Ohayou Gonzaimasu Ogenki desu ka?
I have been studying Japanese for about a year, and none of the text books I use are listed. Right now I'm using Let's Learn Hiragana and Katakana work books and Learn Japanese college text volume One. I'm beginner level, and not sure where the best place to start of this site would be I don't even know how to type in Japanese, do I need to buy a Japanese keyboard? I'm talking [b]beginner[/b] here lol...
Doumo Arigato Gozaimasu
Lynn
P.S Please call me Takiko it is the nickname I got in Japanese class I took recently Lynn is anglosaxon for...waterfall. Rin translated in Japanese isn't as pretty lol
れんしゅうへようこそ！ Welcome to Renshuu!
You've found the right place to help with your studying.
When I signed on here at Renshuu, which wasn't too long ago, I started by taking quizzes. I was about at the level you are now. I was familiar with hiragana and katakana and had some basic vocabulary and grammar. I didn't set up any of my own schedules. Instead, I started by testing on JLPT 4 vocabulary (this was a little before JLPT 5 was introduced).
In case you don't know, JLPT is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. According to Wikipedia, "The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験 Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken?), or JLPT, is a standardized criterion-referenced test to evaluate and certify Japanese language proficiency for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability."
There are 5 levels, with 5 being the beginner. Sounded like a good place to start learning!
As far as typing in Japanese, you probably do not need to purchase a new keyboard. If you are on a Windows computer, you can go to Start>Help and Support and type "Japanese keyboard" in the search box. That will yield 10 or more options; I'd pick "Add or Change an input language", and that should walk you through the process. It's actually fairly easy and won't cost you anything! Mac users have it even easier, so I've been told.
In any event, I'm sure you'll be right at home here -- the content and the community are top-notch!
練習にようこそ！
May I suggest two other great sites to help you get started: Tae Kim's http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete
and imabi http://www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com/index.htm?no_redirect=true (actually, imabi can take you quite far; it's a fascinating site). With the information on those and practicing here, I'm sure your Japanese will progress by leaps and bounds.
As for typing Japanese, JWPce is a friendly little word processor that's free to download.
頑張ってね！
Hi タキコ,
I just started learning japanese myself and I think setting up a vocab/kanji schedule is a quite good start. You can select individually what terms you want to study, such as the above mentioned JLPT lists and/or add your own words. That way you have your 'home area' from where you can explore the site ;)
Also the Shiritori is fun, I'm there quite often and most likely annoy people with my stange answers (=^_^=)
がんばって
ht
PS: if you're on a linux (ubuntuーlike) system I can strongly recommend iBus-Anthy for typing kana/kanji (although it seems as if it has problems when using the gnome3.6). It's pretty easy to set up and handle while typing. (^-^)b
PPS: why is your nick vicious girl if you want to be called differently (ô_ô)
edit: the problem with anthy and gnome is more the panel, meaning that the icon is not shown, but the typing is not affected ... might be fixed soon'ish.
LOL I've been using the screen name viciousgirl for years, But I'm not really THAT vicious. I figure if I invite others to use my real name or the Japanese equivalent of it on here, I come off more friendly... If there is a problem with that, call me what you want! I could care what online strangers call me, was just trying to be friendly.. :-\
As if I would have a problem how people want to call themselves ;)
I just found it strange, since you could directly given you the "real" name ... no offence, only curiosity (｡^ ω ^｡)
