I want to learn Japanese, what should i do next?

Question

i've learned the Katakana and Hiragana alphabets and i know the pronunciation of japanese words and i wonder what i should do next? if you know any sites please tell me....that would be very helpful.

Why do Japanese use Kanji too? i find it very hard because they mix up katakana,hiragana and kanji in daily speaking. Which alphabet is most used?

Answer 1

kanji is ideogram.
hiragana and kanji are phonogram.

each kanji has own meaning.
japanese can understand meaning of sentence at a single glance. because of kanji. if there are no kanji in sentence, we need much time to read. and kinda childish.
i cant judge which alphabet is most used. probably hiragana.
because conjunctions and particles are hiragana. and japanese use hiragana for some difficult words instead of kanji. because some japanese dont understand difficult kanji too.
anyway, you better learn kanji. my son is doing same thing everyday.
you learn 5 kanji every day. and check next day you memorized or not.
if you memorized 2 kanji, you can add new 2 kanji.
kanji for 1st grader are very easy to master.
try it !

http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/
http://www.japanesepod101.com/
http://www.freejapaneselessons.com/lesson01.cfm

Answer 2

Go to http://japanese.about.com/
That has loads of useful stuff.
But buy some books too - the internet can't teach you everything!

As for your other question, kanji replaces many hiragana words.
Like we have the word no, and know; both have the same pronunciation, but different spelling, so we know the meaning upon looking at the word. This is why they use kanji.
Katakana, as I'm sure you know, is used for loan words, and hiragana mainly used for particals. I would say each alphabet is used about the same, you cannot make a complex japanese sentance without hiragana, and as a lot of items are spelt with katakana, e.g terebi (Telivision)

rounded up, japanese learn 2000 kanji in school, plus about 200 more for names.

Answer 3

If you already know hiragana and katakana, the next step is kanji. There is no avoiding it if you want to learn Japanese. Please note that katakana, hiragana and kanji are NOT alphabets. The first two are syllabaries. Kanji are characters or ideograms. All three are used in everyday Japanese writing. Get yourself a book or go to one of the many Web sites offering lessons, and keep working.

Answer 4

If there is a class at a university near by that would be the best option. If not see if you can find the Yookoso book and workbook by Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku. It's a great book that I used in School.

As for the use of Kanji, it is the most used and i cannot explain why sorry. Katakana and Hiragana are used in teaching children and Katakana is also used for spelling out foreign words. I wish you luck.

Answer 5

Visit Japan!

Answer 6

Look for Japanese friend and practice all your Japanese language, they can help.

Answer 7

Marry a japenese guy.

Answer 8

buy a katana or a samurai suit

Answer 9

move to japan