beginner Japanese - Speechling Official Blog

Learn the Japanese Alphabet: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji

Is the alphabet really as easy as ABC? When you learned the alphabet in English, you actually had to learn two sets of characters: one for uppercase letters and one for lowercase. Then, later, you may have learned a totally different set of characters for the same letters in the

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The Top 5 Trickiest Topics in Japanese Language Classes

I’ve always thought one of the most annoying things about English is how groups of animals are counted. A smack of jellyfish? A murder of crows? A pod of dolphins? What’s going on here? If these idiosyncrasies annoy you as an English speaker, just wait until you start

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The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Particles

Learning a new language is like starting over. It’s almost like learning to speak again, like a baby. This can be a daunting task, especially if you’re a native English speaker tackling Japanese. Unlike what many overly optimistic “Free Learn Japanese” websites will tell you, Japanese isn’t

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The Best Japanese Classes Online for Intermediate Japanese Students

While learning any language, including Japanese, the intermediate phase is a huge accomplishment. It is that phase where you can now engage in casual greetings with close Japanese friends or order from your favorite sushi palace, but you can't watch your favorite anime without subtitles. Getting stuck at the intermediate

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5 Best Japanese Online Learning Tools For Japanese Classes

After years of hard work, you’re gaining a real mastery over the Japanese language. Thanks to Japanese online learning tools or in-person Japanese classes, you can now watch some of your favorite anime without subtitles and engage in small talk with that lovely sushi chef. However, we know that

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Is the Best Way to Study Japanese Symbols on Paper or Online?

I’ve recently been attempting to augment my own knowledge of kanji, or Japanese symbols (the journey never ends when there are 50,000 kanji to learn!). I learned Japanese as a kid and still speak well, but as I never went to school in Japan, my writing skills are

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How to Use Raw Manga Readers to Learn Japanese Characters

Have you ever read a comic book? If so, you know they’re full of action-packed stories and engaging characters. Raw manga, or Japanese comic books written using Japanese characters, have likewise been a prevalent source of convenient entertainment in Japan for decades. And, if you’re here to learn

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Learn Japanese Misconceptions about Americans before You Travel to Japan

You history buffs out there may know that Japan was entirely isolated from other countries until 1846, when the US military forced its way in. As such, in historical terms, it really hasn’t been open to visitors for long. Therefore, it’s understandable that the Japanese people have some

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The Best Way to Learn Japanese From Zero

When you visit Japan, you can’t help but be captivated by its culture and food—I mean, that ramen and those onigiri (rice triangles) are addictive! It’s understandable why you might want to go all in and learn Japanese. So, whether you are an enthusiastic anime watcher or

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Learn Japanese Culture Differences before You Travel to Japan

A hodophile (someone who loves traveling) cruising from New York to Washington D.C would notice some differences between the cities. They’d have to make a smooth transition from the celebrity/entertainment lifestyle to the politician/government atmosphere, from tank tops and miniskirts to suits. The truth is, everything

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Five Japanese Dialects to Listen for When You Travel to Japan

Languages are like ice cream flavors: you might want to try them all! We learn our native tongue predominantly when we can hardly make rational decisions for ourselves, and we don’t get to choose what it is. Some of us want to cross mental borders and communicate with individuals

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Learn Japanese for Free Online with the Top 10 Apps

Today’s technology connects us to vast amounts of information all the time. So, as you begin to study Japanese, you probably have the necessary tools right in your pocket! You can learn Japanese for free by tapping into online sources and apps that come in all levels for any