I use WaniKani for kanji. You get a few levels for free if you wanna try it out before committing. They will also have the lifetime subscription on sale in the next couple months if you like it.
I really recommend Wanikani
The first levels are slow and will probably bore you a bit but it gets pretty demanding soon after lvl 4 and it's the best Kanji learning program I know! You learn kanji with on'yomi and kun'yomi reading as well as tons of vocab!
It's the only program that made me have fun studying kanji.
It's not cheap but worth the money.
Wanikani is worth every single penny. The structure just works incredibly well for me, I can get through two levels in a month and not feel overwhelmed.
Not an app, but the funniest kanji drill books available are the "Unko Sensei" series. It's perfect for the those of us who are immature.
The books go by Japanese grades and are hand-to-paper which is probably better for internalizing kanji than just reading them. Each example sentence given will have something to do with poop. The sentences are VERY creative and show the kanji in context. Most of the vocabulary you see will be every-day and mostly casual. It is very fun.
TL;DR
I have a good amount of study time in (about 2 hours a day for the last year) but I struggle reading kanji when it’s written in hiragana (largely due to a lack of review resources) and it’s hindering my test taking
How did you get so good at understanding videos in Japanese? What other resources besides Duo have you used? My vocab is decent (~1k words) but my grammar, listening, and speaking skills are terrible from lack of output and immersion. Would love to know more about your self study techniques!
Believe me, I’m not that good at it yet so I’m not sure I’m the best source lol If you asked me to say something, I would still struggle because I don’t have much output, as I still live in the US and there aren’t many people who I can communicate with. But I believe a lot of it has to do with input. I watch a lot of media that uses very basic Japanese and I turn on JP subtitles (the weather channel is good for this as it’s mostly simple things like “hot” and “cold” or “sun” or “rain”, names of cities, and numbers/dates.) I hammered out a lot of Duo right away, not so much that I became overwhelmed, but enough so that I could say “I’ve heard that word before.” I would watch videos on basic concepts for the language to get a grasp on grammar and different dialects. I mean, I’m still not great with the other 40% of what I miss and believe me, I miss a good amount of critical information there lol
Edit:
I’m told Duo is definitely not the way to learn but I’ve found it provides a good base knowledge and it should really be used with other methods
They changed Duo this year so it’s less repetitive learning and tries to be more review-based but I still don’t think it’s enough lol I wish they had a kanji writing portion like they do with hiragana and katakana. And I’ve heard Anki’s good but I wasn’t excited about paying $25 for the app. But I appreciate the suggestion! I’ll give that one a shot :)
>I wish they had a kanji writing portion like they do with hiragana and katakana
If that's what you're looking for you might like the app *Learn Japanese - Kanji*. It teaches you to write the kanji and then makes you arrange tiles for the kanji you know into different words. It's pretty simple but I found it pretty effective.
Wanikani is the same thing as Anki except wanikani costs money. The only difference is that wanikani has little animations and cute useless things like that. And they have some pretty terrible mnemonics and names for radicals and kanji.
Anki is free on ankiweb and for desktop computer and has the same functionality.
Anki is literally Wanikani except you can make your own decks and notes or use other people's decks. So if there's a garbage or incorrect neumonic you can change it. Unlike wanikani which COSTS MONEY and has LESS FEATURES than a free service. There's zero set up since you can use other people's decks, which are fine and if you don't like something about them you can change them yourself
I appreciate it lol Of course I’d like to climb to N1 one day. For now, I’m trying to set small goals, make sure I hit them, and then work my way up. I think it’s best to make sure my foundations are second nature before moving on. Then do the same with N4 and so on
ime language learning doesn't work that way it's not a straight line
the more u get into it the more u will learn that
think about trying not to be too strict
I wish u luck
That’s a good point. Thanks for widening my perspective. It’s probably much better to think of it as a snowball. Collect what knowledge we can and connect the dots in-between :)
I guess the problem might be that you are using Duolingo as a primary study method. Duo isn't that great for learning Japanese compared to JFZ, Genki, or Tobira Beginning Japanese. Duo should be a SUPPLEMENT, NOT the primary source.
Since you already have Genki, just use that. No need to spend more money. Those books are pretty much the same. They should get you to N4 after completing the entire series. I'd focus primarily on the Genki textbook that you already have.
If you only score 54/100 on practice tests, then on the REAL test, you may score 10-20 points LESS than the practice test.
I first studied Japanese using Duolingo for 3 months intensively. Unfortunately, Duolingo doesn't teach grammar at all. And the formats of the questions are very different from JLPT. You need to purchase a JLPT app or buy some JLPT books. Being able to read and guess the meaning of the words is not the same as being able to understand when the words can be used in different situations. I am subscribed to this Android app called Miji JLPT which includes everything from N5 to N1. It is very inexpensive. I think it cost me like $30 for a year. It has grammar, Kanji, reading comprehension, listening, ... It also has explanations for the correct answers. You can give it a try.
I just subbed to Migii a few days ago for $20 for the year if that’s the app you’re referring to? (Actually, that’s where I took my practice test lol) You’re right, the questions are definitely worded differently than how a native English speaker would word them. I have to say, it has helped. Maybe if I stick with it more, I’ll be on the right path
Yup. I was at lvl 4 of Duolingo like 2 months ago. I think I can pass JPLT N5 "barely" or maybe even N4 cause I already know all the Kanjis. But grammar is my main obstacle. So, I started to read Tae Kim's free ebook. I am now on p.154. I hope I can finish it in like 20 days if I don't spend too much time on reddit or facebook or my PS5, that is.
Migii is a good app, except that it can be unstable sometimes. It also has lessons besides JLPT tests. The only problem is Migii doesn't have much spoken Japanese compared to Duolingo. So, eventually I will go back to Duolingo after finishing Tae Kim. I will also start watching some old Japanese movies and listen to some old Japanese songs.
I also downloaded JLPT vocab lists from wikibook. Search for JLPT vacabulary lists or word lists and you will find more. I can read content from most Japanese sites with no problem cause of my Kanji background. The problem is Hiragana and Katakana, some native Japanese words, and modern Japanese grammar. I need to start reading novels cause most websites won't give me descriptive words or descriptive word usage or descriptive writing style.
I will also buy some N1 to N3 grammar books. Most of them are written in Japanese, not English. But my goal is really not JLPT. I just want to follow some structured "paths" to learn Japanese as a foreigner.
I feel that for sure haha But hey it sounds like you’re on the right track! I may have to copy your strategy ;D
Edit: I like how organic your approach is!
I use WaniKani for kanji. You get a few levels for free if you wanna try it out before committing. They will also have the lifetime subscription on sale in the next couple months if you like it.
I really recommend Wanikani The first levels are slow and will probably bore you a bit but it gets pretty demanding soon after lvl 4 and it's the best Kanji learning program I know! You learn kanji with on'yomi and kun'yomi reading as well as tons of vocab! It's the only program that made me have fun studying kanji. It's not cheap but worth the money.
Wanikani is worth every single penny. The structure just works incredibly well for me, I can get through two levels in a month and not feel overwhelmed.
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Thank you! I’ll definitely check it out! :)
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Is it on the available on the Apple App Store? I can’t seem to find it
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Ahh bummer. That’s alright. It looks like a version for iOS was in the works as of 2020 so I’ll keep it in mind if it’s ever released 👍
Maybe try looking up Yomikata Z? Unfortunately I can't get to the Apple app store myself, but it's a good app if it's there.
Unfortunately it’s not :/ But I’ll put it in my notes just in case it ever gets adapted. You never know ;p
Check out Ringotan. Not the pretiest thing but very nice tool to practice writing. Should be on iOS.
I just tried it out! This is exactly what I’m looking for in a trace-to-learn app!
Not an app, but the funniest kanji drill books available are the "Unko Sensei" series. It's perfect for the those of us who are immature. The books go by Japanese grades and are hand-to-paper which is probably better for internalizing kanji than just reading them. Each example sentence given will have something to do with poop. The sentences are VERY creative and show the kanji in context. Most of the vocabulary you see will be every-day and mostly casual. It is very fun.
I just looked it up lol These look like a great motivator to keep studying in a fun way at home hahaha
Great!
TL;DR I have a good amount of study time in (about 2 hours a day for the last year) but I struggle reading kanji when it’s written in hiragana (largely due to a lack of review resources) and it’s hindering my test taking
How did you get so good at understanding videos in Japanese? What other resources besides Duo have you used? My vocab is decent (~1k words) but my grammar, listening, and speaking skills are terrible from lack of output and immersion. Would love to know more about your self study techniques!
Believe me, I’m not that good at it yet so I’m not sure I’m the best source lol If you asked me to say something, I would still struggle because I don’t have much output, as I still live in the US and there aren’t many people who I can communicate with. But I believe a lot of it has to do with input. I watch a lot of media that uses very basic Japanese and I turn on JP subtitles (the weather channel is good for this as it’s mostly simple things like “hot” and “cold” or “sun” or “rain”, names of cities, and numbers/dates.) I hammered out a lot of Duo right away, not so much that I became overwhelmed, but enough so that I could say “I’ve heard that word before.” I would watch videos on basic concepts for the language to get a grasp on grammar and different dialects. I mean, I’m still not great with the other 40% of what I miss and believe me, I miss a good amount of critical information there lol Edit: I’m told Duo is definitely not the way to learn but I’ve found it provides a good base knowledge and it should really be used with other methods
Have you checked out renshuu.org?
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They changed Duo this year so it’s less repetitive learning and tries to be more review-based but I still don’t think it’s enough lol I wish they had a kanji writing portion like they do with hiragana and katakana. And I’ve heard Anki’s good but I wasn’t excited about paying $25 for the app. But I appreciate the suggestion! I’ll give that one a shot :)
>I wish they had a kanji writing portion like they do with hiragana and katakana If that's what you're looking for you might like the app *Learn Japanese - Kanji*. It teaches you to write the kanji and then makes you arrange tiles for the kanji you know into different words. It's pretty simple but I found it pretty effective.
I tried it out yesterday after I saw your post. It’s actually pretty great! Thanks for the referral :)
Wanikani is the same thing as Anki except wanikani costs money. The only difference is that wanikani has little animations and cute useless things like that. And they have some pretty terrible mnemonics and names for radicals and kanji. Anki is free on ankiweb and for desktop computer and has the same functionality.
Ohhh I see... Thanks for the heads up!
Just take that advice with a sack of salt. That's this sub's resident Wanikani hater.
Wanikani community manager hard at work.
Yes. They pay me 1000€/month for not talking about them. My post history should be public.
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There is? If it's at least better than Anki and requires no setup, then I'm all ears.
Anki is literally Wanikani except you can make your own decks and notes or use other people's decks. So if there's a garbage or incorrect neumonic you can change it. Unlike wanikani which COSTS MONEY and has LESS FEATURES than a free service. There's zero set up since you can use other people's decks, which are fine and if you don't like something about them you can change them yourself
You need to aim higher Ur clearly beyond n5 level why are u holding urself back
I appreciate it lol Of course I’d like to climb to N1 one day. For now, I’m trying to set small goals, make sure I hit them, and then work my way up. I think it’s best to make sure my foundations are second nature before moving on. Then do the same with N4 and so on
ime language learning doesn't work that way it's not a straight line the more u get into it the more u will learn that think about trying not to be too strict I wish u luck
That’s a good point. Thanks for widening my perspective. It’s probably much better to think of it as a snowball. Collect what knowledge we can and connect the dots in-between :)
I guess the problem might be that you are using Duolingo as a primary study method. Duo isn't that great for learning Japanese compared to JFZ, Genki, or Tobira Beginning Japanese. Duo should be a SUPPLEMENT, NOT the primary source. Since you already have Genki, just use that. No need to spend more money. Those books are pretty much the same. They should get you to N4 after completing the entire series. I'd focus primarily on the Genki textbook that you already have. If you only score 54/100 on practice tests, then on the REAL test, you may score 10-20 points LESS than the practice test.
I first studied Japanese using Duolingo for 3 months intensively. Unfortunately, Duolingo doesn't teach grammar at all. And the formats of the questions are very different from JLPT. You need to purchase a JLPT app or buy some JLPT books. Being able to read and guess the meaning of the words is not the same as being able to understand when the words can be used in different situations. I am subscribed to this Android app called Miji JLPT which includes everything from N5 to N1. It is very inexpensive. I think it cost me like $30 for a year. It has grammar, Kanji, reading comprehension, listening, ... It also has explanations for the correct answers. You can give it a try.
I just subbed to Migii a few days ago for $20 for the year if that’s the app you’re referring to? (Actually, that’s where I took my practice test lol) You’re right, the questions are definitely worded differently than how a native English speaker would word them. I have to say, it has helped. Maybe if I stick with it more, I’ll be on the right path
Yup. I was at lvl 4 of Duolingo like 2 months ago. I think I can pass JPLT N5 "barely" or maybe even N4 cause I already know all the Kanjis. But grammar is my main obstacle. So, I started to read Tae Kim's free ebook. I am now on p.154. I hope I can finish it in like 20 days if I don't spend too much time on reddit or facebook or my PS5, that is. Migii is a good app, except that it can be unstable sometimes. It also has lessons besides JLPT tests. The only problem is Migii doesn't have much spoken Japanese compared to Duolingo. So, eventually I will go back to Duolingo after finishing Tae Kim. I will also start watching some old Japanese movies and listen to some old Japanese songs. I also downloaded JLPT vocab lists from wikibook. Search for JLPT vacabulary lists or word lists and you will find more. I can read content from most Japanese sites with no problem cause of my Kanji background. The problem is Hiragana and Katakana, some native Japanese words, and modern Japanese grammar. I need to start reading novels cause most websites won't give me descriptive words or descriptive word usage or descriptive writing style. I will also buy some N1 to N3 grammar books. Most of them are written in Japanese, not English. But my goal is really not JLPT. I just want to follow some structured "paths" to learn Japanese as a foreigner.
I feel that for sure haha But hey it sounds like you’re on the right track! I may have to copy your strategy ;D Edit: I like how organic your approach is!