Learn Japanese
with Ling

Japanese is one of the most complex languages to learn along with Korean, Arabic, and Chinese.

Despite the language’s many rules, learning Japanese can be so much fun! With language learning apps, like Ling, you’ll forget you’re even learning!

Here are some quick facts about Japanese:

• Grammar: Unlike many languages, Japanese has sentence-end particles even if it follows the Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order.
• Vocabulary: A significant portion of Japanese vocabulary uses onomatopoeia and historical lexicon from Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese, among others.
• Speaking/Listening: Japanese culture values politeness and a hierarchical inflection system. When learning the pronunciation, be careful of the “r” and “j” consonants.
• Reading/Writing: Japanese script can come in the form of traditional vertical writing (縦書き – tategaki) or modern horizontal writing (横書き – yokogaki). The Japanese script contains three main writing systems or characters: Hiragana (ひらがな or simple characters), Katakana (カタカナ or partial characters), and Kanji (漢字 or Han characters from China).

The first step in learning Japanese is knowing why you want to study the language in the first place. After that, you can learn Japanese on your own with various online learning materials.

By far, the best language learning tool out there is the Ling app, which contains over 200 lessons per language. If you want to become fluent in Japanese, Ling has plenty of lessons, all the way from beginner to advanced.

Learning a language by yourself can be challenging at times, but don’t give up! Here are other ways you can learn Japanese:

• Set realistic language goals
• Watch Japanese movies, dramas, or anime
• Learn about a variety of topics when practicing hiragana, katakana, or kanji
• Read Japanese poetry or Haiku (俳句)
• Speak Japanese out loud so you can hear your own pronunciation
• Download the Ling app to learn new vocabulary, phrases, and topics quickly

According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the average learner can reach proficiency in Japanese after at least 2200 hours. That means 12-18 months of intensive courses if you’re trying to finish fast!

If you have no prior experience with learning other languages, it might take you a minimum of 3-5 years to reach proficiency. That’s mainly because of the language’s complex writing systems, but we suggest you focus on hiragana and katakana first.

If you want to learn Japanese, you should start speaking from day one! Japanese isn’t easy, so don’t waste your time. Start with easy, simple vocabulary, phrases, and topics. From there, you can slowly start to learn the more difficult parts of the language.

With nearly 128 million speakers, Japanese is a very fascinating language to learn. Apart from its cute aesthetic and kawaii culture, Japan has been revered as one of the best in innovation and technology.

Here are some other reasons to learn Japanese:

Language Of Business Giants

As the Japanese economy continues to increase, so do business opportunities.

Imagine how much easier it will be to communicate with your business partner or potential client if you can speak Japanese!

Build Appreciation For Japanese Culture

When people think of Japan, they usually think of its rich culture. If you learn Japanese, there’s no doubt that you’ll appreciate and understand Japanese culture even more!

May Help You Learn Other Languages

Being one of the world’s most challenging languages, learning to speak Japanese is a huge feat.

After learning Japanese, you should find learning other character languages, like Chinese, much easier. So, if you want to learn multiple languages, Japanese is a great place to start!