(This is my second time writing this, because my session timed out )

Thanks for the reply!

I already know Hiragana, and have been working on Katakana and the Kanji radicals for the past week or so. I think that it would be the best to learn all of the radicals before I actually dive into real Kanji so I could piece together the Kanji I learn by radicals, and not stroke order. Do you think this is a good approach?

Also, do you think that the sites are worth taking a look at?


I think this one would be useful for testing my level of Japanese. Is it worth using? http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/jlpt5/

All I have downloaded from this site is the grade 1-6 Joyo Kanji practice sheets. I've heard that the Japanese are adding another 100 or so Kanji to the Joyo Kanji list, but I don't know if they are included in these PDFs.
http://www.studyjapanese.org/lessons/279-jouyou-kanji-practise-sheets

Also, I most likely will be purchasing Textfugu (from http://www.textfugu.com ) to help learn Japanese. If you don't know what Textfugu is, it's an online textbook that's written exclusively for self learners.

Any other comments/study tips or anything else to help me would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again for all of the replies! ^.^

Please remove the links as fast as you can!

Okay, I checked the links and the first two look very helpful-you have both readings and the basic translations!
However I can't give you my opinion about the Textfugu book - it looks rather suspicious. I mean there is so much free information on the internet, then why would you give your money on something which might not be helpful enough?

If learning the radicals first is the easiest way for you to learn, then go ahead. But don't forget that the strike order is also important.

Write in Google this: "JLPT Level N5 Study Page" - there you will find all the info you need. JLPT is and abbreviature for Japanese Language Proficiency Test

"Basic rules for kanji stroke order"

A. It is very important to know stroke count and stroke order when writing kanji. The stroke count is the number of strokes used to write the kanji character. Both stroke count and stroke order help you to write a kanji character properly. The stroke count is also useful when using a kanji dictionary. The kanji for "mouth" looks like a square drawn with only one stroke. However the stroke count of this kanji is three.

The most basic rule for stroke order is that kanji are written from top to bottom and from left to right. Here are some other basic rules.

1.Horizontal strokes are written from left to right and are parallel. (Example: the kanji character for "three" )

2.When strokes cross each other, horizontal strokes are usually written before vertical strokes. (Example: the kanji character for "ten" )

[img size=150][/img]

3.Vertical strokes are written from top to bottom. (Example: the kanji character for "river" )
Kanji river: