About how long does it take the average person to learn to read and write Japanese?

Question

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Answer 1

It depends on a lot of things: the person, the environment, and their method of learning.

Really hardcore people who live in Japan and study 5 hours a day (speaking, grammar, vocabulary, and reading) may learn it in a couple of years. People who aren't as serious about it will take much longer than that. But like I said, it depends. Some people will pick it up sooner than others. Those who can write Chinese may pick it up faster.

I've found that the best way to really learn Japanese quickly is to actually live in Japan for several years. I took a summer school crash course before I left for Japan (6 hours a day). Yet I feel that my true education began when I lived there. I think it's important for your eyes to see and for your ears to hear Japanese everyday to learn faster.

When/if you return to the US, the best way to maintain your Japanese is to get a job that forces you to speak it, or you will forget everything. My boyfriend's friend works as a translator/liason for Japanese journalists at Disneyland, so her Japanese is still in tip-top shape.

Answer 2

Quite a long time if you are not surrounded by people who speak the language. As you probably would know that there are three different words in Japanese: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Learning HIragana and Katakana are not that hard, but knowing all the Kanji is quite impossible. Some of the courses that i took even classified the students by how many Kanji words that they knew. Four years of diligent study (not living in Japan) will be enough i think.

However i found a fun way to learn Japanese through manga (comic) and anime (animation). You can find a lot sites that provide free service that provide tons of these things. Reading a lot can improve your vocabulary, while watching a lot can improve your hearing. Plus, they do have good quality in developing stories.

Answer 3

it really depends on whether you are living in japan or not. i have been learning japanese in england for a very long time, but it is very hard to find japanese to practice with, as most are learning english and are reluctant to speak japanese with non-japanese because of this.
in my opinion, if someone is committed, on average they should be able to have a decent conversation about various topics in about a year if they are living in japan.
if not, then it will take much longer. when i was in a japanese class, some of the students were still unable to have a good conversation after over 5 years. (bear in mind that this class was only once a week)
remember that i am talking about the average person; some will take longer, while others will be able to do it much sooner.

Answer 4

If you are living in Japan, you can pick up hirgana and katakana very quickly, even without proper "classes". Maybe a month or so. Kanji is a different story. There are thousands of them, and each one can be read in two or more ways. Some you can pick up because they will be used over and over again. Some you can guess th e meaning of. Some you just have to study. That's what takes the longest. It could take years.

Reading is also a different story. I myself can read a whole lot more kanji than writing them. it has to do with the recognition vs. recall thing in psychology. It's easier to recognize something than it is to try and recall it from your memory and write it down.

Answer 5

A motivated person can learn to read and write all the hiragana dn katakana in one school semester. That same person could learn about 1000 of the joyo kanji in about 3 semesters. Two years intense study and one could communicate decently. After one of intense practice and immersion, could one really become proficient in Japanese.

Answer 6

It really depends on your teacher. I know that when I went to school in Okinawa, Japan, I had an expert Japanese teacher who was fluent in japanese and english. The japanese language will normally be learnt faster than writing because of the similar languages. There is mainly one type of japanese language and with the right teacher, you can be speaking japanese within 1 year.

There are hundreds of different alphabets that Japanese people use. The writing can't all be learnt. Even Japanese people don't know ALL of the alphabet in Japanese culture. The basic writing would take you over a year GUARANTEED.

Answer 7

My son learned Nihonggo in just 3 months. In almost every city here in the Philippines, there are Japanese language schools. It's a thriving business because Filipinos want to work in Japan and Japanese language comprehension is a must.

Answer 8

If you were born in Japan and raised on that langauge, you would be able to read and write by 2-3. But if your talking about a second langauge then maybe 3-4 years to fluently speak and able to write books

Answer 9

If it's your first time learning a language, you're in the West, and learning mostly through regular school hours then, as my teacher says, "it takes five years to learn everything a Spanish 1 student knows".

Answer 10

That's tough! It really depends on the person's commitment and "ear" for sounds. ALL sounds are pronounced in Japanese, but you have to really listen sometimes.

Submersion worked for me. I was sent to a relative who didn't speak English. I was fairly fluent in 6 weeks. Berlitz is supposed to be a good program as well, but it is expensive.

You may be able to check it out at your local library.