Without a doubt the most difficult part of learning Japanese is learning kanji. There are over 2000 kanji in the Japanese language and many of them are complex and look very similar to one another. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that each kanji can be read differently depending on the way it is used in a sentence. Because of this, learning to read and write kanji will take much more time to master than the rest of the language. So the question is should you spend the time to learn it or not?

I think this the answer really depends on your reasons for learning Japanese and how much time you plan to devote to it. If you are learning Japanese to live or work  there for a short time or plan to travel there for vacation, then you probably don’t need to learn more than a few very basic kanji. It’s not that learning the kanji won’t help you, but the time you will need to spend learning them won’t be worth the value you will get if you are only visiting Japan for a short time.

For those who who plan to master the Japanese language, live in Japan for more than a year, and especially for those who plan to seek work in Japan, then learning kanji is very important. It is also pretty much required for the majority of jobs in Japan. Since most writing is now done in electronic form (computers) you don’t necessarily need to be able to write them, but you do need to be able to read them. Most documents and government forms are written using kanji. If you can’t read them then you will have to depend on someone else to translate it for you. Not too mention if you can’t read kanji you will have to sign contracts for things like apartments and cell phones without knowing what they really say.

Once we learn to read and write we take these abilities as granted, but they are very important to live and function in society. Having lived in Japan now for a while I see just how important reading is. I also wish I would have spent more time studying kanji when I was I college. So if you are planning to learn kanji I recommend that you start as soon as possible and continue to study at a steady pace. It will take some time, but the benefits are well worth it. The positive side of learning kanji is that it is easier to remember Japanese words once you learn the corresponding kanji.

When I was a student in Japan, my Japanese teacher asked all the students what was the most difficult part about living in Japan. The most common answer was the difficulty to make Japanese friends. When we start out learning a second language, we tend to see native speakers of that language as possible teachers. They can teach you about their culture, their home, and help you practice your language. Without a doubt, one of the reasons that my Japanese was able to improve much faster in Japan, was because of the time I spent with my Japanese friends. It allowed me to hear a lot of new Japanese words and get in a lot of practice. However, viewing Japanese people as potential Japanese teachers will make it much more difficult to turn them into friends and will end up helping your pursuit of language less in the end.

The “secret” to making Japanese friends is to treat them as you would anyone else who is your friend. That is to take a genuine interest in them. Not as a potential Japanese teacher, but as someone that has similar interests or someone who is interesting to you. If you pursue them just as a language teacher the relationship will not end up as deep and will likely not last that long.

Every person is different in what they want from a relationship. If you meet someone visiting your country from Japan (student, tourist, etc) then chances are they are there to learn the language and culture. Some people may be glad to help you learn Japanese and some may not want to speak Japanese at all. Which is quite understandable since they have traveled half way around the world.

Now I am not saying that you can’t ask for help with your Japanese or questions about Japan. However, this will ruin or stop the relationship from developing if it becomes the majority of your conversation. Instead treat them as you would any other friend. Helping them learn your language, your culture, and your with the difficulties they may have adapting to your country. The benefits for both parties will go much father than simple language instruction.

Meeting Japanese People in Japan

The same rules apply in Japan. The only difference is it is perfectly okay to keep all of your conversation in Japanese. Now you have traveled half way around the world to learn Japanese so you should be speaking it. Making Japanese friends should still focus on people you are interested in rather than learning Japanese.Nothing is more of a turn off when I meet someone than them asking me to teach them English or try practicing English with me before I even know their name. A lot of the people who ask me this are really nice people, but it feels that they see me as an English teacher rather than a friend. Having experienced this first hand I can see some of the mistakes I made when meeting Japanese students in the US.

Focus on creating a good relationship and the language part will sort itself out. Some of my best friends started out speaking to me in English and now choose to speak to me in Japanese and some visa-versa. The long term benefits of making true friends will far outweigh the short term benefits of immediately practicing your Japanese.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when learning Japanese is to be afraid of making mistakes. I know what you are thinking. Don’t I want my Japanese to be as good as possible? Yes, you do. However, like anything, proficiency comes with lots and lots of practice. And when you practice you are bound to make mistakes. This is actually a good thing though, since you will tend not to forget the Japanese words when you use them wrong.

During my time as a study abroad student at Waseda University, fear of making mistakes was one of the biggest reason that held people back from really improving their Japanese. The people who were really able to improve their Japanese werent necessarily the people who were naturally good at language. Instead, they were the people who weren’t afraid to meet new people, start up a conversations, and were willing to be misunderstood. They tried to use the things they learned in class, and when they made mistakes they would laugh along with everyone else and then remember it for next time.

The best way to learn Japanese is to learn the most common Japanese words and phrases, and use them over and over again. Practicing while speaking is kind of like “on the job training”. It allows you to get practice while actually exercising the skills you are trying to learn. The problem is that many people avoid situations where they will have the chance to speak Japanese because they are afraid of either making mistakes or being unable to communicate. I have been in both situations.

The reality is that the fear of these things is usually much worse than the actual situation itself. I have made my share of mistakes, and some have been so weird that it has certainly caused everyone to laugh. The thing to realize is that they aren’t laughing at you, but at the way the words or sentence you created may have sounded. Not too mention it is unlikely you make that mistake twice (a quick way to learn).

The fear of not being able to communicate is also usually not as bad as it seems. The truth is that as long as you are trying hard to communicate, then most people will appreciate your effort and do their best to help you out. I have found that most people in Japan really appreciate that you are tying to learn their culture and language. Though you may feel bad that you can’t communicate as well as you like, they probably very happy that you are trying.

For me these issues came later. In the beginning I would try to speak as much as possible and wasn’t really worried about making mistakes. It wasn’t until I had a better grasp of the language that I started to limit my speaking because I was afraid to make mistakes. I started working in Japan and many of the people who I worked with had spent much more time in Japan than I had. They also spoke Japanese much better. I was intimidated and so didn’t speak Japanese as much. All of a sudden, my improvement in Japanese decreased. I wasn’t learning as many Japanese words and wasn’t getting as much practice. What I finally came to realize was that my peers weren’t judging me at all. They knew the time and practice it took them to learn and were more than glad to help me.

So learn lots of Japanese words and phrases and use them as often as possible. Don’t worry about making mistakes. We all do as we learn and it is actually an important part of the learning process. We didn’t learn to walk the first time we stood up and it’s no different with learning Japanese. Engage yourself in Japanese conversations and make lots of mistakes. Your Japanese will improve much faster this way and pretty soon you will be making fewer and fewer mistakes. You will also have to great times and a few laughs along the way. Ganbare!!!