2026 Japanese learning experiment

11 October 2026 · learning, draft

Let's go!! Experiment: can private tutors + LLMs supercharge my Japanese learning in 8 weeks, with money no object?

Motivation:

from AI:

The 3-Month Phased Plan

Month 1 — Foundation (Weeks 1–4)

Goal: Functional kana literacy, N5 grammar backbone, 300+ vocab

Week 1 — Kana blitz (relaxed standard):

• Drill hiragana over 2–3 days until you can recognize every character in roughly 2 seconds. Do the same for katakana. You do not need to be fast or error-free — that comes automatically through reading volume.
• The moment you hit ~2 sec/character, stop drilling kana in isolation and start reading actual words. Your Anki vocab cards, Genki vocab lists, and even just kana-only words on your phone will build automaticity faster than any flashcard drill.
• Do not wait for perfection before starting grammar. Moving to Genki by day 3 or 4 is fine.

Weeks 2–4 — Grammar + vocab launch:

• Work through Genki I, Chapters 1–6. Read every grammar note carefully.
• Start Bunpro SRS following the Genki textbook path.
• Start Anki Core 2k/6k: focus your attention on the reading, not the meaning. Suspend only cards where you'd genuinely get both meaning and reading correct without effort. For everything else, study it — but when you review, force yourself to say the reading aloud before flipping.
• Start Pimsleur from day 1 for your commute.

Month 2 — Acceleration (Weeks 5–8)

Goal: Genki I complete, N4 grammar underway, speaking begins

• Complete Genki I (Chapters 7–13). N5 grammar is in your rearview.
• Bunpro: begin N4 grammar points, 3–5 new points per week.
• Start iTalki: 2 sessions/week. Book a professional teacher (not just a community tutor) for structured feedback. Focus sessions on: particle usage, pronunciation, and drilling sentences you've mined from immersion.
• Start Migaku: watch Japanese-subtitled content on Netflix or YouTube and mine sentences into Anki. Start below your level — Shirokuma Cafe, Yotsuba manga, NHK Web Easy articles.
• Vocab pace: 15–20 Anki cards/day. Your kanji background means retention is faster than average.

Month 3 — Consolidation & Survival Mode (Weeks 9–12)

Goal: N4 grammar complete, functional conversation, reading real Japanese

• Complete Genki II through Chapters 18–20 (or as far as you reach). Push into N3 grammar on Bunpro if ahead of pace.
• Bump iTalki to 3 sessions/week. Shift at least one session to free conversation practice simulating real Japan situations: ordering food, asking directions, describing problems.
• Immersion becomes primary: 30–40 minutes/day of real content. NHK Web Easy, J-dramas with Japanese subtitles, Condensed Audio (audio stripped from shows you've already watched — very efficient for listening).
• Final 2 weeks — simulate real Japan: change your phone to Japanese, write grocery lists in Japanese, narrate your day in your head in Japanese ?.

Your Daily 1-Hour Template

On iTalki days, cut immersion short and use that time for your lesson. Prepare specific sentences and questions from your week's study beforehand — you'll get more out of every minute.

Pimsleur runs on top of this during commutes, meals, or the gym. It doesn't count against your hour.

The Most Important Things to Prioritize (In Order)

Kana first, everything else second. Until you can read hiragana and katakana fluently, every other study activity is compromised.

Grammar over vocabulary. Your Mandarin gives you vocabulary intuition; grammar is where you're truly starting from zero.
Speaking early. The biggest mistake is waiting until you "know enough" to speak. Two iTalki sessions/week from Month 2 onward is non-negotiable.

Readings, not characters. Every time you learn a new word, drill its pronunciation (readings) obsessively. This is your largest structural disadvantage versus an English speaker who has no kanji shortcut to fall back on — they have no choice but to learn readings; you have to consciously resist skipping them .

Beware false friends actively. Keep a running list of Mandarin–Japanese false friends as you encounter them. It's a short but critical list. By the time you land in Japan, you'll have functional reading (menus, signs, apps), basic conversation ability, and a grammar foundation that will keep growing rapidly once you're immersed full-time. The real acceleration starts the day you arrive.

From Ed:

I think it's a bit strict and rather time consuming but broadly correct. I would not bother with pitch accent at an early stage: you can go back to that if you realize you're very serious about the language. unlike mandarin you are perfectly comprehensible even with dog shit pitch accent

I also wouldn't recommend drilling kana to perfection, it's fine if you are a bit slow or make some mistakes you'll be perfect in like a year anyway it's inefficient to aim for perfection that early

everything else - yeah seems prima facie fine