Any advanced learners who have ever regreted learning Japanese? Did get your motivation back?

7 comments

1. “Regret” is a strong word, but I went through a pretty decent amount of time not using Japanese for anything and it did feel like a waste. Then covid wandered along and I fell down the vtuber hole and started reading through my Japanese novel backlog that I’d left at my parents’ house, so that worked out alright.

2. Regret isn’t quite it though if someone came to me like “would you recommend that i learn Japanese?” I would say “absolutely not, unless you want to learn this language specifically and didn’t just draw straws.”

   It’s a real slog and it’ll give you a permanent inferiority complex if you ever hear another competent speaker in your vicinity. You could be really good but you’ll always feel terrible.

   Every “nihongo jouzu” comment will feel like a veiled insult.

   And if you can’t afford to move to Japan on your own and must make do outside of it (use it for work, let’s say), prepare to have people talk about it like it’s a piece of cake.

3. Do I wish I had more opportunities to use it? Sure. Do I regret it? Not one bit. I lived in Japan for a couple years as I learned the language, and the people I met, the friends I made, the culture I have learned, and the country I love make it all worth it, even if I never use the language again.

4. No, I was always interested in Japanese, and it has opened many doors for me by knowing it. Think of all the people I would no know, all the movies I would have missed, music I would not understand, and books I would have missed. I do think that if you are going to study Japanese you have to have a motivation to do it, because it is a long haul, but worth it if you get there.

5. Yeah, after I had to quit my master because of their border closure.

   Now that’s well over a year ago but I still don’t feel as motivated as I once did, but I do use/speak the language with some frequency

6. N4 level

   I wouldn’t say I regret learning Japanese per se. I’ll say that I sometimes wish I chose a language that’s a bit more….ubiquitous.

7. Nope. Learned it, used it for my years living in Japan, still use it today for books I want to read without translation.

   I don’t see learning any language, for whatever reason, as negative or worthy of regret. Sometimes it may be more useful than others, but that’s about it.