​ July 3, 2018

​ One Comment

How to study
Japanese grammar
Let's demystify studying
Japanese grammar!
Grammar is either your favorite part of a language, or the most frustrating part of

a language. Here’s my guide on how to study Japanese grammar.

These methods can be applied to any language with a similar sentence structure,

though! If you’re looking for tips to study Korean grammar, read this post.
STEP 1

Write a grammar structure

down and fill in your own
words.
Once you learn a grammar structure, writing it out and filling it in with your own

words is one of the best ways to learn it.

For example, if you have the structure ~てみる which is to “try”, then and your

example is 「この本を読んでみてください」 (please try reading this book), then you

can take the sentence and replace words to make it your own. e.g.:

このパンを食べてみてください Please try eating this bread

その車を運転してみてください Please try driving that car

After you write it in your own way, be sure to get it checked by a native speaker.

STEP 2
Use a grammar reference
dictionary
My favorite grammar dictionary is A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese

Grammar by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui. It’s full of example sentences

and easily describes the differences between similar grammar structures. There

are 3 dictionaries: One for basic, then intermediate, and finally advanced. You

can find enough resources for basic Japanese grammar for free online, so I

suggest getting the Intermediate one first if you need a reference book for

grammar.

I recommend not using it as a textbook itself to work through, but rather as a

reference to refer to when you encounter a difficult grammar structure. If you’re

not keen on buying a book, you can always use a grammar reference website

like jgram.org.

STEP 3

Use the grammar structure

often through writing
As soon as you learn something new, don’t just write it down in your notebook

and forget about it. You can make an Instagram post using it, write a blog in

Japanese using it, or even just talk to yourself or make a video where you use it.

The more you say it, even if you just speak to yourself, the more it will become

cemented in your memory.

The more you write in Japanese, the more you can engrain new grammar

structures into your long-term memory. When you use a textbook and see a new

grammar structure, write it down and replace nouns and adjectives with other
words so that you can practice the same grammar structure for different

examples.

Don’t be afraid to write your own example paragraphs and mini essays even if

you’re a beginner. I have a comprehensive guide that can help!

How to practice writing Japanese even as a

beginner
Regardless of which level you are in Japanese, this guide will be useful as it’s

packed with 112 writing prompts and activities, writing tips, a 7-step guide to

success, and resources that will help you get the most out of your writing.

What you’ll get

● Information on the importance of writing

● Tips for writing if you’re not just ready yet
● A 7-step guide to writing long-form pieces
● 112 writing activities and writing prompts for beginner, intermediate and
advanced levels
● Resources and ideas on where to get corrections on your writing
● A discounted personalized language coaching call with me

Get the writing ebook

STEP 4
Get a good grammar textbook
or app
An app I use regularly for all levels of Japanese grammar is Bunpo. It goes from

beginner (hiragana, katakana, and basic vocab) all the way to N1 (advanved

Japanese) grammar. I’ve found Bunpo to be most effective when you do a little

bit daily, and that also helps the review section not pile up.

Here’s a Twitter thread I made with my pros and cons while using Bunpo.

Starting a thread for myself here to keep track of my progress on

@BunpoApp. Right now I am at N3 level, studying towards N2. For my

sanity I want to clear all the levels on the app. Today I wanna aim to

finish the Hiragana and Katakana section.

— Lindie • 凛子 • 린디 • 琳迪 (@lindiebee) February 24, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Top recommended Japanese

textbooks
A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar
For intermediates

Must-have for all grammar geeks! I have used this for years and it’s amazing

for explaining grammar concepts.

Buy on Amazon

Nihongo So Matome series

For all levels

I use these for N2 and N3 grammar and vocabulary. They’re featured in

almost all of my book review videos!

Buy on Amazon

Tobira Gateway to Advanced Japanese

Intermediate+

Must-have for all grammar geeks! I have used this for years and it’s amazing

for explaining grammar concepts. Totally recommended.

Buy on Amazon
Recommended grammar app:
Bunpo
Not sponsored or affiliated – just recommending a wonderful app that I use to

learn grammar structures according to JLPT levels. Here’s a review video!

STEP 5

Actively listen to and read

Japanese
If you constantly listen to Japanese music, TV or radio, you might hear the

grammar structure being used and then you’ll say “Oh! I remember that. Now I

see how it’s being used in daily conversation”. You’ll feel good about yourself and

you’ll be reminded of what you’ve learnt. You can also listen to podcasts actively

and write down what the speakers are saying. If there are new grammar

structures, write them down and look them up.

If you need some new music recommendations, here’s my Japanese playlist on

Spotify. What you can do is take a song you like, look up the lyrics, and write

down some sentences. Take a highlighter and highlight verbs in one color,

particles in another, nouns in another and adjectives in another color. This will

help you visually see the structure of Japanese grammar.

Tip: read out loud!
Don’t be afraid to read out loud if you have that luxury. I read my sentences over

because I’m an auditory learner. This is good for intermediate and advanced

learners who don’t have issues with pronunciation. If you are a beginner and still

learning how to pronounce things, I suggest asking a native speaker to record

some sentences for you. You can ask an italki tutor or ask someone on HelloTalk

or Hinative.

Tip: Practice Japanese with a

free game!
You can practice the grammar you’ve learned and solidify it into your long term

memory on a writing game app like Polygloss. Polygloss is completely free! Read

more about free language learning resources here:

Free resources guide

What not to do when learning
Japanese
Don't just rely on a textbook
There are great grammar forums that you can use for reference to read more

about grammar structures. I suggest the following:

Jgram (so good, even has JLPT level indicators and study lists)

Take Kim’s guide to Japanese

Maggie Sensei
You can also use an app that focuses heavily on grammar. Remember, grammar

is not just something to learn in isolation – you learn it faster when it’s in the

context of a sentence, a situation or something you are interested in. Lingodeer

and Busuu are apps that do this excellently. Fore more Japanese resources,

check out my collection here:

My list of Japanese resources

Don't only study grammar and

ignore other skills
Learn from daily conversation and remember not to neglect reading, writing, and

listening. Think of it as a workout. You can’t go to the gym and just do leg day

every day. Your arms won’t be toned and your legs will be insane. You might be

excellent at grammar and vocabulary but you may not have confidence to speak

because you’ve never practiced speaking.

Everything is connected, so by practicing Japanese daily, you’ll be ingraining

grammar into your memory too. Just remember, practice makes permanent, not

perfect… so make sure you check things with native speakers if you’re unsure.