Hi. I started studying Jap last Aug 2019 and passed N5 on the Dec exam. We used minna no nihongo grammar book, shinkanzen master n3 grammar, and kanji books which idk the name. We have just finished with shinkanzen two weeks ago. And just like tetiana below I too can hardly speak japanese 😂 Maybe it's because im not that connected/interested in the language and also maybe because i dont study outside our classes and textbooks. Maybe our classes were enough and im just a slow learner.

Btw, why chinese and japanese? Whats your purpose/goal?

In this discussion, you can find resources and tips for starting with Japanese: <a href="https://www.italki.com/discussion/224452" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.italki.com/discussion/224452</a>;.

For tips and resources on studying Chinese, you should head there: <a href="https://www.hackingchinese.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.hackingchinese.com/</a>;.

I would recommend you, not to start both at the same time as the Japanese writing system is derived from the Chinese one and as a beginner you'll mix the characters and words up. Apart from that, the languages are entirely different in pronunciation and grammar, so later that shouldn't be a problem anymore and many people study Chinese and Japanese at the same time. Just get a head start in one of them.

I think the biggest problem with Chinese is the pronunciation. it's a tonal language and for learners who aren't used to tonal languages, it's quite hard to hear and replicate the tones. The hardest thing about Japanese is the writing system. It mixes Chinese characters and two Japanese syllabic alphabets. One character can have several readings depending on the context.

If i could go back and start from scratch on Japanese, i would learn Hiragana and Katakana first, (This took me a little less than a month) and then move straight on to Kanji. I'm far from done with Kanji, but learning Kanji early will open up so many new doors for you.

The Kana Flashcards from white rabbit press really helped a lot in that regard but most apps like duolingo start with hiragana as well. Watching a lot of Japanese media did help me getting familiarized with the language especially pronunciation, but a couple of months of actually studying the language gave much better results than a year of TV.

I got a Japanese penpal 6 months into learning Japanese, and i barely understood anything.

If i could recommend one book, it would be "Remembering the Kanji"

Cheers

It’s been 10 months now and I can hardly speak any Japanese. 🤷‍♀️

Solely depends on your dedication and learning abilities.

The only recommendation I’d give is to try and find a good teacher/tutor, cause you’ll have A LOT of questions.

Good luck!

@Danskvand,

@Miriam,

@dondonson

Thank you a lot for your experience!

Very informative!