i’m not getting better at japanese no matter how much i study😭

14 comments

1. Language development takes years. It’s like growing. It goes slow enough that you don’t really notice yourself getting taller.

2. We’re cheering for you! Wherever you feel like quitting, just remember us and know that there are people hoping for your success 🙂

3. My best tip is to try just understand what you can understand. Not my personal tip but just a tip I followed myself and now I’m hearing and noticing more words that I wasn’t able to understand in the past

4. What is ur definition of getting better?

   What is ur goal?

5. What does your study routine look like? How much time are you spending on it every day? Both are important.

   If you’re spending 2 hours every day on beginner apps like Duolingo, you’re not going to improve last the very beginner stages.

   Likewise if you have a solid study plan (Native materials, appropriate amount and quality of Flashcards, a decent guide for grammar, perhaps even a native speaking tutor), but spending 30 minutes every other day, you’re also not going to improve much.

6. Start consuming native content. Get an e-reader and start reading short stories & podcasts.

7. Call it 270 days give or take. How many hours a day? Getting to the “fun” part (depending on what you want to do) could plausibly take 1000±500 hours, and I suspect contributes to a lot of frustration.

   In the mean time, I’d suggest checking out the [Crystal Hunters manga](https://crystalhuntersmanga.com/) since that’s intentionally aimed at beginners.

8. don’t give up just study a lot

9. From what I have seen, it takes polygots (people who learn multiple languages) around 6 months to learn enough Japanese to speak comfortably (so i wouldnt say fluent but pretty good) if they litterally do nonstop japanese. So if you have no prior experience learning languages, have not learn eastern languages, not had any formal teaching, and going to school, its gonna take awhile😂 stick to it bro. And make sure you set good goals. Don’t make the hard to obtain. Having smaller goals makes you feel like you accomplish things.

10. Do you love Japanese?

11. I’ve seen from comment you also have school stress and other stuff. My advice is to not force yourself but focus on your objective. If you enjoy learning japanese, then follow your time. Respect your time, your objectives and the fact that you have other stuff to do. If you want to be consistent, maybe keep a very basic task to do every day (I do WaniKani reviews, not lessons, at the very least for instance. But some very stressful days I skip it, so you do you). I’ve been studying japanese for years (started in Uni super casually without expectations, just for fun), and I think I’m like JLPT5 more or less, I can understand very basic conversation and barely form a sentence. But I still want to try to live in Japan at least for a period of my life in the future.

    What I’m saying is, chill your learning, don’t stress it and don’t be perfectionist or have expectations from you. Define your objectives but remember that you are more important than learning japanese, so my advice is to relax your training. Steady, consistent, enjoyable learning! Ask yourself what drives you and if it’s positive then just stick with it. Language is not a thing easy to measure, but if you do a bit every day, learning new things, you can only improve, it’s just not easy too see it.

12. If your lacking then self discipline to study WaniKani really helps build some. 10/10 recommend it for Kanji learning

13. Other people have given good advice on resources, so I’ll just say this – be realistic. Go easier on yourself and set smaller goals. If you’re dealing with school stress, then piling on more pressure in the form of studying as a hobby is going to do you more harm than good.

    Be realistic about how much you can study each day on top of school, and about how long becoming fluent is going to take – as others have said, becoming fluent (whatever that means to you) takes years for the average person. The people who can pass N1 in six months or whatever are the exception, not the rule. You’ve only been studying since March, and you have school and probably other hobbies and responsibilities which leaves you limited time for studying Japanese. And that’s totally okay!

    Also, “becoming fluent” is kind of a vague goal, and that’s probably why it seems so impossible right now. Why not try breaking that down into smaller milestones? Google “setting SMART goals” for more help on that (might help you with school, too!). For example, you could try aiming for JLPT N5 first.

    Good luck!

14. “Studying hard,” is great, but without a clear plan and program that introduces grammar point, vocabulary, etc at the right times, you may not make much progress.

    There’s a reason people pay money to take classes— someone has come up with a syllabus, lesson plans, etc. that make sense for the level, has clear learning goals and objectives, etc. I’m not saying you have to class, but there’s a reason why many people take classes.

    Look closely at your study plans, not just the amount of time you study a day.