Myself I live in Hong Kong and can’t wrap my head around all their horrible Cantonese/Mandarin, Traditional/Simplified, so at least Japanese, simple to pronounce and learn, makes me do HUGE progress in Chinese compared to before (before was 0 – english only). I can finally impress my girlfriend with all the signs I can recognise, and even some sounds I can say.

Joke aside, accessing a mysterious culture is great, Japanese people are a bit isolated from the english-speaking world (I’m from France, we are a bit isolated too, since like the Japanese, we don’t speak english much), and being able to read their stuff, understand their spirit, is fascinating !

I also believe spending a bit of money on it helps, to justify your investment, you continue to learn even when it becomes hell.

Having learned english for 10 hard years in France, listening to podcasts, watching movies, reading grammar books, turning all my life into a little America, I know it’s very hard to become fluent but oh so rewarding. So if Japanese is your first language, keep up and in a few years you’ll look back with tears in your eyes, living in Japan even maybe, and wondering how you could even have hesitated.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by  Pierre.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by  Pierre.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by  Pierre.