I know this sounds weird cause there are literally hundreds of videos and resources telling you what to start with. Which 9 times out of 10 is learning hiragana and katakana. Im an absolute beginner and havent done anything yet.
However i cant find recommendations for any apps or programs to learn these. There is for kanji and more advanced stuff but havent seen anything for just starting out.
All ive heard is stuff like reading charts and buying textbooks. Like genki.
I realize hiragana and katakana is step 1. But is there a better way to start than just trying to memorize charts? Maybe an app or something that quizzes me?
7 comments
Duolingo’s kana (hiragana and katakana) is actually pretty good. Drops also has kana. I wouldn’t go further in those kind of apps because they don’t give you the grammar and focus more on memorization of phrases.
Bunpro is good for grammar
Wanikani is good for kanji.
this guide to hiragana
https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-hiragana/
this little game
https://drlingua.com/japanese/games/kana-bento/
get started with those and then go for genki or tae kim’s
GL HF
I like dr moku on the app stores. You can find lite version to give it a try
In addition to the many apps I’m sure people will link, you can just get or make Anki decks for them. It may seem like overkill to learn the setup and whatnot, but the app is super handy at most stages of learning a language as well as any other activity where you’d want to use a good flashcard system.
Anki: https://apps.ankiweb.net/
Decks: https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/kana
Anki setup guide: https://refold.la/roadmap/stage-1/a/anki-setup
I havent used it in a while but the Pastel kana app was cool for drilling Hiragana and Katakana
> there are literally hundreds of videos and resources
> Im an absolute beginner **and havent done anything yet.**
Reddit in two sentences.
Duolingo is fine for learning kana. Lingodeer is a nice one, too. My favorite of the “starter” apps is Human Japanese.