I speak English natively and did 3 years of German in college. I would say around year 22 I began to dream and sometimes think in German, once I got conversationally proficient. I wonder when others have hit this point, if at all?
When I lived in Japan this happened sometimes. Not really ever before or since.
I haven’t dreamed in Japanese yet and I’ve been studying off and on for a while (though I also don’t dream very often), but I generally think in Japanese while in the context of Japanese and have done so since the beginning. My brain is just decent at finding the translation and filing it away without needing to reference it specifically (this is, of course, once I get a grasp on the word. If I’m trying to remember it, I’m like “oh shit what’s that word again”). People in my college class seemed to think that was weird and it did make me pretty shitty at translation assignments
1.5 years of studying so far and don’t really think in Japanese yet. As for dreaming, I don’t think I ever utilize language, even in English. Rather it is more like completely visuals or feelings. Is that strange lol? Tbh I forget like 99% of my dreams anyways lamo.
I sometimes think in Japanese, learned for 2 years, but just simples phrases.
I think in total I’ve only had 3 dreams in Japanese. Passed N1 two years ago and lived in Japan for almost 8 years up until last year. The first time was probably around my third or fourth year into my life and studies in Japan.
When it comes to thinking in Japanese, I don’t even know. I studied Japanese with people who pretty much only spoke Japanese and I’ve been speaking to myself in Japanese from day one. My main teacher (1hr per week) used English in the beginning. Minna no Nihongo 1. But I went to LOTS of lessons done by Japanese volunteers who only spoke Japanese to me. I moved to Japan with basically zero Japanese and learnt it all there by obviously studying with text books, but also by speaking to natives and copying them. I think once I hit the fourth year that’s when everything clicked for me and that’s probably when I started thinking in Japanese.
As for dreaming – 6months, right before taking my N3. It was all gibberish tho not sure if it was real japanese lol I didnt understand a single thing.
When I was living in Japan I had dreams in Japanesse within a year, I tend to think in Japanese when speaking Japanese, which also probably happened within a year, but I was studying abroad in Japan.
Immediately. Not fluent, or even close, of course, but as soon as I start learning a language I start thinking with what I _do_ know, no matter how small it is.
i’ve only been learning for about 4 months, but i already have simple dreams in japanese. not full blown conversations, but im reading signs in kanji & getting directions around a city. i lucid dream, so that may be different than most, but studying for 8 hours a day every single day for 4 months will do it to ya.
For dreaming After 5-6 months living on exchange. Recently got back into practicing the last couple years (after about 10 yrs) and it happens now if I watch a lot of tv in Japanese. Funny story about 10 months after my exchange I went to a party (was still in HS) and blacked out for the first and really only time. When I was taken home my mom was helping to my room and apparently I kept telling things out in Japanese.
Dreaming came nearly right away. Maybe a few months from the beginning for the first Japanese dream i can remember. It doesn’t indicate skill, though, it’s only the tetris effect, and you do increase its likelihood by spending more time consuming Japanese in a day.
dreaming? first day I was like これは何ですか
thinking in JP? Nope
1 year in. I still remember I said to a friend 時々しちゃえばいい. No idea what that meant at the time, or what the context was but I was excited about it lol
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When I lived in Japan this happened sometimes. Not really ever before or since.
I haven’t dreamed in Japanese yet and I’ve been studying off and on for a while (though I also don’t dream very often), but I generally think in Japanese while in the context of Japanese and have done so since the beginning. My brain is just decent at finding the translation and filing it away without needing to reference it specifically (this is, of course, once I get a grasp on the word. If I’m trying to remember it, I’m like “oh shit what’s that word again”). People in my college class seemed to think that was weird and it did make me pretty shitty at translation assignments
1.5 years of studying so far and don’t really think in Japanese yet. As for dreaming, I don’t think I ever utilize language, even in English. Rather it is more like completely visuals or feelings. Is that strange lol? Tbh I forget like 99% of my dreams anyways lamo.
I sometimes think in Japanese, learned for 2 years, but just simples phrases.
I think in total I’ve only had 3 dreams in Japanese. Passed N1 two years ago and lived in Japan for almost 8 years up until last year. The first time was probably around my third or fourth year into my life and studies in Japan.
When it comes to thinking in Japanese, I don’t even know. I studied Japanese with people who pretty much only spoke Japanese and I’ve been speaking to myself in Japanese from day one. My main teacher (1hr per week) used English in the beginning. Minna no Nihongo 1. But I went to LOTS of lessons done by Japanese volunteers who only spoke Japanese to me. I moved to Japan with basically zero Japanese and learnt it all there by obviously studying with text books, but also by speaking to natives and copying them. I think once I hit the fourth year that’s when everything clicked for me and that’s probably when I started thinking in Japanese.
As for dreaming – 6months, right before taking my N3. It was all gibberish tho not sure if it was real japanese lol I didnt understand a single thing.
When I was living in Japan I had dreams in Japanesse within a year, I tend to think in Japanese when speaking Japanese, which also probably happened within a year, but I was studying abroad in Japan.
Immediately. Not fluent, or even close, of course, but as soon as I start learning a language I start thinking with what I _do_ know, no matter how small it is.
i’ve only been learning for about 4 months, but i already have simple dreams in japanese. not full blown conversations, but im reading signs in kanji & getting directions around a city. i lucid dream, so that may be different than most, but studying for 8 hours a day every single day for 4 months will do it to ya.
For dreaming After 5-6 months living on exchange. Recently got back into practicing the last couple years (after about 10 yrs) and it happens now if I watch a lot of tv in Japanese. Funny story about 10 months after my exchange I went to a party (was still in HS) and blacked out for the first and really only time. When I was taken home my mom was helping to my room and apparently I kept telling things out in Japanese.
Dreaming came nearly right away. Maybe a few months from the beginning for the first Japanese dream i can remember. It doesn’t indicate skill, though, it’s only the tetris effect, and you do increase its likelihood by spending more time consuming Japanese in a day.
dreaming? first day I was like これは何ですか
thinking in JP? Nope
1 year in. I still remember I said to a friend 時々しちゃえばいい. No idea what that meant at the time, or what the context was but I was excited about it lol