Does your brain still think in English during conversations? Good steps to start thinking in Japanese

During Japanese conversations, if you translate everything through your English-speaking brain first, then you’re wasting a ton of mental energy and probably slowing the pace of the conversation way down.

What if you didn’t have this English-speaking filter at all, and Japanese words & sentences came to mind naturally like a native speaker?

I found three useful tips recently that Japanese students can implement to kick the “English-speaking brain” syndrome:

**(1)** **Look around yourself, and name everything you see in Japanese.**

Most conversations are based on someone’s day-to-day environment. So it makes sense that being able to name **every item** around you makes conversations easier.

However, a surprising number of Japanese students can’t do this. This included me, the first time I heard about it. Apps and textbooks use very general vocab, so it’s no wonder that people spend months or years studying them but still can’t hold a conversation.

When looking up new vocab, I particularly like [jisho.org](https://jisho.org) and Hinative. Some beginners also find it helpful to put sticky notes on their belongings, to commit these words to memory!

**(2)** **Use these words in basic sentences.**

Now we practice pairing words from Step 1 with verbs & adjectives. The alternative is just blurting out strings of nouns like a caveman.

(All sentences are in kana-only, since this is beginner-friendly advice.) コーヒーをのみます。 I drink coffee. スマホをもっています。 I’m holding my smartphone. このパソコンはあたらしいです。 This computer is new. わたしのプリンタはこわれています。 My printer is broken.

Here also, Hinative and similar websites are an excellent resource to check your translations.

If you’re still learning to form sentences with verbs and adjectives, then keep at it! Verb & adjective conjugations are required for smooth conversations.

**(3)** **Narrate your life in Japanese.**

Now we put everything together with more advanced grammar. If you want to talk about yourself in Japanese conversations, then you have to start doing it on your own!

スマホでどうがをみています。 I’m watching a video on my phone. きょうはあさしちじにおきて、コーヒーをのみながらしんぶんをよんでいます。 I woke up at 7:00am today and I’m reading the newspaper while having a cup of coffee. きょうははれだから、いぬをさんぽにつれていきました。 The weather is sunny today so I took my dog for a walk.

This step grows your Japanese brain not just with vocab, but also particles, sentence structure, conjunctions, and more.

You’ll probably need to spend some time online researching how best to phrase certain ideas, if you don’t have a Japanese expert you can ask.

The more specific you want to be, the more difficult the sentences become! Japanese conversations are a skill, so growing your Japanese brain takes repeated practice. Stay consistent, and work with sentences that are comfortable for your current skill level. If you’re still stuck running everything you want to say in Japanese through your English-speaking brain, practicing with these steps can help break the habit.