How To Speak Japanese 1

How To Learn Japanese

Quickly become a fluent Japanese speaker even if you've struggled before.

Many Japanese beginners make the mistake of only studying vocabulary and grammar, which rarely leads to fluency. If this is you, it's not your fault! 

Most textbooks lock you in to stock examples and phrases, which are stiff and unnatural. It's hard to move beyond that and really make the language your own.

The missing link is learning the Japanese mindset.

When you learn the Japanese mindset, you'll understand Japanese expressions. Culture-based learning will help you to quickly understand new expressions and grammar points on a deeper level, which will boost your confidence and speaking ability. 

It becomes much easier to understand why certain phrases are said when you understand the cultural mindset behind them. That's why I say, 'Mind = Expressions!'

Lev Vygotsky, a world-famous Russian sociologist, wrote about sociocultural influences on language learning. He said what you think becomes how you express yourself, and understanding the native mindset is a big help in language learning!

When you learn the Japanese mindset, becoming fluent in Japanese is only a matter of time.

Here are the key concepts for learning Japanese effectively as a beginner:

1. Understanding word order
2. How group-oriented culture affects expressions
3. Why Japanese people omit repetitive phrases
4. Japanese is an emotional language
5. Learn by speaking

Once you understand these core parts of the Japanese mindset, your Japanese language journey will be much, much faster!

１．Understanding Japanese Word Order

Word order is something that trips a lot of people up when they first try to learn Japanese. Here's why:

When Japanese people look at the world, they start from general information and work their way to more specific things. This is the exact opposite of how English speakers see the world!

For example, in Japanese:

わたしはかみがながいです。About me, the hair is long.

But in English, the same sentence would be: 

“My hair is long.”

In English, we start with the specifics and work our way out to the bigger picture. 

The direction – or how we see the world in each language – is different.

If you can understand how Japanese people see the world, finding the right word order will become natural.

2．How Group-Oriented Culture Affects Japanese Expressions

It might surprise you to know that when Japanese people receive sweets from their colleagues, they apologise instead of saying “thank you!”

Why on earth would someone apologise when they receive a present from someone?

It's because Japanese people feel sorry when someone does something nice for them. 

In this case, they would think about how the colleague had to spend time choosing the sweets, spending money, and going to make a lot of effort just for them! 

The focus is on the other person rather than on themselves. This is why Japanese people tend to say すみません or sorry rather than ありがとう or thank you when receiving gifts.

３．Why Japanese People Omit Repetitive Phrases

The easiest way to sound like a native Japanese speaker is to omit all repetitive phrases.

For example, in everyday speech, Japanese people usually drop the “I” when they're talking about themselves or what they're doing.

In English, saying, “I went to a café, I had a cappuccino, and then I went home,” is perfectly fine. However, in Japanese, it sounds completely self-centered!

Japanese people would usually only mention “I,”  when it's absolutely necessary for context.

In English, “went to a café, had a cappuccino, went home,” sounds a bit rough or rude, but it's normal in Japanese.

４．Japanese Is An Emotional Language

In English, the focus is on facts.

Take this sentence, for example: 

“Tom helped me.”

Nothing about this sentence shows emotion. It's just a statement of fact.

But in Japanese, such a sentence can't exist without focusing on the emotion of the event. In fact, the word for receive (くれる) actually conveys gratitude.

トムさんがたすけてくれました。I (gratefully) received help from Tom.

Japanese people share their feelings about the things they say. If you can make a connection between feelings and events, you'll be able to speak and understand Japanese much more easily.

５．Learn By Speaking

Different languages require different learning methods.

For some European languages, English speakers can get by with learning a few phrases and doing some reading, since they're quite similar to English. 

However, you can't learn Japanese without speaking a lot!

This is the most important step in becoming fluent.

If you're struggling to practice speaking Japanese, here are 3 ways to do it effectively:

1. On your own
2. With a native teacher
3. With a native speaker

1. Speak Japanese On Your Own

Do you need a Japanese person to practise speaking after learning new expressions?

The surprising answer is... no!

If you've ever learnt a musical instrument, you'll know that you have to practise new material by yourself before performing it in front of other people. It's the same in Japanese – you need to practice new words and phrases before trying to use them with a native speaker!

You can:

• Speak to yourself in Japanese 
• Speak to your pet or an image of your favourite person in Japanese 
• Repeat questions and answers from model conversations and add your own original words. 

Practise until you can say everything smoothly with the right rhythm, speed, intonation and pronunciation.

Just like playing the piano, speaking a little Japanese every day will help you improve faster than speaking a lot just before you need to perform. 

Your mouth and brain will gradually get used to speaking Japanese.

I cover this method in my Japanese self-study course. If you're interested, check out Master Speaking Japanese and get started for free!

2. Speak Japanese With A Native Teacher

It's possible to learn new expressions and grammar points by yourself. But, for best results, you need a native teacher to give you personalised feedback on how to improve.

They'll also teach you how to use new expressions properly, including any cultural nuances you might not be aware of.

Experienced native teachers have a logical system for helping you to speak naturally. Once you understand the logic behind the language, you can speak even more confidently.

3. Speak Japanese With A Native Speaker

This option is the most challenging for one important reason. 

If the native speaker doesn't have any teaching experience, or much experience with Japanese language learners, they may not know how to best support your speaking practice.

But don't give up!

You'll be ready to get the most out of conversations with a native speaker after learning with a native Japanese teacher and practicing on your own!

If you do have this option available to you, it would be a good idea to prepare questions or things you want to talk about with them in advance.

Ready To Start Speaking Japanese?

If you're ready to learn Japanese more effectively, and become fluent as quickly as possible, sign up for my free webinar and guide on How To Speak Japanese For Beginners! 

Mineko Arai

Hello! I'm Mineko Arai. I’ve been teaching Japanese for about 20 years. I was a lecturer at top UK universities like the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, the University of Sheffield, and King's College London.

I was also employed by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to prepare diplomats for postings to the British embassy in Tokyo.

I'm now the director of the Arai Academy of Japanese Studies. The academy has provided corporate training to the British Museum,  as well as executives and business leaders at companies like Deloitte, Sony, Dentsu and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank.

I was also voted #1 online tutor at Vidalingua.

I have an MA in applied Japanese linguistics from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and an MBA in Education Management from King's College.

Most textbooks and courses lock you in to stock examples and phrases, which are unusable, and sound stiff and unnatural. However, the Master Speaking Japanese course empowers you to say exactly what you want naturally and fluently from the very beginning! Get started here for free!