Is it just me who doesn’t like the grammar book? I bought it and it’s just effort to do. I find it so boring. For grammar I prefer to use Bunpro after reading the grammar point with Tobira, create my own sentences and getting natives to check or reading.
I didn’t buy it, but I looked at samples and it didn’t look as useful as Bunpro or the grammar exercise sheets the Tobira website has.
Though I’m bad with exercises like that in general and I too prefer creating my own sentences and posting them on HiNative or HelloTalk or something.
I might have a look at the grammar exercises online that Tobira has to see what it is like. Same with me I am also bad at exercises like that!
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Hello everyone, as this is a Tobira thread, I decided to ask a question here instead of opening a new one.
So the question is: how soon can I start reading Tobira? And, at what WaniKani level will most of the Kanji it uses be covered (at least 70-80%)?
This question was prompt by my surprise when I read the first chapter (the one about the map of Japan) and find it very easy to read and understand. It might be because it’s the first chapter and then the succeeding chapters will reveal its real level of difficulty so I’m just wondering.
Thanks for the help!
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For me, I find that the real challenge that comes with Tobira is not so much about kanji, but rather the grammar points which get more advanced as the book goes. Reading materials also get more complex in terms of content. There’s one chapter about Japanese politics, which is a little harder to grasp than, say, the chapter about insant ramen.
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There’s one chapter about Japanese politics, which is a little harder to grasp than, say, the chapter about insant (sic) ramen.
So it’s about specific vocab/jargon? In your opinion, at what JLPT level can you start Tobira? For reference, I’ve breezed through watanoc’s N5 articles and is currently on N4.
Yeah, vocabulary does get more advanced as well, but learning/knowing kanji from WK will definitely help you speed things along. As for JLPT level, I started Tobira right after I finished Genki II, so I guess that’s around the begining of N3.
By the way, there are also vocabulary and kanji lists in the book itself, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that part. And if you happen to come across a word that isn’t in those lists and that you feel like you need to know, it’s not hard to look it up
The more important thing will be grammar since the book doesn’t explain beginner grammar and it might be harder / more frustrating to look that up. I had finished the N5 and N4 grammar points on BunPro before Tobira and I didn’t have any problems with getting into the book
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Ok, however I’ve dropped Genki II on Chapter 19 for various issues with the Genki way of teaching and then finished Tae Kims and is currently reinforcing it with Anki. I guess I just have to wing it to see…
Thanks! I now have an idea on when to start Tobira, and it’ll be soon. 
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I started Tobira with one teacher while I was still finishing the last couple of chapters of Genki with another, so it’s fine to overlap a little. Don’t worry about kanji. At level 12, you have a decent base to start Tobira, and you can learn the vocab for each chapter using the Anki decks from the Tobira site.
Got the tobira main book and grammar exercise book for christmas and just flipping through I am so intimidated 
this is nothing like Genki. I am not done with Genki 2 though so maybe by then I will have a game plan
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Yes, one day we have to remove the training wheels of the bike…
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Idk if you would call it training wheels more like a different teaching style
I am doing it with an iTalki teacher who also asks me deeper questions on the texts. It is challenging after Genki, but I didn’t have that much of an issue. There are some people who advise on some books in between, but honestly, you don’t need that.
It is certainly way more interesting than Genki
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