If you could give 'Just starting Japanese' you one piece of advice, what would it be

[videovillain]

Don’t stop once you start. Doesn’t really matter what you pick to get started with, just do it and keep doing it.

I’ve started and stopped so many times now I’m a hot mess of knowledge between N5~N1 who still messes up fundamentals and has a small vocabulary.

Breaking the theme now to add more advice:

• Get the app/read Human Japanese or read/watch Kawajapa -a.k.a. Cure Dolly- to better grasp much of the language in a clear, easy, concise way. It will help prepare you for what you are getting yourself into.
• Get the app KanjiBox and purchase all of it’s extra content ($10 app, with a few $1 additions that are all worth it, something like $18 total, no subscriptions) This app does everything, and does it well. It is honestly a hidden gem IMO, and I never see it get talked about. It does kana, kanji, vocab, reading, writing, grammar, quizzes, scoring, example sentences, lets you make sets and download other’s sets, etc. It is like Skritter, Anki, RTK, WaniKani, Memrise, Duolingo, Drops, StickyStudy, iKnow!, and Bunpro (Though not as advanced as Bunpro), and a number of other apps I also have and have used all wrapped into one. One of the only Japanese apps you’ll ever need.
• Get the Japanese App (one of the only other Japanese app you’ll likely ever need) because it is a simple and powerful offline dictionary/study companion which is very useful and lets you save lists and has great example sentences, etc. I like it much better than imiwa.

If you are in Japan:

• Find a bar you like that has little to no other gaijins frequenting it, find the regulars, start talking to them only in Japanese. If they try to speak English, tell them you are trying to practice your Japanese, or find a new bar.
• Go to 7-Eleven and pick up the free magazine ボノロン that is issued every 2 months. It is kind of like a kids book, but is very helpful and free if you are trying to immerse.

[lopicake]

would be interested to get an opinion from someone that has passed N1 (I assume you have a pretty fast reading speed). When you read, what do you find your brain ‘clinging to’, to logically help you assemble sentences quickly. As I always say, I have never actually done the test, so my thoughts are always just nothing more than that.

Sorry not as active on the forums as I used to be but I gather you meant to ask me.

Yeah my brain definitely tries to auto-fill in understanding I guess that’s pretty much “thinking about the context”. What it clings to is the kanji the most since that’s my forte. Specifically for the test, circling words like “but” or other transition words really help keep the mind train chugging. Also really focusing on the sentence endings help too because it kind of shows if their attitude is positive or negative to whatever the subject of the sentence is. Really makes it easier to narrow down their overall opinion on whatever the given topic is. Especially when you do those Person A Person B comparisons.

[Gorganite]

Is now the best time to go to bars? But yeah it would be the best

[severian]

Get the app KanjiBox and purchase all of it’s extra content ($10 app, with a few $1 additions that are all worth it, something like $18 total, no subscriptions) This app does everything, and does it well. It is honestly a hidden gem IMO, and I never see it get talked about. It does kana, kanji, vocab, reading, writing, grammar, quizzes, scoring, example sentences, lets you make sets and download other’s sets, etc. It is like Skritter, Anki, RTK, WaniKani, Memrise, Duolingo, Drops, StickyStudy, iKnow!, and Bunpro (Though not as advanced as Bunpro), and a number of other apps I also have and have used all wrapped into one. One of the only Japanese apps you’ll ever need.

The apparent lack of Android compatibility doesn’t help the cause here, unfortunately. I’d never heard of it before myself.

[videovillain]

Ahh yes, I know it doesn’t have Android sadly. But it does have a web based version.

[videovillain]

Obviously not the best time now sadly. No VR bars yet either

[sergiop]

@videovillain

Get the app/read Human Japanese

I loved Human Japanese since it: 1) it is very fast; 2) gives you a big picture of the language; 3) the exercises (even if they are too easy) help you to consolidate your knowledge, but the advice I’d give me two years ago would be:
Do not substimate the slow pace of Genki books and do evry single exercise in them (book and workbook!). I started using them after finishing Human Japanese (I and II) but stopped and for some time tried to learn Grammar thru Tae-Kim guide or BunPro. I love BunPro to practice grammar but not to learn it. Genki dialogues and explanation work better for me. Tae-Kim covers a lot very fast but most material lacks exercises. You would be better of using a grammar dictionary instead. Genki exercises (reading, writing and listening) are terrific. Old grammar points appear again when you are learning new grammar so you really consolidate your knowledge.

[Ludwig]

As it took me waaaay too long to find a good starting point, I’d tell myself to go to r/LearnJapanese and ask/scroll through everything so to get to see possible starting points and learn about different approaches/apps/websites.

[Dsingis]

I’d simply say: Don’t be afraid of Kanji! (And check out WaniKani)

When I started out with my Genki books the first two chapters were a breeze. I had much fun and it was fairly easy. Hiragana and Katakana were no problem. But when I hit chapter 3 that’s when the first Kanji are introduced. I was so scared, that I had to learn these Kanji and memorize them, that I put the books down for over a year before I discovered WaniKani. And through WaniKani I learned not to fear Kanji. I picked up Genki a couple weeks ago again and blazed through chapter 3 without worrying too much about the Kanji. And I’ve actually come to like Kanji now. I love how they bring strcture to a sentence, I love how they convey an idea.

So I’d say, don’t be afraid of Kanji, it’s okay to not know them all when you start. (And check out WaniKani xD)

[jelyk]

When you see honorifics, run away

[Kert]

• Use good SRS like anki decks for vocabulary
• Do grammar on bunpro and fill your anki vocabulary deck with new words
• Do it now and not 10 years later

God I wish I knew about SRS when I was still in school and had more free time, it’s basically legitimate cheats

[Jutta]

You’re at that age now where you have to slowly learn vocabulary and practise your grammar daily… Also, taking two weekly classroom courses is a really good idea. This is your passion now, follow it!

[Gorganite]

Don’t be afraid to go into native content. For too long I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go into it and that it would be a struggle. Yes it’s true, it’s difficult but I have improved so much because of it. In a year and 4 months time I have gone from not being able to read many things from NHK News to Yotsuba to being able to read manga, and play games such as Persona 5 (admittedly it’s a challenge). If you ever feel like you are not sure just go for it. It’s important to try! It made me so much more interested in the language when I would recognise similar grammar or vocabulary that I already learned or saw.

[Asher]

Persona 5 uses lots on non-joyou kanji, so I feel the struggle! Hahah. The first time I saw 淹れる I was like ‘why is this not jouyou… It’s so common’

[Nb2]

I think this thread got too many answers and needs a wiki or an aggregation of some sort to make it bearable and useful to newcomers.

[Tanya_Marchenko]

Don’t you dare thinking that avoiding BunPro and WaniKani will save you a lot of money. It won’t. But using them will save you a lot of nerve cells LOL That’s what I’d say to myself. Because after a year of studies with books and teachers only I’ve just started SRS thingies (yeah, call it a new year resolution or whatnot), and I’ve already noticed that I’m getting out of the “already-not-a-beginner-but-still-not-an-intermediate” slump…
So yeah, that’s probably it

[Asher]

There are too many varying opinions for it to be useful for a beginner haha. Ideally you could sort by the amount of likes a post has, potentially bringing more useful answers to the top, but that is a bit beyond Disqus capabilities… From what I know.

It’s better to think of the posts as people sharing their struggles, and what helped them break through it, rather than advice to others. We all struggle with different things, so naturally the answers will be wildly different.

On the bright side, you are posting in the Bunpro forums, which I guess means that you are a Bunpro user. That in itself, would be my biggest tip to anyone. Use Bunpro .

[Brand_S]

@Asher

Persona 5 uses lots on non-joyou kanji, so I feel the struggle! Hahah.

I’ve been playing 街 on and off for over a year now. I’m pretty sure that game’s writers set out to use every kanji ever! It took me the better part of an hour to look up 瀟洒; that second symbol looks like 酒 but turned out to be missing one stroke, and I didn’t notice until Google finally corrected me.

[Disconn3cted]

Study grammar, and words that don’t use kanji. Don’t focus too much on wanikani.

[Kayti]

DROP DUOLINGO, LINGODEER, ETC in the TRASH. Get Anki decks. Use Anki for vocab (it’s spaced repetition, and it works.) LEARN PLAIN (Dictionary) FORM OF VERBS AND ADJECTIVES FIRST. Before you learn ANY polite speech or conjugation. Stop rushing. You won’t die tomorrow (hopefully). BUNPRO for grammar. Use Youtube for further explanation of grammar after learning a new point, and to hear real people speak sentences. Not recordings that are meant to demonstrate perfect pronunciation. You need to hear natural, local dialogue, with natural emotion. Study everyday for at least an hour even if you don’t want to. It makes a difference. 1 hour won’t kill you.