I want to ask foreigners. Why did you start to study japanese?

Question

WizzLight · Answer

A lot of people here in Belgium or France like your country very much and think it is a real heaven.

All my classmates at University discovered Japan and Japanese with anime and video games. I have an anecdote about that. As many people watched the anime "One Piece", when they saw "one piece" in a text, they didn't understand that it was a dress. The same thing happened when they read "海賊" instead of "家族".

One of my teacher (~30 y.o.) also discovered thanks to old anime like Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2 or Captain Tsubasa. She even became a manga translator.

My second teacher (~55 y.o.) was just really into Japanese culture and history. He's also a big fan of kanji.

I decided to learn Japanese, because a lot of friends knew some of it and I wanted to be able to understand some little things too. So, I heard some Japanese and looked for articles on the Internet and I found your language very elegant. I decided to learn kana by myself. I also learned a lot of things about Japan at the same time and it was really interesting. Before that, Japan was, for me, just an country made of islands where the Dutch went to sell stuff before. I never left Europe and traditional Japanese architecture, legends (like yuki onna, momotaro) or even manners (bowing, respect etc.) make me dream. During my translation studies at university I had the opportunity to really start learning Japanese. It was so nice even if it was only for 8 months and my level is still very bad. 
Now I just want to visit some cities and villages in the countryside of Japan one day. I would not try to live and work there though, that's not my goal. I just want to discover more and more about this faraway and beautiful country.

swiftscout · Answer

Well I've been a fan of Japanese anime, manga, light novels and visual novels for a long time. So I've always been somewhat interested in Japan and Japanese stuff. I learned both hiragana and katakana just out of interest. It took a while to memorize them all but it was easier than I expected.

One day at high school during an English class my teacher told us that she's been studying Japanese lately and showed her Japanese book. That caught my eye so after the class had ended I asked if I could borrow the book for a few days and she let me.

Reading the book made me interested in Japanese grammar and vocabulary and all that. I noticed how fun it was just to learn something new. I didn't spend the days studying very efficiently because I was so amazed by all the information in the book and the structure of the language. When I returned the book I knew I had to keep studying more.

I was a bit scared by the number of kanji and their complexity but I quickly realized that while learning kanji can be difficult, it is very interesting.

So here I am now, still studying. I learn something new every day which feels very rewarding. Over the years I've made Japanese friends online which makes sure that I actively use the language. It's also a good way for me to learn something from them every time we chat about stuff.

Rosalee41 · Answer

It began with the obsession with Naruto ナルト😍~

The reason I start to learn Japanese:
1. 平仮名がきれいです。
2. 大好きな声優たち: especially 神谷浩史，井上和彦 and 石田彰。
 3. 日本料理が好きです。(でも納豆は苦手です)
4. 日本は美しい国です。可愛いものがたくさんある。いつか家族で日本へ旅行に行きます。

Spicery · Answer

私と同じく小説が好きで、日本語の勉強を始めた人がいませんか。

Viriana · Answer

My grandfather its the one who started all. When I was little he would tell me (he is still doing it) how kind and sweet the people of Japan were to him. He would tell each time how thankful he was to them for treating him like that. He taught me basic expressions and the writing system. He encouraged me to take Japanese classes at the Japanese Community each Wednesday and Saturday. When I turned 15, my grandfather told us that there was a special person that he would love to see again. So I took that as my goal; he is a Veteran of War that worked as an interpreted.

chlopoke · Answer

I wanted to be an exchange student!

Soy-fluent-en-KOREAN · Answer

Because I want to debate with Japanese about the past what Japan did. And I want to let them know the truth.

katrin93 · Answer

After i finished my studies and got employed I wanted a new challenge to learn something new by myself. I thought a new language that I like would be cool and a new training. I chose japanese, because it's completly different from german language and I already had the interest in culture. Also I like watching Anime and had many connections to japan through my friends. They don't speak japanese but know the culture well. And as my fiance and I decided to visit japan for a month I got more motivated to achieve my goal. Also in my opinion it's rude to not know anything if you visit a new country.

martasick · Answer

Back in the 90s when I was just a child, lots of old japanese cartoons from the 70s and 80s (for example, Maison Ikkoku, Himitsu no Akko-chan, Yattaman) were broadcast in my country on local tv channels. American cartoons  like the Looney Toons had a silly humour and were just very simple. Whereas japanese cartoons took kids very seriously, they told stories as if children could unerstand feelings. They taught values. Opening songs were in japanese, and lots of kanjis were shown. I think much of my sensitivity somehow comes from education received from those cartoons. I decided to learn japanese to keep being connected to my sensitivity and the time when I was a child. Also I am interested in languages in general, so the more I learn about japanese, the more fascinated I am on how different it is from european languages.

Osimhaim · Answer

Всегда мечтал побывать там - где встаёт солнце )! Страна - Необычайно красивой природы и культуры . Местные обычаи и традиции . И дабы погрузиться в Японию полностью без остатка - нужно начинать с языка )!

lazykitty231 · Answer

It sounds very beautiful.

Japan is yet another country I wish to visit. just to look around, and to see the culture that the country has to offer. Doing so will need an education in the Japanese language.

Although I haven't made much progress.

I'm too shy to pronounce any of the words of any language that I'm learning to a native speaker.

dubuship · Answer

because, I love japanese idol called keyakizaka 46.
I want to more understand them. that's reason of why I learning japanese.

cuervotengu · Answer

I don't have a reason. I would say because I like anime or manga but all those anime and manga are translated to my language. at least with subs. I think it is more because it is very hard to me. it's like a challenge.  I have bad memory so I forgot continuously even katakana or hiragana. learning kanji is like climbing mount everest. I don't have much time to study so it makes things more harder. also I would like to reach the truth behind Japanese the society and it's  mask. if you don't know Japanese just scratch the surface and never reach the truth. fortunately here we have some Japanese wich help us they take the mask off and tell truth directly. I learned lots of things from them. step by step. everyday I'm more closer to the truth. every time I go Japan and use the Japanese it's a battery reload and gives me more energy to continue. it's a lifetime goal. because I don't really need Japanese in my live and it makes it harder to learn. Something you don't need you don't use and you eventually forgot it making things even harder.

I want to ask foreigners. Why did you start to study japanese? Vedi una traduzione

私と同じく小説が好きで、日本語の勉強を始めた人がいませんか。

I wanted to be an exchange student!

Because I want to debate with Japanese about the past what Japan did. And I want to let them know the truth.

because, I love japanese idol called keyakizaka 46.I want to more understand them. that's reason of why I learning japanese.

Fai domande a utenti madrelingua gratis

I want to ask foreigners. Why did you start to study japanese?

because, I love japanese idol called keyakizaka 46.
I want to more understand them. that's reason of why I learning japanese.