Learning Japanese Outline 1. Kana 2a. Kanji 2b. Vocabulary 2c. Grammar 3. Practice Learning Resources Kana Kanji Vocabulary Grammar Practice Tools Typing Japanese Anki Lookup Resources Misc Tools Questions & Thread Etiquette Guide Discussion the katakana character for ‘ka’ is カ. though some domestic kanji. for example. and this usage is derived from the left-side of the kanji 加 whose reading is also ‘ka’. Remember that learning Japanese requires serious commitment. Read the entire guide. One can not expect to just learn written Japanese to understand games or spoken Japanese to understand shows. Hiragana (ひらがな) is the syllabary used most commonly in Japanese. The Hiragana actually came about later than the katakana. referred to as ‘Kokuji’ (国字 - “Country . The Hiragana are said to be created by a group of noble women. Katakana is used for the names of animals. Learning Japanese Outline This section will explain the outline of each step. 2b and 2c should be completed simultaneously. go to the ‘Learning Resources’ section and choose the resources appropriate for your level. Kana The kana refer to the two syllabaries used in Japanese. certain ‘new’ words like ‘karaoke’. Katakana (カタカナ) literally means “fragment kana”. and was formed by taking different parts of various kanji and using those elements to represent sound. and the Hiragana are what which is generally used to write Japanese phonetically. which are kanji (see below) that were used to write sounds. You will need to learn this before any part of the language. The character for ‘ya’ in Hiragana is や. and provide a little background if applicable. for if your interest is really so shallow. Sections 2a. This guide is written for the dedicated learner. then you shall probably fail. is 也. For example. Once you have read this section. 1. Hiragana are an (extremely) cursive form of the Manyogana. referred to collectively as the kana. The kana are derived from something called ‘Manyogana’. Katakana is somewhat like upper-case letters for its specialized usage. Kanji Kanji are characters which originated from China and represent both ideas and pronunciations. and is derived from 也. A character for the sound ‘ya’ in Manyogana. certain slang words and new words introduced into the language from other foreign languages. certain onomatopoeia words. including the Thread Etiquette section near the bottom. and a high-degree of fluency is considered the final goal. 2a. it’s best for the purposes of . which is the process of gathering sentences and inserting them into Anki (or anything else) and reviewing over them. When reading while aided by tools (as all beginners should be). You should learn stroke order unless you simply have a limited number of hours in the day in which to study the language. we recommend you try them all and see which of them is most suitable for you. please go to ankiweb. sub-Section).jp . There are three guides and sources that we recommend: Genki. Some people believe or find that individual study of the kanji is not as practical as simply learning the kanji via vocabulary (next section below). The pros and cons of each are listed in the ‘Grammar’ Section. For information on the stroke order of kanji. and should. For more indepth information on the different types of kanji and so forth. If you are unsure of which one you might choose. This is a good way to provide meaningful context to the words you wish to study and it is a way to remember how to express certain ideas. etc. G rammar Grammar will allow you to both form and understand sentences in Japanese. or the Kanji Stroke Order Font (Misc. If you would like to explore some methods. but writing can take a noteable amount of time. Writing is most helpful for recalling and reproducing information. the Heisig books (kanji sub-section below). start reading and learning words from actual Japanese. There is also a simplified online version here . 2c. The Core decks are the accepted standard for vocabulary decks. When you want to refer to something for grammar. Another technique to explore is sentence mining. Practice After learning (at least) basic Japanese grammar.character”) exist. along with some websites to assist you with listening and writing. After you have an idea of which you would like to use. Tae Kim and Japanese: the Manga Way. you might refer to this . 2b. 3. (Ctrl+f ‘Anki’ for some information) Not all people choose to study kanji individually. in the ‘Learning Resources’ section. please refer to the ‘Kanji’ sub-section in the ‘Resource’ section below.net and download the deck to anki. You can find recommended reading. the 「Dictionaries of Japanese Grammar 」 are fantastic and they can be found in the pastebin (Ctrl+F “DOJG”). you can. including games. For a general outline of kanji. you might refer to this . you could use kakijun. Studying Kanji can be undergone in a number of different ways using varying methods. which you can find on ankiweb. Vocabulary With Anki you can download a pre-made deck (recommended) with pronunciation as well as listening comprehension for vocabulary. which takes the example sentences from the book and sorts them by each grammar point for quick lookup (keep in mind that there are many typos in the online version due to OCR) . and try to make an educated guess as to what the meaning is before completing your lookup. because it helps to have a better idea of where you are/were at in the larger scheme of consuming Japanese media. If Real Kana isn’t cutting it. Learning Resources Note: There is no “correct” way of learning. this method expects you to learn all the common characters before even . and that you’ll understand next to nothing and in general have a bad time of it. A website/textbook that teaches kanji in an order based on the radicals of each character. It starts you off with the simple shapes and gradually goes into more complicated ones. then you will be unable to overcome them when you do meet them. Way better than just attempting to remember them. stroke order. use Real Kana Remembering the Kana - It only takes about 6 hours to learn both hiragana and katakana alongside it because it provides mental images with the kana to ensure you remember. includes a video lesson. If you have no exposure to things which are difficult. https://www. It’s also a good idea to jump into the deep end of the difficulty pool from time to time.learning to look at the words you’re looking up. in order to reach fluency in Japanese. Kana Wikibooks - Has stroke order and other resources. Unfortunately. as well as sect pronunciation guide. The stroke order is quite useful.com/playlist?list=PL2A25F7399E8805ED Kanji Heisig - Read about it here and here. Download the book and/or follow this video series made by an RTK forum member. so we would recommend that you try out the resources appropriate for your level and see which one you feel is best. as guessing the answer helps with committing it to memory. it does not teach the readings until the second volume nor does it tell you how the kanji are used in context. * Tae Kim - This site has a ton on kana. It teaches stroke order and makes up pretty fancy mnemonic stories to help you memorize the kanji easier. By all means. If you only make use of beginner-level media.youtube. Optimal for pounding the readings into your head quickly. and where your current learning method is getting you. Does not teach stroke order or pronunciation. even when you know it’s impossible. Memrise - Offers various SRS courses including kana courses which are perhaps the only thing the site does well in regards to the Japanese language. Use multiple resources if you wish. * Real Kana - Tests kana recognition. the sources of media which you consume must also be varied in difficulty and content. As such. Similarly. then you will only have proficiency in the language at that level. although the mnemonics are not so much. give this a whirl. Recommended/Common resources will be marked with an asterisk *. Usually ordered by grade. you would be taught all the subcomponents of these common kanji. Usually ordered by grade. Vocabulary Anki Shared Decks - This is highly recommended to learn vocabulary. You may want to simply use the shared deck for Anki instead of the website in tandem with another vocabulary deck in order to build up a big cache of words quickly. Has many simple words in the beginning (the numbers. KanjiDamage - Another kanji resource that uses a radical-based order. GeneticKanji - Slightly undeveloped alternative to the liberal ranting. Obviously. Grammar . Saiga Kanji Dictionary - Quite possibly the best Kanji dictionary out there. Take the introduction on the site with a grain of salt.getting started on learning vocabulary. so order and suspend them accordingly) - Sets of kanji as described by the Japanese Proficiency Test. you will need Anki to use it. and then the common kanji themselves. as is the case with most other areas on the site. number of strokes. such as CorePlus . elements of nature. In GeneticKanji’s approach. It is presented in a fashion of frequency while covering the individual elements that make up a given kanji. so register an account. and by radicals. More info on Wikipedia . however you will need to install audio yourself. but that in no way makes this a bad resource in regards to learning. JLPT (contains various sets. you may search for them and see which one will best suit your needs. More info on Wikipedia. body parts). as it isn’t very accurate (at all). Jouyou (same deck as above) - A set of 2136 kanji announced by the Ministry of Education that is to be taught before graduating from secondary school. If you use a deck with audio. Unlike Heisig’s method it also teaches the readings and gives you examples of common words that use those kanji (great for adding them to your Anki deck right away). Can search Kanji by grade. There are decks. Usually ordered by level. effectively combining both approaches. Will also show Kanji stroke order in animated gif form for a wide variety of Kanji. There is a large community that is constantly adding information to it that requires using the Koohii fansite. More info on Wikipedia . or is simply made-up. poor jokery and the downright misinformation in KanjiDamage. Kyouiku - A subset of 1006 of the jouyou kanji that is taught in primary school. more so than virtually any other resource. This resource can be found on the bottom of the pastebin. Basic. Genki 1 - An edited version of Genki 1 with the distracting romaji edited out can be found here. Japanese in Mangaland - . but covers a lot of material. these are dictionaries rather than guides. Tae Kim only has exercises in the beginning. Those looking for a more in-depth style could likely do better. As the name implies. It works well as a Genki supplement. You can find a collection of the example sentences sorted by grammar point here for easy lookup. Imabi - Another web grammar guide. maybe divide the work into subsections. however this can easily be ignored. Japanese the Manga Way - This book teaches grammar through examples from actual Japanese executed in a practical manner. This works as an engaging way to learn new grammar points. Please note that you may need a Ruby addon for your browser to display the furigana correctly. so take it easy. further explanation. An introduction to Japanese - Syntax. like flashcards with lesson’s vocabulary. Grammar & Language - There are many words in each chapter (six chapters add up to a few hundred pages in the print version). walks. which may help drill grammar rules into your mind. It goes in-depth into the various grammar rules. or as a simple introduction to the major grammar points of Japanese. and example sentences. Japanese Pod 101 - A free (mostly) castpod-like teaching japanese grammar. Ixrec's Guide to Japanese - A grammar guide written by a VN translating outfit. etc. Good for storing in your phone and listening while in idle activities. vocabulary and culture. This version is preferred over the one in the pastebin as it encourages the learning of hiragana & katakana. that apparently nobody has used. Chapter 2 is when the actual grammar lessons start. and subsequently see them with. after which there are no exercises to work on. New grammar points tend to be summed up rather succinctly by Tae Kim. There is a 1 week free-trial to pdf containing tips and other features. Download the following files: * Tae Kim - This method is faster than the others listed here. It uses romaji too often. Take these transcriptions with a grain of salt. and it has exercises that you can practice. . of course. as they contain quite a few errors. with charts. Bunches the grammar together and explains a lot of it at once. buses. Intermediate and Advanced. Link * Dictionaries of Japanese Grammar (DOJG) - A collection of three books. As for exercises. The obvious downside is speed. * Genki - Genki tends to be more comprehensive than Tae Kim. http://oshiete. but it has Japanese channels. fyi) Fengyunzhibo - This site is a good. which are of good quality for streams. Jpopsuki - Great place to get and find any Japanese/Asian music.goo. you can find the raw version of whatever media you are looking for most of the time. regardless of skill level. and in return. It’s a Chinese streaming site.ne. Yotsubato! is a manga that is often recommended to beginners. You can sort through the list by skill. and sometimes even non-ero VNs are uploaded to Sukebei instead of the main site. not just jpop. If you do have someone refer you. * Aozora - This site contains a collection of (mostly) Classic Japanese literature. Yotsuba Reading Pack - This pack is designed for beginners who have just started reading. make sure to keep a good . Regardless a proxy/VPN could be used if necessary. If what you’re looking for is ero. This includes a vocabulary list and a pre-made Anki deck. platform. Mov3 - A Chinese site like Fengyunzhibo specializing in Japanese TV.html - Here’s some good recommendations of famous Japanese authors. D-Addicts - This is a great site to find Dorama with subtitles. Lately it does not seem to be working. Sometimes you will be unable to apply for an invite so you might have to ask for a referral either in the threads or on /mu/. you correct theirs. The timing often does not match up with most available downloads. This is a great way to increase your writing/production ability and also meet people to talk to. easy place to watch some TV. Lang-8 - Here. games and manga which we have compiled. Kitsunekko - This site has a selection of Japanese subtitles for popular (anime) shows. though occasionally in the past this would happen and then it would later become accessible again. Please contribute anything you read as well to it so it can become a better resource. etc. (Other Asian dramas are also here.Practice Reading List - This is a list of books. We recommend you have a look. use this . Note that most VNs will contain ero. you can write journal entries which are corrected by Japanese natives. A particularly detailed summary is not needed. This is an accompaniment to the first two volumes of Yotsubato.jp/qa/1049335. This site is mainly for advanced readers and not recommended for beginners. but you can try to retime it in a subtitle editing program or just look at it in the editor to compare with what you hear. or by having someone invite you. Requires that you get an account by either applying for one. Nyaa - If you type in the Japanese name. GNU/Linux Mint. $ qtconfig-qt4 >interface >default input method >select ibus For the superior non *buntu users: https://wiki. GNU/Linux) - This is a project that stems from Google IME. iBus - (GNU/Linux) - If you use (K/X/L)Ubuntu. Mac OS) - Google IME generally includes a larger collection of words. Nijishow - Free Japanese TV. It’s made for windows. use that instead) that you can find in your Home folder. it‘s available in the AtwUR. You can make iBus autostart when you boot by adding ibus-daemon to your ~/. inclusive of internet slang. Packages also exist in Fedora. For Arch. You need to register here before being able to watch. Debian. because failing to do so could cause that person to lose their account (as well as yours). It runs a local server on port 8902 which can be connected via VLC or similar. Tools Typing Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) - It will allow you to type in Japanese using your keyboard. If you have any trouble with Mozc for GNU/Linux read this. except that it is available on a greater number of operating systems. but it works via wine. Don’t forget to configure Qt for input in Qt apps. Alternatively: read this article . Android. and. Required. ala: ibus-daemon & (also your windows manager might have it’s own autostart file.xinitrc. You can select the keys to press to change the keyboard layout or do it manually using the icon on the panel. You just need to install the Japanese IME packages using the language support in the settings and select iBus as your keyboard input method system.php/IBus . To switch to romaji press alt+` ( just above tab key ). You get a choice of several channels. Shift + Caps reverts back to hiragana. since all those you refer are considered to be under your responsibility. Mozc (Chromium OS. is that its handwriting recognition is rather lacking ( see ”sljfaq” below ). so do not misunderstand and think that everyone here has an interest in learning English. Mac OS. Alt + Caps is katakana. And you will probably want to add & to the end. however.archlinux. you probably already have it.org/index. Windows. (Note: Both Mac and Windows have IME’s already pre-installed but it’s not as feature-full as Google IME. For the rest of us that don’t use Ubuntu or its variants. hold shift while in hiragana mode to type in katakana. The downside. you can probably find iBus in the official repositories of your distribution. This a Japanese site for Japanese people.) * Google IME (Windows. Protip: Type in かおもじ and hit space. Ctrl + Caps Lock for hiragana. This does not affect Caps Lock.ratio. Skypech - Here’s a site for finding some natives on Skype to talk to. so read the manual if you wish to totally utilize Anki. Has many useful features such as audio playback and the ability to save words to a file or import it straight into Anki.Anki Flashcard software. you need to install the appropriate Japanese fonts. Success rate varies widely based on image / character quality. * Jisho.org - Online J>E/E>J dictionary. If you use GNU/Linux and you want to change the size of the Japanese characters. such as whether a word is considered more formal than another one with the same meaning. It shows you a set amount of new cards each day (default 20) and will show you the same cards again when you are most likely to forget them. This program has a lot of features that can’t be covered here. KanjiTomo - This is an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. When looking up word definitions. Features over 161. Rikaikun (Chrome) - Essentially an unfortunately inferior clone of Rikaichan.000 example sentences for words and grammar points while giving you a little more information than other dictionaries. etc. * Rikaisama (Firefox) - This is a tool that shows you equivalent or close meanings (in English) of Japanese words in plaintext format. Scans for words on your screen and tells you what they are and what they mean. Easily lets you look up words inside examples just by clicking on them. includes example sentences exemplifying most definitions of a word. It also contains information on kanji including a order. by hovering over them. You can download premade decks . but there is absolutely no reason to use it since Rikaisama has all of its features. Lookup Resources You use it to look up words. . There’s also a beta (DuckDuckGo uses this for !jisho) that combines all of the search options into one and includes new features to work a lot like modern search engines. readings. * Anki - Anki is a flashcard program which uses a method called Spaced Repetition in order to drill information in your head. but still serviceable enough if you just can’t let go of the botnet. There is also Rikaichan for Firefox. You can also get this on your mobile device and sync your deck between both versions. One Rikai-chan variant required. Also available for mobile. The official App Store version costs money (to support the devs) so you might just want to use Safari in that case instead. Tangorin Another online dictionary with information on kanji and vocabulary. You can also search a kanji by handwriting or its radicals if you don’t know the correct stroke order. if you don’t have them. which is predicted through algorithms. The extracted text is put in your clipboard for an application like Translation Aggregator to make use of it. * Interactive Text Hooker - This allows you to extract text from Japanese games as it’s being displayed. and consequently a decent source for Japanese > English phrases. * sljfaq - Handwritten kanji search. although I would encourage you to not completely adopt the habit of taking things without ever paying. you’d probably use a 青空文庫 (term for .* Weblio - Principally a Japanese to English lookup resource. You can go through the options page to redirect to your preferred service. Please comment here if you see any broken links or have any other resource you would like to add. Does not seem to go into too much depth. * The Pastebin - A list of various resources. Kakijun is a great website for checking the proper stroke order. Good supplement. What’s nice about this is that it saves your writing so it will still be there even if you close the page. Although you can use it for free for a little while at the beginning. and creates a frequency list based on that. continued usage of the site costs money. Capture2Text - Another OCR program. Japanese Text Analysis Tool - Takes a . frequently LN). which is where the data for Jisho and most other online Japanese dictionaries comes from. Wikibooks - A small collection of resources for learning Japanese.txt books. The results will link you to the WWWJDIC project by default. Designed for reading VNs. Just draw the kanji using the correct stroke order and a list of possible kanji will appear. LingQ - Good language learning site with many translated texts + audio. * Translation Aggregator - Usually used for machine translation. but in your case. so be careful. so it will not work for most non-VN type games and unsupported engines. Japanese Language Pack - 27GB worth of various learning materials including the . Misc Tools Useful things that don’t fit into any of the other categories. you’ll be using JParser (preferably with Mecab hinting) to help you parse Japanese sentences and enable you to easily look up words in the same fashion as with Rikaichan and the like. An anon has kindly ripped and posted many of the podcasts and so forth which you download here . Learning With Text (LWT) - An extensive application that seems somewhat similar to LingQ. Hiragana Megane - This site adds furigana to Kanji on websites. Kanji Stroke Order Font - Not always correct.txt. In addition. Tae Kim or Genki?). if you can’t post the official OP image don’t post the OP. holds no real truth. Guide (Start here): https://docs. Recognize what is opinion. details are in the thread. and much more (a lot of it is awful). >How long does it take to learn Japanese? A very long time. Does it matter (Is it a Y/N question or a ‘bi-question’ (e. Alternatively continue it in Japanese. In the case of writing. a new thread gets put up at around 1930 EST (0030 UTC/GMT). cb's Kanji Word Association Tool - Will generate a list of words based on kanji already studied up to that point and kana. Submit to the fact that what is subjective. and try not to bring elements of your native-board culture into the thread. there is an IRC you can use. the timing is no longer consistent) Please be on your best behavior. especially those unrelated to the thread subject. such as [any board].google. words are sorted by frequency.txt into bite-size (your choice of length) chunks and converts it to html. Please do not engage in lengthy and fruitless arguments. or use the following template in order to make a thread Also. Is it a lazy question where you're asking whether you should learn something or not. and if you do. and the thread isn’t a poor one.google. and what is fact. Will this just lead to an argument)? Not all questions need answers or have them. could you have easily found your answer yourself. (594750^9723 microseconds) >The Thread 404’d early. Also. Questions & Thread Etiquette >The Daily Japanese Thread We have a thread everyday.com/document/d/1G5C7fCe07CDzYalZYZObzxv_fhw7RUNsLHiMAY-t7FA/edit Reading List: https://docs. such as writing. On top of that. >I have a question. May trigger virus warnings.net Previous Thread: . Makes the task of reading LN's less daunting. or any other low-level internet trash if you can abstain from it (/jp/ and /a/ things included). Link the previous thread. and no duplicates are associated with each kanji. please do not promote any memes. and be the first to discontinue the argument.com/w0gRFM0c #l/a/nguage on irc. JNovel Formatter - Breaks down a .com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0Agk2IH0ZXhn7dDNmSW1BVFU5dVgyOHkzWjU4b2l2dkE Pastebin: http://pastebin. make sure the person you refer is at least somewhat intelligent. and while it may or may not be useful to you.essentials. If you refer people to this thread. Pasta: Please read the guide before posting. Go to the Archives.g. (Due to removal of OP’s ability to delete their threads. Be the bigger man. especially anything controversial. Please do not label anything as “shit”. and list the thread number.rizon. the reasons for one to do it are subjective. the other person may or may not find it to be useful or unuseful to them. please do not do it on a poor-quality board. Nothing is going to damage your learning if you simply continue onward. (You can also acquire his videos here . Unfortunately. Perfect Dark >I don’t seem to have the motivation to do this. I would refer to that. or 「X」という言葉(の使い方) where X is your inquiry. and messes up the stroke order of some of the kana.zip Old guide . and meaning. If you continue to walk them. ignore the other. >How to find reading materials? Search for the Japanese title in Japanese along with the keywords 一般小説 青空文庫形式 txt P2P: Nyaa.html Words only include the dictionary form. Misc. as he’s always shitfaced drunk. Specific matters (such as rewording of a section) should be done via a comment in that section. because his alcohol-fueled antics are strangely both entertaining and powerfully motivating for some anons.com/watch?v=wQlq-hxWRzQ 」 Namasensei is often watched by beginners learning Japanese. You do not have to ask. or otherwise perform a Google search. How do I distinguish them. make a decision. If you can only read English definitions. or distinctions you should be bettering your grammar instead of your vocab. の意味 etc. then assume they are flawed before assuming that you’ve been fucked. also yields results. means you’ve gotta look it up in a J>J dictionary.com/u/1471453/DJT%20Header.co. this is a double-edged sword. You can’t learn Japanese.co. Which.) >Using Google for Japanese: set your search to google. the discussed methods are correct (or at least not outright wrong). >I’ve been presented contradictory opinions about various methods.jp/icl/lirg/resources/goitokusei/goi-test. > は vs が The (unquestionably) best explanation is provided in the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar in the pastebin.[Insert archive link here] >Namasensei 「 https://www. If your grammar isn’t at a level where you can understand the descriptions. tends to teach in an ineffective fashion. and take all others with a grain a salt or not at all.about. aside from differences in speed.dropboxusercontent. then you will reach your goal. Header PSD file ( including font) https://dl. in case you couldn’t guess it. find your own solution.youtube. >These two words have the same reading. and why is Japan trying to fuck me? They have the same English meaning.htm >How many words do natives know? 小学生レベル： ５千～２万語 Elementary School Level: 5-20 thousand 中学生レベル： ２万～４万語 Middle School Level: 20-40 thousand 高校生レベル： ４万～４万５千語 High School Level: 40-45 thousand 大学生レベル： ４万５千～５万語 College Level: 45-50 thousand Source: http://www.ntt.jp for (much) better results >I can’t figure out what this means Google 「X」. and can no longer judge for myself which method is the best. http://Japanese.kecl. Proper nouns and compound words are excluded. 「X」とは. ってどういう意味. Try neither. Try one. and advance.) (His te-form is mutually agreed to be the only worthwhile video he has.com/library/weekly/aa051301a. Try both. has terrible handwriting. All roads lead to the same destination. Share. .google.https://docs.com If you have any suggestions regarding the guide please send them to this email so I can read them and then update the guide accordingly.com/document/d/1QkKNc3AYP5sOv23FRjBoCs2dDzHN83BuT1T_aRU21t0/edit Email slimybubbles@gmail.