On average how long would it take to learn japanese?

Question

To read, write, and speak it fluently?

I know how to speak spanish fluently, so i already have experience with 2 languages.

Answer 1

That depends on a lot of things. Assumptions: you're a native English speaker with no other language learning experience; you are not worried about learning academic Japanese; you are an adult; you are not in a setting where Japanese is spoken. With those assumptions, I'd say three to five years with 5 hours of classes and 5 hours of self-study/exposure to the language EVERY week.

Oh, and keep in mind that fluency is generally considered to mean that you can carry on your end of a conversation with native speakers, but does not mean that you'll have no accent, or speak/write with perfect (or even nearly perfect) grammar.

Answer 2

Years and years; even more so if you're not living right in the middle of Japan.

First is learning kana (92, not including the special pronounce changes which would lead well over 100), then the 1,945 kanji the Japanese government recommends knowing, including the sometimes three-or-more different pronunciations for each kanji. Not to mention the correct stroke order for each of these.

Then there's learning the level of politeness and when to end with a "desu" "imasu" "eru" "arimasu", or "orimasu"; getting used to the subject-object-verb sentence structure; the way a woman is to speak but also to recognize the bizarre ending pattern men have...

Answer 3

read, write, and speak fluently: most likely for your lifetime . Not for Japanese alone but every language . For minimum communication - half year or 1,2 year(s) depending on your energy & enthusiasm