I want to learn Japanese. Where do I start?

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by RickOShay

most of all stop assigning the Japanese an English equivalent as soon as you can, and learn to start understanding and taking in the language from a Japanese perspective.

This is extremely important. While I think OP may already know this (he speaks three already), he might not (let's face it, the three languages he speaks are like gorillas, chimps, and humans, while Japanese is a slime mold).

[gyl0119]

long long ago when i took a japanese language course, we used japanese for busy people kana edition (u learn hiragana and katakna in that)
to begin i think its good to kno whow to write hiragana first then later moved onto katakna, katakna are used for the writing of foreign words, such as the word sofa would be written using katakana

[StueyT]

First thing is first, learn Hiragana and Katakana. Do not go any further without being able to do this! And in my experience, learn kanji from the go. Look on amazon for 'Basic Kanji Book Vol1', its a pretty awesome book.
There are 2000ish kanji that are considered the standard 'Joyou' kanji. I don't mean learn them all straight away, I mean it takes Japanese school kids their whole school lives to dig them in, but learn kanji at a pace alongside your grammar, vocab and other reading materials.
Personally, I started learning Japanese at home in October and I've got about 50 kanji dug into my head, with passive knowledge of a few others. It's not as difficult as they appear, it's just that there is so many!

I'd also look at aquiring 'Pimsluer's Japanese' audio training. And try Live Mocha, which is a free online equivalent, if not better version, of Rosetta Stone

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by StueyT

First thing is first, learn Hiragana and Katakana. Do not go any further without being able to do this! And in my experience, learn kanji from the go. Look on amazon for 'Basic Kanji Book Vol1', its a pretty awesome book.
There are 2000ish kanji that are considered the standard 'Joyou' kanji. I don't mean learn them all straight away, I mean it takes Japanese school kids their whole school lives to dig them in, but learn kanji at a pace alongside your grammar, vocab and other reading materials.
Personally, I started learning Japanese at home in October and I've got about 50 kanji dug into my head, with passive knowledge of a few others. It's not as difficult as they appear, it's just that there is so many!

I'd also look at aquiring 'Pimsluer's Japanese' audio training. And try Live Mocha, which is a free online equivalent, if not better version, of Rosetta Stone

The only two books you need for kanji are Kanji ABC and Kanji in Context. Hell, you probably only need Kanji in Context, but Kanji ABC gives you a different take on kanji.

I seriously mean that those are the only books you need. Make flash cards from them, write kanji a lot, and you'll learn 2000 in 3-4 years at a rate of 10 kanji/week which is VERY doable. I do 30/week currently and I have retained 95% of them for 6 mos.

[yuriyuri]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

Kanji in Context

I love this book.

It does take a bit of getting used to (If you aren't used to reading only in Japanese) but when I started to use it i felt its benefits to my kanji reading, vocabulary and understanding of sentences after only a couple of chapters.

I stopped using it recently due to pure lazyness but I guess I should get back into it and finish it.

Anyway, awesome book

[kokusaijin]

It depends on what you want to learn first. For me, I started learning words and phrases first because memorizing the katakana, hiragana, and kanji are useless if you can't speak the language and you don't even know the meaning. After learning some useful words, I started learning how to read and write. Written Japanese is very difficult to write and understand because of the complexity of kanji especially. Although I am fluent in conversational Japanese, I still can't write the three perfectly. Goodluck!

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by kokusaijin

It depends on what you want to learn first. For me, I started learning words and phrases first because memorizing the katakana, hiragana, and kanji are useless if you can't speak the language and you don't even know the meaning. After learning some useful words, I started learning how to read and write. Written Japanese is very difficult to write and understand because of the complexity of kanji especially. Although I am fluent in conversational Japanese, I still can't write the three perfectly. Goodluck!

A beginner should, hands down, just buy Yookoso! (or one of the other Big Two series) and just work through the first half of volume 1. After that, he should start following the guide I posted earlier.

That's my opinion on an efficient and strategic way of gaining skills in a short few years.

[totallylost202]

Hi Wynn! Nice to meet you!

I've been studying Japanese for a year and a half via university. We were taught with Minna no Nihongo (みんなの日本語）, which goes through elementary level Japanese and gets you prepared for more intermediate things. We're now going through Shin Nihongo no Chuukyuu (新日本語の中級) which is early intermediate Japanese at the beginning and starts introducing more difficult grammar at the end.

In answer to your questions:

Yes. Learn how to write Japanese first. Let it be the first thing you ever do! Hiragana and katakana aren't hard to learn. Once comfortable enough with these, move on to simple kanji. I recommend learning the main 500 kanji first; with enough kanji, you'll then be able to spot patterns with radicals and the next 500 will be easier. (Of course, I'm not at this level yet! I wish I was!)

Set yourself a realistic goal to learn these in. Focus more on reading than writing. This said, my writing is rather sloppy so recently I've just been concentrating on that!

Listening and speaking shouldn't be forgotten, of course. Try Keyhole TV once you're familiar with Japanese, but before this, try beginner's podcasts. There are loads around. I recommend one called JapanesePod101. I enjoy their audio blogs!

Originally Posted by StormingWynn

Hello, I'm new so excuse the newbiness. I have a few questions before I begin learning the Japanese language. Should I learn the Katakana, Hiragana and a few Kanji before I even start to set up phrases? Should I learn the rules of grammar first? Or should I learn both at the same time? How long should I expect to work at the language before I can even begin to form phrases?

A little something about me. I live in the US. I'm a college student working for my degree in Biophysics. My hobbies are learning languages, video games, cars and reading among other things. I know 3 languages; Spanish, English and French. I can understand a couple more like Portuguese and Italian. Japanese will be my first "eastern" language.

Thanks
~Wynn