Ten notes from the roadside
Every question that stops a Japanese beginner
Which script first, why kanji have two readings, whether anime counts as study, how long this actually takes, and what the JLPT does and does not publish. Each note answers in its first two sentences, then shows where the answer came from.
Every road note
JLPT Levels Explained, Using Only What the Test Itself Publishes
Five levels, published pass marks, a level that asks more than the one above it, and no official vocabulary list since 2010 — straight from jlpt.jp.
Read the note →09Aug 12, 2026Japanese or Korean: Which Is Easier, and Why the Ranking Says Neither
The one body that publishes a difficulty ranking puts both in the same band. The real difference is where the difficulty sits — and they are opposites.
Read the note →08Aug 7, 2026Japanese Podcasts: How to Pick One That Actually Moves Your Listening
The best Japanese podcast for you is decided by four properties, not by a ranking — and three of the four are things a listing page never tells you.
Read the note →07Aug 2, 2026Learning Japanese With Anime: What It Teaches and What It Ruins
Anime is excellent listening input and a terrible grammar source, and the difference matters more in Japanese than in any European language.
Read the note →06Jul 28, 2026Books for Learning Japanese: What Each Kind Is Actually For
A textbook, a grammar reference, a kanji book and a reader do four different jobs, and buying the wrong kind is the usual reason a book sits unopened.
Read the note →05Jul 23, 2026How to Learn Japanese by Yourself: A Plan That Survives Month Three
Self-study fails at predictable points, for predictable reasons. Here is the week-by-week shape that avoids the three most common collapses, and what it costs.
Read the note →04Jul 18, 2026How to Learn to Read Japanese (Without Waiting for Kanji to Be Finished)
Reading is the skill self-studiers postpone longest and regret postponing most. The fix is to start reading badly, early, in the only three registers a beginner can actually decode.
Read the note →03Jul 14, 2026How Long Does It Take to Learn Japanese? The Only Sourced Answer
One organisation publishes real numbers for Japanese, and they describe diplomats in full-time classrooms. Everything else circulating is somebody's estimate wearing a citation.
Read the note →02Jul 9, 2026Is Japanese Hard to Learn? What Is Genuinely Difficult, and What Is Not
Japanese is ranked among the hardest languages for English speakers by the one body that publishes a ranking — but the difficulty is concentrated in places beginners do not expect.
Read the note →01Jul 6, 2026Which Japanese Alphabet to Learn First (and Why the Order Is Fixed)
Hiragana, then katakana, then kanji — and unlike most study-order arguments, this one has a mechanical reason behind it rather than a preference.
Read the note →