Where to start in Grammar?

Does anyone have any tips on learning grammar? I’m just starting out in that aspect and I’m not sure where to start. → In Advance thank you for the Tips.

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Welcome!

Start with Bunpro + DOJG + Japanese Ammo with Misa (Youtube).

For drilling conjugation (which you will need to do soon), use the Japanese Conjugation City app (mobile) or Don’s Conjugation Drill.

For generial practice, use Lingodeer in your spare time.

These will keep you plenty busy.


Alternatively, you could do it the Refold way and barely learn any grammar before you jump into immersion. This is likely to be more fun.


Alternatively 2, there is a JALUP purchase group for those of us looking to acquire JALUP (specifically for grammar in the beginner deck) at a discount. You’re welcome to join.


Some will suggest using a textbook. I detest most textbooks for Japanese self-learning, so I cannot provide objective advice.



PS. It is generally not a bad idea to lend some credence to my opinions on resources as I tend to try virtually all of them.

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I personally used Bunpro, but which resource you use is largely inconsequential as long as you pick one (or more) that works for you.

More importantly, no matter what resource you use, practice. Read stuff, write some sentences, actually put the grammar you learn into use. Grammar needs context, otherwise it’s not gonna click, and it’s definitely not gonna stick.

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small addition! Personally I prefer this drill website, which I think looks much nicer and seems more flexible to boot.

I’d second using BunPro though, it’s really been a life-changer in terms of Japanese study for me.

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I’m seconding the recommendation for Japanese Ammo with Misa. It’s a great place to start, at the very least. I don’t use Bunpro or any other grammar programs, so I can’t speak to those.

If you’re someone who works well with textbooks, Tofugu has a list of beginner textbook recommendations comparing pros and cons of a bunch of them. I’ve been using Minna no Nihongo for seven months now, and I’ve gotten a lot out of it. I really like how much reading practice it gives me. It feels like learning through immersion, except on easy mode, haha.

If you’re interested in trying to learn through immersion, there’s the absolute beginners book club on this forum, which is a pretty handy resource! WK users will put together a vocab list for each chapter, which makes reading easier, and you can ask grammar questions in the chapter thread, and more experienced users will answer them.

Personally, I’m not someone who can learn entirely through immersion. I’m reading 大海原と大海原 along with the book club right now, and I would be pretty overwhelmed if I had tried to read it without 10 chapters of textbook study under my belt. There’s still a lot of grammar I don’t know, but it’s way easier to decipher sentences if you know at least a little grammar.

But others on this forum have had great success learning primarily or exclusively through immersion, without dedicated grammar study outside of that. You kind of just have to get a feel for your own learning style, and see what appeals to you.

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Hard agree on this. If you’re someone who’s good at making connections and wants to try immersion, I recommend learning the basics and then diving off the deep end from there. I’m slowly implementing that into my life right now and even though it’s not to the degree I want it to be right now (school be hard yo) I’m having an absolute blast. I still think doing some grammar study between immersion “sessions” so to speak is necessary, though, no matter what method of immersion you use.

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Thanks for the new resource! The interface is more alluring than the Doncr one (on mobile at least).

Personally I’m happy with Genki. It’s not for everyone, but it has served me well so far.

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Same for me !
I’m currently going through Genki 1 and the Practice Exercises and the Workbook helps me a lot to remember the grammar points from the lessons. I feel like it’s self sufficient for now.
My aim at the moment is WK for vocab and Kanjis and Genki 1 for vocab and grammar. Then i’ll start trying to read some begginers books to be more immersed. (I already “recognize” a lot of structures thanks to anime, which i’ve been watching for more than 15years…)

I really like Japanese From Zero. I use the books and YouTube playlist.

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Yeah i’ve watched very good feedback about this books series on Youtube!
I’ll try to have a look on them if possible in some japanese library nearby. The Genki 1 textbook and workbook already cost like 90euros. :exploding_head:

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I began using the ASAO language school about 6 months ago. They have trainee teachers at (at least, IMO) a very reasonable price. I had first looked into lessons locally in my area, and they were 3-5x the price.

I meet for one hour per week over video chat with a teacher in Tokyo, and it’s done wonders for conversational grammar … things that are difficult to learn solely from a textbook or WaniKani.

PS - this isn’t like a paid referral or anything; I just really enjoy what they do and wanted to pass it along :slight_smile:

Bunpro is really good to practice grammar but not to learn grammar. If you are really learning grammar from the start, I suggest the two apps (Human Japanese I and II) since they will give you a crash course on the structure of the language. Later, I suggest to moving to textbooks (Genki for example) and use Bunpro as a tool to do practice grammar.

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Yes, seconded! Human Japanese is way too under-appreciated!

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Human Japanese for sure. It won’t take you super far, but it’s a great crash course.

Genki is the main textbook I use. It’s popular so there are a lot of resources online. I follow TokiniAndy on Youtube and he covers each section in detail.

And then of course you can check out the other various Youtubers out there or get a tutor on iTalki.

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