Japanese is composed of three forms of writing. So, in addition to kanji, you need to master the two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana.
Just do what all Japanese school children do. Start with hiragana. There are 46 letters (they are not actually letters). 40 consonant-vowel combinations, 5 vowels and 1 singular consonant (N). This is not as bad as it sounds. But you should be prepared to memorize them in the correct order --or forever after be unable to use a dictionary.
I bet you didn’t consider how one uses a dictionary with Chinese characters, right?
Needless to say, you should have already started memorizing kanji. This will require you write them over and over again in a practice book. Writing comes first! But you will also want to make flash cards of the kanji you are learning. You must quiz yourself repeatedly. And by repeatedly, I mean dozens of times every single day. Also, this should go without saying, but pay careful attention to the stroke order when learning the kanji. There is a proper order for writing each character. Do not under any circumstances get creative. Or the whole house of cards will come crashing down on your head later.
I would highly encourage you to study traditional calligraphy as soon as you have a basic mastery of the writing system. You know how in America doctors are famous for their lousy handwriting? Well, in Japan, educated people are expected to write well. Since you’ve come this far, you may as well dive in with brush and ink.
Textbooks:
Nihongo-no Kiso
Japanese for Busy people
Linguistics
Japanese: A Linguistic Introduction
Hasegawa, Yoko
Japanese Language: Learn the Fascinating History and Evolution of the Language Along With Many Useful Japanese Grammar Points
Kindaichi,Haruhiko, Nakayama, Mineharu, Hirano, Umeyo
You might have noticed that I didn’t mention the other syllabary. It is called katakana. You need to memorize that too. Don’t wait too long to start either.
You might think katakana isn’t as important as hiragana. But you would be wrong. Katakana is used for all foreign words—like your name. Like your country. It’s also used for grammatical inflections, scientific words, for onomatopoeia, etc.
Also, as a side note, sometimes Americans learning Japanese bristle at all the loanwords from English, called gairaigo. They feel deeply uncomfortable saying things like mai bu-mu (my boom), mai pe-su (my pace) or mai baggu (my bag). And how about: tsuna- sando (tuna sandwich) and pasonkon (personal computer)?
There are endless varieties --and I say embrace them all!
It should go without saying that you will need to study grammar and conversation. This should happen in a classroom setting if possible. This is how you will learn the particles. You know wa and ga? If you don’t know what this means by now, you should choose another language.
Put it this way: if you can survive without learning Japanese, you should do that. There is a reason why Japanese is considered the most difficult language for English-speakers to learn, according to the Foreign Service Institute.
While everything I said above is completely non-negotiable, these beginning steps are –in truth-- relatively easy.
It is what comes next that is what makes learning Japanese a challenge.
It’s not a bad idea to get a girlfriend or boyfriend about now. But if you do, be very careful about not speaking in the same way as your partner. Women and men speak differently. You can push back against this if you want—as long as you are aware of what you are doing. Men and women use different pronouns, often use very different vocabulary and even verb endings. Speaking of pronouns, this would be a good time to suggest you never use pronouns unless forced.
Did you hear that?
No Pronouns!
Try to learn the way Japanese works around this. Of course, this will demand you learn to use the passive construction and the polite language.
And here we arrive at the crux of all the difficulties. Japanese has the polite form, the honorific form, and the humble form—all this being different from what you are probably hearing from your boyfriend or girlfriend. The only way to master this is to join a group, like tea ceremony or ikebana or work in a Japanese company—so you will have a chance to learn how these forms are actually used in daily life.
For example, instead of saying “your mother” or “my mother,” in Japanese –remember no pronouns? You say “okaasan” (your honorable mother) or “okaasama” (your very honorable mother)… but your own mom is simply “haha.”
No, I am not making this up.
You don’t need pronouns since “my” is understood by your use of the humble form.
Or as the great translator Jay Rubin has explained, when Japanese people say,
Osumasete-itadakimasu (I am humbly receiving the taking of a day off), the best translation for that is: Gone Fishin’
Sound like the twilight zone?
When in doubt add the honorific “O” or “Go” to most nouns if you are speaking to a superior –and, I should inform you that as a foreign student of the language, most people you speak to will be your superiors.
By this time, you will be bowing to people in the street and referring to the green light in the traffic signal as blue. You will cook pasta with chopsticks and will never make the mistake of not removing your toilet slippers before coming back into the room again. However, by the time you reach this level, you might not recognize yourself anymore—because by now you will have become Japanese.
O-tsukare-sama deshita.