Getting Started

Welcome to the final lesson of this course.

Speaking of which, why are you still reading this, yo? You should be studying Japanese!

Dive In

Reading instructions on how to learn Japanese can only get you so far. The best way to figure out your ideal study method is to start studying. Start reading lessons. Set up a meeting with a teacher. Start doing something that puts Japanese in your brain. Then, when you run into trouble, come back to the explanations (e.g. this guide and other guides, forum and websites posts, etc.), read up on study tactics and all that glorious stuff, and then dive back in with more efficiency and precision than before.

Japanese will feel more intimidating on some days than others, but the truth is that Day #1 is the hardest. Day #1 is when you know the least Japanese. Day #1 is when you really have no idea what you’re doing or trying to do, let alone how to do it.

Let’s get Day #1 out of the way. Then Month #1. Then Year #1. In order to do that, we have to start (or start over).

Don't Be Active, Be Productive

As you set off on this adventure, please try to keep in mind the difference between being active and being productive.

Being Active:

• Reading study guides like this one.
• Calculating how many hours you need to study Japanese.
• Thinking about how badly you want to learn Japanese.
• Talking to other people about how you’re trying to learn Japanese.
• Surfing the internet for new study tips and tricks.
• Researching Japanese language schools and lessons.

Being Productive:

• Taking an online lesson.
• Studying Japanese flashcards.
• Reading a Japanese grammar lesson.
• Emailing a language exchange partner.
• Doing Japanese workbook activities.
• Listening to an audio lesson.
• Reading a book in Japanese that is appropriate for your level.
• Watching a show, movie, or video in Japanese that is appropriate for your level.

The more you are productive, the faster you will learn. Being active, while potentially beneficial, is often just procrastination in disguise.

Full 7-Lesson Course Overview

To recap the course so far…

• Unit #1 – Checking Yourself Before Wrecking Yourself
  • Decide if you’re really committed to learning Japanese
  • Mentally prep yourself for high volumes of consistent, level-appropriate language exposure
  • Start listening to audio loops
• Unit #2- First Steps to Learning Japanese
  • Learn about Japanese pronunciation
  • Learn Hiragana
  • Learn Katakana
• Unit #3 – Learning the Kanji
  • Learn the Meanings of All 2,136 General-Use Kanji Characters
• Unit #4 – The Power of Vocab
  • Download Anki (you should have already done so in Unit #3)
  • Download the Caveman Convo Deck
  • Download the Vocab Mastery (Sample) Deck
  • Study new cards in these decks whenever you have time
  • Study review cards every single day
  • Take your time, and watch as your vocab skyrockets
• Unit #5 – Making Sentences
  • Take note of the differences and uses of input and output
  • Start studying grammar using any of the resources listed
  • Start making sentences using online lessons and language exchange
• Unit # 6 – Failure Response Techniques
  • Prepare for failures
  • Develop a growth mindset
• Unit #7 – Diving In
  • Dive Into Japanese
  • Stay Productive

An option for detailed guidance.

If you didn’t notice already, the advice in this guide basically just takes super-compressed bits from the Hacking Japanese Supercourse, which would never fit into 7 lessons. In fact, it has well over 800 lessons covering a wide array of Japanese language topics.

Check it out, if you please…

The course follows a 4-phase system:

Each of the four phases contains sub-courses covering pieces of the Japanese language:

So, something to think about... if you're committed to reaching a high level of fluency. Completing every sub-course in HJS should get you to somewhere around translator-level Japanese proficiency.

Also, even if you don’t use that course, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team any time with questions, doubts, criticisms, jokes—anything. The best way to do this is by joining our Discord community, where you can also meet a lot of fellow students sharing this journey with you.

Interacting with readers is the most rewarding part of this job times a thousand.

Good luck in your studies,

Niko