Where to start studying Japanese? As? in what order?

This is a very delicate question, each one studies in a different way, and gets a different performance and result. In this article, we are going to do a little analysis on what can be studied and how. Remembering that these are my tips and opinions.

For starters, drop the romaji, learn at once hiragana and katakana. If you don't want to give up romaji and don't want to learn hiragana, you shouldn't even start studying Japanese, you're wasting your time. A little effort and in 1 week you may already be able to learn hiragana and thousands of doors will open, and you may already be able to read most Japanese texts, and any text you have. Okurigana.

Now let's start looking at a little bit of each thing to be studied in Japanese, and a good suggestion and way to accomplish this. There is no order of what to study first, it all depends on your need and priority, let's talk about that too.

Vocabulary

This is the main part of learning Japanese, you should focus on learning words. for that you should focus on reading, listening as much as possible, and learn and memorize correctly. Don't try to force new words into your vocabulary, try to learn them naturally, just study content.

Increasing your vocabulary is a great way to start learning Japanese, if you focus on it, you will automatically learn other things like kanji, grammar, etc. But remember, don't force the bar! Focus on the ability to remember, not memorize.

How to increase my vocabulary naturally? Listening to music, using anki, reading and browsing Japanese websites, studying Japanese material, using apps and dictionaries. There are thousands of ways to increase your vocabulary, but don't be in a hurry.

Start by learning the verbs that are the most important, by learning them, you may be able to understand and create sentences without difficulties. But don't forget to learn adjectives, nouns and others simultaneously. Learning the verbs is just a priority suggestion that you should have.

Be careful, Japanese words have different meanings and uses. Only time and immersion in the language will solve this great difficulty.

Grammar

The great enemy of learning Japanese, sometimes worse than kanji itself. Japanese grammar is very easy, but it is completely different from our Portuguese, and has thousands of things that we don't know. Verbs are conjugated differently, word order in a sentence, particle usage and much more.

For this reason, avoid using automatic translation tools, as they will always make mistakes in grammar or in the use of the correct word. The first step is to learn in detail the particles, and the conjugation of verbs. Then focus on absorbing content, reading texts, listening to phrases. The more sentences you hear, the more sentences you will be able to create without making grammar mistakes.

If you have difficulty with any part of Japanese grammar, like particles, verbs, focus on that. You have to focus on your weaknesses. Weak points will only get weaker, and will always slow you down. Don't forget to delve deeply into the details and differences that the language will present along the way.

Kanji

Japanese characters take forever to learn. Many are terrified of them, but don't be afraid. Kanji are necessary in Japanese reading and writing.

If you want to learn Japanese fast, and you don't want to become shodo artist, then leave learning to write in the background. Learning to write kanji by kanji will only delay your learning by years, and will not help you memorize them. After I stopped trying to learn kanji by kanji, without realizing it I've learned thousands just by reading and studying.

Grab a text with furigana and start reading. When learning words, be sure to learn them with kanji, especially verbs. Verbs use a large number of kanji and are easier to memorize.

Learning whole words is more beneficial than learning to read each kanji, because what's the point of learning to read if when you read the word, you read it wrong? Therefore, the correct way to learn kanji is not to worry so much about them, but about reading and absorbing content.

One thing that you must learn and study in detail are radicals. Learning the radicals makes it easier to memorize the kanji, and even write them down.

The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:

concluding

When studying Japanese, keep in mind that you will make mistakes, you will fail, you will get frustrated, you will get discouraged, you will forget... Remember that all of this is part of the learning process.

There is no correct order to learn Japanese, there is a correct way. There is an order where you prioritize your learning, I do it as follows:

1. Read
2. To listen
3. Absorb
4. Understand
5. Write

My study priority:

1. Vocabulary
2. Verb
3. Phrases
4. Grammar
5. Kanji
6. Writing

In my opinion, this is the most effective way to learn Japanese. If you follow this priority, you will automatically learn everything else. Is that you? How do you learn Japanese? What is the order and priority of your study method?