How To Study Japanese Vocabulary So It Sticks

Do you feel overwhelmed when you study Japanese vocabulary? Does it sometimes feel like there’s just too much to learn, or that when you finally learn one set of words, you forget another?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Most Japanese materials give you a list of pre-selected expressions and vocabulary. These lists are often long, and sometimes the words aren’t relevant to your life. No wonder they don’t stick!

The good news is that you don’t have to remember these long lists or irrelevant words to make progress. 

So, how do you actually study Japanese vocabulary so it sticks?

The short answer is to prioritise words and phrases that are useful and relevant to your life and situation.

However, it’s crucial to be mindful of the methods you use to memorise new expressions.

Here are my 5 tips for making sure Japanese vocabulary sticks in your long term memory:

1. Learn and practice relevant vocabulary and phrases
2. Learn vocabulary in chunks
3. Revise using scientific methods
4. Track your progress to keep motivation high
5. Get professional support

Once you understand these core concepts for remembering Japanese vocabulary, you’ll progress much, much faster!

1. Learn and practice relevant vocabulary and phrases

Most textbooks give you lists of vocabulary that are totally irrelevant to your actual life. This means that you’ll waste a lot of time and effort learning expressions that aren’t really suitable for the kinds of conversations you’re going to have.

The good news is that you can take charge of your Japanese language journey.

The first step is to choose which words and expressions to prioritise. Here’s a good guide:

1. Select words and phrases that you need to use regularly in your life
2. Select extra words and phrases that you want to use
3. Practice by making short example sentences relevant to your life

For example:

（ともだちの）マリアさんはインフルエンサーです。(My friend) Maria is an influencer.

（わたしは）ゲームデザイナーです。I’m a game designer.

I cover the importance of learning relevant vocabulary in more detail in my article Japanese Study: 5 Steps For Effective Input.

2. Learn vocabulary in chunks

Have you ever felt like some Japanese words sound so similar that they’re hard to tell apart? Or like you can remember certain phrases but can’t use them properly in a sentence or a conversation?

Here’s the solution.

When we’re dealing with similar words and expressions, there are two reasons why our brains have a hard time telling them apart. The first is due to similar sounds, and the other is due to similar meanings.

Mastering the 5 Japanese vowel sounds is the key to differentiating between similar-sounding words.

For example, many people struggle to differentiate between kawaii (cute) vs kowai (scary). Once you master the 5 Japanese vowel sounds, you’ll easily be able to tell the difference between words like these.

As for words with similar meanings,like tsukurimasu (to make) and tsukaimasu (to use), the trick is to create your own sentences that resonate with you.

For example:

（わたしは）よくすしをつくります。I often make sushi.

（わたしは）いつもはしをつかいます。I always make chopsticks.

You should also make your own sentences with words that sound similar.

For example:

ハローキティはかわいいです Hello Kitty is cute.

リングはこわいです。The Ring (a Japanese horror movie) is scary.

Once you’ve made a few sentences with the groups of words you’re struggling with, practice them until they make 100% sense to you. That way, you won’t make mistakes when you use them in the future!

If you struggle with using your new phrases in a sentence or conversation, it often comes down to not knowing which particle to use with them. If you’re talking about your own actions, you’d usually use を. 

For example:

こんばん、ラーメンをたべます。      I’m going to eat ramen tonight.

まいにちJ-Popをききます。            I listen to J-Pop every day.

However, not all verbs take the particle を, which can be a little confusing. Verbs that show movement and require a direction or a destination take the に particle.

For example:

ふろにはいります。   I’ll take a bath. (I’ll enter the bath, with bath being the destination)

せんせいにあいます。I’ll meet my teacher. (I’ll move towards my teacher)

When you learn phrases and vocabulary in chunks (with either similar sounds or similar grammar points), you’ll be able to avoid confusion and progress much faster.

3. Revise using scientific methods

Do you feel like Japanese words don’t sound like any words in your language, or like you can’t guess the meaning of the words like you might be able to in French or Spanish?

This can make it very difficult for you to remember vocabulary.

Don’t worry - I was in the same situation when I was learning English. In this section, I’ll share how I got over these problems, and how my solution has helped hundreds of my students to learn vocabulary so it sticks!

Revising effectively using science-backed language acquisition methods is the best way to remember vocabulary.

Very few people have the time to sit down and study for hours a day. However, you can still revise effectively even if you only have a few minutes.

Revising new vocabulary and expressions within the first 24 hours is a big help. If you can keep that revision going for 3 consecutive days, it’ll be much more likely to enter your long-term memory, even if you only spend a few minutes a day on each word, phrase, or chunk.

Following on from this, if you can revise them again after a week, and then again after a month, it’s almost certain that you’ll remember new vocabulary.

Revising takes much less time than learning or relearning, so with the time you save, you can keep learning new vocabulary every day. That way, you can keep up a steady stream of learning and revision, and you can make quick and steady progress!

I wrote more about this method in my article,  How To Study Japanese In Your Busy Life.

Revising takes such little time that you can even do it while waiting for a train, having a shower or going for a walk. You can record the phrases you want to remember and play them back during your free time. It’ll be doubly effective if you can repeat after the audio. You can even take photos or screenshots of your lesson material and set it to your phone’s lock screen so you can revise briefly every time you look at your phone!

If you apply these methods, you’ll probably find that you can revise without even needing to change your schedule.

4. Track your progress to keep motivation high

Do you use a calendar, either on your wall, your desk or your phone? It can be a great tool for helping you to track your progress and keep yourself motivated!

There are two ways to use a calendar.

1. a) Write your planned vocabulary for each day cross out when you learn it; or 
2. b) Fill in the vocabulary that you learned each day.

a) 

b)

If you prefer to plan your learning schedule a week or a month in advance, a) would be the better choice for you.

If you much prefer to learn new phrases every time you hear or read a new word, then b) is better for your learning style.

Whichever calendar method you use, it’s good to write down at least one new expression a day so you can track your progress.

Of course, you can learn much more than one new word or phrase a day, as long as you can still make time to revise them for the next 3 days, as I mentioned earlier.

A word of warning, though: it’s easy to overdo it and get burnt out if you try to do too much at once. I talk about ways to avoid burnout in my article Japanese Study: 5 steps For Effective Input, so check it out if you plan to use the calendar method.

Just remember, even writing down one word or phrase a day can still motivate you and help you track your progress! It might not look like much, but it compounds over time, and taking small but regular steps is the hallmark of a successful Japanese learner!

5. Get professional support

When you’re learning on your own, it can sometimes be hard to decide what vocabulary to learn, or how to get going again when you feel stuck, especially if you have big goals.

It’s best to find a professional teacher to support your language learning so that you can get the best solutions for your problems. This is especially true when it comes to learning new vocabulary.

It’s better to get help solving your language problems earlier rather than spending months or years feeling discouraged, stressed, and making minimal progress.

Another solution is to find a learning community where you can find support from professional, native Japanese teachers as well as other learners. People in these kinds of communities are usually happy to answer questions and share the learning methods that work best for them.

I combine both of these in my online course, Master Speaking Japanese. The ‘Learner’ package includes a monthly live community event with direct access to me, as well as other dedicated Japanese learners. There’s even an optional mini private lesson for you to check your Japanese with a native teacher. The monthly subscription is a fraction of the cost of a single private lesson, and you can progress at your own pace.

If you combine these 5 steps, you’ll have no trouble learning Japanese vocabulary so it sticks in your long-term memory. You’ll also stay motivated to continue your Japanese learning journey and reach your goals!

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 for free!