How Long Does it Take to Learn Japanese? Or, You Know You Know Japanese When….

I get asked a lot “How long did it take you to learn Japanese?”

I get asked how I learned English so well sometimes, too, but that’s a different story.

A similar question is “How long does it take to learn Japanese?” And, the answer to that question is, “It depends on how hard you work at it.” It also depends on why you want to learn.

For me, I knew I knew Japanese when….and here’s my story.

After about 9 months in Japan, I got a phone call from back home in the States telling me my dad had died. I decided to go to the class I was teaching that morning, a group of housewives. They told me I looked down and asked me what’s up? (I taught them that phrase.) I told them in Japanese. “My dad died this morning.”

They spoke to one another and I caught the gist of it as “He must not have cared for his dad very much if he can say so simply like that his dad died.”

Nothing could have been more further from the truth. My dad was all that dad’s were cut out to be and more. I just couldn’t explain to them in sufficient Japanese my real feelings. I resolved to never be stuck again to say what I want and the way I want to my Japanese friends.

Fast forward about two and half years.

I was driving home from work at just a little before midnight when the car in front of me suddenly went left, tipped/rolled over and landed on its side in a large ditch. (Big enough for a car to lay over on its side in, that’s how big.) I got out of my car and climbed up on the car, pulled the door open, reached in and fished out a young college girl. As I tried to stand her up, she passed out and I caught her in my arms.

183cm 85kg me carried this little 155cmish, 50kgish girl up to the nearest house. Keep in mind it was almost midnight now. An old couple came to the door, looked at me with fear in their eyes as if this over-sized white dude had just killed one of their own.

I explained quite calmly, yet very quickly all of the above. I then instructed them to call an ambulance (they did) and we took the young lady to the nearest hospital. She lived…until she saw who it was who fished her out, at which point she fainted all over again. (just kidding on that last part.)

It was then that I realized those daily morning 4-7am study sessions that I had every every morning for the past almost three years, alone, by myself with nothing but my texts and my resolve had paid off.

It was then, that I knew I knew Japanese.

“Yeah, I can speak Japanese. ” And, I’ll quote Will Rogers here – “If you can do it, it ain’t braggin’.”

When did you realize you knew Japanese?

Tell me your story.