Kanji and Vocab Practice

A major part of learning Japanese is studying kanji. The two most well known tools for this are Anki and WaniKani. They both do the same thing: study Japanese kanji and vocabulary by using spaced repetition.

The main difference is that Anki is free, while WaniKani costs $9 a month.

Anki

Put simply, Anki lets you create flash cards. You then study those flash cards daily using a spaced repetition algorithm. It offers free cloud sync which is convenient if you use their mobile app. (The android app on the Play Store is free. The App Store version costs $25 due to developer fees.)

The real power of Anki comes from the shared decks. There are hundreds of shared decks created by the community. I use this one for studying Japanese. If you are a beginner, you can start small with this hiragana deck.

Anki has a bit of a learning curve, but most intermediate and advanced learners eventually migrate to it. It is also helpful for sentence mining with Yomitan, which you can read more about below.

WaniKani

WaniKani is the “turn key” alternative to Anki. Its a great place for beginners to start their language learning journey. You pay a monthly $9 fee (they offer a lifetime purchase for $300). Like Anki, it uses a spaced repetition system to teach kanji and vocabulary. It also uses mnemonics, teaches radicals, and includes lesson reviews. I haven’t personally used WaniKani, but they do offer a free trial.

Yomitan

Yomitan (formerly Yomichan) is a browser extension that displays readings and translations for kanji. You simple mouse over a word while holding the control or shift key and a dialog box will pop up.

You are able to connect Yomitan to Anki to create new flash cards. This allows for easy sentencing mining from online articles, manga readers, and video subtitles with extensions like asbplayer.

asbplayer

asbplayer is a browser extension that connects a subtitle file to local video files and streaming services. This enables you to study Japanese while watching popular media in Japanese, such as Anime. You can use this in conjunction with Yomitan to learn new Kanji and vocabulary. Finally, you can export new words to Anki via Yomitan. This process is called “sentence mining”.

You can download the chrome extension here.

HelloTalk

I don’t have many resources for conversation practice. One app that I had success with in the past was HelloTalk. It’s a (mostly) free app used by language learners across the globe. I used it briefly in college to practice Japanese through online messaging. I had mixed results, but I re-downloaded it recently. They have added online voice chat rooms which seem useful for spontaneous practice with strangers.

You can use filters to find other people who are more likely to chat with you. For example, you can search for native Japanese speakers who are trying to learn English. There are other useful features like sentence correcting. Other users can correct your sentences in public posts and in chat to assist you in learning Japanese.

Books

Genki

The Genki books are where most people start learning Japanese. These were the books I used in college. I still think these are a great starting point. I also recommend getting the workbooks. There are CDs included in the main textbooks for listening comprehension.

With these books, you will learn basic sentence structure, basic vocabulary, and simple phrases.

New Kanzen Master JLPT books

Many people who study Japanese aim to eventually take the JLPT test. You can use this series of books to study grammar, vocabulary, reading, kanji, and listen comprehension.

An easy motivator for learning Japanese is setting a goal of passing the JLPT tests. There are levels 1-5 with 5 being the easiest and 1 being the hardest. To motivate yourself, set a deadline for each level and have a consistent study schedule.

TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese Learning

This book is meant for intermediate learners, but I figured I should still mention it. I purchased this book recently and have been slowly reading through it. The book teaches Japanese through passages discussing popular Japanese culture and media.

After reading a couple passages, I have already found it has given me a major boost to my reading comprehension. I have also had conversations with my co-workers about topics covered in the book. For example, it was recently “Boy’s Day” in Japan, and I noticed one of my co-workers were hanging paper carp flags in the hallway. Because of the book, I had more context when discussing the topic with my co-workers.

I find the stories are more interesting than the example sentences in the New Kanzen books. I recently purchased the N3 grammar book. In the TOBIRA book, so far, each passage has included a dictionary that covers all the new words. There are also audio recordings of each passage on their website.

For reference, my current Japanese level, as of writing, is 3 years in college and 8 months of living in Japan. I have studied about 650 cards out of 2000 in my Anki deck.

Conclusion

When studying a language, the effectiveness of a given study method will vary from person to person. The most important part, is consistency. I hope that you, the reader, has found at least one of the resources listed above helpful and or informative.