Hi everyone,
I’m a complete beginner in Japanese, but I can speak, read, and write Mandarin Chinese
My main goal for now is practical communication, especially for future travel in Japan. I’d like to focus first on listening and speaking
I’ve tried Duolingo, but it seems to require learning writing/characters in order to progress to the next levels. I’m not against learning hiragana, katakana, or kanji — I do plan to learn them properly later — but at this stage I’d prefer to build some spoken and conversational confidence first. After that, I may hire a Japanese tutor to take things to the next level.
Are there any apps, or other resources you would recommend for a beginner who wants to prioritise conversational Japanese?
Also, since I’m already fluent in Mandarin, are there any resources that make good use of a Chinese-language background, or would it be better to start with standard English-based beginner materials?
Thanks in advance!