Japanese course
Learn Japanese from the script up
Japanese becomes much easier to practice when the writing system, word order, and particles arrive in that order. Start with one clear idea, test it immediately, and keep it moving with a short daily set.
A course that does not assume you can already read
The first lessons teach kana as a sound system rather than a wall of symbols. Hiragana establishes the five-vowel pattern; katakana reuses the same sounds with a second set of shapes.
Once the script is readable, the course moves through useful words and phrases into verb-final sentences. That sequence keeps a beginner from being asked to arrange text they cannot yet decode.
What you will practice
Short recognition drills build fast recall. Sentence exercises then ask what each particle marks and why the verb belongs at the end. Explanations appear with the answer so a miss teaches the rule instead of merely recording it.
- Base hiragana and katakana in their a-i-u-e-o rows
- Core vocabulary and survival phrases
- Japanese word order and the jobs of は, を, に, and へ
- A growing kanji road, ten characters at a time
Reference
A sample from the Japanese course
These prompts come from the same reviewed material used by the course path.
あ is the a in father. Some people spot a capital A hiding in it, which is a decent way to keep hold of it.
い is the ee in see, kept short. Two strokes, a bit like the two parts of a lowercase i.
う is close to the oo in food, but your lips stay relaxed instead of pushing forward.
え is the e in bed. One beat, and it never slides into another vowel the way English e often does.
お is the o in more, cut short. It is easy to mix up with あ, so look for the little tail on the right.
か is the ka in car. You will see this one constantly — it is also the word that turns a sentence into a question.
き is the key you unlock a door with, and the shape looks a little like one.
く is the coo in cuckoo, short. One stroke, shaped like an open beak.
け is the ke in kettle. It is a vertical line beside a shape much like け's neighbor に.
こ is the co in coffee. Two short strokes and you are done — it is one of the easiest to write.
さ is the sa in saw. Look twice: it is き with one stroke missing.
し is she, not see. One long swooping stroke, and the simplest letter in the whole set to write.
Try it now
Practice learn japanese from the script up
Choose an answer, read the explanation, and finish the short set without leaving this page.