'll be able to learn Japanese with these five unorthodox tips. I think you can find ways to continue learning Japanese in a fun way.

Learn Hiragana and Katakana, not Romaji

Lots of new students of the Japanese language often rely too heavily on Romaji (also know as the Roman alphabet) to get by while they are studying or figuring out Japanese. This is primarily because whenever we first start learning Japanese, you want to jump right in and learn to speak the language. Just studying Hiragana or Katakana can take a while, and after you really can't even comprehend much (you can read, yes, but fully grasp...no).

Am I simply bothering you like your Japanese teacher? What is the real downside to using the Roman alphabet?:

You Are Presently Used to Romaji

You are currently familiar with saying things a certain way when you read Romaji letters. Japanese characters, alternatively are fresh to you and you will not need to be worried about this. The mere point that you are not familiar with pronouncing Japanese characters in a particular way is actually very beneficial for you. You can essentially start from scratch and benefit from an infinitely more natural and quicker way to become smooth with your pronunciation.

You Will Not See Much Romaji in Japan

Okay, you school textbooks may well use Romaji (and if they persist on using it for longer than instructing you on Hiragana, I would honestly think about finding some new books), but You will not likely find much Romaji getting used in Japan. Not even in modern metropolitan areas like Tokyo or Osaka. You'll likely just see names of department stores written in Romaji and maybe a handful of English words. Japanese people just do not use Romaji.

Today's Shortcut is Tomorrow's Liability

If even a tiny part of you would like to really master Japanese and try to get fluent, you will sooner or later have to forget about the Romaji and learn some Japanese symbols. It's a lot easier to do this right from the start than to wait a few month or years.

Alright, so Romaji seriously is not the easiest way to go. What should you do when you're just starting out? It certainly is dependent upon what type of Japanese student you are. From my perspective, there's two kinds of Japanese students:

The Committed Student

Maybe you are studying Japanese in college. Maybe you're going to live in Tokyo for a couple of months or a year. Maybe you are a business person that has several Japanese clients. Or maybe you simply have a lot of Japanese friends and you are tired with them talking about you behind your back.

If this represents you, the very best thing you can do is to sit down and master Hiragana and Katakana. These are definitely not difficult to master and by taking it a little bit at a time and going at your own speed, you can most likely learn them in a few weeks by using some flash-cards. As soon as you get good at the Kana, you should have a quality foundation to build on and you may begin learning vocab, sentence structure, and the rest of the things on the correct foot.

The Hobbyist

Maybe you are going to Japan for a fast vacation. Maybe you truly like anime and want to find out more on the culture. Maybe you simply have some spare time and want to learn one or two languages for the fun of it.

If you are like this, my suggestion is to begin with some simple conversational Japanese instruction. These can be less difficult than trying to read and write Japanese at the same time, plus they are much more useful if you're traveling to Japan as a visitor and all you really want to do is ask where the taxi is. Once you've got some straightforward conversational Japanese down, it could be that you might choose to take it further and really learn the language diligently. Moving ahead you'll be in the ideal position to take the path listed above and learn all the Japanese characters (including all those pesky Kanji).

So I hope you can comprehend now why relying on Romaji really isn't to your advantage. It doesn't matter what your eventual goals are with learning Japanese, you will end up significantly better off if you spend the trouble by leaving the crutch behind and either master Hiragana and Katakana or practice some conversational Japanese.