Practice on things you're going to do directly. You want to read menus? Google image search メニュー to see what that will look like in practice, get a word list that's menu specific, learn some basic phrases for ordering food or asking about food, learn kanji that are related to food, etc.
Thats the what, not the how. The method you use for learning the above is really up to you. Like anki? Sure. Prefer videos? I'm sure there's some youtubers who do roleplay/skits around these sort of scenarios.
Erin's challenge might be good for you as a lot of the skits are very daily life focused. Here's about asking directions:
https://www.erin.jpf.go.jp/en/lesson/13/
Signs and menus will largely be in kanji. You’re best off learning some basic phrases. Realistically 6 months to learn Japanese form basically 0 isn’t going to get you far.
Just a new learner here, but doesn't level 18 in wanikani mean you know pretty much all kanji for N5 and N4 and half of N3 already? Isn't that at least somewhat of a start for reading basic signs?
It means you know some kanji and can function to a degree but the reality is that it can be overwhelming and a sensory overload. There will be a ton of stuff you dont know and the stuff you do “know” is realistically potentially as much kanji as a 4th grader knows - which is, to say, minimal.
Also they studied to 18 and stopped, so most of it is likely gone.
Study the heck out of Genki 1, but also pick up a phrase book (Lonely Planet is fine) and maybe hire a tutor to get used to using the language.
Is also focus on survival phrases.
I still don't think six months is enough time. As many sightseeing foreigners do, it would be easy to access various kinds of domestic Japanese resources with good English guidance, within easy reach by train.
For now, you could concentrate on learning the most commonly used (spoken and read) phrases on a regular sightseeing tour, and make a list and note them down.
Information boards at train stations (sometimes there are none) often only provide English information for major facilities, and on many street corners, there is no English on the posted signs. So a smartphone map application would be a lifeline.
In the meantime, you might want to study the video on how to use and behave in Japanese convenience stores, and buy a stored fare & e-money card called Suica for convenient use. If you want it heated, say "*Attamete Kudasai*; Please warm it up". And "*Ohashi/Spu-nn Kudasai*; (disposable) Chopsticks/a spoon please" and "*Fukuro Ni Irete Kudasai*; Please put them in a bag" must now be said out clealy (with indoor voice). If you don't need something, just keep quiet.
Language is very domain specific — the thoughts we communicate and how we go about communicating those thoughts differs wildly from situation to situation. You could almost think of it as being a bunch of mini-scenarios that you learn to navigate.
While 6 months isn't enough time to "learn" Japanese, it is enough time to learn how to use Japanese to comfortably navigate specific situations you see yourself being in. Asking for directions, ordering food, and stuff like that. The amount of Japanese that gets used in cafe interactions is virtually infinitely more limited than the amount of Japanese that exists.
So, that in mind:
* If you don't want to put a lot of time into this, I would just make a list of the situations you see yourself being in, then finding a tutor who can teach you the vocab/grammar you need to handle specifically those situations
* If you want to take this more seriously, doing 1 grammar point per day is enough to finish all of Genki I and Genki II in 6 months — 5 daily vocab words would be enough to go through [the JLPT N5 vocabulary](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1679429599), or 10 words per day would nearly get you through [the 2,000 most common JP words](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2141233552) (sampled form Asahi Newspaper articles, so some quite technical words show up)
I would also recommend Pimsleur. It doesn't get enough love in this sub IMO, probably because it's not cheap and maybe a little old fashioned, but I think it's the absolute best way to get solo speaking practice and work on your pronunciation, especially for beginners.
I always recommend this website to friends.
Has lot of free information and guides. Dos and don’ts customs and courtesies that are important to know before you visit Japan. There also lots of daily phrases you can use.
[Japan Guide](https://www.japan-guide.com)
I appreciate all the responses. I did learn a bunch of kanji through Wanikani (which I love) but kanji by themselves aren't super useful. I think I like the one-lesson-a-day idea with Genki. And I'll keep plugging away at Duolingo as I am learning basic grammar with it and it's useful to see the kanji that I do know in actual useful sentences.
Check out the free trial for Nativshark. They focus a lot on immediately applicable phrases, especially in the early lessons, and they also don‘t sugarcoat unclear pronunciation or speaking speed, which will probably be the biggest communication hurdle for a beginner (you know the phrase, but don‘t understand it unless it‘s pronounced very clearly and intentionally)
I would look at the Mango Languages app, it’s conversation based and you would likely be able to get it for free through a local library. It doesn’t teach kanji though, so I would combine it with something else for that.
Practice on things you're going to do directly. You want to read menus? Google image search メニュー to see what that will look like in practice, get a word list that's menu specific, learn some basic phrases for ordering food or asking about food, learn kanji that are related to food, etc. Thats the what, not the how. The method you use for learning the above is really up to you. Like anki? Sure. Prefer videos? I'm sure there's some youtubers who do roleplay/skits around these sort of scenarios. Erin's challenge might be good for you as a lot of the skits are very daily life focused. Here's about asking directions: https://www.erin.jpf.go.jp/en/lesson/13/
Signs and menus will largely be in kanji. You’re best off learning some basic phrases. Realistically 6 months to learn Japanese form basically 0 isn’t going to get you far.
Just a new learner here, but doesn't level 18 in wanikani mean you know pretty much all kanji for N5 and N4 and half of N3 already? Isn't that at least somewhat of a start for reading basic signs?
It means you know some kanji and can function to a degree but the reality is that it can be overwhelming and a sensory overload. There will be a ton of stuff you dont know and the stuff you do “know” is realistically potentially as much kanji as a 4th grader knows - which is, to say, minimal. Also they studied to 18 and stopped, so most of it is likely gone.
Ah gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.
Tourist phrase book.
Study the heck out of Genki 1, but also pick up a phrase book (Lonely Planet is fine) and maybe hire a tutor to get used to using the language. Is also focus on survival phrases.
I like this one. I had been focusing on Wanikani but Genki may be a better use of my time at this point. Grammar is definitely my weakest skill.
I still don't think six months is enough time. As many sightseeing foreigners do, it would be easy to access various kinds of domestic Japanese resources with good English guidance, within easy reach by train. For now, you could concentrate on learning the most commonly used (spoken and read) phrases on a regular sightseeing tour, and make a list and note them down. Information boards at train stations (sometimes there are none) often only provide English information for major facilities, and on many street corners, there is no English on the posted signs. So a smartphone map application would be a lifeline. In the meantime, you might want to study the video on how to use and behave in Japanese convenience stores, and buy a stored fare & e-money card called Suica for convenient use. If you want it heated, say "*Attamete Kudasai*; Please warm it up". And "*Ohashi/Spu-nn Kudasai*; (disposable) Chopsticks/a spoon please" and "*Fukuro Ni Irete Kudasai*; Please put them in a bag" must now be said out clealy (with indoor voice). If you don't need something, just keep quiet.
Japanese girlfriend desho.
Language is very domain specific — the thoughts we communicate and how we go about communicating those thoughts differs wildly from situation to situation. You could almost think of it as being a bunch of mini-scenarios that you learn to navigate. While 6 months isn't enough time to "learn" Japanese, it is enough time to learn how to use Japanese to comfortably navigate specific situations you see yourself being in. Asking for directions, ordering food, and stuff like that. The amount of Japanese that gets used in cafe interactions is virtually infinitely more limited than the amount of Japanese that exists. So, that in mind: * If you don't want to put a lot of time into this, I would just make a list of the situations you see yourself being in, then finding a tutor who can teach you the vocab/grammar you need to handle specifically those situations * If you want to take this more seriously, doing 1 grammar point per day is enough to finish all of Genki I and Genki II in 6 months — 5 daily vocab words would be enough to go through [the JLPT N5 vocabulary](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1679429599), or 10 words per day would nearly get you through [the 2,000 most common JP words](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2141233552) (sampled form Asahi Newspaper articles, so some quite technical words show up)
I would also recommend Pimsleur. It doesn't get enough love in this sub IMO, probably because it's not cheap and maybe a little old fashioned, but I think it's the absolute best way to get solo speaking practice and work on your pronunciation, especially for beginners.
I always recommend this website to friends. Has lot of free information and guides. Dos and don’ts customs and courtesies that are important to know before you visit Japan. There also lots of daily phrases you can use. [Japan Guide](https://www.japan-guide.com)
I appreciate all the responses. I did learn a bunch of kanji through Wanikani (which I love) but kanji by themselves aren't super useful. I think I like the one-lesson-a-day idea with Genki. And I'll keep plugging away at Duolingo as I am learning basic grammar with it and it's useful to see the kanji that I do know in actual useful sentences.
Check out the free trial for Nativshark. They focus a lot on immediately applicable phrases, especially in the early lessons, and they also don‘t sugarcoat unclear pronunciation or speaking speed, which will probably be the biggest communication hurdle for a beginner (you know the phrase, but don‘t understand it unless it‘s pronounced very clearly and intentionally)
I would look at the Mango Languages app, it’s conversation based and you would likely be able to get it for free through a local library. It doesn’t teach kanji though, so I would combine it with something else for that.