In November 2022 I started seriously learning Kanji with the [NihongoShark.com Deck](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1956010956) in Anki and finished it in August. I plan to keep reviewing the cards for long as I can, but it’s becoming tedious and I feel my retention is getting worse. Specially when I miss one day it’s so bothering to catch up.I added vocabulary and example phrases from [Kanji Koohii](https://kanji.koohii.com/](https://kanji.koohii.com) to the cards, but most of these phrases are very advanced so I don’t understand them anyway.I’ve been adding easier phrases from [Takoboto](https://takoboto.jp), but the whole process of looking up for understandable use examples and editing the cards is very time consuming, so I only do this to a couple of cards per day (out of the circa 100 due cards to review).I’m also taking lessons online once a week with a native teacher. We’re at Lesson 16 of Minna no Nihongo. I write down some of the sentences as part of my studying routine to practice stroke order. I know that handwriting is not an important skill, but it’s fun, relaxing and it helps me memorize vocabulary and grammar. Focusing on Kanji so far has made it easier to learn new vocabulary from Minna no Nihongo and to guess the meaning of words I encounter in my immersion attempts by reading Level 0-1 texts in [Tadoku](https://padlet.com/kurse/padlet-phf0hy2hykpz59ya). I also review the vocabulary of Minna no Nihongo in Anki, but the deck I’m studying only has single words, no phrases at all, so it’s also getting tedious.
Other than that, I occasionally watch some YouTube channels like [Comprehensible Japanese](https://www.youtube.com/c/comprehensiblejapanese) and some Anime.
I have the feeling that if I keep learning this way I’ll eventually lose the motivation, but I don’t want to give it up now after I put so much effort in it.
I’m missing something to move forward, but I don’t know what, or which direction to go on with Japanese Learning.
I’ve been considering to read the Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide, since I see it’s very well recommended. But because of lack of time I haven’t been able to. I also want to do some sentence mining, but again, not sure how to start.
With so many resources out there and so limited time to try them, I would like to know what /r/LearnJapanese/ thinks it’s the best way to continue.
1 comment
After learning “the basics” I started reading (light) novels and mining them for new vocabulary and grammar. Personally, I think that reading is not only the most convenient but also the most fun way to learn. There are [so many (light) novels](https://learnnatively.com/search/jpn/books/?type=light_novel,novel) to choose from that it is easy to find something you actually enjoy. I would say that after you have learned grammar roughly equivalent to N5+N4 and your first ~2K words, you are absolutely ready for it. You can visit [https://learnjapanese.moe/](https://learnjapanese.moe/) for a guide and resources for getting started.