nihongo no benkyou ha sukosizutu susunde imasu.

の connects two nouns. Here, 日本語 modifies 勉強, so 日本語の勉強 means the study of Japanese or more naturally studying Japanese.

You can think of it like:

• 日本語 = Japanese
• 勉強 = study/studying
• 日本語の勉強 = Japanese study / study of Japanese

This is different from 日本語を勉強する, which uses a verb and means to study Japanese.

は marks the topic of the sentence.

So 日本語の勉強は means as for my Japanese study or regarding Japanese study.

The sentence is not focusing on who is doing the action. Instead, it is talking about the topic Japanese study and then saying something about it: it is progressing little by little.

A rough structure is:

• 日本語の勉強は = As for Japanese study,
• 少しずつ進んでいます = it is progressing little by little.

少しずつ means little by little, gradually, or bit by bit.

It is made from:

• 少し = a little
• ずつ = in portions / at a time / each

So together, it gives the idea of something happening in small steps.

Examples:

• 少しずつ覚えています。 = I am learning little by little.
• 少しずつ良くなっています。 = It is getting better gradually.

進んでいます is the ている form of 進む.

• 進む = to advance / to progress
• 進んでいる = is advancing / is progressing
• 進んでいます = polite form

In this sentence, 進んでいます shows an ongoing situation: the Japanese study is currently making progress.

Compare:

• 進みます = will progress / progresses
• 進んでいます = is progressing

So 進んでいます sounds more natural for the progress is happening now.

The dictionary form is 進む.

Its forms here are:

• Dictionary form: 進む
• て-form: 進んで
• Polite ている form: 進んでいます

This is a common pattern:

• 読む → 読んでいます
• 書く → 書いています
• 進む → 進んでいます

Yes. 進む can mean to go forward, to advance, or to make progress, depending on context.

In this sentence, it does not mean physically moving forward. It means that the study is advancing or coming along.

So 日本語の勉強は少しずつ進んでいます has a natural meaning like:

• My Japanese studies are progressing little by little.
• I am making gradual progress in studying Japanese.

This is an important intransitive/transitive pair.

• 進む = something progresses / moves forward
• 進める = to advance something / to move something forward

In this sentence, 勉強 is the thing that is progressing, so 進む is the right choice.

Compare:

• 勉強が進む。 = The studying progresses.
• 勉強を進める。 = I move my studying forward / I carry on with my studying.

So the original sentence focuses on the progress itself, not on the person actively pushing it forward.

Yes, but the nuance changes.

• 勉強が進んでいます focuses on the progress of the study process
• 上達しています focuses on skill improvement

Compare:

• 日本語の勉強は少しずつ進んでいます。
  = My Japanese study is progressing little by little.

• 日本語が少しずつ上達しています。
  = My Japanese is improving little by little.

Both are natural, but they are not exactly the same.

The sentence is:

• 日本語の勉強は = topic
• 少しずつ = adverb
• 進んでいます = verb

So the pattern is:

Topic + adverb + verb

This is very common in Japanese. The verb usually comes at the end.

A natural breakdown is:

• 日本語の勉強は
• 少しずつ
• 進んでいます。

No. Normally, Japanese is written without spaces.

So the usual writing is:

日本語の勉強は少しずつ進んでいます。

Spaces are often added in teaching materials to help beginners see the parts of the sentence more clearly.

Yes. It is in the polite style because of います.

• Polite: 進んでいます
• Casual: 進んでいる

So:

• 日本語の勉強は少しずつ進んでいます。 = polite
• 日本語の勉強は少しずつ進んでいる。 = casual

The polite version is appropriate in normal conversation, class, or writing.

Yes. Japanese often leaves out information that is clear from context.

So 日本語の勉強は少しずつ進んでいます can naturally mean:

• My Japanese study is progressing little by little.
• I am making gradual progress in studying Japanese.

There is no explicit my, but Japanese often omits possessives and subjects when they are understood.