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Japanese-Online

This is another free tool to get you started with the basics of Japanese grammar. This is actually how I first started learning, you know, when I was 14 and had no earthly idea how I was going to actually be able to find great resources for learning and there actually wasn't a whole lot on the Internet at the time. That tool is Japanese-Online.

Japanese-Online has changed a lot since I was on there last. The basic drill goes like this: read a conversation in both Japanese (written in romajii for the first few lessons) and English. Go through the vocabulary list, work through the grammar lesson, then answer the questions at the end. It's very easy to understand, the biggest difference between the site now and 9 years ago is that the vocabulary list has shrunken considerably. Other than that, it's a great way to get the feel for the language before you dedicate yourself to it.

Oh yeah, you have to register on there to get the lessons, but it's absolutely free. There's also a forum on there now, so you can ask questions, get help, or even talk about Japanese movies, anime, etc.

So check it out! It's a nice little site that strives to show you the feel for Japanese. When I was a teenager, I remember printing off every single lesson and killing my printer in the process. I studied from it like mad, then ended up giving the lessons to one of my friends. I never saw them again!

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