9+ Terrific Blogs for Learning Japanese

The World Wide Web has a rich bounty of great material out there for learning Japanese.

In previous articles, we have told you about how you can learn Japanese with a drama and how you can learn Japanese with movies.

And now we have another resource that can complement your lessons and other learning methods: blogs.

So, let’s get on with these great blogs for learning Japanese.

Contents

• 1. All Japanese All The Time
• 2. Tofugu
• 3. Japanese Level Up
• 4. Tae Kim’s Blog
• 5. Maggie Sensei
• 6. Nihon Shock
• 7. LinguaLift
• 8. Japanese Language Blog by Transparent Language
• 9. How to Japanese
• Bonus: FluentU

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1. All Japanese All The Time

According to Khatzumoto, the host of All Japanese All the Time, classes suck. With that in mind, he has created a website that teaches Japanese through the fun stuff we all love doing, such as playing video games, reading comics, and watching movies.  His blog section consistently produces very high quality articles about the Japanese language, focusing on how to learn it quickly and effectively.  With titles such as “The Mother of all Sentence Packs” and “The One Where Richard Dawkins Taught Me about Cooking and Learning Languages,” you’re guaranteed an entertaining read.  The foot is not pressed all the way down on the fun pedal – these is plenty of educational stuff too.  However, it’s wrapped up in excellent and well-structured pieces that make you forget that you are actually immersed in a learning environment.

2. Tofugu

Hands down, tofogu.com is one of the most fresh, fun and creative Japanese learning blogs out there. The site shares a lot of information about Japan and the Japanese language, and there’s a particular emphasis on Japanese culture. The posts are comprehensive, well-written, and illustrated with a variety of photographs, animations, and videos.  Posts often include a reference section at the end so you can keep exploring. The topics covered are eclectic.  For example, a trawl through the site reveals articles covering such themes as rice, Nintendo and PlayStation, Godzilla, fabrics, and learning to drive in Japan. Occasionally, there are Q&As with interview subjects who’ve experienced it all firsthand.

With article titles such as “Can you Dig it? Of Love and Earwax” and “Unagi, The Japanese Eel: A Long Story,” there is never a dull moment.

3. Japanese Level Up

For those who want an exciting immersion into Japanese language, culture, and society, head on over to Japanese Level Up. Insightful posts on a diverse range of topics will keep your knowledge banks filled up with so many goodies that you feel you’re being spoiled. Whether the area under discussion is language learning, dating, pop culture, recipes or anime voice actors, there is always a generous sprinkling of Japanese words with their English translations.

The site is run by Adam Shapiro, who writes many of the posts alongside his team of expert writers.  They are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all things Japanese, so fellow fans of Japanese culture will get a big kick out of this blog.

4. Tae Kim’s Blog

Tae Kim produces a useful blog on various aspects of learning Japanese. It is undoubtedly a great resource for those wanting to improve their understanding of the language. Tae Kim passes on many tips from his own studies of Japanese. There are more than ten different blog categories including colloquialism, culture, grammar, media, reviews, vocabulary and personal. There are also posts related to learning Chinese and Korean. The site has an active community, with many of the posts receiving numerous comments. New posts appear once every month or so. That may be quite a long gap, but they are well worth the wait.

5. Maggie Sensei

Maggie Sensei is on a mission: to teach Japanese in a fun way. Her blog is packed to the rafters with entertaining lessons about common day expressions used on the streets of Japan, not necessarily the ones you will come across in text books or in the classroom. Post topics run the entire gamut of language and culture with categories such as Japanese culture, Japanese manners, Japanese song, sentence patterns, business and colloquial. Each post is succinct and lovingly written. Since Maggie is a dog lover, they often contain captioned photographs of dogs. These pet pooches act as her teaching assistants. The blog is very active and attracts thousands of visitors every week. Beginners and intermediates will gain the most from this comprehensive site.

6. Nihon Shock

With a wealth of useful study tips, Nihon Shock is a great source of educational content about the Japanese language. The blog is run by Lloyd Vincent, who used to work as a professional translator in Nagoya, Japan. There’s a lot of meat here to sink your teeth into: stories of curious happenings from around the country, cultural tidbits, and useful information for those thinking of travelling or working in Japan. The articles are informative, well laid out, and are peppered with fantastic images.

On average there is one blog post per month. However, there is a healthy hinterland of previous articles going back to August 2009.  The blog site also has a vocabulary bank containing important words and their characters.

7. LinguaLift

When reading LinguaLift’s posts, you will pick up a lot of helpful tips on learning Japanese while reading about all manner of topics. They include Japanese pronunciation, gender differences in Japan, and Japanese body language and gestures. The content of each post is information-rich and interspersed with useful vocabulary. If you’re into a clean, minimalist ambiance, you’ll be happy to find this crisp homepage of articles embedded in a fresh, white space. This content-focused style makes the articles really pop out at you and command attention!

The LinguaLift blog is a terrific introduction to Japan for beginners, but intermediate and advanced students will still find useful material here.

If you really dig the material on the blog, then you’re probably going to love the LinguaLift language learning program itself. It’s designed to feed you quick, manageable lessons on a tight schedule and give you real, long-term results. The guidance given here is meant to keep you motivated and help you see the progress you’re making. And, best of all, you don’t even have to take anyone’s word for it—you can just try out your first LinguaLift lesson for free and see if it’s worth your investment.

8. Japanese Language Blog by Transparent Language

Short and sweet. This sharp blog contains tons of concise, information-packed articles. No gimmicks in this Japanese Language Blog, just the information you need. Paragraphs are never more than a few sentences in length and they are broken up by lots of striking images. There are some great Japanese learning blog topics here such as “How to Talk about Past in Japanese,” “Singing Japanese Songs as a Way of Learning the Language,” and “What is ‘Secret Money’?”

Overall, the blog delivers lots of language learning tips and vocabulary in an easily digestible way.

9. How to Japanese

How to Japanese is a fabulous resource compiled by writer and translator Daniel Morales. This vast reservoir of posts, which is quite regularly updated, is based sharing things that Daniel wishes people had told him when he started out studying the language. Words and phrases are explored in detail with clear, precise explanations. Daniel’s expertise and superb writing leads the reader gently through some of the trickier aspects of learning the Japanese language. Within the posts, which date back to February 2008, you will discover lots of essential grammar and vocabulary.

How to Japanese offers an excellent grounding in the language for beginners and intermediates.

Bonus: FluentU

As you can see, FluentU also has a blog, even though it’s primarily an online Japanese immersion program based on authentic media content. The blog is filled with study tips, themed vocabulary, grammar info and learning resources that can guide you in FluentU video lessons and other Japanese courses.

What are you waiting for? Time to start reading these blogs!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)