How I Learned FLUENT Japanese (No STRESS!)

I learned Japanese in four distinct  stages that literally anyone can do like trust me. . .

if I can do this you  can do this and it's made life so much better and what's more is. . .

it didn't just massively improve my life, it became. . .

how can I say. . .

it became a key to so many new doors for example, giving me access to entire worlds like Tsugaru Shamisen and becoming the first ever foreign Apprentice of the Yoshida Brothers or things like flying a plane in Japan and learning how to do that entirely in Japanese or even the number of amazing  people that I've had the opportunity to meet and document like shimayama san and rebuilding  his shop almost none of this would have been possible without Japanese one, basics. two, conversation. threem Specialized.

. . or we'll call  it "useful" Japanese and four we call over 9,000 and we'll start right there because it's much  easier than the internet makes it look today there's so many resources out there that  I know for some people it can feel really overwhelming while those resources should have  the opposite effect so we'll take it down to the basics and I'll make it easy again I'll go over those four steps, exactly what I did and at the end of each one I'll talk about what  I would do today if I was starting over from zero excuse me what should a tourist do if they lose an item?

they can file a lost item claim at the police station or box even leave their hotel info so we can contact them level one, the basics so for me everything started back in high school I was in electronics class of all places and while everybody else was  trying to light up a little LED I was trying to create a boost converter to turn a 9vt battery into a taser and after succeeding my teacher was a little concerned so followed up the next day by bringing in this. . .

that was backwards! this right here this little Yohan Japanese English dictionary telling me that he knew how to speak Japanese and I should learn too he told me that if I learned  hiragana within a month that he would gift me the dictionary and I loved the idea of the challenge  so I took him up on it so armed with this little dictionary that came out before I was even born I did three things immediately that stuck with me to this day number one, I learned the basic sounds of Japanese the A I U E O you see. .

. YouTube was still a couple years away and there were no Japanese students at my school but this book here has a little pronunciation guide that I was able to use to get myself started and then I just confirmed the rest with my teacher as I went along Step 2: I obviously learned Hiragana now there is a chart in the book but I wanted to get the stroke order  right so I downloaded some sheets off the internet and I would practice with those while combining  it with step one and saying each one out loud like KA KI KU and so on but step three is likely the most important step and it's the one that definitely had the most impact I allowed myself  to become obsessed with this I'd be sitting the hallways or on the bus writing and verbalizing  Hiragana every single day. .

. which now to think back. .

. I probably looked a little bit crazy but it worked! by the time I was done after a month of doing that , I was so comfortable with every single character  that I actually started working them into my notes I got to be replacing English letters in my school notes with Hiragana just to practice my speed as I was writing like 'Bed' would be BえD and stuff like that but that Obsession allowed me  to get really comfortable with it really quick and if I was redoing this today I'd probably do almost exactly the same thing with two minor changes Number one; I would Shadow something online for those basic sounds "a i u e o" still wouldn't learn words and whatnot yet I would just start with that.

I'd still learn Hiragana, but I'd likely do more printouts or use like an iPad or something to do it more slowly and get it. . .

nicer my writing is absolutely atrocious. you can tell I rushed learning it in that month because it is not clean whatsoever but even today, that's how I would start. no big fancy textbooks nothing else just learn the basic pronunciation make sure I've got it right.

learn basic hiragana.  starting confidently with those two things gave me an incredible base to work with and I feel they  made everything else easier for me by the way, the comments section is an incredible place to both leave and find incredible tips that help get other people started in a strong way since we all learn just a  little bit different we'll treat it like the take  a penny leave a penny tray those Basics really pay off in the long run too like Sherry. .

. hows my pronunciation from Japanese ears? no real difference from Japanese people can you tell over the phone?

not a chance! now that brings us to level two. .

. conversation keeping everything simple from the beginning I memorized  everything as sets I would shadow exact sentences as they were  with the intonation, pronunciation, everything. "can I eat ____?

" exactly like that again, and again well, Norm. . .

Where did you learn these sentences? Genius level question! thank you so much for asking!

I used two tools both of which are now very old the first being a set of audio lessons called  "Pimsleur Japanese" and the second being this really old program from the the Japan Foundation from  the 80s called let's learn Japanese Yen and the Japanese people I obsessively watched listen and  copy these shadowed them every single day for a month one in the morning one at night and at the  end of that month I was basically conversation. . .

-al. . .

conversational is the word we were going for. it wasn't good conversation by any means but it was conversation and then came my biggest upgrade  so far I was in college at the this point YouTube was finally out but at this point was basically  still just a video of a guy at a zoo but there were Japanese students and so I made Japanese  friends a lot of them I also learned that not all Japanese go abroad to study English during  University many do but just as many go abroad for a couple years just to escape the pressures of  Japanese life while still living in Japanese just overseas. .

. and it's this group that I met managed  to kind of work my way into and become friends with I inevitably spent the next few years with  this group honing my Japanese skills listening and copying absolutely everything that I could and  learned something very very interesting along the way that I think everybody should know and listen carefully here cuz it's very important Japanese do not get offended or upset if you make a mistake  in Japanese if anything they're quick to hand you a correction or a bit of help! it ironically this  is the time of my life where I received the most "NIHONGO JOZU" and now I'm dogen certified JOZU now  if I were to be doing this section today with the plethora of tools out there it would  be daunting and overwhelming.

in fact a few years back when I was trying to brush up okay  let's be honest when I was trying to massively improve my Japanese for my pilot training I came  across a tool that I actually enjoy and am still enjoying to this day. I recently sent them an email  thanking them and telling them I'd be mentioning them in this video and they offered a bit of a  sponsorship! thank you for that!

I'd be mentioning them either way, but full disclosure. the tool is called Migaku and it's a multi-language tool. .

. or platform. .

. it's everything of course there's an  app with all the learning, and tracking, and flash cards and all of the normal things that you would  hope to have in a learning system like this but there's one tool in this toolbox that I've kind  of become obsessed with over the past couple years and it's this browser extension that connects to  my Migaku account and allows me to learn directly from subtitles on dramas and Anime as well  as text based blogs and everything and create flashcards directly from that! I actually use a  lot of Japanese blogs for things like Aviation or searching out abandoned spots like finding the  hermit living out in the abandoned Village in the mountains, and every time I'm reading one of these  blogs and come across a word or phrase or term I don't know, Migaku can not only give me a quick  rundown but I can also save it to my flashcards to review and practice later!

in fact I can do  the same thing with my study and test materials , a Cessna manual, or even a menu for that matter! and this is why I wanted to share it because it aligns perfectly with the "being obsessed"  and working the Japanese into every part of my daily life! now of course Migaku has their own  website, and their rundown, and an outline of all their tools and whatnot.

I will link them if you  want to check them out but that's what I've been using that helps me continue to enjoy studying  Japanese even after all these years! but whether it's that tool or another one, the most important  thing is that you just find something that you can enjoy using in your daily life, every single  day. one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was when I was looking to buy my first camera.

my  buddy Lukas told me: as long as you're picking a reputable brand, just find a camera that you like,  that you enjoy the feel of, the shutter sound, all of that! and that matches your budget, and  just go out and shoot! and I feel like with the number of Japanese tools out there it's kind  of the same!

if you learn from books, find a book you love. if you learn from apps and browser  extensions, then go that route! just find something that you can do every day!

shadow shadow shadow.  and that should cover level two. again comment section if you have any incredible tips for  things that have worked for you at this stage!

with Yo-Chan here being a perfect example I  insist on doing all of his interviews in Japanese just because of how beautifully he speaks! do  you feel that you can communicate at the same level in English and Japanese? try to uh.

. . speak deeper in English is a little bit hard hard for me and so, speaking Japanese allows me to have more fun with my word choice, and really use my own language and showcase my personality!

I've actually stolen some of your Japanese! there are phrases that I picked up from Yo-chan like "TEKUTEKU-ARUITE" my inadvertent Japanese teacher! level three  specializing or filling in the gaps!

this stage, is where things got fun! this is where I learned Kanji,  or learned to talk about music theory, or learned to deal with arguments and negotiations, or even  pass difficult tests like the aviation law exam, or technical radio exams,,, and when you put it all  together like that it might sound a little bit intimidating, but it's not! arguably this section  is where I've had the most fun ever in my Japanese Journey!

For example, when I started learning how  to play the Tsugaru Shamisen, I was completely unable at my first lesson or 'OKEIKO' to discuss anything cuz  I didn't know the terminology. and so the older of the two yoshida brothers recommended I go out and  get a manga called 'MASHIRO NO OTO' now after a couple days of reading this on the train, I had a friend point out to me that the cover art signifies that it's a girls manga. .

. got myself a cover, kept reading. .

.  and by the time I went in for my next lesson I was much better versed in being able to talk about  these topics! also there's now an anime about it.

which would have made things a lot easier back then. but you  know. .

. 'six of one half a dozen of the other'. learning Kanji by the way happened kind of naturally as I  made a lot of friends here in Japan who didn't speak English, so I had to text back and forth with  them in Japanese every day.

. . meaning that there were constantly Kanji coming up that I didn't know!

and I  had to research and had to do the same when I'm sending my own messages. and after doing that daily for  a year I became much more comfortable with Kanji. this does leave quite a few gaps however.

I wasn't able  to read signs and post-its. . .

post-its? posters! !

notices! newspapers! any of that!

all of that kind  of came later. for example when I started Aviation I could not read or understand anything. I have to  do entire manuals and test booklets and everything in Japanese, and even when I started to pick up  the kanji I started realizing I don't know the phrases, the terminology.

. . so one of the things I  defaulted to was Aviation dramas!

. . .

which were not technical enough for me and there's not a lot of  them out there, so I jumped to Japanese blogs and reading Aviation blogs really started to giving  me context on not just the kanji, but how they're used in a sentence outside of a manual or a  test booklet! but I also very quickly noticed that if I wasn't using them every single day, I  would very quickly forget and so that's how I came across tools like we talked about before  with Migaku where I can just incorporate it into my daily life! this section really boiled  down to finding something specific to apply to whatever area of Japanese that I was lacking in,  and deep diving in that.

all of this followed the same three points: stick with the basics, Shadow,  listen and copy everything, and make sure it's a part of your daily life until you're comfortable  with it. those three things do not change through any part of this process. .

. except for the next  and final part. .

. when it changes completely. right now, I'm out in Shikoku with my friend Ayaka. 

hi Ayaka! hi! we've been working together for the last year or so to try to increase businesses  in tourism and maybe even build an app to kind of interconnect some of the smaller businesses  in the area and all of that needs to be done in Japanese do you have any trouble communicating with me in Japanese?

like me using weird Japanese, etc none at all! I don't buy that for a second! don't overthink it!

plenty of Japanese people can't even speak Japanese! and that brings us to level four! we're going  over 9,000.

There is almost not a single situation that you could throw me in in Japanese, that I  would not be able to handle with the same comfort that I could handle it in English, the key word  being "Comfort", not skill. they're they're different. I had this friend back in Canada he was Chinese  could barely speak English but the confidence he would go into things with.

. . I remember he came up  to me one day I was like 'hey how are you?

' and he's like "oh no so me uh this one this like" oh you  broke up with your girlfriend? are you okay? no no okay!

no okay! you me beer! I'm like, 'you want  to get.

. . yeah, let's get a drink man let's talk!

! ' and I never felt stressed talking with him. I had  Japanese Friends by contrast, who they really think about every little thing and their communication  was great but I just I felt more stressed with them.

now I learned a lot from this. especially  the value of comfort over grammatical skill. now don't get me wrong.

. . I'm not saying don't learn  Japanese or don't learn it properly, but there are kind of ways around this.

it's okay to get stuck,  and it's okay to fail. you see the Japanese have this word called 'GOMAKASU' and 'GOMAKASU' is to kind of  go around something. .

. to side step, to to avoid! for example, one of the most common  phrases is "WARATTE GOMAKASU" somebody who kind of escapes through laughter.

you're like, 'hey  did you just eat that last french fry? ' land they're like . .

. . 'hahaha' WARATTE GOMAKASU and I bring this up because it's a  great example that not everything needs to be this perfect sentence.

for example  if I can't remember how to say he fell in the ocean and drowned. I could find other  ways of saying that or going around or for example you basically said the same thing and  amazingly you don't even need to say that one of the beauties of Japanese is that it's a  very implied language so you could really just say. .

. . .

. and the person you're talking to will  either just understand that he drowned or they may even just ask and then you're in the  money cuz they don't even know you forgot the word not going to lie. .

. I do this a lot and you probably do too in English or whatever your native language  might be! and you do so without thinking and you were able to get there through experience  through having enough situations where you had to go around a word that you've forgotten and  it's just become natural, second nature to you at this point!

even in the tsugaru shamisen world  I have watched players on stage, mid-performance break a string but continue without skipping  a beat, and the audience notices absolutely nothing [Tsugaru Shamisen Music] because they've practiced and played enough that they're so comfortable with their instrument, that they know how to just go around that, and keep going. in fact. .

. if I didn't point that out to you, you might not have even  noticed that that string got broken! in fact you might have still not!

go ahead! go back. .

. check it out! so the key takeaway here is completely different.

. . it's just speak.

in many situations. to many people.  to yourself if you must!

the number of hours that I've spent talking to myself. . .

and now that I  come to think about it the key takeaway isn't all that different! it is still just shadowing,  repetition, make it a part of your daily life! just do so without fear!

get yourself to a place  where you know that you can make mistakes, and do so comfortably! go back to that reminder that  Japanese will not be offended if you make a mistake! they'll likely just offer you a helpful correction  and a beautiful little 'NIHONGOJOZU' to take on your way!

most Japanese are just going to be impressed  that you knocked out a clean enough greeting, so go back to those Basics, copy everything as a set,  Shadow it. . .

make it a part of your daily life! those principles stand across all of this! I was actually  raised with English and French.

hi, I'm Canadian. we do that! and I was surrounded by french-speaking  friends.

Even won the French award in elementary school! and then 3 years later. .

. I could not  remember how to say 'Monday Tuesday Wednesday'. why?

cuz I stopped using it! a language becomes a part  of who you are. and Japanese is no different than any other language in that respect!

if you make it  a part of your daily life, you're going to learn and retain a lot more of it! but no matter what you  do, make sure that you are enjoying it! !

to make sure that we have all of our bases covered in a couple  days, I'll go over the Tokyo Lens Explore Channel and we'll do a live version of this with more detail  and interactive Q&A! I'll even bring in Sherry. .

. a native Japanese speaker, who I met ironically  through doing translation at an event here in Japan! and then we can answer any question that  you might have.

but I'd also like to hear what's been working for you. what tools do you like? or on the other hand, what have you been struggling with?

so please leave those down in the comments below! I have  had a ton of fun today if you've gotten any value from this at all, please give that like button some  love, hit subscribe and I will see you again. .

. real soon! fun fact.

. . I actually started trying to  record this over 2 and 1 half hours ago but there have been so many bikes going through.

. . we're  averaging about one per minute right now and it's been so noisy.

it's really fun recording in  the middle of Tokyo! trying to create a . .

. . .

. I dropped the battery! I've also not climbed into  here in so long.

. . kind of missed the space!

I also just got an email from migaku saying that they're  going to give Tokyo lens fans a 50% discount on their lifetime plan! the email is really cute  I wanted to screenshot it and show it. .

. but you know. .

. privacy. might be rude.

. .