Why Learn Japanese?

Everyone watched it and decided to never ever learn Japanese.
Let's give it another chance.

If you're now curious on where and how to start, I strongly recommend Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese.

Music:
Rhythm changes - John Deley and the 41 players
Theme for a One Handed Piano Concerto - Kevin MacLeod
Airport Lounge - Kevin MacLeod

#animation

[maxhenault]

I'm currently learning Japanese during my lunch breaks at work and considered quitting because of all of the points you brought up in the video. Thank you, I'll keep going!

[Lernyd]

I'll be honest, I'm only learning Japanese so I can understand anime better.
I regret nothing.

[ceshorty]

I decided to learn japanese because my friend started learning it, but it kinda became a game to me. Remembering all those kanji and writing them in the correct stroke order is a nice time sink. In the past I would just play video games and be done with it but growing old made me more aware of time itself and how it's better to spend it at something that'll make me grow as a person is more useful. Maybe I just grew out of video games because I depleted most of the meta knowledge that they could provide me. As for the japanese language, it was something so different and alien that novelty was always around the corner once I climbed out of the kana.

I barely have use for it though. Barely any friends and no japanese friends at all and there's no way I'll go to japan anytime soon. I have nothing to my name besides some drawings and two notebooks halfway full of written kanjis. At least I have something. Maybe I'll be homeless, but I'll be a self taught japanese homeless.

なぜ俺がこの文書を書いて。。。なぜだろう。。。

[Livakivi]

I can very much relate to this video - I've had a very similar experience with learning Japanese, especially the "am I wasting my time" part, due to the lack of realistic practical value learning Japanese initially had for me. I wasn't even that into anime or anything like that either, which made me question it very often, but I'm glad I kept going, as now, over 3 years in, I don't regret a single day of learning. The value I've gotten out of learning Japanese is very much unquantifiable, yet so prominent. It has certainly changed my view on the world as a whole, due to being able to see so many things from a different cultural perspective, and it has given me so much motivation and interest towards things I had no clue I would ever be interested in, which also adds more flavor to the world as a whole.
Also, the tax fraud joke was great lmao.

[kjl]

I really like how this video reframes language learning not as something you do, but something you experience… really opened my eyes!

[anotherwea]

Around four years ago, I started learning english because everyone I talked about learning something told me it would be beneficial. As of today, 70% of my identity, likings, and ideals are thanks to what I was able to experience and learn due to being able to speak to so many different kinds of persons. I'm forever gratefull for learning english, in fact, I am learning yet another language, and it's paying off too!

[tettettettettet]

I remember hearing somewhere that in a study where they compared language learning from a sample group of adults and babies and the adults where a lot faster when they spent an equal amount of time and where equally immersed as babies

[malokeytheallaround]

Learning a language is pretty much finding the place where it “clicks” like, that eureka moment where it all makes sense.

I achieved this by cutting all ties to English, pretended I didn’t even know it anymore. I dropped the Romaji as quickly as I could and forced myself to directly associate things with the Japanese words.

Because, what beginners normally do is this:

word in target language (月) —> word in own language (moon)—> the thing the word refers to ( 🌙)

When really it should be:

月 —> 🌙

It’s too much work to translate Japanese to English to what you actually mean. Instead, associate the object with the Japanese word directly. It’s not enough to know how to translate a language, you have to literally think in that language too. Especially with a language where it’s cultural mindset is very prominent like Japanese. I can look at 水 and spell it like “みず” instead of “mizu” and know that it means “water” without having to do the manual translation in my head.

It’s hard to rewire your brain like that, but trust me, it works. And once you get it, you’re jaw is going to drop for days.

[tybt]

Your videos are always a treat. No matter the subject, they're very thought provoking.

[ashleyhamman]

I started learning Japanese a couple months ago just as a casual sideproject through an app a few hours a week, and while I'm not very far along, I've been enjoying it far more than learning German in school. With German, I kept trying to couple it with workings of English in a way which simply isn't right, due to the letters being almost all identical. Learning the Japanese kanas and starter words has been able to separate my idea of language, and I've found myself in a distinctly different mindset when I am thinking about the language, much as people report having a different personality between languages, and that's a very refreshing experience.
I don't expect to gain much utility out of Japanese, I barely touch Japanese media, and only expect to go to Japan a handful of times in my life unless an unforseen opportunity arises. However I can now read some of the labels at the local stores that specialize in Asian foods, and am slowly being able to understand portions of Japanese websites that contain stuff related to my other interests. More importantly to me, when my mind just won't quiet down, I can idly do some learning that will be productive!

[ooln]

"Adults are poo-poo stupid."
Thank you, I really needed that today. <3

[plue]

I learnt Japanese when I was around 15, I never really get to use the language outside of Japan but the friends I made at uni from knowing the language made it all worth it! :D
(I also get to translate stuff online as a side-gig which is a cool bonus haha)

[iamjustjoshing]

I appreciate that you addressed the worry about learning Japanese (or any language) being a waste of time. I have been learning Japanese as a hobby for about two years, working on learning the radicals and kanji, dipping my toe into N5 grammar, but at a very slow pace. Sometimes I get so discouraged. I know being fluent takes so much more time than I'm putting in, so I'm often led to wonder if I would do better to give up Japanese altogether to invest that time into something else. But you know what? Your video made me think of the times where I saw a kanji and actually recognized it, instead of seeing just a jumble of lines. It reminded me of going through my pictures of my Japan trip from 2018, where I had absolutely zero Japanese knowledge, and being able to retrospectively read some of the signs / storefronts / etc. It made me think of the fun of speaking a Japanese sentence, just appreciating it for its sound and flow, even if I haven't mastered every vocabulary word or grammatical structure. In short, you made me think of all the times learning Japanese made me happy, not because I was becoming the best in the world, but because I was learning and experiencing something new that I was interested in.

I love the message that doing things just for the pure interest is a good enough reason to do something. There doesn't have to be a grand goal. Because even if I never reach fluency, the broadening of my horizons by stepping into another culture is something that won't go away.

[ms]

I studied japanese for 3 years. Sadly I had to quit this year. University took more of my time, the language got more complex, and I stopped enjoying learning it.

BUT I did have fun it while it lasted, and I do not regret all that time I spent on it. The feeling when you start to see those thing that seemed alien to you as normal is quite an experience.

[sirreginaldfishingtonxvii]

There's a quote from a (multilingual) teacher of mine that I like about kids being better at learning languages than adults.
"It takes 5 years for an five year old to learn a language... On the level of a five year old. ´"

And that's when they're completely surrounded by and immersed in the language, at that.

There's no need to worry fellas, just because you're not 2 anymore doesn't mean you can't learn a language.

[Lalovoe]

Hey, this is actually the EXACT sets of Reasons why I'm learning it

[nijumi]

Everything you said is true! You even explained things I couldn’t explain why I do them. I just love Japanese! I’ve been studying Japanese for probably over 10 years now. Every time someone asks me “why Japanese?”, I not only have to find a reason for my self, why learning this language is worth my time, but also I feel like I have to convince the other person I’m doing this for some amazingly rewarding reason (which I should be able to sum up in one sentence, so the other person can be like “woooow, that’s so amazing of you! I could never do that.”, because otherwise they would just directly label you as the one with the weird hobby and this is the only feature they see in you… they’ll do that anyway). It always has to seem useful and it always has to make money for most people. To me it’s very rewarding, but I can not explain why because it’s mostly on an emotional level. The feeling of being able to connect two dots and seeing a pattern in a seemingly completely unrelated place. It probably means nothing, but at the same time you’ll feel like the smartest person on the planet. I love this “OH THIS IST WHY […]!!”-feeling. I’m pretty sure such a connection won’t leave you anymore. I believe this works for almost anything, it could be gardening, crafting, science, sport probably… but for me, I guess learning Japanese was the thing that started all that. And I love it.

[zaneberry]

I started learning Korean on duolingo at the beginning of last year
My time investment went down fast and I still am only on the beginner side and don’t have a great habit
But all these part 1 benefits you described I can already agree with
I feel confident I’ll get back to it and figure it out and I’ve always wanted to learn a dramatically different language
It’s cool

[MarkyTeriyaki]

This video really speaks to me tbh. I moved from Norway to Japan because I wanted something different in life. I didn't move there for the anime or any of that shit like most other foreigners I met, but more just to experience something completely different from what I considered normal.

Where it got creepy is when you mentioned tokidoki, I would use this word in every single sentence until my assisstant asked me to chill out with the tokidokis. To this day it is still my favorite word. Looking back at where I started with Japanese two years ago it feels super nice to be in a position where I can use the language freely and truly understand a culture that is completely different from my own.

[_b_]

I really enjoy learning Japanese and I love learning various languages but recently I’ve had to slow down my progress so that I can perfect my German in order to pass my college of choice’s language placement test so I can skip required classes. I’m so terrified that I’m losing my Japanese but this vid has helped me remember how much I love German as well and how I’m still comfortable with devoting my time to German instead! Thanks so much!