Why Native Japanese Speakers Can Speak So Fast and How You Can Too (2024)

FAQs

Why Native Japanese Speakers Can Speak So Fast and How You Can Too? ›

Because the consonants above are pronounced in the same place, this is what allows native Japanese speakers to speak so fast. The front part of the tongue barely has to move between these consonants compared to English words which have far more consonants and places of pronunciation (AKA places of articulation).

Japanese is a language without closed syllables, and because consonants do not appear at the end of syllables, the average time per syllable may be shorter than in languages with closed syllables, but from the Japanese point of view, the native language spoken by foreigners sounds much faster.

But Japanese also has an extremely low degree of complexity in its syllables, and much less information encoded per syllable. So the syllables come out at a faster rate, but you need more of them to convey the same amount of information as a slow language, like, say, Vietnamese.

It is always mentioned as the first on the list. So, here are 6 of the fastest spoken languages in the world, based on the average number of syllables spoken per second (SPS): Japanese - 7.84 SPS. Spanish - 7.82 SPS.

You say the words in the rhythm of clapping your hands. The important thing is to pronounce the sound of a hiragana letter as you clap your hands once. Keep a slow but steady rhythm. This is because all Japanese words have the same sound length.

Japanese is the fastest spoken language, rapidly producing 7.84 syllables per second. Japanese is often spoken at such a fast pace due to its unique syllabic structure and the compact nature of its words.

Our verdict. In this category, Korean is easier. While there are more speech levels in Korean, once you have mastered the conjugation patterns, you just need to learn the rules on how to use the verbs.

A recent French study of the density and speed of 20 languages found Mandarin to be one of the slowest languages examined (in a group including French, English, and Japanese), in terms of syllables spoken per minute.

The Japanese language is considered one of the most difficult to learn by many English speakers. With three separate writing systems, an opposite sentence structure to English, and a complicated hierarchy of politeness, it's decidedly complex.

Is it possible to speak Japanese fluently? ›

While every learner is different, the FSI found that getting to basic fluency in Japanese takes about 720 hours of study. By basic fluency, we're talking about the B2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is what we use to mark a learner's proficiency and fluency on Busuu.

Around 99% of first-language Japanese speakers live in Japan. Most of the remainder live in the United States (notably California and Hawaii), and Brazil (mostly in the states of São Paulo and Paraná).

The FSI of the US State Department estimates that it takes 88 weeks, or 2,200 study hours, to reach what most people define as Japanese fluency. This is probably a fairer assessment than saying it takes 2 years to speak Japanese.

Konnichiwa is a common greeting for Japanese people. It's a general “hello” and can be used throughout the day – though early in the morning or late at night you'd be wiser to use ohayou and konbanwa. All three of these aisatsu are used every day by Japanese people.

However, many experts believe it takes between 4 to 6 months of dedicated study to reach a beginner level. On the other hand, you can expect to spend at least 3 years studying to become fluent in Japanese with near-native level accuracy.

Japanese grammar is very different from English grammar. Japanese sentences follow the subject-object-verb (SOV) word order, whereas English uses the subject-verb-object (SVO) order. Plus, Japanese particles are used to identify the roles certain words play in a sentence.

Japanese culture has several norms related to communication styles that may be different from Western cultures. Some of these include: Indirect communication: Japanese people often use indirect communication, avoiding direct confrontation and expressing themselves through subtle cues and hints.