I’ve never had a problem with learning new things but I am finding learning the written language hard. Is 70 too late to be climbing this mountain? Any suggestions would be welcome.
You’ll see there’s a lot of katakana used, which will more than likely be an English word. It’s a great way of learning Japanese pronunciation.
There is some kanji, but usually fairly simple. Things like 赤 and 白 for ワイン.
If you enjoy the challenge then why not have a go? Your progress will depend more on your cognitive abilities than your chronological age, but you’ll never know if you’re up for it unless you try.
Can’t say this with any amount of certainty, but I believe it’s really never too late to learn anything.
Welcome! It’s not too late at all. Like the others said, written Japanese is hard for _everyone_.
For language learning later in life, [Steve Kaufmann](https://youtu.be/_MEYV9moeck) has a good perspective. He’s 76 and has learned 20 languages, and he has a lot of encouraging things to say about it.
If I paraphrase Xiaomanyc, age doesn’t actually matter that much. Children and adults learn at around the same rate. The difference is Children typically learn languages by being exposed 24/7 to them and thus have automatically more time to learn. Adults on the other hand only have enough time to practice a few hours a day at most. Given the same amount of raw learning time, people learn languages at the same rate at every age.
In summary, you’ll get out what you put in.
Let me be the one who will get burned at the stake for being honest.
Yes, age does matter to a certain extent. Chances are, if you’re 70, your eyesight is not what it used to be (which will make learning Kanji even more challenging), your memory won’t be as good (especially the retrieval aspect of it, which is what you want when you learn a new language), and you probably won’t be as motivated as your younger counterparts.
That being said, there is one advantage of learning a new language at your age: you most likely have more free time than most people, so you could in theory learn more in a year than the average full-time worker.
That being said, age doesn’t matter in the sense that, no matter how old or how young you are, chances are, you will abandon Japanese sooner or later. And that’s okay.
If you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to learn Japanese at 70?
I don’t know why everyone is saying age doesn’t matter, because it does.
it IS harder to learn when you get old, usually this is compensated by experience. It doesn’t mean you should quit or can’t do it. Japanese is also a hard language to learn, because id differs a lot from english and Kanji is hard.
Over the years – we have had many students who study at our school that are in this age bracket.
Just study a few words a day and then scale up – no pressure! Just enjoy the fun.
It’s not too late but it does make it harder. Still, where there’s a will there’s a way.
It’s hard for us at any age. But it CAN be done at any age. That’s part of the fun, the challenge! Go for it and share your experience here. You could teach us younglings a thing or two about learning something new!
Every time someone asks this, I like to link to this article about an award-winning translator of Russian literature who didn’t learn the language until she was 56 and completed her PhD in Russian at age 74. She didn’t just learn Russian; she became one of the best in her field. So, yes, it’s always possible!
No, and there’s a lot of research which shows that adults are better than kids at language learning. Kids just have more free time. You’re never too old.
I would even argue you’d reap the most benefits from that age, especially as far as Alzheimer preventions goes
I’m happy to know there are people older than me learning this. I’m only in my 40’s and finding the language difficult, and I’m only doing a little of the writing.
I would recommend an app called Kanji Study, it has a feature where you can use a stylus on a tablet to practice writing, as well as MANY other useful features for learning kanji and important associated words. Best of luck to you!
It matters but it doesn’t matter that much. Take it easy , do what you enjoy and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Reading is tough but reading novels or things you like is enjoyable, but not essential, nor does it have to be done at speed. I’m 52. I wish I was better and could devote more time to study but I can’t/don’t so that’s just how it is. Good luck!
Japanese is one of the hardest written languages to learn in the world. It has two syllabaries and at minimum 2000 pictographic characters – each of which has multiple readings and potential meanings – to use it in a sense that is considered “Native”, and you need hundreds to even get to a basic understanding; not only that, but it uses loan words from several languages around the world liberally, features a word order that is entirely foreign to English Speakers, particles, and, of course, formal and informal versions of every verb; hell, there are specific counters for specific types of things.
So, uh, no, my dude, you’re just learning Japanese. Welcome to the club and 頑張て
Watch Andrew Huberman, how to learn skills fast. Basically adult brains have less neuroplasticity, but it can still be accessed through short bouts of intense effort. Totally possible still and good luck!!
Definitely not, if you enjoy it keep at it!
Check out Steve Kaufmann on youtube (Canadian from Vancouver). He’s one of the world’s greatest polyglots. He’s in his 70s and says it gets easier with age, in a way.
BTW his Japanese (according to my wife) is flawless, not even an accent, and he can speak in casual up to original with ease. Plus like 15 other languages.
24 comments
never too late to start, welcome
written language is challenging to learn but fun and different from western languages
good luck!
Age is just a number, you can do it my friend!
>I’ve never had a problem with learning new things but I am finding learning the written language hard.
That’s because it **is** hard. For everyone, even the Japanese.
It’s never too late to learn anything! Good luck! 頑張ってね！
I’m not sure what stage you’re at, but for the beginners of reading, get a menu of a Japanese family restaurant. Here’s [Saizeriya’s.](http://book.saizeriya.co.jp/menu2209_j/book/#target/page_no=2)
You’ll see there’s a lot of katakana used, which will more than likely be an English word. It’s a great way of learning Japanese pronunciation.
There is some kanji, but usually fairly simple. Things like 赤 and 白 for ワイン.
If you enjoy the challenge then why not have a go? Your progress will depend more on your cognitive abilities than your chronological age, but you’ll never know if you’re up for it unless you try.
Can’t say this with any amount of certainty, but I believe it’s really never too late to learn anything.
Welcome! It’s not too late at all. Like the others said, written Japanese is hard for _everyone_.
For language learning later in life, [Steve Kaufmann](https://youtu.be/_MEYV9moeck) has a good perspective. He’s 76 and has learned 20 languages, and he has a lot of encouraging things to say about it.
If you want more of a research angle, the book [Becoming Fluent](https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Fluent-Cognitive-Science-Language/dp/0262529807) has some of the hard science. Basically, older people just have different strengths than kids do, and you can use those strengths to your advantage.
If I paraphrase Xiaomanyc, age doesn’t actually matter that much. Children and adults learn at around the same rate. The difference is Children typically learn languages by being exposed 24/7 to them and thus have automatically more time to learn. Adults on the other hand only have enough time to practice a few hours a day at most. Given the same amount of raw learning time, people learn languages at the same rate at every age.
In summary, you’ll get out what you put in.
Let me be the one who will get burned at the stake for being honest.
Yes, age does matter to a certain extent. Chances are, if you’re 70, your eyesight is not what it used to be (which will make learning Kanji even more challenging), your memory won’t be as good (especially the retrieval aspect of it, which is what you want when you learn a new language), and you probably won’t be as motivated as your younger counterparts.
That being said, there is one advantage of learning a new language at your age: you most likely have more free time than most people, so you could in theory learn more in a year than the average full-time worker.
That being said, age doesn’t matter in the sense that, no matter how old or how young you are, chances are, you will abandon Japanese sooner or later. And that’s okay.
If you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to learn Japanese at 70?
I don’t know why everyone is saying age doesn’t matter, because it does.
it IS harder to learn when you get old, usually this is compensated by experience. It doesn’t mean you should quit or can’t do it.
Japanese is also a hard language to learn, because id differs a lot from english and Kanji is hard.
Over the years – we have had many students who study at our school that are in this age bracket.
Just study a few words a day and then scale up – no pressure! Just enjoy the fun.
It’s not too late but it does make it harder. Still, where there’s a will there’s a way.
It’s hard for us at any age. But it CAN be done at any age. That’s part of the fun, the challenge! Go for it and share your experience here. You could teach us younglings a thing or two about learning something new!
Every time someone asks this, I like to link to this article about an award-winning translator of Russian literature who didn’t learn the language until she was 56 and completed her PhD in Russian at age 74. She didn’t just learn Russian; she became one of the best in her field. So, yes, it’s always possible!
https://www.rbth.com/arts/literature/2016/04/22/learning-russian-has-given-me-a-whole-new-life_587093
No, and there’s a lot of research which shows that adults are better than kids at language learning. Kids just have more free time. You’re never too old.
I would even argue you’d reap the most benefits from that age, especially as far as Alzheimer preventions goes
I’m happy to know there are people older than me learning this. I’m only in my 40’s and finding the language difficult, and I’m only doing a little of the writing.
I would recommend an app called Kanji Study, it has a feature where you can use a stylus on a tablet to practice writing, as well as MANY other useful features for learning kanji and important associated words. Best of luck to you!
It matters but it doesn’t matter that much. Take it easy , do what you enjoy and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Reading is tough but reading novels or things you like is enjoyable, but not essential, nor does it have to be done at speed. I’m 52. I wish I was better and could devote more time to study but I can’t/don’t so that’s just how it is.
Good luck!
Japanese is one of the hardest written languages to learn in the world. It has two syllabaries and at minimum 2000 pictographic characters – each of which has multiple readings and potential meanings – to use it in a sense that is considered “Native”, and you need hundreds to even get to a basic understanding; not only that, but it uses loan words from several languages around the world liberally, features a word order that is entirely foreign to English Speakers, particles, and, of course, formal and informal versions of every verb; hell, there are specific counters for specific types of things.
So, uh, no, my dude, you’re just learning Japanese. Welcome to the club and 頑張て
Watch Andrew Huberman, how to learn skills fast. Basically adult brains have less neuroplasticity, but it can still be accessed through short bouts of intense effort. Totally possible still and good luck!!
Definitely not, if you enjoy it keep at it!
Check out Steve Kaufmann on youtube (Canadian from Vancouver). He’s one of the world’s greatest polyglots. He’s in his 70s and says it gets easier with age, in a way.
BTW his Japanese (according to my wife) is flawless, not even an accent, and he can speak in casual up to original with ease. Plus like 15 other languages.
He will inspire you!