[jesselt]

I do not speak Japanese. Unlike some people on this forum I will not pretend otherwise. I am learning the language. It is difficult to say how much I know. Some people might say after a year or two of study that they only know as much as a 1st grader. HA! First graders can speak fluent Japanese just as a first grader in America can speak fluent English. There may be a lot of mistakes, but they have more knowledge of speech patterns than you will after you are finished with school.

I can probably have a basic conversation with a Japanese person if they were to use standard Japanese (basic as in simple discussion of the weather or discussion of school, etc.) and I've been studying for about two years. Learning to fluency will take you many, many years of study unless you plan on moving to Japan for an extended period of time. How long exactly depends on each person.