Japanese Language Learning Resources
Hello I've been studying Japanese for the past few months and over those few months I've accumulated some very good free language learning resources that I thought I could share with Japanese language learning community. I've included Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, Podcasts, Grammar, Online Language Learning Extensions, Language learning Apps and online courses. I hope this can be a help to anyone trying to learn Japanese. I'd also like to give my respect to the content creators, for publishing such excellent sources of educational content.
KANJI, HIRAGANA & KATANKANA
Kana (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kana-hiragana-and-katakana/id1454200955)
This is a free mobile app you can use to learn hiragana and kanji very helpful, especially for beginners trying to master these two fundamental Japanese's scripts.
Kanji!(https://apps.apple.com/us/app/learn-japanese-kanji/id1078107994)
This is a Kanji learning app, its very useful it has all the kanji from N5 - N1, it is free to some extent if you want to unlock this full catalogue of kanji, I think its $7 or something, but honestly really worth it and super super helpful.
Heisig’s Kanji remembering method (https://nihongoshark.com/learn-kanji/)
Heisigs's Kanji remembering method has been hailed by many as the superior kanji learning method, both in terms of speed and memorization efficiency. The link above is to an article which goes into great detail about were to access the Anki decks (free) as well as how to use the deck and what alterations to make to your Anki interface to ensure working proficiency. Highly recommend, this is a great resource for anyone trying to learn kanji fast.
GRAMMAR/ONLINE LESSONS
MinnaNoNihongo(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFYP-J-uflugmUMnyQ8tDIg)
This is a free YouTube series that I use, it is extremely helpful for beginners with an extensive coverage of both grammar and vocabulary from N5-N3 levels. She also has a Patreon Page, where you can access the PowerPoints and Anki flashcards for $5 or so very helpful as well as affordable. However you can of course just make use of the YouTube series (which is free).
Learn Japanese with Taka (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgSWBFB7yqpvDwJYYqZV_uA)
This is another free YouTube series, he has short lessons in variety of levels, he also does read throughs of Japanese articles which is very useful for advanced learners. I believe he also does has some paid content.
Tae Kims Grammar Guide (http://guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar)
This is essentially a free textbook in which you can study all the subtle nuisances as well as both the fundamental key grammar and advanced grammar structures, very helpful, especially for those that prefer learning 'by the book' so to speak.
PODCASTS
Thinking in Japanese (https://www.patreon.com/thinking_in_japanese/posts)
I posted the link to his Patreon, however he also a extensive variety of available content on Spotify which is very helpful for beginners. He also talks about interesting topics which I find enjoyable
Tokyo Radio News (https://open.spotify.com/show/4nV9Js9C69wLikHj2rPiqa?si=9403069053864bbc)
This is a news station you can listen to on Spotify, I really like it they also play good songs!
OTHER LANGAUGE LEARNING RESOURCES
Anki (https://apps.ankiweb.net/)
Anki, a classic language learning resource utilizes SRS (Spaced Repetition Schedule), in order to maximize memorization a must have for any language learner!
Hello Talk (https://www.hellotalk.com/?lang=en)
This is definitely a must have for any language learner. This free mobile app (while it does have some paid features) helps you connect to native speakers in you target language allowing you to converse and practice your language skills as well as possibly returning the favor for another fellow language learner.
Language Reactor (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/language-reactor/hoombieeljmmljlkjmnheibnpciblicm)
This application is an extension that allows you to view both English and Japanese subtitles simultaneously, very helpful for improving listening comprehension as well as sentence mining.
Final remarks... Learning a new language especially Japanese can be an extremely daunting task, I hope this post helped at least one person out. Thanks to all the content creators and good luck with your language learning endeavors!! :)
I would like to add this youtube channel for each Genki 1/2 lesson, and Intermediate Japanese lessons: https://www.youtube.com/c/ToKiniAndy/videos
Just as a note to those who are new to language learning:
There are many links and resources in this post, however, don't fall in the trap of (a) spending too much time researching resources, and (b) using too many resources at the same time.
Ideally, 2 resources max is good for the average person.
Few and deep is better than far and shallow.
https://learnjapanese.moe/
Is a really good resource.
I second the kanji! app. I have used it to learn N4-N2 kanji. They also have an app that teaches how to read and write the kana.
This is incredibly thorough thank you! I only know a handful of phrases currently so I'm excited to start the nihongo jozu journey! Thank you so much.
https://nihongoshark.com/learn-kanji gives good advices but bad decks. You should avoid them. Heisig suggests to learn from keyword to kanji and Nihongoshark provides decks that do the opposite. Learning from keyword to kanji is harder but more efficient than Nihongoshark's way. Other than that, the website is really useful.
Bro, I discovered Kana the other day and it’s been so unbelievably helpful. I memorized all of Hiragana in like a day using it.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this post!
ありがとうございました😊
Learning Japanese with Taka has a pretty elitist Discord page. Wouldn't recommend that. But his YouTube channel is fine.