One of the problems I'm encountering while learning japanese, is that I'm not sure in what context a lot of words or expressions are used...I often use the oxford japanese minidictionary which is not bad in terms of providing context but limited of course as it's only a dictionary.
Is there an online resource that provides useful vocabulary and sentences in which this vocabulary is used in some sentences and vice versa, english vocabulary/expressions with the best japanese equivalent.
Of course I'm also interested if there are any books for this (so far I haven't found any).
Also, is there somewhere a list of shortcuts that the japanese use when talking, like "nya naranai" instead of "nakereba naranai"? or "matteru" instead of "matte iru"??
Another one, a site that has lists of katakana words (I need to practice reading them!).
Maybe it's a long shot but as they say you can find anything on internet...
Any other useful online resources for japanese learners are welcome (I already know about wwwjdic)!!
Thanks!