oh, i should also mention, I’ll be arriving in the country in about 3-4 weeks!
I got Busuu and started 3 weeks ago doing lessons. I’m doing it pretty intensivly and I’m practing kana on the side and listening to podcast for immersion.
I would say I do around 2-3 hours of japanese per day. I’m still far from being fluent but I can clearly see some progress. I can read Hiragana and Katakana (slowly), I understand numbers, can ask for prices and direction… some basic stuff and I probably sound like a todler when speaking 🙂
I not at a point where I can understand two japanese people talking to each other… but I might catch a word or two.
I highly recommand Busuu if you are dedicated enough to push through your lessons.
It’s probably easier to just speak english. People study for 2 years and still have trouble understanding locals speaking japanese at their natural speed. You need a lot of listening practice.
Learning hiragana and katakana is always a good idea so you have access to basic learning materials for basic sentences. It doesn’t take long and isn’t as daunting as it may seem. Also, youtube is littered with videos about “Japanese for tourists.” The sidebar of the sub is also your best friend for beginners resources.
For a three-weeks trip, knowing how to order food and/or ask for English menus, how to shop at a conbini, Starbucks and at stores in general, check in/out at your hotel, asking whether stores accept credit card, or whether someone can understand English is often more than enough when you’re mainly around the large cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. That’s something you can absolutely get down in roughly 1 weeks if you ask me.
He has both English and Japanese subtitles (that’s where hiragana and katakana come in handy) and posts useful, day to day conversations with cashiers, waiters etc.
I’ll be honest with you that I can absolutely not gauge how overwhelming his videos might be when you’re a total beginner; I discovered his channel when I was at lower intermediate level and found it really interesting and helpful.
Regardless though, it’ll give you a good impression what awaits you when you interact in shops, cafes and restaurants.
Enjoy your trip!
See if your local library gives you free access to the Mango Languages app, it skips kanji and focuses on building simple travel-related phrases into more extensive ones.
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oh, i should also mention, I’ll be arriving in the country in about 3-4 weeks!
I got Busuu and started 3 weeks ago doing lessons. I’m doing it pretty intensivly and I’m practing kana on the side and listening to podcast for immersion.
I would say I do around 2-3 hours of japanese per day. I’m still far from being fluent but I can clearly see some progress. I can read Hiragana and Katakana (slowly), I understand numbers, can ask for prices and direction… some basic stuff and I probably sound like a todler when speaking 🙂
I not at a point where I can understand two japanese people talking to each other… but I might catch a word or two.
I highly recommand Busuu if you are dedicated enough to push through your lessons.
It’s probably easier to just speak english. People study for 2 years and still have trouble understanding locals speaking japanese at their natural speed. You need a lot of listening practice.
Learning hiragana and katakana is always a good idea so you have access to basic learning materials for basic sentences. It doesn’t take long and isn’t as daunting as it may seem. Also, youtube is littered with videos about “Japanese for tourists.” The sidebar of the sub is also your best friend for beginners resources.
For a three-weeks trip, knowing how to order food and/or ask for English menus, how to shop at a conbini, Starbucks and at stores in general, check in/out at your hotel, asking whether stores accept credit card, or whether someone can understand English is often more than enough when you’re mainly around the large cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. That’s something you can absolutely get down in roughly 1 weeks if you ask me.
If you want to dive a little deeper, I can actually recommend the “files” series by [もしもしゆうすけ](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLywPkWlgX6ihrSDqaKA6otJbqSrMgTSN2) on youtube.
He has both English and Japanese subtitles (that’s where hiragana and katakana come
in handy) and posts useful, day to day conversations with cashiers, waiters etc.
I’ll be honest with you that I can absolutely not gauge how overwhelming his videos might be when you’re a total beginner; I discovered his channel when I was at lower intermediate level and found it really interesting and helpful.
Regardless though, it’ll give you a good impression what awaits you when you interact in shops, cafes and restaurants.
Enjoy your trip!
See if your local library gives you free access to the Mango Languages app, it skips kanji and focuses on building simple travel-related phrases into more extensive ones.