How much time do I need in order to be able to read VNs in japanese?

[kushidadousaku]

I really love japanese language since I was a kid, and of course I know a decent amount of words. But when it comes to reading, well, I literally can't read a thing.

So, how much time would it take for me to be able to read VNs in japanese without problems, a year? two? And will that be easy to learn?

Edited Thursday at 09:50 PM by kushidadousaku

[LostPomegranate]

I won't lie to you it depends on your motivation and how much time you can dedicate to learning the writing in general, as well as how quickly you pick things up. At the very least you should know hiragana and katakana before you start, and ideally be aware of the basics of Japanese written grammar. With some of the software now the kanji readings can be done "for you" (but you may have to select the "right one" based on context between the various readings that could be possible) and you'll just pick them up as you see them more often while reading visual novels.

 

Safe estimate, to read visual novels in Japanese without any problems, meaning at the speed you read your native language: 5-10 years is a safe estimation. This time will largely be impacted by how much time you can dedicate to it. For example: for most people to be considered "fluent" in written Japanese you need to know somewhere between 1000-2000 kanji. To read a newspaper you need to know about 1200, and your average Japanese adult probably knows around 2000 with those who have university educations know somewhere around 3000.

 

If your goal is just to read at a decent speed, so 50-75% your native language speed, you can probably hit that in 1-2 years with some dedication and work. It's definitely a lot easier to learn nowadays than it was 15+ years ago though, so my estimates may be a bit long.

[kushidadousaku]

9 hours ago, LostPomegranate said:

I won't lie to you it depends on your motivation and how much time you can dedicate to learning the writing in general, as well as how quickly you pick things up. At the very least you should know hiragana and katakana before you start, and ideally be aware of the basics of Japanese written grammar. With some of the software now the kanji readings can be done "for you" (but you may have to select the "right one" based on context between the various readings that could be possible) and you'll just pick them up as you see them more often while reading visual novels.

 

Safe estimate, to read visual novels in Japanese without any problems, meaning at the speed you read your native language: 5-10 years is a safe estimation. This time will largely be impacted by how much time you can dedicate to it. For example: for most people to be considered "fluent" in written Japanese you need to know somewhere between 1000-2000 kanji. To read a newspaper you need to know about 1200, and your average Japanese adult probably knows around 2000 with those who have university educations know somewhere around 3000.

 

If your goal is just to read at a decent speed, so 50-75% your native language speed, you can probably hit that in 1-2 years with some dedication and work. It's definitely a lot easier to learn nowadays than it was 15+ years ago though, so my estimates may be a bit long.

Thanks a lot for the explanation, this gave me more motivation tbh

[Clephas]

After you gain an understanding of the grammar, as well as both katakana and hiragana, your biggest obstacle is going to be kanji.  Using a parser (programs that place potential readings in the form of furigana above kanji) can help accelerate your ability to read visual novels, but it isn't a 100% perfect solution, since parser programs often make odd choices for the furigana.   If you just want to read slice-of-life VNs (moege, in other words), it might take you a relatively short amount of time to achieve your goal, as it is unlikely you will encounter any unusual kanji usages that would make a parser stumble.  It's when you delve into the harder visual novels that you'll end up testing the limits of your understanding. 

 

[Bredan]

I agree, just adding this.

Since you don't know Jap yet, let me explain something first : one of the challenges when learning (or even later reading) Japanese is to interpret the kanji correctly in order to obtain the right reading.

In that sense, VNs have strengths and limitations :

 - weakness for learners : most VN don't have or have very few Furigana (and then, almost only for names). Compared to a lot of 'light readings' like manga and LN, it's most often a lot less. Probably a consequence of them being directed at adults. NOTE : Furigana are kana characters above or beside kanjis to help read the kanji.

 - strength : learning to read VN can be a bit easier than other sources of the same vocabulary/kanji level since a significant portion is vocalized. This can help a bit to differentiate readings when you are very inexperienced. It's not major, but it clearly helped me while I learned. In that sense too, reading any title that emphasizes dialogue between characters (like moege/charage) can be a real helper.

Edited 55 minutes ago by Bredan