/j - Blog Posts
I want to try learning Kanji and I think I want to try it your way w having a kanji and the list of vocabulary the kanji it is in. Was it a teacher or yourself that made those lists?
I made the lists! I made them based off of the jouyou kanji break down (this list is all over the internet). So I’m learning grade-by-grade, and just learning common vocabulary attached to those particular kanji. It’s possibly a more grueling process, but it’s helping me.
I also use WaniKani, which uses a slightly similar system of learning kanji in vocabulary. They do teach readings first, however.
hi i really want to learn kanji/katakana but i dont know where to start
Hi! Yeah, Japanese can be really daunting at first because it feels like there’s so much to learn and many places to start. I’m not sure whether or not you know hiragana already, but I’m going to list the way I started with Japanese kana (hiragana + katana) and then moved on to kanji. ლ(╹◡╹ლ)
Anything in bold is something I use/used/highly recommend!
1. LEARNING THE KANA ALPHABETS (HIRAGANA + KATAKANA)
I personally recommend learning the alphabets separately. Master one alphabet (I recommend hiragana first because it’s what you’ll use the most), and then move on to the next. I spent 2 days learning and mastering hiragana, and then slowly mastered katakana over a period of a few weeks because hiragana is everywhere, but katakana wasn’t an immediate concern for me. Obviously you need to learn both, but if you know hiragana you can jump into grammar, kanji, and other lessons while slowly mastering your katakana skills and becoming familiar with that alphabet through katakana vocabulary.
Here are some kana resources to try out!
Learn Hiragana: Tofugu’s Ultimate Guide *
Learn Katana: Tofugu’s Ultimate Guide *
Hiragana Drag-n-Drop
Katakana Drag-n-Drop
StickyStudy (phone app; on-the-go flashcards for learning kana)
Real Kana (quizzes you in different fonts to help you get used to different styles)
Practice katakana with Pokémon
* I’m not personally a fan of mnemonics, but I know a lot of people swear by them so it’s worth trying them and seeing if they work for you!
Both kana alphabets will become easier with exposure, so just keep practicing them over and over!
2. KANJI
Okay, so I’m going to be honest – everyone learns kanji differently. Some people benefit from just writing them 100 times, other people need flashcards, and some people can see them 2 or 3 times and remember them forever. You’re going to have to find the best way to learn for you, but the following resources will at least get you started. The rest is up to you ^^
Japanesetest4you – a good way to learn kanji is in vocabulary words, so once you’ve learned hiragana you can jump right in to learning new vocabulary and mastering kanji along the way! I love this websites way of splitting vocab into JLPT levels
StickyStudy (phone app) – this costs ~$9.99, but is unbelievably useful because it has kanji split into grade levels, allows you to decide how many you see everyday, and so on. I also like that I can use it on the go!
MindSnacks (phone app) – also lets you practice kana, but can expose you to kanji in a fun, game-like format
WaniKani – people have mixed feelings about this website because it works for some and not for others, but the first 3 levels are free so you can get your feet wet and decide if it’s right for you!
Memrise courses
This N5 verb list – a good start to basic, common kanji you should learn!
TEXTBOOKS + BOOKS
Genki – as far as I know, this is one of the most popular textbooks for learning Japanese and I can vouch they’re really good. They teach certain amounts of kanji each lesson and expose you to those kanji continuously, eventually removing the furigana to force your brain to remember the kanji reading + meaning alone!
Basic Kanji Book – I’ve personally never used this, but I see it everywhere on langblr and it seems like a popular way to start learning kanji
When it comes to kanji, I think it’s important to understand how to read them and understand how they work in Japanese. Almost every kanij has multiple readings. Kunyomi (訓読み) is the Japanese reading and is generally used when one kanji is by itself, while the onyomi (音読み) is the Chinese reading and appears in compounds.
For example: the kanji 話, when by itself, is read はなし (story), or はな (as in the verb ‘to speak’ - 話す, hanasu). However, when found in a compound such as telephone (電話 でんわ), the kanji is read as わ/wa. I recommend reading Tae Kim’s Guide on kanji to further understand them! Understanding how kanji operate in Japanese was really helpful for my own learning.
I think it’s also important to remember that even Japanese people didn’t learn kanji all at once! They learned them by grade, learning anywhere for 80-140 kanji per year until they were in high school. These are called The Jouyou Kanji (常用漢字) and are essentially the 2,000+ kanji Japanese people are expected to know by the government. You can learn more about them here and here.
Good luck with your studies and I hope this helps!
Personally, i agree with your point of view on the Japanese YouTubers community.It gets tiring and sometimes confusing.I have always been conflicted about whether the content is helofu4and informative for me or not.I am not condemning their content; it just seems to be aimed at entertainment seekers.(regardless there may be informative channels out there, but i haven't followed any for many years now). Please stay safe and remember that sharing your relationship is a double-edged sword of sorts.
That was when I finally decided to stop watching their content – when I realized it no longer felt healthy/beneficial for me. I just spent a lot of time feeling annoyed with it, or feeling like it wasn’t really entertaining anymore.
There are a lot of channels with informative content! Abroad In Japan (Chris) is great. He’s really honest about Japan, and he posts a lot about culture and travel. I also really love his sense of humor, and I love that he’s up to try new things and is respectful of the culture at the same time.
I also love Bilingirl Chika! Her fun mix of English and Japanese makes her videos both a learning tool for language and culture and entertaining to watch. She makes a lot of videos about Japan, life hacks, language tips, and more! Her personality is so bubbly and fun, and she’s really positive but realistic in her videos. She deserves way more followers than she has!
The final favorite is KemushiChan (Loretta). Her Japanese is really good, and she’s currently getting her masters degree in Japan! She has a lot of videos in Japanese, and she often features other Japanese YouTubers on her channel. She posts a lot of informative and helpful content about learning the language and “normal” life in Japan. I think she’s awesome!
I didn’t mean to turn this into a recommendation thing, but because I keep talking a bit negatively about foreign Japanese YouTube, I wanted to share a few channels I do love! A little positivity never hurt anybody, eh? Lol.
For anyone looking to expand their Japanese vocabulary a little bit, here’s a complete list of the kanji and vocabulary I need for my kanji midterm! It’s got 167 words on it, divided into 2 levels – one that tests English to kana, and another that tests kana to kanji. Feel free to use this to branch your vocabulary out a bit! It’s full of words like 手術 and 針金 and 職業 and 刺す and 美術館 and 御馳走. Have fun!
I’ll add 2 more levels at the end of the semester when I need to review for my final exam ^^
Sorry to be a pain but I was wondering if you had any Japanese children’s book recommendations? I’m a beginner (just learned hiragana and katakana and only know very basic phrases and vocabulary) and I was also wondering if you had an advice on how to read them? For example as I am a very beginner beginner I won’t know many words so should I start but reading paragraph by paragraph and translating everything I don’t know? Thank you 💕
First of all, sorry for late reply! I was busy these past weeks, that I only opened Tumblr yesterday.
I recommend this site for the Japanese children’s book. Notice that I did not recommend you a particular book, because I believe that each children book gives joy, and I want you to enjoy reading each one of them (^o^)
For the reading part, I suggest you to know first the meaning of each word, before reading it by paragraph. In this way, not only you learn the meaning, but also understand the content of the story. Make a flash card (like Anki deck) so you can memorize easily each word you have to learn (^_-)
I hope I was able to help you @jupiturde!
Apps for learning Kanji
Japanese kanji study - 漢字学習
This app is great for learning kanji. You will learn the meaning, reading, different vocabulary, sentences, and my favorite feature of all: stroke order! You can also take a quiz by using this app (^_-)
Take note that if you want to access all JLPT level, you have to purchase it. The price is cheaper compared to buying books (but I think it depends on country. Here in the Philippines, Kanji practice books are expensive.)
NHK Japanese - Easy learner
I use this app to practice my reading skills . It contains articles that are easy to read and understand. You can set your article to show 振りがな (ふりがな - kana over kanji to indicate pronunciation). When you click the kanji, it will show its meaning
You can play the audio, so you can imitate the pronunciation of each word. You can also download the article to read/listen offline.
NHK News Reader
Another app that I use to practice my reading skills, but this contains difficult article.
The same as the previous app, you can set it to show furigana, and you can click the kanji to read its meaning
Takaboto: Japanese Dictionary This is an offline dictionary. I really love this app because you can also learn each kanji used on the word, and also their stroke order.
I always use this app whenever I use the previous NHK app. This helps me to understand the meaning more.
You can also learn how the word can be used on sentence by clicking the phrase tab.
I hope this will help for those who plan to study Kanji.
N5 - N1 need to know
This website has documents, audio files, and other resources set up by N level. Happy studies!
Do you know any Japanese Language tumblrs ?
Here are some!
@themoonwascrimson
@orenjisupeesu
@japaneselangblr
@mellolearnsjapanese
@nihongonogakusei
@japanese-langblr
@shubsx
@aidoku
@miro-yo
@twiguyslangblr
@travellingtojapan
@kohi-kumo
@study-stream
@jpnlangblr
@miuna-lngblr
@mango-learns-nihongo
@errgative
@keytoanothergalaxy
@strawblondiestudies
@bakadesu-studyblr
@learnjp
@esterse
x
社会・歴史・世界・地理・公民 のディジタル教科書！JP TEXTBOOKS
As promised, there are the Japanese textbooks in my dropbox. I hope they are useful to you! They’re individual links, some are big. Included is: Society (from 4th to 6th grade), History, World/Geography and Civics. I’m sorry I don’t have the time to fully recheck everything, so I think I put one pdf in more than one folder. Please forgive me for the inconvenience ;~;! If there’s a problem with one of them please tell me so I can replace it.
社会
４年：X, X, X, X
５年：X, X, X, X, X
６年：X, X, X, X, X
歴史 : X, X, X
地理・世界 : X, X, X, X, X, X, X
公民: X, X, X, X, X
If you want MORE resources for a subject hmu. I can recommend you resources, lectures and videos for the following subjects: politics, international relations, geography, history. I can also help you find jp textbooks on amazon if you want to buy something on these subjects.
喜んで読んでみてください！♥
hello there! are there any sites that can help me practice reading in japanese for free? like news sites, manga sites, or sites that provide free e-books to read. also, can you recommend any japanese podcasts that can help me in my listening practice? thank you for answering this question!
Manga Library Z (Jコミ) has a bunch of out-of-print manga available
E-hon and Ehon hiroba are both good for picture books.
Hukumusume has classic tales. This one has the option to use parallel text with English.
NHK Easy News. any underlined words have a J-J popup dictionary entry attached to them.
Matcha for easy travel articles
Aozora Bunko for copyright expired books. Might be easier to use with an app. Just plug 青空文庫 into your app store and a few options should pop up.
Syosetu and Pixiv are good for finding fanfiction, pixiv has a lot of original stories mixed in there as well.
The podcasts I reccomend are the same as the ones Asta already recommended ＾＾; ひいきびいき and Muggles’ Giggles You could also check out the RadioJapan app to listen to japanese radio stations or try browsing for Japanese Ted talks.
Beginner Japanese Resources
I’ve seen quite a lot of these going around, and have definitely taken quite a few pages out of their books, but I thought I had some bookmarks I’d like everyone to know more about, even if they already did. ^^ If you think something is wrong, or know something is wrong, then please tell me!
g r a m m a r
Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese Grammar (easy acquaintance with grammar, but not much in-depth)
IMABI (best free grammar resource but too much information for beginners, or so it’s said. still very helpful.)
Tim’s Takamatsu/ Tim Sensei’s Corner (also good. i heard of someone who printed out the older website and got fluent in Japanese with this, so it’s probably worth checking out)
Dictionaries of Japanese Grammar (hands down the best grammar resource, bit pricey or you could just download these PDFs).
Bunpro (good for interactive grammar studies, free until may 10 and there’s a one month free trial for subscription after that)
g r a m m a r / b l o g s
Japanese Ammo (native speaker and tutor’s blog, she also has a Youtube channel here)
Maggie-Sensei (grammar articles are a bit mismatched but good for little references)
Tofugu (probably the best culture and resources blog I’ve come across. a must.)
Romy-sensei (Japanese teacher, blog is VERY helpful)
DJT Guide (for a beginner outlook on how to start and where, named because of the daily japanese thread that I don’t have too much information on but it’s a daily thread where people learning japanese shared resources/ progress/ motivational whatevers)
i n t e r a c t i v e l e a r n i n g
Delvin Language (shows clips and asks you to identify what’s spoken. Very good for listening and you can slow them down, though use that sparingly. kinda spammy tho.)
Japanese Class (found this a few years ago, but it’s a gamified site that helps you learn vocabulary with regular exposure. recommended.)
Japanese in Anime and Manga (for fellow otakus. a bit hard for me to navigate, but it’s along a similar vein as the above site. offered in spanish, chinese, korean and french, besides english.)
Erin’s Challenge (recommended for upper beginners, or lower intermediates, but there’s a lot to do now as well! very good for listening and reading- with transcripts and subtitles- in the form of a school life role-play. offered in quite a few other languages.)
Duolingo (not a lot of information, nor is it very in-depth. good for dabbling in, maybe. try the website, not the app, if you really want to use it.)
LingoDeer (BEST app for learning the language. You could do a lot on it alone, and it can probably take you up to a little above N5, but don’t keep using it standalone for long! also offers chinese, korean and now vietnamese!)
t e x t b o o k s
TextFugu (tofugu’s online textbook, made specifically for self-study, though it works good in conjunction with classes and tuition)
Genki (widely used, most recommended by people)
Minna no Nihongo (also very popular. some consider it better than genki.)
Japanese for Busy People (especially if you’re a little short on time)
Japanese for Everyone (generally good reviews, with a lot of vocabulary - an estimated 2500 maybe? convert djvu to pdf to use.)
k a n j i (course books)
Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course aka KKLC (a kanji learning course with vocabulary in it.)
Remembering the Kanji (aka the acclaimed ‘Japanese learner’s beginning holy grail’. but it totally depends upon what you’d prefer tbh. can make you recognise kanji and what they could stand for, but that’s about it.)
Kanji Damage (aka remember 1700 Kanji with offensive yo mama jokes. ridiculous? hilariously, it does work for some.)
WaniKani (people swear by this. you can try out the first three levels to see the magic, even if you don’t think it’s your style.)
l i s t e n i n g
mykikitori (for Genki 1 apparently)
Japanese Pod 101 (a good online course in itself, but the podcasts are the most helpful of the lot. @lovelybluepanda has made them available here.)
o t h e r s
DJT Resources (sub-link of DJT Guide but probably has all the Japanese resources you could ever want!)
Nihongo e Na (more resources, probably worth checking out)
Nihongo Resources (along a similar vein with the purpose in its name)
Jakka (the site is entirely in Japanese, but it has kanji for grade school, broken up appropriately)
Happy Lilac (kind of the same as above with kanji stroke order practice material, meant for Japanese children)
This may be repeated, because similar, if not the exact same, resources in DJT are categorised neatly here. @lovelybluepanda again.
check more masterposts, some of which have been compiled here by @languagesandshootingstars
日本語の森 (Nihongo no Mori) (Good Youtube videos for beginners and advanced learners alike! They even have their lessons separated by JLPT levels!)
While that’s it for all the Japanese resources I feel do not go around a lot now, I did compile some points Japanese beginners might be doubtful in and what I had found from my own research.
Genki or Minna no Nihongo?
Minna no Nihongo has more vocabulary (2100-2200 for 初級 levels i.e. the beginner books) while Genki boasts a little lesser (1700 for genki 1+2). Minna no Nihongo has allegedly more grammar coverage ( 〜ように、〜ために- used in native speech). However, the book is entirely in Japanese (there is a separate book for English explanations) and there is a separate book for Kanji too. The Answer Key is at the back of the book, unlike Genki which has a separate Answer Key.
Genki is said to be more beginner-friendly than Minna no Nihongo, but if you put your mind to it, you can do either tbh. Just choose any book and stick with it!
** If you’re planning to study in Japan anytime, remember that Japanese teachers usually use Minna no Nihongo. But better do your research as well.
Kanji?
Everyone can put in all the work they like in Kanji, but at the end of the day, Kanji is not the only thing about Japanese. You can totally use Anki or Quizlet or Memrise to drill it in, maybe even make your own flashcards and put in extra work! But to really get fluent in the language, talking to native speakers (helpful guide by @jibunstudies) is very important. Even if you don’t fully understand what they’re saying, you acquire more vocabulary and will get the nuance of basic sentences! And you get friends too, if you’re lucky!
Just for reference and no pressure, here’s the general requirement to pass JLPT levels, if you’re ever planning to take them!
Level Kanji Vocabulary Listening Hours of Study N5 ~100 ~800 Beginner 150 (estimated) N4 ~300 ~1,500 Basic 300 (estimated) N3 ~650 ~3,750 Lower Intermediate 450 (estimated) N2 ~1000 ~6,000 Intermediate 600 (estimated) N1 ~2000 ~10,000 Advanced 900 (estimated)
(… yeah, that looks way better on a computer ok.) Remember, estimated doesn’t mean it will take you that much time exactly. Everyone learns differently! And ‘talent’ can be overcome by enough hard work so ファイト!
頑張れ !
Heyy guys! I found this really cool youtuber who does japanese language videos. They are super helpful when it comes to grammar, kana, and kanji. His channel is “gaijinquest”
Japanese listening practice for beginners - Youtube videos
“キッズボンボン for Children” channel
All of the videos on this list have Japanese subtitles. It is mostly in ひらがな and the words are separated. This and the fact that these videos are aimed for children, makes them great for beginners.
PEACH BOY - MOMOTARO (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
KINTARO (Japanese) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
USHIWAKAMARU (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
SHINING PRINCESS (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE TONGUELESS SPARROW (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE DANCING KETTLE (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE STORY OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
CLACK CLACK MOUNTAIN (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
OLD MAN WITH THE LUMP (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
OLD MAN FLOWER (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE YOUNG MONK IKKYU (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE GRATEFUL CRANE (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
URASHIMA TARO (JAPANESE) / うらしまたろう - 浦島太郎（日本語版）Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE SNOW WOMAN (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE ROLLING RICE BALL (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy
INCH BOY (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE CHILD GODS (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
THE STORY OF THE ZODIAC (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale
All of these videos have an English version on this channel. Search for them or click on this playlist. You can use both versions to study what’s being said.
SNOW WHITE (JAPANESE) fairytale | Folktales | bedtime stories
THUMBLINA (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
PETER PAN (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
A DOG OF FLANDERS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
PINOCCHIO (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
PUSS IN BOOTS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
ALADDIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE GOATS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
CINDERELLA (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
THE LITTLE MATCH SELLER | Folktales | bedtime stories
HE MERMAID PRINCESS | Folktales | bedtime stories
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD | Folktales | bedtime stories
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
THE ADVENTURE OF TOM SAWYER (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime
THE WIZARD OF OZ (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
THE UGLY DUCKLING (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
ALICE IN WONDERLAND (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories
All of these videos have an English version on this channel. Search for them or click on this playlist. You can use both versions to study what’s being said.
pink fluff infection collab with @kiwimeep :3
(one of those like draw for 5 minutes then swap thingys)
literally us!!!!
kiwipost
what if i dont wake up get up stand up MERA though
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ohh my god. i got the stupidest drawing prompt ever. now i just need to find the time to actually draw it. it's like i just did hangman's gambit in real life
me when i want to be drunk in his arms, he holding me tight and kissing my head while I'm caressing the tattoo on his arm while he play Mario kart like he used to do
ALRIGHT. WHICH ONE OF YOU PUT MR. BONZO NSFW ON MY PINTEREST FEED/J
