Ive recently started WaniKani and while I feel like Im on a good path, I have started wondering at which point is it beneficial to start reading Japanese books or at which point will I be able to understand something? Also, how do you recommend I start? (: any help would be very appreciated
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Have you picked a textbook or website to start learning grammar from? You canāt really start reading without learning some grammar.
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Where do you recommend I start learning grammar?
I would recommend all of:
- Genki 1 and 2 (widely used beginner textbooks);
- Tae Kim (Introduction ā Learn Japanese); and
- Bunpro (an SRS for drilling grammar points).
Itās really desirable to have a strong grasp on the foundational grammar, so Iād recommend using these 3 resources in combination.
Tae Kim and Genki both cover up to N4 grammar. Once you know N5 and N4 grammar well, that might be a good point to start reading (provided youāve also progressed with Wanikani, to say around level 25 or so).
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I started reading graded readers right away. Theyāve been a nice way to solidify Kanji that I know and also to teach me new vocabulary. If you search āgraded readersā on the Learn Japanese reddit, there are some resources people have posted.
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I like this book so far. Itās a little out of reach for me (Im eight months in studying Japanese), but it has the furigana and at the very least gets me used to sounding words out.
Japanese Short Stories for Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Japanese & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way! (Easy Japanese Stories) Amazon.com
Also, be sure to read all of the sentence examples for WaniKaniās vocabulary words. Thatās how I learned some entertaining words like ābig fartā. Very important one for me personally. Lol.
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In conjunction with what everyone else has covered, Iād recommend Satori Reader. It has a lot of features I like, built-in dictionary for every word in a sentence, sometimes it has notes on nuance of a word/sentence among other features I canāt remember right now.
I am not sure how soon Iād recommend reading Satori reader, but with a solid base of grammar [N5/N4] , would probably be a good time to start.
Another site I can recommend is NHK News Web Easy, which, as the name obviously says, is a branch of NHK News that is written in simple hiragana with minimal kanji, perfect for a beginner. Grammar concepts, of course, are still present however.
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I too bought this and have read through it about a month or two ago. Iād recommend it for beginners for sure.
Also seems like a book you can go back to again after a while since you probably wonāt remember every detail of 20 different stories.
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I checked Satori Reader and it looks pretty impressive. Thank you for your recommendation!!
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No probs, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have so far!
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Thank you all for the great help <3
Something super simple, you can start even now. Check out the free Tadoku graded readers:
https://tadoku.org/japanese/en/free-books-en/
Someone even compiled it into one big PDF to download. Check it out. You still have to visit Tadoku website for audio though:
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To have a solid grammar foundation I would recommend the Genki books but if you want to have a very fast introduction to basic Japanese grammar, I suggest the Human Japanese app. It it is very important to learn grammar together with Kanji and vocabulary. It is amazing how much more I can read every time that I learn a new grammar point (I am still at Genki, chapter 19). Are you also Brazilian by any chance? Your name sound Portugueseā¦ I did not read much before reaching lvl 60 but this is because: 1) I hate stopping to look up words in the dictionary, 2) my grammar level was very basic, and 3) By level 20 onwards I had so many WK reviews that I did not had the time.
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I have found video games to be somewhat more engaging as a way to start reading practice. Video games provide context for the language that is presented and (for me) are more engaging than words on a page. They also give you a break between having to translate and giving you something else to do. In particular, Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch has been great. It seems to have been aimed to include a younger audience so it has furigana most characters speak fairly plainly (although youāll have to pick up some kansai dialect to understand shizuku/drippy). I also recommend Trials of Mana, but that doesnāt have furigana. Iāll admit that many games that are aimed at older players tend to have lots of slang and more complicated grammar and vocab that is harder to understand.
Having said that, it is SO SATISFYING to learn something on Wanikani and then see it in a video game!
Kantan Japan on YouTube has some videos that can help you get started with video game vocab. He recommends starting with Animal Crossing. I also recommend Game Gengo as a resource for grammar and vocab that youāll come across in video games.
FWIW this might be more of an intermediate resource. I minored in Japanese years ago in college, and am at level 17 in WK.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kantan+japan+video+games
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I agree. A great recommendation! Thank you.
I am Colombian (: thank you for the help!
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