What are the best resources to learn Japanese?
Japanese is an isolated language spoken by 121 million people in the Japanese archipelago. Small Japanese communities can be found in American Samoa, Hawaii, North and South America, Europe, and Australia. Japanese studies have revealed that it contains both Altaic and Austronesian elements: the phonological system is more similar to that of Austronesian languages (Alpatov 1998), but the archaic lexicon appears to have more Altaic elements (ibid.). This led to the hypothesis that Japanese (or, more precisely, the ancestor of Japanese) arose from the blending of two languages: Japan’s substratum language, which was possibly Austronesian, and the language of relatively recent newcomers, which was possibly Altaic (Shibatani 1992, Vance 2001). According to this theory, Japanese is an ancient creole language.
If you are just beginning your Japanese studies, you should know that there are four main types of Japanese characters: kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romaji. The use of Latin script to write the Japanese language is known as romaji. Kanji are Chinese characters that serve as the foundation for many words. Katakana is typically used to write foreign words, onomatopoeia, or to highlight something. Hiragana is used to change the grammar of a word or sentence, to form entire words and particles, and to allow younger or less experienced Japanese speakers to read kanji. Hiragana and katakana are both made up of phonetic characters, so each character represents a sound, called kana.
Why should you learn Hiragana?
Why focus on hiragana when there are four different types of characters in Japanese?
You already know how to read romaji if you’re reading this. Kanji is complicated, and memorising the many characters required for literacy takes years of practice. Katakana is rarely used because it is mostly used to represent foreign or borrowed words. That leaves only hiragana! Aside from this simple process of elimination, there are numerous reasons to learn hiragana. Hiragana characters appear more frequently than other types. In terms of frequency of use, it ranks right up there with kanji. Because hiragana can be used to modify kanji as well as serve as the grammatical structure that holds a sentence together, you will see hiragana all the time.
Even simple Japanese words and phrases use it, so learning hiragana from the start is a good idea. Hiragana is a phonetic language. This means that you can look at the characters and immediately know how they are pronounced. Hiragana is also a good place to start if you want to learn more about Japanese characters. You will eventually want to learn hiragana and katakana in addition to kanji. However, for beginners, learning hiragana is a less intimidating way to begin learning Japanese characters. It can even be used to clarify how to pronounce more complex kanji, making it an excellent tool for self-study in Japanese.
There isn't just one but there are plenty of these resources which are available to help you learn Japanese. Let’s see a few of them:
Online Support
Apps
Duolingo is one of the most popular free online language learning resources. The website teaches a variety of languages, including Japanese. It offers extensive written lessons and dictation, as well as gamification to make learning more enjoyable. There is also a paid version available.
Classes
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the primary training institution for the United States Federal Government’s employees in the foreign affairs community. They have online public domain versions of their language courses.
Alison Japanese
Begin with a brief overview of the language and its dialects, and then work on pronunciation using modern and important alphabets including Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana alphabets. Following that, you will learn how to greet and introduce yourself to others. There is a strong emphasis on practical skills, and each lesson makes use of audio and scripts to make the experience as simple and enjoyable as possible. In addition, important cultural and grammatical points are highlighted and explained.
JapanesePod101 is one of the most well-known Japanese online courses. It’s been around for a long time and has literally thousands of audio and video lessons, as well as printable lesson notes, interactive quizzes, flashcard decks, and other resources. Lessons range from absolute beginner to advanced, and there are also special courses for JLPT preparation.
The Japanese national broadcaster, NHK, offers an online course called Easy Japanese. It is 48-lesson audio and text-based course for beginners. It’s completely free, and there’s no need to sign up or become a member.
Sakuraa Nihongo Resource Centre
Sakuraa Nihongo Resource Centre offers numerous classes according to your level, that are divided into three main streams; ones offered to individuals, corporates and academic institutions. Learners can also take JLPT coaching. For more information you could visit their website or their centre.
Navis Nihongo Training Centre
Navis Nihongo Training Centre is considered to be one of the best Japanese training centres in Bangalore, with branches in Chennai and Japan (Nagoya), They have train students with native Japanese teachers and Indian teachers.
The Japan Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the Japanese language and culture throughout the world. There are a few different courses available where you can learn Japanese for free online. Why ‘Marugoto’ course; because it is the best all-around beginner course. Other online courses include Kansai Dialect and Introduction to Haiku. A complete list can be found here.
LearnJapaneseforfree.com
As the name implies, this website provides free Japanese instruction. It currently offers a course of 28 basic lessons for complete beginners, as well as a variety of special lessons, such as vocabulary on various topics.
Here are a few resources for reading and listening.
Reading
CosCom News
It’s uncommon to come across reading materials for beginners that aren’t children’s books. This website publishes extremely brief news articles. To switch between romaji, hiragana, and full Japanese, use the buttons at the top (with kanji). If you want to take notes, you can also download the article as a pdf. Key vocabulary is listed below in English. For beginners, the ‘Headline News’ section contains very short articles. The articles in the ‘News of Japan’ section are slightly longer. The most recent article in each section is the only one that is available for free. You can also pay to become a member in order to read the archives.
Traditional Japanese Children’s Stories
This lovely website contains a collection of traditional Japanese fairy tales. The stories are written in simple Japanese with line-by-line English translations underneath. All Japanese children grow up hearing these stories, so studying them will help you better understand Japanese culture!
Hirogaru is ideal for self-studying interested in Japanese culture, such as calligraphy, tea ceremony, and martial arts. It includes short videos (with English subtitles) on each topic, as well as short texts in simple Japanese with new word lists and lots of pictures. Ideal for beginners and intermediate students who can already read Hiragana.
Matcha is a great Japanese travel and culture publication. It’s available in eight languages, including a simple Japanese version! It uses kanji, like NHK News Web Easy, but always with furigana above to teach you how to pronounce it. The majority of the articles are also available in English, so you can read in both languages to double-check your understanding (change language using the drop down bar at the top). However, the translations are not always word for word. This is the best option for intermediate students.
NHK News Web Easy
Every day, read NHK’s top news stories in simple Japanese. The website includes furigana (pronunciation guides) for the kanji as well as a great Japanese-to-Japanese dictionary with explanations that appear when you hover over a word. Many stories have videos as well. Intermediate students who know hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji should take this course.
1000 Most Common Japanese Words. Start learning Japanese by learning the 1000 most common Japanese words if you want to get the most bang for your buck at learnjapanesedaily.com. A list of those words can be found there.
Listening
JapanesePod101 is a cutting-edge learning platform that includes audio and video lessons. The free account allows you to view the ten most recent lessons.
YouTube
Listening to Japanese music is an excellent way to learn the language. J-Pop Fantasia, Eric Rhodes & Eric Rhodes II, muzik trafik, The Soul of Wind are a few learners could look into.
YouTube channels for learning Japanese.
YouTube has more than enough content to keep you entertained for the rest of your life! Whether you enjoy Japanese dramas or documentaries, want to learn some simple phrases for beginners, or want to learn some naughty Japanese slang, someone will be teaching it for free on YouTube.
Learners can see through, President Hajime – 4.89 million subscribers, HikakinTV – 3.85 million subscribers, Yuka Kinoshita – 2.79 million subscribers, YG Entertainment – 2.75 million subscribers, HikakinGames – 2.66 million subscribers, SeikinTV – 2.16 million subscribers, Fischer’s – 2.13 million subscribers to learn Japanese.
Easy Languages is a YouTube channel where you can learn Japanese by listening to real-life street interviews. The interview questions are lighthearted, such as “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” or “What were your childhood dreams, and did they come true?”
Writing, Speaking and resources for reference
Writing
Hiragana Quiz is a simple, no-frills quiz that’s easy to use. The quiz works by showing you a character. Then, you simply type in the equivalent pronunciation in rōmaji and click “correct me.”
Dr. Lingua’s “Drag and Drop” is an interactive Japanese site that helps you practice hiragana in the form of a game where you must drag hiragana characters onto their romaji pronunciations. A timer runs while you play. Despite the fact that this can create a high-pressure situation, you can use the timer to practise faster recognition.
Speaking
Conversation Exchange is an excellent resource for connecting with language exchange partners from all over the world. It has a sizable community of Japanese speakers who are eager to converse with you! People to chat with online can be found using Skype, Google Hangouts, Line, Facetime, and a variety of other platforms. You can even look for people in your area for a face-to-face meeting.
Lang-8 is a social network for language exchange that is completely free. Submit text in any language you’re learning, and a native speaker will correct it as well as leave helpful comments and feedback.
For the sake, of reference, lookup
About.com kanjiland is a website dedicated to teaching people how to speak Japanese. With “Kanji Land” lessons, you will learn all of the 1006 kanji characters.A new kanji character is introduced every day. First, you will learn 80 kanji characters which are taught in grade one at Japanese school, then 160 for grade two, and it goes on to all 1006 kanji characters taught to Japanese language kids. You will find “kanji of the day” and its stroke order on the top of the page.
Google Translate is a free online translation service. Google Translate allows you to enter text in one language and have it translated into another language of your choice. Collins Free Online Translator is another option.
Tae Kim’s Japanese Grammar Guide
This is without a doubt the best website for learning Japanese grammar. It’s a comprehensive guide to Japanese grammar, ranging from absolute beginner to some very advanced phrases. The full content of the guide is available for free on the website, or you can download it as a free pdf or app.
If you’re preparing for the JLPT, bookmark this page right now because it will be a valuable resource. This website covers all of the grammar points for each JLPT level. Each grammar point has its own page with an explanation and a plethora of sample sentences. Because the sample sentences are submitted by users, there is always a wide range.
Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC
Japanese language dictionary server operated by the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group. Must be able to read kana.
Weblio
Includes Kenkyusha dictionaries
Kotobank
Search 99 dictionaries and encyclopedias at once.
SmartKanji.net
Translates words written in kanji Japanese texts via various dictionaries.
Forvo. If there is a word in your target language that you are unsure how to pronounce, simply go to the Forvo website. Forvo is the Internet’s largest pronunciation guide website, and it was named one of Time Magazine’s 50 best websites of 2013.
Jisho is a powerful Japanese-English dictionary. It lets you find words, kanji, example sentences and more quickly and easily. Enter any Japanese text or English word in the search box and Jisho will search a myriad of data for you. Here’s a few example searches to give you a taste of what Jisho can do.
Tangorin is an online Japanese-English dictionary with example sentences and many features to help you learn Japanese.
Flashcards
Anki is an excellent SRS app that will assist you in memorising vocabulary words faster than traditional memorization techniques. Quizlet is another online flashcard programme that allows you to play games while learning and take tests to track your progress.
Finally,
Japanese genetic ancestry is being questioned. Because Japanese cannot be easily proven to be a member of any language family, most scholars regard it as a language isolate. The only languages to which Japanese is related are those spoken on the Ryukyu Islands, which are located south-southwest of Japan, but the linguistic affiliation of the Ryukyuan languages is also unknown. According to some sources, the Japanese–Ryukyuan language family consists of Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages (Ethnologue, Vance 2001). It has been proposed that Japanese and Koreans are genetically related, but this has not been proven.
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