I have mentioned several times that studying Japanese should be fun. If it’s not fun then it is going to be much harder and take you longer to learn. An ideal method would be one that makes you feel like you aren’t studying at all. Over the last few weeks I have been playing with a Japanese learning tool called NihongoUP. And I say “playing” in the literal form, because NihongoUp turns Japanese study into an addictive game.

NihongoUp is made up of 4 different games (kana, kanji, words, and grammar). In the kana game, little balloons with kana fall from the top of the screen and you have to type them before they hit the bottom of the screen. With the other three games you are given a sentence and must click the falling balloon containing the correct answer before it hits the bottom of the screen. The balloons fall faster and faster with each correct answer and slow down again after you miss one. The advantage to this method is that you will constantly be challenged to read and answer quicker each time.

The game is designed in Adobe air which means it can be played on on any Operating System. The game itself is beautifully designed and runs fast. I didn’t care much for the music, but luckily there is an option to turn it off. Rather than music, I would prefer readings of the sentences or characters. I think that would be much more helpful.

NihongoUp isn’t a full Japanese language suite and the author of the program is the first to mention this. For instance, the kana feature doesn’t tell you how to type the characters you get wrong. Kanji and words that you missed are only shown briefly. And by that time you are already working on the next word or character. Adding a review or a report showing the correct answers would be a very helpful addition.

Having said that, what it is designed to do, and what I think it accomplishes very well, is to help you study material you already know in a fun way. It gets you to focus on getting the next high score and in doing so makes you forget you are studying. Though you will definitely learn some new words and kanji along the way.

The program costs a total of $4.99. I think this is pretty cheap for the amount of study you will get out of it. There is also a trial version available.

You can find NihongoUp at the link below:

NihongoUp

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So far we have covered tools for memorizing Japanese words and phrases, learning and reading kana and kanji, and of a great dictionary. Today we are going to talk about a program I used to use quite a bit when I first started working in Tokyo, JapanesePod101.

When I first started using JapanesePod101 is was basically a podcast, and a pretty good one. It had interesting (sometimes odd) conversations in Japanese, with explanations of the meaning and culture in English. It was very helpful for both hearing spoken Japanese and learning a lot of new words. I had a long commute so it worked perfect to help fill the time and keep me learning Japanese.

Since then, JapanesePod101 has expanded into a much more complete Japanese learning suite. There is still a free podcast, but if you choose the premium membership you also get an audio dictionary, a kanji dictionary, a grammar section, video lessons, transcripts for all the lessons, and a scheduler to make sure you stay on track with your goals.

The JapanesePod101 is a great podcast for practicing your Japanese listening skills. It has gotten even better as a full Japanese learning suite. You can check it out at the link below:

JapanesePod101

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Yesterday I discussed Anki, a really great flash card program that will help you learn faster. Today we will talk about another very important companion to learning Japanese, a dictionary! This dictionary has more than just the ability to look up words, it can give you examples in sentences and help you find kanji as well.

I have used a lot of dictionaries in my Japanese studies over the years. I originally started out with a cheap one that was fine for the beginner’s class I was taking, but lacked too many words once I started reading more difficult materials. When I was a student in Japan I purchased a Denshi Jisho (electronic dictionary) that had the ability to input kanji by hand. It worked great, but unfortunately most such dictionaries are designed for Japanese people and so it didn’t contain readings for the kanji.  The Japanese dictionary for the DS had the same problem. “Kotoba” is a great free tool for the iphone, but many times the kanji input won’t bring up the right characters.

So now that I have given you a list of some of the disadvantages, let’s discuss what we really want in a good Japanese dictionary.

• Should be easy and quick to find words
• Ability to easily look up kanji (by either hand input or radicals)
• As cheap as possible (free is always good)
• Ability to see words in context
• Ability to switch back and forth from English to Japanese
• Ability to take it with you (not much help if you can’t use it when you need it)

Denshi Jisho is a dictionary that in addition to being free, also meets all of these other requirements. In fact, I have found it can actually find words that some of my other dictionaries (ones I paid for) could not. Since it is an online dictionary you do need to have internet access to use it, but since everyone seems to have cell phones this shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, Denshi Jisho even has pages designed specifically for keitai and iphone use. In addition there is also a forum you can use to ask various questions.

Take a look at the site and try it out. I think you will find it is a very easy to use Japanese dictionary. You can find the site here:

Denshi Jisho

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I hope everyone had a great weekend and got lots of Japanese study in. I had a busy weekend (looking for a new house to rent)  and so wasn’t able to post for the last few days. However, starting tomorrow, I will be writing a number of posts on some very helpful Japanese study tools and sties. We also have some new Japanese lists we are creating so stay tuned.

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One of the most popular posts on Japanese words has been the common Japanese Words list containing over 1000 Japanese words and kanji. That page has received quite a few comments asking for pronunciations in romaji (English Alphabet). While having romaji may seem to make studying easier when you first start out, learning using the English alphabet will actually hold you back. This article will cover the main reasons why you should start studying and master the Japanese Kana (hiragana and katakana) as soon as possible. As well as listing a few tools to help you learn more quickly.

Thinking in Japanese

If you want to learn Japanese as quickly as possible, then you need to immerse yourself in it. The more you are seeing and thinking in Japanese the faster you will be able to learn. If you are trying to learn using the English alphabet, then your mind is only half thinking in Japanese. You are seeing Japanese words, but your mind is trying to translate them into English. If you read using the kana (and eventually kanji) it is easier for your brain to make the change.

Once you learn to read the kana, you will realize how difficult reading Japanese in romaji really was!

More Japanese Materials

The more Japanese materials you have available to you the better. It doesn’t mean that you will use them all, but you will have a larger selection from which to choose the best ones. Once you learn the kana, you aren’t limited to only Japanese language study materials (textbooks, Japanese language books, etc). You can start trying to read Japanese magazines, mangas, websites, and subtitles on movies. This will also help you start learning the kanji, which are essential for anyone serious about Japanese.

Pronunciation

Japanese has far fewer sounds than the English language. Furthermore, each kana can only be read a single way. Not like English where vowels can have different sounds depending on the letters next to them. Once you learn the correct sound for each kana, you will be better at pronouncing Japanese words. Of course you will still need a lot of practice to learn the correct pronunciation, but getting away from romaji (which can have several) is a good move in the right direction.

Travelling/Living in Japan

It’s true that you can find a lot of English signs in the main cities in Japan now days. However, there are many places that have no English signs at all. Having the ability to read at least hiragana and kana will really help you get around. Learning the first 100 or so Kanji will be an even bigger help.

Tools for Learning the Japanese Characters

Remembering the Kana- James Heisig, Author of Remembering the Kanji has created a unique and effective method for remembering Japanese characters. Using creative stories to remember each kana and it’s reading, the book teaches you the hiragana and katakana in about 3 hours each. You can read a full review on the book here: Remembering the Kana.

Read The Kanji- Now that you have finished Remembering the Kana, it’s time to get some practice. Read the Kanji is a great site that allows you to practice using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji in sentences. It highlights the word and you type the reading. Not only is it great reading practice, it’s also great typing practice. The website keeps track of your progress and makes you review characters and words you know less, more often. I highly recommend this site.

Learn the Kana- This site has all the kana, but more importantly they also have the sounds. Very helpful if you are just getting started.

Rikaichan- Rikaichan is an amazing addon for Firefox that will give you the reading, definition, and a ton of other information of any Japanese word or character you mouse over. You can find a more detailed review on Rikaichan here: Reading Japanese Words Like A Pro With Rikaichan.

Anki- Anki is a spaced program that helps you learn quicker by showing you the right items when you need to see them. A great tool for learning Japanese and completely free.

Smart.FM- A website that uses spaced repitition to help you learn faster. There is a downloadable list for hiragana and katakana with sound.

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