Honest, first-person writing about learning Japanese — what actually happened, what went wrong, and what works
Everything here is written from real experience by Rahul Kumar Singh — a Japanese learner from Nepal studying at a language school with native Japanese teachers, preparing for the JLPT alongside classmates on the JFT-Basic working-visa track. No recycled generic advice: if it's on this page, it happened to me or to people I study with.
A phase-by-phase map of the first three months — kana, core grammar, first kanji — plus the list of things beginners waste time on that can safely wait.
Listening is the slowest skill to grow, so it should start first. Low-effort listening habits for absolute beginners, and why understanding 10% is still progress.
The Leitner box system gives you real spaced repetition with paper cards — and for kanji, writing by hand beats tapping an app. Full setup in ten minutes.
My classmates on the JFT-Basic track face a specific problem: almost every kanji resource is organised for the JLPT. What actually works for daily-life kanji recognition.
Japanese word order, particles, politeness levels and sounds all have close parallels in Nepali. If Nepali is your first language, you start closer to the finish line than English speakers do.
You do not need three hours a day. A 45–60 minute routine built around review-first study — and the honest version of what to cut on your worst days.
You do not memorise stroke order character by character — you learn eight rules. Here they are, with examples, and why following them makes kanji easier, not harder.
The fastest way to stop fearing kanji is to see the drawings hiding inside them. 25 beginner characters that are simplified pictures of mountains, rivers, people and fire.
Learning beginner Japanese through your own language is not cheating. What a Nepali teacher made easier, what still had to happen in Japanese, and when to switch.
A simple day-by-day hiragana plan that survives real life: which rows to learn when, the characters everyone confuses, and how to start reading real words from day three.
My honest first month with kanji, the realisation that they're pictures of real life, and the two beginner mistakes — skipped stroke order and forgotten meanings — I'd undo if I could.
I study JLPT; half my classmates study JFT-Basic for the SSW work visa. Here is how the two exams actually differ, and how to pick the right one for your goal.
New articles are published regularly. Have a topic you want covered — or a question about studying Japanese from Nepal? Send it in.