Where to go next...
OK so I've learnt Hiragana and Katakana and am now ready to move my learning on. I think probably beginning to learn phrases is the best place to go next as then I will get practice with reading, listening, speaking, grammar, begin to pick up some kanji and start being able to interact with other Japanese speakers here.

The problem is that I got some basic phrase flashcards on anki and it just seems kind of mind-boggling at present, precisely because I don't know kanji, find it hard to understand what is being said when listening (therefore cannot article the spoken side) and don't understand the grammatical rules (so can't be sure what each word in the phrase means).

I'm kind of thinking now that maybe I should focus on one or two areas for the moment - perhaps just learning phrases written down? If anybody has any hints/advice/thoughts I would be most grateful!

Question

Where to go next...
OK so I've learnt Hiragana and Katakana and am now ready to move my learning on. I think probably beginning to learn phrases is the best place to go next as then I will get practice with reading, listening, speaking, grammar, begin to pick up some kanji and start being able to interact with other Japanese speakers here.

The problem is that I got some basic phrase flashcards on anki and it just seems kind of mind-boggling at present, precisely because I don't know kanji, find it hard to understand what is being said when listening (therefore cannot article the spoken side) and don't understand the grammatical rules (so can't be sure what each word in the phrase means).

I'm kind of thinking now that maybe I should focus on one or two areas for the moment - perhaps just learning phrases written down? If anybody has any hints/advice/thoughts I would be most grateful!

Answer

I think you must use a textbook for beginners. 
Maybe Genki or Minna no Nihongo Shokyuu I.

Answer

Get a dictionary and look it up. My other tip is to keep a master deck of new vocabulary you find.

First add new vocabulary into a small new desk, go over them for a while, then add them to the bigger deck, the bigger deck is the challenge, but it's good to build on things as you go along or find a deck with words for beginners and build on that.

It helps to use the hiragana you've learnt too, for the readings, maybe the layout of the cards isn't the best for you?
Get out a pen and paper and break it down into words. But be warned that not all the typical phrases can be translated directly.

Answers · 2

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