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Hello everyone!

In this article we would like to share with you the characteristics of the Japanese language as seen by our foreign learners.

It is sometimes said that “Japanese is one of the most difficult languages in the world.” What kind of impression do foreigners have of the Japanese language?

It is surprisingly difficult to notice what characteristics Japanese has compared to other foreign languages when we use it unconsciously in our daily lives.

In this issue, we will introduce some unique features of the Japanese language, including impressions from the Japanese point of view, focusing especially on areas that foreigners find strange or difficult to learn. 4.

4. speak without using too many katakana words
Foreigners = English for now = katakana words...

When you need to communicate with foreigners, whether unconsciously or consciously, many people think this way and try to communicate in katakana.

But foreigners are basically not good at katakana words.

How do people from kanji-speaking countries and Asian countries view katakana words?

Difficult to understand because many of them are pronounced differently from English.

∙ They don't speak English to begin with.

∙ They remember kanji words better.

English speakers can somehow hear katakana words in quirks and match them with English words.

However, the meaning of katakana words is often slightly different from that of English, and this is a source of misunderstanding.

They don't like katakana words because they are pronounced strangely (differently from the original word).

When I write the word, the gap between the word and the original word is even bigger, so it's hard to remember it correctly (= it doesn't stick).

These are the main reasons.

In addition, katakana words other than common nouns are often not conveyed well in the beginning level of Japanese study, because katakana words do not appear that often.

It might be a good idea to find hiragana words that mean roughly the same thing, or simple kanji words, and try to paraphrase them.

5. avoid speaking in Chinese as much as possible.
For example.

[Not a good example

Please evacuate to higher ground.

Quite a few foreigners can understand this sentence immediately.

Only people from China, Taiwan, and other countries with Chinese characters can immediately understand the meaning of difficult Chinese words.

In addition, if this were to be communicated orally, even fewer foreigners from Kanji-speaking countries would be able to understand it immediately.

(Example of improvement.)

Please go to a high place immediately.

In this way, if we avoid words in Chinese characters, many foreigners will be able to understand the meaning since it can be expressed in less difficult words that are studied at the beginner level.

6. speak while showing letters or picture
For example, it is difficult even for a Japanese person to explain “apple” in Japanese to someone who does not know the word “apple.

It is even more difficult if the person you are talking to is a foreigner.

If you show them a picture or a photograph, they will understand in an instant. If you have a cell phone, try searching for pictures or photos and show them while talking.

It is also very effective to type the sentences (or even just keywords) you are speaking on your smartphone or write them on a piece of paper while speaking. Especially if you are dealing with a foreigner from a kanji-speaking country, you can often get the message across by writing the kanji, so try it.

If information is conveyed not only through hearing but also visually, the listener will feel at ease and will be able to get the message across much easier.

Also, it often happens that people think they are hearing well, but in fact they have misheard and misunderstood.

To avoid such situations, it is a good idea to communicate key words (time, date, place, price, etc.) visually and audibly by writing them down or typing them out on your smartphone.

7. “Easy Japanese” concept and activities
In order to live in harmony with foreigners, there are activities to convey information in “easy Japanese” in addition to providing translations in multiple languages.

Living in a place where the language is different from your own (whether you feel stressed or not), that alone can cause a great deal of stress every day.

We hope that Japanese people can create an environment that is easy for foreigners to live in by speaking easy-to-understand Japanese.


How was your experience?

In this article, we have introduced five characteristics of Japanese that foreigners find difficult.

However, there are many more characteristics of Japanese that foreigners have trouble learning, so we will introduce the rest next week.

We hope you will continue reading this article next week.


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