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Help With Starting

Dhill2127

後輩
14 Jul 2014
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Okay so I know this probably gets asked a million times but I'm really tired and I can barely keep my eyes open.
I want to start from scratch.
So I'll need textbooks, online resources, everything you got. I'm willing to put in years of work to obtain fluency in japanese. I just need you guys to help me by posting textbooks to buy etc, maybe even an online course if you can. Just try to be as informative and harsh as possible please. Thank you very much, and it would help if you could provide some tips :p. goodnight.
 
Genki is one of the most popular textbooks, used by many universities and self-studiers. You may be able to get it cheaper second hand.

Erin's Challenge is IMO the best of the online sources. (Free).

Sticking to one or two good sources is better than learning bits from a dozen random places on the internet. There is some real crud out there.
 
Genki is one of the most popular textbooks, used by many universities and self-studiers. You may be able to get it cheaper second hand.

Erin's Challenge is IMO the best of the online sources. (Free).

Sticking to one or two good sources is better than learning bits from a dozen random places on the internet. There is some real crud out there.

Ok thanks and once I get these resources how should I go about? Do I just grab a notebook and write down words or what

I just need to know how to start off

And is this the correct book Amazon.com: GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese (English and Japanese Edition): 9784789014403: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Yutaka Ohno: Books
 
For Genki, get the textbook (with CD if possible) and the workbook.

Then just start in on the textbook. Read the preface or any other explanatory material at the front of the book. That will explain the materials to you. Then just start from Lesson 1 and work your way through to the end.
 
Welcome to the forums, Dhill. :D

While you're reading the textbook, you might want to have some sort of dictionary handy around too. A physical one works fine, but if you aren't getting one, take a look at Denshi Jisho (Denshi Jisho - Online Japanese dictionary). There is also WWWJDIC (WWWJDIC: Word Search) if you want something a bit more comprehensive in terms of categories. If you're using an Android device, go ahead and search for Japanese dictionaries in the Google Play store; there are tons that are good and free.
 
Welcome to the forums, Dhill. :D

While you're reading the textbook, you might want to have some sort of dictionary handy around too. A physical one works fine, but if you aren't getting one, take a look at Denshi Jisho (Denshi Jisho - Online Japanese dictionary). There is also WWWJDIC (WWWJDIC: Word Search) if you want something a bit more comprehensive in terms of categories. If you're using an Android device, go ahead and search for Japanese dictionaries in the Google Play store; there are tons that are good and free.

Since you say your Japanese is too advanced for you to learn anything from a textbook (or perhaps because you've never even seen one?) you can't be expected to know this, but they contain vocabulary lists and glossaries.

Dictionaries aren't entirely essential and over-dependence on them should be avoided.
 
Mike, I don't remember ever saying that my Japanese is advanced enough that I find no use for textbooks. I'd actually kinda love a textbook right now, but I'm trying to learn as properly as possible without them since I won't be able to get one for a while.

@OP Textbooks do indeed have vocabulary lists and glossaries, but considering that you want to look a bit at web resources too, or if you randomly stumble upon a few words in 日本語 that you haven't learned yet, instead of ignoring, it might be nice to look it up in a dictionary. Helps with the learning.

But yes, as abhishek mentioned, a dictionary is not required. It's not essential either, as Mike said, and you shouldn't depend on them too much since you should try to learn words yourself, but they'll be a handy tool once in a while alongside your other resources.

Also, Denshi Jisho has other features like stroke orders, Kanji details and also example sentences for words. Those will be invaluable at some point, although I believe textbooks will provide these for words and sentences they use. But as I said, you might encounter stuff you don't see in textbooks.
 
Thank you all for the help guys it's appreciated. Once I convince my mom that I'm dedicated I'll start right away ;)
 
You can start learning kana and follow along with the website I posted earlier. It is split into lessons like a textbook and was produced by the Japan Foundation (if you've heard of the jlpt, they run it).
 
Hi guys,
I have read all your comments about book and site for learning. I am a beginner so I searched around and found some information like you said. And can any one recommend me about this one: japanesevideocast.com?
I saw they have app and games also but I don't know how good it's before I'm gonna buy it for travel words.
Thanks in advance if you can help me drop some line about them.
 
Hi guys,
I have read all your comments about book and site for learning. I am a beginner so I searched around and found some information like you said. And can any one recommend me about this one: japanesevideocast.com?
I saw they have app and games also but I don't know how good it's before I'm gonna buy it for travel words.
Thanks in advance if you can help me drop some line about them.
I watched their introduction video and it seems like an absolutely terrible idea.
 
I watched their introduction video and it seems like an absolutely terrible idea.
Thanks for your comment. What do the best site that you have ever used? I would like to have a comparasion between these sites. It will help me choose the right one for me.
Thanks& enjoy your weekend!
 
Thanks for your comment. What do the best site that you have ever used? I would like to have a comparasion between these sites. It will help me choose the right one for me.
Thanks& enjoy your weekend!
A good teacher and a book. Alternatively, a good book alone. The same books discussed in this thread are still good.
 
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