I realized something interesting today. I was listening to a few easy japanese podcasts (N4-ish) and realized that I knew most of the vocabulary and could differentiate virtually all of the words being said, but I understood very little of the grammar words and as a result I understood very little of what was actually being said. On the one hand it was really nice to realize that my vocab and listening skills were high enough to not be the bottleneck (I remember both of them gave me so much trouble at the very beginning). On the other hand, it means I need to double down on grammar.
How does everyone recommend not just learning grammar, but *remembering* it? I started slowly turning [this grammar list](https://jlptsensei.com/jlpt-n4-grammar-list/) (along with the one for N5 grammar) into anki cards, but I find that I have to come up with a mnemonic to remember them just like I do for vocabulary and kanji. Is there a better way?
For what it’s worth I completed all of Genki I and II, but probably didn’t devote as much effort to them as I could have. But most grammar points that I encounter don’t even ring a bell from Genki. I don’t think genki is anywhere close to comprehensive for grammar.
3 comments
Idk, last time I checked (year ago maybe?), JLPT Sensei had a bunch of questionable sentences on their N1 grammar. I remember seeing several posts and comments about it back then. Maybe they improved now, but I’m pretty sure there are alternatives with better track record.
> How does everyone recommend not just learning grammar, but remembering it?
When I started out, I remembered grammar better by seeing a lot of examples in context, ie: reading or listening. If I didn’t understand a grammar point in a sentence I had read, I looked it up, and did that over and over until I understood.
> I don’t think genki is anywhere close to comprehensive for grammar.
Every grammar point in Genki is basic and common.
you can’t just memorize grammar, you have to use it. read, write, listen to, and speak using grammar and vocab that you’re studying. that’s the only way to burn it into your neurons. things that are rote memorized go into a different place in memory that’s harder to use in context, and slips away faster from lack of reinforcement.