I’ve been studying Japanese for a long time, but how I learned was not very efficient and very slow. (I’ll save you the details but you can read about it in How I Learn Japanese.) Basically, I learned what not to do. At least what not to do if you want to get good at a language fast. I just started learning Korean and decided to applying my improved study techniques to this new language and can confidently say, they work!
These tips apply to studying any language, but I give specific examples for people starting to learn Japanese.
Make Time
If you’re serious about learning Japanese quickly then you need to make time for it.
It’s hard to understate that learning a language quickly takes time, and the more time you make for it, the faster you’ll pick it up.
Let’s say it takes about 140 hours to learn at least JLPT N5 level beginner Japanese (hiragana and katakana, 800 words, 50 grammar patterns, and 100 kanji). If you only study Japanese 1 hour a week it will take you 140 weeks (which is 32 months aka 2.5 years). If you do 1 a day that’s only 140 days or about 5 months.
Dedicate at least an hour of focused study a day to studying Japanese. This could even be 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.
Side note: even if you learn “fast” it can still take several years to learn the language to a low-intermediate level. Don’t believe “influencers” who say you can learn it in 3-6 months or less than a year.
Have a Balanced Study Diet
It’s not just a matter of throwing yourself at vocabulary lists and spending hours on them every day. You need a well-balanced study diet for efficient learning.
This means practicing reading, writing, speaking, and listening as you study and practice new vocabulary and grammar.
A schedule where you focus on different things each day will help boost your learning, while also keeping things interesting.
For example:
Monday: study and practice vocabulary by using your flashcards and writing the answer out.
Tuesday: study and practice grammar with your teacher, which will also allow you to practice speaking.
Wednesday: study and practice vocabulary by using your flashcards and saying the answer out loud.
Thursday: study and practice grammar by writing out example sentences or a diary.
Friday: study and practice grammar by doing reading exercises.
Saturday: review your flashcards and what you studied during the week and have a lesson.
Sunday: review your flashcards and what you studied during the week and watch YouTube or anime or drama in Japanese.
Book Regular Lessons
Learning with a teacher is great because they can help you understand grammar, improve pronunciation, and get used to talking.
You can find teachers online through sites like iTalki, which have reasonably priced lessons for all levels at all time of the day. Use this referral link to get $5 towards your first lesson.
It depends on how much time and energy you’re able to dedicate, but if you want to boost your learning speed then I recommend at least 2-3 lessons a week.
You can have all your lessons with one teacher, or multiple teachers to focus on different skills. Such as one teacher to go through a textbook, and the other to practice speaking with.
Focus on Vocabulary Before Kanji
This might sound like heresy to a lot of people just starting to learn Japanese, but there’s no point learning kanji if you don’t have vocabulary to link it to.
You might look at 食 and see it has six different readings (く.う, く.らう, た.べる, は.む, ショク, ジキ).
BUT you learn basic vocabulary before the kanji, then you’ll see you only need know two of them (た.べる and ショク). The other four readings are only used in advanced or practically obscure words.
It would be a waste of time to learn all of the readings for every kanji when you start, because not all of them are used in everyday Japanese.
Vocabulary is more important in the early stages of learning because they’re the building blocks of the language. You need vocabulary to form sentences, understand what’s going on, and express yourself.
You will eventually need to learn Kanji, but you don’t need to study all 2,000 kanji right from the start.
I would suggest learning at least 500 words (without their kanji) before you start learning kanji. Kanji is great, but learning vocabulary with the kanji right away means you risk becoming too reliant on recognizing the kanji and not the word itself.
Start with One Book and Finish It
It’s easy to fall into the trap of buying a pile of books when you start learning a new language (believe me, I know!) But research what book or app would be best for what you want to achieve and try and work through it until the end.
You can use other resources like apps and online teachers to practice, but your main study resource should be focused ONE book.
Why? Because books end!
It can be harder to track your progress with an app or a teacher, but you can see exactly where you are in a book.
Books also tend to be more well-rounded resources for Japanese compared to apps. Their structure makes it easy to build up knowledge, and you can work through them with a teacher.
Here’s a list of recommendations for books for beginner Japanese learners.
Practice Outside of the Classroom/Textbook
This is one of the best things you can do to get good, fast!
Whether you’re studying in a class or with a teacher, it helps to practice what you’re learning and study on your own. As mentioned, studying on a regular basis will help you learn quickly.
Here are a few things you can do to practice outside of lessons:
- Do all the exercises in a textbook. (Multiple times is helpful!)
- Read all the reading sections or sample sentences out loud.
- Listen to the audio and try to shadow it.
- Create flashcards of new words (and study them).
If possible, don’t write in your book so you can do the same exercises again later without the answers written down for you!
These are great for both review, and for getting you more familiar with writing and speaking Japanese.
Write it Down, Read it Out
Whether studying with an app or textbook, it helps a lot to write down AND read out loud what you’re learning.
For example, I use Anki flashcards to study vocabulary. When I’m studying and reviewing my cards I will say the word out loud (in Japanese and English) and write the answer down in a notebook.
This reinforces the meaning, gets me used to saying it allowed, and helps me practice writing. It also helps me spot bad habits and mistakes.
Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Studying 50 words in a day might sound impressive, but it’s not much use if you don’t remember them. Try to study a few new things every day, and then review what you previously learned.
Focus on understanding the words, how they’re used in sentences and different situations. Practice writing sentences for vocabulary you’re struggling with.
Focus on why you keep getting something wrong, so you can better understand how to use it later. (See Quality Japanese Self Study Techniques.)
And, focus on material that are at your level. There’s no point running before you can walk by jumping into the deep end and trying to translate a novel because you’ve studied basic grammar or vocabulary. You need a good understanding of basic Japanese, a strong foundation, before you can move onto advanced level materials.
Quality over quantity helps you avoid bad habits and learn how to understand the language in-depth, which saves time in the long-run.
Summary
You can get good at Japanese fast by making time for yourself on a regular basis.
Book regular lessons with a teacher and incorporate those lessons into your daily study. Try to focus on one textbook which you can finish in a month if you’re dedicating time daily to studying. But while you work through your textbook and with your teacher(s), try to practice all the key skills, speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Spend your time wisely focusing on quality over quantity. Try to understand a small amount of grammar and vocabulary well, rather than a lot of information. This will help you build good habits and a strong understanding of the language which you can build upon.