I always thought that starting was the most difficult part of learning a language. It turns out that the more difficult part was knowing where to go from being an absolute beginner.
Just for context, I started learning Japanese last year. I self-studied through YouTube courses and textbooks (Japanese from Zero and TokiniAndy’s Genki I course). I took a placement exam for an N4 class and I passed — which means I’m qualified to enroll in it.
However, I do not really want to enroll in a Japanese class as I prefer to self-study. I can read N5 level graded readers and I can understand a few sentences here and there. But my confidence to push through is not there at all. I wanna go ahead and begin Genki II, but I have this need to master N5 first.
It takes me a while to read and I constantly need to search what a Kanji or word means even though I know what it should mean.
Is it really necessary for one to know all the N5 vocabulary and Kanji before going into N4? Or will I eventually master N5 level Japanese as I continue on my journey?
Feel free to share your thoughts.
3 comments
If you find yourself consistantly failing at n5 grammar you should probably restudy n5. Kanji and vocabulary will reinforce as you go.
Since you’re self studying, if you’re having trouble with N5 graded readers, there’s nothing forcing you to move onto N4 ones. You can learn new grammar points from Genki II while reviewing Genki I material. Something else to consider is that you’re going to be reviewing a lot of N5 content by way of studying new N4 content. It’s foundational stuff and it’s not going anywhere. Additionally, there’s no shame in having strong points and weak points, pretty sure everyone here has them and they change over time too. For instance, I over-studied vocab for a while and neglected grammar, so sometimes I have to go back and really think about basics while reading native material. It’s all just part of the experience.
You can go at your own pace. If you continue you will eventually learn all n5 and n4 stuff. Most of the words are quite basic. You might wanna do a blitz recap at some point just to check if you missed anything Important, especially in the grammar section.
Edit(but if you are struggling with specific words I would recommend loading them into anki so they stick better)