· 7 min read
English vs Japanese: How They Compare
By Language Lab editorial team
English vs Japanese compared: writing systems, politeness, how long each takes to learn, the official tests, everyday phrases in both, and which to learn.
English and Japanese are about as far apart as two major languages get, and the gap shows first in writing. English uses one alphabet of Latin letters. Japanese uses three types of characters: hiragana and katakana, which are phonetic, and kanji, which stand for meanings; Japan's official list of kanji for general use has 2,136. For an English speaker, the US State Department places Japanese in Category IV, super-hard languages, at 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours. For a learner of English, Cambridge English's guideline is roughly 500–600 guided learning hours to reach B2 from zero. Japanese also builds politeness into its grammar through honorific language. Which to learn depends on your purpose: English for international reach, Japanese for Japan.
Side by side
| English | Japanese | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | The Latin alphabet | Three types of characters: hiragana, katakana and kanji |
| Characters to learn | One alphabet | 2,136 kanji on the official list for general use, plus the two phonetic scripts |
| Politeness | Not covered in the sources used here | Honorific language, keigo |
| Main tests | IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge English Qualifications, PTE Academic | Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, levels N5 to N1 |
| Official difficulty for speakers of the other | Not rated in the sources used here | Category IV for English speakers: 88 weeks (2,200 class hours) |
Writing: the largest gap
NHK WORLD-JAPAN's course for beginners explains that the Japanese language has three types of characters. Hiragana and katakana are phonetic symbols, each representing one syllable, while each kanji stands for a meaning. The Jōyō Kanji Table, the Japanese government's guide to kanji in general use, lists 2,136 characters. An English speaker has to learn all of this from nothing. A Japanese speaker learning English has one alphabet to learn, but then meets English spelling, which has plenty of irregularities.
Politeness
Japanese has honorific language, keigo, which NHK treats as a topic of its own, with items such as making a polite request to a superior and speaking about a superior. For a learner of Japanese this is a system to study from the early stages.
Listening
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test shows how far listening has to travel. At its lowest levels, N5 and N4, conversations are understood when spoken slowly; at N1 the standard is natural speed in a broad variety of settings. Learners of English can start the same climb with slowed recordings: Voice of America reads its Learning English programmes one-third slower than normal speed.
The same phrases in both
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Hello | こんにちは [konnichiwa] |
| Goodbye | さよなら [sayonara] |
| Thank you | ありがとう [arigato] |
| Yes | はい [hai] |
| No | いいえ [iie] |
| I'm sorry | ごめんなさい [gomennasai] |
| I don't understand | 分かりません [wakarimasen] |
| Pleased to meet you | 初めまして [hajimemashite] |
The Japanese phrases are from the BBC's archived list of key phrases, shown in Japanese script with the BBC's Latin-letter spelling.
How long each takes
- Japanese, for an English speaker: the US State Department places it in Category IV, which it calls super-hard languages, at 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours, to reach a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. At 10 hours a week that is 220 weeks.
- English, for any learner: Cambridge English estimates approximately 200 guided learning hours to move up one level of the European framework, which puts B1 at roughly 350–400 hours from zero and B2 at 500–600. Cambridge says the figures are a guideline and vary with your language background.
The two figures measure different things, a US government training target and a level-by-level guideline, so do not read them as a direct comparison.
Tests for each
Japanese has one main test, the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, with five levels from N5, the ability to understand some basic Japanese, to N1. English has several: IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge English Qualifications, PTE Academic.
Which should you learn?
- You speak Japanese and want to study or work abroad: English, planned by level, B1 then B2.
- You speak English and plan to live, work or study in Japan: Japanese, with a JLPT level as your target.
- You want the shorter road: for an English speaker, Japanese is in the longest official category; for most learners English is planned in hundreds of hours.
- You are drawn by the culture: you would be in good company. The Japan Foundation counted 4,000,750 learners of Japanese in 143 countries and regions.
- You speak neither: English first for reach, Japanese for Japan.
Language Lab offers both. Its English and Japanese courses are built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor.
Frequently asked
Is Japanese harder than English?
For an English speaker, Japanese is in the hardest official group: Category IV, at 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours. The sources used here do not rate English for Japanese speakers.
What is the biggest difference between English and Japanese?
Writing. English uses one alphabet; Japanese uses three types of characters, including 2,136 kanji on the official list for general use.
Does Japanese use the English alphabet?
No. Japanese is written in hiragana, katakana and kanji. Phrase lists for learners, such as the BBC's, add a spelling in Latin letters.
How long does it take an English speaker to learn Japanese?
88 weeks of full-time classes, or 2,200 class hours, by the US State Department's figures.
How long does it take to learn English?
Cambridge English estimates about 200 guided learning hours per level of the European framework, and 500–600 hours to reach B2 from zero.
What is the Japanese equivalent of an English test such as IELTS?
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, which has five levels from N5 to N1.
Sources: US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; NHK WORLD-JAPAN, Easy Japanese and Learn Japanese; Agency for Cultural Affairs, Jōyō Kanji Table; Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, level summary; The Japan Foundation, Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad; BBC Languages, Japanese key phrases and A Guide to Urdu (archived pages); Cambridge English, Guided learning hours; Voice of America, About Learning English. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: Yokohama Minato Mirai skyline with Mount Fuji at dusk, by 名古屋太郎 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
