Learn Japanese on your own. Why Learning Japanese Is Much Easier Than You Think

For studying Japanese language need patience and perseverance

It turns out that in order to understand without a translator what the heroes of the anime and films of Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano are talking about, you need not so much time - only a year and a half. But, of course, you will need some diligence and perseverance.

How to learn Japanese? To begin with, it is necessary to clearly define the goal, since such as “I want to learn a language” is too vague and not suitable for business. The goal should be clear - it will determine how and what you will study. For example, if you want to read books in Japanese, then this is one thing, if you want to watch TV shows and anime without subtitles, it’s another, and if you communicate with native speakers, then it’s already the third. And for each of these tasks, language learning will be different. But at the same time, it is best if you use all the options when studying. After all, the main tips on how to learn Japanese on your own in many language learning guides are no different from those given to learners of other languages - and it doesn’t matter if characters are used in the language or not. But if you have gathered just to read books, it is still better to learn how to write hieroglyphs - so you will have a better chance of memorizing. In learning any language, memorization is the most important thing. Therefore, you need to use as many channels as possible to perceive information: read books, watch films with subtitles, listen to songs in the original language and, of course, communicate with native speakers.

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It is worth remembering that learning should be interesting and fun - many quit the language without finishing it to the desired level, just because learning it has become a monotonous routine. And how not to turn into a routine that you have to memorize the same thing over and over again? There is only one answer - a variety of approaches to learning.

However, those who nevertheless set out to learn the Japanese language on their own from scratch, and made the first successes in this field, will never forget this amazing feeling, literally the feeling of a miracle - when some kind of understandable meaning. It is not surprising if you want to make this miracle your constant companion. But the first thing you have to do is to get acquainted with the alphabet, more precisely, with Japanese writing. There are already three types of writing in Japanese: kanji, that is, hieroglyphs of Chinese origin, and two syllabaries created in Japan: hiragana and katakana. Are you afraid? Then go ahead!

Probably many modern people now worries about the question of how to learn Japanese on their own. The reason for this need, in principle, is explained quite simply. Who will refuse to be the first to know about new products in the world of the most advanced technologies? That's right, a few. But they are produced most often in the Country rising sun, which means that instructions and operating manuals are primarily issued not in Russian or English, but in the local system of the most complex hieroglyphs.

Why do so many people want to learn Japanese on their own? Wouldn't it be easier to sign up for some courses or find a professional tutor? At first glance, of course, it’s easier, but this is only if you are lucky to live or study in major city, for example, in Moscow, Kyiv, St. Petersburg or Minsk. But in more modest settlements it is almost impossible to find such a specialist. Either he doesn’t exist at all, or he requests cosmic sums of money for his services.

This article will tell you in detail about how to quickly learn Japanese on your own. The reader will receive step by step instructions, which will definitely come to the rescue in the implementation of this difficult, but quite feasible dream.

Can you learn Japanese on your own?

Konishua, or Japanese, is a rather interesting and very unusual dialect that you should definitely learn, if only in order to be able to read Japanese books manga without translation or communicate with Japanese friends - carriers of a unique culture.

Many are interested in the question of how to learn Japanese on their own at home, or is it even possible? The answer will be unambiguously positive. However, those who decide to succeed will have to show considerable perseverance in this difficult, albeit very exciting activity.

True, we will not hide the fact that the study of the Japanese language may not go as smoothly as we would like. Why? The thing is that it has nothing to do with the Western languages of the world. The rules and alphabet of this dialect are complex, but the basic phrases, pronunciation and grammar are easy enough to remember even for a beginner, so mastering them will not be a huge problem.

For those wondering how to learn Japanese on their own, experts recommend starting with useful and common phrases, and then gradually move on to more difficult tasks, such as learning the alphabet and Japanese sounds.

local alphabet

In this dialect, there are not one alphabet, but as many as four, and each of them has its own graphemes. This fact may already scare away those who wondered how to learn Japanese on their own.

Indeed, its study is not an easy task. As a consolation, we can note that in any Japanese alphabet there are basic sounds, of which there are only 46. By the way, each alphabet has its own scope, so you probably won’t have to confuse them.

Hiragana is used purely for writing. In syllabic writing, each character of this alphabet stands for a whole syllable, including both vowels and consonants.
Katakana is also a syllabary, but it is used exclusively for recording onomatopoeic and foreign words.
Kanji, the third alphabet, is made up of characters that the Japanese language borrowed from China.

By the way, hiragana and katakana are phonetic letters denoting sounds. Kanzdi is considered an ideographic way of writing, and each character has its own meaning. It contains several thousand characters, of which only two thousand are widely used. In addition, it should be noted that the sounds of katakana and hiragana are widely used in kanji.

Role in the development of Japanese

The fourth Japanese alphabet is considered Latin, which in Japan is called "Romaji". This fact cannot but surprise those who wondered how to learn Japanese on their own from scratch. It would seem, well, what relation can the Latin alphabet familiar to us have to the complex hieroglyphs of the Land of the Rising Sun?

However, in the modern eastern state, it is widely used to record acronyms, the names of various brands, trademarks, companies, and so on.

Note that people who have begun to learn Japanese in order to quickly get used to the pronunciation of local characters often use romaji, although the locals in Japan itself do not do this. Why? The thing is that, among other things, the Japanese language consists of many characters that are difficult to pronounce and cannot be written in Latin, so it's best to immediately go to the study of hieroglyphs. This approach is considered more literate from a linguistic point of view.

How to learn Japanese on your own. Developing the correct pronunciation

As we noted above, there are 46 basic sounds in Japanese, which are represented either by one of the five vowels, or by a combination. The exception is a single sound that consists only of a consonant.

From a phonetic point of view, even before you learn Japanese on your own, you should pay attention to the fact that it does not lend itself to inflection and is not pronounced differently.

You can start pronunciation of sounds by reading and studying the characters of katakana and hiragana. However, first you need to focus on the intonations of the pronunciation of various sounds.

By the way, we note that in Japanese the meaning of a word can completely change if the stress is incorrectly placed. And the same word with only a long vowel often has a completely different meaning than with a short vowel.

Learning the simplest variations of Japanese sounds

Sometimes, when writing to Japanese characters, small icons are added that indicate a different pronunciation of this sound and completely change the meaning of the word.

It is worth noting that there are some rules for pronouncing Japanese sounds: voiced consonants must be pronounced in an intervocalic position with a hard attack, and long vowels, which are pronounced with a long drawl, indicate the difference in words.

Grammar: difficult but possible

Many people are interested in how to quickly learn Japanese without studying grammar. We answer: no way! The thing is, whether we like it or not, we still have to pay attention to the basic rules, because only knowledge of the very structure of this or that adverb will help to learn correctly.

You don't want to talk like a robot, uttering separate phrases taken out of context, right? In general, the Japanese language is very flexible and simple, despite all its complexity, and it will not be difficult even for a beginner to put together whole sentences from words.

By the way, not everyone knows that a Japanese sentence may well not have a subject, since it is not at all necessary. But at the very end of the sentence there should always be a verb that acts as a predicate.

Nouns have no gender, and for most of them there is no category. As a consequence, Japanese verbs also have no gender or number.

An important feature is the fact that a word in a sentence should always be followed by particles that refer to this lexical unit and indicate other things.

Personal pronouns, unlike the Russian language, are used only when politeness or a certain formality requires it.

Mentor or language school. Advantages and disadvantages

How to learn Japanese from scratch? Where, in fact, to start? According to experts, first of all, you need to find recordings of Japanese audio lessons. There are actually a huge number of them, so each student will be able to pick up something to his own taste.

After the basics of the Japanese language are learned, you can move on to more complex exercises. If the need to learn Japanese arose only for the sake of pleasure, learning the language can be limited to studying a specialized CD. It will give you the opportunity to learn the most common sounds, phrases.

The second way to learn Japanese is to enroll in courses at a language school or online lessons. It is suitable for those people who are going to live or work in Japan, because it will provide a unique opportunity to learn to read and write. Under the guidance of a mentor, mastering even such a complex language will be faster and more correct.

The most important aspect in learning any language is the knowledge of the alphabet, so you should learn it as quickly as possible. Katakana and hiragana, if desired, can be mastered without problems in a couple of weeks. This is quite enough for writing, with their help you can write down almost everything.

Kanji characters can be studied for several years, but those who strive to learn the language perfectly will certainly not regret the time spent. Didactic cards will help you better master words and phrases. To study kanji, there are special cards that indicate the order of writing the hieroglyph and examples of compound words.

How to immerse yourself in the language environment at home

In order to recreate a small Japanese world at home, you need to find a group of like-minded people who are also involved in learning Japanese. Participation in certain communities will help you get used to speech, after a certain time you will be able to distinguish individual Japanese words in a conversation without much difficulty, and this will generally improve your understanding of the Japanese language.

It is also necessary to make acquaintances from Japan with whom one could regularly study the language, call up and talk at least half an hour a day only in Japanese.

Professional linguists recommend daily reading Japanese newspapers, magazines, novels, watching movies and TV shows. In public sources of this material, as a rule, there is plenty. Thanks to newspapers, grammar, construction and actual words will improve, and novels will introduce you to the artistic style.

Any language, if not constantly practiced, is forgotten very quickly, so study should be given at least half an hour every day. This is Difficult language, so even the Japanese themselves, living for some time outside of Japan, begin to forget kanji.

By the way, it’s also not worth it, having arrived in Japan, to pester others with conversations in an informal setting, since a poorly speaking foreigner may not be answered there. These are the features of the local culture.

It is best to learn to speak from living people, because words from anime and manga are definitely not useful in everyday life.

When learning a language, it would be nice to observe how the Japanese behave in a given situation and the same age category and gender as the person studying. It is necessary to learn to take into account the context and local flavor.

When dealing with the question of how to quickly learn Japanese on your own, you also do not need to place high hopes on gadgets and electronic dictionaries, since it makes no sense to buy them for a person who does not know at least 300-500 hieroglyphs.

Economic and industrial development Japan lifted on new level Japan's interaction with other countries, a huge number of foreigners came to Japan for a variety of purposes and currently live there in close contact with the population. This could not but affect the increase in interest in the Japanese language. Whatever your interest in Japan, be it Japanese culture, art, music, manga, anime or bonsai, etc., Lingoust will help you take the first step in learning Japanese thus bringing you closer to your goal.

Step by step online lessons presented on the site will help you learn the basics of the Japanese language from scratch and prepare you for independent more serious study of Japanese. Well consists of initial lessons for learning the alphabet + 10 lessons from the international manual Minna No Nihongo. The lessons consist of theoretical and practical material, including audio accompaniment and exercises to consolidate knowledge. To see the answer to the exercise, move the mouse over the key: .

Reasons for learning Japanese

The unique culture of Japan. From sushi and anime to bonsai and origami, she has become part of international culture. Knowledge of the language will open the world of Japanese cinema, animation, and music to you. You will be able to deal with the special terminology of your loved one martial art, or order sushi just like a Japanese does at his favorite Japanese restaurant. Everyone will find something to their liking!
Trip to Japan and communication. Of course, knowing Japanese will make your trip much more enjoyable and exciting. Knowing the language will help you understand the behavior and way of thinking of the Japanese, thereby avoiding embarrassing situations and making new friends.
Road to business and the world high technology. The Japanese economy occupies a leading position in the world along with Japanese companies such as Sony, Toshiba, Honda, Mitsubishi, Canon, etc. Knowing the language can help you develop your professional career in areas such as business, information technology, robotics, etc.
Discover a new world! Acquaintance with Asian culture will allow you to see the world with a new look. And Japanese can serve as a bridge to culture Korean language, because they have similar grammatical systems, and of course into the culture of the Chinese language, from where the writing was originally borrowed.
One last thing: learning Japanese is not that difficult. Yes, they have a complex writing system, but it consists of alphabets that can be learned just like any other alphabet, be it English or Russian. The grammar of the Japanese language is in some respects much easier than the grammar of any European language. There is no kind or plural, no future tense. So go ahead! To knowledge!

Study of any foreign language"for myself" will not bring any results, except for disappointment. This rule applies especially to Japanese. A clear understanding of the specifics of your goals is the basis for building an effective training plan.

Tourism, obtaining a unique education, developing international business, fascination with traditional and modern Japanese art, professional immigration - whatever you choose, this will be your main motivation and driving force for immersing yourself in the Japanese language.

Setting specific deadlines will help set reference points throughout the training. For example, your goal is to pass the Japanese language exam "Nihongo noryoku shiken" for knowledge of it entry level(N5) for eight months. The list of words, hieroglyphs and grammar required for the exam can be viewed in advance on the relevant sites and compiled step by step plan for the entire period of study.

2. Structure your learning material

Select a few proven textbooks and print out the copybooks. This will form the basis of your learning. In parallel, you can use the online simulator to test your knowledge. One of the most popular and effective is the Japanese textbook Minna no Nihongo: Basic Workbook in two parts, which is best taken immediately with a grammar commentary and additional teaching materials.

If you are good at English language, then you can use time-tested and thousands of students textbooks, workbooks and audio materials of the GENKI series. From Russian publications, we can advise the “Japanese Language Textbook for Children” in two parts by the author M. R. Golomidova, a well-known Russian specialist in the field of the Japanese language. The textbook will be an excellent educational tool for adults.

3. Start simple

The Japanese writing system consists of two syllabaries (hiragana and katakana) and kanji (hieroglyphs). First you need to master both alphabets, where each of the 46 characters means not a sound, but a syllable. And only after that move on to kanji. Try to study symbols and hieroglyphs not separately, but in the context of words and sentences.

The basic set of knowledge is very clearly spelled out in the requirements for the fifth level of the international exam in Japanese. For a beginner, this can be a great guide.

When moving on to the study of kanji, you should pay attention to the so-called keys, from which, as if from Lego cubes, you can compose and memorize quite complex Japanese characters. Do not forget that your successful learning is not least dependent on constant written practice. To do this, you can download and print ready-made recipes. Work on pronunciation better reading aloud.

4. Practice Japanese Regularly and Variedly

Despite the logic of this point, many people forget about it over time. Undoubtedly, with constant employment, it is really difficult to allocate several hours a day for learning a language, but 20 minutes is quite real!

Diversify your weekly schedule, for example:

Monday, Thursday - theoretical lessons on the textbook;
Tuesday - reading your favorite manga in the original or information from Japanese Internet resources;
Wednesday - work with prescriptions;
Friday, Saturday - watching interesting videos;
Sunday - communication with native speakers.

Daily study of Japanese, if it is a pleasure, will bring tangible results very, very soon!

5. Use proven kanji memorization techniques

There are several original tools for memorizing hieroglyphs.

Card method

Cut out required amount cards made of thick paper, on one side indicate the symbol or hieroglyph being studied, on the other - the corresponding value. This will help not only in learning, but also in testing your knowledge. By the way, you can buy ready-made sets of cards.

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association method

Memorization is the best fit for the Japanese language. When learning kanji, it is often difficult to remember the spelling of a character and its meaning. To solve this problem, for each hieroglyph, invent your own image! For example:

木 (tree) really looks like a tree;
森 (forest) - but three trees turn into a real forest;
火 (fire) - a little imagination, and you are already warming your hands by the fire near the mountain (山).

So you can effectively memorize several hieroglyphs at once.

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Word replacement method

For this you need a great computer program called "Cananization" (from the Japanese word "kana" - the alphabet). The program replaces syllables in any Russian-language text copied into it with signs of Japanese alphabets.

There is a Japanese belief.

Skあzka, easier to sayおrya:

Withおtookい onceあwait the beastい

Choose い to fight with えbe the king!

Using this program will help you easily memorize Japanese characters.

Perhaps the most important rule for learning Japanese (and not only) is self-confidence and focus on results. Don't believe that Japanese is impossible to learn. Foreigners say the same about the Russian language. But how did we learn it? Good luck to you, patience and the fulfillment of the Japanese dream!

The economic and industrial development of Japan has raised Japan's interaction with other countries to a new level, a huge number of foreigners came to Japan for various purposes and now live there in close contact with the population. This could not but affect the increase in interest in the Japanese language. Whatever your interest in Japan, be it Japanese culture, art, music, manga, anime or bonsai, etc., Lingoust will help you take the first step in learning Japanese thus bringing you closer to your goal.

Step by step online lessons presented on the site will help you learn the basics of the Japanese language from scratch and prepare you for independent more serious study of Japanese. Well consists of initial lessons on learning the alphabet + 10 lessons from the international self-study book Minna No Nihongo. The lessons consist of theoretical and practical material, including audio accompaniment and exercises to consolidate knowledge. To see the answer to the exercise, move the mouse over the key: .

Reasons for learning Japanese

The unique culture of Japan. From sushi and anime to bonsai and origami, she has become part of international culture. Knowledge of the language will open the world of Japanese cinema, animation, and music to you. You can deal with the special terminology of your favorite martial art, or order sushi just like a Japanese does at his favorite Japanese restaurant. Everyone will find something to their liking!
Trip to Japan and communication. Of course, knowing Japanese will make your trip much more enjoyable and exciting. Knowing the language will help you understand the behavior and way of thinking of the Japanese, thereby avoiding embarrassing situations and making new friends.
The road to business and the world of high technologies. The Japanese economy occupies a leading position in the world along with Japanese companies such as Sony, Toshiba, Honda, Mitsubishi, Canon, etc. Knowing the language can help you develop your professional career in areas such as business, information technology, robotics, etc.
Discover a new world! Acquaintance with Asian culture will allow you to see the world with a new look. And Japanese can serve as a bridge to the culture of the Korean language, because. they have similar grammatical systems, and of course into the culture of the Chinese language, from where the writing was originally borrowed.
One last thing: learning Japanese is not that difficult. Yes, they have a complex writing system, but it consists of alphabets that can be learned just like any other alphabet, be it English or Russian. The grammar of the Japanese language is in some respects much easier than the grammar of any European language. There is no gender, no plural, no future tense. So go ahead! To knowledge!