I was in your shoes a year ago! I'm reading at about an N4 level now, and have some very basic speaking ability.
It's daunting, but many people have done it. The key for me was having lots of different resources to learn from. I've found that everything teaches things a little bit differently, and everything skips something that another resource doesn't. Some explanations make more sense than others for certain facets. And of course, the repetition is good (and required).
I'd recommend:
- Write down your goals for what you want to do. Do you want to converse with other Japanese speakers? Write the language? Do you want to read Japanese? Be able to visit the country and communicate? Watch anime without subs/dubs? How you answer these questions will shape the resources you focus your time on. To build a regular habit of studying, you want to feel you're making steady progress towards a goal that you're passionate about.
- Learn hiragana/katakana. You'll not be able to make progress without this. I used a combination of this YouTube video [1] along with the "Japanese!" hiragana/katakana iOS app.
- If you want to read the language, start studying a Kanji deck.
- If you want to speak/listen in JP, start an audio course such an Pimsleur.
- Make your way through Minna no nihongo and/or Genki I.
- Google around for Japanese graded readers for beginners, to practice reading "real" content that has been synthetically simplified.
- Start reading community posts in Japanese language learning communities, and see what resources are being shared around and how people are studying. You'll naturally find a good fit, eventually.
It's daunting, but many people have done it. The key for me was having lots of different resources to learn from. I've found that everything teaches things a little bit differently, and everything skips something that another resource doesn't. Some explanations make more sense than others for certain facets. And of course, the repetition is good (and required).
I'd recommend:
- Write down your goals for what you want to do. Do you want to converse with other Japanese speakers? Write the language? Do you want to read Japanese? Be able to visit the country and communicate? Watch anime without subs/dubs? How you answer these questions will shape the resources you focus your time on. To build a regular habit of studying, you want to feel you're making steady progress towards a goal that you're passionate about.
- Learn hiragana/katakana. You'll not be able to make progress without this. I used a combination of this YouTube video [1] along with the "Japanese!" hiragana/katakana iOS app.
- If you want to read the language, start studying a Kanji deck.
- If you want to speak/listen in JP, start an audio course such an Pimsleur.
- Make your way through Minna no nihongo and/or Genki I.
- Google around for Japanese graded readers for beginners, to practice reading "real" content that has been synthetically simplified.
- Start reading community posts in Japanese language learning communities, and see what resources are being shared around and how people are studying. You'll naturally find a good fit, eventually.
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p9Il_j0zjc&t=18s