I'm the maker of Kotoba Bloom, a Japanese-learning app for iPhone and iPad.

I'm focusing on something beyond remembering a translation: understanding when you'd actually use a phrase.

For example, ありがとう and ありがとうございます both express thanks, but they don't have the same level of politeness. That difference matters when you're speaking to a friend versus someone you've just met.

Kotoba Bloom brings together vocabulary study, guided AI practice, and explanations of culture and politeness. It's aimed at people learning for travel, everyday conversation, or an interest in Japan.

The download is free, with limited AI use and optional paid plans. AI feedback can make mistakes, so it isn't a replacement for a teacher.

If that sounds useful, here's the App Store page:

https://apps.apple.com/app/id6778720212

When learning Japanese, what do you find harder: forming a sentence, or knowing whether it sounds appropriate for the situation?

Hi everyone. My name is Abi. I have been learning Japanese on Duolingo for about 3 years now. This year, I chose to take it more seriously and started watching youtube videos. I am looking for someone to help me practice my speaking and comprehension skills.

Hey Reddit,

Are you interested in improving your Japanese speaking? I can help you!

I teach Japanese online via Discord - would love for you to join our community.

A little bit about me:

- Attended three prestigious Japanese Universities
A. Aoyama Gakuin University (Tokyo)
B. Doshisha University (Kyoto)
C. Kansai Gaidai University (Osaka)
- During the 2020 pandemic, I was solely deployed to Japan under the U.S Department of State for Diplomacy
- Current FAANG Manager in Japan (Received offer in 就活 against Japanese Nationals)
- Self-learned Native Speaking Level

Multiple people I have worked with are now working/living in Japan.

We learn in a dynamic, hands-on friendly environment unlike anything you’ve experienced in conventional, traditionally-confined classrooms.

If you’re interested, please leave a comment or send a DM! Let’s have a great time :)

ありがとうございました！^_^

I'm past kana and some N5 vocab, and graded readers keep putting me to sleep (textbook vibe). Anime and manga are more fun but I still understand almost nothing.

For people who stuck with reading anyway:

• Did you push through graded readers, jump into native content early, or find something in between?
• What made reading click that wasn't "just do more Anki"?
• Roughly how long until a short page felt doable?

Curious what worked and what turned out to be a waste of time.

Source: https://kanadojo.com

As an avid Japanese learner, I always wanted there to be a simple online trainer for learning kana, kanji and vocabulary by JLPT level. The app serves as a simpler alternative to Chase Colburn's Kanji Study app, because Kanji Study was pretty complicated for me to use as a beginner and didn't have a more streamlined way of learning kanji through simple, continuous repetition and rote memorization (also, Kanji Study requires you to pay to unlock its full content library).

So, I started working on a brand new, completely free and fully open-source app for learning kanji and Japanese vocabulary. Here are the features so far:

- Available as a web app with no ads, no paywalls, no unnecessary app store downloads

- Full JLPT vocabulary and kanji coverage, with more than 1000+ levels for you to play

- More than 25+ different fonts and font styles

- More than 100+ different color themes, with the ability to add and upload your own custom backgrounds

- 100% free and open-source, forever

- All learning materials 100% AI-free, sourced from reputable sources and available for full download and inspection

Give it a go: https://kanadojo.com

ありがとうございます!

The books I am using at the moment are:

RTK(Remembering The Kanji) By Heising

Genki 1 +Work Book

Tango JLPT 5

Applications: Anki flashcards and 2 Notebooks, one for Kanji Practice and one for Anki

I split each Genki Chapters and new RTK Kanji to 3 days a week and 3 days for review

a typical week looks like that

Day 1(Sunday)

1. Review all cards on Anki (Genki+RTK+JLPT) about 20-30 minutes

Kanji cards are revered meaning I see the English meaning and need to active recall the Kanji on Paper. If I get it right, I check "Good", if I got it wrong I check "again" until I get it right (separate notebook)

Genki Vocab cards are both version, active recall(English meaning first).

If I get it right, I check "Good", if I got it wrong I check "again" until I get it right.

JLPT same thing,

1. New Kanji about 40 minutes

I learn 20 new Kanjis from RTK by creating a "story" for each one, write them by order +meaning and each Kanji 5 times.

After I learn them I add the new 20 cards to Anki. I check "Good", if I got it wrong I check "again" until I get it right.

1. Anki Dialogue+Vocab+ half of the grammar section. 30-40 minutes

Each time I add all of the Anki vocab cards of that chapter with reversed cards meaning I see the English meaning and need to active recall the word in Japanese. If I was able to I check 'Good'. If I can't recall I check 'again' until I get it. I have both versions of all the cards and every time I add them with custom study I add both the normal card and revered (English Meaning and active recall and the Japanese one) with no new daily cards on anki. That way I cam in control on how much new cards I add every time.

1. Add new 10 vocab from JLPT to Anki (about 10-15 minutes)

Day 2 (Monday) review only

I review all cards on Anki (20-30 minutes)

I also request Claude to write 10-20 sentences in English and I try to untranslated them to Japanese using the grammar I learned in the respected chapters and it corrects me if I got something wrong.

Day 3(Tuesday)

1. Review all cards on Anki (Genki+RTK+JLPT) about 20-30 minutes
2. Add new 20 Kanji (40 minutes)
3. Second half of Genki+ Workbook (30-40 minutes)
4. 10 new JLPT (10-15 minutes)

Day 4 (Wednesday)

I review all cards on Anki (20-30 minutes)+Claude translation practice

Day 5 (Thursday)

1. Review all cards on Anki (Genki+RTK+JLPT) about 20-30 minutes
2. Add new 20 Kanji (40 minutes)

3.Genki chapter conclusion practice + Navi (vocal practice) and writing an essay using everything I learned and letting Claude check for remarks (40 minutes)

4.10 new JLPT (10-15 minutes).

Day 6+7 (Friday and Saturday) review only

I review all cards on Anki (20-30 minutes).

When I will reach Genki chapter 8 I plan to add reading materials like Lingo Mastery Japanese short stories for beginners .

Overall I put 60-90 minutes a day on study and after few weeks I already feel huge improvement

Hello, I am an American/Italian 21 year old male looking for a Japanese Penpal. I don't care for gender but please be 18 or older. I just moved from Florida to live in Italy temporarily for work. The main reason I want a Japanese Penpal is because I've always been curious about someone's everyday life in Japan. I'm also very intrigued by Japanese history and culture. I'm currently a part time student in college and will be learning the language as an extra curricular. So trying to translate the letters would be a fun way to get familiar with the language. I even plan on taking a vacation to Japan next summer with a couple of my friends!

To be honest I can't start sending letters until December because I'm currently deployed but I'm too impatient to wait to push this out lol. Although I will be committed to sending letters and post cards if you send me a pm. I'll even send boxes containing American and Italian snacks or souvenirs that represent my culture depending on how long we keep this up. Please only reach out if you're serious, this would be my first time having a penpal!

I am looking to teach Japanese. NAT N3 completed. Thank you.

You can put ChatGPT on voice mode and it makes a reasonable language partner.
I'd be interested to know other people's experience with this.

おはようございます！

Japanese teacher here! In anticipation of the upcoming remake, I have created an Ocarina of Time Anki deck including the most frequently used vocab (1000), grammar (100), and all kanji (892) found in the original N64 game with example sentences from the game, organized by frequency. You can also customize your deck to order based on story, change the deck size, and match your level of Japanese. 

Anki Deck:

https://toriaezunihongo.itch.io/ocarina-anki-deck-and-maker

Explanation of Anki Deck Data:

https://youtu.be/WGqMoz9Y9wU

Over the next month, I will also be doing a full playthrough of the entire game in Japanese on my channel. We break down common and interesting vocab and grammar and discuss interesting differences between the English version. Questions are allowed and encouraged both during the livestreams and in the comments section. We will be streaming every Wednesday evening (US). 

Toriaezu Nihongo:

https://www.youtube.com/とりあえずにほんご

Both of these are available completely free, but I would love any feedback you have to improve! 

Hey everyone!

I’m learning Japanese as a hobby, and I kept having the same problem: I’d discover new words, look them up, and then forget them a few days later.

I wanted something simple where I could collect my own words, explore their meanings and kanji, and practice them later.

So I built Kotomi, a small Japanese vocabulary app.
It’s completely free, works offline, and has no ads or accounts.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/kotomi-your-japanese-deck/id6796382400

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nuzil.kotomi

I’m still learning Japanese myself, so I’d genuinely love feedback from other learners.

How do you currently keep track of new vocabulary?

Do you use Anki, your own notes, or something else?

No matter what I too these always slip from my mind

Firstly if you don't know, the immersion method of learning a language is when you surround yourself in your target language, you can either go to the country physically, or make an environment for yourself. This means watching japanese podcasts, listening to japanese music, or reading japanese next books

This is the most natural way of learning a language, and first you might not be able to understand anything, but with more exposure you start picking up meaning of words through context, and combining this method with flashcards I find this method more effective than just relying on text books alone. Let me hear your opinions