So I really want to learn Japanese because I love the culture and would love to visit or possibly live there in the future. The issue I’ve been having is that it seems all the good routes I’ve been recommended by YouTubers and stuff cost quite a bit and I don’t really have any money to put into this. Is there a good way to learn for free? And if so how and what sources? Thanks!
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I think you can passively learn Japanese for free but it will still be limited. Consume a lot of Japanese media and shadow, google the meanings, memorize phrases and grammar points, go on Japanese websites and read articles, and etc. It’ll be a cumbersome process but i think it’s feasible.
Duolingo or 50 languages
Yes. There are plenty of online resources and media you can use. Hell, even textbooks can be found for free online if you look hard enough *cough cough*
I think there are fewer practical and free resources than you can imagine.
I think you’ve probably looked for some resources on your own.
But none of them are enough for you.
Therefore,I recommend that you extract only the good parts of a lot of resources and study.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/wiki/index/resources/
https://marshallyin.com/welcome/
https://8020japanese.com/japanese-sentence-structure/
The only thing I can remember paying for was about $5 a month for my flash card service, and there are free flashcard services out there that you can use. I just happened to like that one so decided to pay for it. I’m by no means fluent, but I’d reached a conversational level after about 2ish years.
In contrast to that, I’ve been taking university classes to learn Chinese, and have bought several textbooks for it, and am still barely able to communicate.
Moral of the story, while spending money on resources certainly helps, nowadays because of the internet, the main factor in how successful you are will be how willing you are to keep studying.
it’s not an expensive hobby, at least for me
free? not quite
I buy books so I can read them. Books aren’t free but books are like less than 10 dollars and it takes me a few weeks to read them.
So like about as much as a hamburger or something, but for 3 weeks of entertainment.
Yes. I did.
Here’s my free resources list. Some of them might be a little dated, I’ve been at this a while. It’s going to take trial and error to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. You don’t really have to go from start to finish on any of them. You can pick bits and pieces out as needed. It all adds up in the end.
– Ankiweb/anki: build your own digital flashcards (website)
– Memrise: digital flashcards (website and app)
– Erin’s Challenge: has a bunch of skits, with transcripts in romaji, kana, and kanji, as well as other activities (website)
– Hinative: good place to ask or find “how do you say ____” questions (website)(idk if app)
– HelloTalk: kind of like Facebook for language learning. Or like Lang8 (if it still exists) post in your target language and get corrections. (App) (idk if website)
– Tae Kim’s guide to Japanese: a technical approach to Japanese grammar. Good if you like textbooks. (Website)
– Maggie Sensei: my personal go-to for grammar it’s less technical and more fun and cutesy. (website)
– Tatoeba: gives example sentences for words (website)
– Jisho(.)org: japanese to english dictionary (website)
– refold(.)la : a guide for immersion based learning. (Website)
– All Japanese All The Time (AJATT): another personal fave. It’s also a guide for massive immersion, and the one I mainly used. (Website)
– Takobato: japanese to english dictionary (app)
– Tofugu: I love this website for all their topics on everything from culture to language. It’s always an interesting read! Keep your eyes open for they frequently post their top-rated free resources! (Website)
– Duolingo: if used right it’s a good way to rep your grammar, vocab, strengthen reading, and listening skills. The bad news is it’s also really easy to cheat. Use the system right and there’s much to be gained from it I promise. (App)
– Netflix: not really free, but if you’ve already got you can set a profile to Japanese and all Netflix originals will have Japanese dubs subs! (Best to keep all English out though)(app and website)
– Language Learning With Netflix: A chrome plugin that works with Netflix, it can show both Japanese and English subs at once, and has a hover dictionary!
– Rikaikun: Chrome plugin hover dictionary
– Anime DVDs: again, not free, but if you’ve got them put on that Japanese dub, turn off the subs, and listen in.
There’s a lot available for free but at some point you will probably end up buying a novel or a video game or signing up for a streaming service or something. It’s not impossible to learn for free but I would argue that it’s unlikely.
Not a single thing on here costs money: [https://learnjapanese.moe/resources/](https://learnjapanese.moe/resources/)