An easy-to-understand introduction to how foreigners can study Japanese!

Hello, this is Kano from JAC (Japan Association for Construction Human Resources).

How do foreigners study Japanese?

If you are thinking about starting to study, you may not know how to go about it.

This time, we will introduce ways to study Japanese, tips for making studying fun, and useful websites for studying.
Please feel free to use this as a reference.

How can foreigners study Japanese?

When studying Japanese, foreigners should follow these five steps:

1. Learn the letters

First, learn to read hiragana and katakana.
It's okay, I'll learn kanji once I've progressed a bit further.

The characters most commonly used in Japan are hiragana, but katakana is used to write foreign names, so learn katakana as well.

When learning letters, you also learn their pronunciation.

2. Memorize simple sentences

We will study greetings such as "Hello," "Thank you," and "Nice to meet you," as well as simple sentences such as "My name is ____," "This is a book," and "Are you a teacher?"

In Japanese, there are honorific words that are used when speaking with older people or coworkers.
Using honorific language makes you appear polite and gives the other person a good impression.

It is said that honorific language is difficult for foreigners.
However, honorific language is polite language that can be used with any person or in any place.
It is a good idea to learn simple sentences using honorific language.

<Example>
Non-polite sentence: This is a book.
Polite sentence: This is a book.

3. Learn numbers, times, and days of the week

In Japan, there are several ways to read numbers, such as reading 7 as "nana" or "shichi," so students will also learn how to read numbers.

When it comes to time, "7:30" can be said as "shichijisanjuppun" or "shichijihan," which can be difficult for foreigners.

4. Learn adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe the quality or state of things.

For example, "expensive," "delicious," "beautiful," and "serious" are adjectives.
Words that end with "i" like "expensive" and "delicious" are called "i-adjectives," while words that are placed before other words like "beautiful moon" and "serious person" are called "na-adjectives."

Adjectives can be difficult because the rules for how words change when negating are different, such as "an expensive store" changing to "an inexpensive store" or "a serious person" changing to "an unserious person."

Remember that when using "i-adjectives", you should follow with "ku nai" to negate, and when using "na-adjectives", you should follow with "janai/denai".

5. Learn verbs

A verb is a word that describes the action or existence of a person or thing.

For example, "go," "eat," and "be" are verbs.

We start by learning verbs that end in "masu," such as "taberumasu."

After that, we will learn words like "taberu" which describes past events and "taberu" which expresses negation.

Just like adjectives, the rules for conjugation change depending on the word.

Tips for foreigners to have fun studying Japanese

Studying Japanese is difficult.
But if you have fun while studying, you'll remember things more easily and will want to study more.

We will introduce you to some tips and tricks to make studying fun.

1. Watch the video

This is a way to watch Japanese movies, anime, dramas, TV, etc.

Because it has a story, you can study in a fun way without getting bored.

It helps to improve your listening skills.

You can also practice your pronunciation by immediately imitating and speaking out the words you hear in the video.

2. Listen to Japanese music

Listening to Japanese music over and over again is a great way to practice your listening skills.

The rhythm makes it easy to remember, and singing along can also help you improve your pronunciation.

3. Read manga, novels, and picture books

This is a method of studying by reading manga and novels.
It might be a good idea to choose books that have been translated into your native language and compare them.

Picture books for children are written in simple language and use few kanji characters, so they are easy to read.

Also, since picture books are written using polite language, they are also ideal for studying beautiful Japanese.

4. Use the app

This is a method of studying using a smartphone app.
There are study apps and games that allow you to study Japanese.

With a smartphone, you can start studying immediately, making it convenient for people who don't have time to study.

5. Make Japanese-speaking friends

This is a way to study Japanese while communicating with Japanese speakers.

You will encounter a variety of different patterns of words and sentences.
Then you will be immediately told if you made a mistake.
You can study at a good pace because you can ask immediately about anything you don't understand.

By talking about things that interest you, you can have fun while studying.

Some of my seniors working in Japan learned everyday conversation by going to the park on their days off and talking to the elderly.

Recommended websites for studying Japanese

Here are some recommended websites that will help you study Japanese.

There is no charge for any of the websites (0 yen, free).

Connect and expand your life in Japanese

There are three levels, and you can study conversations necessary for daily life, such as shopping and greetings.

You can study using videos and subtitles.

[Supported languages]
Japanese・English・Chinese・Português・Español・Tiếng Việt・Bahasa Indonesia・Filipino・नेपाली・ខ្មែរ・ภาษาไทย・မြန်မာဘာသာ・
Монгол хэл・한국어

Connecting and expanding life in Japanese

Erin takes on the challenge! I can speak Japanese.

Through Erin, an international student, you can learn Japanese language and culture through her school life.

You can study using videos, manga, and audio.

[Supported languages]
Japanese・English・Español・Português・Chinese・한국어・Français・Bahasa Indonesia・ภาษาไทย

Erin takes on the challenge! I can speak Japanese

JYL Project Children's Japanese Library Booklet Teaching Materials

There are worksheets for hiragana, katakana, kanji, conversation, and composition.

Download is free (0 yen).

[Supported languages]
Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Español, Português (※Kanji printout)

JYL Project Children's Japanese Library Booklet Teaching Materials

Japanese Work

You can study Japanese using traditional Japanese games such as "Karuta" and "Sugoroku."

There are also many other games and teaching materials that contain lots of pictures.
The explanations in the teaching materials are written for Japanese people, so you may find them a little difficult.

Japanese Work

Colorful Japanese for Daily Life

"Irodori: Japanese for Everyday Life" is a Japanese language learning material for people living in Japan. You will study the Japanese you will need in various aspects of life in Japan, such as working, shopping, going out for fun, eating, and interacting with other people.

There is also a section that will help you with your life in Japan.

[Supported languages]
Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Mongolian, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Burmese, Nepali, Portuguese, European Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian

Colorful Japanese for Everyday Life

There are some tips for foreigners to study Japanese! Have fun learning

Japanese has many rules, such as hiragana, katakana, kanji, and honorific language.
That's why people say studying Japanese is difficult.

When studying Japanese, proceed one step at a time.
Another way to improve your Japanese quickly is to have fun while studying, using videos, songs, apps, etc.

There are many useful websites for studying Japanese, so try to find one that you can enjoy studying.

JAC offers free Japanese language courses for people who are currently studying Japanese.
Whether you're still not very good at Japanese or you want to learn more difficult Japanese for work, you can choose a course that suits your level and goals.
Let's improve our Japanese language skills and use them to communicate better at work and with people in the company!
JAC's Free Japanese Language Course