{"id":3583,"date":"2015-11-18T21:01:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T21:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=3583"},"modified":"2015-11-18T21:02:10","modified_gmt":"2015-11-18T21:02:10","slug":"the-5-hardest-things-about-learning-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/the-5-hardest-things-about-learning-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Hardest Things about Learning Japanese"},"content":{"rendered":"

Due to Japan\u2019s influence in international business and culture, there are plenty of native English speakers who have learned to speak Japanese with proficiency. If you ask them if their journey to fluency was easy, however, they\u2019ll likely respond with a resounding \u201cno\u201d. Indeed, for a variety of reasons, Japanese is challenging for English speakers. From its confusing writing system to the sheer speed at which it\u2019s spoken, here are some of the most difficult aspects of learning Japanese.<\/p>\n

\"ll_hard_japanese\"<\/a>

Image via JurriaanH<\/a> \/ Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

1. Complex writing system<\/p>\n

<\/b>Speaking Japanese is hard enough, but writing is even trickier. Japanese has three writing systems: two syllabaries (alphabets in which each character represents an entire syllable), and kanji, <\/i>which are Chinese characters that represent entire words. In total, there are many thousands of kanji characters that must be memorized in order to successfully read the newspaper or understand signage. Further, a single kanji can represent several different words, and can have several different pronunciations. It\u2019s no wonder that memorizing kanji<\/i> is one of the biggest hurdles reported by Japanese language learners!<\/p>\n

2. Politeness is a grammatical feature<\/p>\n

<\/b>The Japanese language features dozens of honorifics, <\/i>which are suffixes added to words in order to convey varying degrees of respect and familiarity. Thus, a key part of Japanese grammar involves learning which suffixes are used for peers, children, coworkers, teachers, and elders, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

How good is your Japanese? Find out by taking our <\/i><\/b>free online Japanese level test<\/i><\/b><\/a>!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

3. Dropping pronouns<\/p>\n

<\/b>Japanese is a \u201cpro-drop\u201d language, which means that subject and object pronouns can be omitted from sentences if there is enough context for the listener to deduce on their own what the pronouns would refer to. Therefore, instead of saying \u201cThey see you\u201d, a Japanese speaker might simply say \u201csee\u201d, relying on you to fill in the blanks. This keeps you on your feet, and requires that you pay close attention during conversations \u2014 which is pretty hard when you\u2019re already using all your brainpower just to speak a foreign language!<\/p>\n

4. Particles abound<\/p>\n

<\/b>Sure, Japanese doesn\u2019t have any kind of verb conjugations, but that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re off the hook. To indicate grammatical relationships between the components of a given sentence, Japanese uses particles<\/a> \u2014 short words that come after nouns, verbs, adjectives, or sentences. There are 188 particles in total, so memorizing their form and function is a time-consuming process.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s spoken really fast<\/p>\n

<\/b>A recent study<\/a> compared the average rate of speech (in syllables per second) of speakers in various languages including Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and English, amongst others. Of the languages they tested, Japanese was the fastest, with an average speed of 7.84 syllables per second. Quickly following behind, Spanish came in at an average speed of 7.82 syllables per second. English, on the other hand, was spoken at just 6.19 syllables per second, and Chinese at a mere 5.18. So, comparatively, Japanese speech is significantly faster than what average English speakers are used to.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s no reason to give up before you even start! Despite the language\u2019s complexity \u2014 and how rip-roaringly fast Japanese speakers talk \u2014 you don\u2019t have to get left in the dust. With tailor-made courses from a qualified Japanese teacher<\/a>, you\u2019ll learn to master kanji, honorifics, and particles in no time. Send us a quick inquiry<\/a> to learn about our flexible Japanese course and package options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Due to Japan\u2019s influence in international business and culture, there are plenty of native English speakers who have learned to speak Japanese with proficiency. If you ask them if their journey to fluency was easy, however, they\u2019ll likely respond with a resounding \u201cno\u201d. Indeed, for a variety of reasons, Japanese is challenging for English speakers.(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
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