I am a student studying in Japan, and I regret coming here.
Not knowing Japanese really make it difficult to properly live here.
I keep making countless mistakes when doing such a simple task, just because I cannot read the Japanese sign.
It’s really difficult to talk with people without using a translator.
Japanese is very hard to learn.
I am really starting to regret coming here to study.
18 comments
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That’s like any country man. Untill you learn the language, it’s hard. Welcome to the life of an immigrant 😂
I came to Japan around N4/N3 level. It was… challenging to say the least. But after a year of studying hard, it is completely different.
Just take one day at a time, continue to study and youll get there. Its ok to have negative emotions when faced with something difficult. But dont give up!
The good news is that there will never be an easier time in your life to learn Japanese. You’d be surprised how much you can pick up in a couple of weeks of intensive study.
Google Translate camera mode will translate signs.
Oh, and kanji doesn’t get a whole lot easier after you start learning Japanese for a long time
Heavily limit your time online (at least on non-Japanese sites) so that you’re fully immersing yourself in Japanese. Your language skills should improve quickly
What a wonderful lesson. Now, for the rest of your life, you can remember this when people around you are talking crap about foreigners not behaving properly, knowing what they are doing, etc. in your home country.
Empathy attained!
And also, relax. Japanese isn’t so bad. It’ll suck for a while, then it’ll hit a turning point, and you’ll get there. Just hang in there and keep at it. It sucks for everyone at first.
What are you studying and how long will you be here?
You make it sound bad… and maybe I’m a bit old skool but i think what you’re doing is one of the best things you can do for any language learning.
Sink or swim.
If you’re serious about wanting to learn the language and the motivation and/or necessity to learn the language is there, you will pick it up much easier and faster than someone who is just trying to learn it casually. Mistakes along the way are a given. And by mistakes i mean a f*ckton of mistakes lol.
Just don’t expect to go from zero to hero unless you’re a language prodigy. It’s gonna take time and immersion. Try to speak Japanese whenever you can. Don’t overcomplicate things by trying to think of special words or expressions until you can convey basic things effortlessly. Simple is best.
You got this.
Keep it up, all the good things that are worth it will be challenging. A month from now you’ll see improvements in your skills and it’ll give you motivation to keep at it. By this time next year, you won’t be fluent – but you’ll know what’s going on most of the time.
Honestly, in some areas, yes Japanese in really necessary. Especially in the case when it comes to paperwork, but outside of that you can live a really good life here without it.
What I am not saying: Don’t learn Japanese, you are fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
What I am saying: You can get along without it, but it would be so much better if you knew it.
You have the choice to regret or move foward and build on it.
Same here. I’ve been living for nearly 7 years but got N2 3 years ago and stopped learning Japanese since then. When I see a foreigner around me living in Japan for a few years but speaking Japanese much better than me, I feel so ashamed T.T
It’s never too late to learn! I’ve been in Japan 14 years, My Japanese is passable, I can speak conversationally and frankly that’s all I need. If you can learn enough to get by with the daily things, shopping, going to the doctor, etc then that takes a big load of stress off of you.
It gets much better after you get a handle on the language. But you’ll come to find that some things are just harder here because change happens slowly, and things are the way they are “because”
Just two days ago I was watching the morning news on how a government agency makes everyone now wear Hiragana name tags due to a major communications problem, which reminds me of the double-entry in hiragana and katakana I have to do on Internet forms, and how that’s blocked me from making payments because I can never keep track of which credit card has my name as that or romanized.
Japan’s a lovely, wonderful country but it’s not perfect. The communication here in general is not one of their strong points lol
Actually, Japanese is very easy to learn. In comparison to English, Japanese grammar is ridiculously easy to pick up. Once you memorize the pattern it’s all about increasing your vocab.
Memorizing kanji is also not “difficult” it’s just time consuming and annoying.
I never understood the comment “nihongo muzukashiiyone” from jpns ppl.
Anyhow, living here without Japanese is basically hard mode. Will never stop laughing at city hall sending mail with big bold “important notice please read” on the envelope with the contents being in Japanese anyway. Who is that English for.
You’re a student, you’ve got plenty of time. I moved here much later in life, with barely any Japanese. Learning Japanese is *extra* hard when you get older.
> Not knowing Japanese really make it difficult to properly live here.
Yep. So keep learning!
> I keep making countless mistakes when doing such a simple task, just because I cannot read the Japanese sign.
Yep. So don’t take the mistakes so seriously, and just learn from them. I’m constantly making mistakes because I can’t read very well, but I intentionally choose to not let it bother me. It’s totally expected for that to happen, so I’ll just keep studying to make it happen less often.
> It’s really difficult to talk with people without using a translator.
Yep. So keep studying, and keep trying to speak in Japanese even though you make mistakes.
“Ughh I can’t believe that living in a foreign country I might HAVE to learn their language?!”
Like at what point did you not thing “You know what might be useful… Studying the language a a bit before moving here?”
You are in the perfect place to learn. You can do it. Just do a little everyday, and you’ll be surprised how fast you pick it up. What are you passionate about? Anime? Idols? Study the Japanese they speak and you’ll see your level skyrocket. You’ll be fine bro, just enjoy it.
I studied for 3 years before I came here, and after 6 months I hit N3, self study. There are lots of japanese basic and free classes too. Just get a textbook and work through the whole thing. Listen to Japanese music. Watch Japanese TV shows with subtitles. You will immerse yourself and be amazed in a few months by your own progress.
Of course learning Japanese will be the long-term advice, but in the meantime, download Google Translate. With the camera function it should help you with the signs, you can use it for conversations