Content

• Steps
• Advice

Konnichiwa (こ ん に ち は)! Japanese is a great language for you to learn, whether for work purposes, accepting popular products you like (eg Japanese manga - manga), or chatting with friends. Learning Japanese can be a bit intimidating at first, as Japanese doesn't have to do with other Latin languages ​​like Vietnamese. In Japanese, the writing system and honorifics are quite complex, but the grammar, pronunciation, and basic communication are quite easy to understand. Let's start by learning some common phrases, and then learn more about Japanese sounds and writing systems.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Basic Features

1. 

   Learn the writing system in Japanese. Japanese has four writing systems, each with different letters. It seems that you will have to learn a lot, but every word in Japanese, regardless of its writing system, has a phonetic sound that is a combination of 46 basic syllables. Distinguishing the different writing systems and how they are used is an important part of learning Japanese.Below is an overview of the writing systems:
   • Hiragana is a rhyme set of phonetic letters that constitutes a writing system in Japanese. Unlike the Vietnamese alphabet, each hiragana is a syllable, which can include both vowels and consonants.
   • Katakana is also a rhyme, often used to represent borrowed words or onomatopoeia. Hiragana and katakana make up all of the sounds in Japanese.
   • Kanji are Chinese characters that make up a writing system in Japanese. Hiragana and katakana are merely phonetic characters, while kanji are hieroglyphs, meaning characters. There are thousands of kanji with around 2000 in common use. Hiragana and katakana come from these kanji together. 46 syllables to pronounce hiragana and katakana are also used to pronounce kanji.
   • The Latin alphabet is used in Japanese to represent acronyms, company names and other words for aesthetic purposes. Japanese can also be written in Latin form, called Romaji (meaning "Roman alphabet"). In Japan, Japanese is not written as Latin, but many Japanese beginners often use Latin to "spell" Japanese letters. However, Latin words are difficult to express many syllables in Japanese, and they also make many words with different meanings difficult to understand. Therefore, learners are encouraged to learn the Japanese alphabet as soon as possible and avoid relying on Latin.

2. 

   
   
   Practice Japanese pronunciation. The 46 syllables in Japanese are made up of one of five vowels or the combination of a vowel and a consonant, except for one syllable made up of a consonant. The vowel in Japanese has no variation (unlike English, the pronunciation of the "a" in "apple" and "ace" is different). You can start practicing pronunciation by learning to pronounce each letter of the hiragana and katakana boards. See examples of Japanese pronunciation on this page.
   • Focus on the intonation of different syllables. Variation of syllables will change the meaning of words. A long sound can have a completely different meaning from a short sound ("o" and "oo").

3. 

   
   
   Learn basic syllable variations. Japanese letters can add accents to indicate that the pronunciation is slightly different, sometimes even changing the meaning of the word they represent. This is similar to the English "s", sometimes pronounced "z".
   • Dual consonants are pronounced with a break between two syllables.
   • The sound field is pronounced by holding an extra beat of the vowel. The sound field is different from the short sound, and at the same time it represents a completely different word.

4. 

   
   
   Learn Japanese grammar. Mastering some basic grammar principles will help you understand Japanese better and create your own sentences. Japanese grammar is simple and flexible, so combining words into sentences is quite easy.
   • The subject is not required and the subject may be missing.
   • The predicate is always at the end of a sentence.
   • Nouns are not divided into masculine / feminine. Also, most nouns do not have the plural form.
   • Verbs do not change subjectively as in English (he / she / it). Verbs also don't change numerically as they do in English (singular / plural, like I / we or he / they).
   • The particle always comes after words to define the role of the subject, object, etc. of that word.
   • The pronouns (me, you, etc.) will vary according to the degree of politeness and respect needed in each case.
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Method 2 of 3: Documentation

1. 

   Download audio software to learn languages. After completing the basics, it's time to get access to outside tutorials to improve your skills. If learning Japanese for fun because you like Japanese culture, such as manga (manga), anime (animation) or love to travel, a CD with Japanese language learning audio can satisfy all of your needs. your bridge. Dedicating an hour a day to learning Japanese will help you build grammar, approach simple phrases and useful vocabulary.
   • Listen to audio software on the way to work, or pre-load audio to your music player for lunchtime, mid-shift break or while walking in the park.
   • You don't need to learn to read and write to enjoy the language and culture of Japan, so if you are planning a short trip to Japan, it is much more practical to master a few useful sentences than to cram. cramming confusing letters.

2. 

   Sign up for classes. If you study Japanese for work purposes or you want to live in Japan, consider taking a university level course, an intensive language program, or an online class. Learning to read and write Japanese is vital to your long-term success. You should also have a mentor when starting to learn the language, as they will assist you in developing positive language habits, and they can also answer your questions about Japanese language and culture.
   • Learn writing systems. It is advisable to start learning the four writing systems in Japanese early if your goal is to read and write. You can learn hiragana and katakana in a matter of weeks, from which you can use these two charset to write your own Japanese. Around 2000 kanji are now widely used in Japanese, so it will take a few years for you to learn them all. However, kanji is well worth learning if you want to truly understand and speak Japanese.
   • Use flashcards to learn new words and simple sentences. You can learn with flashcards while waiting for meetings, train rides, and more. You can also start with some free flashcards from online sites, or buy higher quality cards online or at university bookstores.
     • To practice using kanji, look for flashcards that have stroke order (writing) by calligraphy on one side and examples of compound words on the other side. You can also buy white cards with the size of 7x12 cm to make your own flashcards with the exact content you want.
   • Participate in discussion sessions and activities in language class. Do enough homework, raise your hands to speak, and participate in lesson development as much as you can to make the most of your time in this class. Otherwise, your skills will not be improved.
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Method 3 of 3: "Immersion" in Japanese

1. 

   Join a Japanese communication group. You can find a variety of online communication groups, either by calling the community center or local library. Train your headphones to capture the content the speaker is saying. Even if you don't understand, try to repeat what everyone said before to begin analyzing and building awareness.

2. 

   Make Japanese friends with whom you can regularly practice with. A lot of Japanese people want to learn English or Vietnamese, so you should be able to find someone willing to help you. On the contrary, you will support them to learn English / Vietnamese. Simply having friends to exchange notes will help learners improve their abilities.
   • Besides "class time", do other activities using Japanese with your Japanese friends. If those friends haven't lived in your country for a long time, you should take them out around town. Let's go sightseeing. Remember, you need to "take a breather" often if you don't want to be stressed out by the kanji you must memorize. Having fun is the best way to achieve both goals at the same time.
   • On off days, call a friend and chat in Japanese for about half an hour. The more you practice, the faster you'll improve.

3. 

   Consume Japanese mass products. Whether it's newspapers, novels, movies or TV shows, read and watch popular Japanese products every day. You can find a wide variety of radio shows online, from comedy to games and movies. Find products that match your interests and learning will just be a lot easier. Japanese newspapers will bring you the most practical vocabulary and grammar.As you progress, you should read novels - products that give you a more friendly writing style. Change by watching classic Japanese movies or cartoons without subtitles, or watching with Japanese subtitles.
   • Comic books (manga) can be suitable reading material, but be aware that the degree of sophistication in each book will vary markedly. A comic book with mature, literary content will be a great practice (especially when images help you understand what you are reading), while books for young children are more likely to full sound effects and slang. You should be careful when repeating comic book content.

4. 

   Study in Japan. This is simply the best way to put what you have learned into practice and learn more. Studying abroad is also an interesting and unexpected experience, helping you to immerse yourself in another culture, even for a short time. Even if you do research thoroughly, real-world experiences in a place will give you things you cannot imagine.
   • If you are studying at university or college, ask about study programs in Japan. This is one of the best ways to gain long-term exposure to Japanese, and you may also qualify for financial aid.
   • Don't get discouraged if you don't understand everything the other person is telling you, or can't read or write as well as expected. It will take years for you to master another language. The complexity and nuances of Japanese make it difficult to master the language, but that's also the beauty of the language.
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Advice

• Learn from circumstances. If the person next to you is bowing or responding to someone else's greeting in a certain way, do the same for the next opportunity. The best people to look at are people of the same age and gender as you. What is right for an elderly man is not necessarily for the young woman.
• It will be easy to forget the language without practice, so keep practicing. If you study Japanese for a few months and stop studying for an entire year, you WILL forget all the Kanji you have learned and most of the grammar. Japanese is a difficult language to fully absorb in one study. Even Japanese people living abroad for a long time shared that they forgot many Kanji. Long-term learning little by little is more effective than cramming once every few months.
• When you come to Japan and try to speak Japanese outside of a formal or work environment, you will sometimes be denied a conversation. Some people simply don't want to care about your story, when they judge your appearance and the Japanese you use - slow, inaccurate, and awkward. Don't let this experience discourage you from learning Japanese. There are more people who are kind and patiently listening to what you say than those who do not care about you.
• Be careful when using support tools. You should not buy an electronic dictionary too early. They are expensive, and most functions are useless if your Japanese reading level is not at the right level. Ideally, you should understand 300-500 kanji before buying these tools.
• Watch cartoons (anime) without Vietnamese subtitles, especially the cartoons you've seen with Vietnamese subtitles. That way, you can get to know what the characters are talking about.
• Understand that expressions and responses to situations in cartoons and comics are often not suitable for application in everyday situations. Try to learn how ordinary people use language, instead of picking up bad habits or bad trends from popular culture figures.
• When learning Japanese, don't speak too quickly or too slowly. Always make sure you are practicing with a Japanese speaker.
• Make sure you pronounce the vowel / consonant correctly, even if you think your voice sounds dull.
• There are a few free apps available to help you learn Japanese.