I started learning Japanese on Duolingo just over 3 months ago, and it’s leaving much to be desired. I want to learn Japanese semi-flunently, and I just want some guidance on how or where to really start. I’ve seen posts about Genki books and other resources, should I start there, or is this too advanced? So far, I know all the hiragana and katakana characters and around 10 kanji words.
5 comments
If you know hiragana and katakana then Genki is definitely not too advanced. It’s a good resource if you’ve got the money to spend on it.
But also look up Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanrse Grammar. It’s free online.
The About section here in the sub has a ton of resources listed; that’s a great place to start. This [video](https://youtu.be/L1NQoQivkIY) is also a good overview of what’s out there and what kinds of things you’ll want to learn.
If you know the hiragana and katakana, you’re in the perfect place to start Genki. It’s a good basis for learning grammar, and it’s aimed at beginners.
Also, welcome!
Basically you do this:
Kana -> Textbooks -> Immerse ->Immerse More
For textbooks Genki is fine, just jump in and ask questions here in the question thread if you get them. GL HF
learn all kanjis from jlpt5 like 7 to 10 kanji per day, use Anki with TheMoeyWay Tango n5 deck this bassicly teach you vocab, kanjis and easy sentence do this 2 or 3 time per day with 10 new cards per day, for the grammar and more watch Cure Dolly on youtube and start with the old video of her channel first, she’s the best ressource you can find in this planet and remember kanjis are not word so learn them with easy sentence when they become familiar to you (sorry for my english)
If you want to learn to become semi fluent then you need to get good at writing, reading, listening and speaking.
My personal advice is go to classes with a Japanese native teacher. You will use all 4 skills as you learn and you will have a native to truly help you learn.
Using apps are great at helping you index on one area eg flash card vocab/kanji but you don’t index the other areas eg speaking. The only way to improve speaking is by speaking unfortunately.
I’ve been taking classes for 2 years now and am planning a two week study in Tokyo next year, to study at a Japanese language school and have a home stay with a local family. I’ve managed to fit that in with work and other hobbies and I’m 49 so pretty happy with my progress. If your younger you can probably get to my stage faster 😂