Nintendo DS for a Relative Newbie?

[wndola]

I have mastered kana and have about 50 Kanji. Yesterday my husband surprised me with a brand new Nintendo DS. I am really enjoying playing with the hiragana in the chatroom that comes with it, but what games should I be looking at at this point. I am definitely getting a Shogi game and Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten. But is there a game for the relative Kanji Newbie? or even a hiragana based vocab builder for kids?

[Shaydwyrm]

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for or not, but I've heard that some games, including Zelda, allow you to tap kanji in the text to get furigana. Probably makes things a lot easier if you don't know a lot of kanji readings yet.

[Hedwig]

Hi. There is a game I've had my eye on called "Tadashii Kanji Kakitorikun (Kanji trainer for Nintendo DS)" that is apparently designed for Japanese school children, but also ideal for beginner students of Japanese/kanji. I haven't tried the game myself, and I know that there are also some new kanji games listed at White Rabbit Press.

Hedwig

[lazysunday]

I got Kanji Sonomama friday and it is incredible. There is a quiz game but mostly it is a dictionary. I can take it over to a comfy reading spot and grab a manga and it is enough for me to read a bit now... still a struggle but helping a lot. I've been spending hours practicing and looking up kanji. I took it out with me and when I would see kanji I would write it in and find out what it means... I am a total nerd aren't I...

I would totally buy a stylus if this site supported drawn kanji recognition.

[Fedgrub]

I got Kanji Sonomama friday and it is incredible. There is a quiz game but mostly it is a dictionary. I can take it over to a comfy reading spot and grab a manga and it is enough for me to read a bit now... still a struggle but helping a lot. I've been spending hours practicing and looking up kanji. I took it out with me and when I would see kanji I would write it in and find out what it means... I am a total nerd aren't I...

I would totally buy a stylus if this site supported drawn kanji recognition.

How long have you been studying for?

[wndola]

I've been at it since mid august, but didn't find this place till mid September. I had a hard time retaining anything for the first month. I was just drilling things and not understanding anything. The beginner lessons were a real breakthrough. I also love:

Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication: A Self-Study Course and Reference by Taeko Kamiya

It is very plain looking but amazingly useful.

[wndola]

btw I am also lazy sunday sometimes it uses my boards login and sometimes my Jpod login I don't know why I should try and fix that.

[kitty-chan]

I bought 漢字そのまま楽引き辞典 too! But I can't figure out what's going on!

Is there some place online we can get step by step help in English for first timers?
Or maybe we can start our own reference here?

[wndola]

well I just kinda turned it on and started writing kanji I know. Try pressing the buttons on the left you will see the 4 different dictionaries
-English to Japanese
- Japanese to english
- Japanese to Japanese
- and a combo of all 3

The game is still too tough for me though

[markystar]

i have 漢字そのまま楽引き辞典 also!


actually tho, i heard from someone that people make their own software for the DS sometimes and that you can download it and install it. apparently there are some for learning japanese, but i haven't come across them personally.

can anyone confirm this?

[Shaydwyrm]

Such apps are, in English, usually referred to as "DS homebrews", I think. There's at least one for learning Japanese that I've seen, but it didn't look like it had much to offer me, so I didn't look into it too deeply. Google "DS homebrew japanese" and it should come up.

[markystar]

"DS homebrews"

yeah, all i saw were katakana and hiragana learning apps....
for some of the newbies here, that might be great!

[botterli]

Here is an english manual for 漢字そのまま楽引き辞典: http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/932301/48385

[Heerefishyfish]

markystar... where were these kana homebrew apps?

Funny enough, I actually have a homebrew setup for my DS, though I've never really looked into homebrew japanese software.

[markystar]

i just found them thru a simple google search.

here's one
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/31/learn ... ew-ds-app/