Hi! So, I decided to learn grammar with a definite lesson plan. As a result, someone gave me a copy of the book: みんなの日本語 (Minna No Nihonggo) I and II. It’s all in 日本語 but I somehow managed to find its 英語 grammatical translation notes online and even the audio files.
I was wondering if this is a good resource? A lot of people seem to use Genki. Might considering to use this one since I’ve heard that there are some topics in Minna that isn’t tackled on Genki.
We used it in school. After the first one you are able to pass n5… after the second n4 and you can use the further volumes up to n2
I learned pretty much all my grammar from Minna no Nihongo. Since you have the grammar companion, you should be fine, though I am not sure how well it explains, since I am learning with a teacher.
If you can, try to do Renshuu B native language->Japanese as well, by translating, and revisiting a couple days or a week later. I feel like that will really help you generate your own sentences using the given structures. That’s how we usually do it in class.
Renshuu C will be tough to do on your own, but it basically a fill-in-the-blanks exercise without a partner.
Don’t skip Mondai and listening. And the Fukushuu is really helpful, if a bit boring and painful, if you haven’t got the grammar down perfectly, yet. My teacher likes to call it 復讐 instead.
PS: skip the part about pitch accent for now (with the weird red lines around the kana). Though interesting, it won’t help your grammar if you try to learn that at the same time.
There are also some Minna chapter by chapter wordlists on Memrise (I know of Dutch ones, but probably also in English?)
I’m using it right now.
You have the vocabulary lists in the grammar notes, right? I have to do a lot of vocabulary preparation before I begin a chapter (I also took a long break to get farther ahead in WaniKani which helped a lot although maybe you won’t need to).
I’m going through it in my study log, if you’re interested this the post https://community.wanikani.com/t/veilchengelees-study-log/ If you have a question while you’re working on the book you can drop in and ask me and I’ll try to answer or maybe someone with better Japanese can answer.
Wait, there are 4 volumes? I only got the first 2.
I can already see that Renshuu B is important (did some chapters already). Although there are some parts where I’m not so sure whether my sentence is correct. Is there any like an answer sheet for this part? I’ve heard there’s an answer booklet for the Minna series but it only covers the Mondai and Fukushuu parts
The listening part gives me trouble. Is it really that fast?
Right now, vocabulary is doing good (maybe because I have already encountered it with WK, Memrise, and a Japanese app on iOs). But I can already see in the future that I’m gonna have to adjust my schedule to fit additional vocabulary that I haven’t encountered using the grammar notes.
Nice! Looking forward to visit your log if I run into trouble.
There’s a seperate workbook but the answers to the exercises in the textbook are at the back of the book.
The listening part is pretty fast. I used to skip it but now I’m making myself do it.
Edit: I honestly never realized until now that the answer booklet can come out. I guess your answer key has been detached from your textbook?
Really went through all the pages, I guess the answer key is detached from my textbook.
Listening is like:
Minna Narrator: “Beep sound… Mira-san wa… desu.”
Me: “Whut?”
Do the Japanese really speak that fast? I mean if that’s the case, then it’s got to be harder than what I expected. I’ve noticed that they tend to omit the “i” sound in し.
I don’t know how yours sounds since you don’t have the cd, but they speak really fast on the cd so it’s probably how the audio should sound. And yes, they tend to omit some vowel sounds. I pronounced Yoshiki’s name wrong for about a decade (if you don’t know who Yoshiki is, ignore that I said that). It just takes a little bit of getting used to.
As for speed, I think it depends on the person. You’ll find some of the voices on the audio to not be as hard as the guy that speaks the most.
みんなさん、ありがとうございます。
I guess I’m gonna stick with these series. Looking forward to learn more.
I use a Soundcloud link (some guy uploaded the audio straight from the CD). Well, I guess it really takes some time to get used to listening.
Numbers are also quite hard to decipher when listening. Im having a hard time with differentiating the “sen, hyaku, juu” part. They seem to blend as one when I hear it. I’m still processing the placement then the next number comes up immediately. Got any recommendations how to get better?
There is an answer booklet attached in the back of the book, unless it has been torn out of your copy. It covers Renshuu B as well. The booklet is ordered by section first, then chapters.
I was going to say the booklet has the scripts in it, so you can read along. I think soundcloud maybe has some toggle options for slowing down? But the CD is pretty much native speed (my teacher speaks much faster, though 
), and faster than jlpt. It is a steep learning curve, but if you can follow this, you’ll have little trouble in the real world, so to speak. As you learn more grammar, and the sentences get longer.
There is also an app with separate listening exercises, still ordered per chapter. And an option to download the script for about 2 dollars or something. A link to the android version:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.inperia.minnnanonihongosyokyuu1choukakutasuku25
App comes in very handy; although, does it have a iOS version? I’m still using an iPhone. Although I’m thinking of switching anytime soon when my contract expires with my local provider.
I’m also using みんな! It’s a good series, but doesn’t get as heavily recommended as Genki because Genki is more geared towards self-learners. The listening exercises can be a pain because they’re native-speed, but if you keep at it, it’ll pay off. Try listening to the dialogues over and over while reading them (since there is a script in the main book and not the answer booklet like the mondai questions). Shadowing the dialogues might help you as well.
I think so, though I am not sure who the developer is for that. You could try searching for InPeria, as they developed the android version.
I use it regularly for my studies. I live in Japan and its the standard textbook here for new beginners and almost all language schools here use that. I frequently use it to brush up grammar and patterns. If you finish the two books you can easily pass the JLPT N4. I did that when I started and now I preparing for N2.
The Japan foundation is pushing their Marugoto textbook now…Minna no nihongo might get replaced ? (marugoto got more pictures/more modern feel…). Minna no nihongo still good for all the tests, practice, good grammar points.
In my opinion Minna no series is very well made and covers upto intermediate level. I personally like them and the pace is also nicely set for a complete beginner. The listening CD are very well developed and covers a wide range of topics. I haven’t really read the Marugoto series but would be curious to find out more. Thanks for the info.