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Start Here Complete beginner? Start here. あ Hiragana 46 characters. The foundation. ア Katakana Foreign words & emphasis. 漢 Kanji 50 essential beginner kanji. JLPT Levels N5 → N1 vocab & quizzes. 数 Numbers Count to 10,000 with audio. 話 Phrases Real sentences. Hear them spoken. 文 Grammar Particles, verb forms & sentence patterns. 映 Videos Latest from the YouTube channel.
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Hear some Japanese Click any card to hear it spoken
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おはようございます
ohayou gozaimasu
Good morning
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ありがとうございます
arigatou gozaimasu
Thank you
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すみません
sumimasen
Excuse me
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いくらですか？
ikura desu ka?
How much is it?
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どこですか？
doko desu ka?
Where is it?
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よろしくお願いします
yoroshiku onegai shimasu
Pleased to meet you
See all phrases →
JLPT levels — which are you aiming for?
N5
Beginner
~800 words
Hiragana, katakana, basic grammar
N4
Elementary
~1,500 words
Everyday conversation, 300 kanji
N3
Intermediate
~3,750 words
News, real-world reading
N2
Upper Int.
~6,000 words
Most jobs in Japan require this
N1
Advanced
~10,000 words
Near-native reading & listening
Three writing systems — all used at once
あ
Hiragana
46 characters
The core phonetic alphabet. Every Japanese learner starts here. Can be learned in about one week.
例: たべる — to eat
ア
Katakana
46 characters
Same sounds as hiragana, different shapes. Used for foreign loanwords, emphasis, and sound effects.
例: コーヒー — coffee
漢
Kanji
2,136 daily-use
Characters adopted from Chinese. Each carries meaning. 50 essential ones get you surprisingly far.
例: 山 (yama) — mountain

Learning path

Each section has a reference chart you can click to hear, and an interactive quiz to drill. No account. No ads.

1
Hiragana — the foundation. 46 characters, learnable in a week.
2
Katakana — same sounds, different shapes. Unlocks foreign loanwords.
3
Grammar — particles and verb forms. These are what make sentences work.
4
JLPT N5 vocab — the 800 most common words. Learn these first.
5
Phrases — real sentences with audio. Start using Japanese as early as possible.
6
Kanji — pick these up gradually as you build vocabulary, not all at once.