Mysterious Thief Nekopi ・ 怪盗ねこぴ

The Nekopi website is designed for Japanese elemetary school children and so the site is all in Japanese, but the language used is simple and there are furigana over the Kanji. 

You can learn about Japan (and the rest of the world) in Japanese and through various quizzes and games. To start you off here are some links to various pages...

108 Proverbs　for example -

石の上にも三年　(for when you are doing something very difficult and want to give up trying - keep trying for just a little bit longer もう少しがんばってみてください！)

Kanji writing practice - these can be printed out 

(look for きのうのこたえ and then )

Japanese History

Games

gonihongo.com

gonihongo.com (pronounced as 'go' 'nihongo' '.com') is an educational site designed and maintained by a Japanese language educator in the US.

There are a many resources for learning Japanese made freely available on the site, some based on the Genki and Tobira books.

I particularly like the Kanji Practice, which has a short film showing each kanji being drawn by hand and a sound recording of the on and kun readings.

All the work on the site is -

Copyright (c) 2005-2013, Mayumi Ishida, All Rights Reserved　
本サイトの内容及び画像の無断転載は、固くお断りいたします。

Visualizing Japanese Grammar

The Visualizing Japanese Grammar website looks very simple, but the information is extremely detailed.

There are 66 flash animations, each of which deals with a grammatical point of the Japanese language.



The explanations are very full and detailed and a quiz accompanies each section.

[Note for teachers of Japanese]
At the bottom of the web-page there are PowerPoint presentations which can be downloaded.

The index of specific Japanese grammar patterns is very good, but because it is in an excel spreadsheet some people may not be able to use it and so I am going to reproduce it here -

文法項目 grammatical items	意味 meaning	first VJG unit
sentence types		1
word order		2
noun phrase + の (particle)		3
まえ、うしろ、みぎ、ひだり、うえ、した、むこう、てまえ、さき (spatial expressions)		4
いadjectives、なadjectives		5
noun phrase + へ、に、で、から、まで、を (particles)		6
noun phrase + が、を(particles)		7
noun phrase + は (particle)		8
noun phrase + も (particle)		9
noun phrase + へ、から、まで、に、までに、で、と、を (particles)		10
こ…、そ…、あ…、ど… (demonstrative pronouns)		11
つ、にん、まい、ほん、さつ、はい、ひき、だい (counters)		12
だれ、なに、どれ、どちら、どっち、どこ、いつ、どの、どうして、いくら、etc. (wh expressions)		13
adjective stem + く (adverb)		14
adjective stem + くなる (expression of change)		14
direct-style sentence + ようになる	reach a point where X does ~	14
noun phrase + になる (expression of change)		14
stem + にくい	hard to do	14
stem + やすい	easy to do	14
なadjective/noun + に (adverb)		14
ねん、がつ、にち、じ、ふん、etc. (temporal expressions)		15
particles and verbs		16
adverbs and modifiers of nouns		18
です・ます vs. だ・る (speech styles)		19
direct-style conjugations of verbs		20
sentence + から (subordinator)	reason	21
sentence + が (subordinator)	but/background information	22
sentence + け(れ)ど (subordinator)	although	22
てform		22
てform + いる (progressive)	be doing	23
てform + 来る	come having done; event comes into view; have been doing for a long time	24
てform + 行く	go having done: event is receding from view; go on doing	24
てform + いる (resultant continuative)		25
verbs for clothing		26
noun phrase/direct-sytle sentence + より		27
particle combinations にも、へも、でも、からも、までも		28
stem + 方(かた)	how to do	28
stem +  たい(desiderative)	desire: want to	29
てform + ほしい	want X to do	29
direct-style sentence + かもしれない/かもしれません	maybe; there is the possibility	30
direct-style sentence + だろう/でしょう	high probability	30
stem + ながら	while doing	31
stem + に行く	go to do	32
~たり~たりする	sample activities: do such things as ~ and ~	33
しか~ない	no morer than	34
だれも、なにも、どこも、etc.		34
だれか、なにか、どこか、etc.		35
~よう (tentative form)	let's do	36
stem + ましょう (polite tentative form)	let's	36
tentative form + とする	attempt to do	36
tentative form + と思う	consider doing	36
tentative form + と思っている	be considering doing	36
complex noun phrases		37
direct-style sentence + の (nominalizer)	nominalizer: that ~; ~ing; ~to	38
direct-style sentence のだ/んだ	circumstance: I'd like you to understand that ~	39
direct-style sentence + と思う	think that	40
direct-style sentence + と言う	say that	40
direct-style sentence + ようだ	appearance: it looks like ~	41
direct-style sentence + そうだ	hearsay: I hear that ~	42
direct-style sentence + つもりだ	intention: I intend to ~; I plan to ~	42
direct-style sentence + はずだ	expectation: my understanding is that ~	42
direct-style sentence + ために purpose	in order to ~	43
direct-style sentence + のに	in doing; in order to ~	43
stem + そうだ (intuitive judgement)	it looks like that ~	44
direct-style sentence +ように (quoting requests)		45
direct-style sentence (past) + 方(ほう)がいい	strong advice for an action: had better do	46
direct-style sentence + 方(ほう)がいい	judgement: it is better to do	46
particle より		46
~ら、	if/when	47
~ら、どうですか	suggestion; how about doing	47
direct-style sentence + か(どうか) (embedded question)	whether (or not)	47
direct-style sentence + と (subordinator)	whenever ~; if ~	48
てform + あげる	do others a favor	49
てform + くれる	do me a favor of doing	49
direct-style sentence + こと (nominalizer)	that ~; ~ing; ~to	50
direct-style sentence + ことがある	significant experience	50
direct-style sentence + ことにする	decide to do	50
direct-style sentence + ことになっている	be supposed to ~; regulation is ~	50
direct-style sentence + ことになる	be decided for X to do; be decided for X to have done	50
direct-style sentence + まで	until	51
direct-style sentence + 前に	before doing	51
tense marking		51
の and こと (pronominal)		52
てform + ある	have done	53
てform + おく	preparation: do in advance	53
てform + しまう	do against expectation; do prematurely	53
てform + みる	adventurous first try: do and see	53
wh expression + てform + も	no matter wh~	54
てform + も	multiple options, same consequence	54
てform + も + てform + も	multiple options, same consequence	54
てform + もいい	permission	54
~なくては｛いけない/ならない｝／   なくちゃ	obligation: must	55
~なくてもいい	exemption	55
てform + はいけない/ならない	prohibition: must not	55
honorifics いらっしゃる、おかえりになる、etc.		56
てform + くれてありがとう	thank you for doing	57
てform + すみません	apology: sorry for doing	57
imperative たべろ、のめ、etc.		58
stem + なさい	imperative: do!	58
てform + ください	please do	58
させられる (causative passive)	be made to do	59
られる (passive)	be done	59
adversity passive		60
させる (causative)	make X to do	61
てform + もらう	have X do as a favor	62
gender differences in speech		65
られる (potential)	be able to do	potential forms

MBS - Mainichi Broadcasting

Mainichi Broadcasting  broadcasts a  free radio news station that can be played on your computer using Windows Media Player, or Real-player.

The radio news is all in Japanese and if you go to the home page http://www.mbs.jp/ and scroll down you can also click on items of news to watch. These news clips have scripts underneath so that you can listen and read as well as watch and listen.

The website is very interesting and full of other things too, but your Japanese will need to be fairly good to navigate it.

japanese-lessons.com ・ にほんごのおべんきょう

This is a good site for beginner learners of Japanese.

The explanations are in English and the examples are mostly in romaji.

The resource pages are also very good and as well as hiragana and katakana practice sheets, there are even some  practice sheets for writing Kanji to download.

Genki Practice Exercises ・ げんき（練習）

Genki Exercises are free on-line quizzes produced by Lyon College in Arkansas, USA. They are designed to be used with the Genki Textbook and cover lessons 1 through 23 and although there are no instructions on the website it is fairly easy to understand how the quizzes work. (Some are click and drag and some are multiple choice). The Japan Times, who publish the Genki Textbook have page samples and audio samples on their dedicated Genki website. Their page of free Self Study Resources is impressive and I particularly like My Kikitori. [Note for teachers of Japanese ]  The Japan Times Publications Department will send free examination copies of Japanese language textbooks and workbooks to teachers who wish to consider adopting them for their classes. (Delivery is through overseas distributors so every country in the world is not eligible for this offer). What is the Genki textbook? Here is the official description - "GENKI is a highly acclaimed series of integrated resources for learning elementary Japanese through a well-balanced approach to all four language skill areas—speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Divided into two volumes, the 23 lessons of GENKI introduce students to a wide range of elementary grammar points, nearly 300 kanji, and approximately 1,100 vocabulary terms. GENKI also incorporates many words and expressions that are closely tied to students’ everyday lives, and provides a full lineup communicative practice. GENKI is designed to make it easier for instructors to prepare student-centered lessons that are as fun as they are effective—another reason why GENKI is used in many Japanese language courses around the world."

Kankomie ・かんこうみえ

On the Kankomie website you can read and listen to various old folk-tales（昔話・むかしばなし） from Japan - just click on a little picture and a new window will open and the reading will start.

The stories are from Mie Prefecture and the second link for each picture will take you to the website of that story's region. The story of  Otasuhime （おたつひめ）links to http://www.city.toba.mie.jp/

In English, the site is "The Mie Tourism Guide". There are versions in lots of languages  including Thai, Chinese, German, Spanish and Portugese.

I like the movies about Mie Prefecture a lot.

Kaomoji ・ 顔文字

Kaomoji　・　顔文字（かおもじ）are Japanese version of emoticons.

Here are some examples -

('-'*)ｵﾊﾖ♪
おはよう

(*ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ﾟ･:*【祝】*:･ﾟ＼(ﾟ▽ﾟ*)
おめでとう

(*^‿^*)

Happy

(╯︵╰,) Sad m(_ _)m Apologising

w(ﾟｏﾟ)w

Surprise

__φ(．．)

Writing

(=^･ｪ･^=) Cat U^ｪ^U Dog (x(x_(x_x(O_o)x_x)_x)x)

Alive Among Zombies

There are many thousands of Kaomoji and of course, you can make up your own!

There are also many websites where you can go to look up kaomoji

Here are a few to choose from -

http://kaomoji.ru/en/  in English and Russian
http://www.facemark.jp/facemark.htm  all Japanese (and my favorite)
http://www.japaneseemoticons.org/ English

Skritter is designed to help you learn to write Japanese (kanji) or Chinese characters.

As well as the Skritter website there are i-pad, i-phone and android apps.

The apps, naturally, cost money, but there is a demo page on the website which give a good idea of the basic package and, if you decide to sign up, there is a weeks' free trial during which you can cancel your subscription.

Skritter is not the same as picking up a pen and actually writing, but it is good fun and saves paper!

Crunchyroll

My Little Nightmare

Occult Academy

Crunchyroll is an American site that is licensed to show and share many Japanese anime and drama programmes.

Bleach

The basic service is free, but there are a lot of advertisements.

   

Naruto

The premium service (which includes a new scanned manga service), broadcasts shows very quickly after their release in Japan - sometimes as fast as an hour after screening. 
















There is also an on-line store which sells many manga and anime related items such as books, dvds, models and cosplay outfits

Japanese Reading Tutor ・ リーディング チュウ太

Japanese Language Reading Tutorial System was developed to help native Japanese speakers as well as non-native Japanese speakers to learn to read Japanese at their own pace.

As well as an on-line dictionary in Japanese, English, Slovenian, Spanish, Dutch and German, there is a reading resource bank with explanations in Japanese, English and German.

The reading materials are graded by star -
1 star = easy 
2 stars = more difficult than 1 star
3 stars = more difficult than 2 stars

and they are mostly related to "all things Japanese" and so are very helpful for the comprehension part of the JLPT exam.

There are also some multiple choice quizzes in Japanese - I think that these are quite difficult!

Goodreads Japanese Book Giveaways

This giveaway end March 30th

This giveaway ends TODAY

Goodreads is a website that is all about books, but this copy of Taketori Monogatari is the first Japanese language book that I have seen listed in their giveaway section (maybe I have not been looking hard enough?).

Taketori Monogatari is a very old and famous Japanese story and I was surprised when I saw that the title of this book was in English, but this is because the inside of the book is half in Japanese (the story) and half in English (the vocabulary explanations and notes).

There are some photos of the inside of the book on Goodreads, but there is a better preview on Google Books

Samurai Revolution has not been published yet!

You need to be a member of Goodreads to enter their Giveaways, but being a member is free.

I do not have any books to giveaway myself, but if you are giving away a book that is related to Japan in some way and would like me to mention it here please leave me a message.

By the way, Studio Ghibli released a film recently that is based on this ancient tale - but it is not exactly the same as the original!

)

The Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test ・ 日本漢字能力検験

This is an example from the easiest (first year) paper

There is a good Wikipedia article about The Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test but it does not mention that in order to use the Japanese website and use the free resources your Kanji reading skills need to be very good already.

So if you would like to try out the different levels of free practice papers here is some help -

Year 1 　少学校　Primary School（10 級）
Question Paper  this is the link to open the question pdf
Answer Paper this is the link to open the answer pdf
Link for practice books for all levels

Year 2  少学校
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 3　少学校
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 4　少学校
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 5　少学校
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 6　中学校　Middle School, Secondary School
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 7   中学校　
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 8 　高学校　High School
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 9 　高学校　・　大学　High School and University
Question Paper 
Answer Paper

Year 10 　大学　University（１級）
These questions are very difficult!
Question Paper
Answer Paper

Question Paper
Answer Paper

The official practice books are available on Amazon, but I think only from Amazon.jp

Kiki’s Delivery Service Side Story

Kiki’s Delivery Service Side Story: How Sono-chan Became Osono-san

is free to read in Japanese on the publisher's website

It is the story of how Sono-chan, who runs a bakery in Kiki's Delivery Service, grows up. At the start of the story Sono-chan is three years old, and living with her parents. In the course of the serial’s six chapters, readers will learn more about how Sono-chan met and fell in love with her husband Fukuo - all the action takes place before the beginning of the Kiki stories.

New chapters of “How Sono-chan Became Ososno-san” will be released on the 5th and 20th of each month from now through May. Although there is no English version, the Kanji characters are not too difficult.

There are four other sort books to read on-line as well as the story of Sono-chan -

あべ弘士 「あべ弘士少年記」

中脇初枝 「ちゃあちゃんのむかしばなし」

富安陽子 「アヤカシさん」

ひこ・田中 「モールランド・ストーリー」

The Fukuinkan main website (in English) is here if you would like to investigate their other (print) titles.

A new, live-action film of Kiki's adventures was released this year on March 1st. I haven't seen it yet and I wonder how it will compare with the Studio Ghibli anime.

SAT Test in Japanese

The SAT is a standardized test for most college admissions in the United States.

On the SAT website you can practice for the SAT exam in Japanese.

I think that the short listening comprehension is very useful as you can click a button and see the (Japanese) script for the dialogues as well.

There is English (romaji) for most of the reading questions which I think is odd because it is recommended that you have 2–4 years of Japanese language study in high school, or the equivalent, before taking the test and I assumed that learning Japanese scripts was absolutely essential from the start.

You don't have to be a member of the website to use the practice tests and the there are many subjects to choose from apart from Japanese.

As far as Japanese is concerned I think that, even at beginner level 5, the JLTP is definitely more challenging!

MARUGOTO Plus

MARUGOTO Plus is a website where users can learn about Japanese language and culture alongside the on-line Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture coursebook.

It is a fantastic free resource for learning about all things Japanese - culture as well as language.

I particularly like the hiragana and katakana practice. There are animated stroke diagrams, sound and picture examples for each character.

There is even a link to help where you can learn how to set up your computer to type in Japanese.

This is another site run by The Japan Foundation and it can be used in Japanese, English and Spanish.

The Japan Foundation has many offices around the world.

Japanese in Anime and Manga

On Anime-Manga site you can play games that will teach you the sort of Japanese that is used in anime and manga.

This is a good way to learn different levels of politeness.

There are also interactive word quizzes (with audio in Japanese) and Kanji word games.

The main categories are Samurai, Love, School and Ninja and, in the manga scenes section, there are cultural notes to do with the various types of characters and the situations in which they find themselves.

This site is managed by The Japan Foundation which has many websites in various languages around the world.

Yomiuri Shimbun ・ 読売新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun is one of Japan's best selling newspapers. 

It also has substantial news and magazine-style web-sites in Japanese and in English. 

Japanese newspapers have a reputation of being difficult to read, but The Yomiuri has a young adult's page where there are news article written in "simple" Japanese. In these articles the Kanji have furigana, which makes them a lot easier to read.

Congratulations Hanyū Yuzuru (羽生 結弦)

The Yomiuri photo archive is amazing too. Some of the photos date back to the 1960s!

JLPT ・日本語の力の試験

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) has been offered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services since 1984. The exams are held twice a year in July and December and at the beginning, there were approximately 7,000 examine-es worldwide. In 2011, however, around 610,000 people worldwide sat the exams, making JLPT the largest-scale Japanese-language test in the world. 

The English language version of the JLPT exam site is here

Official text books can be bought here 

On-line sample questions for all levels are here

Sample questions to download are here