r/LearnJapaneseNovice

Hey Japanese Learners!

My name is Kenta, I'm a professional Japanese tutor originally from Osaka, Japan. I've been teaching online for 4 years and have helped hundreds of students go from zero to conversational.

I recently built my own Japanese learning platform called Japley and I want to give people the chance to experience real 1-on-1 Japanese tutoring before committing to anything. So I'm offering free trial lessons to anyone who is interested — no payment, no pressure, no strings attached.

Here is what the free lesson looks like:

• If you are a complete beginner I will teach you exactly what I teach my students in their very first lesson
• If you already know some Japanese I will teach based on your current level
• If you have specific questions about the language or want to know more about my program you are free to ask anything

Just a real lesson on Google Meet, personalized to you.

Drop a comment below or send me a DM if you are interested. I am happy to answer any questions too!

japley.com

I'm still at the beginning stages of learning Japanese, and I'm realizing that I need to start memorizing kanji before it's too late. Does anyone have any quality resources they would recommend to learn the most common ones, along with guides on how to write them?

I have been told that memorizing how to draw thousands on kanji isn't the most practical, since most Japanese people are able to just type them out on a keyboard, but know how to write a few would still be a good skill to have.

i'm interested in learning Japanese, i'm an absolute beginner.

why i want to learn? why now?

i've always had an internest in the Japanese culture, i've watched animes even when there were no subtitles (back in the 90s), never picked up the language and i was just mainly trying to make out what the scene is about, still that didn't put me off because i was interested more in the anime than anything else. same goes for TV shows and movies.

i have some favorite streamers (gaming related) that i've been following for quite a while now, but never understood what they were saying. i'm positive they share some valuable information, and if i knew what they were saying or how to ask questions, i will greatly benefit from this information.

also, i've always had in mind the trip to Japan (when all the universes align), so knowing how to hold a conversation would be a great help.

so, i downloaded couple of apps on my phone, watched couple of vids on youtube, joined Pimsluer and Japanesepod101 to try them out. i prefer audio learning as i commute to work (15-20mins each way), but don't mind videos as well. Both apps/sources are nice, but found JapanesePod cluttered and a bit overwhelming with info, but don't mind trying to figure it out.

i started learning hiragana from here and there as well (not a specific source), trying to write them as i learn them (i'm not in a hurry).

now my trial period has expired with JapanesePod101, and they've been sending me emails with 40% discount, if i get the 2yrs sub it's going to be $6 a month.

from experience of studying different subjects, there is never 1 source that's "complete", it always needs some other source that complements it.

from what i've gathered searching for reviews on JapanesePod, it's "ok", and is considered only "good enough" for absolute beginners, beginners and early intermediate level. anything past that doesn't add much (as i've gathered from the reviews).

also, i liked Pimsluer over JapanesePod, but can't justify the price no matter what.

now, since i'm an absolute beginner, i got 30-40mins commute (every day) where i can listen to audio, maybe another 20-30mins at home when i'm free, would i be able to cover what everyone suggests "upto intermediate level" within less time than 2years subscription?

my main priority is to understand the spoken language, then to read/write/speak. would the intermediate level be that stage? maybe someone who used JapanesePod can share their experience?

the offer i have in hand is, 2yrs for $144, 1yr for $108, 6 months for $72.

i don't think anything below 6 months is reasonable (not for me at least). i'm also open for suggestions if ppl recommend to use different sources to achieve my goal.

thanks

are there any words (containing kanji) in Japanese where the kana comes before the kanji at the beginning of the word?

I’m currently studying Japanese From Zero! 1 and using Anki to memorise the vocabulary from each lesson. I only move on to the next lesson once I can remember most of the words and feel comfortable with them.

The problem is that once I’ve finished my daily Anki reviews, I’m not really sure what to do next. I can’t do more reviews, but I also don’t want to move on to the next lesson too early.

I already know hiragana and katakana, so I was thinking maybe I should start learning kanji?

Hello, this is my first post here.

I write level-based everyday Japanese stories for Japanese learners.

I’m thinking about creating learning materials where learners around the N5–N3 level can enjoy natural Japanese stories while also practicing listening.

I’d like to make the stories into a series so that, as learners continue reading, they can naturally pick up vocabulary, common daily phrases, and Japanese onomatopoeia.

Do you think there is a demand for this kind of material?

Also, what kinds of learning materials helped you the most when you were a beginner?

Do people say Domo Gomenasai? Based on domo arigato, I assume it would mean something like “I’m very sorry” but in all the media I’ve consumed, I can’t say I’ve heard anyone say this.

Hello, I'd like to start learning Japanese again, but I'm completely lost.

My level is very low, and reviewing the basics would be a good idea.

I even need to review my kana, but I'm not worried about those.

First of all, you should know that my English isn't great.

Even so, I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to take advantage of Maru Mori's spring sale.

Or should I focus on Genki or Minna no Nihongo instead?

I've never been good at learning foreign languages.

Before, I made the mistake of sticking to grammar books and anki.

But in the end, I didn't use what I learned, and I didn't retain anything.

So, to sum up my questions:
Maru Mori, Genki, or Minna no Nihongo?
What else do you do besides grammar and kanji?

Thank you.Hello, I'd like to start learning Japanese again, but I'm completely lost.

My level is very low, and reviewing the basics would be a good idea.

I even need to review my kana, but I'm not worried about those.

First of all, you should know that my English isn't great.

Even so, I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to take advantage of Maru Mori's spring sale.

Or should I focus on Genki or Minna no Nihongo instead?

I've never been good at learning foreign languages.

Before, I made the mistake of sticking to grammar books and anki.

But in the end, I didn't use what I learned, and I didn't retain anything.

So, to sum up my questions:
Maru Mori, Genki, or Minna no Nihongo?
What else do you do besides grammar and kanji?

Thank you.

As someone who has English has a first language and knows a basic amount of Canadian French (and a small, bad-ish bit of Russian), I’ve been dying to learn a new language again (fully this time, similar to my knowledge of Canadian French), being Japanese. But some of the language kind of haunts me with all the things necessary to learn, which is the reason I put off learning it for so long. I know some basic Japanese stuff like: こんにちは, はい, いいえ, 何, かわいい, です, 私, あなた/君, すごい, 愛して, ありがとう, 大丈夫, ごめん, さようなら, おはよう, バカ, 神, 猫, 犬, キツネ, 狼, 友達, as well as some Japanese suffixes like san, chan, kun, sama, etc. I just love learning new stuff about other cultures, especially the beautiful languages! Japanese is one of those languages that strike me by how amazing the words are written and spoken. I am also aware of Hiragana and Katakana (I have a list saved of most Hiragana letters, nothing for Katakana), though I don’t know too much about it lol. If anyone could suggest a website or app that I can use to learn it, without it being a awful cash-grab like Duolingo (also uses AI, so another con for it), that’d be nice! I appreciate anyone willing to help :D I’m sorry if I sound annoying or anything, the idea just popped into my head just now so I thought this Reddit page was the place to go. I tried an app before (Renshuu) but it was very confusing and as a beginner it was stressful. I was hoping to start with writing/handwriting before I got to speaking it, as speaking Japanese is the thing I’d like to do last (I get nervous trying to speak other languages as I fear I’ll pronounce them wrong lmao, I had the same problem with learning Canadian French).

Yeah, it's just what the title suggests. I've tried immserive learning, but it's all just gibberish to me, because my vocabulary is insanely limited. I can maybe speak one coherent sentence, that's it. So I was wondering, what are some good free resources so I can get a better vocabulary and can start with immersive learning?

Any reply is much appreciated! :]

For a few days I thought that weather was Otenki, but looking up the spelling, the O is one of those add-ons. Apparently it's supposed to make it more polite? but pimslur never mentioned it, and ive never seen it in any of the other words I know. Is it something people actually use? Am I fine just saying "O-Tenki" every time I talk about the weather?

I've been learning japanese for no more than 2 days, and i know all of Hiragana. Basic, Dakuon, Handakuon and Yoon. it was pretty easy but now im slowly just getting a blur when i see the letters, i can still name them but it takes time and im can't read through different fonts. Is there anyway i could make my memory as sharp as i possibly can and what to go after (and what to use) after i fully learn hiragana?