6 Tips That You Need to Know If You Want to Learn Japanese by Yourself

Sometimes finding a Japanese language tutor may be quite a challenge for some of us, especially if we live in smaller cities or countries where the exposure toward Japanese influence is minimal. If you can’t find a Japanese language tutor nearby, there is no reason to give up on learning Japanese. In this post I will share some tips to help you learn Japanese by yourself.

1. Find a Japanese Learning Book That Suits You

The first thing you need to do to start learning Japanese by yourself is getting a Japanese learning book. There are many Japanese learning books published internationally and translated to many languages. You can try to take a look into some of them and choose the book that suits your liking. One of the recommended books that I know and have read is called “Minna no Nihongo”. 

Every time somebody asks for a recommended Japanese learning book, Minna no Nihongo is most probably one of the most mentioned books out of other recommendations. The first level of the book contains everything you need to know about the basics of Japanese such as the basics of Japanese writings, basic greetings, basic Japanese grammars, and also frequently used words in daily settings. I personally highly recommend this book if you want to start learning Japanese. The book can be easily found in online shops.

2. Install Some Apps That Can Help You Learn Japanese

There are many apps that can really help you to learn Japanese much more effectively and are available in android and also IOS. To help you learn more about the Japanese alphabet and vocabulary, you can try Obenkyo which is free and really light on your phone. Another app you should try is duolingo which is one of the most entertaining ways to learn basic Japanese.

3. Follow/Subscribe Japanese Learning Pages from Social Medias

To make your Japanese language knowledge even wider, following / subscribing to Japanese learning accounts is a must. In their pages, you can get some in-depth explanations about the topics you’re planning to learn. Some of the accounts you must definitely follow/subscribe to are:

-japanesepod101 (Instagram)

-studyin.japanese (Instagram)

-koko_japanese (Instagram)

-nihongo_hongo (Instagram)

4. Don’t Forget to Always Practice

Learning a language without practice is basically like escaping from a vast desert without any vehicle, you won’t get anywhere in a language learning without doing some practice. The Japanese language is considered to be one of the most difficult languages to learn, which is the more reason you should practice. Practices that you should do frequently are practicing to write the alphabet, learning the vocabulary, listening to Japanese media, and also speaking in Japanese.

5. Read/Watch a Comic/Animation in Japanese

To make your Japanese learning more entertaining and to test what you have been learning, you can try to read/watch a Comic/Animation/Drama in Japanese. To read comics in Japanese you can try to visit bookwalker which has a lot of titles of Japanese comics in Japanese. For Japanese animation/drama you can find a lot of them on netflix which also come with Japanese subtitles to help you understand some of the words that you may not really understand.

That is all for today’s blog. I really hope you will find this blog to be really helpful for your Japanese learning.  I personally learn Japanese by myself and managed to earn the JLPT Certificate Level N2, hence I have first hand experience on learning Japanese language by myself. Thank you for reading this blog!

Sources of the Pictures:

Photo by Galen Crout on Unsplash Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash