I am hoping to live in Japan eventually and I am learning Japanese. There are over 50,000 Kanji and that makes me nervous. How many would I have to know to thrive in Japan and read Manga? Also how would I be accepted? How differently do they treat foreigners? And would I ever be able to blend into the communities?
Japan - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
1, 945 is how much they learn in school. They don't use the 80,000 + kanji there are existing. Most Japanese know more than 1,945 however. I would say they probably know actually around 3, 000 kanji because they might have special kanji for names that are rarely used or they could be doctors that use special kanji for medical terms. You won't be treated like a Japanese, but you'll be treated with respect. You won't blend in because Japanese are Asian, so they look a lot different than Caucasians. They don't have that melting pot idea like America or even the blending like England or Canada.
2 :
You don't HAVE to know any. We were stationed in Northern Japan for 5 1/2 years and there were only a few that I knew (mostly names of towns). Most highway signs have some English on them too. Unless you're of Asian descent, you won't blend into the communities. We had good experiences while we were there, but if we were able to speak at least some Japanese it would have helped.
3 :
I knew about 1000 kanji before my company trasferred me to Japan. I picked up more on a daily basis. After 3.5 years, I knew most kanji needed for daily life. My co worker, my wife and other people I knew in Japan knew 0 before they lived there. From my experience, the more Japanese you know, the better. That does not mean you cannot go there, it only means you will have to struggle more at first. Remeber the most important thing to living in Japan is to have a some sort of visa.
4 :
You need about 2,000 to read a newspaper. If you don't look Japanese, you can't blend in. And BTW, you just can't move there !
5 :
There is no way anyone but a specialist scholar knows 50000 kanji. The 1945 joyo kanji should enable you to read anything written post WW2-typefaces are only joyo kanji. The important thing is learning them in context. Learning a bunch of kanji by themselves won't give you reading fluency. Start reading materials intended for learners and children now and work your way up.
