Humanities & Social Sciences

Learning Kana (Hiragana and Katakana) is an excellent first step and can be very rewarding when simple Japanese phrases and writing especially in pop culture suddenly become readable. But I know how this will pan out. Finding a Hiragana/Katakana chart on Google and then trying to memorize the characters purely from rote and practice-and it will be frustrating, and neither effective nor enjoyable.

In my early days of Japanese language mania back in middle and high school, I attempted to learn kana from these charts on at least 4 different occasions over 4-to 5 years; but despite Samurai-style pain and perseverance, I never succeeded beyond being able to write them on demand-I could never recognize them quickly enough for practical use. I only became a fairly effective Japanese speaker and writer after 2-3 years of incredibly intensive college-level study and a short stint in Japan.