I'm pretty sure other habit/ritual driven people will understand me on this. For the first months of studying (years ago, I had a lot of "off" time in between studying phases), I really loved the structure textbooks gave me. I did listen to podcasts aimed towards learners, but it was mostly studying with books and notes.
At some point, I started reading on here and understood that I needed native input. I always had an easier time with listening comprehension, so I started listening to native podcasts/audio material (badonkadonk, Yurie Collins, sometimes Goldnrush. And anime like Haikyuu without subtitles), but reading was SO much scarier to me. I tried to better my vocab and kanji through isolated studying, but that helped to a point.
Around a year ago, I found a routine that worked for me and started reading また、同じ夢を見ていた (classic, I know) with the help of Yomitan, I slowly got through it and noticed that I REALLY took things in during that time. It seems obvious, but I was blown away by how much quicker I read that last chapter compared to the first. So, I decided to read コンビニ人間, rated a few levels higher than the first on Learnnatively. That one's shorter and I was more used to reading, but I felt real progress after finishing that as well.
Right now I'm starting 告白, I actually watched the movie adaptation a few years ago but I don't remember much. I expect it to be a jump in difficulty, but I also know I love that kind of story so that should help. Reading BOOKS still takes a long time because when it's hard it gets to a point where I don't understand anything anymore and have to stop. So right now the same book is in my routine for many months, but I don't let that frustrate me because that way, vocab really sticks in my brain.
There are way more experienced learners that can probably give better advice, but seriously. Keep trying things until they stick. I was in the TRENCHES for more than a year, struggling because I tried many ways of studying with more immersion but they always ended up being boring or WAY too heavy, so I wouldn't stick to it.
Right now, I'm doing mined Anki through takoboto+podcasts+reading+writing+anime. I don't do every single one every day, and it's FINE if I stick to Anki+a podcast while making lunch+a short journal entry on busy days. That's the sweet spot for me, and I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere:)
by Ordinary-Dood
22 comments
Wow that’s very impressive! I can barely read sentences yet. It’s really cool that you’re already reading full books in Japanese. They look super intimidating and I hope to get to your level at some point 😄
Hell yeah! Right now I’m 70% through 終わらない冬、壊れた夢の国 which I only started reading because it had an interesting title and cover on BookWalker. It’s really satisfying seeing how fast I’m able to fly through the pages on a good day!
I will add, I have tried reading books of media that I’ve seen before (Your Name, Apothecary Diaries) because I thought it would be easier for comprehension. But I haven’t been able to stick with them as much as the book I’m reading now because I already know what’s going to happen in those ones, whereas I’m really excited to see the ending of my current one! Everyone’s different, but if anyone is struggling with motivation to read and is also only trying to read familiar media, try picking up something completely new!!
Great job OP!
Do you have any website recommendations that have furigana options?
I’ve only read 2 novels in Japanese so far. I first started with 恋する寄生虫 by 三秋縋. It felt incredibly slow and tiring at the beginning, especially because it had extremely technical terms regarding parasitology. However, I did notice my reading getting smoother as I was reaching the end. In total it took me about 4 months to read it (considering I didn’t read every single day, and some days I read only a few pages).
My second novel was スターティング・オーヴァー by the same author, and the difference was really tangible this time. I didn’t have to check Shirabe Jisho nearly as often, I didn’t have to slow down most of the time either. This one took me only a month with the same considerations as the first one.
Next I want to read いたいのいたいの、とんでゆけ by, you guessed it, 三秋縋 (yes, I do love this man’s works). I wanna try to read it in about 2 weeks if possible.
For whoever that still feels reading is too daunting of a task, I swear on my life that you will not regret starting because it’s such a helpful practice.
I agree with learning through reading. It’s a great way to get spaced repetition in, even though it’s not necessarily optimized to your forgetting curve; it’s at least going to help a lot with retention and comprehension by giving you more colorful context.
If you’ve got an iOS device (or a Mac if you have another computer…) I made an EPUB reader with Anki integration (or its own built in flashcards with some fancier features like reviewing cards per chapter): https://reader.manabi.io
I’m almost done adding manga via Mokuro too
One neat feature is that it can hide furigana based on whether you’re learning or know the vocab already (this is configurable). So once you add a flashcard for a word you encounter, it can hide that word’s furigana until you click on it
My longer term goal is to replace a lot of flashcard/Anki usage with reading. I’m working on having your reading progress automatically mark any recognition flashcards as “reviewed” for vocab/kanji which appear in the text.
I’d love to figure out smart ways of bringing up readings that maximize automatic flashcard review efficiency. So far I have the app passively collecting your own private corpus of example sentences whenever you open a book or webpage which will help implement something for this later, even for sharing what readings contain what vocabulary/kanji with others (sorta like JPDB) so that you can instantly discover readings: to match your flashcard review needs (so that reading a linked text auto-reviews your new/due cards), to find you reading material appropriate to your comprehension level, and to show you I+1 sentences
How do you use this Website
Wow! May I ask what websites you’d recommend and what are the ones in the image?
So true. I’ve learned that reading is my fav way to study. Sometimes, when I switch over to reading in English for the entertainment it’s not as stimulating.
I’m with you! I was so scared for years to jump into books. I had picked up a children’s book when I lived in Japan called something like “stories you can read in one go!” and not only could I NOT read them in one go, but I had to look so much up. I also tried books like
Turns out, children’s books are not always the place to start. I’ve started researching this a bit in grad school, and native children’s books tend to use a different set of vocabulary than that learned by 2nd language learners. Some are good, but it isn’t as simple as children’s book = low level. Graded readers for lower level folks to mid-level folks (e.g. [tadoku.org](http://tadoku.org) ) are much better for 2nd language learners, and like you said, Natively is an incredible resource for finding real novels and stuff to dig into. I started with 魔女の宅急便 and moved on to コンビニ人間 and now ちょっと今から仕事やめてくる (highly recommend).
Around the same time I tried to read children’s books, I also tried to read manga with very little success. Recently, after having struggled through a few books in Japanese and making a dedicated effort, I’ve found I can read some manga very smoothly, especially if it has furigana. I’m reading 神さまの言うとおり now and am having so much fun. It’s so SO gratifying when you find the right level range and the reading turns from a study practice into a bit of a pleasure activity. (Which of course, is the trick to putting in the input hours needed).
I’m about N4 level and need to start picking up new words and kanji but don’t really know where to do so, so this sounds like a great idea. Any recommendations for easier books? I’ve heard of yomitan but haven’t used it. Might give it a shot!
How long did it take you to get a level where you could read books and novels confidently
I see a fellow 3ds modifier. 🙂
What level?
Did you use any programs to help with the reading? I’m currently using Manabi reader + Shirabe Jishno for unknown words to try and start the リング trilogy.
Omg how do you download these books. Can I do it on iphone?
Yeah learning a language is really easy. Just read a bunch and then layer on some audio so you can build your listening pattern recognition skills.
That’s basically it. Do a lot of both and you’re done.
I can’t even fathom getting to the point of reading a book like this…. Graded Readers (Tadoku) are a blessing for me, along with some simple manga (Takagi-san), but this blank-text is so surreal to me. I just don’t even know how to approach reaching the point of being able to read it.
How did you find books when you first started reading? I want to start learning from reading too, but the difficulty level seems super high
i love reading!!! i’m not very good at it though lol
Where did you find the 世界から猫が消えたなら?
Im reading 告白 right now and its sooooo good. You NEED to read 容疑者Xの献身 if you haven’t already it’s an absolute classic.
Nothing to add, just wanted to say I’ve read all of these and enjoyed them a lot! You have good taste!