Japanese has 3 forms of writing: Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji. Modern Japanese is made of a combination of Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana.


Kanji has its origin in Chinese characters. Each character carries its own meanings. Katakana and Hiragana are similar to the alphabets in most languages - a character represents a sound. Katakana is usually used to depict loaned foreign words in addition to sounds.


There is a variety of politeness levels in Japanese language, depending on the social standings of the speaker and listener. Males and females use the language specific to their gender by applying different use of vocabulary, grammar and even pitch.


One fast way to learn Japanese is to focus on speaking the language. Speaking is usually easier to pick up than the writing part. There are lots of audio courses available for beginners. By listening to audio of native speakers, beginners can quickly pick up proper pronunciation and wording. Be familiar with the basic forms of sentences, words and grammar and this would be sufficient for a beginner to construct simple sentences and start speaking Japanese confidently. Listen to the audio carefully to understand on the use of tones and then imitate them as best as possible. Without textbooks and teachers, this can be quite an effective approach for learning fast to speak Japanese language.


Learning Katakana and Hiragana is relatively easy and will make your pronunciation and understanding of Japanese much better. For those looking for a fast approach to acquire Japanese language skills, simply focus on words that are more relevant and used most often.


There are many excellent self-learning courses and resources available for one to learn Japanese easily. Self-learning coursewares typically cover the essentials of Japanese language, sufficient for learner to become part of a living, breathing Japanese community, either at the workplace or mixing around with Japanese neighbours. These cousewares starts from the basics of introducing oneself to getting around on public transportation with a whole lot more in between. With the full implementation of audio-visual educational technology, self-learning coursewares can be as effective to allow a learner to absorb Japanese as easily as children learn to speak their native language.


For the serious learner who wants to learn to speak Japanese by small group, conducted by a tutor, attending a Japanese language class is the better alternative. Japan hiWays is one of the company specialising in providing language learning in an interactive environment such as pair and group work. The vocabulary and grammatical items are presented in situational and realistic context for students to better understand how Japanese language is used among Japanese. Students acquire the skills of speaking conversational Japanese right away when taking part in interactive activities. Games, songs and dances are also often employed to help students overcome inhibition and create relaxed and fun atmosphere of learning. Students speak Japanese naturally when active and spontaneous responses become part of the learning.