I started trying to learn Japanese a few weeks ago, and started by using Duolingo (probably not the best, but I at least have more knowledge than when I started) and have since have also been getting a flood of YouTube recommendations of Japanese learning advice, methods, tips, etc. As well as that I’ve also been using ChatGPT (probably a weird one I’m sure, but surprisingly good for understandable, condensed information and asking questions/creating scenarios for practice) and after honestly being overwhelmed by all I’ve been seeing on YouTube have decided to shape my current learning approach like this:
Use Duolingo to practice hiragana/katakana (I try to go for around 15-30 minutes per day) and then consult things like YouTube or ChatGPT if I’m confused on things like grammar or sentence structure. I did also see a video of someone mentioning one of the best ways to start learning a language is write down the most important words in your daily life and their translations, and memorize those so in a similar vein I’ve been memorizing and testing my knowledge of phrases I thought might be important via Google Translate (I know, probably not the best, mostly just typing something in English to Japanese and then realize there’s a different or better way to say it or type from Japanese to English to see how accurate my sentence structure was and more often than not I find myself being able to read things but not understand the words so maybe it’s also time to brush up on vocab?)
That gets me to the topic of my post. I’m still currently studying hiragana and katakana, but am becoming more proficient in them, and as such figure it’s time to tackle kanji and start learning those. Any good resources or recommendations on how to best lean and study them? (Or any critiques of or alternative recommendations for my studying methods?)
20 comments
Free anki a note book a pen and free kanji deck, can use Heisig deck and just cut out his method and write them. Don’t even think just learn stroke order and write them and immediately fail the card if you don’t know it immediately. Ezpz
i use [this](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindtwisted.kanjistudy), and it’s really helped me a lot! though there are a few “upgrade” packs, with the essential one being access to all kanji (that one’s just 15$) but i tell you it is worth it
I’m enjoying wanikani to learn the kanji. The pacing and ease of use work well for me. I like that they teach radicals first, then kanji, then vocab using those kanji (with decent mnemonics for each). It feels like I’m learning them pretty well.
I’ve had success with learning to recognize/read kanji with WaniKani (I’m working on the writing in a notebook) the first three levels are free, so if you try it and decide it isn’t for you, it’s easier to walk away to find something else
I currently feel I can recognize perhaps around 1000 kanji, though Anki says I can recognize around 1200, I think in “the wild” I screw up way more than in Anki, sadly.
I used Genki for the first 315 kanji. I used “rote memorization” to quickly get them down. For re-enforcement instead of SRS (e.g. anki), I discovered these 315 kanji are the most used kanji ever, so you will see then constantly and they will get kicked into long-term memory.
After those first few, I started reading books and got kanji from vocabulary words. I used anki to help with memory. If I need help recalling which kanji maps to which concept, I can use https://kanji.koohii.com for a story.
if you use android, I really really really recoomend Kanji Study by Chase Colburn, it’s a really well made app to help you just with that but kinda paywalled after the first 80 kanjis and it’s pretty expensive to get all the upgrades.
Chase if you read this, please, I need the sale price for the SRS 😭 I would buy it now if you lower the price around now 😭😭
Many of the apps out there give you a small sample, and then you have to pay for anything beyond beginner.
But, while not perfect t, I have found an exception that I would highly recommend to anyone: Learn Japanese- Kanji!
This app looks to cover all the ones needed for the JLPT levels, and appears to be completely free (I’m only on N3 myself). It isn’t perfect, and you WILL have to write with your finger, but it’s helped me out a TON.
I’m sorry about not answering your main question, but I do want to warn you that people who know way more Japanese than I do, have evaluated the way that chat GPT answers questions related to the Japanese language, and while they do admit that those answers sound very convincing and explanatory, that the answers are actually very misleading, and often wrong. You can try searching this forum for ChatGPT for examples. It’s so fun to start learning japanese, and I don’t want you to get off on the wrong foot! If there’s grammar you’re not sure about, you can try checking the wiki for grammar resources.
Don’t use ChatGPT. It’s sometimes correct, but sometimes not and you won’t be able to tell the difference.
Tofugu’s guide to learn japanese has mnemonics for all hiragana and katakana that could help you if you are still working on them, didn’t think they would work until I tried it and then got hiragana relatively down in a day. Also, they have their service Wanikani that uses mnemonics for kanji as well. Mnemonics in general have helped me a lot personally with learning kanji/hiragana/katakana even when they are so different from english. Also, might be better to wait on kanji till you have at least hiragana down or at least know all the sounds as kanji have readings using them. https://www.tofugu.com/learn-japanese/
I like wanikani but it’s a slow grind
You can also try [fujiPod](https://fujipod.com/), which lets you search, practice writing, recommends new kanji in a beginner-friendly order (but also lets you choose your own) and has mnemonics for lots of kanji.
It’s completely free and has an active Discord channel in case you need help or sth. doesn’t work.
Everyone’s different. I personally enjoy Kanji Damage because it’s free and memorable. The Anki deck teaches most of the jōyō kanji in an order that makes sense to me. However, some people might dislike the crude humor which is fair. Side note: you might want to replace Duolingo with a better textbook/course.
I primarily just use https://marumori.io to help me study everything. They have ways to improve your reading ability for hiragana and katakana. They have a SRS system for kanji and vocab. An especially helpful thing they do is give each kanji a little story to help remember it’s meaning for when you have trouble remembering it. They also provide you with grammar on everything and also many reading exercises. It’s currently free to use as it’s still in beta and they only have their content ready to about mid N4 level.
– WaniKani or a Core 2.3k or Tango Anki deck for kanji
– Don’t use ChatGPT if you’re just starting out. It’s eloquent and authoritative in its explanations, but not guaranteed to be factually correct.
– If you want to use an translator tool, use DeepL since it’s way more sensitive to context, but in general relying on translation tools for English – Japanese is not a good idea, because the languages differ too much
I was using a website called “Kanshudo” for kanji and i prefer it to wanikani. Its less restrictive and lets you study what you want but it also has structure if you want that. Unlike wanikani it also has some kanji vocabulary and grammar games.
WaniKani for kanji . I made it to level 49 before I burnt out but I highly recommend it.
Just write everything you learn in Japanese(kana & kanji).
Learn the kanji you need for the words you learn.
Learn those kanji by just writing them again and again (on paper/with a pen).
Surprised that no one mentions [Renshuu](https://www.renshuu.org/).
I like using the MochiMochi app to learn new words and kanjis