ive been “”learning”” japanese for about a year or so (doing like 10 minutes of anki every month bc im demotivated) and i cant remember the kanji at all. learning is not fun in any way and im only really doing this because i have a trip to japan in a few years. i feel like giving up.
18 comments
Learning the kanji and Japanese in general takes thousands of hours. According to some estimates 4k hours and more.
If you aren’t planning to put in a substantial amount of time maybe find something else you’d rather do.
give up!
don’t feel bad about it!
come back whenever you want or not at all!
japan is pretty great for English speakers in general and technology available on your phone will get you through it all!
have fun in Japan!
10 minutes of Anki a month!? No wonder you can’t remember anything.
I don’t know why some people seem to require permission from others on things like this, but … Yes, if you’re really not interested in learning Japanese then give up. Plenty of people visit Japan without knowing the language.
It sounds like you already have, what other learning methods have you tried?
Plenty of people travel countries without a language, Japan included
Plus if you’re at least moderately proficient with English, Tokyo especially there’s English everywhere
I don’t even use Japanese unless the person I’m talking to is noticeably struggling or if they start the conversation in Japanese, both of which is rare in areas/stores with any amount of tourism
I’ll get ripped to shreds on this but whatever.
Anki is boring (for some people, me being one).
Why did you want to learn in the first place? If that want and reason is still there, keep going, but just find a new approach.
I used textbooks for years but didn’t get anywhere until I got a tutor to work through them with, and as my confidence grew I’d learn in different ways.
Actually I didn’t even look at properly at kanji until a year in. Maybe that’s a bad thing to do but I struggle with memorisation through flashcards and such, so after a year I felt more confident in the vocabulary and had an easier time picking up kanji with context.
Make it fun for yourself and something you want to do. Who cares if its the approved way!~
Give up? You should start learning. Anki is going to do nothing for you if you don’t practice the language.
Start writing a diary or reading jokes or giving discourses to your pet or explaining what you’re doing while in the kitchen or talking to someone on the internet. You didn’t learn English by looking at anki; the flashcards only helped you a little.
Take a break, give up, try a new method. All are options for you.
You can get by in Japan with English, google translate, and knowing how to say hello, excuse me, and thank you.
Anki is not for everyone, so if you want to truly keep trying, switch it up. Duolingo is dumped on here, but hell, if you try it and like it, run with it. Pimsleur is great for learning some phrases without reading, writing, or interacting with a screen. Go through the videos of Cure Dolly on youtube. Grab Genki I 2nd edition and start going through the series with ToKini Andy on youtube.
There are so many options that you can try if your mind/heart is really set on it. Otherwise, relax, and just know that you will still enjoy your trip if you don’t know Japanese.
Just quit. It takes thousands of hours to get anywhere with this language and if you don’t have the drive to put in the time you’re going to be miserable. Find something else to do with your time and chalk this up as a learning experience.
Unless you’re going strictly to places foreigners are not catered to one single bit, you can totally get away with not knowing any Japanese at all. You won’t be making friends with locals that way, but one way or another, you almost certainly don’t need any Japanese skills for your trip.
You can always pick it up again later if you need a break, it shouldn’t be a chore and the japanese language isn’t going anywhere lol. If it helps, I struggled with kanji too and then one day it just suddenly ‘clicked’ in my head. You might need to be in the right headspace, it doesn’t seem like you are right now but that doesn’t mean you won’t be later.
Wanikani bro all you need for kanji reading fluency
You gave up long time ago (i.e. 10 minutes a month).
You explained why you dont know anything in your first sentence
Forget kanji. Get a decent textbook. Learn the grammar and words as you go and add in anything else you find interesting along the way. Who needs intense, high pressure learning for a trip? A phrase book might be a better option.
Traveling to Japan with only English is actually pretty easy. Plenty of English signage and people at hotels and such will speak decent English. Google Translate through your camera can be helpful too. If you are only managing to study 10 minutes a month you might as well give up.
You’re not even doing what I’d call learning Japanese, you clearly take displeasure in practicing, and you said it’s only for your Japan holiday. I’m assuming you will be going to the cosmopolitan cities Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, and maybe Yokohama. You can function as a tourist just fine with English in these popular destinations; much of these economies are built in part by tourism. No one in these cities will expect you to know much Japanese, if any at all.
I could write an entire text of why you should stop or why you should continue, but just lookup sunk cost fallacy as this is basically all you need to make your decision 😉