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Studying Japanese - What should I do now?

So i'm not entirely sure if i'm using this 'blog' the right way because I've never done something like this before but anyway, here goes. So I've been studying Japanese for a bit and so far I've learned the Hiragana and Katakana wiriting systems, some basic sentences, greetings and approximately 50 kanji radicals, but now I'm not sure on what to do next. I've been looking on a few websites that suggested learning vocabulary and particles and others that suggested learning kanji, so I'm still not sure on what to do. If anyone could help, that would be great and I really appreciate it.

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Hello, I'm in your same situation and to be honest I found that (at least for myself) learning some grammar first is the best thing to do so you will be able to build some simple essentials phrases such as "How are you", "my name is" "I'm from", "Excuse me, where is the station" and all those kind of "popular" sentences that you will need if you'll go to Japan one day or if happens you need to speak Japanese with someone, and to introduce yourself. I actually got a book called Genki an integrated course in elementary Japanese by Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Yutaka Ohno, Chikako Shinagawa and Kyoko Tokashiki. It is a really good book for learning basic Japanese and grammar. So I started studying Japanese throughout this book and I find it very useful. Then I also got the Kanji Flashcards Volume 1 by White Rabbit that I use during free time to learn some Kanji aswell. Those flashcards are super useful and easy for learning Kanji really fast and in a fun way. I strongly recommend to get Kanji Flashcards and also that Genki book or other good books are also Japanese from zero by George Trombley and Yukari Takenaka and Japanese for busy people but this book is more oriented towards business in a way, so for more general Japanese grammar get Genki or Japanese from zero.
 
The best of both worlds then, huh? In all seriousness though, I really appreciate the reply and I'll definitely look into that book and the flashcards. I also have a book, that I got as a gift not too long ago, on Japanese grammar and sentence structure that teaches it to you through manga, it's called Japanese the Manga Way by Wayne P. Lammers so I'll start to read into that aswell. Just thought I'd share that. Anyway, thanks again.
 
I've heard great things about Genki, and I love my set of White Rabbit Press kanji flash cards. I also highly recommend Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese for studying grammar, and the phone app Memrise for learning JLPT kanji.
Granted, I'm still quite a beginner, but I thought I'd just share the resources I find helpful.

I feel that learning grammar should probably be a main focus, since that's how sentences are formed...learning vocab (spoken or written) can be approached in various ways, such as listening to news/TV/etc, and flashcards/apps. Every time you come across a new word, look it up and memorize it -- for me, this is easiest when watching anime/drama and they repeat something multiple times in an episode...I just add it to my vocabulary.
頑張って ね!
 
Are they worth it considering how much money they are? I'm willing to to one/both if they really help but otherwise, I'll probably buy something similiar but cheaper. Also, thanks for the feedback AmerikaJin5.
 
I don't think the Kanji flashcards are very expensive (I have vol 1 & 2) but I can't remember...think I got them on Amazon. Not sure about Genki, I don't have that.

Tae Kim's guide is just a website (free), and the Memrise app is free (kanji) for iOS devices (not sure if available for other systems).
 
You study by yourself or take part in a class? In my opinion, you should learn Kanji through flashcard or a Kanji model sentences about daily life. It's very useful.
 

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KuroTheSidhe
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