Today I Realized Why One Should Focus on the Journey, Not the Destination When Learning Japanese

I set a goal for myself about 2 weeks ago. I learned that N1 level requires you to learn over 2,000 kanji. By this point I know that learning kanji is more than just learning the kun’yomi and on’yomi general pronunciations, and that when combined with other kanji or kana, but I’ve been told that learning the words is what the focus should be on anyways. Understanding the nuance will come with reading more.

Two weeks ago, I couldn’t tell you a single kanji, though I did have an elementary understanding of the kana. I set a goal to learn 6 a day for a year, which places me at over 2,000. I overachieved a little and yesterday completed my memorization for the 100 kanji that are expected to show up on N5 tests. I was so excited to hit that mark and when I finally did… I didn’t really feel anything.

I knew that today, I would need to learn six more. Tomorrow, six more. And the next day. And so on. And I’d have to continue mastering the kana in addition to learning new kanji. Sure, I technically know enough kanji to pass N5, but I am also not anywhere near ready for the test, again not knowing any nuance and only just becoming familiar with the language itself (started studying the language as a whole at the end of December).

But, despite feeling nothing at having learned 百 kanji, I do feel elated every time I feel like I’ve memorized one. Every little success is rewarding. I think that’s what it means that it’s a journey. Even if you pass an N1 exam doesn’t mean that you’re a master, it just means you’ve made it very far along the journey and still have a ways to go. I’m excited to keep learning more and more every day. Hopefully as much as I can by October, since I’m visiting Japan for the first time then.

I set a goal for myself about 2 weeks ago. I learned that N1 level requires you to learn over 2,000 kanji. By this point I know that learning kanji is more than just learning the kun’yomi and on’yomi general pronunciations, and that when combined with other kanji or kana, but I’ve been told that learning the words is what the focus should be on anyways. Understanding the nuance will come with reading more.

Two weeks ago, I couldn’t tell you a single kanji, though I did have an elementary understanding of the kana. I set a goal to learn 6 a day for a year, which places me at over 2,000. I overachieved a little and yesterday completed my memorization for the 100 kanji that are expected to show up on N5 tests. I was so excited to hit that mark and when I finally did… I didn’t really feel anything.

I knew that today, I would need to learn six more. Tomorrow, six more. And the next day. And so on. And I’d have to continue mastering the kana in addition to learning new kanji. Sure, I technically know enough kanji to pass N5, but I am also not anywhere near ready for the test, again not knowing any nuance and only just becoming familiar with the language itself (started studying the language as a whole at the end of December).

But, despite feeling nothing at having learned 百 kanji, I do feel elated every time I feel like I’ve memorized one. Every little success is rewarding. I think that’s what it means that it’s a journey. Even if you pass an N1 exam doesn’t mean that you’re a master, it just means you’ve made it very far along the journey and still have a ways to go. I’m excited to keep learning more and more every day. Hopefully as much as I can by October, since I’m visiting Japan for the first time then.