10 ways to speak japanese faster

1. Get to know the Japanese writing systems.

Japanese language uses four different writing systems that have different characters. To speak the language, you don't necessarily need to learn how to write in Japanese, but it's important to understand the way the four systems work together.

• Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, a system of characters used to represent distinct Japanese sounds.
• Katakana is similar to Hiragana, in that it is made up of Japanese sounds, but it is mostly composed of words that originated in different languages. It could be considered the syllabary for foreign words. Together, Hiragana and Katakana cover every sound in the Japanese language, 46 in total.
• Kanji are Chinese characters adapted for Japanese that are the foundation of Japanese writing. The sounds used to pronounce Kanji are the same as those used in Hiragana and Katakana.
• In Japanese language, the Latin alphabet is sometimes used for acronyms, company names, and names meant to be read by non-Japanese speakers.
• Romaji, the written Roman version of Japanese words, is also worth mentioning, even though it is not used in Japan. It is recommended that new students of Japanese skip Romaji and learn Japanese characters instead. Once you start learning Romaji it's difficult to associate Japanese sounds with Japanese characters.

Related post: Top 7 free and paid Japanese courses online

2. Learn Japanese pronunciation.

The sounds corresponding to the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets are composed of either one of five vowel sounds or a combination of a consonant and a vowel sound, with the exception of a few consonant-only sounds.

• Since each character in Hiragana and Katakana has only one distinct sound, it is relatively easy to learn how to pronounce all 46. Pay special attention to intonation, though, since variations on these basic sounds can drastically change the meaning.
• Whereas English pronunciation is based on accents, Japanese pronunciation is based on pitch. A word may be pronounced the same way and mean something different depending on whether it is spoken in a high or low pitch. To sound like a native speaker, getting intonation right is key.

3. Learn variations on Japanese sounds.

Japanese characters may be written with extra strokes to signify that they should be pronounced with an additional sound. The additional sounds fall into these categories:

• Voiced consonants, which are pronounced with a "voice," a vibration in the throat. There are 4 voiced consonants and one semi-voiced consonant.
• Y-vowel sounds, which can directly follow consonant sounds to change the pronunciation.
• Hard consonant sounds, which add a hard stop between sounds.
• Long vowel sounds. The meaning of a sound can alter depending on how long the vowel sound is held.

4. Find a Japanese Roommate

Living with a Japanese speaker means you’ll have opportunities to speak Japanese every single day. Hang around with your roommate and their friends enough and you’ll be getting Japanese immersion without even going out the door.

If your roommate isn’t fluent in your native language, you can even incorporate a language exchange element by agreeing to speak, say, English at breakfast, Japanese at dinner, etc. (With any luck, they’ll even help you up your game when it comes to Japanese cooking!)

Your city may have Japanese-language classifieds where people seek accommodation. Otherwise, go to the places you’d usually look for roommates and see if any Japanese speakers are searching. You can also tell your local university that you’d welcome Japanese exchange students to your apartment for a semester or more.

5. Practice with Some Study Buddies

You don’t necessarily have to only practice your speaking with people who are native in Japanese. As long as they’re of a similar or higher proficiency level than you, you can still enjoy valuable Japanese language practice.

Whether you’re introducing each other to your favorite Japanese songs at karaoke night, role-playing conversations or using verbal games to reinforce your Japanese studies, practicing with someone else is like going to the gym with a buddy. Even though neither of you is likely to become the next Hulk Hogan (perhaps fortunately), you’re both more likely to stay the course.

Again, Meetup and Facebook are great places to meet people, as are Japanese language courses. You can catch up with your classmates for extracurricular language practice. Your Japanese and theirs might not be perfect, and you’ll sometimes make mistakes, but the benefit to your fluency that those practice sessions offer shouldn’t be underestimated.

Plus, if you’re hitting a roadblock in pronunciation, comprehension or any other language skill, a fellow learner can offer study tips and tools that worked for him or her.

You could also use resources like Reddit’s /r/LearnJapanese or the JapanesePod101 forum to find potential study buddies who are local or who could reach you on Skype, or even just offer advice about how they found other learners to practice with.

6. Talk to Yourself

This may seem awkward, and you probably shouldn’t do it on the bus or in the middle of the grocery store, but talking to yourself in Japanese can be an entertaining exercise and effective language study tool.

Whether it’s difficult for you to meet native Japanese speakers for conversation or you just want an added language boost in your downtime, talking to yourself doesn’t have to make you feel like you’re a living personification of the #foreveralone meme.

The most productive way to go about this is to think of an everyday topic and record yourself talking about it. Then listen to the recording and see what grammar or pronunciation errors you can catch, and re-record without them.

It doesn’t quite matter what you’re talking about, as long as you’re using words and expressions you’re likely to need in real-life situations.

You could do a short recap of your day before going to sleep, or talk out your opinion on something from the news. You could pretend to tell that annoying person at work what you think of them (might as well get it out of your system, anyway!). You could role-play both characters in an 愛の告白 (あいの こくはく, confession of love), or act like your grandmother watching “Days of Our Lives” by yelling advice to ドラマ (どらま, drama) characters making bad life decisions.

You could also engage in an Alice in Wonderland-esque dialogue with your cat, or tell your 抱き枕 (だきまくら, body pillow) how much it means to you. It’s okay, we won’t tell.

As the expression goes, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. It’s important to make speaking a regular part of your Japanese practice, lest you reach native-level written fluency while hardly being able to say “this is a pen” when faced with an actual conversation.

Even if you’re shy about using your Japanese language skills out loud, you’d be surprised how quickly that anxiety dissipates when you give yourself a chance. You’ll feel more confident, grow your comfort zone, meet new friends who share your interests and passions and become proud of everything you’ve achieved.

7. Get a tutor.

Hire a more advanced Japanese student or a fluent Japanese speaker to help you build a solid foundation in Japanese. You could hire a tutor as a supplement to the courses you are taking or the software you are using, or choose someone who is equipped to teach you the language on his or her own.

• Check out the classified listings at local colleges and universities for Japanese tutors. Students hoping to make some extra money tutoring often advertise on bulletin boards and college websites.
• You could also hire a tutor who is actually living in Japan. Put up an ad on Craigslist stating that you're looking for a Japanese tutor and would be willing to have tutoring sessions online using Skype or another online video chat program.

8. Watch Japanese movies and shows.

This is an excellent way to learn more about Japanese language when you aren't able to spend time with Japanese speakers. Replace your regular shows with anime and watch at least one Japanese movie a week to immerse yourself in the language at home.

• Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Spirited Away are popular Japanese movies.
• You can start by watching the films with subtitles, but you'll get a better immersion experience if you turn them off and focus instead on the Japanese sounds and pronunciation.

9. Buy Japanese language software/app.

Language software produced by companies like Rosetta Stone is designed to help you learn at your own pace by using CDs and workbooks to gradually learn the language. Check out reviews before you decide which software to purchase, since this option can be rather pricey.

10 Sign up for courses at a university or community college.

Japanese is a popular language that is taught at nearly every university and community college. Check into taking a course at a local school so that you can learn under the instruction of someone who is fluent in Japanese.

• Do your Japanese homework. It may seem like it will take forever to learn the 2,000 Kanji characters or get a grasp on Japanese vocabulary, but these are important steps to take if you want to learn how to speak Japanese with fluency.
• Participate in workshops and class discussions. The written homework is important, but learning how to converse in Japanese requires that you get out of your comfort zone and let your voice be heard during class. Raise your hand, go to the workshops, and get in as much speaking practice as you can.