With the information that the visa for yonseis will start to be released in July and that proof of proficiency (N4 – basic level) will be required, many start to rush to study for the JLPT exam that will also take place in July. That said, the question remains: How much of the Japanese language is it possible to learn in three months?
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Level 4: 1,500 words and 300 kanji, need to study more than 400 hours
Understanding the above information: Level 4 (N4) is reached when you have mastered the basics of the language – that is, when you have mastered hiragana and katakana, vocabulary and are able to deal with everyday situations.
400 hours of study: It is the estimated amount of time to deal with all possible confusions and doubts involving the basics of the language - that is, doubts about which kanji to use, how to write a certain word or why pronouns are not used in certain conversations. If you study with planning and commitment, in 400 hours you can master the basics of the language.
A day has 24 hours. A person generally needs 6 - 8 hours of sleep per night. Therefore, this person's day still has 16 hours. The working hours in Brazil allow only 44 hours per week, let's consider: Monday to Friday - 5 days a week 8 hours per day. There are still 8 hours left in this person's day. Considering: meals, trips to the bathroom, water breaks, and that time to think and breathe - it will take about 3; 3.5 hours. With these 5.5 hours remaining, if the person activates and practices their willpower to study the Japanese language intelligently and efficiently, in approximately 72 days (2 months and 2 weeks), they can master the basics of the language.
What to do after Hiragana
Once you have learned hiragana and katakana, you are able to start reading Japanese, albeit to a limited extent. From there, you can start learning, for example: names of colors, animals, objects, etc. Even words that are usually written using kanji can be written with hiragana and katakana. Why do the Japanese use kanji then, you might be wondering, and the answer is simple: understanding.
During a conversation it is not difficult to understand the context of the conversation or what meaning of the word the person is referring to. However, in a written conversation, whether by letter or WhatsApp, for example, this would not always be possible. The meaning of written communication is exactly to seek the best way to communicate something that cannot be explained in person.
That said, the kanji that are ideograms, serve to end the 'double meaning' of some words, which if written only with hiragana and katakana could cause confusion, but which are easily understood through the kanji that were used to write them. them.
Is it possible to learn Japanese in 3 months?
So if you learn the 300 kanji that are required at the basic level and their applications, pronunciations and meanings, you will have a vocabulary of about 1500 words.
Taking all this into account, it is possible to reach the following conclusion: If you study for 5.5 hours every day, in a structured way and with good material, at the end of those 3 months you will have studied for 495 hours, which is much more than is understood to be necessary to master the basics of the language.
Imagining that not everyone would use the remaining 5.5 hours in their day, and then deducting that the person studied for 3 hours every day, he would reach the 270-hour mark of study, which is equivalent to (2/3) two thirds of the recommended time.
With good materials and dedication, the chances of passing the JLPT test and getting the certificate are very high. In the end, it's all up to you.