What exactly do I need to be fluent?

6 comments

1. Yes, it is a lot of work. Read this subreddit’s [beginner’s guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/wiki/index/startersguide/) in the sidebar and get started. Good luck!

2. 3000-5000 characters, tens of tousands of words, hundreds of grammar points (can pick most up naturally).

   You’re right, its simple, otherwise every person alive wouldn’t be fluent in at least 1 language. But it will take time, you need you spend thousands of hours using the language to get used to it.

   >And I should be able to just talk, without thinking about it. Making it a normal thing.

   Yeah, you would be able to think in both languages and understand without any English

3. I mean. Talking is talking. Technically you need 0 characters to “be fluent”. People can be illiterate.

   What you “need” to be fluent is:
   – Rich/comprehensive vocabulary

   – Familiarity with basic grammar rules

   – Familiarity with sentence patterns

   – Good or at least decent pronunciation. Not necessarily native-like, but internally consistent

   You gain these by studying grammar, reading a lot, listening a lot, doing SRS. Obviously you’ll have to learn Kanji if you want to read a lot but like, in theory you could also read furigana editions of everything and still get fluent

4. >Don’t get me wrong, just that is so much work.

   Indeed, learning a language to a proficient level is a lot of work. Welcome to the club, glad to have you here 🙂

   If you just wanna talk, you don’t necessarily need Kanji. But it can be really helpful to be able to read.

5. Japanese friends

6. Read the sidebar.