Who I Am
Hi, I'm Rahul — the person who writes, builds and maintains everything on NihongoDoya. I'm not a professor and I don't claim to be one: I'm a Japanese learner from Nepal, currently working toward the JLPT N4, and a web developer by skill set. I started studying Japanese on my own as a hobby, and today I study at a Japanese language school here in Nepal, where I'm guided by native Japanese teachers, alongside Nepali teachers who helped me build my N5 foundation in my own language. NihongoDoya is the study system I wished existed when I started — every page on this site is something I built because I personally needed it.
When I began studying Japanese, I kept hitting the same wall most learners do: the material is out there, but it's scattered across textbooks, apps, PDFs and forum posts, each with its own ordering and style. I spent more time organising resources than actually studying. So I started building my own system — structured notes, searchable vocabulary sets, kanji charts with stroke practice, and small tools for daily drilling — and decided to publish all of it for free, so the next learner doesn't have to rebuild it from scratch.
Why Trust a Fellow Learner?
Fair question. Here's how I keep the material accurate without pretending to credentials I don't have:
Open, verifiable data. Vocabulary readings, kanji readings, meanings and stroke data are compiled from and cross-checked against openly licensed dictionary sources (EDRDG's KANJIDIC2 and JMdict, credited on every kanji page) — not invented, and not copied from any single textbook.
Multiple references for every explanation. Grammar notes are drafted by comparing several standard references and checking patterns against real example usage before I publish them. Where something is genuinely debated among teachers, I say so instead of picking a side silently.
Real classroom exposure. I attend a Japanese language school in Nepal with native Japanese teachers, so what I publish is continually tested against how the language is actually taught — and when a teacher corrects my understanding, the site gets corrected too.
The learner's advantage. Because I recently learned these points myself, I still remember exactly where they're confusing. My explanations are written at the level of someone meeting the pattern for the first time — which, honestly, is something advanced speakers often struggle to do.
Corrections are welcome and fast. If you spot an error anywhere on the site, tell me and I'll verify and fix it — usually within days. How content gets reviewed and corrected is documented in the Editorial Policy.
What I Work On
Get in Touch
If you have content suggestions, spot an error in a lesson, or simply want to share your feedback, I'd love to hear from you:
Email: contact@nihongodoya.com
Support: NihongoDoya Contact & Support