#looktoki

[onigiriforears]

Recommendation: Apps for Japanese Learning

Over the years, I've downloaded and tested many apps. Though my favorite app was discontinued (I miss you, mindsnacks Japanese), there are still others that I don't think I'll be removing from my phone any time soon. In light of duolingo's horrible update causing a large migration and search for other apps, I thought I'd share some of my favorites. Also, some of these apps have websites or discords for you to interact with other users or to ask support questions.

For those who cannot use/don't like the graphics, the written out version is below the break.

Lingo Legend

RPG-based language learning game that I was a beta tester for. It also offers Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, German, Italian, and Portuguese. Uses spaced repetition.

Offers beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels.

User can jump between lessons and difficulty levels.

Available on ios and android

Manabi Reader

Caters to all JLPT levels and offers reading options on an array of topics (including news, games, reddit). Can hilight words and look up in-app. User can also paste a link within the app to read.

Companion app available (Manabi Flashcards).

Available on ios

TODAI: EASY Japanese News

Aggregates news from various sources.

Offers practice JLPT exams in-app.

Offers grammar resources and in-app dictionary that can generate flashcards from words saved in notes.

Offers audio listening, as well as videos with transcriptions.

Available on ios and android. Also has a website.

Shirabe Jisho

Offline dictionary app.

User can favorite words, make lists, take notes, make flashcards, etc.

User can search for words in kana, romaji, drawing, or through radical (or radical building).

Available on ios

Renshuu

Think quizlet, but solely for Japanese. You can create your own lists, use others, play shiritori, earn prizes and interact on forums.

You can study grammar, kanji, vocab, flashcards, learn and submit mnemonics. You can also friend people.

Available on ios and android. Also has a website (of which I am an avid user).

Connect with me: Ko-fi Shop & Tips | Discord | Studygram | Ask Box

↳ psst! my ko-fi shop has learning resources on it. try to check back for new things bc im always working on something to add in there

[tokidokitokyo]

about me

Hi, I'm toki (she/her)!

I've been studying Japanese for 10+ years (omg) and I've had this Japanese langblr since 2019. I learned Japanese formally starting in high school and although I've never taken the JLPT, I consider myself lower advanced level (N3/N2?) except when I'm not.

I post:

beginner to advanced level Japanese content * kanji * vocabulary * grammar * kanji kentei test * kotowaza kentei test * other content

photos of Japan (mine & others')

Japanese culture/fashion/art/illustrations

random personal thoughts

unrelated things

Please feel free to talk to me about Japanese (or not-Japanese) anytime! I will do my best to answer questions related to Japanese or point you to a resource that can help.

My Japanese goals:

be better at Japanese

teach my son Japanese (he is learning to talk)

improve my 敬語 (formal Japanese) all around

write more in Japanese and have my writing corrected

Personal stuff:

native English speaker

old enough to have a husband and a son (2020 pandemic baby)

full time working mama (adulting is hard)

my hobbies include raising my son and catering to the whims of my 3 cats

I like anime/manga/reading/movies/hiking/travel

I track #tokidokitokyo (and post original content under this tag) and I also track #looktoki

[diarystudyblr]

_autumn studying challenge;

🍁6th November - Scarves or hats?🍁

Both of them. I can't go without one of the two, I need to be as warm as possible.

🍁7th November -What do you prefer: winter or autumn?🍁

I prefer autumn because it is not as cold as in winter and you can enjoy outdoor adventures more comfortably.

[wedgeantill]

Venice Carnival by Jacob + Katie Schwarz

[onigiriforears]

a reminder that j*p is a racial slur in english. if you're trying to abbreviate for japan in english, go with jpn. if you're trying to abbreviate for japanese (the language), go with jpns.

i know that a lot of ppl who use english online are not native english speakers, so you might not have this knowledge--trying to save ppl from being perceived as racist when you just didnt have the knowledge

[onigiriforears]

Target Language Reading Challenge

I'm starting a new reading challenge for myself and I'd like to invite the rest of the tumblr langblr and studyblr community (and I may repost on my studygram) to participate. Honestly, while I made this with the intentions of the langblr community using it to strengthen reading skills in our target languages, I think anyone who loves reading or wants some encouragement reading may enjoy participating.

Make sure to use the tag #onigirireadingchallenge so that I can see and reblog.

If you want a higher quality of the image, it's available here.

[onigiriforears]

Where to begin when reading native novels to work on reading comprehension?

So, you've made it to the point where you'd like to branch out and read some novels and children's books in Japanese? Then you've come to the right place! Let's talk about three helpful publishers (Kodansha, Kadokawa, and Shueisha) that can make reading native materials less daunting!

The Kodansha Aoitori Bunko Books (青い鳥文庫) were created and published by Kodansha with elementary schoolers in mind, so almost all kanji has furigana on it. The text is larger and there's normally a bit more spacing in between it (like our children's chapter books in English). Just like other children's chapter books, there are occasional photos included. Aoitori Readers include both original series as well as some translations of international literature (i.e., Little Women, Murder on the Orient Express, Sherlock Holmes, etc.). There are also some adaptations of other series はたらく細胞 (Cells at Work) Those books have blue around the cover.

The Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko Readers (角川つばさ文庫) operate on the same concept, except the series are normally on a more advanced level. With this in mind, they may use more advanced grammar than the Aoitori series. There are original series, but sometimes books/series for a higher comprehension levels will be adapted into Tsubasa Bunko Readers. This includes popular Japanese novels and series as well as international classics (i.e., Chronicles of Narnia, Pippi Longstocking, Anne of Green Gables, etc.). For adaptations of Japanese novels and series, there will be the "regular" version of the novel and then the Tsubasa Bunko version bc it's the same kanji, same grammar, same words. It'll also supply the furigana for those kanjis and might give little annotations or some photos here and there. For example, the award-winning novel 夜は短し歩けよ乙女 (The Night is Short, Walk on Girl) by 森見 登美彦 (Morimi Tomihiko) has both the "regular" publication and the Tsubasa Bunko version. Tsubasa Bunko Readers have green around the cover. Click on the links to get a preview of each version to compare and contrast.

The Shueisha Mirai Bunko Books also operates the same. There are adaptations of manga series (like Kaguya-sama: Love is War and Demon Slayer) as well as original series. Mirai Bunko Readers have orange around the cover.

If you're worried about attempting to read any of these on your own, come suggest some of them for us to read together at the Seitokai Bookclub! (And even if it doesn't get selected immediately, someone might be interested in being a reading buddy with you :D).

Happy reading!

[onigiriforears]

Oct. Bookclub: おじさまと猫 (A Man and His Cat)

The Seitokai Bookclub is BACK and this month, we'll be reading A Man and His Cat. A Man and His Cat is considered to be an upper beginner/N4 level series by those who have logged their reading of the book on natively.com. If you're wondering why it looks like we've suddenly drifted back to manga--VOTING! Every bookclub book is voted on and the majority wanted a soothing break from all that was read with 夜カフェ (the emotions were high and heavy; so was the vocab list lmao).

Technically, our reading of it starts today, but the chapters are very short (4 pages a chapter), so feel free to join us at your own convenience. You're never considered to be behind or late, everyone always reads at their own pace. Our "schedule" exists for those who would like a structured discussion to encourage them to continue reading, as well as give them something to look forward to when it comes to suggestions and voting. If you were previously worried about joining bookclub because you couldn't get your hands on the book, don't worry! It's uploaded as a PDF in our GOOGLE CLASSROOM. Either DM me or come join the discord to get access to the google classroom :D.

Come join us and our discussion in the discord; we'd love to have you.

...seriously...come join us. it's a cat...and an old man...join us

[onigiriforears]

Practice Grade 1 Jōyō Kanji

This 30-page reusable practice packet is available here at my ko-fi shop.

"This practice printable includes all of the grade 1 kanji from the 2010 National Jouyou Kanji List that was officially announced by the Japanese Ministry of Education. The Jouyou Kanji List is not an exhaustive/comprehensive list of all kanji; however, these kanji and their readings are permitted for usage in official government documents (which helps to minimize confusion). For grade 1, there are 80 kanji. This practice printable is organized by radicals, strokes, and readings. There is also a practice section for practicing the kanji and noticing the differences between typed kanji and handwritten kanji. There are 30 pages in this pdf."

[tokidokitokyo]

Hey~ I saw you are tracking a tag, do you think it's a good idea to do it even if you don't have a lot of followers (yet)? I recently started a Japanese studyblr and I'd like to put something in my bio like you did but deep inside I don't want to look pretentious... (Btw you boosted the intro post of my studyblr! Thank you so much, it was really helpful ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ)

Hi! Thanks for your ask! Yes, I think you should create a tracking tag!

If you are thinking of using one, I recommend to go ahead and start it now. I started a tracking tag for my Japanese langblr because I saw many other people doing this in the langblr/studyblr community. I created it when I had very few followers, and although it might feel a bit awkward (it did for me), I don't think it's pretentious at all! It's just another way to interact with people on tumblr.

When you start making mutuals (people who you follow and who also follow you) tags can be an easy way for them to give you a heads up on posts they think you might like. It also makes it known that people can tag you on things and you won't mind. It's always a nice surprise when people tag you in something that you might not otherwise have found.

I'll be honest, not many people use my tracking tag (only about 2 people have ever used it), which might just be the people I follow and their habits, or maybe people just don't know I have a tracking tag (it's #looktoki fyi). But I know other studyblrs where they get lots of tags.

One suggestion I would make whilst thinking up a tracking tag is to look it up on tumblr and see what results you get. If you don't get many that's probably a good sign that not many people are using it. If you get a lot, then you might rethink it or you'll see a ton of posts that might be unrelated in your feed.

(Also, yay, I'm glad I could help boost your studyblr! ^.^ がんばってね！)

[tokidokitokyo]

what is a tracking tag? /gen

Hi! A tracking tag is a tag that you follow via tumblr, and it's particular to you. So if someone wants to bring your attention to a particular post, they would insert your tag into a tumblr post and you, being presumably the only person who follows the tag, would see it on your dash because you follow that tag.

I wrote down what tag I am tracking in my tumblr bio so that people can see how to get my attention on posts via the tags. This is different than the @ function because you don't have to write anything in the repost, it's just in the tags.

So, if @onigiriforears wants my attention on a post, she will tag it with #looktoki since she knows I follow that particular tag, and that there aren't many other posts with that tag on it, and then it will pop up on my dashboard.

I can also search my tag on tumblr and all the posts that have been tagged will pop up so that I can browse them (I think there are currently less than 10).

I hope that helps!

[wedgeantill]

NORWAY - A Time-Lapse Adventure 4K by Morten Rustad

[wedgeantill]