semi hiatus//mental health

白 - white

白い • 「しろい」 • white (adj.)

真っ白 • 「まっしろ」 • pure white

自白 • 「じはく」 • confession

赤 - red

赤い • 「あかい」 • red (adj.)

赤金 • 「あかがね」 • copper

赤ちゃん • 「あかちゃん」 • baby, infant

青 - blue, green

青い • 「あおい」 • blue, green (adj.)

青空 • 「あおぞら」 • blue sky

붙잡다- vb. to seize, cling/hold on (to), grasp/grab, clutch

밀어내다- vb. to push, shove, thrust (force)

억지로- to force~ ex: 억지로 웃다- force a smile/laugh

견뎌내다- vb. to survive, withstand, “hang in there”

반드시- surely, certainly, without fail, no matter what

호구- n. pushover

쓰러지다- vb. to collapse, fall (down)

지치다- to be (get/become) tired, exhausted, worn out, fatigued

조강지처- n. one’s own wife

상관- n. 1: superior figure; 2: correlation, business (with)

애매- n. vagueness, obscurity; (애매하다)- adj. to be vague, ambiguous, dubious

헷갈리다- adj. to be confused

묶이다- to be tied (up), bound, chained, tethered

풀다- vb. to untie, undo, unwind, disentangle, take off

So I get a lot of questions here and on Instagram about the books I use for Japanese and what I would recommend to beginners. So I thought I’d put together a little list of books I would suggest you start off with as a beginner in Japanese (these are all books I have used myself or had/would consider using) Obviously I’m not saying you need all of these books, pick one and see how it goes (although I do recommend using more than one resource)! I may do another post like this for intermediate learners if there’s enough interest (with the textbook series they will take you to a higher level, but this is just recommendations as a starting point) ^^ 

Learning Hiragana and Katakana Flashcards

Japanese Kanji Flashcards Volume 1

Japanese Kanji for Beginners

Japanese From Zero Series

Kana From Zero | Hiragana From Zero | Katakana From Zero | Kanji From Zero

Japanese From Zero 1 | Japanese From Zero 2 | Japanese From Zero 3 | 

Japanese From Zero 4

Genki Series

Level 1 textbook | Level 1 workbook | Level 2 textbook | Level 2 workbook

Japanese For Busy People Series

Kana workbook | Level 1 kana ver | Level 1 romaji ver | Level 2

Basic Japanese

Japanese for Beginners

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

Essential Japanese Grammar

Essential Japanese Vocabulary

🌷 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì) 脚踏实地 literally means “to step on solid ground.” It means that you work hard, focus on the fundamentals, and proceed in a steady and stable fashion. It’s an extremely positive chengyu. Here’s an example : “现在我们要继续脚踏实地”   “xiànzài wǒmen yào jìxù jiǎotàshídì”   “Right now we need to continue staying grounded and pushing ahead”   

🌷 九牛一毛 (jiǔ niú yì máo) 九牛一毛 literally means “9 cows and 1 strand of cow hair.” It indicates something that’s so small that it’s like one strand of cow hair among 9 cows. Here’s an example: “电子商务的盈利在中国整体商业环境中简直是九牛一毛.”   “diànzǐ shāngwù de yínglì zài zhōngguó zhěngtǐ shāngyè huánjìng zhōng jiǎnzhí shì jiǔniúyìmáo.”   “In the entire Chinese commercial environment, the profits from E-commerce are simply just a drop in the bucket.”  

🌷 一无所有 (yìwúsuǒyǒu) 一无所有 means to have absolutely nothing at all. It’s basically being penniless. Here’s an example: “他无家可归，一无所有”   “tā wújiākěguī， yìwúsuǒyǒu”   “He was homeless, and didn’t have a penny to his name.”  

🌷 一见钟情(yí jiàn zhōng qíng) 一见钟情 means “love at first sight.” It’s generally used for people, but you can also use it for other physical objects. Here’s an example: “她就是我的一见钟情 “   “tā jiùshì wǒ de yíjiànzhōngqíng“   “She is my love at first sight.”  

🌷 自由自在 (zì yóu zì zài) 自由自在 means that something is free and easy. It can be used to describe someone’s personality, how someone behaves, or how a place makes people feel. For example: “这是一个自由自在的地方。”   “zhè shì yī gè zì yóu zì zai de dì fāng”   “This is a free and easy place”  

🌷 莫名其妙 (mò míng qí miào)  莫名其妙 literally means that it’s hard to articulate the profoundness or mystery or something. It basically means that something is baffling. For example: “他说了几句莫名其妙的话。”   “tā shuì le jī gōu mò míng qí miào de huà”   “He said some mysterious words. ”  

🌷 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi) 半途而废 means to start doing something, only to give up halfway. Literally, it means to walk half the road and give up. Here’s an example: “我不是半途而废的人”   “wǒ búshì bàntúérfèi de rén”   “I’m not someone who gives up halfway”

🌷 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù) 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù) basically means you’re “just tossing an idea out there.” It literally means “to cast a brick to attract jade.” You’re basically saying, “this idea I’m tossing out there is garbage, but perhaps it will lead one of you to make a better contribution.” It’s a humble way to contribute to a conversation. Here’s an example: “我的建议还不够成熟，算是抛砖引玉吧 “   “wǒ de jiàn yì hái bú gòu chéng shú, suàn shì pāo zhuān yǐn yù ba “   “My suggestion is still half-baked — you could see it as just me tossing an idea out there“  

🌷 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) has two meanings which are linked. The first meaning is the refreshing and liberating feeling you get when you see a beautiful, open area. Typically, immediately before this moment, the beautiful area is not visible and you might be feeling a little stuffy. Second, it’s also used for the feeling you get when you achieve an “aha” or “eureka!” moment. Here’s an example: “大学时期，乔尼开始有机会用Mac做设计，那是一种豁然开朗的体验“   “dàxué shíqí, qiáoní kāishǐ yǒujīhuì yòng Mac zuò shèjì, nàshì yīzhǒng huòránkāilǎng de tǐyàn”   “During college, Jony began to have opportunities to use a Mac to design, and that was a refreshing, eye-opening experience”  

🌷  津津有味 (jīn jīn yǒu wèi) 津津有味 means to eat something deliciously. Also, it can be used for activities beyond just eating, as long as the person doing the activity finds it engaging. It’s not something that people typically use to describe themselves, but you can liberally use it on your friends as it has a positive tone. Here’s an expressive example: “津津有味地看报”   “jīnjīnyǒuwèi de kànbào”   “to devour the newspaper”  

🌷  理所当然 (lǐ suǒ dāng rán) 理所当然 sounds like “to go without saying” or “as a matter of course,” but literally means that “according to reason, it should be the case.” Here’s an example: “Some things which are obvious or natural in the course of a marriage…”   “。。。在婚姻中的一些～的事。。。”   “。。。zài hūnyīn zhōng de yīxiē ～de shì 。。。”  

🌷  全力以赴 (quán lì yǐ fù) 全力以赴 basically means to give it your all (literally “exert all your strength”) for a goal. It has a positive tone, and is somewhat formal but can still be used in everyday speech. It’s important to note that 全力以赴 is typically used for actions that haven’t finished yet, rather than actions that have already been completed. Here’s an example: “无论考生的笔试成绩如何，都要全力以赴准备面试”   “wúlùn kǎoshēng de bǐshì chéngjì rúhé ，dōuyào quánlìyǐfù zhǔnbèi miànshì”   “No matter how the student’s written test score is, he/she needs to give 100% to prepare for the interview”  

🌷  心血来潮 (xīn xuè lái cháo) 心血来潮 basically means “spur of the moment” or “on a whim.” Literally, it evokes the image of blood rushing to your heart (of course in English we’d say head). It’s a perfect chengyu for when you’re telling a story a friend. For example: “某日他们心血来潮，决定比拼一下各自的脚法“   “mǒu rì tāmen xīnxuèláicháo,juédìng bǐpīn yíxià gèzì de jiǎofǎ”   “One day, on a spur of the moment, they decided to compare and compete to see whose footwork was best”  

🌷  乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo) 乱七八糟 means that something is a total mess. You can use it to describe tangible things like messy rooms, or more abstract things, like a messed up life. For example: 是谁弄得乱七八糟的？   “shì shéi nòng de luàn qī bā zāo de?”   “who made this mess?”  

It’s amazing how someone can teach themselves a whole new language by themselves. I self-studied Japanese and never used a textbook. There are so many resources for learning, online and free. You can learn just using the online or free resources listed here and beyond. But where do you start?

First, start with hiragana. There are many ways to learn it.

flashcards, or use quizlet to drill it into your head

Dr. Moku app ( has one for katakana too) I highly recommend this but $

hiragana quiz

hiragana alphabet game

hiragana writing sheet

tofugu hiragana

videos:

hiragana song

The Easiest Way To Learn Hiragana

Next, learn Katakana

Dr. Moku katakana app

katakana alphabet game

katakana writing sheet

tofugu katakana 

videos:

Japanese Alphabet Song - Study Hiragana katakana Chart - Learn to read japanese alphabet table

Learn ALL Katakana in 1 Hour - How to Write and Read Japanese

Next understand more about hiragana like long vowel sounds, muddied sounds, The Small や、ゆ、and よ, the small つ、the long vowel sound with Tae Kim.

Then more with katakana. Learn the long vowel sound and the small ア イ ウ エ オ with Tae Kim again.

Then additional sounds using whatever method helped you learn hiragana and katakana.

Done with all that?  Now, drop romaji. It’s dead to you. A little reluctant? Practice more.

Learn grammar next with vocab and kanji on the side. It’s hard to learn grammar without vocab and it’s hard to learn words without understanding some kanji. I know it’s tough but once you ride it out through grammar learning Japanese becomes much smoother and easier. It’s not as frustrating. It’s so fun.

Grammar

Tae Kims Guide to Learning Japanese

imabi

http://maggiesensei.com/

Vocab

memrise

JLPT N5 vocab list ( recommend learning other JLPT vocab later too)

learn the words in the grammar lessons too!

Write down new vocab you come across and make flash cards or quizlets to learn them

kanji

get a Japanese kanji book

tanoshiijapanese kanji lessons

my post on how I learn kanji

Tae kim’s kanji explanation 

Dictionaries

Dictionaries are helpful for vocab and kanji.

imiwa?

jisho

Japanese ( This is my main dictionary)

Download Japanese dictionary and Japanese-English dictionary on iPhone in settings, go to dictionary on settings

After all that just keep practicing. Go to your best free resource, your public library and find books in your level, watch videos in Japanese, read manga, watch a film in Japanese etc. 

Also, here’s a good masterpost that also lists other good masterposts and more.

Here’s some miscellaneous advice I want to give beforehand I really hope you'll take:

Try using the Japanese dictionary the most, not the Japanese-English one but the completely in Japanese definitions of words one. Use Japanese-English when you can’t understand the Japanese definition to help yourself. I found English words given to define Japanese words seem to be similar words or/and words the Japanese word is usually translated in. It’s hard to really understand the word exactly. To really understand the word I find myself having to read the Japanese definitions. This is literally what I give the most credit for my progress in Japanese. ( some good ones are kotobank and goo辞書 as well as the iPhone one.)

Learn loan words. Sometimes they aren’t used like the language it originally came from uses it.

Understand what radicals are so you use them to look up kanji. Lots of Japanese dictionaries let you look up by radical.

Practice stroke order. I mean my handwriting is messy but a least it’s legible and not as messy as it could be.

learn Dialects!

Some words use a couple different kanjis. Learn the nuances of using those different kanjis in the word.

Read news in Japanese

learn the culture. It’s impossible to learn Japanese without understanding the culture.

learn kanji by learning how its used and vocab. Here’s a post I made about that. It’s the same one above.

Change your phone into Japanese.

follow Japanese people’s accounts on social media, whether that’s here on Tumblr, Twitter or Instagram.

And lastly, Don’t lose yourself to discouragement. Keep going. I can’t tell you how good it felt to watch Jdrama completely in Japanese or read a whole adult novel in Japanese. I could see anyone getting there too. It takes time but it’s very possible.

Followers, feel free to recommend any resource in the notes:)

Instagram story psd!

Social media psd for instagram stories, very easy to use!

Fonts: Roboto Black

Like/reblog if used: credit me, and I’d love to see how you used it Like o reblog se lo usate: creditatemi se lo usate e mi piacerebbe vedere il vostro risultato