Today we will talk about 6 learning tools and recommendations I used to learn and memorize Japanese.
1. Learn and Memorize Hiragana First
This is the most important recommendation when starting to learn Japanese. In my opinion, learning and memorizing hiragana is the very first thing anyone learning Japanese should do. Before I took my Japanese classes in college, I studied hiragana during the summer. I did not want to completely rely on romaji going in. Japanese is 100% a completely different language from English so I did not want a slow start into my lessons. However, a majority of beginner textbooks will start with using romaji to help you understand the sounds so you will not be completely dropped in the middle of nowhere!
Hiragana vs Romaji
Hirana are the building blocks of words in Japanese. They are the basics of the Japanese writing system. Romaji are the latin phonetic equivalent of these building blocks. So for example the hiragana す = the romaji su
2. Genkouyoushi
Genkouyoushi paper is one of my secrets to having better handwriting! Genkouyoushi (written as 原稿用紙 which means manuscript paper) is paper that is made up of purely squares. As seen on the image on the right. It’s the paper at the bottom of the image. This paper helps train yourself to keep your writings of hiragana or katakana or kanji in the same confined space.
I noticed when I first starting writing in Japanese (particularly kanji) that I would write the kanji looking more so like it’s separate parts rather than the sum of all of the parts together so I bought this genkouyoushi paper from Amazon to practice with and it is helped my handwriting tremendously! I also found a cheaper alternative on Amazon if you would like instead! They both do the same thing, but whichever you choose they should both help with your writing.
3. A Schedule
A schedule is super important not only to help you reach any goals you would like to but to also hold yourself accountable. This is especially so if you are learning Japanese on your own time. Currently this is what I am doing and this blog has helped me set time frames on when I would like to learn. For example I try to post on this blog a Japanese lesson every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with that in mind usually I am learning the Japanese lesson along with you all as I try to summarize lessons in the Genki I textbook. Of course this isn’t the only studying I do. I also try to complete the accompanying workbook page corresponding with the lessons. Which leads into my fourth tip.
4. Get a Japanese Language Learning Textbook
As much as I would love to say I know all of my Japanese lessons off the top of my head, I am currently using the Genki I textbook. There is no super special reason beyond the sentimental for me to use this specific textbook. This is just the textbook that I started with during my first year of learning Japanese at my university and I just haven’t decided yet to move on from this one. I currently use this 3rd edition one I got from Amazon.
However there are many many Japanese language textbooks out there. Another one I know people recommend are the Minna no Nihongo textbooks but keep in mind the Minna no Nihongo series is 100% in japanese. That could be good for some people but for complete beginners I definitely recommend Genki I as it explains the grammar in English.
5. Get the Accompanying Workbook
Even if you decide not to get a textbook for any reason I 100% will always recommend the accompanying workbook for any textbook. This is a great way to keep track of your progress throughout this process. I still have my Genki I workbook from years ago and I can see the progress of my writing and my reading comprehension. Here is the Genki I 3rd edition workbook from Amazon. As we go through into the future with my blog, you will be able to see how far along you have gotten which is always fun to see!
6. Anki
Anki is a downloadable flashcard web service that you can use on any device. It allows the use of it’s own calculated space repetition system. It is used to repeat certain flashcards to you everyday. You can tell Anki how many cards you would like to review a day. When you use these flashcards you can mark them as you memorize them. You are able to tell Anki “Yes! I have this word down” or you can tell it “I am so-so with this word.” What Anki will do is show you the flashcards of words you know less often while showing you words you don’t know more often! You can even make your own deck! There is definitely a learning curve to mastering Anki but once you do it will be a valuable asset!
This is a great way to get repetition and memorization of words down. However, use Anki with everything else that is mentioned. Do not rely solely on Anki because you may lose the big picture! What use is memorizing a vocabulary word when you cannot even understand it used in a sentence, right? Here is the download link for Anki as well as a flashcard deck I have been using to study N5 vocab words.
Thank you all for looking at my recommendations! I really hope they help you on your journey to learning Japanese! Are there any other tools that you use while learning Japanese? Let me know in the comments below. じゃあね!!