Beginner's Hiragana Flashcards - Learning Japanese Starting With English

   

      Following up from my Beginner Flashcards, I've re-created my first hand written flashcards in a handy printable format.  I suggest getting used to the sounds before committing the kana to memory.  It's also a good idea to look up videos on hiragana for beginners so you can hear them sounded out.

What Is Katakana Anyway?

     Katakana, like hiragana, is another writing system comprised of sounds without meaning.  It is used to spell out non-native words.

What Is Hiragana Anyway?

     When people think of written Japanese, they think of a bunch of squiggles.  What they don't know is how to pronounce those squiggles.  That's where hiragana comes in.

Learning Katakana

     Now for being so gung-ho about learning hiragana, one would think that I would have carried that same enthusiasm to the next step of learning katakana....  Well..... I didn't...

Hiragana Charts

     An image chart seemed like a great idea!  And indeed it is... but drawing one is a bit much work in the wrong direction...  Best to image search for some.

Beginner's Hiragana Flashcards

     While I was studying the Let's Learn Hiragana book, I was trying to find more ways to commit the characters to memory...  Might as well take a stab at the tried and true method of flashcards...

Let's Learn Hiragana

     Now I really can't remember when I found this book...  I know I got it at a used bookstore but I can't remember if I got it before or after finding Textfugu.  Either way, this book taught me hiragana.

How I Finally Got Started...

     One day about 5 years ago, I started searching the internet for help on how to learn Japanese.... I stumbled upon Textfugu.

My Failed Attempts #3

     God I hate Ubisoft...  I tried My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS too...  That didn't work...

My Failed Attempts #2

     Don't laugh.  I thought I could do it.  I also thought the same thing when I tried making Ninja Turtles comics when I was a kid....

     At one point in time, I thought I could make a manga series.  I had the hopes that it would get published and translated to Japanese and then I would be one step closer....  That didn't happen.  It's not going to happen.

     No deep story here.  No philosophical ending.

まんが  = manga

My Failed Attempts #1

    This.  This is how I started many years ago....  That dictionary is 20 years old now...  You can't learn a language through a dictionary.... Then I bought that handy dandy study sheet...  Can't learn a language from that either.

Learning Japanese From Zero!

George Trombley Teaches Japanese From Zero Youtube Series

    Perhaps THE BEST resource on youtube is George Trombley's Japanese From Zero series.  The videos compliment and are based on his book series.  While I haven't bought the books yet, I have bought a subscription to his website http://yesjapan.com (which at this time subscriptions are $5 a month) which hosts every course and lesson.  The site can also be used for free.

Most Important Japanese Learning Resource #3

http://gate2home.com/Japanese-Keyboard

   Online Japanese keyboards are absolutely crucial if you don't have your keyboard setup for typing in Japanese.

Most Important Japanese Learning Resource #2

元気ですか

    The most super important thing about learning Japanese online.... is the ability to actually see it.  Sometimes people's computers will not display foreign characters properly and will show what is called unicode (which is a line of rectangles).  In the first line typed above, what you should be seeing is the top line of text pictured below.  If you only see the rectangles then you will have to remedy your situation.

Most Important Japanese Learning Resource #1

 



 JISHO.ORG  is perhaps one of the most important resources on the internet for studying Japanese.

The Obligatory Intro Post

 

    It's always difficult to begin something new (say learning a new language perhaps), and the first blog post is no exception.  Instead of trying too hard to make a standout first post.... just start.