my most controversial advice maybe

[@Starstreak170]

Just remember to buy the Japanese from Zero series before quitting

[@japanesefromzero]

This was the MAIN message. It seems my subliminal message worked!

[@cre8iveone699]

Have the tools ready for when you decide to kick @$$ at learning again.

[@japanese2811]

😂😂

[@japanesefromzero]

I care about your well-being, and that's why I put this advice out there. Japanese can be a part of your life without it ruling your life. Don't make something you love into a chore, and it will always be something you love.

[@basstheory9384]

I needed a break. Full on, stop! But afterwards, all I got it all back. Should have did it sooner

[@papercadebeth6571]

I WILL likely never be Dogen lol! I don’t think I want to quit but it gives me a breath of relief that it’s okay to be casual. It might be nice to get to at least N4 level someday tho.

[@mayankkmar5624]

follow your ikigai

[@patriciabrookes3576]

I'm definitely a casual learner, there's too much going on in my life (and the people around me) for me to be anything else but recently I've decided being a slow learner is better than being a no-learner, so thanks for the encouragement George. I'm going to plod on in the slow lane

[@Drefsab]

Nothing wrong with casual learning. People are like "you need to do 4 hours of studying and an hour of Anki decks and an hour of blah blah" but man, nobody has time for that. Learn when you can, enjoy it, and you'll stay motivated. I was in Japan earlier this year and got by with just a handful of phrases and words. I know now that I don't NEED to be fluent to visit, but I WANT to be, so what's why I keep learning.

[@uzhukova]

30 minutes a day will work!

[@papercadebeth6571]

Same, I was happy that the amount of language I know left room for improvement but still helped me get by when I visited last year.

[@RealNTAF]

Yeah I tried anki and hated it. Thankfully I found memrise through another KZbinr who teaches Japanese and love it. I was getting nowhere with anki.

[@Licherous]

you can have a a great trip without speaking a word of the language, but the more you know; the more options are available to explore

[@kirbyrox2]

There's a KZbinr I saw on here (I won't name names) that said that if you can't put in at least 2 hours a day of studying then you might as well not study at all, and I just cannot get behind that at all

[@osakagaijin745]

Oh my God, this advice almost made me cry-it's so damn true. I have been learning Japanese for 10 years and have made barely any progress, haha. But in the end, this video actually gave me more motivation to get back into learning Japanese, lol

[@fataniheart]

Good advice. There is no need to be professional in everything. Just be casual.

[@uzhukova]

Yet, disciplined 😊.

[@jacla666]

Sounds like something a japanese would say.

[@joefroelich4934]

You are the best. I been study for a few years and I have stopped at times. Then I will start over feeling more motivated.

[@nicky592]

being okay with forgetting is such a great sentiment. I think there's definitely an air or culture of optimization for "best" results in a lot of things; and often the fun or joy gets optimized out before we even realize it.

[@ProfKisuto]

Absolutely love this man.

[@KasumikoCh]

I've been studying Japanese for like 4 years now and I've only become completely fluent at N5 level, because sometimes I get interested and then I lose interest for some time, and it's completely okay. But then again I was also a 'casual' English learner throughout my life since it's not my first language, I don't think you need to focus too much energy if you just do a bit when you feel like it.

[@somedude9090]

I have to say, your English is incredible. At the very least, your writing seems completely fluent.

[@Koggelxander]

It's good advice George. I started learning Japanese back in high school and then stopped after a few months because it was too hard for me to grasp it. I also didn't have the resources I have now. I decided to start learning again about 19 days ago and I've already made more progress than I have back in high school. It's ok to take a break from something,spend time somewhere else and maybe come back to it at another time when you're ready.

[@robertgerow670]

I’ve been learning Japanese as a hobby for like a year and a half now, on and off. The first few months were super obsessive and I felt like I had to make progress fast. This led to burnout, and I took a long break which I thought might last forever. But the desire did come back on its own, and now I only learn more when it actually feels fun to me. I spend a couple weeks or months learning, then take a couple off. At this slow rate I might never become fluent, but who cares? There’s no reason I need to speak Japanese anyway, it was only for fun from the start. I’m way happier now that I’m focusing on enjoying the process and removing any unnecessary pressure.

[@CammyinJapan]

Started with your books, and it motivated me to learn Japanese. Initially got really burnt out after 6 months, took a break and started studying casually, and reignited my love for wanting to learn this language! Finished up to Book 4 of JFZ, then moved to Japan! Currently now in Japan studying full time at a Language School.

[@rdrmoneyyy6355]

I study just for fun, I truly have no idea what im doing but I spend a few mins every day learning a new kanji, or a few new vocab words. I have no goals for learning. I'm just having fun seeing my progress on the way.

[@retrofilmwork]

Thank you so much for this advice. These kind of videos have been boosting my energy and eventually I end up thinking it's okay to think that way. Now, I'm going to learn some japanese.

[@cassette-cat]

Hey Sensei , while this might be a bit out of topic for the conversation of this video. I started studying Japanese in 2020 with the videos uploaded on your channel while continuing my high school studies. Yesterday I got my results for JLPT n5 and i passed with a good grade and while its just n5 i enjoy a lot of the Japanese content online and honestly its all because your beginner Japanese videos were so fun, so Id like to say thanks a lot for introducing me to this wonderful language.

[@soulred5195]

Watching this actually made me feel good about my study habits, and a bit more motivated too. I study at least a little bit every single day (even if it's sometimes just 30 minutes of Anki), and occasionally I do get that feeling like I should be "more fluent" considering how long I've been studying. But I enjoy what I do know, and I enjoy learning more even if it's only a little bit at a time. Your channel is what first motivated me to start learning Japanese in the first place, so thanks for that!

[@joopert]

No, I'm gonna learn Japanese even harder now.

[@Garthgoyle]

Dang, dude. I wanna meet you someday, in person. Been watching you on KZbin since those Jorge & Keiko shows, and even bought your CD's back then. CD's!!!! And you're still just as awesome. Don't fucking change, EVER! And yes, it's OK to quit, or to become a casual.

[@wcellon]

For some reason, KZbin started showing me these videos again. When I was 42, I decided I wanted to learn Japanese because some games I played had Japanese words in them. I had no other reason to learn it. I tried off and on for maybe 10 years (I’m 57 now) and when I hear spoken Japanese it still sounds like gibberish. Although I can read a lot of Japanese and understand what I am reading, just can’t pronounce it. I did by your first 3 books. 😃

[@tkyo2025]

When I heard this, I got so much resistance from my mind that it motivated me to push harder & do the opposite. I tried to quit before but I just cannot... it's an addiction or obsession I guess!

[@NormaMoon]

I'm a saxophone player and as I watched the video I was understanding it as if you were talking about learning jazz (another language 😆) and it was a breath of fresh air to me. And about Japanese, I don't know what it has, but I always wanna learn more and never feel like I'm studying. I feel zero pressure to become good, even tho I always wanna become really really good at everything I like. 助かったよ、ありがとう先生。

[@Kiev-in-3-days]

Casual learner here. My goal is a solid foundation JLPT5 level in 3 years. I just don't brute force it and I enjoy the process.

[@MutesaasiraTM]

いいえ！いや！絶対にやめないよ！

[@EricAndre615]

I recently went to Japan for the first time. It was really interesting that I was hearing things and remembering words or grammar that I had not though about in years. It also made me realize that the only way I will really be able to become fluent is to live there for an extended period of time. To be thrown into the middle of it. Even taking some community classes with others just isn't enough. For reference I've been studying on my own for 12 or so years on and off. Sometimes I rarely study it, but still am reading it and hearing it. And at other points I was very much studying like you would expect and really focusing on study.

[@ZaraAzul]

I've named the cardinals visiting my bird feeder Keiko and Georgie - and I keep learning casually :)

[@yitzuthegreat1735]

I switched to the more casual mindset a few months ago after a lot of daily grinding for more than a year. Now I'm just enjoying playing all Inazuma Eleven games all over again in Japanese. Even if I don't understand more than half of the story I read, I still really enjoy the journey while looking up some words here and there. It does really help I already know the story really well due to playing the games and watching the anime way too much

[@five-toedslothbear4051]

Thanks! You just got a subscriber… And I am not from zero, but I may check out your course because I think I’ve discovered that part of what I can do with my Japanese learning is help some of my friends find an easier path than the one I have taken.

[@nomadicgamer9466]

This video was so incredibly important. Thank you.

[@alexanderthegreat8156]

I started studying japanese in 2020. At the beginning it was stedy progress. 2-3 hours of studying everyday. My porpose was to watch anime originaly in japanese, because I can barely read subtitles. Thanks to japanese I met so many people who played such a big role in my life, I had wonderful experiences and now I'm a language tutor online as well as a language teacher at a school. My japanese is pretty much abandoned, modern anime is horrible so I started loosing motivation through time. I keep in touch with japanese thanks to my language partner to whom I talk once in a while. I'll definitely go back to it someday, I know I will. Now just isn't the moment to continue, but I know the day will come. For now I just watch your grammar videos when I get the chance, and talk to my language partner when she's available.

[@garyc6183]

I burned myself out with MAS (Material Acquisition Syndrome), similar to GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) for photographers. I have so much material I don't know where to start. I'm also a JFZ website subscriber along with a few other sites. I've even taken two semesters of Japanese online through our states University using the Genki textbook. Your recent videos have helped me make the decision to just focus on JFZ. I'm going to try to balance study time with work and everything else I have going on day to day. The main thing is that I don't want to quit. I want to be consistent.

[@WimpyMcWeaksauce]

Kinda weird to see this video when I just found your channel yesterday. Uh, I think I'm gonna keep learning Japanese for now, LOL

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

Controversial take? This makes total sense! As a wise man once sang, you gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, and know when to run...

[@frozmo369]

Thank god someone says it. I've only ever learnt casually and i hate seeing videos about how to stay motivated

[@BriantWebster]

Great video from a great sensei. Your content is laidback and reassuring.

[@RafaArdin-wp4ek]

納得しすぎます。日本語をどれだけ学んでも熱心がなければ勉強を棄てる方がいいと思います。日本語を棄てたからって決して再び勉強しないわけじゃないし、ある日に熱心が復興したら勉強に頑張りましょう。

[@masayama1618]

Hi @RafaArdin-wp4ek. 納得しすぎる doesn't make sense. I think おおいに納得する will be what you wanted to say. 熱心 can't be a subject. It works as an adjective or modified nouns. So you can't say 熱心がある（or ない） and 熱心が+a verb （ex.復興する）. I think 情熱（じょうねつ） is a better word in that context. 勉強（or 日本語）を棄てる doesn't make sense. I'm not sure what you wanted to say but から離れる will be a better particle+verb in that context. 復興 doesn't make sense. I think 復活（ふっかつ） is a better word in that context. 勉強に頑張る has an incorrect particle. You should use を instead of に. Thank you.

[@RafaArdin-wp4ek]

@@masayama1618 何じぇ情ぐが刃ヴィ屈ーチ？？？　Man I am bad at outputting, I really have to stop using big words and try my best not to make up my own terms. I used 棄てる as in 日本語の勉強をやめる. I thought 棄てる meant cutting off all contacts and seperating oneself from Japanese, yeah 復活 fits more for people while 復興 is for like reviving the economy in a region or something. Still got a really long way to go to reach fluency. 訂正を参考にします。誠にありがとうございます。

[@masayama1618]

@@RafaArdin-wp4ek You're welcome.

[@JabbyMayoCD]

If you want to quit cause you realize you’re just not that interested in the language, then yeah, but if it’s just a motivation issue I would suggest not quitting. Motivation is not reliable, it comes and goes all the time. Arnold didn’t always have motivation to work out, but he did it anyways because he had determination to succeed.

[@jdagn]

Now, that's true wisdom.

[@Ragequite9989]

I can't quit, because the motive that I have is more stronger then the motives that I have to quit japanese, I'm enjoying so much learning japanese that, quit doesn't go through my mind.

[@hasil3d]

Good George: Japanese From Zero Evil George: Quit Japanese

[@joeymayson8279]

Japanese To Zero

[@rik-keymusic160]

That’s probably the best advice i heard in years 😅

[@arturiaemiya3877]

I both agree and disagree with this. I think it's true that for many that start studying Japanese, the 'wow' factor wears off quickly and what you are left with is a lot of time being put into something that won't benefit them much. For those people, I would say if you want to quit, it's ok to quit. But if you are quitting just because you think 'im not good enough' or 'Im not fluent yet' then I encourage you to keep going. The journey of learning Japanese has so many highs and lows and the best thing to do(for me at least) at a low moment is channel that into motivation to get better. Nobody gets fluent overnight, so be patient with yourself, we have all be there. But again, if you've been studying for a month or something and realized 'yeah...this isn't worth it' quitting is probably the right move just to save time. Like George says, it's ok to love Japan and not know Japanese

[@Undefined-Shade]

I kinda disagree!- I believe you must identify the problems & redo it!- Train your mind slowly to not give up- Otherwise, what you're doing is compromising with your life George, I love you man. You're the best teacher for me anyway!

[@AkaiNiwatori1]

I think it depends on the amount of years. Especially in this world economy. But hey, if people have the means to forever study Japanese and not get to at least an N2 level (living with parents etc) then have at it. But at that rate, a skill like sql, Javascript etc could be learned with way wayyyy less effort

[@Undefined-Shade]

@@AkaiNiwatori1 Yeah man, I see your perspective.. I guess I didn't consider the wavering economy and the cost of time...

[@leonardojerkovic3618]

私は24年間日本語を勉強していますが、初級レベルから上達していません。

[@japanesefromzero]

コメントを見ると初級レベルには見えません。

[@phillipnelson8567]

I have enough people in my life bumming me out about learning Japanese...i use youtube teachers for positivity and encouragement and inspiration. I was going to buy Japanese From Zero, but i think he's right. Ill just quit this negativity and go use Genki, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, Anki, and the Michel Thomas method instead. 👍

[@japanesefromzero]

Good old Michel Thomas method. Haven’t heard that name in a long time. I’m sad you didn’t understand the message I was trying to relay.

[@FlorianBaumann]

George pulling a Kaguya Shinomiya on Chika Fujiwara.

[@japanesefromzero]

Not familiar with these names. Care to explain?

[@FlorianBaumann]

@@japanesefromzero That's a reference to "Kaguya-sama: Love is War". Kaguya is the daughter of a Japanese tycoon, Fujiwara is an airhead and former piano prodigy. In chapter 222, Fujiwara explains why she stopped playing piano, even though everybody called her a genius. Some years ago, when Fujiwara was playing, Kaguya went by and bluntly asked her: "Why don't you just quit?" and went by. As a consequence, Fujiwara made Kaguya her BFF.

[@dandan-sq5zp]

I'm not quitting because it became a challenge but I accepted that I will need from 5 to 10 years to become fluent and not just one like most learners and it's ok

[@alexanderthegreat8156]

Fluent in 1 year? Who did that?

[@dandan-sq5zp]

​@@alexanderthegreat8156I have seen many on internet saying that reached N3 in less than a year

[@windworldwidespread2004]

Most I’ve seen become fluent in 4 years.

[@japanizer]

If there isn't anything interesting I don't even have an interest in learning, no need to force yourself, it might be different for a year.

[@hollyhockgod]

諦めんなよ！ 諦めんなよ、お前！！ どうしてそこでやめるんだそこで！ もう少し頑張ってみろよ！ ダメダメダメダメ諦めたら！ 周りのこと思えよ 応援してる人達のこと思ってみろって！ あともうちょっとのところなんだから 俺だってこのマイナス10℃ん所 シジミが取れるって頑張ってんだよ！ 絶対やってみろ！ 必ず目標達成できる。 だからこそ「ネバ・ギブ・アップ」 「出典：あきらめんなよ　松岡修造 」

[@ungabungus01]

諦めてはいけません

[@DDB168]

Great video. It's pretty much how I am. I travel to Japan a lot (over 20 years), and have always been interested in the history and culture. My Japanese is JLPT5 (which is nothing). It's been at that level for over a decade 🤭 The fact is, Japan is a victim of its own success in that it's way easier than ever for foreigners to travel there, without needing any Japanese knowledge what so ever. It wasn't always like that. Anyway I'll keep watching you George, and continue to make lots of sick jokes 😉

[@jordanmckinney6973]

that's my problem i don't like being low anything if Ima do something Ima do it to the best i can

[@prismak7607]

After many years I passed N5. But N4 seems so hard... And still I understand absolutely nothing when a native speaks.

[@japanesefromzero]

Work on that then. Just know it can only be down with little by little. So every interaction will get you closer.

[@rukiichi85]

i really think some people would need someone to tell them to just stop cuz they just been waiting for someone to tell them so cuz they tired of all the negative thoughts of that I MUST LEARN despite them not wanting to anymore nor there a reason just cuz their personality makes them think that THEY MUST DO IT CUZ THEY STARTED IT thanks sensei

[@kevinhardy8997]

I got fluent in French. Lived there for 2 years. But now I never use it.

[@John3.36]

Sometimes if you quit studying for awhile your brain and rest and regroup.

[@BotRenato]

I'm fine speaking only English and Portuguese,but I want to know japanese,so I won't quit

[@kalasatwater2224]

Yup big waste of time

[@japanesefromzero]

You should probably quit then.

[@amarug]

I must say "not quitting" was one of the best things I ever did. but yeah, i never lost motivation and i mostly enjoyed the process

[@chrisfederico5214]

Fuck that never quite

[@japanesefromzero]

Never quite… quit?

[@chrisfederico5214]

@@japanesefromzero lol stupid autocorrect got me again hahahahahahah

[@damlurker]

僕にはもう辞める方法がないよ。これまで日本語をわかるようになっちゃって、一生日本語聞いてなくても、読んでなくても、分からないようにならないでしょ… 笑

[@Sildemion]

Zen master Joji

[@fuseblower8128]

No! Just to spite you!

[@japaneselearning3892]

Pacing is the name of the game, and everyone plays a different game! :)

[@colinDESU]

Dogenでちょっと笑っちゃったw

[@japanesefromzero]

I enjoyed that segment myself. I hope he does as well. He seems like a chill guy.

[@Sirenhound]

You think your reverse psychology is going to work on me? I'll show you! I'm going to study even harder for like ...a few days, I don't know... Yeah

[@xiaor1ck213]

Stray Bullets at Dogen lol

[@japanesefromzero]

He’s the best!

[@SM-ok3sz]

If you think George was insulting Dogen, maybe you need English from Zero.

[@xiaor1ck213]

@@SM-ok3sz maybe you need that too. You don't seem to understand sarcasm

[@aster2790]

Nah skill issue

[@japanesefromzero]

Care to elaborate?

[@japanesefromzero]

(FIRST COMMENT AWARD)

[@aster2790]

​@@japanesefromzero Honestly, there was no reason or thought behind this comment when i posted it. I watched maybe 5 seconds of the video before writing it? It's completely ok to quit, but i think instead, just like you said towards the end of the video, you should be learning it casually. I think learning works best when you don't feel any guilt for not doing it and you do it because you enjoy it! :) However, some people quit because it's "too hard for them" which i think is a skill issue and it's really sad. There's a huge problem with the way people perceive learning and teaching languages which is why people think it's too hard for them

[@aster2790]

@@japanesefromzero I did, but youtube deleted my comment​ :(

[@TheErkis28]

Nah skill issue

[@lopsangdlama]

only dogen can be dogen LOL

[@japanesefromzero]

Are you sure!? I bought the exact beanie!