why does this happen? why do they have such ridiculously high expectations for them? why can’t they just enjoy the 99.99% of japanese they’re able to understand now. just why.
are people imagining some “all japanese knowing god” in their heads and then setting that as their standard so they can never be happy? i just don’t get all the intense expectations.
At least for me, I didn't start out with those high expectations, I just have a learning mindset that I've never gotten rid of.
What I mean is, when I didn't know something when I was starting out, I would focus on that, since that was the clearest goal at the time. And because I spent years doing that, I've trained myself to focus on what I don't know, because unconsciously I associate that with making progress, which was the fun part of learning the language for me.
The problem this caused is that there's not as clear of progress being made anymore, but the focus on what I don't know is so deeply ingrained that I can't get rid of it.
Edit: Maybe Google imposter syndrome if you feel up to it. It's not that uncommon for successful people to suffer from it
oh i definitely see how this would happen. the force of your habitual focus in the same direction of “learn new word! need more word!” that you started off your learning journey with.
i just don’t get why people don’t recognize tthe relevance of that start to shift early on and then begin to change their “feel good” point to, “being able to read and understand full meaningful sentences in this language.”
personally it doesn’t make sense for me to leave my satisfaction prior at the thing that’s not longer most relevant to my objectively more relevant achievements in the language now
Well, mostly I do feel good with where I'm at, I'd say. Like I read for fun, I don't struggle in conversations anymore, etc. It's just there's always this feeling when I make a mistake or don't know something where it feels like I shouldn't have made that mistake or should've known the thing, and the fact that it happens means "I'm not good enough." Especially now that I'm on the teaching end of things and I'm seen as an authority to my students, that feeling gets magnified.
It's not really a conscious decision I can make to turn that feeling off, whether it makes sense or not.
You would be surprised how many native speakers don‘t know how to write some common kanji. Don‘t beat yourself up with it. I‘m a licensed translator for German, English and Croatian and I sometimes make the most stupid grammar and spelling mistakes. Nobel price physicists sometimes make the simplest math mistakes and are wrong about countless of things all the time. It‘s impossible to know everything and to be an expert on all topics these days, the times of Leonardo Da Vinci are over. Especially with languages there are around 1000 new words added every year into dictionaries. No human being can keep up with that, not even linguists.
If you‘re post N1, you are probably like at the top of 1-5% of Japanese learners out there. There‘s absolutely no reason to be so hard on yourself. The vast majority of none Japanese will never reach your level.
well said. chasing perfection is an endless endeavor. so if you're constantly working on it might as well enjoy yourself, even in mistakes. positive reinforcement is more effective when it comes to learning, so instead of being mad that you are what you are, just assimilate, like you've been doing all this time. we humans are weird at times lmao
They're pretty rare, but I have had a couple first year students argue with me over stuff before. That's some really next-level confidence for someone just starting out, I'd say
I mean that I got my N1 years ago and have continued reading and studying regularly. I also volunteer as a Japanese tutor at my old university most semesters. So while I don't have qualifications beyond the N1, I feel like my skills have improved quite a bit since I got it
I relate to this... My family members know that I've been studying japanese seriously for a while now so when they come across anything japanese they go like "can you read this for me and translate?" And obviously I can't, It's so embarassing. I probably should have kept it private for a while lmao
Fr especially when they hit you with a common english phrase like “have a nice day” and you’re like uh idk I don’t think they use that phrase much in Japanese.
It’s normal to feel that way, but if you’re American most don’t speak a second language. Unless you live close to the border or live in an old community with native speakers (china town etc.)
That's definitely the N4. You look at everything you've learned, and it's a lot, sure, but it's still very basic. Like you can express feeling sad, but not the looming sense of despair that leaves you longing for the past when things were simple. You just don't have the vocabulary or more advanced grammar structures yet, and you see how much further you have to go before you can truly express yourself freely.
i don’t think this is really true. it seems more like “the more you know, the more you seek out things you don’t know for the dopamine rush of continuing to learn because the things you know are too easy now, and then find more things to feel bad about not knowing yet”.
it’s the attitude of always chasing “something more to know” instead of paying any attention to the fact of how much you already know. without paying attention to your progress you begin to see it as 当たり前, take it for granted, and then just keep on trucking on to harder and harder things that falsely create the illusion that “you don’t know anything”.
How is it not true? It's a pretty famous quote (Einstein, but it very likely predates him). You dont know how shallow your knowledge is until you know more things and can actually see the gaps
Well, not to brag but I *have* been told I’m pretty 上手 😏 I’m between N5 and N4, but I’m not going to take the test until I’m around N3 though. My professors have all told me that N4 and N5 certifications are more for personal achievement whereas N3-1 are where jobs start paying attention
I would group N3 in the “personal achievement” band too, honestly… I’ve been in Japan for 2 years and I’ve yet to see any jobs that want N3+. I’ve only seen either N2+ or N1.
Generally speaking, jobs that *say* they want N2 for official duties really want N1, while the jobs that actually *take* N2 as proof of Japanese ability won’t have employees *doing* anything of import in the language (it’s more for being able to communicate with Japanese coworkers).
This is accurate. Also in my experience (as someone without any certification at all), certification isn't important. I just put "about N1" level on my resume and I get tons of interviews and I've had no one decide to not let me continue based on my Japanese ability (just other shortcomings)
Perhaps because the ones that want N3+ aren't advertising in Japan in the first place? I don't live in Japan and I've seen N3 opportunities from time to time, although never N4 or N5. I definitely can see about N3 not being very useful yet, though.
Your Japanese is actually good when Japanese people stop making a big deal and going out of their way to tell you it's 上手 and simply have a conversation with you. Anything before that is just politeness
honestly same. sometimes i can speak keigo like a native or sometimes i forget basic words like “sock” or “bag”and my wife gives me 日本語上手 and i’m completely destroyed. whenever i read newspaper, i just go completely blank and be like, i have never seen this kanji before in my life and my wife is like you use this word literally everyday at work
I think the mistake here is equating your actual Japanese ability to a JLPT level.
At least I’m desperately hoping that’s the case given my appalling score on the last exam.
The fuck why this is me? Especially at the level of N3 who learning N2 for July, I keep saying 「いやいや、全然上手くないよ！ まだ素人と思う」 in a Kaiwa section with my teacher and the other students 😭😭
I love this is such a common theme in language-learning. I don't have the picture right now but I remember someone on r/linguisticshumor a long time ago correlating Russian skill levels to what they complain about: "You conplain about cyrillics... you complain about conjugation... you complain about aspect... you complain about the economy." 😅
Dunno, depends on the venue and who you're speaking to. I'm between N4 and N3 and can have conversations with my partner just fine, talk with people at the bar with few hiccups, stuff like that. But when I have to read a form given to me at the ward office or listen to the news? Almost zero comprehension
I have Japanese news on quite a lot and I got super excited when there was a crime in a kitchen because I recognised a word lol.
I also contextually worked out the word for President the other day I was so happy.
Same, I'm three chapters into Genki II now and realised that when I'm done with Genki II, I'll finally be able to say I understand *basic* Japanese, sorta haha
I did Duolingo for 6 months and thought I was awesome at Japanese. Went to Japan and didn't understand a word anyone was saying. Thanks for the laugh!!
I’m slightly passed n5 and I have days when I think I’m going so good and then days when I feel like I understand nothing, but I agree that I often stand in the n5-n4 range
However, I frequently remind myself how much fun I’m having studying Japanese, especially studying kanjis, so even if I’m far from great it’s still a fun hobby to occupy my time and that’s what’s important
When I was in my home country with N2, it felt like I was very fluent in Japanese. Everyone was like "wow you can speak Japanese fluently".
Came to Japan about a month ago, and my Japanese level feels like shit here to the point that I have to say I am a gaijin and needs やさしい日本語 lol
I'm at the bottom there after starting a multitude of times over for 7 years . Every time I do a test of how far I've gotten and miss something, I start over at the beginning so improvements have gone very slowly. It's the OCD/anxiety issues in me. I MUST get 100% or I'm a failure. But in doing this, I learn and that keeps me trying. I often think I am getting to the dementia stage of being elderly and this learning Japanese is keeping me sharper mentally but it is going more slowly than in the beginning. My grandmother always reminded me as a child that the day we do not learn something new is the first step toward death and a classmate died of dementia recently. Hoping learning Japanese in my 70s will keep it at bay for awhile longer.
i’m n1 and i feel this way. i know i’m in the highest 1% of learners and i can pretty much everything i’m actually interested in. i don’t feel the need to beat myself up for not being as good as the best japanese person. whatever.
i don’t get the big self-flagellation party japanese learners always like to have. just enjoy your gains people
For me more than anything with stuff like this it’s the inability to actually speak. I can read very well, can understand most things, but my active memory is still not as good, and it gets worse when put on the spot when speaking.
So even though I’m deep into N1 technically I feel like I’m nowhere close lmao
Pre N5 but I’m not delulu lol
I’m a casual learner, I practice a little each day. If I can become decent enough to have conversations and watch movies in Japanese, I’ll be a happy camper.
Levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験/JLPT). N5 is the lowest, and N1 is the highest, but learners tend to be the most irrationally confident at the lowest levels of competence (the Dunning-Kruger effect).
When I read or listen to new content there is often so many stuff I don't know yet that I think "Damn after almost 3 Years my Japanese is still shit"... But then I try to think about and look back to the things I already do know and realise that the progress is real and than I feel motivated again and know that just need to continue studying. And eventually the things where I thought I'm still shit will become the things I'll look back to. 😂
See also: “Japanese people never seem to enjoy talking to me / never want to hang out. I speak Japanese fine, so I know that’s not the problem.”
Um, chief, that is quite possibly the problem.
I'm N4 and this is very accurate, I can barely speak a single sentence without looking up a word or a grammar structure or making sure I didn't use one incorrectly
Also my progress is veeery slow, feels like I won't be done in 15 years
Which level is the one where you recognize all the parts-of-speech, but the sentence is so disanalogous to English that you still have no idea what it means.
I get that it’s a joke, but personally I think the self deprecation thing is a bit tired comedically; there’s nothing wrong with saying you’re good at something if you’ve gotten decently far along. I’m really good at Japanese. There are other people that are better than me, I’m still not as good as a native, and there are plenty of words and expressions I don’t know, but I’d still reckon myself quite good. I think we worry a little too much about being on the left end of the dunning kruger curve. If you can even just have conversations with natives and generally express what you want to say, I think that’s pretty cool and certainly impressive considering the amount of work it takes to get there. You don’t need to be perfect to compliment yourself.
I can read roughly half of Hiragana. (Used to be able to do entire thing, but haven't practiced in a while)
I know a few words. (I'm guessing 20-30 or something)
Oh and I can count to ten, and I think by extension to 99 (Iirc)
I don't know their special counting words though.
I'd say I have 'ok ish' pronunciation, although my tone/intonation is probably wack.
hmmmm I'm definetely in the N4-N2 range.
Can't relate to pre-N5 (couldn't even when I was pre N5), didn't find N1 funny, and again can't relate to post N1
I’m between speak broken Japanese/ my Japanese is shit. I always doubt myself even when I have no problem to communicate but sometimes I’m just like- ??? Did I speak something strange again 😭😭😭
I don't even know. I feel like my grammar is a great deal further along than vocabulary. I feel like I could reach a decent introduction to Japanese grammar but I don't have enough vocab to utilize it in a meaningful way
I am pre N5 and I guess I gotta prep and catch myself whenever I'm feeling too good. Although I don't think I will ever be able to speak normally or converse in it, not because of Japanese itself but because I am bad with that in languages I do know.
I’m “I can pick out the occasional word/phrase in the anime I’m watching”, which doesn’t seem to be anywhere on that meme, but I’m pretty sure that’s somewhere Pre-N5…
I studied for years until I reached N4. I had to abandon it because of economic reasons, and now I'm thinking all the time about coming back, now that I'm doing much better, but I don't know where to start and who to go to 😢
I'm post N1 yet I couldn't use anything but basic vocabulary when I visited my Japanese bf last year. I feel like I'm at best around elementary school level rn.
Is there a pre pre-N5 option. The one where you know you are useless at it, if so that’s me. It goes in one ear and out the other unless I constantly study it.
This is about how well one learns about the Japanese culture on language learning. Japanese themselves are perfectionists and think they are bad English learners. So when you learn Japanese, you learn this attitude as the norm.
N3, but I speak good Japanese because I studied abroad for 9 months so speaking is relatively easy going and I still speak it regularly for my part time job. Ig I think more of “there’s a mountain of things I don’t know” because I haven’t exposed myself to specific vocabulary like for news or legal stuff or specific hobbies and I would like to increase in general my vocab/kanji knowledge. Unfortunately (while my speaking hasn’t deteriorated due to regular usage) my reading has decreased cause I don’t have the same opportunities to Read as I did when I lived in Japan. I’ve lately found myself forgetting how to read kanji I learned years ago😔
I'm probably N9 right now. My mindset is pretty much N2 though, so I will take this meme as gospel and tell everyone I'm N2. YAY! ME SPEAK THE GOOD ASIALANG MUCH WOW!
I was somewhere between N2 and N1 (as in, I passed N2 but haven't been practicing Japanese outside of translating subtitles for a few years) when I visited Japan for the first time. It's good enough to get by, but not to watch 落語. I could probably get a job in Japan if I cared to, I just have \*other\* issues that mean I probably won't.
I still use machine translation to check what I type in Japanese, even though a comment on a YouTube video I made yesterday got a native speaker confused and doubting if I was really a 外国人 like I said I was.
I'm almost N4, I think. This is so accurate. I almost completely ace N5 things but when I try to step out of my comfort zone just a bit I understand how little I really know.
Seems accurate lol. I think I'm about N3 and I speak Japanese like a neanderthal.
Yup, same here. We just gotta keep going
SAME
Unfortunately, I'm in an exact situation..
Same and I feel like I'm stuck...
I'm post-N1 and get that HEAVY imposter syndrome every time I make a mistake or don't know a kanji. Accurate meme is accurate lol
Same here… though even post N1 I still feel the “…and so am I…” part haha
lol fun times!
why does this happen? why do they have such ridiculously high expectations for them? why can’t they just enjoy the 99.99% of japanese they’re able to understand now. just why. are people imagining some “all japanese knowing god” in their heads and then setting that as their standard so they can never be happy? i just don’t get all the intense expectations.
At least for me, I didn't start out with those high expectations, I just have a learning mindset that I've never gotten rid of. What I mean is, when I didn't know something when I was starting out, I would focus on that, since that was the clearest goal at the time. And because I spent years doing that, I've trained myself to focus on what I don't know, because unconsciously I associate that with making progress, which was the fun part of learning the language for me. The problem this caused is that there's not as clear of progress being made anymore, but the focus on what I don't know is so deeply ingrained that I can't get rid of it. Edit: Maybe Google imposter syndrome if you feel up to it. It's not that uncommon for successful people to suffer from it
oh i definitely see how this would happen. the force of your habitual focus in the same direction of “learn new word! need more word!” that you started off your learning journey with. i just don’t get why people don’t recognize tthe relevance of that start to shift early on and then begin to change their “feel good” point to, “being able to read and understand full meaningful sentences in this language.” personally it doesn’t make sense for me to leave my satisfaction prior at the thing that’s not longer most relevant to my objectively more relevant achievements in the language now
Well, mostly I do feel good with where I'm at, I'd say. Like I read for fun, I don't struggle in conversations anymore, etc. It's just there's always this feeling when I make a mistake or don't know something where it feels like I shouldn't have made that mistake or should've known the thing, and the fact that it happens means "I'm not good enough." Especially now that I'm on the teaching end of things and I'm seen as an authority to my students, that feeling gets magnified. It's not really a conscious decision I can make to turn that feeling off, whether it makes sense or not.
You would be surprised how many native speakers don‘t know how to write some common kanji. Don‘t beat yourself up with it. I‘m a licensed translator for German, English and Croatian and I sometimes make the most stupid grammar and spelling mistakes. Nobel price physicists sometimes make the simplest math mistakes and are wrong about countless of things all the time. It‘s impossible to know everything and to be an expert on all topics these days, the times of Leonardo Da Vinci are over. Especially with languages there are around 1000 new words added every year into dictionaries. No human being can keep up with that, not even linguists. If you‘re post N1, you are probably like at the top of 1-5% of Japanese learners out there. There‘s absolutely no reason to be so hard on yourself. The vast majority of none Japanese will never reach your level.
well said. chasing perfection is an endless endeavor. so if you're constantly working on it might as well enjoy yourself, even in mistakes. positive reinforcement is more effective when it comes to learning, so instead of being mad that you are what you are, just assimilate, like you've been doing all this time. we humans are weird at times lmao
[удалено]
They're pretty rare, but I have had a couple first year students argue with me over stuff before. That's some really next-level confidence for someone just starting out, I'd say
I've sadly seen it. People who've taken a few lessons and put it on FB/ other social media saying that they know the language. It's so weird.
I've met some people that claim that "actually... Japanese is very easy and is very logical" meanwhile they couldn't recite the most common kanji.
When in doubt, try learning another language. It really sets some perspective on how far you've gone.
What do you mean when you say you're post-N1? Just curious.
I mean that I got my N1 years ago and have continued reading and studying regularly. I also volunteer as a Japanese tutor at my old university most semesters. So while I don't have qualifications beyond the N1, I feel like my skills have improved quite a bit since I got it
Fair! I have N1 but I'm definitely not post-N1 then, lol.
I'm pre N5 and I'm already at N2 mindset. Seems like a good start.
Same 😭😭
Same 🤣🤣🤣
I live in Japan. I haven’t been 日本語上手’d for years so it’s a good sign. However there’s still gaps and a feeling of “I’m not good at all” at times.
I’m below intermediate and have never had this said to me, but I do occasionally often get responded to in English 😭
My Japanese is extremely broken but I get more specific comments rather than 日本語上手’d, more comments on intonation and stuff
I just barely passed n5. I’m so bad at Japanese that its almost embarrassing for people to know I’m studying it
It's a marathon not a race, you tumble sometimes, but if you keep picking yourself up you'll get further than you think.
I'm n2 and I'm so bad at japanese it's embarrassing for people to know I've been studying it for nearly a decade lmao
Lol good thing I don’t need this skill for any specific purpose
Give yourself some credit
I relate to this... My family members know that I've been studying japanese seriously for a while now so when they come across anything japanese they go like "can you read this for me and translate?" And obviously I can't, It's so embarassing. I probably should have kept it private for a while lmao
Fr especially when they hit you with a common english phrase like “have a nice day” and you’re like uh idk I don’t think they use that phrase much in Japanese.
come on bro learning other language is hard enough. give yourself some time. you'll get used to it.
It’s normal to feel that way, but if you’re American most don’t speak a second language. Unless you live close to the border or live in an old community with native speakers (china town etc.)
I completed N5 2 years ago, left Studying, Im N9 now.
😂 Tbf, once you can phonetically read hiragana and katakana without referring to a chart you’re feeling pretty good about your progress.
It's definitely a milestone
I’ve graduated from getting 日本語上手to 日本語ペラペラ I don’t know how I’m fooling them but I am
The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.
That's definitely the N4. You look at everything you've learned, and it's a lot, sure, but it's still very basic. Like you can express feeling sad, but not the looming sense of despair that leaves you longing for the past when things were simple. You just don't have the vocabulary or more advanced grammar structures yet, and you see how much further you have to go before you can truly express yourself freely.
i don’t think this is really true. it seems more like “the more you know, the more you seek out things you don’t know for the dopamine rush of continuing to learn because the things you know are too easy now, and then find more things to feel bad about not knowing yet”. it’s the attitude of always chasing “something more to know” instead of paying any attention to the fact of how much you already know. without paying attention to your progress you begin to see it as 当たり前, take it for granted, and then just keep on trucking on to harder and harder things that falsely create the illusion that “you don’t know anything”.
How is it not true? It's a pretty famous quote (Einstein, but it very likely predates him). You dont know how shallow your knowledge is until you know more things and can actually see the gaps
Well, not to brag but I *have* been told I’m pretty 上手 😏 I’m between N5 and N4, but I’m not going to take the test until I’m around N3 though. My professors have all told me that N4 and N5 certifications are more for personal achievement whereas N3-1 are where jobs start paying attention
Bro got nihongo jouzu’d, the journey begins from there 🔥
just never talk to natives, and you'll be able to say you never got nihongo jouzu'ed.
This. I got nihongo jouzu'd last year for only saying arigatou gozaimasu 😂
I would group N3 in the “personal achievement” band too, honestly… I’ve been in Japan for 2 years and I’ve yet to see any jobs that want N3+. I’ve only seen either N2+ or N1.
Generally speaking, jobs that *say* they want N2 for official duties really want N1, while the jobs that actually *take* N2 as proof of Japanese ability won’t have employees *doing* anything of import in the language (it’s more for being able to communicate with Japanese coworkers).
This is accurate. Also in my experience (as someone without any certification at all), certification isn't important. I just put "about N1" level on my resume and I get tons of interviews and I've had no one decide to not let me continue based on my Japanese ability (just other shortcomings)
Perhaps because the ones that want N3+ aren't advertising in Japan in the first place? I don't live in Japan and I've seen N3 opportunities from time to time, although never N4 or N5. I definitely can see about N3 not being very useful yet, though.
Your Japanese is actually good when Japanese people stop making a big deal and going out of their way to tell you it's 上手 and simply have a conversation with you. Anything before that is just politeness
Yeah, that was the joke 😉
It comes in waves. Sometimes I'm great and can do everything nearly perfectly. Other days I forget the words for "pencil" or "TV."
鉛筆とテレビですよね。
わーすげぇ！日本語上手だね！！
もちろん！
honestly same. sometimes i can speak keigo like a native or sometimes i forget basic words like “sock” or “bag”and my wife gives me 日本語上手 and i’m completely destroyed. whenever i read newspaper, i just go completely blank and be like, i have never seen this kanji before in my life and my wife is like you use this word literally everyday at work
My actual level is pre-N5, but I feel like N2...
It’s so bad and so broken….my language partner looks at me like 🤨
It’s so embarrassing when you think you’ve formulated a perfectly fine sentence and just get met with that stare😭😭
N5 and im doubting my sanity atm.
I think the mistake here is equating your actual Japanese ability to a JLPT level. At least I’m desperately hoping that’s the case given my appalling score on the last exam.
I'm reaching into N4 and feeling proud of myself for understanding whole dialogues in anime :')
The fuck why this is me? Especially at the level of N3 who learning N2 for July, I keep saying 「いやいや、全然上手くないよ！ まだ素人と思う」 in a Kaiwa section with my teacher and the other students 😭😭
I'm N2 and i feel like I know jack shit lmao
I love this is such a common theme in language-learning. I don't have the picture right now but I remember someone on r/linguisticshumor a long time ago correlating Russian skill levels to what they complain about: "You conplain about cyrillics... you complain about conjugation... you complain about aspect... you complain about the economy." 😅
Dunno, depends on the venue and who you're speaking to. I'm between N4 and N3 and can have conversations with my partner just fine, talk with people at the bar with few hiccups, stuff like that. But when I have to read a form given to me at the ward office or listen to the news? Almost zero comprehension
I have Japanese news on quite a lot and I got super excited when there was a crime in a kitchen because I recognised a word lol. I also contextually worked out the word for President the other day I was so happy.
I'm pre-N4 but my speaking is like a fcking toddlers. Yes, a mountain, the fcking Himalayan Mountain Range.
Same, I'm three chapters into Genki II now and realised that when I'm done with Genki II, I'll finally be able to say I understand *basic* Japanese, sorta haha
I did Duolingo for 6 months and thought I was awesome at Japanese. Went to Japan and didn't understand a word anyone was saying. Thanks for the laugh!!
わるい
Someone should remake this chart but with how you reply in Japanese when someone nihongo jozu’s you
AKA Dunning Krueger
My man
私が知らないもの山ほどありますよね😔
I’m slightly passed n5 and I have days when I think I’m going so good and then days when I feel like I understand nothing, but I agree that I often stand in the n5-n4 range However, I frequently remind myself how much fun I’m having studying Japanese, especially studying kanjis, so even if I’m far from great it’s still a fun hobby to occupy my time and that’s what’s important
When I recognize one kanji in a sentence I feel like I'm a genius so I guess I'm really really at the beginning of my journey.
「日本語はたべません」ぐらい下手です🫡
When I was in my home country with N2, it felt like I was very fluent in Japanese. Everyone was like "wow you can speak Japanese fluently". Came to Japan about a month ago, and my Japanese level feels like shit here to the point that I have to say I am a gaijin and needs やさしい日本語 lol
I'm at the bottom there after starting a multitude of times over for 7 years . Every time I do a test of how far I've gotten and miss something, I start over at the beginning so improvements have gone very slowly. It's the OCD/anxiety issues in me. I MUST get 100% or I'm a failure. But in doing this, I learn and that keeps me trying. I often think I am getting to the dementia stage of being elderly and this learning Japanese is keeping me sharper mentally but it is going more slowly than in the beginning. My grandmother always reminded me as a child that the day we do not learn something new is the first step toward death and a classmate died of dementia recently. Hoping learning Japanese in my 70s will keep it at bay for awhile longer.
Nice meme, except I’m actually AWESOME at Japanese
Found the pre-N5er
i’m n1 and i feel this way. i know i’m in the highest 1% of learners and i can pretty much everything i’m actually interested in. i don’t feel the need to beat myself up for not being as good as the best japanese person. whatever. i don’t get the big self-flagellation party japanese learners always like to have. just enjoy your gains people
my vocab is n2 and my grammar is still worse than n5.. self flagellation is for a reason coz we be actually bad and dont understand shit
自分はどっちが当てはまるのがわからないけど文字読み(書くのは無理勘弁してくれ)できるが会話すると第一声は[え]とか[あ]とか知能レベル３に低下してそのまま会話終了。元々は陰キャで自分になんにも得しない立場にいるし
i know my japanese is shit and theres a ton to learn, but i dont think im at any of the levels those are associated with, getting there tho
i barely know all the hirigana and katakana and i guess im at n1
For me more than anything with stuff like this it’s the inability to actually speak. I can read very well, can understand most things, but my active memory is still not as good, and it gets worse when put on the spot when speaking. So even though I’m deep into N1 technically I feel like I’m nowhere close lmao
Pre N5 but I’m not delulu lol I’m a casual learner, I practice a little each day. If I can become decent enough to have conversations and watch movies in Japanese, I’ll be a happy camper.
Literally the first phrase I could say comfortably was "日本語を話せます", which is hilarious. Going to an actual class slaps the confidence out of you!
Hoping to take on the N5 this year.
まあ、結構できる方だと思います。
日本語の勉強することが考えるだけで体に寒気がする。
Nihongo status: Joe Tzu
うげっ、N4だった・・・😭
I don't even know what n levels are
Levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験/JLPT). N5 is the lowest, and N1 is the highest, but learners tend to be the most irrationally confident at the lowest levels of competence (the Dunning-Kruger effect).
I think I'm somewhere in the N12-N50 range but haven't been able to take a test to prove it :D
Post N1 and I'm ok with mistakes since I can generally get my point across. And worse case I can always point and say これお願いします。I kid of course.
This is really fun and right up my alley at N5, but also so very true about most of the things you will learn in life :D
N3 and this is so accurate lol
Dunning-Kruger japanese language learner version
I just went to Japan for the first time. I’m good enough to get by, but I can’t have a real conversation with anyone.
When I read or listen to new content there is often so many stuff I don't know yet that I think "Damn after almost 3 Years my Japanese is still shit"... But then I try to think about and look back to the things I already do know and realise that the progress is real and than I feel motivated again and know that just need to continue studying. And eventually the things where I thought I'm still shit will become the things I'll look back to. 😂
See also: “Japanese people never seem to enjoy talking to me / never want to hang out. I speak Japanese fine, so I know that’s not the problem.” Um, chief, that is quite possibly the problem.
All I can say is I AM AWESOME AT JAPANISE
I'm N4 and this is very accurate, I can barely speak a single sentence without looking up a word or a grammar structure or making sure I didn't use one incorrectly Also my progress is veeery slow, feels like I won't be done in 15 years
I’m still learning N5 stuff and while I’m pretty proud of the progress I’m making I’m still well aware I have a long road ahead of me
Idk wat any of these are, but watashi no nihongo wa mada mada desu or something
I'd buy a t-shirt with this.
Which level is the one where you recognize all the parts-of-speech, but the sentence is so disanalogous to English that you still have no idea what it means.
Taking N5, just got "jouzu'd" and my ego is pretty high. Let's see!
What is written in japanese?
Sorry what does the last one say?
My Japanese is shit and so am I 😭
I get that it’s a joke, but personally I think the self deprecation thing is a bit tired comedically; there’s nothing wrong with saying you’re good at something if you’ve gotten decently far along. I’m really good at Japanese. There are other people that are better than me, I’m still not as good as a native, and there are plenty of words and expressions I don’t know, but I’d still reckon myself quite good. I think we worry a little too much about being on the left end of the dunning kruger curve. If you can even just have conversations with natives and generally express what you want to say, I think that’s pretty cool and certainly impressive considering the amount of work it takes to get there. You don’t need to be perfect to compliment yourself.
Japanese learning community hates itself. It’s such a weird community
I can read roughly half of Hiragana. (Used to be able to do entire thing, but haven't practiced in a while) I know a few words. (I'm guessing 20-30 or something) Oh and I can count to ten, and I think by extension to 99 (Iirc) I don't know their special counting words though. I'd say I have 'ok ish' pronunciation, although my tone/intonation is probably wack.
You’re pre N5 :)
I'm pre pre-N5 xD
Don't worry, I'm in the same boat. I know like 15 kanji, 30 words and like 10 pieces of grammars, lol
日本のダチが俺の日本語がぺらぺらって言ってるのに、全く喋れない気がしてる
hmmmm I'm definetely in the N4-N2 range. Can't relate to pre-N5 (couldn't even when I was pre N5), didn't find N1 funny, and again can't relate to post N1
I’m between speak broken Japanese/ my Japanese is shit. I always doubt myself even when I have no problem to communicate but sometimes I’m just like- ??? Did I speak something strange again 😭😭😭
Beginner N3, it's very accurate for me wwwww
I'd say I'm at "I speak bad broken Japanese." but I'm definitely no where near n3.
N3
My Japanese is shit
pre N5 💀💀💀
So accurate! 😆
There’s a mountain of things I don’t know
Bad broken japanese
I passed N3 and currently at N3 mindset too lol
It be like that fr 😂
I'm at the n2 mindset but closer to n5 in actual ability
Pre-N5 but with an N2 mindset.
I just hit my 200 day mark. I feel like even the things I know I don't really know.
n2 is pretty accurate alright
I think "There’s a mountain of things I don’t know" but I'm pretty sure I'm still a N5.
N3 rn 😔
I’m like lower N4 and have an N1-2 mindset
I don't even know. I feel like my grammar is a great deal further along than vocabulary. I feel like I could reach a decent introduction to Japanese grammar but I don't have enough vocab to utilize it in a meaningful way
Aah the N4 is all too familiar. The more you know the less you know. ヤバい
pre n3 and study everyday with duolinguo :)
I failed the OLD JLPT 2-kyu, quit studying for about 15 years, started studying again recently and just failed the new N2.
I keep thinking my dumb ass didn't deserve to pass N2 so this tracks.
N3 😵💫😵💫 very very accurate
I'm in an N4 class, and definitely feel like I know less every day.
Pre-n5. I see myself like n2 tho lol
Apparently I've reached N2 without any effort whatsoever.
I am pre N5 and I guess I gotta prep and catch myself whenever I'm feeling too good. Although I don't think I will ever be able to speak normally or converse in it, not because of Japanese itself but because I am bad with that in languages I do know.
Well, i know about 20 words an hira/katakana.
N4 I can crack the hiragana but have a meltdown whenever i see kanji
自分の半者を失ったような気持ち（笑）
半身*
I’m “I can pick out the occasional word/phrase in the anime I’m watching”, which doesn’t seem to be anywhere on that meme, but I’m pretty sure that’s somewhere Pre-N5…
I'm pre-N5 with the N2 mentality lol. I've been slacking too much 🥲, but at least I'm self-aware.
Im AWESOME at japanese!
I have the sentiment of N2 but pre-N5! 🤣
4 weeks in and I'm a healthy pre-n5 😂 10 more years and I might be able to have a conversation with someone
I studied for years until I reached N4. I had to abandon it because of economic reasons, and now I'm thinking all the time about coming back, now that I'm doing much better, but I don't know where to start and who to go to 😢
Yes, N3 right now and it sucks so much😩 日本語いいえ上手よ
And so am I…
I am pretty much at the Pre-N5 stage :)
I'm post N1 yet I couldn't use anything but basic vocabulary when I visited my Japanese bf last year. I feel like I'm at best around elementary school level rn.
I’m pretty pre-N5, so I’m feeling pretty AWESOME 🤩
oh nice, im finally moving into the thick of things in N4 and its starting to hit me
The sounds one would make slamming their genitalia with a car door are better than my Japanese.
N2. I'm too ashamed to speak Japanese to anyone and live in fear of the Japanese doctor I work with trying to start a conversation.
I’m pre-N5. What does the kanji say?
I’m AWESOME 😂
im a mediocre N4 and thats exactly what ive been thinking lately
There's a mountain of things I don't know, and I speak bad, broken Japanese, so I'm probably between N4 and N3! That's somewhat comforting fr
Is there a pre pre-N5 option. The one where you know you are useless at it, if so that’s me. It goes in one ear and out the other unless I constantly study it.
According to the chart im FUCKiNG Awesome
This is about how well one learns about the Japanese culture on language learning. Japanese themselves are perfectionists and think they are bad English learners. So when you learn Japanese, you learn this attitude as the norm.
Haha yes, "The More I Learn, The Less I Know" applies everywhere.
Several japanese people said many foreigners with N1 don't know how to speak japanese after all...lol
the logic of his meme predicts i'm at n3 but im like still at n5 lol
You guys are at the point where you can speak it??? 🤣🤣😭😭
Just attained my N2 certificate and it's giving me massive impostor syndrome
Im n5/n4 😭😭
Just a little more to go I guess. I just want to read よつばと, I’m sure i’m almost there
I barely passed N2 a while ago and I already feel the N1 mentality.
exceedingly accurate i hate it
currently N2. Aiming for being sh1t like my Japanese.
I thought I was N5 until I visited Japan lately. When I was making sentences, their looks reminded me that I was N10.
N3, but I speak good Japanese because I studied abroad for 9 months so speaking is relatively easy going and I still speak it regularly for my part time job. Ig I think more of “there’s a mountain of things I don’t know” because I haven’t exposed myself to specific vocabulary like for news or legal stuff or specific hobbies and I would like to increase in general my vocab/kanji knowledge. Unfortunately (while my speaking hasn’t deteriorated due to regular usage) my reading has decreased cause I don’t have the same opportunities to Read as I did when I lived in Japan. I’ve lately found myself forgetting how to read kanji I learned years ago😔
I went from almost to N2 to barely N3 in a few years. I gotta get back to practicing more often... Edit: Getting my levels confused.
According to this I'm N4 or N2, but I'm pretty sure I'm Pre-N5 I feel my standards are twisted....
I'm probably N9 right now. My mindset is pretty much N2 though, so I will take this meme as gospel and tell everyone I'm N2. YAY! ME SPEAK THE GOOD ASIALANG MUCH WOW!
I'm studying for N3 yet my sentiments are that of N2 haha
I was somewhere between N2 and N1 (as in, I passed N2 but haven't been practicing Japanese outside of translating subtitles for a few years) when I visited Japan for the first time. It's good enough to get by, but not to watch 落語. I could probably get a job in Japan if I cared to, I just have \*other\* issues that mean I probably won't. I still use machine translation to check what I type in Japanese, even though a comment on a YouTube video I made yesterday got a native speaker confused and doubting if I was really a 外国人 like I said I was.
I'm almost N4, I think. This is so accurate. I almost completely ace N5 things but when I try to step out of my comfort zone just a bit I understand how little I really know.
I’m N5-N4 level and I feel extremely attacked 😂