If I could go back in time when I was studying Japanese to get to an N1/N2 level I wish I could have told myself drop the textbooks and just have fun in the language. I was so determined that I needed to achieve a certain JLPT level before I& #39;d be good enough to read manga, watch

anime and play games in Japanese. And honestly? I wish I& #39;d just jumped right in. I did, to some degree, do that. But I wasted way too much time on flashcards and textbooks when I& #39;d have probably had a more enjoyable time using native materials to learn from.

The biggest piece of advice I want to give anyone who is learning Japanese: if you have a game, a manga or book you want to read in Japanese, just hop in. Yes, it& #39;s best to find something close to your level. But have fun in the language, it will make learning it sooo much easier

And let& #39;s talk about a related thing... burnout! I went full spartan because I was determined to get an N1 and get into translation. I did not want to be a pro until I had the N1. I got it exactly a year and a half after I passed the N2 and it burned me the hell out.

After I passed the N1, I didn& #39;t want to touch anime, manga or games for a LONG time. I still did translation work, but I didn& #39;t want to even see Japanese in my free time. Not that I had much of a choice, I moved to Japan and married a Japanese person who didn& #39;t speak English. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😅" title="Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat">

Best decision of my life, but I won& #39;t say that didn& #39;t drain me, too. Basically, I know there& #39;s a lot of people studying Japanese that aspire to become translators, and I don& #39;t want you guys burning yourselves out like I did. There& #39;s a better way to get there.