Asking a search engine about Japanese pronunciation.
There’s a starter’s guide for this sub 👍
I started a few months ago by viewing videos of some Youtube channels such as: Japanese Apple and Japanesepod101. Lately I have been learning a few kanjis using WaniKani, it’s useful, but first one must know how to read hiragana and katakana.
I started with duolingo, it’s especially good for hiragana and katakana. (Which are very fun and rewarding to learn.) Japanese pronunciation is very simple, each kana only makes one sound, so as soon as you learn the vowels you’ll be 90% of the way with pronunciation. I mostly learned pronunciation through memorizing song lyrics. “U” is often silent or downplayed, remember that, as is the second syllable of many words. So like, my friend’s name is Tomiko, and it’s not pronounced to-MI-ko, it’s pronounced TO-mi-ko, with the “mi” being the least emphasized part.
Hello! Uchi-san is hosting a free beginner course on Japanese in Discord, maybe you wanna join? Here’s the link: [https://discord.gg/nWGEM4XNTH](https://discord.gg/nWGEM4XNTH) Go to the announcement and choose what time you want the lesson to be.
I’m also a beginner myself, I use Genki and I’m on lesson 6 and I find I need a structure for learning so maybe find a school or tutor? Also anki is great for memorizing vocab and kanji, I haven’t used renshuu but it looks like a good app and has a discord if you need it([https://discord.gg/m6b6QGPd](https://discord.gg/m6b6QGPd) ). There’s also a genki club([https://discord.gg/D2mE5rQt](https://discord.gg/D2mE5rQt) ).
I recommend “Japanese Dictionary Takoboto” for learning the strokes of the kanji and it’s meaning, Akebi app is also good for pitch accent(I think, haven’t used it much) it can also put the word on anki which is super great!
Hope you have fun learning!
First day? Just learn your hiragana and katakana for the first couple days until you get them down pretty decently. It’s really really hard to give you a short answer on where to go from there, but I’d say start with Anki. It’s just what works for a lot of people, it may not work for you, and there are other resources that you can check out. Just some kind of spaced repetition system (SRS). On top of that, start to follow a grammar guide. Tae Kim or Cure Dolly are good.
To be totally honest with you, the 30 day Japanese guide by TheMoeWay is my favorite. It lays out and entire plan over 30 days to get you setup learning Japanese. It helps you build habits and a system that you can use to your hearts content.
Additionally, I wouldn’t worry too much about where you should go at this point. It’s your first day, so don’t stress. It is extremely overwhelming trying to figure everything out at first, so just learn your hiragana and katakana, and figure things out as they come. You’re gonna hear words like immersion and such thrown about a lot, don’t even worry about that. Just read a guide like the 30 day guide and it will be less confusing and do a better job explaining things than 50 people giving you different answers.
7 comments
The starters guide on here.
Asking a search engine about Japanese pronunciation.
There’s a starter’s guide for this sub 👍
I started a few months ago by viewing videos of some Youtube channels such as: Japanese Apple and Japanesepod101.
Lately I have been learning a few kanjis using WaniKani, it’s useful, but first one must know how to read hiragana and katakana.
I started with duolingo, it’s especially good for hiragana and katakana. (Which are very fun and rewarding to learn.) Japanese pronunciation is very simple, each kana only makes one sound, so as soon as you learn the vowels you’ll be 90% of the way with pronunciation. I mostly learned pronunciation through memorizing song lyrics. “U” is often silent or downplayed, remember that, as is the second syllable of many words. So like, my friend’s name is Tomiko, and it’s not pronounced to-MI-ko, it’s pronounced TO-mi-ko, with the “mi” being the least emphasized part.
Here’s some simple [guidance & resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/s5mtva/comment/ht1lo0x/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) that may help.
Hello! Uchi-san is hosting a free beginner course on Japanese in Discord, maybe you wanna join? Here’s the link: [https://discord.gg/nWGEM4XNTH](https://discord.gg/nWGEM4XNTH) Go to the announcement and choose what time you want the lesson to be.
I’m also a beginner myself, I use Genki and I’m on lesson 6 and I find I need a structure for learning so maybe find a school or tutor? Also anki is great for memorizing vocab and kanji, I haven’t used renshuu but it looks like a good app and has a discord if you need it([https://discord.gg/m6b6QGPd](https://discord.gg/m6b6QGPd) ). There’s also a genki club([https://discord.gg/D2mE5rQt](https://discord.gg/D2mE5rQt) ).
I recommend “Japanese Dictionary Takoboto” for learning the strokes of the kanji and it’s meaning, Akebi app is also good for pitch accent(I think, haven’t used it much) it can also put the word on anki which is super great!
Hope you have fun learning!
First day? Just learn your hiragana and katakana for the first couple days until you get them down pretty decently. It’s really really hard to give you a short answer on where to go from there, but I’d say start with Anki. It’s just what works for a lot of people, it may not work for you, and there are other resources that you can check out. Just some kind of spaced repetition system (SRS). On top of that, start to follow a grammar guide. Tae Kim or Cure Dolly are good.
To be totally honest with you, the 30 day Japanese guide by TheMoeWay is my favorite. It lays out and entire plan over 30 days to get you setup learning Japanese. It helps you build habits and a system that you can use to your hearts content.
Additionally, I wouldn’t worry too much about where you should go at this point. It’s your first day, so don’t stress. It is extremely overwhelming trying to figure everything out at first, so just learn your hiragana and katakana, and figure things out as they come. You’re gonna hear words like immersion and such thrown about a lot, don’t even worry about that. Just read a guide like the 30 day guide and it will be less confusing and do a better job explaining things than 50 people giving you different answers.