With the advancement in technology, things are becoming easy. With this technology, our fast-paced society that lacks time to sit and learn a language from the textbooks or in a class. Learning a language like Japanese is an important thing in this globalized world, but who has the time to learn it? Do not worry! You can now learn Japanese quickly, 90 days, 30 days, or even ten days.
Here, we look at the ways of memorizing this language easily in a matter of weeks or days.
Simple Tricks to memorizing Japanese Easily
Have Goals
Well, we are aware that one of your year’s resolution is to “learn Japanese.” This is an excellent resolution but what does it mean? Try narrowing down your goals and make them specific, measurable, relevant, and time-bound. Let the goals sound like, “I want to learn Japanese from my home by the end of the next five weeks” or “I want to have attained an A2 level of the language by the end of May”. Making such goals help you measure how far you are from learning the whole language. Additionally, these goals will keep you on your toes.
Begin with the Sounds
After coming up with a realistic plan on how you will approach the Japanese language, it is time to start. You may be asking yourself where exactly you will start. Start with the sounds. Before you memorize words and learn their meaning, you should learn how to hear, pronounce, and spell the Japanese sounds. These sounds will form the foundation of the words you will learn. Let YouTube and other social-media platforms teach you how to pronounce alphabets.
Start Learning the Most Common Japanese Words
Now that you already know the sounds, you can move to words. The next thing that you should do is to learn the Japanese words. The language has a list of the most common words in Japanese with which you can safely teach yourself without wasting time. Start with the most common words: those that appear in the everyday Japanese conversation. With these useful words, you will be able to communicate in Japanese.
Break Down the Grammar
Grammar dictates the rules of a language: this is also applicable in the Japanese language. While the grammar of this language seems complex, it can be made easier for quicker learning. It can be divided into three fundamental operations:
- Adding words, e.g. I am a boy ~ I am not a boy
- Changing existing words, e.g. I will go to the market ~ I went to the market
- Changing the order of words, e.g. This language is easy ~ Is this language easy?)
With this breakdown, grammar becomes friendly. As you learn, always remember this. The grammar breakdowns will also break the language into small memorable chunks.
Have a Notebook
Have a book where you will be recording all the new words that you have learned. This book will be used as a point of reference when you have forgotten a word. You will also use the book to keep all the words you have learned in order. When you are writing the words and their translations down, you will be able to memorize the words, and this will greatly improve how you memorize the language. This book is advantageous as you will be able to study your notes from anywhere and at any time.
Make learning Practical
The Japanese language has very many new words. Being leaner, you may not need to know all the words at once or the majority of them. The principle of Pareto says that you are to use 20% of your effort to learn a vocabulary for 80% understanding in the language. Practice makes perfect. For as long as you can pronounce the sounds and you know the regularly used vocabulary, you are good to go. Practice what you know and see yourself becoming better in the language. Let the internet be your friend. From here, you will get very many sources that you will practice.
Do not be Afraid to Make Mistakes
Learning Japanese is a continuous and never-ending process. It requires plenty of practice and cannot be treated like any other language. Therefore, do not live in fear and constant guilt of making mistakes. Mistakes show that you are progressing, and they should help you learn faster, for as long as you do not repeat the same mistakes. In your learning, you might upset the native Japanese speakers; this should not worry you. While making steps in the language, you can interact in the language, and you will be surprised how quickly you will learn it.
You can Interact, even Without Traveling
You can interact with the Japanese language daily, even before traveling to Japanese-speaking countries. Speak the language as much as possible. You can speak the language with a family member or a friend, write a letter or email in Japanese to your friend or yourself, visit a Japanese store and interact with the locals, join monthly Japanese discussion groups, or speak with another Japanese learner. The interaction also includes being part of a Japanese forum or visiting a cinema that plays a Japanese movie or drama, reading a piece of content from a Japanese magazine, or talking in Japanese to yourself.
Don’t Burn Out
Japanese is a rich language and can cause burn-out, especially if it is to be learned within a short period. When you get tired of studying, you can watch some Japanese videos or listen to Japanese audios. This way, the language will be active in the brain with no strain. If you do not relax your mind from this burn-outs, you may end up becoming bored with the language.