The first thing I did before starting Japanese language study was to learn Hiragana. The written language is as much as part of learning to communicate and understand a new language as is listening and speaking ... learn at least Hiragana FIRST, before you start your first language drill!
It only took me about 20 to 30 hours of writing and memorization practice to be able to write the entire Hiragana chart (including the "compound" kanas) from memory ... I'm old enough to get US Social Security, so most of the younger set here could probably accomplish the same proficiency in half the time.
BTW ... for those of you struggling with sentence structure, particles, verb conjugations, etc ... maybe you can benefit from my experience. I learned and mastered (Brazilian) Portugese (been using it now for over 40 years to converse easily with my Japanese Brazilian wife and her family and friends). The key to learning a new language is to AVOID translation as much as possible. Learn to communicate and understand IDEAS ... not WORDS or structure!
ROMAJI v KANA ... The first
ROMAJI v KANA ...
The first thing I did before starting Japanese language study was to learn Hiragana. The written language is as much as part of learning to communicate and understand a new language as is listening and speaking ... learn at least Hiragana FIRST, before you start your first language drill!
It only took me about 20 to 30 hours of writing and memorization practice to be able to write the entire Hiragana chart (including the "compound" kanas) from memory ... I'm old enough to get US Social Security, so most of the younger set here could probably accomplish the same proficiency in half the time.
BTW ... for those of you struggling with sentence structure, particles, verb conjugations, etc ... maybe you can benefit from my experience. I learned and mastered (Brazilian) Portugese (been using it now for over 40 years to converse easily with my Japanese Brazilian wife and her family and friends). The key to learning a new language is to AVOID translation as much as possible. Learn to communicate and understand IDEAS ... not WORDS or structure!