Japanese Language

I took three years of it in college but that was 8 years ago. I read it (mostly) fine occasionally having to get out a kanji dictionary and a little bit of writing. But if I ever had to speak to someone id probably freeze up and cry. Understanding someone speaking I might be fine because of anime and NJPW but hopefully they speak slowly

It took me one term to learn Hiragana and Katakana at school. I can speak and understand some conversations. To get a degree in Japanese it takes 4 years of classes. I'm 30 and I'm taking a term off. I plan on minoring in Japanese though. I wouldn't say it's too late. If it's something you enjoy then let it take however long it takes.

Kanji is pretty easy for a native Chinese speaker. XD

I can read only hiragana and some 5-6 kanji's.
Also, some basic words.
No katakana at all, also writing hiragana is still a bit hard to me.

変態だ!!
も...もし もし 警察ですか?

Hmm Kanji eh?
There's a lot in playstore, you can check which one you want :3
As for dictionary I recommend you Jsho

For me there's a lot way to learn a language completely, you just have to diligent
Learn it everyday 2-3 hours
Memorize kanji at least +1 per day
If possible use it for talking (or typing works too)
Kanji is hard, even for Japanese people sometimes don't know some of them
You just have to get used to it

I haven't completely mastered Japanese though so I can't give you many advices
Hope it helped?

Also, don't be a pervert will ya!! xD

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Hiragana have meaning just like the letters of the alphabet have meaning. It's not just kanji that have "real meaning." In fact the pronunciation of kanji is usually dependent on it's accompanying hiragana.

Speaking from personal experience, it takes about a year or less to start to speak and understand spoken Japanese. Once you learn the basic grammar rules, they are very consistent and it becomes easy to construct your own sentences the more vocabulary you gain. Reading and writing, as with any language takes more time to learn because it is not "natural." So I strongly advise focusing on learning how to speak and listen before getting disheartened by the difficulty of learning kanji.

I learned in college using the Japanese: The Spoken Language series accompanied by the Written Language series. It's largely repetition and drills which is really helpful at internalizing the language. It is also definitely more likely to achieve success if you have a conversation partner.

How long it take for you to understand Japanese language completely?
Completely? Maybe never. But comprehensively? 4 or 5 years if you are really dedicated to studying it.

How long it take for learning Kanji only?
I advise against this because reading Japanese requires knowing not just kanji but also hiragana and katakan as well as knowing the grammar. I honestly don't know how long it would take since I learned speaking and listening comprehension alongside reading and writing but my best guess would be at least a year or two of dedicated study.

Shamefully I'm 34 years, is it too late to learn Japanese language?
It's never too late to learn a language. I'm 29 and learning Uzbek and Arabic.

Is it possible to learn it our self without teacher/ courses?
Yes, but you must be as dedicated to learning it as if you are in a course with a teacher. Do at least consider getting a conversation partner to talk with on a regular basis.

why do you want to learn japanese ? are you planning to visit ? or what

Been studying it for over three years and also spent a year in Japan.

Inb4 stupid "weeaboo" comments.

Why you shouldn’t learn Japanese
^ some good arguments not to - might ease the pain of some gaijin trying to fit in

was interested myself to learn jp but as i learned how the language is made up,
where it might be of use, with how many and what for i figured that is one stupid f**** idea (personally)
(i'd better stick to the 4 language i know already fairly well and of which 2 are useless/borderline useless)

i just saw this on facebook, not trying to be ofensive i am just sharing it for the lulz

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I don't know if it was already said so....Try www.wanikani.com. It makes learning kani so easy

http://www.japanese-language.aiyori.org/
this site helped me
and i want you to know, YOU CAN DO IT! We all believe in you and you can do it, if you need any help we are all here

Age doesn't matter when learning a new language. Don't let your dreams be dreams, just do it. Yes, you can!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90EAmumpAME

I can understand some spoken Japanese, but it's all learnt from playing translated and untranslated Visual Novels aswell as watching anime for 8+ years.
I also try to learn more by reporting translation errors on steam forum for various visual novels, feels like I've learnt a bit more since I started doing that. :>
I can't read at all, I can recognize a few kanji/hiragana but obviously not enough to read. xD

Anyway, starting to learn at 30+ is certainly possible.
I'm gonna start studying Japanese myself soon, I'm not quite 30 yet but getting there. :P

Since I'm a Chinese, I "know " those kanji in Chinese, but some of them have different meaning in Japanese. I love anime, and I learned most of my Japanese skill in anime except katakana and hiragana which are I learned on my own. I'm trying to learn Japanese but English is my major problem right now, as result, I stopped self-study at katakana and hiragana. I'm now considering to take Japanese class in college or not. Sorry, if there is any grammar mistake.

it's never too late

How long it take for you to understand Japanese language completely?

If you study hard (at least 2 hours every day) and immerse yourself completely, you can become JLPT N3 in one year. JLPT N3 will give you a good start in handling very basic conversations and very simple reading comprehension. If you keep going, JLPT N2 in another one or two years is probably doable, and at that level you have a fair amount of fluency to be able to handle most situations. If you are looking at doing something in a highly professional capacity, you will need to build upon the core of JLPT N2 in the area(s) that are most beneficial to your desired expertise to become masterful. Language learning in even one's first language is a lifelong process in my opinion, and there is never a time when you can consider to know something completely (and if you think you do, it just means you don't even realize the things you don't know yet!)

How long it take for learning Kanji only?

This depends a lot on how motivated you are and how often you practice and study. If you study hard, I think you can acquire the first 1000 kanji (Japanese elementary school level) within a year, and get to the 2100 jōyō level in maybe 3 years. It helps though I think to study kanji along with other aspects of the language, as it will help you put the characters in context and that can help the learning process along a lot.

Shamefully I'm 34 years, is it too late to learn Japanese language?

It's never too late. I have known people who began learning new languages in their 40's and 50's and became fairly fluent after a few years of devoted study.

Is it possible to learn it our self without teacher/ courses?

It is possible, but you have to be highly motivated and able to form very strong study and target language exposure and usage habits. As with most endeavors, it helps to stay motivated when you have others around you supporting, pushing, guiding you to keep going. It's very easy when you are all on your own to lose motivation -- so even if you do not have a teacher/courses, you should surround yourself and actively participate in a group or community that will help keep you going.

they have 4 ways of writing, too much for my simple mind

i'm studying it as my 3rd language and i can say that even Native Japanese doesnt know all Kanji, and also there are hiragana only Japanese words, that have "true"? meaning in Japanese. Also, there is no "late time" to learn a new language, i had read a Science paper that shows that learning a new language is good for keep your brain active and healthy from getting diseases like Alzheimer.
Go ahead for it and がんばって！！

I am also interested in knowing how much Japanese is required for daily communication (really tempting to travel in Japan). Zero basis on Japanese tho....

I came to Japan 9 years ago not knowing any of the language. My Japanese ability is shamefully low for someone who has been here that long, but I can get by in daily life. I studied for the first few years but one I could get through everyday situations I focused more on studying related to my job and my Japanese has probably dropped in the last few years! (-.-;).
I imagine a lot of people who don't live in Japan but are into Japanese culture have a much better level of understanding than me.

Anyway, if you really want to learn quickly have a look at http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/
I think wanikani.com is good for vocab and kanji.
Basically anything that you can keep up and enjoy.

The only time it's too late to learn something new is when you're dead. :p Also, learning a new language has benefits, apparently people who speak 2 or more languages are less susceptible to Alzheimer's.

Anyway, how long it takes you to learn is entirely dependent on what you want to learn (do you want to be fluent? do you want to learn just enough to play games?) and your study methods. If you're aiming to speak it, make sure you get practice having actual conversations. Use skype to find native speakers to practice with (there are websites that can connect you, usually it's like a split time between conversing in Japanese and then returning the favor by talking in your native tongue to help the other person learn), join local meetups, etc.
Regarding the method you use, some work better for certain people than others. Some people are comfortable doing drills and using flashcards for a long while, some people jump straight into reading something like Yotsubato, some people cling to textbooks for years. Try out different methods and see what works best.

As far as learning kanji goes, there are a ton of sources. Wanikani is a paid option, you could also use anki (a free flashcard program), and if you have a smartphone you can access tons of apps. What you probably want to do is start out by introducing a certain number of new kanji a day, let's say ten. After a week or two you should be able to tell if that's too hard or easy for you, and introduce less or more daily as needed. Kanji can be a real slog, but it's thrilling to see something "in the wild" and think "hey I know what that means!" Just keep at it and be consistent and you'll get there. As per my example though, the average amount of kanji students will cover is just over 2100, at ten a day it will take you 210 days to have seen about as many. You won't perfectly remember them all, but you will be able to learn many of them in less than a year!

It's never too late!
I'm trying to learn, I can read (very slowly) and I can understand a little bit. Listening it's more difficult for me. Speaking? No way. lol

I just can't