Learning to read Japanese with Japanese Graded Readers

I bought a few books from the "Japanese Graded Readers" series. If you're not familiar with the series, they are books written in simple Japanese for people in the process of learning the language. The books use kanji for each word, but only use words that the reader will know. (Sometimes stories for children are written only in hiragana, but that's not helpful for an adult who needs to learn kanji) Also, every kanji has furigana. There's no English in the books at all, so you'll have to look up the words you don't know. It's good practice I think. Very realistic.

Each volume comes with five short books. Each book contains one story, or in some cases two or three very short stories. There usually is a moral to the story (appreciate what you have, don't take other people for granted, live your live to the fullest), but it's not pedantic or insulting to your intelligence. There are also some famous stories like Hachikō, or classic stories like Urashima Tarō. There are even stories that present information about daily life, like sushi or kimonos. Each volume also comes with a CD that has audio recordings of all the stories produced using a few good voice actors.

I bought volumes 1-3 from level 1, but there are 5 levels all together (levels 0-4), making 13 books total. If you're trying to figure out your level, I think level 0 is good to start just after finishing learning hiragana. Then level 1 would be like your first year in a language program, level two your second, and so on.

The only problem is that they're kind of expensive at $31 each. I got them from White Rabbit Japan, so there was also the added cost of shipping from Japan to the US. Overall, I think it's a good investment for people who's goal is not just to learn a bunch of random kanji, but who really want to learn how to read Japanese.

Easy News for Learning Japanese

The Japanese news agency, NHK, has a section dedicated to providing news articles written in an easy to understand Japanese with a number of useful features that makes learning to read Japanese even easier.

The articles on NHK News Web Easy are only a few paragraphs long, written in basic Japanese, making for a quick read. All kanji in the articles are accompanied by furigana, allowing you to read the entire article, even if you don't know the meaning of that particular character. Additionally, an audio track allows you to hear the text read aloud, connecting word and pronunciation as you go. They also provided the original televised segment, so you can get a better idea of what people in Japan are getting when they watch TV.

They don't provided an English translation (not everyone speaks English), but the pop-up dictionary, Rikaichan, will show you the meaning of each individual character (along with its spelling in hiragana) and makes a great tool to use in conjunction.

With two articles posted everyday, there's always plenty of content to practice with. If you spent half an hour reading this everyday, you'd be able to read Japanese in no time.

Technical note: If you're having difficulty viewing the furigana in Firefox, try the add-on Furigana Injector.

Using Memrise to learn Japanese

I recently came across an interesting new online learning tool called Memrise. You can use it to study a variety of languages, but I have been using it to practice Japanese. Below is a short introduction and preview to Memrise, that I created to show how I use it to study Japanese.


View on YouTube.

So far, I've created a couple lessons of my own, which I will feature here on Wired in Japan. My lessons are focused on learning how to read Japanese in context, where Memrise helps to review vocabulary items and create visual connections between form and meaning.

You can find me on Memrise, here. I have a few lessons available, so sign up and give Memrise a try.

Plant those seeds!

Wired Kana: Lesson 1

Wired Kana is a series of lessons that will cover the basic Japanese alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana. Wired Kana: Lesson 1 starts with the 5 basic Japanese vowels; あ, い, う, え, お. These characters are the foundation for every other character in the series and vital for learning how to pronounce Japanese words.

To begin learning the Japanese characters, start by watching this instructional video.

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Below is an example of each character, audio of its pronunciation, and a helpful way to remember it. Additionally, there's a chart showing each characters stroke order; showing how it looks when written.





How to remember:
The hiragana character あ looks like an apple.
The katakana character ア looks like an ice cream cone.

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How to remember:
The hiragana character い looks like two eels.
The katakana character イ looks like an easel.

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How to remember:
The hiragana character う looks like a sideways 'U'.
The katakana character ウ looks like the wick of a candle.

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How to remember:
The hiragana character え looks like a person exercising.
The katakana character エ looks like an egg stand.

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How to remember:
The hiragana character お looks like a surprised face.
The hiragana character オ looks like an old man with a long beard.

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Listen to all the characters you learned in lesson 1.



Example audio and handwriting provided by Yuka Nishino.

Japanese Language Tools

During my time learning Japanese, I've tried many resources and have found that there's not just one magical source, but that it takes a multitude of tools to cover all the bases; and some are better than others. Here's what I am using to learn Japanese:

Language class

I have never learned so much, in such a short amount of time. Not only do you get informed and specialized instruction, but also the opportunity to put what you're learning into practice. The course I took dedicated an entire class period per week to speaking, pronunciation and conversation. The lesson focused not on learning new vocabulary, but on taking what you've already learned that week, and putting it to use. The instructor would give us prompts, and we would give answers aloud, in front of the class. We would also work on conversational skills and dialogues in small groups or pairs.

Genki textbook

The Genki Japanese textbook is well designed and formatted, with a logical and well paced introduction of material. It does a good job at teaching vocabulary and providing the grammar necessary to put it to use. It's good in a classroom setting but can also be used for self-directed study.

Lang-8

Is a social network of language learners that revolves around writing journal entries in the language that you're studying. People who speak that language natively will then correct and comment on your writing. In turn, you are able to assist people who are learning the language you already know.

When I am writing something important like a letter or a blog post in Japanese, I post it on Lang-8 first. Almost immediately, native Japanese speakers will correct my mistakes in spelling and grammar, making my writing more accurate and overall more natural sounding. I am always surprised how quick and generous the users are on this site. Also, anyone can lend a hand because we're all native speakers of some language. Let's help each other learn.

Smart.fm

I am using this primarily to study kanji and practice the vocabulary I've already learned, but don't know 100%. There are many existing vocabulary lists and users can contribute lists of their own. Lately, I've been making my own lessons, tailored to my method of learning. Let's practice together.

Unfortunately, I am unable to endorse the smart.fm platform. They've decide to shutdown the free service, exploit user-generated content, and charge an unreasonable monthly fee. I suggest everyone to stay away from any future releases from Cerego.

Rosetta Stone

A good tool for learning vocabulary, basic grammar, and to practice pronunciation. It takes a well balance approach and I appreciate that I does not rely on English to teach new material. Although, I find it lacking the human interaction of a traditional Japanese language class.

Conversation group

A place to practice the things you've learned and actually put them to use. It's helpful for understanding practical Japanese and for getting over the anxiety of speaking; it's ok to make mistakes. It also acts as a support group, good for camaraderie and for keeping each other inspired. It's hard to toil away, learning a language on ones own; get out, make some friends and have a good time.

Wired Kanji - Kyōiku Grade 1

The Japanese Ministry of Education developed a list of kanji called the Kyōiku kanji, divided into six grades, that children should learn during elementary school. I was familiar with the Jōyō kanji, for high schoolers, but always found it to be way overwhelming. It turns out that the Kyōiku kanji is the foundation that they add characters on, to make the Jōyō kanji list. The Kyōiku list is comprise of many commonly used and basic kanji that are good to know when reading and writing. Since it's an elementary level list, it makes a good place to begin learning kanji.

I looked through the list and found that I already knew many of them. To practice, I made a list of the grade 1 kanji and decided to include other common words that use the same basic kanji; ones that I might run into while reading.

Here are the grade 1 Kyōiku kanji and my own helpful additions.

一　ー　いち　ー　One　

二　ー　に　ー　Two

三　ー　さん　ー　Three

四　ー　し　ー　Four

五　ー　ご　ー　Five

六　ー　ろく　ー　Six

七　ー　しち　ー　Seven

八　ー　はち　ー　Eight

九　ー　きゅう　ー　Nine

十　ー　じゅう　ー　Ten

百　ー　ひゃく　ー　Hundred

千　ー　せん　ー　Thousand

上　ー　うえ　ー　Above

下　ー　した　ー　Below

左　ー　ひだり　ー　Left

右　ー　みぎ　ー　Right

中　ー　なか　ー　Inside

中国　ー　ちゅうごく　ー　China

大きい　ー　おおきい　ー　Large

大好き　ー　大好き　ー　Like a lot

小さい　ー　ちさい　ー　Small

月　ー　つき　ー　Month, Moon

#月　ー　がつ　ー　# Month

日　ー　ひ　ー　Day

#日　ー　にち　ー　# Day

年　ー　とし　　ー　Year

#年　ー　ねん　　ー　# Year

早い　ー　はやい　ー　Quick

早く　ー　はやく　ー　Hurry!

木　ー　き　ー　Tree

木の葉　ー　このは　ー　Foliage

木曜日　ー　もくようび　ー　Thursday

林　ー　はやし　ー　Woods

山　ー　やま　ー　Mountain

川　ー　かわ　ー　River

土　ー　つち　ー　Soil

お土産　ー　おみやげ　ー　Souviner

土曜日　ー　どようび　ー　Saturday

空　ー　そら　ー　Sky

空手　ー　からて　ー　Karate

空気　ー　くうき　ー　Air

田　ー　た　ー　Rice Paddy

稲田　ー　いなだ　ー　Rice Field

田舎　ー　いなか　ー　Country side

天　ー　てん　ー　Heavens

天気　ー　てんき　ー　Weather

生　ー　なま　ー　Raw

生きる　ー　いきる　ー　to live

生む　ー　うむ　ー　to give birth

花　ー　はな　ー　Flower

花火　ー　はなび　ー　Fireworks

草　ー　くさ　ー　Grass

虫　ー　むし　ー　Bug

犬　ー　いぬ　ー　Dog

人　ー　ひと　ー　Person

〜人　ー　〜じん　ー　Denotes nationality

＃人　ー　＃にん　ー　Number of people

人生　ー　じんせい　ー　Life

人間　ー　にんげん　ー　Human

人類　ー　じんるい　ー　Humanity

名　ー　な　ー　Name

名前　ー　なまえ　ー　Given name

名字　ー　みょうじ　ー　Family name

名刺　ー　めいし　ー　Business card

名詞　ー　めいし　ー　Noun

女　ー　おんな　ー　Woman

女の子　ー　おんなのこ　ー　Girl

女らしい　ー　おんならしい　ー　Feminine

男　ー　おとこ　ー　Man

男の子　ー　おとこのこ　ー　Boy

男らしい　ー　おとこらしい　ー　Masculine

子　ー　こ　ー　Child

子供　ー　こども　ー　Child

目　ー　め　ー　Eye

耳　ー　みみ　ー　Ear

口　ー　くち　ー　Mouth

手　ー　て　ー　Hand

手首　ー　てくび　ー　Wrist

手紙　ー　てがみ　ー　Letter

手製　ー　てせい　ー　Handmade

足　ー　あし　ー　Leg/Foot

足首　ー　あしくび　ー　Ankle

足す　ー　たす　ー　to add

見る　ー　みる　ー　to see

見解　ー　けんかい　ー　Opinion

音　ー　おん　ー　Sound

音楽　ー　おんがく　ー　Music

音量　ー　おんりょう　ー　Volumn

力　ー　ちから　ー　Power

力強い　ー　ちからつよい　ー　Powerful

気　ー　き　ー　Spirit

気持ち　ー　きもち　ー　Feeling

気難しい　ー　きむずかしい　ー　Hard to please

円　ー　えん　ー　Yen

入る　ー　はいる　ー　to enter

入れ墨　ー　いれずみ　ー　tattoo

出る　ー　でる　ー　to exit

立つ　ー　たつ　ー　to stand

休む　ー　やすむ　ー　to rest

休み　ー　やすみ　ー　Vacation

休業　ー　きゅうぎょう　ー　Closed

先　ー　さき　ー　Previous

先祖　ー　せんぞ　ー　Ancestors

先生　ー　せんせい　ー　Teacher

夕　ー　ゆう　ー　Evening

夕焼け　ー　ゆうやけ　ー　Sunset

本　ー　ほん　ー　Book

本屋　ー　ほんや　ー　Bookstore

文　ー　ふみ　ー　Writing

文字　ー　もじ　ー　Letter (alphabet)

文学　ー　ぶんがく　ー　Literature

字　ー　じ　ー　Character

字幕　ー　じまく　ー　Subtitle

字体　ー　じたい　ー　Typography

学ぶ　ー　まなぶ　ー　to study

校　ー　こう　ー　School

校長　ー　こうちょう　ー　Principal

村　ー　むら　ー　Village

町　ー　まち　ー　City

森　ー　もり　ー　Forest

正しい　ー　ただしい　ー　Correct

水　ー　みず　ー　Water

火　ー　ひ　ー　Fire

玉　ー　たま　ー　Ball

珠玉　ー　しゅぎょく　ー　Jewel

王様　ー　おうさま　ー　King

石　ー　いし　ー　Stone

竹　ー　たけ　ー　Bamboo

糸　ー　いと　ー　Thread

貝　ー　かい　ー　Shellfish

車　ー　くるま　ー　Car

金　ー　きん　ー　Gold

お金　ー　おかね　ー　Money

雨　ー　あめ　ー　Rain

赤い　ー　あかい　ー　Red

青い　ー　あおい　ー　Blue

白い　ー　しろい　ー　White

For a more interactive lesson, try practicing them on Smart.fm.

Looking for more Kanji lessons?

Try the other Wired Kanji lessons

Still working on Hiragana/Katakana?

Try the Wired Kana lessons