How difficult is it to learn Japanese?

[jread]

English is my native language and I've learned some Spanish (similar to English so it's not hard to learn for me), but I've always wanted to learn Japanese. Our local community college offers 4 levels of Japanese courses and I'm thinking about taking them someday:

ACC FY 2006 Course Descriptions

So, what is the general difficulty most English-speakers encounter when trying to learn Japanese?

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I can speak for no one but myself, but I found several things to be challenging.

First of all, pronunciation. There are no sounds in Japanese that are not also in English, but in Japanese, the length of sounds is as important as the sounds themselves. This means that you have to throw away any previous ideas you have about stressing syllables. It also means that especially at first you have to listen carefully for how long the vowels and consonants are.

Second is the way Japanese is conjugated. In Japanese, verbs are conjugated, but so are many adjectives. There are distinct conjugation forms that are non-existant in English, too. For example, a separate "command" form.

Third is the many different ways in Japanese to say the same thing, but with different nuances. You can group honorifics and politeness levels here. For example, there are a zillion ways to say, "eat" in Japanese, each with a slightly different meaning.

Luckily, Japanese follows its rules of grammar and syntax very well, so once you learn the rules, you can make sense of the mess!

 

[jread]

Thank you very much for your response!

 

[Carlson]

it can be hard. I have lived in Japan for a year now so i have got the basics and as of the last 2 months I've really got serious in trying to study. i find that the hardest part is getting a large vocabulary. Hiragana for me isn't to hard to remember just takes time. Kanji on the other hand. wow... lol

 

[lv426]

I find the grammar the hardest part, and speeking it a.k.a. using in natural conversation. But I went to Japan and that really helped, if you have the drive to learn you should be alright!

 

[MeAndroo]

I think everyone has their dedication tested once they hit keigo. Ugh.

The toughest fundamental thing for me was dealing with the lack of roman lettering. Growing up with English, then learning Spanish, I was always able to sound words out. Kanji affords you no such luxury, unless you're blessed with a translator or some furigana. Memorizing kana just take practice, and eventually you don't even have to think.

The writing will come and go, and takes serious dedication if you plan to write with any sense of fluency.

The way I tested myself insofar as reading is concerned, is trying to perform a Japanese rap song in karaoke.

 

[Kinsao]

I am only at an extremely beginner level of learning Japanese, and I have never lived there either, so it's hard for me to say. But speaking as a beginner, I can say that Japanese is nowhere near as offputting to learn as some European languages (ftr, my only other languages are English and French). At the start of learning, it's quite quick to make progress in learning basic grammer and vocabulary, and the hiragana and katakana are not difficult either. The pronunciation too, although as Mikawa Ossan points out there are things to be taken into consideration, is not especially daunting.

Of course, I would expect much more difficulty at a higher level when I attempt to make more progress. But that's the same with any language, and I think that often, it's the initial experience of learning which determines whether you become hooked or put off.

Kanji, we have not started to learn yet. I really want to learn them, but I decided to improve at speaking and listening first. However, I don't mean to procrastinate for ever on kanji! It's just that when time is very limited, you have to prioritise... I am keen to learn them but I know I need to be in a position to focus well and properly. Kanji I think will be very difficult, but I wouldn't let that put me off learning Japanese. It's just one of those things where it's best not to think about the magnitude of the task!

The way I tested myself insofar as reading is concerned, is trying to perform a Japanese rap song in karaoke.

Impressive!

 

[MsCorr]

I have only started learning Japanese (1 month ago) and so far I think Japanese is very interesting and totally different from languages like German, English, French and Spanish.
That is why some people think it is more difficult but actually I think it is just kind of different.

For me it was really hard to learn hiragana and katakana but now I can remember almost all of those signs - and starting with kanji really is fun! It will be getting harder and harder because every sign of kanji can have a lot of different meanings (and also because some signs seem to be very similar) but I think if you really want to learn a language then you have to use a lot of time for that. And then you won't have problems with learning any language.

So if you do a lot of learning every day you won't have any problems except that you also need to understand the grammar which I find very strange at some points because it really differs from the ones I am used to.
But like I told you after only one month of learning Japanese I think it is kind of normal that I am still having some difficulties with thinking in a Japanese way any I guess that this will change the more I practice.

 

[Pachipro]

For me learning Japanese did not seem all that difficult and was in fact quite easy for me. Maybe it was because I lived there and really desired to learn it. To me I think that desire is most important. In fact I HAD to learn it as most of the friends I was making did not speak much English at all. I also realized early on after I got there that I wanted to live there and was going to stay for many years.

Living there helped alot with the pronunciation as I had people to help me and could hear it constantly on TV and in daily conversation. It got to the point when I would make a phone call, the people on the other end would be surprised when they found out I was a foreigner. They said my accent was perfect! Also by living there and being forced to speak it on a daily basis with friends and such it was much quicker to learn and remember.

 

[E-Arkham]

I'm of the opinion that you should never ask if something is difficult.

People learn at different rates; what one finds easy, another finds difficult, and vice versa. To borrow an Anthony Hopkins quote from an otherwise lackluster movie, "What one man can do, another can do." Studying is never difficult -- it is only a matter of what degree you wish to apply yourself to learning.

Also avoid saying that you'll "never be able to learn" something. If you find yourself thinking this, immediately spend some extra time on learning something new about the subject.

Just my thoughts.

Kep

 

[wonderpt]

I'm portuguese and I talked with a japanese teacher and he said it's easy because the sounds are very simmilar. There are a lot of words in japanese vocabulary that are equal to the portuguese ones, once the Portugal were the first (i don't know exactly) western nation to arrive to japan by sea, and then we gave to japanese people some words and they gave us other ones.

Example: Bread in japanese is "pan" and it comes from the portuguese word "pão".