こんにちは (Konnichiwa) everyone!

Welcome back to my Japanese Learning Journey. After a brief pause, I’m excited to share the latest steps in my progress. Life got a bit hectic, and I had to skip last week’s update due to some chores that kept me busy. But now, I’m back on track, ready to dive deeper into learning Japanese.

This week, I focused on improving my reading skills and expanding my vocabulary. I realized that to get better at Japanese, I need to immerse myself more in the language, and what better way to do that than by reading?

Finding the Perfect Reading Materials

To start, I went on a quest to find good reading materials suitable for my current level. After some research and a bit of trial and error, I stumbled upon a fantastic website that offers a wide variety of books in Japanese. The best part? Many of them are free!

The website is called Tadoku (たどく), and its kanji form is 多読. The word 'Ta' (多) in Tadoku means "a lot," and 'doku' (読) means "to read." Hence, Tadoku (たどく) means extensive reading.

You can also filter books based on genres, and some are written entirely in hiragana, which is great for those still mastering kanji. There’s also an option to filter books that include furigana, which helps with reading kanji.

My Reading Routine

I downloaded a few PDF books from the website and imported them into the notes app on my iPad. This setup allows me to read anytime, anywhere, and take notes on new vocabulary and phrases. To help with understanding, I used a dictionary and Google Translate to look up words and phrases I didn’t know.

This process was slow at first, but it’s been incredibly rewarding. I’m gradually building my vocabulary and getting more comfortable with Japanese sentence structures. Plus, reading in Japanese is helping me recognize kanji more quickly and understand their meanings in context.

I used Google Translate to find the meaning of the words and phrases. I also used another dictionary app to get the meanings of words. This app, called Shirabe Jisho (しらべじしょ), has some excellent features.

This app has a good database of words with the following features:

• It can be used offline without internet.
• We can add notes to specific words.
• It has a Kanji List categorized by different specifications, such as JLPT levels.
• It has a word list categorized by genres and frequency of use.
• Flashcards can be created from the given lists.

I simply love this app because it offers so many learning possibilities and opportunities. I’m thinking of spending an hour on this app every now and then. It has the potential to significantly improve my vocabulary, especially if I focus on the most common words and kanji used in daily life in Japan.

Looking Ahead

Although I skipped a week, I feel like I’m on a good path now. I’ve learned how to read and write Hiragana and Katakana (although I still need to practice Katakana more). This sets a solid foundation for me to focus on gaining vocabulary and grammar skills. From this point on, I believe it’s more important to be on the right track rather than trying to know everything before starting to read and speak.

Here’s what I plan to focus on in the upcoming week:

• Learn verb forms and basic grammar skills.
• Start reading books at Level 0.
• Use the dictionary’s lists for tracking and improving my vocabulary.
• Create flashcards more often. I tend to forget things easily, so flashcards will help me memorize vocabulary and kanji more effectively.

ありがとう (Arigatou)! Thank you for following my progress. See you next week!

Previous Blogs

• Week 5: The Beginning of the Kanji Quest
• Week 4: Numbers and Time in Japanese
• Week 3: Getting Started with Everyday Vocabulary & Grammar
• Week 2: The Struggle to Memorize the Japanese Kana Characters
• Week 1: My First Steps into Learning Japanese

Previous Articles

• Japan’s Fascinating Education System
• Let’s Know Japan

Notes & Links

• Tadoku Books
• Shirabe Jisho

Feel free to share your thoughts or any tips you have for learning Japanese in the comments below.