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Hey!

For learning the Jouyou kanji, I used James Heisig's Remembering the Kanji volume 1 (and volume 3 for an extra ~1000 kanji). It requires a bit of re-thinking how one should go about learning these things:

Usually when learning kanji, people go in grade order, learning the English meaning of the kanji and memorizing all of the possible readings (for some kanji, you'll have two pronunciations -- for others, you can surpass 10 different pronunciations). I feel that this method is ridiculously inefficient, and Heisig agrees. With RtK1+3, you completely ignore the readings, learning only to write and recognize the kanji, as well as their English meanings. On top of that, you don't learn them in grade order, but rather in the order of the elements that make up those kanji (for example, these are taught to you in order: 口→日→刀→召→昭 ...and so on). Instead of being given a bunch of unrelated complex characters, you're given the building blocks, and then shown how to create the more complex kanji by being able to see them as just their individual parts (for example, 鬱, despite its 29-stroke-count, is super easy when you break it down).

As for actually remembering the kanji you learn, check out Reviewing the Kanji, a free web-based SRS specifically for use with Heisig's books.

A common argument against RtK is the fact that readings are totally disregarded; after all, you can't read Japanese if you can't read the kanji, right?? Of course. But the way we've usually gone about learning them isn't all that great. That's not to say it hasn't worked -- people have used it to success before -- but it's slow, inefficient, and prone to failure. Instead, once I'm able to write and recognize a good 2000+ kanji and can read ひらがな/カタカナ, I've got the ability to use everything I need to learn readings: a dictionary. When you're reading and you come across a word you don't know (say, 竜巻), simply look it up in the dictionary. The dictionary will have the reading right there for you (たつまき!).

Traditionally, people would look at 何 and memorize that it can be read なに, なん, て, が... and probably some more that I don't know. Then do this for every kanji they learn -- memorizing these lists of sounds. My thought is, though, even when you know all of the pronunciations for something... you still don't know which of those readings to use in a new word (the 何 in 如何体... the answer may surprise you!). So you're gonna have to look up the word; heck, you'll probably be looking it up anyway because you don't know the word! If that's the case, why not forget about memorizing these contextless sets of sounds and just look up words as they come? In that way, you naturally begin to pick up how kanji are read, in context.

Sorry for the novel of a comment, but I hope it makes sense. Getting through the kanji can seem like a huge, daunting task, and it takes longer than one might want, but if definitely doesn't take as long as one might fear! Find a pace that works for you -- I went through the first ~300 or so kanji of RtK1 at about 30 a day, but then bumped it down to 10 a day for the remainder of it and RtK3, and it was a glorious pace. Slow? Maybe. But I was making real, consistent progress, and it feels huge to reach the finish line. :) Hope this helps! Have fun!

Well, /r/learnjapanese covers the simplest to advanced questions. I'd recommend starting with the Starter's Guide and the FAQ.

• Textbook - Genki I and its Workbook. Keep in mind it's targeted at classroom use, so if you're self-study you'll have to make adjustments--see the next couple bullets below though. There are other books of course, but if you have questions, more people will be familiar with Genki since it's so popular. Order from amazon.com or possibly for less on amazon.co.jp, or wherever you can find it.
  
  
• Take a class at a community college, or local Japanese society. They may use Genki or another textbook.
  
  
• Find a local tutor or language partner, or sign up at italki.com and find a tutor or licensed native Japanese teacher. Most will be familiar with Genki and able to help you. The great thing about this is they will help with pronunciation, inflection, etc.
  
  
• Youtube - find videos from Japanese Ammo with Misa, Nihongo Mori, Japanese From Zero, and others.
  
  You say you're desperate to learn Japanese. If you're three years in and still having trouble with kana, i wonder, is it a matter of you not focusing enough on learning, or is there a specific stumbling block holding you back? What is your main motivation for wanting to learning Japanese? That might help you direct your attention.
  
  
• Learning hiragana/katakana should take between a few days and a couple weeks to get to about 90%. In my experience, there are still some trouble kana that i mix up or read slower than others (mostly on the katakana side). Learn to write them; it will dramatically help with reading them.
  
  
• Learn grammar. Genki I and the Youtube videos get you going, and Bunpo apps can help here, but the book to get is Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar (and the Intermediate and Advanced companions).
  
  
• Reading will begin to get easier when you learn some kanji. Text in all kana is difficult to parse visually, but introducing kanji makes it easier to recognize grammar and the correct meanings of homonyms. Learning to recognize the most common couple hundred kanji is pretty simple. Some people say don't bother with writing them, but again, it helps your brain absorb them so you can read better as well. People on /r/learnJapanese will argue about using KKLC or RTK or WK or other mnemonic systems, but i'd suggest learning them and their real meanings in context through reading and vocabulary, and their real etymologies try World of Kanji and Key to Kanji
  
  
• Use various apps as a supplement. Duolingo's Japanese tree has recently been updated and is decent. LingoDeer is even better, particularly Asian languages. Kanji Study is good.
  
  
• Look into Anki. It's an SRS/flashcard system that will help you remember things, and is used extensively in the Japanese learning community. It's Windows (maybe Mac) software, but there are phone apps as well (AnkiDroid and something on iOS).
  
  There are thousands of methods people will suggest to learn Japanese and even more physical and online resources. The real key is to actually study regularly. A little every day at least.
  
  Hope this helps some.

The best way to learn a language is to interact with it as much as you can in every way you can. Yes, you can and probably should spend some time seriously studying from a good resource like tae kim's complete japanese guide(the whole thing is free), but you won't want to do that all the time for all of your free time. Get some Japanese books, manga, tv shows(this is one way to watch the region-locked Japanese Netflix) video games, listen to Japanese music, listen to podcasts in japanese. (You will want to find things with both japanese speaking & japanese text - subtitles are not good for learning!).

Kanji is a difficult hurdle, and there are a few popular ways to tackle it (this is by no means a comprehensive list):

• Heisig's Remember the Kanji book
  
  
• Anki is a flashcard program with spaced repetition, and it is useful both by itself or with a RTK deck. There's also good vocab decks. Anki is completely free.
  
• Wanikani is kind of like Heisig's RTK and Anki glued together and glossed over with a fresh shade of paint. I've never used it but it looks good.
  
  Well hopefully that helps. My personal take on learning kanji is to just learn it as you go from new vocab you acquire. Finding things like games or manga with furigana is very helpful as you can just search for that character in Jisho and all of a sudden you have its basic meaning, on/kun readings and most importantly, its stroke order.

I'm currently using a couple of things -- The trick is to find what works for you the best :D (And these work for me, but yea everyone is different :D)

-----

• TextFugu -- http://www.textfugu.com/ [Not a free Resource after the first season $20 USD] [Will also provide Anki lists for you to work with as well as worksheets and a really great forum base]
  
• Human Japanese 2.0 (Software) --http://www.humanjapanese.com/
  
• JapanesePod101 (Podcasts) --- http://www.japanesepod101.com/
  
  
  I have heard good things about the Genki Textbook series (http://www.amazon.com/Genki-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-English/dp/4789009637/) -- I don't personally use it, due to the fact I am studying Japanese at university and we use Total Japanese Series instead (http://www.amazon.com/Total-Japanese-Conversation-Kimiko-Okano/dp/489358278X)
  
  
  -------------------------------------------
  
  
  
  Also this site has a good resource list to start from: http://www.japanese-irc.net/index.php?title=Japanese_Resources
  
  http://www.tofugu.com/2012/08/28/japanese-reading-practice-for-beginners/
  
  I also recommend Anki Flashcards
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  Also you will be able to find some help at this subreddit http://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/
  
  And if your are interested, someone is running a UofReddit Course on Japanese:: http://ureddit.com/class/43183/japanese-101 [Subreddit http://www.reddit.com/r/uofrjapanese]
  
  ------------------------------
  -----------------------------
  
  
  Good Luck With your learning :)
  がんばってください

The best method for learning Kanji is a system by James Heisig in Remembering The Kanji.

It's a little atypical—book 1 is meaning only and book 2 is pronunciation—but if you stick with the method it's quite incredible. At my peak I was learning ~100/day with excellent retention.

And then it's just drill drill drill like everyone says. But when drilling focus on writing. Production is harder than recognition as a rule so that's what you should focus on.

I use an excellent flash card app called Anki which has desktop and mobile versions. It's pricey on mobile if I recall correctly but worthwhile. It's got a bit of a learning curve but definitely worth the investment. And you'll find lots of shared decks, including if memory serves, one based on the Heisig books. (Although there is definitely value in building your own yourself.)

I'm on iOS and you can add the Chinese Traditional Handwriting IME in "Keyboards" which allows you to practice your writing. It's not great for general Japanese input, but for Kanji practice it gets the job done. I'm sure there's something similar for Android.

Good luck!

Edit:fixed my mangled link

NHK Easy Web is perfect for starting out. I've always recommended it for learning kana in context, when repetitive writing of them doesn't seem to help memorize them. Plus easy kanji in context, and easy and simple enough sentences. A bit rough going at first, but you do what you can, and you'll likely get the overall sense of the article.

I also like the Japanese Reader Collection and Yotsuba&! are also excellent and easy enough. Just take your time with them, you'll learn a lot. A little light manga never hurts.

I'd love to recommend the Japanese Graded Reader, and do, but they're kind of pricy for what you get. If you have some spare cash, these are worth it.

If you are a serious learner of the language, then this is site all you need IMO: All Japanese All The Time. I stumbled across this site while in college and in the course of three years (one of which was spent abroad in Japan), I learned Japanese to a very high level. If you are still a student, it will be even easier for you to take on this method.

One more thing. This is also a part of the AJATT method, but deserves separate recognition: Remembering the Kanji. In all my years of learning Japanese, this book was the single most useful text I've ever encountered.

Good luck!

Japanese From Zero is a wonderful way to learn! Here's the link to the first book if you're interested

https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals/dp/0976998122/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=japanese+from+zero+1&qid=1565528459&s=gateway&sprefix=Japanese+From&sr=8-1

The author George also goes over the entire first 4 books in video lessons which is a great addition to help reinforce what you've learned after reading a chapter.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOcym2c7xnBwU12Flkm5RcLIEhvURQ8TB

Okay, this gives me a lot to work with.

Since you can already read hanzi, and especially because you can read traditional hanzi, you have an enormous advantage in terms of reading skills. You'll probably be able to skim Japanese texts and get the basic gist of it with just a little practice. This will make it quite simple for you to use public transportation in Japan.

I recommend that you use Anki and make a card for each of the hiragana and each of the katakana. You should be able to memorize them quite quickly this way. Specifically, I recommend that you put the phonetic sound on the front of the card, and the kana on the back, and write the kana on a piece of paper every time it comes up.

>[ka]

----
>か

You can probably find a pre-made deck that does this, including audio. You should be able to do about 20 new cards each day with Anki, so once you've got the kana down fairly well, start drilling vocabulary with it. I've always made my own deck, but for your purposes, I think a pre-made deck would be fine. I hear that a lot of people use the "Core 2000" deck.

While you're doing this, run through Tae Kim's guide, doing one lesson each day. Once you've finished Tae Kim, that'll give you all the grammar you really need. Grammar is helpful in learning a new language, but most people spend way too much time on it.

For speaking/listening practice, I highly recommend the Pimsleur method. It's expensive, but it's also available in most college libraries.

頑張って！加油！

I purchased the Genki I textbook, workbook, and answer key. However, reviews seemed to indicate I'd be better off knowing how to read Kana going in..so I purchased Japanese Hiragana & Katakana for Beginners, which has been really helpful thus far.

Just studying in my free time at work I've quickly familiarized myself with reading and writing Hiragana; about to move on to Katakana. Pronunciation may be a little spotty, but I've yet to use the CD included.

Yet to embark on Genki I (waiting until I finish the aforementioned Beginners book), though I've read nothing but good things about it..so I'd imagine it's a good resource as well.

Wow what an incredible approach. Only 424円 on Amazon too!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Learn-Japanese-Etymology-Approach-Symbolism-ebook/dp/B00WWYP1VA

I'm definitely buying this

This book really helps you understand the meanings behind kanji and teaches radicals, something that is never taught in a Japanese-as-a-second-language classroom. It helps me guess pronunications and meanings when I encounter a word when reading that I don't know. Kinda like suffixes and prefixes in english.

Linked amazon only as a reference; buy at a local book store if you can.
https://www.amazon.com/Key-Kanji-History-Characters-Japanese/dp/0887277365

A very comprehensive answer! I would only add that the book, Fluent Forever contains additional advice on maximising your use of spaced repetition and using dictionaries, phrase books and textbooks to their maximum potential.

I went through those textbooks at university, but skipped An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese. After Tobira, which we rushed through, we dealt with authentic materials - blog posts, excerpts from books, websites, and so on. Basically, after Tobira you will be very close to the level needed to use Japanese-Japanese dictionaries alongside Japanese-English and you'll really be able to fly on your own.

It's also definitely possible to self-teach, but do try to get a Japanese penpal or Skype partner. There are a ton of websites out there if you look.

One of my favorite books of Japanese idioms is "Complete Japanese Expression Guide" by Mizue Sasaki. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Japanese-Expression-Guide/dp/0804834237

While I would always recommend buying a copy, it's possible that a clever person might find an epub or pdf version of this book with a quick search.

Just starting from a random page in this book, I see:

面子を立てる -- to save face

身から出た錆 -- to suffer the consequences of one's own deeds

道草を食う-- to fool around on the way

見栄を張る -- to show off

-- and so on, for a total of around 600 common expressions (with some explanation as to their origins).

Heisig-ist here. I get the criticism but people always gloss over that there's an entire separate book for tackling the readings.

The isolation of these 2 elements is very intentional. It just also means that a feeling of actual pay-off is very delayed.

There are other successful ways to learn kanji of course, but Heisig's method is completely effective if fully followed through.

It sounds like that you need a book like this one https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Reader-Beginner-Language-Graded-ebook/dp/B01NBPIPMY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=20WFUXGEIYA4J&keywords=japanese+reader&qid=1565433775&s=gateway&sprefix=japanese+rea%2Caps%2C456&sr=8-5

It is available Kindle and it isn't too expensive and it may be the type of book you are looking for.

Thank you by the way for helping me out so far. If you don't mind, could you help me figure out which first 2 books I should be looking at, or what order to get them in?

​

My assumption would be, in the order listed,

1st to get:

GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese (English and Japanese Edition)

by Eri Banno

​

2nd to get:

Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese II [Second Edition] (Japanese Edition) (English and Japanese Edition)

​

I am not sure on that second one, I assumed it would be the second book due to it saying Japanese II, but it saying second edition is throwing me off.

I am a beginner as well and I am probably not as far along as I should be, I am teaching myself in my spare time of working 2 jobs and full time student so I only get like 40 mins a day to work on stuff. But here are some methods I used, I started on duolingo, but I also have these books from amazon that really helped. ( I left the link below). If the library dosnt have them the first 3 are on Youtube.

https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Hiragana-Katakana-Beginners-Mastering/dp/4805311444/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/131-1360910-3742552?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=4805311444&pd_rd_r=f9db01fd-7454-4f44-9c2c-36fe50c1f395&pd_rd_w=9TX8q&pd_rd_wg=QOKOy&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=E8KBA7WMS9EF5YD9BJAS&psc=1&refRID=E8KBA7WMS9EF5YD9BJAS

I have an old Japanese for Dummies book that is all in romaji. Looking at the second editon on amazon, looks like they use Japanese text AND romaji.

Try these:

How to read classical Japanese

Readings with annotation, commentary, and dictionary

I used these textbooks when I took Classical Japanese. It is technically designed so it can be used by people with no Japanese knowledge, yet I had taken three years of Japanese before I took the class and it was still a little challenging. I highly recommend them, however. They're worth every penny, in my opinion.
Edit: the texts are all in pre 1946 orthography and sample a wide variety of texts from the year 712 to 1800-something

Ummm... I think I found it... wow this was a tough one. But the PDF (20mb) is in a less (apologies) "child-friendly" format but has the same content.
http://www.koto8.net/nihongo_learn.pdf

Img1: S-01; to suck; pdf page 52
Img2: K-01; to curve; pdf page 83
Img3: N-03; gluey; pdf page 10
Img4: T-05; to adhere; pdf page 75

It is from this book Learn Japanese From Etymology: Approach From Sound Symbolism by Watanabe Masamichi
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Learn-Japanese-Etymology-Approach-Symbolism-ebook/dp/B00WWYP1VA

This book is a compilation of Japanese-specific vocabulary. This book focuses only on pure Japanese vocabulary excluding Chinese vocabulary which is shown by the kanji. This book covers approximately 1,800 Japanese words in total, which 860 of them are explained with illustrations. It covers almost all Japanese words. The Book is classifying Japanese in the unique method. The consistent idea throughout the book is “there is a relationship between vocal sounds and meanings in the Japanese language”. The principle of Japanese word generation is shown. The former linguistic theory of origin was a hypothesis. At this book, vocabulary is classified on the basis of Japanese origin theory. It is useful actually, so the value of this theory will be demonstrated.

Yeah becoming is not available in Japanese but found these
https://www.amazon.co.jp/ミシェル・オバマの言葉-ライザ-ロガック/dp/4847018842
https://www.amazon.co.jp/ミシェル・オバマ-愛が生んだ奇跡-デヴィッド・コルバート/dp/4861191254/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1/355-9061894-2293137?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=4861191254&pd_rd_r=0e2c2396-58d6-11e9-af9b-1597d02c1bd2&pd_rd_w=DM9Ak&pd_rd_wg=wS0C4&pf_rd_p=2eb5268e-6ff8-4b13-8822-fcfaa9eea37e&pf_rd_r=S88SGK2KPMNQ91QRZG1R&psc=1&refRID=S88SGK2KPMNQ91QRZG1R

Don’t use Duolingo to learn Hiragana. It doesn’t teach it correctly. Buy this Japanese Hiragana & Katakana for Beginners: First Steps to Mastering the Japanese Writing System (CD-ROM Included) https://www.amazon.com/dp/4805311444/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Isr4DbJDGCNJC. It really helped me learn how to read in hiragana and katakana

i don't know if this helps but,

https://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Obama-Japanese-David-Colbert/dp/4861191254

Replace the current affiliate link with a regular link.

This one works: https://www.amazon.com/Key-Kanji-History-Characters-Japanese/dp/0887277365

this site is under $100.

Keene's work is considered canon:
https://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Japanese-Literature-Mid-Nineteenth-Representative/dp/0802150586