When it comes to learning the Japanese language, there are different writing systems and aspects of the language that you need to understand. Unfortunately, these things can lead to confusion when trying to decide how and where you should start learning the language.
To learn Japanese the right way, you need a systematic approach. I recommend that you start with the most commonly used Japanese writing system, hiragana. The next step would be to learn katakana and kanji. The next step would be to practice your vocabulary and pronunciation. Study some key phrases and words to make things easier for yourself.
If you can follow this tested and trusted order of learning Japanese, you will be able to have an awesome grasp of the language without much hassle.
Start learning with hiragana
Although there are a few controversies about some particular areas of the order of learning Japanese, many Japanese tutors and experts agree that you should start learning with hiragana. Without a doubt, hiragana is the simplest and most basic writing system of Japanese. Therefore, you should start your learning process with this awesome writing system.
Perhaps you are thinking about why you should start learning with hiragana; we will show you some reasons for this:
- It is simple to read and understand
Since hiragana is phonetic, it is quite easy to learn for every learner. If you are a speaker of western languages such as English and French, learning may look difficult at the beginning. However, it is not difficult to learn.
Basically, every hiragana letter is used for representing a specific sound. Hence, as you are learning this writing system, it becomes easy for you to read Japanese. Besides, learning hiragana is usually fun-filled and easy to monitor. As a consequence, you can track your progress and get the motivation you need to continue learning at a fast pace.
- It consists of only 46 letters
Another reason why you should start with hiragana is that this writing system features only 46 letters. Therefore, you only need to master 46 things before you can start using it. This is significantly different from kanji where you need to learn over 2,000 characters. Imagine how overwhelmed you would be to start learning 2,000 different characters. So, you should avoid such demotivating problems by starting your learning process with hiragana. After understanding hiragana, you can move to other writing systems.
- It enhances your listening and speaking skills
As indicated earlier, every hiragana character refers to one sound (phoneme). Resultantly, every letter gives you a visual clue of a phoneme. With the aid of hearing and seeing, you can master every sound without much hassle.
Therefore, having a good mastery of hiragana can go a long way in enhancing your listening and speaking skills. It will be easier for you to have an understanding of the Japanese words better when the language is being spoken to you. This is because your ears have mastered Japanese during your hiragana classes.
- It aids Japanese reading
When they are learning how to read Japanese, Japanese kids are usually first introduced to hiragana. Why is this so? This is because hiragana is the most important aspect of mastering reading skills. In fact, learning hiragana will play a key role in assisting you to read kanji. When learning kanji, a few hiragana characters will be placed around kanji to ease the process of pronouncing the words. Therefore, hiragana is fundamental to learning other parts of the language.
- It doesn’t take too long to learn
If you put your mind into what you are learning, it doesn’t take a long period to study and understand hiragana. Factually, lots of people have mastered hiragana within 1 or 2 weeks of learning it. So, it is a good way to start learning the Japanese language and getting the inspiration you need to take your learning to the next level.
When you consider the various benefits of starting your Japanese learning journey with hiragana, you will agree that it is truly the right place to start learning the language. Once you have mastered hiragana, you can then move forward to other aspects of the language.
What comes after hiragana?
Proceed to katakana
After completing hiragana, the next thing on the order is learning katakana. Basically, katakana refers to some characters that represent the same sounds you will come across in the hiragana alphabet. It is worthwhile to understand that katakana is not as common as hiragana, but it is also quite essential. You should learn katakana after hiragana because of three reasons:
- It is used for representing foreign or borrowed words
Every language borrows certain words from other languages. Japanese is not different; hence, you can expect to see some words that are borrowed from Chinese and other common languages in Japanese. Of course, you need to learn these borrowed or foreign words too during your learning process. In the Japanese language, these foreign words are represented with katakana. So, if you want to understand the foreign words in Japanese, you must master katakana.
- It helps the understanding of kanji readings
Kanji readings form an essential part of the Japanese language. However, these readings can be really difficult to understand for most Japanese learners. Luckily, you can make things a bit easier for yourself by mastering katakana. This is because katakana is important for anyone to have a good understanding of kanji readings.
- Many kanji radicals are named after some katakana characters
In general, some kanji radicals resemble katakana characters. Such kanji radicals are named after such katakana characters that they look like. Therefore, if you want to have a quick and easy understanding of such kanji radicals, it will be helpful for you to learn katakana characters.
Another important reason why you should start learning katakana after hiragana is that there is some resemblance between hiragana and katakana characters. This shows that studying katakana doesn’t necessarily mean that you are learning a new writing system from the scratch.
Therefore, when you start learning katakana, you already have a good knowledge of hiragana. The learning process will be faster and easier than learning katakana before hiragana. You just have to breeze through the 46 characters of katana and then take the next step to learn other important aspects of the Japanese language.
Study kanji last
After you have gotten a grip of hiragana and katakana, you can start learning kanji. Kanji is believed by a lot of individuals to be the most tasking part of the Japanese language. Therefore, you should be prepared for what you are bound to deal with as you are trying to learn kanji.
Basically, kanji is a Japanese writing system that was adopted from some Chinese writing characters. It is often combined with hiragana and katakana whenever people are writing Japanese. Therefore, you need to know kanji to be able to read Japanese fluently.
Some people may tell you that learning kanji is not essential to speak Japanese. However, this is not entirely true as there are tons of things you can gain from studying kanji. Below are a few of the reasons why you should learn kanji:
- It assists you to have a better understanding of the vocabulary of Japanese
With a good knowledge of kanji, you will be able to guess the meanings of new Japanese words that you have just learned. In general, kanji looks like the affixes that are found in the English language. Each kanji character has a particular meaning. If you understand the meaning of a character, it will be easier for you to understand any new words that have this character.
You should know that kanji characters often appear inside Japanese sentences. So, if you don’t know kanji, you will struggle with having a vivid knowledge of what some words mean.
- It is fundamental for reading Japanese
If you are interested in reading Japanese, you cannot do without learning Japanese because it is the basis for it. It is noteworthy that you cannot boast of understanding a specific language if you cannot read it. Therefore, you can only rest assured that you know Japanese properly if you have learned kanji and can read it.
- It is important if you want to enjoy Japan
If you have it in mind to learn Japanese and live in Japan, then it is crucial for you to learn kanji. Apart from the major cities such as Tokyo, most other cities and towns in Japan don’t often use romaji or English for signs. So, if you want to use a train station, bus park, restaurant, and so on, you may have a hard time reading descriptions and other things written on the signboards or posters. Therefore, if you want to stay in Japan and enjoy your stay, learning kanji is paramount.
To master kanji characters, you cannot afford to just learn them once and stop. There is a need for you to continue practicing characters that you have learned to ensure that you understand their meanings and also know the right way to write them.
Learn pronunciation
Once you have completed learning katakana, you should proceed to learn pronunciation. You should note that pronunciation is one of the most difficult aspects of Japanese for most foreigners. So, don’t waste time after mastering katakana, you should just proceed to pronunciation.
Some people start pronunciation earlier than this, and this is good. However, learning pronunciation after katakana is also great. So, what are the ways to learn pronunciation? Let’s check it out below:
- Watch Japanese TV shows or movies
Japanese TV shows, anime, and movies offer you a chance to listen to Japanese from native speakers. This can go a long way in helping you to master how to pronounce Japanese words.
- Listen to podcasts
Another way to learn the pronunciation of Japanese words is by listening to podcasts. There are tons of Japanese podcasts on YouTube and other channels. Therefore, it should be easier for you to find podcasts that will take care of your need.
- Focus on the most common words
Like other languages, you cannot learn everything about Japanese at the beginning. So, when you are learning pronunciation, you should first focus on the most common words. You should first try to study how you can pronounce those words correctly. Afterward, you can move to more difficult words that are not often spoken.
- Play Japanese video games
Japan is one of the biggest contributors to the video gaming industry. The likes of Pokémon, Nintendo, and Legend of Zelda were all created by Japanese developers in Japan. As a result of this, it does not come as a surprise that many video games have amazing Japanese characters. These characters can help you to learn how to pronounce a lot of Japanese words.
In addition to the above, you can also look for music and other items that focus on speaking Japanese. Over time, this will help you to listen to Japanese and, as result, you will have a good mastery of the language. As you are listening to what the native Japanese speakers are saying, you should try to mimic them. You can do this by saying the words after them. You must make sure that you pay attention to the vowel sounds. Always get it right before moving to the next word.
In addition, you should record yourself as you are pronouncing the words. This will help you listen to yourself again and see whether you are pronouncing the words the right way or not. this doesn’t only encourage you to learn more, but it also helps you to identify areas you are not doing well for improvement.
It should be noted that you cannot learn the pronunciation of Japanese words overnight. So, you should be ready to spend some time learning how to pronounce the language the right way.
Build your vocabulary
There are thousands of Japanese words. So, how do you intend to understand Japanese if you don’t understand most of these words? This is why the need for you to build your vocabulary cannot be overemphasized. Building your vocabulary will assist you to be able to read, speak, write, and listen to Japanese correctly. It will make it possible for you to build more knowledge and skills on what you have already learned through hiragana, katakana, and kanji that you started well. Besides, studying new Japanese words will make it easy for you to master new words when you are learning pronunciation.
Like in pronunciation, you should start building your vocabulary with common words. By learning these common words, you will be fast in talking with others that understand Japanese.
If you are ready to build your vocabulary, you should:
- Read lots of Japanese manga
Japanese people are known for producing lots of manga, which is a genre of Japanese comic books. Manga is often used for telling a wide range of stories. So, reading these books can be a great way to learn several new Japanese words.
It should be noted that manga comes in different forms. Some are for adults while others are for kids and teens. As a beginner in the Japanese language, you should go for Japanese manga targeted at kids and teens. Such manga will be easier to understand for you and you will also find lots of commonly used words there.
- Get a Japanese dictionary
You should also consider getting a Japanese dictionary if you want to learn new Japanese words. Typically, you can check the meaning of any new word you come across inside the dictionary. This doesn’t only let you know new words, but it also plays a key role in ensuring that you can know the right ways to pronounce and use them.
Master a few key phrases
As you continue learning Japanese, you should master some key phrases that can aid your communication. These are phrases that are often used in day-to-day conversations in Japan. By learning these phrases, you will always have some basic words to fall back on whenever you are opening conversations with any Japanese speaker. Besides, learning these phrases will also make your trip to Japan to be easier and more enjoyable.
What are some key phrases you should master? They include:
- Hello
- How are you doing?
- Thank you
- How much?
- My name is…
- Nice to meet you
Some books list the most common Japanese words and phrases. So, you should not hesitate to get one of such books.