How do I use Google Japanese?

Handwriting:

Do you have an Android phone? (that's the kind I have so my app recommendations would be based on that). You should get a Japanese keyboard for your phone. Googles is good, it has a handwriting section. I would use that section to see if the keyboard can read your handwriting. If it can, you don't have to worry about it, and if it can't, then you might have to do the practicing handwriting thing. I would say that practicing with a context would be more useful (for example, writing a word over an over rather than one character at a time)Your handwriting will get better with practice, like, just the act of making physical notecards is good practice.

Table of Contents Show

Handwriting:

I'm at the level that I can read most things if I have a dictionary, so when I read manga like Natsume Yuujinchou, I make a bookmark and put the vocabulary I don't know on the bookmark until I fill it up. Once I fill it up, I re-read that section and then get out a new bookmark for the next section. (I keep the bookmarks in the book in case I ever want to re-read it fast--some vocabulary you just won't memorize like "Handrails." (I use sticky notes for where I switch the bookmarks, lol)

Anki

This is the anki thing for Hiragana I was talking about.

If Yotsuba looks like a manga you think you'd like, you should get the anki deck for it. This way you can study the vocabulary that shows up in it before you try to read it. They also give you the plain old vocab list, so you could do the bookmark thing I do instead if you don't think you want to memorize the vocabulary used in the deck (as if you're going to japan soon, you might focus more on memorizing different more relevant words and just use Yotsuba as reading practice for grammar). You can also read Yotsuba for free online on Bilinguemanga.

Export Anki as CVC file. This is for your computer so you can easily upload Anki decks into google sheets, so you can edit them that way.

APPS

Lingodeer. A game-like app like Doolingo but works for Asian languages like Japanese. (Doolo is for indo-Eropean)

Japanese Pod 101's app is called Innovative

HelloTalk- This app has native Japanese speakers who correct your grammar. If you can, you should treat it as a diary. Be free to experiment!

Japanese-A dictionary app that looks nice and has its own nice flashcard system. You cannot send out your flashcards though.

Yomiwa-A dictionary app with a web browser that has furigana and a section where you can past like a paragraph and it lets you click each word. Its ugly, but it works. You can send decks to anki somehow

Takoboto-A dictionary app Prettyer then Yomiwa that you can send decks to Anki

Pipop for music and Voiky for clips--these are random youtube videos where they have the script in Japanese and in English, with the vocabulary separated out and defined. They are short, and you get to watch two clips every day. For Voikey they are like commercials or cooking videos.