[Short guide for learning Japanese. Mostly focuses on reading]
Since you don't live in Japan you will need to make studying a daily habit.
I recommend studying on the same time every day for "at least" 30min.
1: Hiragana and Katakana: Use children level stuff
I used these videos with a pen and paper to write the characters. (and I would also watch baby alphabet songs before going to sleep)
The Videos say learn Hira/Kana in an hour, but I only did 5 letters a day.
1.5: Duolingo [It isn't the best, but its a fun way to learn surface level Japanese]
Don't use Duolingo for too long
2: Grammar: A beginner level book is a good start (People seem to recommend Genki)
Tae Kim Grammar Guide You can also start with this
今日 IMABI Another grammar guide (if things get hard, you can use this to start over and review what you've learned)
2.5: Kanji: You can study Kanji gradually as you study grammar, or you could take some time to specifically focus on Kanji. Do it at your own pace.
Anki: (Spaced repetition Flashcard program)
Kanji Deck: Heisigs Remembering the Kanji (RTK) 6th Edition (Kanji with stories to help you remember)
Tip: Focus on memorizing the meaning while just reading the On'yomi and Kun'yomi readings of the Kanji, learn the pronunciations when you study vocab.
3: Vocabulary:
Core 2k_6k Optimized Japanese Vocabulary (Vocabulary Deck) <-Switch to this once you accumulate enough kanji
4: Manga: (Or other media)
People seem to recommend "Yotsuba" as a first manga.
My recommendation:
> Something with Furigana (small Hiragana next to the kanji)
> Something simple with day to day conversation (slice of life maybe)
> Something you like or read in english before
.
From here just continue to study and read/play Japanese stuff
Note: Don't rush into trying to read Manga. Once you're confident in your reading, or feel like you've at least reached elementary school level Japanese, than you can start reading Manga (or other media)
Helpful Stuff:
Reajer A site for reading translated JP stories with a different difficulty levels (For some reason sometimes it only opens when click it a bunch of times)
Jisho [JP -> ENG] Dictionary
Rikaichamp - Rikaikun [Firefox - Chrome extensions] for reading kanji by hovering over them (Rikaichamp seems to have been changed into "10ten Japanese Reader")
DeepL (Translator)
ejje.Weblio a site for looking up translated example sentences
Weblio A JP dictionary
dic.pixiv A dictionary for terms you won't find in a normal dictionary (like some of the stuff on pixiv)
Animelon A site for watching anime with JP and Eng subs (you can hover over words for their meaning, but it doesn't always work)
Itazuraneko A site with a LOT of resources for learning Japanese [Backup: https://djtguide.github.io/index.html]
Since you don't live in Japan you will need to make studying a daily habit.
I recommend studying on the same time every day for "at least" 30min.
1: Hiragana and Katakana: Use children level stuff
The Videos say learn Hira/Kana in an hour, but I only did 5 letters a day.
1.5: Duolingo [It isn't the best, but its a fun way to learn surface level Japanese]
Don't use Duolingo for too long
2: Grammar: A beginner level book is a good start (People seem to recommend Genki)
Tae Kim Grammar Guide You can also start with this
今日 IMABI Another grammar guide (if things get hard, you can use this to start over and review what you've learned)
2.5: Kanji: You can study Kanji gradually as you study grammar, or you could take some time to specifically focus on Kanji. Do it at your own pace.
Anki: (Spaced repetition Flashcard program)
Kanji Deck: Heisigs Remembering the Kanji (RTK) 6th Edition (Kanji with stories to help you remember)
Tip: Focus on memorizing the meaning while just reading the On'yomi and Kun'yomi readings of the Kanji, learn the pronunciations when you study vocab.
3: Vocabulary:
Core 2k_6k Optimized Japanese Vocabulary (Vocabulary Deck) <-Switch to this once you accumulate enough kanji
4: Manga: (Or other media)
People seem to recommend "Yotsuba" as a first manga.
My recommendation:
> Something with Furigana (small Hiragana next to the kanji)
> Something simple with day to day conversation (slice of life maybe)
> Something you like or read in english before
.
From here just continue to study and read/play Japanese stuff
Note: Don't rush into trying to read Manga. Once you're confident in your reading, or feel like you've at least reached elementary school level Japanese, than you can start reading Manga (or other media)
Helpful Stuff:
Reajer A site for reading translated JP stories with a different difficulty levels (For some reason sometimes it only opens when click it a bunch of times)
Jisho [JP -> ENG] Dictionary
Rikaichamp - Rikaikun [Firefox - Chrome extensions] for reading kanji by hovering over them (Rikaichamp seems to have been changed into "10ten Japanese Reader")
DeepL (Translator)
ejje.Weblio a site for looking up translated example sentences
Weblio A JP dictionary
dic.pixiv A dictionary for terms you won't find in a normal dictionary (like some of the stuff on pixiv)
Animelon A site for watching anime with JP and Eng subs (you can hover over words for their meaning, but it doesn't always work)
Itazuraneko A site with a LOT of resources for learning Japanese [Backup: https://djtguide.github.io/index.html]
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