So I am already in loved with WK for learning Kanji. I started learning Kanji on my phone a bit as I am learning Hiragana right now but any real application I try or try to translate requires Kanji knowledge. So far the pace with WK is perfect(slow at first as many mention, but I like that right now).
I’ve got most Hiragana down and I have noticed that WK has actually accelerated the process of me remembering some of the ones I didn’t have down the best. But I digress.
Is anyone else learning both at once? If so what resource are you using for the Hiragana and Katakana? I would be interested if there was something as involved and expressive as WK for learning the Kana. My current list of resources below:
Living Language Japanese- Actual 3 stage course with a book dedicated to the Kana. Books, Audio CDs, and online resources. Good so far but I find myself utilizing the applications below more often.
Duolingo- Most functional I have found so far. Very kind in terms of how it adjusts you to the language.
Mondly- Throws you right under the bust. Right from the get go it skips teaching you the Kana and goes into vocab and communication. This is what inspired me to learn Kanji as it throws them at you 5 seconds in. Excels in conversations, and applicable Japanese though. I expect it to be useful in a years time more so than it is now.
Drops- The 5 minute a day app is great for me to review Kana and targeted subjects like food items.
Kanji Study- What I first used for Kanji before finding the graceful blessing that is WK. Still a great app though if I could get my phone to more easily switch to Japanese written input on the fly.
JED- An app for Japanese Radio. I listen to some news and various stations on and off to help expose me to the audio portion of Japanese. I have already noticed I can pick up some words.
On the side I play Japanese games. Huge Monster Hunter, God Eater, Toukiden fan. I use a VPN service and have a Japanese Google Play account as well as have played around with some DMM.Com stuff.
Honestly, I have no idea. I started using Duolingo and probably got 90% of my hiragana down, but I know maybe 4-10 katakana characters. It’s really frustrating that WaniKani doesn’t just slap a “level 0” with just the kana in, because the guides, while nice, don’t help me at all.
I started learning Japanese at uni with the Nakama textbook - Nakama has mnemonics for the kana, so I basically just sat down with the textbook for an afternoon and learnt the hiragana, then spent the next week cementing it good and proper with physical flash cards I’d printed off. Did the same for katakana the following week.
Just take the kana 5-10 at a time. It really shouldn’t take too long if you put your mind to it. You won’t know them well at first and you certainly won’t read them as well as you read English, but the initial goal is to get to the point where you can recognize and write the characters and “sound out” words like a kindergartner.
I used Real Kana, which is a super simple flashcard site. I studied the characters in batches of 5 until I was comfortable with them. As an added bonus, you can customize fonts, and the challenges are fun too.
I haven’t tried these but I’ve seen a few people mention using them:
Anyone used them who can comment?
I just learnt them through pictorial mnemonics and flashcards, along with practising writing them over and over again (I was young, learning a new script was cool, I wanted to write them every chance I got…).
I’ve played those games on Steam. They’re good and I’d recommend them, maybe a little overkill but in addition to the hiragana and katakana you’ll get some basic vocab in each game. They take maybe 12-ish hours each to beat so it’s not the fastest way but I was confident in my reading after completing them.
Thanks for the insight! I’m tempted to try the katakana one myself, cos it’s always been a bit of a weak point, so I might report back on my experience too after the next steam sale
I’ve used both books and the “Hiragana Battle + Katakana War” games. They are very fun to play and get you to easily remember the characters that you learn. The storylines in the game are actually pretty good also for the type of games that they are.
They are also fun to use when you get tired of just writing and reading the characters over and over. I highly recommend them to make learning Katakana and Hiragana much more enjoyable. For me they are worth the price even when not on sale.
Made physical flashcards, which makes a huge difference since writing = remembering in a way a phone screen can’t do. Then I’d take tours of Japan on google maps to try reading signs, which was amazing practice.
I first started learning with an iOS app called Tako’s Japanese; I didn’t use it for long because I started taking classes so I just dropped the app, but you can learn hiragana, katakana and basic kanji with it, it tests recognition, reading and writing. There are probably better ones but it’s not bad.
Learn how to write them—with proper stroke order and not by copying the computer font. Doing so will teach you both how to read them on the computer and how to read handwritten kana. Sorry, no offence, but please don’t be one of those people who can only write on a keyboard. That’s pretty much the same as being illiterate. Of course, like, you’re free to do whatever you want or so. I wonder how many jimmies I’ve rustled. Welp.
