Japanese is not too difficult to learn, but it does take a lot of motivation and practice to successfully learn the language.
Studying at home is an easy option that you can do in the comfort of your own home. In this post, I’m going to highlight some great tools and self-study books for learning Japanese.
Self-Study Books
Japanese from Zero!
A great book for current students of Japanese, or absolute beginners of the language is Japanese from Zero! This innovative and integrated approach was developed by a professional Japanese interpreter and refined over the years by testing in classrooms throughout the world. Using up-to-date and easy-to-grasp grammar, readers are taught new grammar concepts, over 800 new words and expressions, and learn the hiragana writing system.
See Japanese from Zero!
Japanese for Busy People
If you don’t have a lot of time to study with a full work schedule, check out Japanese for Busy People. This series of beginner-friendly books is one of the most popular Japanese language textbooks in the world. The first of the three volumes introduces “survival Japanese” – teaching you the absolute minimum amount of Japanese needed to live in Japan. A great feature are the notes on Japanese culture which expand your understanding of Japan, its customs and people.
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Japanese Demystified
Struggling to learn Japanese with your current textbook? Maybe you need a change of approach with Japanese Demystified. This step-by-step Japanese textbook will take the mystery and menace out of learning the language and will replace them with an unintimidating approach to speaking, reading and writing. Each chapter has a clear objective with hundreds of quiz and test questions to help you learn basic grammar structures and verb tenses, pronunciation, essential vocabulary, and how to communicate with confidence.
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Genki
The highly acclaimed GENKI series of integrated resources for learning elementary Japanese focus on a well-balanced approach to learning all four language skill areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing. This is a favourite textbook of many Japanese language courses around the world, and it is easy to see why with interesting stories and illustrations. This book is perfect for anyone studying for level N5 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).
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Tools for Learning Japanese
Japanese
This application is the ultimate study companion for anyone learning Japanese on the go. The Japanese search engine has over 175,000 words and 58,000 example sentences. You can create and customize flashcard lists and practice them, learn kanji for the JLPT, learn how to write hiragana and katakana, practice your pronunciation skills, and much more.
See Japanese
StickyStudy
The perfect application for improving your kanji skills is StickyStudy which allows you to customize a learning plan that suits your way of learning Japanese. You can decide how you want to learn Japanese by studying kanji and vocabulary by level for the JLPT, or just learning kanji, hiragana and katakana the same way that Japanese children study at school.
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That's all from me. If you have any great suggestions for resources that you use to study Japanese, please feel free to leave a comment below in the comment section.
