About one month ago, I wanted to pick up a new language, because I had a sudden interest of languages. So, I thought about what languages I could learn, and after brainstorming, I decided to stick to Japanese. Why? Because I thought it was a beautiful language and I wanted to visit Japan someday. But now that I’m fully immersed in it, it’s not as nice as I thought it would be. I used to study Japanese whenever I felt bored, but now, it‘s probably the last thing I would choose to do. I don’t know if I just need some motivation, or learning Japanese (or any language) isn’t for me.
10 comments
Honeymoon is over.
Now you have a tough question.
Do you want to live a life of quiet discipline studying and immersing in a difficult language from a conservative Asian country?
Personally I think you should join us in studying unless you have something better to do.
I’ll just say this: most learners of Japanese, probably 80% or more, end up giving up before becoming fluent. The difference seems to be that you are willing to cut your losses while you’re still early.
In order to learn and master Japanese, you’ll need three things above all else: 1) time; 2) motivation; 3) a high tolerance for repetition.
If you don’t have those three things, my advice would be to go learn something else. Japanese is not an easy language for Native English speakers.
Hi SAKURA
日本に来たことはありますか？
I always wonder what people mean by *beautiful language*; I mean, how does a language by itself gain such attribute? Simply curious.
I might find a specific aspect of the language to be [insert description] – for example I find creative Chinese fonts fascinating, or cursive Cyrillic alphabet a headache, but I don’t quite get how one word can summarize a language. Except generic “cool” or stuff like that.
drop it. there are so many languages in this world that it makes no sense to stick to the one you dont like
I think you’ve answered your own question.
Stop trying. You started on a whim. You lack a significant motivator to keep you going.
If it’s only been a month and you’re already giving up then it’s probably not right for you, it typically takes 4-5 years to reach a basic fluency level studying for 1-2 hours a days. You could learn quicker, but it would require more time and the ability to be able to cram so much into your brain at once and remember it.
If you’re interested in picking up another language, then maybe start with something closer to the language(s) you know. If you’re really stuck on the idea of learning Japanese, then you need find the motivation first and accept how long it will take to learn. You might consider finding a teacher or a class (that helps to keep me motivated).
Not that learning a language is not for you necessarily…..people here are a bit harsh….. but Japanese indeed is a hard language to learn…..
​
My recommendation is to pick a language that closely resembles your native language…..if you only speak English…maybe learn Spanish….or French….Japanese is one of the hardest languages, category 4 out of 4 (next to Chinese, Korean, and Arabic) an English native could ever choose to learn….it requires massive amounts of dedication otherwise you get nowhere…but if you pick another language you might have better luck…look at the level 1 category on [this site](https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/) for easy languages….
​
Once you open the site, search for “Category I” to have an easier time finding the category 🙂
If you already have doubts after just one month, then just quit. If you dont have any real reason to learn a language then you will stop sooner or later.
Just because you think a language is beautiful or you want to stay in japan for 1 week doesnt cut it.