Also, the lack of kanji (aside of the most obvious). Kids understand books with very low kanji ratio because they have a vocabulary built on sounds. They already understand the whole book if it's spoken. But for us, we're not used to those words, so the lack of kanji is lack of guidance.

Show Post

If you haven't heard of it already, Natively is a site where you can find Japanese books at your level and track what you've read. There's also a forum where you can join book clubs and talk about what you're reading. jtalkonline.com/find-and-tra...

Show Post

If you want to start reading Japanese I suggest finding books you can read. Try to read the first page before buying a book for practice. And look for slice-of-life/romance so you're more likely to find everyday vocab you've probably studied. jtalkonline.com/5-more-japan...

Show Post

Manga and light novels (YA) are great but not all manga/light novels are created equally. Similar to fairy tales, anything with a fantasy or sci-fi setting will often have vocab and grammar that's difficult for beginner/intermediate learners. E.g. Fullmetal Alchemist has VERY difficult vocab.

Show Post

Similarly children's books based on fairy tales are THE WORST for practicing reading as a JSL (Japanese as a second language) learner. They're written with old archaic grammar and have fantasy terms you probably won't have studied.

Show Post