Is language your barrier to that free and easy trip in Japan? Let me show you a few simple ways to get comfortable with the Japanese language.

The Japanese language uses a 3 alphabet system, Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. There are 46 basic letters in both Hiragana and Katakana, with extended pronunciation through modifiers. And with Kanji, there are roughly 2000 common Kanji characters of which only less than 1000 are used regularly.

 

 

 

Now, if you speak English, you should understand Katakana. Why? Katakana is essentially English, or more accurately Japanized English. Here are some examples to illustrate this.

 

As for Kanji, if you are familiar with Mandarin, you are at an advantage. Although you might not be able to read the Kanji characters correctly, you will understand the meaning of the Kanji characters in many situations since in many cases the meanings are the same or at least similar.

 

Now do you feel more comfortable tackling the Japanese language, you potentially have command of 2/3 of the language! Here are some other common words and phrases that you would likely come into contact with:

 

 

And my favourite Japanese phrase is “大丈夫 (dai jyo bu) ”. It can be “大丈夫” or “大丈夫？” depending on the tone that you use this phrase, meaning “I am ok” and “Are you ok?” respectively. So put aside any worries and go for it!

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