Japanese learning notes
LevelKana Blog
Practical guides for moving from kana and textbooks into Japanese games, manga, and real sentences.
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Japanese Quotation Marks: How Corner Brackets Work
Learn how Japanese quotation marks 「」 and 『』 work in dialogue, nested quotes, titles, manga, and games—with typing tips and practice examples.
Read guide →Dakuten and Handakuten: Complete Kana Chart and Practice Guide
Learn dakuten and handakuten with complete hiragana and katakana charts, real Japanese words, pronunciation notes, typing help, and a short practice plan.
Read guide →Yakuwarigo (役割語): How Character Speech Works in Japanese Fiction
Learn what yakuwarigo means, how speech signals character types in Japanese manga, anime, and games, and how to read it without copying stereotypes.
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Learn with games Menus, battles, dialogue, Pokémon, and practical game-reading routes. 2
Read manga Choose a first series and make sense of panels, casual speech, and context. 3
Learn kana Learn the scripts, practise confusing pairs, and know when to move on. 3
Start reading Beginner plans for sentences, grammar, and the move into native text. 3
Build language skills Grammar, numbers, kanji, and sustainable spaced-repetition practice. 4
- Japanese Sentence Structure for Beginners: Read Real Lines Without Getting Lost 11 min read
- Japanese Numbers and Counters for Beginners: Read Prices, Dates, Damage, and Item Counts 10 min read
- Japanese SRS for Beginners: Review Kana, Vocabulary, and Game Text Without Burning Out 12 min read
- WaniKani vs Real Reading: Why Kanji Knowledge Is Not Enough 9 min read