How to learn Japanese well in the shortest time? 

Japanese can be a tough language to get into. Not because it’s a hard language to learn, necessarily, but because there are a bunch of mental barriers and misconceptions. Japanese has a reputation for being hard to learn.

So finally you decided to learn Japanese?

Congrats! But this is not enough. You bought a textbook for yourself to learn or join an online Japanese class.

Everyone knows that Japanese is hard to learn. You not only want to learn Japanese but you want to learn Japanese well in the shortest time.

Ahh don’t worry, learning any language takes time. And there is no fast track to real fluency. But the good thing is you can learn Japanese well in a short time.

In this blog, we will look at the 10 hacks that will help you to learn Japanese well in the shortest time.

1. Learn The Most Common Words First

Well, if you want to learn Japanese fast – just don’t bother! The language police aren’t going to come after you for not learning every single word in the dictionary!

Instead, it makes sense to focus on the most useful words.

Learn the words that actually come up the most in everyday conversation, and you’ll be on the fast track to being able to communicate in Japanese.

2. Make Use Of Japanese Words You Already Know

On the topic of learning vocabulary in a smart way, did you know that a lot of Japanese words actually come from English?

There are hundreds, if not thousands of Japanese words that are borrowed from English. So if you learn to recognise and make use of these words, you’ll automatically have a huge vocabulary!

3. Identify Your Goal – And FOCUS

Take a few minutes to think about why you’re actually learning Japanese. What specific goal do you hope to achieve?

• Do you need to know conversational Japanese to communicate with your new girlfriend’s family?
• Do you want to apply to a Japanese university?
• Do you need to know Japanese for work?

Then think about which aspects of Japanese you need to prioritise in order to reach your goal.

4. Listen, Listen, Listen

Play something Japanese all the time. ALL the time.

Music, radio, movies, it doesn’t matter – but Japanese should be the new soundtrack to your life.

Lots of listening to authentic Japanese can really improve your pronunciation and intonation. Plus, it will help reinforce new vocabulary and grammar points that you’ve studied.

5. Use Dead Time

Learning Japanese shouldn’t be something that happens once a week in a classroom. If you want to learn Japanese fast, you need to study as much as possible. And if you don’t have time to study, you need to make time.

6. Swap Out Your Everyday Habits With Japanese Ones

If you’re serious about learning Japanese fast, you need to make some drastic changes. The good news is, you don’t have to change up your lifestyle – just switch out the language!

7. Use Mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory devices that help you remember something. A mnemonic could be a story, picture, or even a song! They don’t work for everybody, but if mnemonics work for you, this can be a super powerful way to learn a language fast.

8. Stop Being A Perfectionist

When you want to learn Japanese fast, you simply can’t be a perfectionist.

For a start, if you’re aiming to learn a language in record time, you can’t aim for perfection. You have to aim for passable communication, or whatever goal you set in step 1. It’s much more achievable and you’ll get there faster.

9. Speak As Much As Possible

Speaking is great for fast learning because it forces you to THINK!

You can’t just coast by passively when you’re having a one-on-one conversation with someone. When you are actively using the language for yourself, you’ll learn twice as fast – and remember things better too.

It’s important to get as much speaking practice as possible, right from the beginning.

10. Think In Japanese

Still haven’t got anyone to practise speaking with? Speak to yourself! Get in the habit of narrating your day to yourself in Japanese. If you’re in public, do this in your head. 

Training yourself to think/speak to yourself in Japanese is a great way to squeeze as much Japanese as possible into your day and review what you’ve been learning. You can do this right from the beginning of your studies, even if it’s just naming things around the house or describing your dinner.

So what do you think about these hacks? If you also know some hacks then share them with us. And most importantly, if you use these hacks, I bet you will learn Japanese in the shortest time. 

Also if you want to learn through online classes, I recommend you to join Multibhashi, one of the best online language learning apps. 

You can enrol now. Click here.