What to do while waiting

[Torman]

So I recently got into WaniKani and as far as I’ve experienced, it is extremely good at teaching Kanji / Vocab. I do understand why I have to wait and I can also see the merit of doing so by looking at my progress.

I’d like to spend more time learning Japanese, but don’t know what to do.
I don’t have any Japanese knowledge apart from WaniKani and watching anime (rough meanings of some common vocabulary / sentences).

Do you have any suggestions on what I could do?

I’ve considered reading simple books, but I’m unsure of whether I’d actually understand anything / learn anything from it.

I don’t think I should start learning grammar already as has been thoroughly explained in the Tofugu guide to learning Japanese.

[ObolioJ]

@Torman

I don’t think I should start learning grammar already

You can start learning grammar as soon as you want. That’s just their recommendation not some ironclad truth. If you like videos there’s ones like Japanese Ammo with Misa, or you can use references like Imabi, Maggie Sensei, etc. Or if you prefer a textbook you can always pick up something like Genki or Minna no Nihongo. There’s a whole lot of choices on the spectrum from the free to the paid.

Edit to add:

This might be a good place to start:

The Ultimate Additional Japanese Resources List!

This post is a list of Japanese resources and stands as a collaborative wiki gathered by the WaniKani Community. If there’s a resource you feel is missing from the list, please add it by clicking the edit button above. The vast majority of the resources here are free, however, the ones that aren’t are marked with a dollar sign ($) or otherwise noted. Paid resources are only included if they are highly recommended or widely used, like WaniKani. Notes: This list is an updated version of …

[seanblue]

@Torman

I don’t think I should start learning grammar already as has been thoroughly explained in the Tofugu guide to learning Japanese .

I strongly recommend you start learning grammar and ignore Tofugu’s suggestion. Good grammar textbooks (instead of random sites) will teach you any kanji/words that are used in each chapter. So it’s not like you need to learn the material through WaniKani first.

@Torman

I’ve considered reading simple books, but I’m unsure of whether I’d actually understand anything / learn anything from it.

You won’t get anything out of reading books until you have at least a basic understanding of grammar.

[wojtek]

@seanblue

I strongly recommend you start learning grammar

Any suggestions here?

[seanblue]

I used Japanese From Zero. Many people use Genki, and there are other textbooks as well. My main suggestion is get something that includes exercises and make sure to do them. Practice is really important for fundamental grammar.

[wojtek]

Thanks @seanblue.

I also just found https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/beginner-japanese-textbook/

[evolutionxbox]

I recommend watching and listening to as much Japanese content as possible.

Unless we only want to read Japanese, it is a must that we get used to hearing Japanese.

[evolutionxbox]

Even though she is controversial, a little divisive, and initially off-putting, I thoroughly recommend CureDolly’s Japanese from Sratch series on YouTube.

[xyrill]

Besides the textbooks etc. already mentioned, have a look at BunPro. It’s an SRS app like WK, but for grammar points. A lot of people around here seem to use it, so you can find plenty of experience reports by putting the app name in the forum search. I have only been using it for about a month, but I find it very helpful. The only problem I have with it is that I’m not as consistent in doing my reviews over there as I am with WK.