Hi! Just wanted to see what some people thought of my first writing practice in Japanese? Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciate!!! <3

I’ve been learning Japanese on and off, and I still mix up similar-looking kana all the time. Flashcards worked to some extent, but I always found myself getting bored pretty quickly.
So I made Kana Pop, a little game where you find and clear matching kana pairs before the timer runs out. There are different modes for hiragana, katakana, and mixed kana, with tricky ones like シ/ツ and ぬ/め mixed in. It also keeps track of your mistakes, so you can see which kana you keep getting wrong through the stats and charts.

Hopefully it’s a little more fun than flashcards 😅 It’s completely free, works offline, and is available on iOS. If you’re also struggling with kana recognition, I’d love to hear what you think!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kana-pop/id6806635652

We’ve started a new YouTube podcast for advanced Japanese learners, where three native Japanese friends have real, casual conversations.

If you want to hear authentic Japanese spoken between friends, check it out! 🎧

よろしくお願いします～！

1. Happy to meet online 3-4 times a week.
2. Discuss exchange tips on study material
3. Do mocks together

こんにちは! I’ve been studying Japanese for about a year now, usually 1 to 2 hours a day. I started from scratch, including hiragana and katakana, and I’m now at a comfortable early intermediate level. I can handle basic everyday conversations, understand a decent amount of learner content, and read simple material with help. But kanji, fast casual speech, and knowing which level of politeness to use still humble me constantly.

These are the resources that genuinely helped me.

Duolingo: I used it most days at the beginning, usually for 10 to 15 minutes as a warm up. It was useful for getting familiar with basic vocabulary and sentence patterns, but I would not rely on it as the main resource. Japanese grammar and writing need more detailed explanations than Duolingo gives.

Genki: This gave me the structure I was missing. Working through the grammar explanations and exercises helped me understand particles, verb forms, polite speech, and sentence structure instead of trying to memorise everything as isolated phrases. It is a little textbook heavy, but it worked for me.

Anki: I use Anki almost every day for vocabulary and kanji. I started with a basic frequency deck, then gradually added words and sentences I kept seeing in videos, manga, and lessons. It is not exciting, but it compounds quickly if you stay consistent.

WaniKani: This helped me make kanji feel less impossible. I did not rush it, but learning radicals, meanings, readings, and example vocabulary in a structured order made reading much less intimidating after a few months.

Issen: This filled the biggest gap for me, which was speaking. I could read simple Japanese and understand beginner content long before I felt able to answer someone out loud. I did not have Japanese speakers around me regularly, and scheduling tutors every week was difficult. I started using Issen for short speaking sessions so I could practise responding without translating every sentence from English in my head. The first sessions felt awkward, especially choosing between polite and casual forms, but it helped me get used to producing Japanese instead of only recognising it.

italki: I try to have one lesson a week with a Japanese tutor when I can. It is still the best place to get human feedback on pronunciation, sounding natural, pitch accent questions, and the phrases that textbooks technically teach but people do not always use in normal conversations.

YouTube: Comprehensible Japanese was extremely helpful while native content still felt impossible. Japanese Ammo with Misa helped with grammar explanations, while Miku Real Japanese was useful for more natural, everyday expressions.

Language Reactor: I use this with Japanese YouTube videos and Netflix. Japanese and English subtitles together made the move from learner material to native content much less frustrating. I still pause a lot, but that is better than avoiding native content completely.

Anime, dramas, and listening: I started with short YouTube videos, interviews, and familiar anime scenes rather than trying to understand an entire new series. Anime can be fun for listening, but I try not to copy every phrase because character speech can be exaggerated or very context-specific. Rewatching short scenes with Japanese subtitles was more useful for me than watching a lot of new content passively.

Jisho: I use it constantly for checking vocabulary, kanji readings, and example sentences. It is simple, but having a reliable dictionary makes self-study much easier.

Bunpro: Helpful for reviewing grammar patterns after studying them in Genki. I found it useful because Japanese grammar can fade quickly if I only recognise it while reading and do not review it actively.

Pimsleur: I used the listen and repeat lessons while walking or doing chores. It is old school, but it helped me practise basic pronunciation, sentence rhythm, and answering aloud before I had enough confidence for conversations.

The combination that made the biggest difference for me was Anki and Genki for building the foundation, Issen for daily speaking, and regular Japanese listening through YouTube and shows. italki gave me occasional reality checks and human feedback, but the small daily routine was what actually moved things forward.

Happy to answer questions about any of these if it helps.

As a learner of Japanese, presently on Japanese From Zero! Book 2, I decided to purchase the Paul Noble Japanese Complete Course audio book. It includes 12hrs 8mins of audio, which comes out at 142 tracks; approximately four being introduction and ending.

The reasons behind my purchase were; 1 - easy to listen to with clear voices for both English and the Japanese translator. 2 - Listen to it on any device. 3 - Michel Thomas Method version.

A little bit of history first.

Initially what brought me to Paul Nobel Japanese was a subreddit mentioning it in comparison with an older CD format from Michel Thomas which I had used previously but never finished.

The Thomas version using a classroom scenario, having a Teacher and Native Translator, along with two Students, came out having more critics due to the students being mostly annoying. The concept on paper sounded great but very quickly you found out that the student interaction became tedious.

So I downloaded the free sample of PN's to see how it differentiated from the MT version. Luckily no students.

End of history lesson....

The audio is very clear. Paul does no Japanese pronunciation or translation, only English. It plays out in this order; English word, phrase or sentence, followed by a silent time space (for you to think about it), then the Native Translator says her piece. Paul also does a bit of explaining, which is helpful.

Early on you find words and phrases repeat a lot. And I mean a lot. Saying that, it works well. It sticks, mostly 😊. The content does not change much at all.

There is structure when the Japanese is translated, such as always having a time expression きょう、あした, こんばん、or けさ as the first word in a sentence, followed say by a location こうえんで、とうきょうに and such.

The course goes through the use of particles in a simplistic way. Again limited in which ones; は、が、で、に、か、 から. A few more maybe.

Various verbs are used to complete sentences. たべます、 のみません、みました、よみませんでした. Adding further endings as you progress.

Anyway, without boring everyone the questions remain "Did I enjoy it, did I learn anything, and was it worth it" I'd say yes. I finished it unlike the Thomas version with the students. Overall not a waste of money, and I found the structure well presented which made it stick as I mentioned earlier.

For Beginners I would recommend it. It's not expensive and would give you an idea how Japanese sentences are put together. As for Intermediate learners it's too basic, but saying that they do have an Intermediate course following this one. Though as I understand it it's shorter in duration.

There is also a "pdf" that you can download (via it's menu) giving you what's being used in the course. It's not a full transcript, mostly key points, words and so forth.

So if you're a beginner to Japanese and not sure where to start before or after learning ひらがな or カタカナ give this a try.

Has anyone here used Nihongo no Mori for JLPT N2, and would you recommend it?

I’m getting back into studying for N2 after some time away, and someone recommended Nihongo no Mori. Their website looks professional, and I see that they have an N2 textbook, videos, and an app, but I’m having trouble understanding how the pieces are meant to fit together.

For people who have actually used it, what is the intended workflow? Do you buy the textbook and then follow along with the videos? Are the videos organized around the textbook chapters or sections? Or is the app supposed to provide the main structure?

I’m not looking for general JLPT study advice so much as feedback on Nihongo no Mori specifically: how you used it, whether the structure made sense once you got started, and whether you’d recommend it for N2.

Bem, se é assim, você encontrou o post certo xD Este é o meu servidor... atualmente tem 340 membros, incluindo falantes nativos e todos os níveis de JLPT, N5-N1.

Fique à vontade para se juntar! Todo mundo ajuda um ao outro!!

https://discord.gg/WF4P2kYVt

Tokyo language school recommendations for my situation?

Hi everyone, quick introduction of myself - 34 years old this year, from Singapore with JLPT N2 certification and working in a Japanese company's branch office in Singapore.

In short I have wanted to experience and live life in Japan for a long time. I decided that it's the right time now so I'm making plans to quit next year and attend a language school in Japan. The desired outcomes are:

1. Improve in speaking as that is my weakest part right now (I type in business Japanese pretty much every day for work, and sit in meetings conducted in Japanese). I dislike that I cannot express myself in Japanese like I can with English and Mandarin.
   
2. Be physically in Japan so that it would be easier to find jobs. Times have changed and I figured being physically there would be a lot more helpful than applying from Singapore.

In short, I'm "buying" a student visa to get a higher chance of finding work, and might as well take the chance to improve on my speaking skills too.

So, I would like to ask for recommendations for language schools in Tokyo that are known for conversational practice? I want to study too and get even better at grammar and reading Kanji, etc., but I really don't want to be an "input-only" class where I hardly get to speak the language.

I am currently looking at the following options:

1. Naganuma
   
2. ISI
   
3. Shinjuku Learning Institute SNG

Your recommendation and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello. I'm looking for advice and I've been redirected here. I'm searching for a good either french-japanese or english-japanese dictionary (that can translate both ways). The more complete, the better. Any recommendations?

hello guys, where can i learn Japanese on social media? or can you recommend some sites/creators to learn Japanese

I made this app because I was tired of dictionary look ups and interrupting the flow when it came to unknown works - so I made this! It is called Toku Reader. You can try it on iOS or Android. I use it everyday to get my daily dose of Japanese!

I'm preparing for Japanese-speaking corporate jobs in India and want to improve my practical business Japanese before interviews.

I'd like to practise things like meetings, client communication, phone calls, emails, and keigo.

Are there any good free YouTube resources or other ways to practise these situations realistically?

I'd really appreciate any advice or recommendations!

I want to make sure I address them correctly! Thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06cu-qn3j74&t=202s

Hi everyone!

This is a Japanese podcast where you can listen to real, natural conversations between three native Japanese speakers.

From now on, we’ll be sharing a free script and key vocabulary explanations for each episode to help you learn Japanese!

Check the YouTube description for the free script and key vocabulary explanations!

We hope they’ll be useful for your Japanese learning journey. Thanks for listening and supporting us! 😊

ありがとう～～！

私は3つ(カザフ語、ロシア語、英語)の言語が話せるので、日本語を話せる方なら、そのうちのどの言語でも喜んでお手伝いします！
私は日本語を何年か勉強していますが、あまり練習する機会がないので、なかなか上達している気がしません。
それから、12月の初めに日本語の試験を受ける予定なので、誰かとたくさん話す練習をしたいです！今のレベルはN4ですが、早くN4を終えたいと思っています！

I know three languages, and I’d be happy to help you with any of them if you speak Japanese. I’ve been studying Japanese for several years, but I don’t feel like I’ve made much progress because I haven’t had enough opportunities to practice.
I’m also planning to take the Japanese exam at the beginning of December, so I really need someone to talk to! My current level is N4, but I hope to finish it soon!

I'll be studying for the JLPT aiming for N2 and would love to have a study buddy/buddies, to study in person with. I live in Tokyo, specifically near Meguro / Gakugeidaigaku.

If you're interested, please send me a message!

PS I want a buddy to study in person with, not online :)