As the tittle says, I would like to know where ya’ll advise to go after WK. What I mean by “After WaniKani” is not after reaching level 60 and burning everything, but rather after reaching level 30 or so. Where do you knowledgeable peeps believe is the best place to start learning Japanese Grammar. I was actually studying grammar, but I stopped temporarily, since I would study for two hours, where 1.20 hours would be spent searching for kanji and vocab and the remaining 0.40 in grammar. I know how to use the は、が、の、と、から、particles, and that’s it. So how or where should I start once I feel like I have enough kanji/vocab knowledge as to not get stuck while studying. (Please mentions free resources first, but ofc also throw the paid ones in there )
PD: Sorry about the long post, but I just wanted you guys to understand exactly what I am looking for.
Genki I & II (paid)
→ getting the accompanying workbooks are good too to practice and help reinforce what you learn
BunPro (subscription-based)
→ SRS grammar site broken down by JLPT level, 1 month free trial available if you want to check it out, good for reinforcing grammar points
Also, for good beginner reading practice, I recommend NHK Easy News (free, beginner friendly) and Satori Reader (subscription-based, free trial available and the first couple articles in each series are free to read, beginner-intermediate friendly)
Learning grammar has been a long, slow process for me. I have a hard time learning out of a textbook, so I’ve used a combination of YouTube videos, BunPro, SatoriReader, and DuoLingo/LingoDeer to study.
For context, I have about 1.5 hours a day to dedicate to Japanese (sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less). Taking that into account, I plan on shifting off of focusing on WK around level 35 to return to splitting my time between grammar study and reading with just a little bit of WK maintenance on the side (maybe 2x 15 minute reviews a day, slowly adding new kanji and trying to maintain reviews as best I can). As I get more comfortable with basic grammar, I plan on putting more emphasis on reading. The important thing is to not overestimate your reading abilities and jump into something way above your level. Reading is freaking hard. Back when I had time to read I was taking something like 30 minutes to an hour to translate an NHK Easy article even with Genki I and WK20 under my belt. I did find myself getting faster as I kept at it, but then I got busy and I decided to prioritize WK for a little while longer. After getting comfortable with NHK Easy I’ll probably use Satori Reader for a few months or longer to transition myself to harder material like LN’s and manga.
I’m primarily interested in literacy, so I’ll probably keep up that process for awhile and will be reasonably content to just maintain my literacy/grow organically through reading a little bit each day. If (IF) I find myself with time and interest, I’ll practice watching Japanese shows with Japanese subtitles to train my ear. You can also work language production into that somewhere if you’re interested in that, but I have nobody to talk to and other hobbies to pursue so I haven’t put a lot of thought into that.
Thanks everyone for your answers. My ultimate goal is to read, write and speak japanese fluently. I will resume my grammar studies shortly then, and will keep your advice in mind for when I do. taekim’s guide is what I use, but I briefly checked the other sites mentioned by @MissMisc and will definately use BunPro and NHK News to start with. As for @reichter’s discussion, I had already seen it and actually asked you a question in there. (Thanks for bringing it up tho!)
I believe it takes you up to ~N4 and lightly touches on N3 my recommendations were more for where to start as a beginner, so once you start heading into intermediate territory, I personally recommend Tobira (I’ve been enjoying it), or if you’re interested in more JLPT-focused studying something like the Shin Kanzen Master series
There’s also the 日本語の森 channel on youtube, they have pretty awesome grammar videos across all JLPT levels, so you’re sure to find something suitable there as well ^^
I’ve start/stopped with all sort of other Grammar resource, but Misa is the one that finally clicked with me. Some of the videos can be quite long but that’s because she’s thorough and drills the grammar structures constantly. Misa also adds in some cultural context for the ‘why’, and includes additional rules that you won’t find in your textbooks.
Exactly Reviewing doesn’t hurt. And if one does 1 video a day, your progress with grammar will still be above the average Japanese learner. I can’t wait to see how much content she’ll have in 6 months, 1 year…
In my experience, it doesn’t matter one bit what you use - just make sure you do whatever it is from start to finish. All normal grammar books are systematical and build on previously taught content, so you’ll get there.
You will not get anywhere though if you’re restless and always on the hunt for a better source.
I recently became a Patron to help support the channel. The supplementary material you get through that is really good as well. Lessons spoken in Japanese which cover some topics which I’ve yet to see in her public English videos, some multiple choice quizzes on the grammar learnt up to certain points, general chit chat in Japanese. Really good.
I loved NHK easy when I was using it the first time, and will likely start using it again, the TangoRisto app for iPhone acts as an assistant of sorts for NHK, and allows you to sort recent articles with the “easiest” at the top.
Also, I liked reading Japanese the Manga way, it wasn’t set up as a course, but more like an encyclopedia where the more basic stuff comes first, but it has a lot of grammar points with good explanations, and is ordered by complexity. So for my own personal use, I will probably do BunPro and the like, and read easy stuff for a while, then go back to Japanese the Manga Way to fill the gaps.
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my recommendations were more for where to start as a beginner, so once you start heading into intermediate territory, I personally recommend Tobira (I’ve been enjoying it), or if you’re interested in more JLPT-focused studying something like the Shin Kanzen Master series