We’ve all been through it. We’ve all experienced it. Studying vocabulary can be a huge drag. There are tons of different resources for vocab studying, but none of them out there are really really good. Usually, you have to input all the information yourself (which takes longer than just studying without flashcards), or you just study and forget to go back. No vocabulary resource has been so streamlined and so well put together before iKnow.co.jp, which, of course, is what we’ll be looking at in pretty good detail today.

If you’ve ever had trouble with vocabulary, iKnow will change that. If you think you’ve been doing fine all this time, you’ll soon realize that it can only get better for you.

Here’s why iKnow is so good at pile driving kanji / vocabulary into the mat (is my WWF vocab okay?). Firstly, iKnow hits vocab from all angles. Hands on learner, visual learner, auditory learner… doesn’t matter. There’s something for everyone. In fact, if you use all these angles to your advantage, you’re only solidifying and remembering recently learned vocab more efficiently and better. I don’t know how often I forget vocab I’ve just learned. iKnow prevents this as much as possible.

The Algorithm

One of the neat features you’ll experience on iKnow is “the algorithm.” Sounds like something from middle school math, but a lot more useful. iKnow keeps track of your studies. Depending on if you do good or bad, it will have you study things more (or less), and tell you when you should study again. You are actually given a schedule of sorts to help motivate you and time your learning, so you can keep that vocab from falling out of your brain. There are some other flashcard programs that maybe do half of this. iKnow is the first to go this far, and it really makes a huge difference in your learning patterns!

iKnow Flashcard System

One thing I really like about iKnow’s basic flashcard system is that it doesn’t trust you. Why should it? When you say you know something, it tests you. As you are doing better and better, the testing gets more and more difficult. It keeps track of what you get right and wrong, helps you learn the things you don’t know so well, and spits you out a better person.

It times you, then keeps track of your data so that next time it knows what to test you on next time. I didn’t study my last set of words for a little while, and when I came back today, it had me do a review. It also added a “maybe” button for me, because it knew I kinda sorta forgot them. The machine is too smart…

Dictation

If you’re more the hands on type (or want to practice listening more), dictation is one of iKnow’s shiniest points (though they are all pretty shiny). Dictation has you fill in the blanks (a voice actor reads you the sentence) which gives you a whole other way to practice your vocab lists. Don’t worry if you don’t have the Japanese keyboard settings up and running on your computer. iKnow has you type in romaji, at which point it converts everything automatically. Pretty snazzy, right?

Now, the dictation problems get more difficult as you do better and better. Eventually, you’ll be filling out the entire sentence, so be sure to stop and practice everything a few times before you try and move on. My style of learning really clicks with this way of practicing, so this one’s definitely my favorite. Not all lists have dictation available (especially if you are using a custom list), but there are plenty that do have it to make it a good experience.

Brain Speed

This style of learning doesn’t work all that great with me, but if you want a little more pizzaz, and like high pressure situations, check out Brain Speed. This takes your vocab list and pits you against time to choose the correct translation of a vocab word. The better you do, the faster it gets. As you move along, you’ll be encouraged by cheesy affirmations (nothing wrong with that). If speed is your game, check this one out. You can also compete for high scores, which adds a little edge.

Making Your Own Lists

One of the best features of iKnow is the ability to create your own custom vocab lists. iKnow makes it super easy to do this - much easier than anything I’ve seen before. All you have to do is type in the word you are searching for (can be in Japanese or English), click the plus button, and then poof! it’s added to your custom list. This could be really useful for people who are studying via a textbook (just add new vocabulary to your iKnow lists and studying will be a breeze), but really I could see anyone finding a good application for this one. There’s so much potential for this.

The best part is that you don’t need to add a bunch of your own information. All you have to do is find the word you want, click on it, and all of a sudden you have a word with examples, translation, and everything you’d ever want on a flashcard plus more. I’m never making my own flashcards again. Let’s keep those trees alive.

Cons

There isn’t anything bad about iKnow, though there are some things that could be a little stronger. iKnow tries to be a social experience, and in some ways they do a good job (i.e. sharing your custom lists with other people and building up content). Other sections just don’t feel all that useful, though I imagine there’s going to be improvements in the future. One section, which is the journal category, doesn’t really seem to have a purpose. The social aspect is definitely there, and important, but it also has a little ways to go. Don’t let that stop you from using the hell out of iKnow, though. You won’t find anything better.

Conclusion

I’m not sure what you’re waiting for, and I’m not sure why you bothered reading this far. You should be practicing your Japanese vocabulary over at iKnow right now.

Also, here’s a few lists. The first two I made for my students over at eduFire, which they use to practice their vocabulary (or, they are supposed to be using. Tsk tsk). The other three are just good lists for beginners to take a look at. If you’re more advanced, you’ll just have to deal with it (and go find lists made just for you).

Essential Japanese Verbs

Essential Japanese Adjectives

Hiragana

Katakana

Japanese Core 2000 (Step 1)

Oh, and don’t forget to log in and register before you start. You want it to keep track of your progress, right?

I’m really proud and excited to announce Tofugu’s first annual “Top 10 Online Resources for Learning Japanese for Free” list, which includes an e-book that’s available for download at the end of the article. There’s also video down there for all you people who don’t like reading things!

Have you ever wondered what was out there in the tubes of the interwebs in terms of improving your Japanese? Honestly, a whole lot of junk. Some of that junk is mediocre, but most of it is pretty junky. I’ve sifted through all that and came up with a list of the best Japanese resources on the web. Granted, everything is just my opinion, but I think this is a really well rounded list that should have something (hopefully a few things) for everyone! If you’ve been a reader on Tofugu for a while now, you’ve probably seen some of these. Still there’s a lot of new stuff here, so please, dive in, and tell me what you think!

#10: Twitter

Twitter is a micro-blogging service that lets you input up to 140 characters to tell the world (and your friends) “what you are doing right now.” Although Twitter does what it does really well, you can totally use it in a way that gives you daily / regular Japanese practice as well. Twitter is becoming increasingly popular in Japan, which means there’s a lot of Japanese users. I usually suggest to people to follow Japanese tweeters that seem interesting (so that way it’s interesting to read their tweets), and to tweet themselves in Japanese. The great thing about Twitter is that you are only allowed up to 140 characters, which means you can’t type that much. Not only does this teach you to get to the point, but it also makes it so practice can be easy, regular and not overwhelming. Twitter is a lot of fun, and a great way to practice your Japanese! Go sign up now if you haven’t already, and follow me! Username: Tofugu

http://www.twitter.com

#9: Livestation

Livestation is a program you can download off the web that allows you to watch live television from anywhere in the world (which of course includes Japanese television). It’s a slick, lightweight program that works on Windows, Mac, and even Linux, so everyone can jump in. I’ve found around 10-15 Japanese channels, including the Japanese home shopping network, and no matter how bad your time zone is in comparison to Japan, you’ll always at least be able to enjoy the commercials! If you decide to use Livestation, make sure you don’t have any more work to do, because it’s super addictive! Right now, I’m watching late night old j-dorama repeats.

http://www.livestation.com

#8: Yamasa’s Japanese Dictionary (Kanji Stroke Order)

Yamasa’s Online Japanese Dictionary is a pretty good dictionary, however, there is one thing that I really like about it, and that is (of course) it’s kanji stroke order feature. Other dictionaries do this as well, but for some reason I like Yamasa’s better. It’s just prettier than the others, and they do a really good job organizing their information as well. This website is wonderful for people who have trouble figuring out the stroke order of things, though it won’t help much with people who are already kanji pros. Check out the link below for the kanji stroke order search box.

http://www.yamasa.cc/members/ocjs/kanji…

#7: Podcasts on iTunes

Surprisingly, iTunes is a great way to find things to practice your Japanese listening (and maybe speaking too, depending on how you use it). Apple does an awesome job collecting podcasts and making it easy to download / subscribe them. Although you cannot download Japanese music without a Japanese credit card / Japanese iTunes gift certificate, you can download Japanese podcasts for free. All you need to do is switch your location to 日本, click on “podcasts,” and start navigating the menus. Menus will be in English (if you have an English version of iTunes), so it’s easy to jump around and find things. If you want more information, scroll down and download the e-book!

http://www.apple.com/itunes

#6: Rikaichan

Rikaichan is an amazing add-on for Firefox (if you don’t have Firefox right now, go get it, because this website probably looks poop-face without it). After you install it, you’ll be able to activate it, and then everything Japanese you hover your mouse over will come up with a bigger version of the kanji (if there is one), the hiragana, and then the English translation for it. This is wonderful for people who want to go read some Japanese internets quickly, and it’s much better than relying on a translator of any kind. If you’re really smart, you’ll write down the words you don’t know, and practice them later!

http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/

Watch a video of #6-10

#5: Jisho.org

Jisho.org (or, Denshi Jisho, as they call themselves), is a great online Japanese dictionary. What makes them so great, though? Now, there’s Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC, which is my favorite online Japanese dictionary. Jisho.org uses Jim Breen’s dictionary data and just makes it look lots nicer. It makes things easier to read, and is (in general) a big improvement on Jim Breen’s layout. It also has a really cool feature (that Jim Breen also has, but Jisho’s is better), that allows you to search for a kanji by radical. Not only that, but you can click on multiple radicals, and it will narrow down your kanji search based on the ones you choose. It’s so much better than using a physical kanji dictionary (it’s inconvenient when searching for a lot of kanji), and if you have a lot of kanji to look up that’s not copy and pastable, you need to check out this website.

http://www.jisho.org

#4: jGram

jGram is a database of Japanese grammar (that’s why jGram stands for “Japanese Grammar”) put together by the jGram community. So basically, normally people like you and me! Think of it like a wiki for Japanese grammar. This website is great for people studying for the JLPT, as they separate grammar by JLPT level for you, so you can study according to your level. I used this website a lot when studying for the JLPT, and it was really useful. Another thing they do is have a check system, that allows users to make sure things are reliable or not. Things that don’t have a high reliability rating are things you might want to look out for (or check yourself!). They also have a “useful phrases” section that is, surprisingly, really useful.

http://www.jgram.org

#3: iKnow!

iKnow revolutionizes how you learn vocabulary. Right now, you can use it to learn Japanese or English vocabulary, but I’m guessing the first one will be more useful to you. They have different ways for learning vocabulary, with the first being flashcards. What I like about their flashcards is that after they ask if you know a word or not, they don’t trust you (who would trust you?) and then ask you to pick it out of 5-10 multiple choice answers, further solidifying your knowledge (or discovering the lack thereof). My other favorite section is the “dictation section.” In this section, a voice actor reads out a sentence, and you have to fill in the blanks. Eventually, it gets to the point where you have to fill in the entire sentence after someone reads it to you. There are other features as well, you’ll just have to visit it to find out about it yourself!

http://www.iknow.co.jp

#2: Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese

This is as close as you’ll get to finding a free online Japanese textbook, and a good one at that. Tae Kim has done an amazing job putting together a great list of Japanese guidance. It is very thorough, reliable, and you’ll always learn something new. There are plenty of examples, plenty of “extras,” and because of these things, I always come to Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese first, even before searching for something on Google. I know that I’m always going to find what I’m looking for (and more). Plus, fans of Tae Kim helped to translate this guide into approximately 10 different languages, which makes it even more useful for more people around the world! This is Japanese Language philanthropy at its best. Go check it out!

http://www.guidetojapanese.org

Tae Kim also has a great blog, which is right here.

#1: Lang-8

Lang-8 comes in at #1 on my list because it has a great community, responsive staff, and an incredible (revolutionary) service. This is web2.0 of language learning right here. Here’s the concept behinds this website: First, you write a journal entry in the language that you’re learning (it can be any language, not just Japanese), then someone who is a native speaker of the language you are writing in will correct that entry for you. Third, you (theoretically) will help someone else learning the language you are native in. It’s an incredibly social experience, and doesn’t feel like a Facebook / Myspace clone. Lang-8 is its own beast, and feels fresh and new. The reason I really like it for language learning (there are a couple other services that do similar things) is because the Japanese population on Lang-8 is huge, which means it’s easy to find people to work with you. Lang-8 also makes it easy to find pen-pals, as well as people to Skype with (to practice your speaking, if you want). I love this website, and have only had great experiences with it. If you are learning Japanese, or any language at all, you should definitely take a look at my #1 pick!

http://www.lang-8.com

Watch a video of #1-5

Download the e-Book!

Want more information? I did a live lecture of my “Top Ten Resources for Learning Japanese” on eduFire a week ago, and put together a little e-book for those people to enjoy. I’d like to extend the ability to download it to all of you as well! It’s nothing much (after reading all of this), but it definitely has more information on each of the online Japanese resources, should you want to read more.

Top 10 Resources e-Book Download!

If you enjoyed this article / video / e-book, please send it to a friend who’s learning Japanese! I really think that this list will help people out, so the more people see it, the more these resources will help people :) Also, if more people see it, more people will suggest new things in the comments, which will help us all out! Please Digg, Stumble, and email this around! I’d really appreciate it!

Also, if you have anything you think should be on this list but isn’t, help us all out by sharing it with us in the comments. I’m sure I missed something, since there are so many resources out there, so please tell me what I missed, and I look forward to seeing how the list changes next year!

Anyways, I should explain to you what Lang-8 is all about. They do a better job explaining it than I do, so here you go:

Let me explain these three steps in more detail

1) You can write entries in the languages you are studying
So, say you are studying Japanese (which you probably are, if you’re visiting this site). On Lang-8, the most-used feature is the “diary” (yes, you get to be a 12 year old girl all over again. Sorry, no ponies on this site, though). In your diary, you can write whatever you want. I plan on using my diary this summer to fix mistakes on my Koichiben posts. Basically, you can write about whatever you want. Some people write about current news that interests them, others write about their lives, and some (like me) write crazy articles about American culture and language.

If you’re nice enough, you’ll also write everything in your native language (Japanese and then, afterwards, in English). This way, others can see what the translation is supposed to be and can help correct your Japanese with more accuracy. On top of this, it gives people that are learning English an opportunity to practice their reading more.

2) Other users (Native speakers) correct your entries
After you write an article, all you need to do is sit back and wait for your friends to correct it for you. Since you are learning Japanese, native Japanese speakers will come along and fix your mistakes, give you comments/suggestions, and tell you anything else you did wrong. Here’s an example of part of an article I put up about “the meaning of the word love in America.” Here are Miki’s corrections:

The corrections are in blue on your diary page, so you can easily see how people made changes, which in turn really helps you to learn. Users can also highlight text red, make things bold, and cross words out. More on that later.

3) You can help teach others your own language as well
You can’t just take take take, right? It’s always a good idea to help others as well. If you can speak English, then why not help a native Japanese person with their English, and practice your Japanese reading at the same time (since people usually write in both their native language and the language they are learning)? Recent diary entries from your friends will show up on your front page, so they are easy to find. Here is an example diary entry from a user than I am Lang-8 “friends” with. This person seems to have taken the “recent news” approach, and is writing about some old actress:

After reading the diary entry, I’ll scroll down a little farther and find the section that allows me to make corrections, sentence by sentence. It looks like this:

Everyone has their own way of making corrections, so you’ll have to figure out your own style at some point. Either way, Lang-8 makes it easy to make corrections and make them simple, so it’s really a pleasure to help others out (and a pleasure for others to help you).

Making Friends in Lang-8:
Unlike Mixi, making friends on Lang-8 is very easy. Everyone using the service wants to make friends, even if they don’t know you already. The more friends you have the faster and more thoroughly your diaries will be corrected. When going out and making Lang-8 friends, I would suggest that you only make friends with people whose native language is Japanese. This makes things a lot more simple.

To make friends on Lang-8, I created tabs of everyone on the “People match to your language study!” (great English, right?) section (on the left side of your profile page). I then hit the “add to my friends list button” if they were native Japanese speakers and sent them the following message. Feel free to use it if you want:

hi!
lang-8に入ったばっかりです！
お友達になりませんか？
よろしくお願いいたします

It is basically saying: “I just got into Lang-8! Will you be my friend? I’m looking forward to your reply.” It’s also very polite, so you won’t have to worry about offending anyone.

Other Lang-8 Features:
There are some other features on Lang-8 that I don’t really use, but are worth mentioning.

One of the things you can do, which is a lot like writing in your diary, is to write a review of something (movie, game, restaurant, whatever). I don’t see why you can’t just do this in your diary, though, so I’m not sure how much you’ll use this feature.

The other feature, which is slightly more useful, is the ability to join groups. There aren’t a ton of groups out there, but if you can find one that matches your interests, then maybe you’ll be able to enjoy it enough to make things worthwhile. I personally haven’t joined any groups yet, but maybe you are the groupy kind of person.

Cons:
I couldn’t find too much wrong with Lang-8, though the design of the site bothers me (maybe I’m just a very picky / visual person). It’s pretty darn fugly, though, if you ask me. Still, you shouldn’t let this bother you or stop you from using Lang-8, it’s still a great service, and content is king, right?

Another con is that you really need to have your Japanese basics down before you get started (not Lang-8’s fault, only yours, you lazy bum). It’s all about reading and writing, so if you’re unable to do those things at least on a basic level, then you need to hit the books before signing up.

Lastly, you have to make friends before you can really start to appreciating it. This usually involves a day or two of blindly asking 40-50 random people to be your friend. Luckily, the response rate is pretty fast, and the success rate is pretty high. Still, this is the internet, and nobody on the internet is patient.

Conclusion:
Yeah, Lang-8 is amazing. You should really go visit them right now, if you’re learning Japanese. Using this website to its full potential is quite possibly the best thing ever. Sometimes I feel like I learn more from Lang-8 than from real teachers, mostly thanks to the format of the corrections. Here, I’ll even provide you with a big button you can press to join Lang-8. Making things easier, one Tofugu user at a time:

Oh, and here’s a video review: