Welcome

Yookoso! is a portal for those who study the Japanese language (Nihongo) and writing (Kanji) and those who want to travel to Japan or learn more about Japanese culture, life, music (JPOP) and more. On the site you will find unique content (see below) as well as a hand-selected directory of useful online resources.

Latest Update: Kanji Study Tool (December 2024)

I don't really use the Kanji study tool much so I didn't realize it had some coding issues (for a long time) but I think I have fixed them all and it should be much more useful now.

NOTICE: Grammar Email Service Status

DC, the guy behind jgram, accidentally let the domain name expire. Someone else rescued it and set up a copy of it at Takoboto. I have the last copy of the database from the old website and will be using it for my daily emails. I am not sure if the Takoboto site has added or plans to add new content.

Original Content (You'll Find Only on this Site)

This site started off as a way for me to share notes from a few of my Japanese courses. Over time it has become a directory of useful resources but below are the things you won't find elsewhere on the Web.

Course Notes

I have digitized notes summarizing different courses and textbooks. Most of these are quite old now, but since language doesn't change that frequently, they should still be useful.

• Yookoso! textbook summary notes (book 1 | book 2)
• Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin course notes (advanced beginner or lower intermediate level)
• An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese textbook summary notes (Chapters 1-8 | Chapters 9-15)
• ビジネスのための日本語: Getting Down to Business &ndash Japanese for Business People textbook notes
• Summary notes about the Causative, Passive, Passive-Causative and Natural Potential Verb Forms

Daily Kanji Email Service

Get a nicely formatted email every day with a new Kanji to study. Each email includes the readings, the meaning, a stroke order illustration, the Henshall mnemonic, and a list of common words that use the specific character. There is also a link to download a PDF version of the email.

Below are the latest Kanji:

Daily Kanji RSS Feeds

If you are a fan of RSS (if you aren't, you should be), you can access the daily Kanji levels that way instead of via email.

Daily Grammar Email Service

Similar to the Kanji email service, get a daily dose of Japanese grammar, courtesy of the jGram.org database.

Below are the latest grammar entries:

Kanji Study Tool

I created a Kanji study tool in conjuncion with the email lists but you can use it to randomly test and expand your Kanji knowledge. Choose by JLPT or school grade level or just any random Jōyō Kanji. The format is the same as for the emails. There is also a link to download a nicely formatted PDF version of the information for each character.

Japanese Popular Music to Study

Vocabulary Study

In addition to the course notes, I have created a basic study tool to review the vocabulary for some of the textbooks I have used, specifically:

• Business Japanese Class Vocabulary
• Limited Vocabulary from An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

Anki study decks

Anki is a popular free (except iOS) flashcard system that uses spaced repetition for more effective learning. Recently, it occurred to me that the kanji information sheets I use for my daily email service would make for a great Anki flashcard deck so I have done just that. In putting together my deck, I tried to take advantage of some of the program's useful features. In particular, I realized that many, including myself, will want to be able to study by JLPT or grade level, or possibly even by radical (bushu). In creating my deck, I included those as fields, but to study a subset of a deck you need to filter based on tags, so I also tagged each entry accordingly. Since there are more than the 1945 (old) standard Joyo, I have also tagged Joyo as well. The nice thing is that you only have to download one complete deck and then just use the "Custom Study" button. Once you click that, you can choose the "Limit to particular tags" option and then choose accordingly. You can also do more complicated filtered study with the search routine. Check out the user manual for more specifics.

Download Anki (.apkg) File (39MB)

I also offer the grammar content for Anki here in partnership with jGram.org

Download Anki (.apkg) File (NO Audio) (1MB)

Download Anki (.apkg) File (Male Voice Audio) (8.6MB)

Download Anki (.apkg) File (Femal Voice Audio) (8.7MB)

Pera Pera

This is NOT original content but tracking down the original files is a bit tricky, so I have made 99 of the 100 (cannot track down one of them) available to download directly from my server.

Recently Added Resources

1. LearnJapanese Subreddit
   

   The hub on Reddit for learners of the Japanese Language.

   Source: Reddit | Subjects: Community, Connecting (Groups, Forums, Language Exchange, Meetups, etc.), Forums, General, Language Study

2. Still Sounding Young at 85, She Is the Voice of Old Japan
   

   Midori Kato is the last original member of the cast of “Sazae-san,” a cartoon series that premiered in 1969 and never quite joined the modern world.

   Authors: Hisako Ueno, Motoko Rich | Source: NY Times | Subjects: Anime / Manga, Arts & Entertainment, Culture, History, Japan

3. The Japanese Language: a Masterclass for Beginners
   

   In this beginner-friendly guide, I’ll help you understand the fundamentals of the Japanese language, from reading and writing to speaking and listening. Why me? I have a university degree in Japanese, JLPT N1 certification, and lived and worked in Japan for several years. (You’ll see some of my experiences along the way.) So let’s go!

   Author: Kelsey Lechner | Source: Fluent in 3 Months | Subjects: Articles, Language Learning Tips, Language Study

4. けど: Why Are Japanese Speakers Always Ending Their Sentences with “But”?
   

   It Sometimes Sounds More Polite, But... That's Not All

   Author: Kanae Nakamine | Source: Tofugu | Subjects: Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

5. ばかり (Bakari) vs ところ (Tokoro): Two Ways to Say You “Just” Did Something
   

   How do you describe what you just did in Japanese? Maybe you just brushed your teeth, or you just bought a car. How can you describe those past activities that have just happened? Well, you've got two great options: ばかり and ところ.

   Authors: Emily Suvannasankha, Kanae Nakamine, Sarah Bush | Source: Tofugu | Subject: Vocabulary / Phrases

Most Popular

1. Kanji Study
   

2. Mailing Lists
   

3. A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar
   Most textbooks try to teach you Japanese with English. That want to teach you on the first page how to say, "Hi, my name is Smith," but they don't tell you about all the arbitrary decisions that were made behind your back. They probably decided to use the polite form even though learning the polite form before the dictionary form makes no sense. They also … [ Read more ]

4. Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You
   This book was formerly available under the more intriguing title Gone Fishin': New Angles on Perenial Problems. I highly recommend this book for all intermediate- or higher students of Japanese. It has been one of the most helpful books I have ever read since it deals with perennial problems that Japanese students deal with.

5. Yookoso - Book 1
   Yookoso! — Book 1 Yookoso is a popular two-volume textbook that is used in many U. S. Universities' Japanese language curriculum. Overall, they are solid books for learning the basic grammatical structure of Japanese but they are a bit heavy (literally not figuratively). Thus, I decided to compile the key points covered and make them available here on the Web. These notes correspond to the first … [ Read more ]