130 million people in the world speak the Japanese language, making it the 9th most spoken language around. Although there are countless sources out there these days that help you further your knowledge, mastering the Japanese language ainât that straightforward.
Not to mention the 3 levels of ways that the Japanese language expresses politeness: the plain form (âkudaketaâ), the simple polite form (âteineiâ), and the advanced polite form (âkeigoâ)
Despite all this, the trick to learning any language, amongst others, is to have fun with it. Weâve compiled a list of 5 unusual and quirky ways that we used to Master the Japanese Language!
1. Talk to yourself⊠in Japanese âHITORIGOTOâ
Yes, itâs the first sign of craziness, we know. But itâs so effective!
You wonât always have a chance to practice your Japanese every day, and just like a sword, if not constantly sharpened, will become dull.
Everyday life is full of opportunities to âtalk to yourselfâ or âHitorigotoâ as the Japanese call it.
Ok, imagine this. Youâre in Sainsburyâs looking for bread, in this scenario weâd usually talk to ourselves.
âOk, next is bread. Um⊠which isle was on again?â
instead think it in Japanese,
âYosha, tsugi wa pan da ne. Eto⊠michi wa doiitsu dake?â.
Or getting your day plan together
âAlright, first Iâll hop in the shower, then have a quick breakfast⊠but just before that I should go for a jog. Ah but todayâs so cold >.<â
âSa-te-to, saishou kara showa shite, asa gohan tabete⊠demo sonno mai ni chotto jyoggu shiyou ka na. Ah sotto wa samui dakedo >.<â
Do you see? All that practice! Practical situations too!
2. Anime and J Drama Schooling
A scene from Studio Ghibliâs Howlâs Moving Castle, showing Howl and Sophie flying above the clouds. Source: Flim.ai
Master the Japanese language while you entertain yourself, you canât go wrong with this one!
The great thing is that most Anime that you can watch online, is that theyâre subtitled.
If you pay close attention to what is being said while reading the subtitles, itâs the ultimate (Animated) flashcard game!
Do be aware that most dramatic Anime use the same words repetitively, so the translation team tries to find more creative English translations.
So, a simple Usotsuki âLiarâ can become âYou lying scumbag!â
3. Practice your Japanese with others who are ACTUALLY LEARNING JAPANESE
Master the Japanese language with others whoâre studying Japanese! Hereâs a great counterintuitive that most people studying Japanese donât realise, ready for it?
Japanese people here donât want to speak Japanese, they want to practice their English!
Mind-blowing isnât it?
If you think about it if you went to Japan, wouldnât you want to speak Japanese rather than English? So, itâs the same for Japanese who come to the UK or other western countries.
Although the Japanese are a polite people, they will play along, hoping youâll eventually snap out of your KY mode (aka Kuuki Yomenai â Canât read the situation).
Find others who are studying Japanese, practice to your heartâs content! Check out our article about where to meet people who want to practice their Japanese in London, here.
4. Make speaking Japanese a Necessity Not an Option!
Most of us Nakama forced ourselves into situations where we HAD to speak Japanese!
We worked in Japanese companies in London where the majority of staff were Japanese. Being surrounded daily by a language forces you to learn it!
Thatâll give you a chance to hear a real conversation between two or more native speakers in a realistic scenario. A chance to jump into the conversation and have practical use of language!
Of course, youâll have the sympathetic advantage of being a non-native speaker, itâd be easier to forgive mistakes⊠like accidentally mixing up Gindara (Black Cod) and Kintama (âŠTesticles).
5. Change your deviceâs language from English to Japanese!
This will through you in the deep end of trying to master the Japanese language for sure! Go to the options setting on your mobile phone, tablet or laptop and change the language to Japanese! â No, seriously!
Most of use our devices every day, so, thatâs a chance to practice every day!
Mobile phones like iPhones even have a âVoice Overâ option in accessibility settings. Meaning your iPhone will speak to you in Japanese!
This includes Siri and Google Voice Search which recognises Japanese speech. Weâve often blown other Japanese peopleâs minds when we spoke to our phone in Japanese while on the tube!
