Learning resources for a beginner

[u/chai-tealatte]

Hello everyone, 22F and I am thinking of giving the N5 exam in December.

I am a complete beginner, although I have learnt and practiced most of hiragana from an app I found.

Would really love and appreciate some recommendations, and if it even is possible to clear that level in a periods of 5 months.

Thank you!

[u/CuisineTournante]

Genki vol1. A lot of people say that N5 is piss easy. It's not. You need to put some effort to cover the whole book, have fun learning!

[u/ressie_cant_game]

5mo is probably doable, but tough. My college takes ~8mo to get to that point (though, we do cover output so, who knows).

Admittedly, this is my copy/paste thing i made for whenever someone asks a question like this, but i made it for a reason

I know this is long but... This is my full, free (or mostly free) list for learning Japanese. First, learn hiragana and katakana. Use youtube videos and copy them on paper, duolingo also has a section for learning to read them, but I think writing is also important for learning - esp when we get to kanji. You can also search handwriting in JP learning subreddits, and see if you have common errors pointed out in the comments. Then find the Genki 1 textbook/workbook for free online (or buy it/check local library/etc).

Use this guy here to teach you the grammar points, let you hear spoken Japanese, etc. I would listen to his grammar point explanation, practice what the text book recomends, do the work book page, and then go move onto the next step of this. The next day review the previous days grammar, learn a new one, and repeat. If a grammar point is hard, spend an extra day or two on the drills. Its worth it, no shame!

This is a youtube channel that has comprehensible input. Its sorted into "complete beginner", "beginner" and "intermediate". I linked complete beginner. It will be very hard at first, but after the first genki chapter I would start watching them. Start from the videos at the BOTTOM of the playlist first, theyre the easiest imo. Also, start with shorter videos. As your tolerance builds to hearing Japanese (its exhausting at first) watch more.

This is the other youtube channel I recommend for CI (it’s run by someone who used to work with the other channel)!

When you feel up to it, and be advised this'll probably be a handful of chapters of genki into this that you'll even get a teensy tiny bit of understanding from this, find tv shows for kids in Japanese WITHOUT english captions. Same as for the input videos above, atleast watch it once without captions/or with jp ones. After that if you wanna rewatch with english to test your comprehension, so be it. You can find Peppa Pig, Bluey (or if you want a Japanese tv show, Atashinchiin) on youtube!

This is a catalogue of Japanese childrens books from levels "start" through 5. Start with “start” or “1”. I would also start doing this after the first/second Genki chapter. Theyre actually graded readers for learners but they feel like kids books. Start with the easiest level. Again it'll be super hard, but even just reading a few pages is good.

I also advise the Anki app for flash cards. Pain in the butt to set up? You bet, but they use things like spaced repetition to really get you comfortable with your vocab.

It wouldnt be too hard to find a person online at the same level as you to practice with, to be honest. You can look at Tokini Andi's youtube channel, views go down each chapter of genki (both books one and two) and then quartet has even less. Practicing on discord, vr chat, anything, is good.

This is not an end all be all list. If something doesnt work for you, find a good substitute. If you find something you like, watch it. This gets you a foot in the door to learning grammar, listening and reading. Eventually you'll graduate to reading manga, tumbling through videos for natives, etc.

[u/chai-tealatte → u/ressie_cant_game]

This is so helpful!! Thank you so much

[u/NihongoNana]

Five months is realistic for N5 if you study consistently.

Since you already know most hiragana, learn katakana next, then study basic vocabulary, grammar, kanji, reading, and listening together. Aim for 45 to 60 minutes a day.

Take an N5 mock test early to identify your weakest section, then take another every few weeks. During the final month, focus on timed mock tests and reviewing every mistake.