Win Japanese Resources By Telling Us Your Favorites

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It’s been about a month since we launched our “Japanese Resources Page” – on it we say things like “blah-didy-blah japanese resource this that etc” but we thought it would be fun for you guys if we just put our money where our mouths are. Not all the resources on the Japanese Resources page are free (some of them are, though, and they’re awesome), so we thought we’d give you some of the paid ones using cash from our very own Scrooge McDuck gold coin swimming pools (that way you don’t have to). We have a lot of cool resources to give away, too.

How To Win (It’s Suspiciously Easy)

On our Japanese Resources page, we have “recommend” buttons. They look like this:

The cool thing about these is that they’re linked to Facebook, meaning only real people can “recommend” something. Although individual items will get fewer votes by using Facebook (I’m guessing), the idea is that each “recommendation” will have a lot more umph behind it. Real people are recommending these resources, and I think people will be pickier about what they choose. That’s awesome, I think. You can really get an idea already what’s a great resource out there, just based off this (though some newer stuff has fewer recommendations).

We’re greedy fugus over here, though, so we want to bribe you to give some recommendations on this page (if you haven’t already). Here’s how to enter the contest.

  1. Make sure you have a Facebook account (big sorries if you don’t!)
  2. Go to the Japanese Resources page on Tofugu.
  3. Recommend one or more resources by hitting the “recommend” button. Pick your favorites! The ones you’d actually recommend to someone else for their awesome-ness.
  4. Come back here and leave a comment, telling us what you recommended and why. Be sure to add your email in the email field when doing your comment, that’s how we’ll contact you if you win something.
  5. Hope for the best. There are a couple different ways you can win something (and a bunch of prizes, see below), but we’ll start giving stuff out next week.

Quick, easy, and helps out both of us, I think (especially if you win something). More importantly, it will help others to find great Japanese resources, based off of your recommendations. You’re changing people’s minds! 0_0

Prizes

Out of our own linty pockets we’re providing prizes. Some of the prizes are ours, some are others – there’s a good mix of stuff going on, here, with different ways to win them, depending on what they are.

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What: TextFugu “Forever” Subscription
How: We’ll pick one comment at random, below.

TextFugu is Tofugu’s online Japanese textbook. It’s made specifically for self-learners of Japanese (sorry classrooms, businesses, and the FBI) and tries to make sure you don’t hit any of the pitfalls of learning Japanese on your own (losing motivation, getting stuck, etc). We’ll be giving away one forever (lifetime!) subscription to one lucky (and hoopy) frood.

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What: Lifetime Subscription to MangoLanguages Japanese
How: We’ll pick one comment at random, below.

Mango Languages is a great way to learning quick, practical Japanese really quickly. If you’re one of those people who don’t want to bother with all the fancy linguistic aspects of a language and just want to learn how to ask for directions, make small talk, or order at a restaurant, Mango Languages is for you.

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What: 1 Year Subscription to Lang-8′s Premium Program
How: We’ll pick one comment at random, below.

Lang-8 is a social network that focuses on language exchange. You write journal entries in the language you’re learning (Japanese?) and then Japanese native speakers will correct your journal entries using a cool correction tool (that helps you learn from your mistakes). Normally Lang-8 is free, but there’s also a great Premium version of the site (I’m a subscriber, actually, it’s nice). We’ll be giving away a single one year subscription to one lucky winner.

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What: Forever Subscription To Gakuu
How: We’ll pick someone at random out of people who mention in their comment that they’re intermediate / advanced!

Gakuu is a site that puts out regular lessons based off of real (raw) Japanese (we’re talking signs, letters, etc… things that are real Japanese used in reality in Japan). This service is more for intermediate / advanced students of Japanese, so we’ll try to pick someone who can use Gakuu effectively (so it doesn’t go to waste!).

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What: 1 Year Subscription to ReadTheKanji
How: Recommend a kanji related resource and we’ll pick someone at random from that pool of people

ReadTheKanji is a really effective, interesting way to practice kanji. It uses vocab to show you different kanji, and based off your answers rates the individual kanji within the vocab to help you to study what you aren’t very good at. It’s a great tool for all levels! One lucky kanji-loving commenter will get a one year subscription to this service.

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What: Ultimate Nouns (1&2), Adjectives, and Verbs Vocab Packs
How: One out of five recommenders/commenters will get this prize (those are pretty good odds)!

The “Ultimate Japanese Vocab” packs are some of the first things to appear in our (somewhat) secret Tofugu Store (shh, hasn’t been announced yet). These packs give you the 200 most common verbs, the 200 most common adjectives, and the first 200 most common nouns. By learning vocab in the right order, you’re making sure that you get the most bang for your Japanese-vocab-learning-buck, meaning you get to use the Japanese you learn a lot faster. These “packs” consist of an Anki deck and a pdf+excel file with all the words, their meanings, kanji verison, kana version, and so on.

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What: Ultimate Nouns #1 Pack
How: “Recommend” something on the Japanese Resources Page then Comment. Everyone wins!

This is just the Ultimate Nouns Pack (not all four of the currently available ones). it consists of the 100 most common Japanese nouns, and is a great way to get started on your Japanese vocabulary. By learning these words you’re sure to learn the most useful words in the Japanese language. That’s pretty awesome. Everyone who does the Facebook Recommend on the Japanese Resources page and then comments here telling us your #1 recommendation on that list wins themselves a pack of Nouns (Anki deck + PDF/Excel file). Hooray for winning! Tiger Blood!

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Rules

There you have it. Odds are really good on some of these, not as good on others. There are some rules, though:

  1. You have to recommend something on the Japanese Resource Page first (that means you need a Facebook account to recommend with).
  2. We’ll only count one comment from each person, below (so don’t spam comments… we know your IP address! Be nice to others!)
  3. We’ll try to make sure one person doesn’t win more than one prize (besides the Ultimate Vocab packs, because everyone wins one of those, at least!).
  4. We’ll start giving things away a week from now. That’s August 8th. Probably won’t get everything out on that day, but expect to start hearing from us then (and the rest of that week). Make sure you put your email in correctly while leaving your comment, otherwise we won’t be able ot get ahold of you :(
  5. Comments that are particularly entertaining / well written / etc may or may not get two entries into the “random choosing pool.” Quality is king, ya’all.
  6. Also, tweeting / liking / G+ing this post may or may not also help you out. Probably won’t, but just sayin’, you know?

That’s it – get to it if you want to get to it! Let us know if you have any questions, too.

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  • http://twigwriters.com/forum Kumori Lawliet

    I recommended Kotoba because there’s nothing like a friendly little dictionary that fits in your pocket, especially when it speaks the same language that your favorite anime characters do. It’s just one of the best resources I’ve found, and I don’t know what I’d do without it. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Krista-Lee/507608697 Krista Lee

    Aniki – especially the mobile app. I practice my decks everywhere and at any opportunity, on the bus, waiting for appointments, when my friends are boring, before a movie starts, anywhere – and it’s all so handy on my iphone. Aniki keeps track of which cards you do well on and then nags at you until you have them down. It’s really helped me with vocab, verbs and kanji

    (krista_mitchell@live.com)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Krista-Lee/507608697 Krista Lee

    Aniki – especially the mobile app. I practice my decks everywhere and at any opportunity, on the bus, waiting for appointments, when my friends are boring, before a movie starts, anywhere – and it’s all so handy on my iphone. Aniki keeps track of which cards you do well on and then nags at you until you have them down. It’s really helped me with vocab, verbs and kanji

    (krista_mitchell@live.com)

  • http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

    I wish there were more comments in limerick form. This is awesome! :D

  • http://www.facebook.com/Lawnmower16 Daniel Fawson

    I couldn’t agree more with what you have to say about Skritter. It makes all the new vocabulary make sense, so you can remember it really easily, and you start to get a feel for how to read kanji, even without having seen them before, just based on the radicals. I’m sad to see how few people are using this amazing tool.

  • Richard

    I recommended Tae Kim’s, Anki, Anki for Android, RealKana (lol…I used that back in the day!), Ultimate Adjectives (The description made me really REALLY want it!), and Rikaichan (or Rikaikun in Chrome).

    Why? Well all, except Ultimate Adjectives, are free! I would love if some of my friends started learning Japanese! It would definitely make me want to study more! :D

    I would have surely recommended TextFugu, but I haven’t tried it. :( I mean, I’ve seen the free lessons, but what I’m dying to see are the members only pages. 0.0

  • Anthony Shoulta

    I definitely reccommend Lang-8, especially for anyone who’s self-studying. It’s easy to misunderstand a lot of resources if you don’t have an experienced teacher, and practicing your grammar and vocab in a supportive environment full of native speakers is a great way to hone your Japanese skills.

  • http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

    Wellll we can probably bend the rules for you if you write some recommendations for us here in the comments :)

  • http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

    Between this comment and your internship application, I can tell that you are quite the poet :p

  • Thompson

    The Japanese particle cheat sheet is simply awesome, figuring out your ‘ga’s from your ‘wa’s is vital!

  • Thompson

    The Japanese particle cheat sheet is simply awesome, figuring out your ‘ga’s from your ‘wa’s is vital!

  • RsKari

    Actually my favorite source to learning Japanese is watching Japanese drama and movies! But since that’s not on the list…. 
    I recommend Lang-8 since it’s such a great idea to just write and be corrected to find out what  kind of mistakes you usually make. Since getting at the beginning of intermediate level I prefer trying to figure out the meaning of words by context but when that’s impossible I have kotoba, denshi jisho and rikaichan to help me! 

  • RsKari

    Actually my favorite source to learning Japanese is watching Japanese drama and movies! But since that’s not on the list…. 
    I recommend Lang-8 since it’s such a great idea to just write and be corrected to find out what  kind of mistakes you usually make. Since getting at the beginning of intermediate level I prefer trying to figure out the meaning of words by context but when that’s impossible I have kotoba, denshi jisho and rikaichan to help me! 

  • Ryan

    I really love Anki, Rikaichan, RTK, and lang-8.

    Anki because it’s an SRS (woot). I’d really recommend any SRS, they’re extremely useful. Learning vocab with Anki is often effortless. Combine this vocab bomb with rikaichan, and you’ve got yourself a 超強い vocab learning weapon.

    Rikaichan is amazing for unknown vocab. Don’t waste your time searching and searching through a dictionary, or even opening up a new tab to go to your favourite 英和辞書. All you have to do is hover the mouse over the word and BAM! The first time I used it my mind was bloooooown. Very useful.

    Lang-8. Great because native speakers correct you and you can correct learners of your language!

    Finally, Remembering the Kanji. Using Mneumonics and the order the Kanji are presented to you just make so much sense.  It’s the fastest I’ve ever learnt Kanji. Now, going through RTK old school is fine and dandy, but it can get quite a bit tedious creating a novel for each character. I really recommend the Lazy Kanji Kendo Mod. (link: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/the-lazy-kanji-kendo-mod ) It’s much more entertaining. But really, do whatever you want, RTK is awesome either way. Just don’t forget to use it with an SRS. Paper flashcards just don’t cut it nowadays.

    以上！

    (Although if I could, I’d recommend youtube. Lots of listening practice.)

  • ChibiKawaii1

    I recommend Anki because it is an amazing resource for learning Japanese.   Anki uses repetition for learned a new things so, you can practice what you don’t know more then words you already know.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mary-Sue/100002707573096 Mary Sue

    I recommend using  Rikaichan, I am at an intermediate level and I use it daily to help me read blogs. It allows me to highlight words so I can read them instantly it also gives me definitions of the words to help me, so I can build my vocabulary.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1576105710 Christine Cooney

    Sorry for my late submission. I’ve been suffering from a nasty head cold. They are not any easier to deal with in the summer. :(

    Note: I’m a beginner at Japanese. I took a year in college and that was over 10 yrs ago.
    Email: christine(at)cakuni(dot)com

    Recommendations:

    •    TextFugu
    First off you get to see some lessons for free. So you can try it out and see if it’s for you. Second it’s cheap. $20/month, $120/forever. (Which means you can put down $20 for one month and REALLY see if it’s for you or not.) Now I know for some people that isn’t cheap. However compared to other services out there, it’s a lot cheaper. I’ve have one experience with another company that wanted to charge more than I get on my two week paycheck. Umm. No.
    I believe in it so much that I got myself a membership for it. Now if life just slows down so I can USE it. :P (Just trust me when I say that I’ve had so much to deal with on my plate that I’ve been backlogged. I’m juuust getting through some of it now.)

    •    Japanese for Busy People
    I recommend this especially if you live in the state of Georgia. Why? The Japan-America Society of Georgia offers classes in Japanese and uses this textbook. See: http://jasgeorgia.org/eng/node/49 The classes are for 8 weeks and cost $200 for JASG members, $245 for non-members. However once as you enroll in their Japanese class they give you a year of membership to JASG. If you’ve missed a deadline to apply, just wait 8 weeks for the next opening.
    Also I’ve heard a lot of good things about this textbook from various sources. One negative review I read was that the book is for “serious students of the Japanese language.” If you’re reading this, that is exactly why you are here.
    Note: Comes in Romanized or a Kana version for volume I. (I’ve read II and III are in Japanese script.) There is also a workbook available as well.

    •    Read the Kanji
    Starting with your Hiragana or Katakana? Took it years ago but not sure how much you remember? This site is perfect for you. If you just know Hiragana and/or Katakana, you can use it FOR FREE!
    When you do start it, it’s good to know you ONLY have to translate the character written in red. I thought I had to translate the whole sentence when I started! If you’re using this on a smart phone or tablet and can’t find the red character, click Big-Kanji to see it.

    •    Almost recommend JapanesePod101
    Good if you want audio Japanese. Bad if you want email spam. Even after you buy a subscription, you’ll still get emails on discounts on.. subscriptions! Annoying, but that’s what email rules are for, right?

    Not on the list

    •    Kodansha’s Hiragana Workbook (ISBN10: 4-7700-3081-9 ISBN13: 978-4-7700-3081-8) & Kodansha’s Katakana Workbook (ISBN10: 4-7700-3082-7 ISBN13: 978-4-7700-3082-5)
    For the price it gives you some flashcards you can pull-out and use. Their website also has audio files that go with the books.
    Hiragana: http://www.kodansha-intl.com/9784770030818-audio/
    Katakana: http://www.kodansha-intl.com/9784770030825-audio/
    Cons: Kodanshi International has closed, so no new books will be published by them. They do plan to keep as many of their backlist titles in print as possible. So just in case I’d get these books sooner than later.
    Other con – The audio files can only be downloaded individually.

    •    Japanese Hiragana: An Introductory Japanese Language Workbook by Jim Gleeson (ISBN-10: 0804836205 ISBN-13: 978-0804836203
    Another Hiragana workbook?!? Yes another one. Why? Lots of practice blocks at the back of the book. Also it teaches you the Japanese version of English sounds, like a ticking clock or “glug, glug.” I think it’s cool to learn these things as you learn Hiragana.
    He’s written a katakana book too, but I don’t own it so I can’t say how it is.

    •    Hir@gana Times (aka Hiragana Times)
    You can buy this magazine from jbox.com. Just try one issue if you’re not sure if it’s for you. Articles are written in English and in Japanese. Any kanji has furigana above it to help you read it. It’s good for helping you to read both Hiragana and Katakana. One of the best ways to help you learn the kana is to read them. (The other is to write them, which I addressed in my above entries.) A few articles will actually break down each word in romaji, Japanese script, and English if you’re really a beginner, like me. :)

    Hope this helps you in your journey to learn Japanese!

    -Christine

  • Erin Franzen

    Genki is and has always been my favorite.  What’s really sweet about them is that volumes 1 & 2 follow the JLPT curricula to the kana.  Of course Anki anything also gets my recommendation, especially with its vast library of downloadable packs to save me the time of making my own cards.  Finally, jisho.org has always been my absolute go-to for my jisho-related needs.  One thing I really want from online dictionaries is “handwriting input”, like the java-based interface for my favorite Chinese dictionary http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php .  Also, I am super pumped to G+ the crap out of this.  The world needs more G+.  Of the few friends I have on there, they include all of my Nihongo benkyoushiteiru tomodachitachi.  

  • Erin Franzen

    Genki is and has always been my favorite.  What’s really sweet about them is that volumes 1 & 2 follow the JLPT curricula to the kana.  Of course Anki anything also gets my recommendation, especially with its vast library of downloadable packs to save me the time of making my own cards.  Finally, jisho.org has always been my absolute go-to for my jisho-related needs.  One thing I really want from online dictionaries is “handwriting input”, like the java-based interface for my favorite Chinese dictionary http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php .  Also, I am super pumped to G+ the crap out of this.  The world needs more G+.  Of the few friends I have on there, they include all of my Nihongo benkyoushiteiru tomodachitachi.  

  • Ma Riah

    I recommend…

    Remembering the Kanji by James W.Heisig, it was the first kanji book that I read and it has an interesting way of helping me to remember the kanji. I’m terrible with flash cards because I go in “no brain mode” and just know it when I see it on the card and not anywhere else! But this books help me go “okay, that has three lines, it doesn’t look like an eye but it does mean eye! Oh my god! I remember!”

    Rikaichan is my best friend. It’s the best way for me to learn strange and crazy looking kanji. It helps me read Hideo Kojima tweets (he posts like 50 times a day). I use Rikaichan everyday, simply the best and coolest way to read Japanese text. 

    And lastly, Nihongo Up, mainly because that game is SO ADDICTING. I’ve been teaching my boyfriend hiragana. After I showed him the basics, I let him play the game a bit even though I wasn’t expecting too much from him. And he learned new kana characters. I was so proud. :,) It’s also a nice way to freshen up my kanji and katakana. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/matthew.r.egbert Matthew R Egbert

    I recommended Textfugu, Anki, Lang-8 and NihonStock’s Ultimate Japanese Cheat Sheet.  

    I had been toying with learning Japanese for a while.  When I decided to get serious I thought for sure I was going to have to shell out a bunch of money and/or go to school.  I found Textfugu while searching and decided to give their free lessons a try.  I was impressed with how fun Textfugu made learning Japanese.  And when things are fun things get easier.   And  just over $100 seemed like a great price for me so I decided to do it.  At the time Textfugu was doing a promotion where they giving %110 of their proceeds to Japanese quake relief.  So win, win for me, donate and get Textfugu.   I am extremely pleased I did.  Fun, down to earth and comprehensive; what more could you ask for?  The 30-30, 90/10 concepts, (if you don’t know what these are you should) have even helped me out in other things I do.  Anki is a no brainer.  You need flash cards to learn a language and Anki is the best flash card program;  customization and all the free decks make it awesome.  Lang-8 is great for practicing Japanese since I am learning alone and don’t have others to practice with.  Lang-8 is also win/win due to the fact that not only are you getting help, but you can help others by correcting others in your language.  The NihonStock’s Ultimate Japanese Cheat Sheet is another no brainer.  Free and tightly packed with tons of great info.   Hope this helps some people! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527595333 Jorge Govela

    I know you said that there are more resources to come, but one of my all time favorites (which I hope makes it on those “more” ) is iknow.jp, formerly smart.fm (and no longer free ). It’s still at a quite reasonable price and when used correctly, the amount of vocabulary you can learn is just amazing! At least from what I used it, it’s really only useful for vocabulary though, not as much grammar, but I like the way that for me it helped close the gap between beginner and intermediate, and then slowly to advanced.   
    You’re doing a really great job by creating these lists of resources Koichi, for all of us who have no choice but self-study (no japanese lessons anywhere where I live) , I think they will truly 役立つ!
    Thanks and keep up the good work! 

  • http://squiggleydot.blogspot.com kelsey

    I recommended a handful, so I’ll break them down.

    1. Japanese the Manga Way – I bought this when I was a complete beginner and didn’t actually start using it until I started my 3rd year of classes.  It’s great if you’ve already started learning the language and gives many good examples/explanations for the grammar points.  I always boast about how this book taught me how to quote things (using って・と言いました/思いました）. I love reading this for new grammar points because it explains everything so well!

    2.  lang-8.com – I LOVE Lang-8.  I first checked it out when Koichi mentioned it in a video/post and I signed up right away.  I only started using it recently, though, but I love it a lot!  Native speakers will correct your mistakes and give suggestions or just comment on the things you post about.  I’ve made a few friends on there & we correct each others entries.  It’s a positive learning place.  I can’t recommend this one enough.

    3.  Anki – I can see why everyone loves this flashcard program.  I personally like that it remembers what I got correct/wrong and modifies what cards show up after that.  Flipping through paper flashcards gets really boring when you have to personally sort them into Correct – Incorrect piles.  Then you just go through the incorrect pile and…yeah, boring.

    4.  Rikaichan(MF)/Rikaikun(GC) – I feel like I’m cheating when I use this ;]  SO helpful for when I’m surfing Japanese sites and I stumble across kanji I have no idea how to read… I also used it when I received emails from my J-penpal.  Great for knowing words on-the-spot to get the gist of what’s being said.

    5.  Japanese particle cheatsheet – I wish I had one of these when I started Japanese.  This would have made learning so much easier!  Great reference for beginners and veterans alike.

    6.  DenshiJisho – My go-to online dictionary of choice.  I used to use WWWJDIC until I found DenshiJisho.  It gives good example sentences and word definitions when I need them.

    7.  Kodansha Kanji Learners Dictionary – I love the look-up method in this dictionary – breaking down a kanji has never been easier.I think it’s a fantastic kanji dictionary.  I love that it gives common compounds, stroke order, readings, etc etc.

  • http://twitter.com/SabilPerbawa Sabil Perbawa

    I recommend everything, except The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary because the recommend button did not work in my chrome.

    Why?
    You see, the thing is, I mostly use My Japanese Coach  in Nintendo DS (the upper screen is broken though) to learn Japanese and I think that any Japanese Resources are fine to use since you Just have to F******watermelon******* Do It

  • Lena

    Genki I actually now has a new edition, released only a couple months ago :) Genki II has a new edition coming out soon too :D I met the author and he’s a really cool guy :)

    I really like the list of resources, but there’s not much on there if you want to advance beyond the elementary level. Also, a lot of the textbooks are really heavily English based. I’ve been learning Japanese from textbooks written in Japanese for a while now, and I find that it’s a whole lot more effective (but I’m at the advanced level now, so maybe it’s more effective once you move past the elementary level?). If you’re looking to add more textbooks for more advanced levels, I’d be more than happy to recommend some :D

  • http://twitter.com/nour_elshami Nour El Shami

    Recommendations:

    1. Textfugu: where do I start? It’s super easy, super comfy unlike all that complicated Sh..ehh..trashy resources I had been recommended in the Introductory Japanese language course I took..most important of all,  It has everything a beginner (like me) would need to know..all in one place..that’s so awesome, man! Thank You!

    2. Anki: haven’t tried it out yet honestly but I’m definitely gonna..It will really organize stuff..I thought I would have to memorize using the old, hard way (pencil + paper..add my awful handwriting= Vomit!) but now with Anki..NO WAY! or more likely NO VOMIT!

    3. RealKana: Keep it real! Simple Basics are what every beginner/Me really needs…

    4. Textfugu’s Free Katakana & Hiragana charts!!: dude..again..thank you!

    (nour_elshami@hotmail.com)
     

  • http://www.spurked.com Peter Joseph

    Ok well, my personal favourites would have to be Genki, Anki,
    “NihonShock’s ultimate Japanese cheat sheet and the conjugation cheat
    sheet. I originally started off with Genki and I’ve loved it because it
    moves out of using romanji early on. I dragged on trying to use english
    and it did slow me down on my reading speeds, but Genki forces you into
    using hirigana.

    Now for Anki, amazing! I used to write words down on paper and made
    physical flash cards which took a long time and a lot of paper till i
    was recommended anki; the most useful tool for remembering words.

    My biggest recommendation would have to go to ‘remembering the kana’
    which i don’t think is on your list. It goest step by step on how to
    easily remember hirigana and katakana and shows how they’re all us,
    stroke order etc.

    my email: peter[at]spurked.com

  • Zalikha

    I would like to recommend  “Japanese the Manga way”. My circle of friends and my family love manga so much but they don’t really into Japanese language as much as I am. Since I’m self-studying Japanese language, at times I get lonely. Japanese the Manga Way is full of pictures so I hope people will enjoy more (especially my friends) and they won’t get bored easily. Pictures can do lots of talking and they are also one of the things that make people easy to remember stuff.

  • Sighfun

    I recommend textfugu.  Out of all the times I’ve ever tried to learn Japanese, this is the longest I’ve stayed with it.  The teaching style presented in textfugu helps me to understand, where as other textbooks have often confused me.  Also, Anki is a great tool for reviews and drilling.

  • spotkhaki

    I really like Lang-8. It’s a pretty awesome way to learn how to write in another language, while having hundreds of people possibly reading my work (which may look like crap to them)! Helping others write in the language I know is also really fun, as I get to help others AND feel better for myself!

  • http://twitter.com/liliumalbum timba

    As many other people I would recommend Anki and Lang-8 as your study resource. You can use both of them to learn not only Japanese but any other language as well. They’re useful for people at every level.

    At Lang-8 you can practice your writing skills and get some knowledge about the idioms and slang terms from its native users. You can also make friends with people all over the world and while reading their posts you can develop your culture knowledge as well.

    On the other hand, thanks to Anki you can make your own “flashcards” without expending  trees (good point for eco-lovers) and which also helps you chose  on what you should focus more right now. And though its a computer program, you can create your own staff, depending on what you actually want to learn. (Another thing, it doesn’t take up so much space of your disc’s memory!)

    There’s also this textbook called TextFugu which instead of a text written in a boring-school way use a simple-modern language, and is full of motivating pages. Although I just glanced at the free part of it, it was full of useful info and advices (as for example the short stories to help remember the meaning and reading of each kanji).

    All of them can be a great help for all of us who didn’t have Japanese in their schools.
    Cheers!

  • http://tamakun.tumblr.com Tama-kun

    I liked the following three resources:

    - Remembering the Kanji by Mr Heisig:
    I never read through the whole book and I wouldn’t say any student is obliged to. It’s all about the concept! The preface is probably the most inspiring essay you can read when starting to study kanji. I can’t believe there are still students out there learning characters stroke by stroke, but there are. With Heisig’s impulse, you just look at an unknown kanji and in an instant you know how to write it without ever looking at it again – cause you just save an information like “STANDING on a TREE, WATCHING you” and that’s all the blocks you need for PARENTS.

    - Lang 8:
    The most logical way to learn a language (if it’s not a dead one like Latin… gosh, Latin!) is by actually USING it. And Lang 8 has dozens of natives just waiting to correct your efforts – for free! Okay, I always feel kinda sad when these meanies mark half of my texts red and ask what the story was intended to be about. But that’s okay.

    - Kim Tae’s Guide:
    Thanks to the astonishing powers of the Internet, there is a grammar guide out there that’s completely free and surpasses every commercial text-book that’s trying so hard. Even in the basic chapters I learned some new stuff between the lines that conventional guides just forget to teach you. It’s reasonable to sacrifice some printer cartridges for this one. Environment will forgive you.

  • http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

    Great, thank you for all of the recommendations! btw, did you get the stickers we sent you?

  • http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

    Oh cool, I had no idea that Genki put out a new edition. How did you meet the author?

  • Anonymous

    I love anki for any language but it has some really helpful plug-ins for learning  Japanese, like Yomichan for reading Japanese text with rikaichan like dictionary and the ability to add word and phrases right to your anki deck and Audio Download for getting audio for the new words you discover

  • Anonymous

    I love anki for any language but it has some really helpful plug-ins for learning  Japanese, like Yomichan for reading Japanese text with rikaichan like dictionary and the ability to add word and phrases right to your anki deck and Audio Download for getting audio for the new words you discover

  • http://www.facebook.com/Angel.Valis Sean Douglas

    I recommended Genki I (and I recommend II as well) because it’s the textbook that I’ve been using since I started seriously learning Japanese. It has its faults, but I can’t say that I haven’t found faults in all the textbooks I’ve looked through; at the very least, Genki stops using romaji after the first 3 or so lessons, unlike some textbooks I’ve seen. 

    Rikaichan is another great resource which I was introduced to during my class, “Japanese for International Trade”. We were allowed to use it to help translate difficult words and phrases (which is pretty much all business-level Japanese), and it was a lifesaver on the exams. The only problem with it is that it’s a Firefox plugin, so if you don’t use Firefox, it’s a bit less convenient (I think there may be a Chrome version, but I think it’s not quite as complete).

    Finally, I definitely have to recommend the Kodansha (haha spelling suggestion: Kodachrome. Now I want to listen to some Paul Simon.) Learner’s Dictionary. I personally love kanji and this is a great resource to help you look up kanji that you don’t know. It gives example words and phrases, multiple readings and meanings and even lists other kanji which may be confused with it either visually or audibly. As long as you can count the number of strokes in kanji, and can learn the four basic constructions (left-right, top-bottom, enclosure and solid), it’s really easy to find what you’re looking for. There’re even several appendices (no, not appendixes, that refers to the organ that does nothing…though if I remember correctly, the dictionary uses the wrong word haha) which give you even more ways to look up words such as by readings.

  • Anonymous

    I recommended:

    1) Remembering the Kanji: I particularly like the way Heisig grouped multiple kanji together based on their primitives and revealed them in an orderly fashion. Some of the little stories that go along with each character are a little obscure, but that’s where “Reviewing the Kanji” (http://kanji.koohii.com/) comes in handy. If a character’s story doesn’t sit well in your memory, then you can use this site to find more memorable stories written by other people, or even post your own ideas to help others remember kanji.

     2) Lang-8: Not only does this let native speaker’s correct your work so you can sound like a normal, non-textbooky person, but it has other benefits too. It’s fun to correct journals   written in English by native Japanese people because it often reveals little insights about the culture and everyday life. Also, many Japanese will write Japanese translations next to the English sentences in their journals to clarify what they are trying to say, also helping you improve your Japanese. Also, like any journal, it can give you motivation to write daily (or more often than you normally would). Lang-8 packs a lot of win.

    ashleyloureiro@gmail.com

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1683981757 Josh Thorsen

    I recommend Anki. Besides the amazing card sets one can find for pretty much anything (even things that aren’t Japanese! WHAAT?) One of the biggest issues with learning Japanese is CONSISTENCY! And just knowing there’s a little program waiting to remind you a review is due can help get you on track with all those OTHER activities you use to learn. Saweet! 

    One resource that I didn’t see here – gasp! – that I’d like to shamefully promote is Voice Daily (VoiceDaily.com). I found it for ~~*FREE*~~ from Google Chrome’s appstore while looking for Japanese related things. You all use Chrome, right? Right? Anyway, Voice Daily has news radio programs from a bunch of different countries in a bunch of different languages. Although for some reason Japan Broadcasting is at the bottom of their link list. Here’s why you need to use it: 

    - Beginners (That’s me:) Passive listening to a native speaker of the language, but guess what! It’s generally slow and clear enough that you can actually process the sounds, even if you don’t know your vocab. I haven’t tried dictating in hiragana yet, but I probably could. Awesome!

    - Intermediate / Advanced Learners (that’s NOT me, yet:) This is a real live news broadcast, so aside from keeping your finger on the pulse of real things that are actually happening overseas, you’ll be hearing a large variety of different grammatical structures on a whole lot of different subjects. That’s pretty cool, huh? 

    Anyway, that’s my two cents. Now go learn something! Go! GO! ^^
    EDIT: email me at becomethefuture@gmail.com if you want to give me a prize. If you don’t, I won’t hate you. =)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1683981757 Josh Thorsen

    I recommend Anki. Besides the amazing card sets one can find for pretty much anything (even things that aren’t Japanese! WHAAT?) One of the biggest issues with learning Japanese is CONSISTENCY! And just knowing there’s a little program waiting to remind you a review is due can help get you on track with all those OTHER activities you use to learn. Saweet! 

    One resource that I didn’t see here – gasp! – that I’d like to shamefully promote is Voice Daily (VoiceDaily.com). I found it for ~~*FREE*~~ from Google Chrome’s appstore while looking for Japanese related things. You all use Chrome, right? Right? Anyway, Voice Daily has news radio programs from a bunch of different countries in a bunch of different languages. Although for some reason Japan Broadcasting is at the bottom of their link list. Here’s why you need to use it: 

    - Beginners (That’s me:) Passive listening to a native speaker of the language, but guess what! It’s generally slow and clear enough that you can actually process the sounds, even if you don’t know your vocab. I haven’t tried dictating in hiragana yet, but I probably could. Awesome!

    - Intermediate / Advanced Learners (that’s NOT me, yet:) This is a real live news broadcast, so aside from keeping your finger on the pulse of real things that are actually happening overseas, you’ll be hearing a large variety of different grammatical structures on a whole lot of different subjects. That’s pretty cool, huh? 

    Anyway, that’s my two cents. Now go learn something! Go! GO! ^^
    EDIT: email me at becomethefuture@gmail.com if you want to give me a prize. If you don’t, I won’t hate you. =)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1683981757 Josh Thorsen

    I recommend Anki. Besides the amazing card sets one can find for pretty much anything (even things that aren’t Japanese! WHAAT?) One of the biggest issues with learning Japanese is CONSISTENCY! And just knowing there’s a little program waiting to remind you a review is due can help get you on track with all those OTHER activities you use to learn. Saweet! 

    One resource that I didn’t see here – gasp! – that I’d like to shamefully promote is Voice Daily (VoiceDaily.com). I found it for ~~*FREE*~~ from Google Chrome’s appstore while looking for Japanese related things. You all use Chrome, right? Right? Anyway, Voice Daily has news radio programs from a bunch of different countries in a bunch of different languages. Although for some reason Japan Broadcasting is at the bottom of their link list. Here’s why you need to use it: 

    - Beginners (That’s me:) Passive listening to a native speaker of the language, but guess what! It’s generally slow and clear enough that you can actually process the sounds, even if you don’t know your vocab. I haven’t tried dictating in hiragana yet, but I probably could. Awesome!

    - Intermediate / Advanced Learners (that’s NOT me, yet:) This is a real live news broadcast, so aside from keeping your finger on the pulse of real things that are actually happening overseas, you’ll be hearing a large variety of different grammatical structures on a whole lot of different subjects. That’s pretty cool, huh? 

    Anyway, that’s my two cents. Now go learn something! Go! GO! ^^
    EDIT: email me at becomethefuture@gmail.com if you want to give me a prize. If you don’t, I won’t hate you. =)

  • Tina

    I recommended Skritter because I am one of those people who learn best by doing, and having to remember and write the different characters over and over again is really helpful to me.  :)  Also I love that it monitors how many characters you know how to write/read, it’s cool and motivational all at once.  I am actually using Rosetta Stone right now as my primary means of learning Japanese but the jury is still out on if I will recommend it or not, I think it is a good program but it needs to be supplemented by other thing as well.   For instance it is great about pronunciation but isn’t really so good about learning kanji which is why I ended up subscribing to skritter.  Am thinking about getting Tofugu as soon as I get paid, so maybe it will make it on my recommendations list as well, eventually!

  • http://twitter.com/SabilPerbawa Sabil Perbawa

    It ‘s either No or Not yet arrived, but thanks for all your effort in sending the stickers. :)

  • Tilly

    I recommended Genki since it’s what I’ve been using (mostly because I stole them from my brother’s room). The way they are written makes it easy for me to understand the content and master it. It’s basic. I also recommended NihongoUp since they have really nice cheatsheets.

  • Kristie:)

    Hello everyone!!!!!!!!!!! :) Here are the websites I recommend!!!!!!! The first website I recommend is…… Lang 8! I find this website very, very helpful for learning Japanese. I love this website because I can actually practice using Hiragana and Katakana. Japanese people can also check my work and make sure it is right. I also find it fun to help japanese and other people learn english too! :) The Second website I recommend is…… Real Kana I like this website because it actually quized me on my Hiragana and Katakana! I didn’t have to make flashcards or anything! I think this website is great for someone who is just starting out in Japanese.*Oh, and by the way…. A book that isn’t in the list of recommendations is Pict-O-Graphix by Michael Rowley. To people who are starting to learn Hiragana and Katakana this book is amazing. It uses mnemonics which relates the kana to a picture which helps you remember it better. It also makes it fun and easier!email: coolcat70@earthlink.net

  • Kristie:)

    Hello everyone!!!!!!!!!!! :) Here are the websites I recommend!!!!!!! The first website I recommend is…… Lang 8! I find this website very, very helpful for learning Japanese. I love this website because I can actually practice using Hiragana and Katakana. Japanese people can also check my work and make sure it is right. I also find it fun to help japanese and other people learn english too! :) The Second website I recommend is…… Real Kana I like this website because it actually quized me on my Hiragana and Katakana! I didn’t have to make flashcards or anything! I think this website is great for someone who is just starting out in Japanese.*Oh, and by the way…. A book that isn’t in the list of recommendations is Pict-O-Graphix by Michael Rowley. To people who are starting to learn Hiragana and Katakana this book is amazing. It uses mnemonics which relates the kana to a picture which helps you remember it better. It also makes it fun and easier!email: coolcat70@earthlink.net

  • hiddentwilight

    I recommend Mango (which I’ve accessed through my local library. It’s a great service especially if you don’t want to break the bank with Rosetta Stone), Japanese Pod (a great way just to keep the sounds of Japanese in my ears when I’m too busy to study) and Rikaichan (probably one of the most helpful things my computer can do). I’ve heard great things about Genki too, but I haven’t had the opportunity to personally utilize it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000106870606 Ngu Yen

    I recommended textfugu, skritter, mango languages, and read the kanji. Because, come on, all of these are well organized and simply awesome. 
    Skritter lets you get pretty much hands on, and I’m a kinesthetic learner so they really helps me memorize kanji easier. Textfugu allows to you learn in a different way that is unusual and so much easier. Basically, all these tie together to make learning japanese so much easier. And I really enjoy using them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Zerokeemu Kim McInally

    When I first looked at the article title an an picture provided I thought we were going to tell you who we liked best out of Bambi an Godzilla… I was totally gonna go Godzilla fangirl on y’all。。。

    Its nice that you are doing this and giving a prize to all who enter. The amount of replies has made my positive outlook on this competition plummet by 97% , but then I’ve more or less won with all the free stuff an awesome advice you’ve given out already ^_^.
    Iv’e recommended all the ones I’ve used, some are better than others but I’m like a sponge, I use anything an everything , I just jump from site to site devouring free resources that people are kind enough to provide, depending on what I need.
    Then go sit in the corner with my laptop, Anki, Remembering the Kanji, Japanese for Busy people an Japanese noise playing in the background. These are definitely what I use most an I’ve got the most out of and it works for me.
    I have so much to thank ANKI for,  I don’t need to say more we all know.
    Remembering the Kanji, because without it  I can’t recognise Kanji,  say I knew the word for compare…ひかく　And I saw..比較　I wouldnt be able to connect the two, but thanks to RTK I know the first Kanji means compare and I know the word compare so now I can read it!. Theres a lot of uncertainty about this book but just try it, it works for me an it might work for others.
    Japanese for Busy People, its not overly explanatory, it’s just effective, starts simply and goes at a pace I can handle, I love the fact it includes vocab at the bottom. I enjoy working with this on my own, and I can just gain a little bit more knowledge about Japanese every time I decided to work through a page :D 
    Background noise, it can be annoying but I know it helps, I put things like movies on, because I can handle it better than constant music.  I find myself repeating the dialogue I’m idly hearing….though I’m worried I’m starting to sound like Light from Death note!
    Anyway that’s all from me, thanks guys :D Good luck every one!

    (pepper_the_vampire_bunny@hotmail.com) Haha <<<

  • Nori

    I love lang-8. It helps me fine tune my skills and get comments and recommendations from native speakers! I also love to help native speakers with their English! Great place to make friends!

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