Many sources have cited interest in anime as one of the main reasons why people begin learning Japanese. It is certainly the reason I started, and from personal experience I feel that anime has certainly made a positive contribution to my Japanese language skills. But the real question for anime fans is whether it’s possible…

A key element of overcoming the challenge of learning kanji, especially as a non-native Japanese learner, is to have a system that both effectively teaches it to you and manages your review of what you have learned. Fortunately, there are many apps and services available for learning Kanji, but there are a few that really…

Learning spoken Japanese is already difficult enough due to its dissimilarity to English and other western languages. And if that was not enough, you also need to contend with kanji, an inseparable part of written Japanese. If you have ever started learning kanji and gave up, or you have yet to start but are intimidated…

There are many thousands of kanji in existence, but for practical purposes learning 2000 high frequency kanji will cover 99% of kanji encountered when reading in Japanese. Targeting to learn this many kanji is a good goal. This is certainly a tall order, and the question becomes how long it will take to learn them…

One definition of learning kanji is learning their meanings, readings, radicals, and stroke order. This is a tall order and it’s natural to wonder the best way to go about it. Learning kanji is a well documented challenge, particularly for non-native learners. It takes substantial commitment and dedication, and there is no one sure-fire way…

Kanji was not invented in Japan, but the way it has evolved and been adapted for use in the Japanese language is unique to Japan. It has played a critical role in the development of Japanese literature and has become deeply entrenched as part of the language. But understanding why kanji was adopted into Japan…

The Japanese language contains many types of words. In colloquial terms, they might be loosely classified according to their respective writing systems: ひらがな語 (hiragana words), カタカナ語 (katakana words), and 漢字語 (kanji words). Written Japanese especially is made up of over 65% kanji words and contains a lot of compound kanji words in particular. The correct…

The Japanese language has several words to say ‘improvement’. It can be hard to tell what the difference is between them and in what situations each should be used. Furthermore, some of the words themselves are similar, which makes it even more difficult to differentiate. Let’s look at two such pairs of words and examine…

There are at least six ways that you can express your intentions in Japanese according to the Japan Foundation. Each one has its own nuance and level of conviction and commitment on the part of the speaker. Based on the situation and how serious you are about your intention, you can choose the most appropriate…