Tae Kim’s grammar app vs. The complete dictionary set

Hi everyone! I’m very new here… been doing Japanese for almost two months now so I trust I’m committed to my new schedule lol. Right now I’m reading through Tae Kim’s app to get the basics but I’m mostly focused on building up vocab elsewhere… once I finish this branch of my learning journey, will it be worth then moving onto the “Complete Dictionary of Japanese Grammar”? Or is Tae Kim more than enough to have a grasp on most everything? People who have used both please let me know

My goals: at my current rate I’ll become decently literate, and have an ok listening comprehension by one year. Then by the end of year two I want to be able to write and speak as well as a child could haha (I’m constantly listening to podcasts and I’ll have people I can talk to nxt year)

Thanks!

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it’s still worth it to have the dictionaries of grammar, particularly the first one. as there are lots of examples for the entries and deeper dives than you’d get from most textbooks. useful for when you run into the grammar in the wild and want more nuance on how things work. just remember, it is a resource, not a course.

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Thanks! That’s what I’ve been reading, sounds like it’s a great resource. Only asking since the app is free and those books aren’t lol! (I’ve already thrown much more money on this than I intended. :melting_face:)

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The Dictionaries are definitely not necessary if you’re trying to minimise spending: you can get explanations of particular grammar points from various internet sites (bunpro is usually good, but google search will bring up others too). But they are pretty nice, especially if you like paper resources. You can see how you get along with the Tae Kim guide and other online resources, and hold off on buying something else until/unless you feel like you need more in depth or authoritative explanations.

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After reading both of these replies, I think I’ll hold off for a year or two (or when I reach the “what to do next” plateau) but still get them at some point. Right now, I recon the questions I seem to ask are guiding my learning enough as it is. Thank you both! Super helpful!

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i would however encourage something I rarely see mentioned here; Taeko Kamiya’s ‘Handbook of Japanese Verbs’ and ‘Handbook of japanese adjectives and adverbs’. as well as Naoko Chino’s ‘All About Particles’. the verb book in particular is very nice for breaking down how to conjugate various forms and exceptions with lots of examples and practice.

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If you want a single grammar reference book, you can try “A Handbook of Japanese Grammar Patterns”. It covers everything from all three of the “Dictionary of Japanese Grammar” books, just not as thoroughly. Just be careful to get the right version, because there is a Japanese edition and an English edition.

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