Sage-Tips

Is English hard for Japanese speakers?

The reason Japanese have difficulty with English is because of the limited range of vocalization used in the Japanese language. Most other foreigners speak English with accents carried over from their native tongue, but not as distinctly different as the Japanese.

Is Japanese better if you understand anime?

Yes, yes, yes! Even learning one word in Japanese will increase your appreciation of anime, since you’ll hear that one word as the voice actor originally said it. Every bit of Japanese you learn will deepen your understanding. You will see what parts the subtitles did not or could not translate.

Is Japan friendly to English speakers?

Japan is tourist friendly with signs available in English. You can get around with barely any Japanese knowledge. Locals can help you if you use simple English, but don’t expect them to answer you in English. Yes, of course you can – in fact its much much easier than it used to be.

Which language is used in anime?

Most anime is spoken in standard Japanese, the one they always speak on TV. Most places in Japan have their own variety of Japanese, but everybody understands TV Japanese.

What language should I learn to understand anime?

It needs practice. So if you want to learn Japanese in order to understand the anime you’re watching, then it’s possible to do for free. If you want to speak the language smoothly, you’ll need to practice speaking.

Can I learn Japanese without kanji?

The short answer is: yes, you can speak fluent Japanese and understand Japanese people without ever studying a single kanji. In fact, if you focus your studies on hearing comprehension, it’s likely that you will achieve fluency of speech much faster than somebody who chooses to focus on kanji.

Why do some Japanese people use fast paced English in anime?

Japanese, occasionally you get a foreigner who wanders up to a Japanese person and just starts blasting them away in fast paced English. It usually is used for comedic effect, as the Japanese character will be dumbfounded, confused, and react in a silly way with most likely silly English.

What does it mean when a Japanese person uses the Japanese accent?

It usually is used for comedic effect, as the Japanese character will be dumbfounded, confused, and react in a silly way with most likely silly English. It’s usually funny, as the Japanese person attempts to communicate with the overbearing foreigner.

Are Japanese people comfortable speaking English on a conversational level?

Even for this group, it’s perceived that less than 20\% of Japanese are comfortable using English on a conversational level. In fact, this low estimate may be overly generous when looking at the 2016 statistics of Rakuten’s online survey on Japanese people’s attitudes towards English.

How many Japanese-English bilinguals are there in Japan?

While no official data seems to exist regarding the percentage of native Japanese-English bilinguals in Japan, the general perception from desk research and from conversations with Japanese friends and colleagues, is that less than 10\% of Japanese have professional working proficiency in English.