The Complete Guide to Learning Japanese
Disclaimer: This is still a work in progress!
What is a complete guide to Japanese?
Despite what many are lead to believe, learning Japanese is not significantly more difficult than learning any other language. The truth is mastering any foreign language is quite an endeavor. If you think about it, you are essentially taking everything you've learned in life and re-learning it in a completely different way. Obviously, no single book can really claim to teach you everything about a language including all the vocabulary a fluent adult commonly obtains during her life. So what do I mean by a complete guide to Japanese?
Most Japanese textbooks only go over a small subset of what you need to learn Japanese, typically covering a certain amount of grammar and vocabulary with a smattering of dialogues and readings. However, mastering a language requires much more than just learning grammar and vocabulary. What most Japanese textbooks fail to recognize is that they can't possibly hope to cover all the necessary vocabulary and kanji (Chinese characters) to obtain full fluency. This guide fully recognizes that it cannot teach you everything word by word and character by character. Instead, it will give you a solid understanding of the fundamentals with a wide collection of dialogues and examples. In addition, it will go over various techniques and tools to enable you to teach yourself. Essentially, this book is a guide on how you can learn Japanese to complete fluency by actually using Japanese in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Another important distinction in the complete guide is that it does not try to hide or avoid more casual but perfectly acceptable aspects of the language. Many textbooks often avoid styles of speech and vocabulary you would normally use regularly with close friends, family, and acquaintances! In this guide, you will be introduced to all aspects of the language based on real-world practicality and usefulness; not on an artificial, filtered version of what others consider to be "proper" Japanese.
Resources and Tools
There are a large number of useful tools on the web for learning Japanese. Not only are there excellent online dictionaries, which are often better than many print dictionaries, there are also great tools and social networking sites for online collaboration and language study.
In order to fully utilize these online resources or if you're reading this book online, you'll need to setup your computer to support Japanese.
You can see a full list of these resources and instructions on how to setup your computer at the following link:
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/resources
Corrections
I'm currently writing this as quickly as possible without a lot of proofreading so there WILL be many typos and mistakes for the first few revisions. Please feel free to point out any mistakes in the comments. I may delete your comment after making the correction to keep the comment sections clean for more in-depth discussion but I do appreciate them very much!!
Tae Kim, I love the guide,
Tae Kim, I love the guide, thanks! I just got the version for my iPod, so now I can use it on the go.
Anyway, I think you're factually mistaken when you say that "What most Japanese textbooks fail to recognize is that they can't possibly hope to cover all the necessary vocabulary and kanji (Chinese characters) to obtain full fluency." It would take a pretty gross error of judgement to believe that, so I sincerely doubt that they do. Most of the peeople who write textbooks have also taught Japanese for a while, so I think they have pretty realistic ideas about the level of competency that can be achieved through a textbook. Of course, they never actually say that you can't achieve fluency through a textbook, but that doesn't mean that they aren't well aware of that fact.
ありがとごさいました Thank you so much
ありがとごさいました
Thank you so much for that tremendously awesome guide, Tae Kim! I'm 16, I love languages a lot, I already taught myself Latin and Spanish, I take English and French at school, and I've been to America already for a year because yeah, I simply love foreign languages(I'm actually German). I love Japanese so much and your guide is just sooo well made! I've done all the exercises and due to your exellent explanation I think I'm making fast progress. (= This is like the best Grammar Guide EVER EVER!
So but now I'm curious, so you speak Japanese, Korean, English, Chinese, ...? That's amazing! Can't you like derive Chinese a bit from Japanese or vice versa because aren't the kanji kinda similar, at least to write? Like even if they don't mean the same, it would save one a lot of time to master how to write them!
Please keep up with that perfect work! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I really liked your easy
I really liked your easy guide to learning Japanese language and would definitely recommend to one of my friend who is really eager to learn Japanese language and Culture. I think it would be even great if there would have been some videos tutorial about both the language and culture .
My grandmother was Japanese,
My grandmother was Japanese, and I was stationed in Okinawa. I've been taking Japanese language classes for about two years. I've studied Japanese off and on for at least 10 years; up until recently it's all been self-study.
My personal observation is that when you begin learning Romanji, you may learn faster initially, but it handicaps you later. Romanji is not standardized. So, if you pick up any 'handy guidebook of phrases' and try to use it, pronouncing unfamiliar words from Romanji can be difficult. In addition, certain subtleties cannot be accurately depicted using romanji. (ha vs wa comes to mind)
If your intent is to learn some Japanese words and phrases, feel free to skip the kana. But, if you plan to truly learn the language, learn hirigana first. This saves you from a lot of 'unlearning' later when you need to start using kana. Lastly, if you start with romanji, and then later switch to kana, it's a struggle to slowly labor through reading the kana. Start with kana, and you develop your reading skills in tandem with vocabulary and sentence 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!
I was stationed in Japan in
I was stationed in Japan in the military and picked up enough of the language to get me around Japan. I tried to learn Kana and Kanji but got frustrated and wanted to learn more of the language. Romanji allowed me to pick up a great deal more of the language. My feelings are that once the words are learned, the Kanji or Kana can be studied from the sounds already known. I can speak many sentences and even form unlearned sentences from known words. I get my point across and can be corrected by friends who speak Japanese fluently without knowing how to write the language. Speaking is much more important to me than writing right now. Romanji would be the greater help to speaking the language that getting frustrated by trying to learn something one feels to be less important.
First of all, I'd like to say
First of all, I'd like to say this is the best guide of learning any language I've ever seen so far. It's great! I was wondering if there's a changelog of both of the guides. If there isn't, I think it would be useful to see which sections have been updated so you don't have to go through the entire thing again.
Yeah, the changelog is a good
Yeah, the changelog is a good idea; it's useful for who wants to be always up-to-date, and it's less time-consuming instead of re-visiting all the pages over and over again ang going to seeking the changes.
Is a changelog possible?
You have given us some great
You have given us some great stuff here and I hope that you will continue. I am sure it is a lot of work and I want you to know that it is appreciated a great deal. Learning Japanese can be a lot of fun with your help.
MaryJane.
I wish there was Romaji next
I wish there was Romaji next to all the Kanji writing.
Here you can get romanization
Here you can get romanization from japanese, I agree romanization is not japanese but it is useful to get the kanji's pronunciation.
http://www.kawa.net/works/ajax/romanize/japanese-e.html
Thanks a lot for this site, really useful.
If you can read the Kana, you
If you can read the Kana, you can pronounce the Kanji.
Hi, this is a guide for
Hi, this is a guide for learning Japanese. Romaji is not Japanese. Thanks.
Romaji is used all over the
Romaji is used all over the place in Japan. As a vehicle to learning the language it is very valuable. Is your name Tae Kim or Curt?
The fact that romaji is not
The fact that romaji is not used is for the sake of the learner. Yes romaji in all over the place in Japan, but when you read a Japanese book, name, a news paper you won't be reading it in romaji. Romaji hinders a person and slows them down. It's basis for procrastination.
what a load of crap. ive
what a load of crap. ive reached an advanced level of listening and an intermediate level of speech (in 1.3 years self study whilst working)and only know one kanji (fire symbol). im just starting the kanji now using the Kanji in Context series of books and am finding it a piece of cake to substitute the romanji over just like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.Admittedly though i did hammer vocab right at the beginning before anything else (50 words per week for 1 year)and it gave me a massive boost.also i created my own grammer mp3 encyclopedia from cutting up (using adobe soundbooth)every tape/cd series that i could get my hands on.and no im not korean etc where its a sinch to crossover to nihongo, im aussie.so my point is that sometimes people you gotta be creative in your approach and use all the resources as one with common sense..
Still rationalisation for not
Still rationalisation for not learning kana first off.
If you had done that you would probably be considering taking L1 JLPT soon rather than being intermediate. What is the point of hammering vocab when you only have to go and relearn it in kanji later. Much better use of time would be to learn the kana, kanji and the two readings at the same time. This way your learning can be reinforced by seeing the kaji in advanced text. (even if you cannot read it.) japanese taught in universities 'ab initio' never uses romaji and has students able to take L1 in just 4 years on average.
Sorry to rant on but I feel strongly about this. Romaji is easier in the first instance but what better achievement is there than being able to sit and read 'noruwei no mori' (I guess my use of romaji steps on my point!!) in the orginal Japanese rather than struggling to discipher the pictures on a Gusto menu to get the 'amerikan chiizu keiki setto.'
Why don't you share those
Why don't you share those things you've made? I think it would be really helpful to a lot of people :)
+1
+1
Hi, this page is really
Hi, this page is really amazing, thanls for creating it, i would like to help you improving this huge resource by telling you that if you can put the image of the strokes order not only for the first chart but for the others, because this option is only available for the first chart, But otherwise, you rock. Thanks a lotfrom Colombia.
Tae Kim! I know this guide is
Tae Kim! I know this guide is highly praised, and, as such, my praise means little. However, I did want to say I have been using this for my self study, and I am amazed at the depth it has! It is far more comprehensive and understandable than any other resource I have used, including the published grammar books I have!
I was wondering if you posted updates on your progress with audio and whatnot. Should I be following you on twitter or something? I donated a little because I think it is worth it, but I would love to keep up with your progress.
ありがとうございます.
-スト乱アレックス(Alexander Strickland)
I love you're site very
I love you're site very much.
I'm improving my japanese language skills with this.
Thank you very much!!This is great(^_^)/*
お疲れ様でした。どうも有り難うございます。
お疲れ様でした。どうも有り難うございます。
Hey, you
Hey, you rock!!!
Suggestion:
why don't you add some audio files later for slang and gobi stuff??
Cheers,
alex
THANKS ^_^
THANKS ^_^
タエ・キムのオンラインの教科書で日本語を喋るのが前より上手
タエ・キムのオンラインの教科書で日本語を喋るのが前より上手くなる様になりました。こっちの語学学習には大いに改善の余地があるくせに。兎に角、お感謝致したいのですが。本当に最も便利な教材をお作りになって下さいましたから。
有難う御座います！
Thank you for making this
Thank you for making this amazingly useful guide.
I have lived in Japan for the last five years and am married to a Japanese with kids :) You would expect that my technical understanding of Japanese would be pretty decent. However, I never found a single resource that is as useful as this one even in my early studies. Its great in helping cement concepts even when you already know them and use them instinctively everyday.
Thanks again for this wonderful work.
Wow Tae KIM (isn't' that
Wow Tae KIM (isn't' that Korean name? If so would make even more sense your clear perspective on the guide is that of someone who actually learned japanese instead of being born around it... ANYWAY, just a thought, please don't take offense.)! I appreciate your effort alot. I've briefly read over bits and pieces and you make ALOT of good points. I'm using Rosetta Stone and Before you know it (Language program and flash cards). Before you know it has those easy phrases and vocab as flash cards. Then Rosetta has in a sense a portion of what you put together, but lacking that actual explanation..... i guess you could call it immersion.
David Giles - Bboyvybe@gmail.com
Hi , thanks for your great
Hi , thanks for your great information . Everything is included in your site exept
some pictures of sightseeing cites .thanks again and Appreciate of your great effort.
Does the complete guide
Does the complete guide contain all the information from the grammar guide?
No, it's still a work in
No, it's still a work in progress.
Thanks!
This is the greatest Japanese grammar guide ever! Thanks a lot!
Whats the difference?
Whats the difference between the complete guide and the regular grammar guide?
Difference
The complete guide is meant to be more comprehensive and cover more than just grammar. But as you can see, I'm still working on it.
Does that mean the "Grammar
Does that mean the "Grammar guide" is in a final finished form?
Yes
Mostly yes but I still want to polish it up though afterwards.
頑張ってください！
頑張ってください！
おう！
がんばろう！
An excellent resource!
I'm a long-time self learner. I recommend your guide to anyone who says they are picking up the language. I wish there were similar resources available for other languages. Thanks a lot!
-エンケン
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