About a month in since I started Japanese from absolute zero. Full time job, 1.5-2 hours on weekdays and 3-4 on weekends. Long term goal is working in Japan in 2-3 years, short term goal is N5 by summer and then N3 after that. I have no anime background at all, so no free ͏ride on vocab recognition.

Here is the stack I settled on after two weeks of chaotic jumping between different language learning apps and YouTube channels. I want honest feedback on what is redundant and what is worth adding.

Kana. Killed hiragana in 5 days through Tofugu mnemonics and DrMoku, katakana took another week. Now it is maintenance only through reading.

Kanji. Wani͏Kani, currently level 2. I understand why everyone complains about how slow it is, but the mnemonics genuinely stick. Running Kanji Study alongside so I do not lose handwriting, otherwise I only recognize and never produce.

Vocabulary. An͏ki with the Kaishi 1.5k deck, 15 new cards a day. Hitting the classic beginner problem: I recognize the word in its Anki context but freeze when I see it in a manga or on NHK Easy. Started manually adding example sentences to each card to fight that.

Grammar. Genki I as the backbone plus Tae Kim as a free reference whenever Genki feels dry. One chapter a week.

Listening and soft speaking. This is the part I am least confident about. I am testing Pro͏mova app for short scenario dialogues, essentially japanese speaking practice for 10-15 minutes a day, so I produce sentences out loud from day one instead of waiting until N4. Not sure if this is too early or actually the right call. On top of that I run Nihongo con Teppei in the background while cooking and cleaning for the ears.

For those of you who hit N5 in under a year while working full time, what would you cut from this stack?

Ive Just started Genki 1 and the very first words before lesson are impossible to memorise. I just press "hard" every single time becsuse I dont know them. Am I doing something wrong?

Ive stated using genki 1 but I cant remember the first 14 greetings that im supposed to memorise before the first lesson. I was going to start one of those large anki decks but im not sure if thats the right step?

I've been watching a lot of grammar lessons on YouTube, and I feel like I have gotten a grasp on basic grammar. However, I feel like I can't really find practice materials online that can help reinforce what I've learned. Does anyone have any recommended resources that I can use?

I am currently preparing for JAPANESE N5 using the Nihongo Shark N5 deck and Tae Kims Guide to Grammer and Kanji is also included in the deck , so is it enough for me to clear N5 ?
Is the Deck sufficient for N5 ?
ANSWER ME !!!

Obviously, we’re all always learning, but after about a year and a half of dedicated studying, constant input, struggle, self doubt, wanting to quit, frustration, wanting to cry because i felt so stupid, and perseverance, i had a tutoring session today entirely in Japanese! I forgot easy words that i use all the time too like 子供　都市　 and even 彼, which is pretty embarrassing.

I work with a tutor who is an c1 English teacher so i constantly have the safety net of switching to English when things get frustrating, but my tutor is traveling for the next month so i booked a lesson with a different tutor who is b1 English, and we were able to speak Japanese for the entire hour!

Granted, my Japanese is broken, i make a lot of mistakes, and if any of you on here heard me speak you’d laugh, however I’m proud of myself for breaking through and not being scared to make mistakes.

I know what i need to work on, where my weaknesses are, but i think it’s important to not let perfect be the enemy of good. I had that mindset for quite a while. I was scared to make mistakes, what if i accidentally say が instead of は or を?

I really stopped caring if i made those mistakes and am now opting to learn as i go, make the mistakes, take the corrections and try to fix them the best i can.

Hopefully this will inspire some other folks who are struggling! It will click! I promise! I’m 43 and this is my 3rd language, so if my dumbass can do it, so can you!

Hey everyone! 👋

I want to share a small project I’ve been building: gojuon-quest, a terminal-based Hiragana practice game written in Rust.

The goal is simple: make kana practice feel lightweight, fast, and a bit more fun directly from the terminal.

What it is

• A TUI (terminal UI) quiz app for practicing Hiragana
• Built with Rust + ratatui
• Focused on quick rounds, smooth keyboard input, and clear progression

Why I made it

I wanted a study tool that:

• starts instantly,
• runs anywhere,
• and keeps me practicing consistently without opening a browser/app.

I’d love your feedback

If you try it, I’d love to hear:

• what feels good,
• what’s confusing,
• what features would make it more useful for your learning.

Contributions are very welcome 🙌

If you want to contribute, all levels are welcome—whether it’s:

• bug fixes,
• UX improvements,
• new game modes,
• tests/refactors,
• docs,
• or ideas from learners/teachers.

If this sounds interesting, come say hi and open an issue/PR on GitHub: https://github.com/ohvitorino/gojuon-quest

Thanks for reading! 💙

Need someone who is a beginner and preparing for JLPT N5 (target December). I am doing self preparation. We can discuss what to learn over the week, resources and target goals and mock test each other and conversational practice as well. I believe this would help achieve the goal as there would be competition as well motivation compared to studying alone.

DM me if interested.