I have a black spot that I can’t wait to leave behind in 2023
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For reading I like to use this:
https://www.douwa-douyou.jp
It’s a collection of popular fairy tales and they aren’t very long.
It doesn’t have furigana but you can use yomichan. And if you are familiar with those tales then it should be easy to read.
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I have learned so much from these threads. I first studied Japanese in 1989 but only for a year. I am amazed at the resources that are now available for language learning - for all languages, but especially for Japanese.
I decided to start over and have been studying for about a year now. Definitely still a beginner, but long enough to have developed some preferences.
Grammar: Genki is the framework for all of the rest of my studying. I think it is well written with good exercises. I have been trying to get through a chapter per month, but even that has not been possible with my work schedule, but hey - this is a hobby with no specific timeline, so I am fine with my slow pace. I am finishing chapter 7 right now. I supplement Genki with Tokini Andy because it makes it feel more like I am taking a class, even though it is self paced.
- I am far enough in, that I am finding I need to drill some of the grammar because I am already forgetting some of the earlier points. I have made my own flashcards for this (old fashioned note cards, with repetition based on the Leitner system - which was the original SRS!) I also use Bunpro - I really appreciate the grammar explanations/review.
Vocab: never really got the hand of Anki. I’ve tried. I use something called KitSun. The bonus for KitSun is that someone has made a very nice deck of all of the Genki vocab for both volumes - English to Japanese, and Japanese to English both written and listening. You can also make you own custom decks. I find this to be more user friendly than Anki. I also use WaniKani and love it - but keep taking breaks because I get out ahead of my overall knowledge and have a hard time learning words without context. Currently on hold at the end of level 9.
Reading: Satori Reader seems fantastic - but my skill level is not there yet. I plan to pay for it when I get to a higher level of Japanese. I have been having fun with the Tadoku Graded readers - I started with the very first level 0 box. They are just the right level of challenging for a complete beginner. I am almost finished with the first 6 and ready for the next box. They are pricey but very well done. I also recently discovered Makoto + which is a monthly e-magazine (makotoplus.com) - for $3 per month you get access to the magazine written toward everyone from absolute beginner to intermediate readers with great grammar and vocab explanations plus some other resources. The price is right so that if I don’t get to the whole thing every month, I don’t feel bad.
Speaking: Challenging for me. I do not live in Japan and do not really have access to native speakers. Some people have recommended italki, but I have not done this yet.
Writing/Kanji: I feel like I am just now getting enough grammar and vocabulary to start writing. I have been trying to keep up with writing assignments in Genki and learning to handwrite the kanji as I go through those chapters. I realize that when you type, it will enter the kanji for you, so to some extent, you really only need to recognize the correct kanji. However, I really like writing on paper when I journal. WaniKani has also been very helpful in my kanji recognition - but I am taking it slow.
I may start taking the JLPT tests, aiming for Level 5 in 2023 - so will be on the lookout for recommendations for best resources for review for that.
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I might be misunderstanding you here, but the Tadoku graded readers site I’m familiar with has tons of free options for short stories, especially for level 0 and 1. I don’t imagine there’s much need to spend money on it, unless you’ve already exhausted the many free options.
Oh boy, I haven’t started learning to write anything by hand yet. I dread the day that’s going to be required, because while I can visually recognize kanji without any issue, I’d struggle to actually write even hiragana by hand. Future me is going to have some choice words for current me, I imagine.
Best of luck with your JLPT tests!
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Hey guys, I just discovered something cool and seeing it’s not mentioned yet, here I go.
Japanese dictionary and spaced repetition system – jpdb
You have to make an account/login via Google to see all the features, but basically it’s a better Jisho (showing much more information) that also allows you to create decks and then put cards into them on the fly and review them SRS style. It has example sentences, pitch, kanji, shows subvocabulary - words that compose another word (the one you’re looking up/reviewing). The dev is also apparently very active and has a discord.
Onto the most obvious downsides. It’s bilingual, so no Japanese defintions (yet?), although I don’t personally think that is an issue for SRS actually. You would also have to jump into the settings and generally understand the site, but I think that’s normal and still much faster than setting up Anki, etc. Speaking of Anki, the customization is limited and will probably forever be less advanced than Anki.
Edit. Okay there actually are some JP definitions, but I think not for all the words. At least some words I look up don’t have them. Anyway just wanted to clarify.
I’m gonna try it for a couple of days and if it sticks I think I’m gonna ditch Anki.
Anyone has any opinions/will try it too?
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You are right - there are many free ones. It’s good to point that out. I’ve read a few, but I do like the pay versions better. I also just like having an actual book (booklet actually) to hold.
I have always preferred paper for reading and note taking. I even got myself some cool imported Japanese notebooks (Campus brand). On the other hand, though, the pdfs of the free graded readers do have an advantage of not needing to print them if you don’t want to.
You might not have to learn to hand write Japanese - you could just type into a word document if you wanted.
My current study plan:
Everyday Study:
● Busuu: One lesson
● WaniKani: get reviews to zero at least once
● Bunpro: get reviews to zero at least once
Optional Study:
● WaniKani: 5 lessons
● BunPro: 1 new item
● Cure Dolly Organic Playlist: 5/93 videos completed
● Game Gengo FFVII Remake: 3/30 videos completed
I’ll post a second reply listing a list of resources that vary in obscurity. I use them all and recommend them.
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For Grammar > App, I highly highly highly recommend Busuu. It’s basically the exact same concept as Lingodeer, only it’s totally free. There is a subscription model for extra features, but it’s supplementary. The entire JP course is free and covers complete beginner to upper N4 level. The grammar explanations, pacing, exercises, and vocab variety are all excellent. It’s how I started learning jp and I’ve since recommended it to friends who also attest to its quality. It can be used on PC too if one prefers. I think this would be really beneficial to jp learners if added to the spreadsheet.
Tool > Website. YomiChan. Works the same way as Rikaikun, I just hear it mentioned more than Rikakun so it may have better functionality, but that’s just speculation.
Tool > Website. Subadub. This is a Chrome Extension that allows the subtitles of a Netflix show to be displayed as on-screen text (ie. not video-embedded). This allows the user to interact with the text in the same way they would with 10ten, Yomichan etc. Additionally, given that it can be used in conjunction with Netflix’s built-in subs, users will be able to watch material with both eng/jp subs at the same time, something I’ve found greatly beneficial.
Reading > App. Todai (Easy Japanese). News reading app that highlights language based on JLPT level, allows for furigana toggle, has built in translator tool, and user based translations/feedback pages, along with misc. other helpful features. Free, with premium features too.
Grammar > Website. Ichi.moe . Very surprised to see that this wasn’t on the spreadsheet. You input a sentence and it will break it down word by word to give not only a translation of each individual word, but will also show how its been conjugated and its exact grammatical description. Given the type of language japanese is, this is an essential resource, no questions asked.
Tool > Website. DeelL. An AI powered online translator that claims to be ‘3 times more accurate than our closest competitors’, which I don’t doubt. Though no online translator will ever be flawless, this is significantly better than the likes of Google Translate for a go-to translator.
Tool > Website. Migaku. A Chrome Extension which develops on the idea of Subs2SRS and makes it as easy as using the 10ten extension. Simply hover a word (be it on netflix, youtube, your own personal video or text files etc.), and it’s added to an anki deck. allows for the creation of anki decks with full sentences, colour coding from grammar and pitch accent, and of course full audio and screenshots. Essentially, it’s all the tedium from subs2srs completely removed, so what used to be 2 minutes of work per card is now done in 10 seconds. It’s paid, but if sentence mining is your thing, it’s worth every cent.
Listening/Reading > Animelon. This is a streaming site with 100s of anime series, with every episode of every series having eng and jp subs that can both be displayed at the same time. It also allows the user to select romaji, furigana, and hiragana, so any combination of all 5 can be displayed at once. The subtitles themselves can be adjusted to the users preference too (size, font, colour etc.) A hover-over translator is included, as is a full transcript of dialogue. When the hover-over translator is off, dialogue can be selected with the cursor, for use with yomichan or just general copy and pasting. The site also allows users to save previously hovered-over dialogue and create flashcard decks. The entire site is free, with the titles varied in popularity, and the catalog is constantly updated.
The ‘spreadsheet’ I refer to is here, and is the quintessential resource guide to learning japanese. I’ll let it speak for itself: Jo-Mako's Japanese Guide - Readability List
Consistency gives you time traveling powers 
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Note to self: must spend less time reading about learning Japanese and more time actually learning Japanese.
I get really bad FOMO - I’m pretty sure there’s no silver bullet to learning Japanese (except maybe being adopted by a Japanese family who speak no English? DM me!) - and my danger is overloading myself with lots of learning rather than missing out on a killer app or book or approach that will make me 5% more efficient.
What’s clear is that there are a ton of resources out there, stick with what you’re enjoying and ditch what is making you dread it without worrying too much.
Just realised my prospective adoptive family won’t be able to read this 
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I’ve also started to keep track of my Monthly Immersion Minutes, which simply looks like this:
● Monthly Immersion Minutes: [15]
● Monthly Grammar Video Minutes: [12]
Content Immersion Minutes can be from the following:
● Focused Immersion (just jp subs) and Bunpro Examples
● Assisted Immersion (eng and jp subs)
I’m not including eng-subs only content for now, as I don’t want it to feel like study.
Grammar Video Minutes can be any jp grammar/vocab video watched with any level of focus, and it doesn’t matter if I’ve seen the video before.
Here’s a tracking of my progress through various playlists thus far.
● Cure Dolly: 5/93 videos completed
● FFVII Remake: 3/30 videos completed
Loved that wallpaper. Where did you get it?
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Wallpaper engine, it’s animated
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A few months ago I was checking this out and I do think FOMO is a bigger thing in the Japanese learning community than most other languages. I’m not sure why, but my suspicion is that Japanese is just easier to mine for views/clicks on social media and !!shocking new information!! is the best way to do it.
In comparison, if you look up learning Russian on Youtube, a lot of it is vocabulary tips, conjugation advice, greetings and phrases, etc… If you look up learning Japanese on Youtube it’s a lot of “YOU’RE DOING EVERYTHING WRONG YOU’RE SO STUPID!” and “UNLESS YOU DO THIS YOU WILL FAIL!” style videos. Funnily enough I looked into the author of one of these videos and they haven’t even passed N4 yet.
As others have said in the thread the big thing is just sticking with it.
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I don’t think there’s a huge reason for you to change, but have you ever used Language Reactor before? Was previously called Language Learning with Netflix. I’ve never personally used Subadub before but it seems like LR does the same things with some potential added benefits you may or may not find useful. Just thought I’d throw my 2 cents in! 
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That is the blessing and a curse. Back when I started learning resources were limited. Now there are so many if I started now I’m not even sure where I would begin.
Over the years I’ve used dozens of books, programs, and learning methods. But the three things that seem to help most learners that very few people will argue about are:
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Exposure to the language
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Spaced repetition
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Using the language
If you continue to do these three, results will come. They will vary by person, but they will come adopted family or not. I’ve known people who lived years in Japan and probably couldn’t form a sentence at your level.
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Very interesting. Thanks for the consideration!
Japanese language YouTubers really irk me, lol. While some are legitimate and helpful, most are just pretentious and annoying. Acting like language and cultural gods. Most of their audience aren’t there to learn, they are there to live vicariously through the YouTuber who either lives in Japan and speaks Japanese at a decent enough level like the viewer wants to.
You know, I’ve impressed Japanese people with my Japanese before. The only difference is that I didn’t self indulge in it and create an entire channel about it.
Ok, rant over. Lol
I took a few classes on italki a couple of years back and they were excellent, but a bit pricey. I’ve just returned to studying again and took another look, and now they have group classes too! I took one this afternoon. There was just me, another student, and the teacher, and it was great fun and half the price of a regular class. I’m going to be doing a lot more!
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