A week or so, I saw other people saying they learned hiragana in a week or even 2 days so I am really trying to figure out whrre im going wrong
The fact that you want to learn in it 2 days is nice, but haste isn't the solution here. You shouldn't rush in. Youre building a lifelong skill. Hiragana is the foundation of the Japanese language. And if the foundation is not well remembered, If you speed through it and barely remember half the characters then you will not be able to read the readings of the kanji. Think of it as like staircase, normally people walk with one step and if you rush in and gotta go somewhere you take 2-3 steps, just in case anything happens, you trip and fall and hence you damage yourself. If you remember everything in 2 days and take a break; then after a week, try asking that do I remember the characters? Learning isn’t a race. It's the progress of honing your skills and enjoying it. Good luck!
I had some exposure to Japanese then, but I didn't learn the language. That would still be to my advantage a bit. I was just doing fun stuff, like sailing boats. I also got some training in what would eventually turn into a career for me, and even at that, I was dabbling in a bunch of things as I got older. It's a lot to take in at once.
By the time I decided to try Japanese, I was on/off and then off for a long hiatus and eventually got back into it. By then I could just read hiragana and katakana without a lick of meaning. So that was the next step.
I'm just easing into it, but no guidance. At one point not too long ago, I figured out the basic verb and adjective conjugations on my own. But even then I didn't get it right away. I had nagging questions because I saw some inconsistencies until I finally came around and accepted reality. Then I had a moment of clarity. It takes some acclimation.
So all I do now so far is just some basic stuff. Drills until the concept starts to form. It's ok not to get it right away. Sometimes I forget more than I've learned. You have more time.
Seeing as I began learning Japanese at 12, your age is not a problem at all! You just might have to change your study habits or find new ways to reinforce what you've been learning. My biggest piece of advice from someone who's been learning for nearly 20 years? Find something you already love doing and find Japanese versions of that! Back when I first started out, I used a hand-me-down kana book and song lyrics from anime OPs to practice hiragana and katakana. I was lucky that my high school offered Japanese classes, but I also played games, listened to songs, and read manga/watched anime in Japanese. So if you're into video games, change the language settings or watch a let's play (実況). If it's TV shows, watch a J drama or even a Japanese language dub of your favorite show if it's available. If it's books, then look into tadoku reading for your level, or find a Japanese copy of a book you love and use that to get comfortable with the language.
Also, remember that learning is lifelong, and you will always encounter something that makes you feel dumb. Goodness knows I still feel like an idiot in Japanese sometimes, and I use it for work every day! What matters is finding creative strategies to overcome whatever obstacle you're facing. As long as you persist, it'll come to you.
thank u (and all of the rest of the people on this thread) for the advice!! also, is it too personal to ask how you started out studying? i kind of need a schedule since idk what im doing (mostly just trying to absorb stuff thats in genki and the study schedules here)
np!! i love spreading knowledge!
and well it depends on what you want out of studying japanese. me personally though, i wanted to naturalize the language, so i mostly use renshuu just for the kanji/word vocab quizzes. to start though, i'd recommend learning hiragana first and trying to write with the characters on your own, maybe learning a couple of words too! the n5 stuff here is definetely a decent starting point for vocab and grammar, but there are plenty of other good sources online, they just dont guide you as much as renshuu does imo.
i'd also recommend that you find other places to learn from while you do so too, like consuming any form of japanese media (music, film, anime, youtube content, books, articles, etc.) or even some youtube channels that teach japanese (Kaname Naito being a personal favorite of mine), or just anything you find enjoyable really.
I started english at around 10 at school (didn't have a choice at that time). I would have loved to start japanese at that age. And even for english. I never studied english properly at school because I was forced to do it (even until university). But it would have so much better if I did that more seriously.
Seriously, don't worry about the struggling. It's just part of the process for everyone. And don't worry about the result too. Big, visible result don't come easily when you learn a language. It's not that you don't make any progress. But there will be probably not a lot of things that will make feel truly "satisfied".
So, yeah, don't worry. If you don't give up, you will not regret it.
Perfect!! I was learning some Japanese when I was 15, watching anime and stuff... but I was too lazy to actually give it a go! *cries*
Adult bain is so stubborn!!!
I swear, if it wasn't for my teen brain to gather some knowledge (the foundation I had to help me start) I would of probably never even tried learning the language!
No idea, why I hesitated for so long!! I kinda regret it ... ↑Whatever you do, don't do that!
Don‘t worry about your age. You have plenty of time to learn.
Don‘t worry about other peoples progress. Go your own way and take the time you need.
Take one step after another. Since it is a life long learning progress anyway (languages always change - look at you native language: your vocab is different than your grandparents vocab, right? Same goes for other languages) no need to presure your self.
Stay consistent, do something fun in japanese each day.
When I was your age I also startet, but did not know how to learn. Just whatched the Wedding Peach Opening (on VHS) and listend to the singer and trying to figure out how each Symbol (Hiragana) on the TV sounded. After this I stoped, because of lack of sources back in the time. 5 Years later had a class with japanese students once a week. We startet with Hiragana and Katakana again (+N5, grammar and vocab) But the students went back to Japan…. At least now I had a book to study, but not much vocab wanted to stay in my brain and University started. And I had to drop again. Than 10 years later (yes I am old) startet again from Hiragana up to N5 with a teacher and still going since than (okay sometimes we pause in between classes for 3 month, Corona and family stuff). That‘s why I am only at N4 (class starts again mid September).
In contrast in october 2020 I (same time as Japanese) started to learn Korean with more consintency (than Japanese) and I will be starting B2 level (beginn of september) the only dIffernce is, that this teacher really helps us to stay consitent. Next to our normal class, we can book extra classes with her, that I sometimes use (even if the normal class is paused for month, because of school holidays).
We learn slowly, but it does not matter. Just have fun with the language. You can do it!
My advice: you have a book, follow this book and look up the same grammar point on YouTube and/or other websites to get a different view on the same topic. And it is totally fine if you look up the same grammar point again and again. Even month later. It happens. But for now:
