Start Here — Japanese for Complete Beginners

Why Japanese isn’t as hard as people say

Most people hear “Japanese” and picture thousands of kanji and think it’s impossible. Here’s the reality: the basic building blocks — hiragana and katakana — can be learned in a couple of weeks with daily practice. This site is built to help you do exactly that.

The three writing systems

Japanese uses three scripts. You’ll eventually need all three, but you tackle them one at a time.

1. Hiragana (ひらがな)

The first script you learn. 46 core characters, each representing a syllable sound. Once you know hiragana, you can read children’s books, furigana (pronunciation guides on kanji), and most textbooks.

Time to learn: 1–3 weeks with daily practice. Start learning →

2. Katakana (カタカナ)

A second set of 46 characters with the same sounds as hiragana. Used mainly for foreign loan words (コーヒー = kōhī = coffee), emphasis, and scientific terms. Learn it right after hiragana since you already know the sounds.

Time to learn: 1–2 weeks. Start learning →

3. Kanji (漢字)

Chinese-origin characters, each with meaning and multiple readings. Thousands exist, but you only need ~2,000 for daily life. We start with the 50 most essential beginner kanji.

Time to learn: Ongoing — but you can start picking these up immediately. Start learning →

The recommended order

Week 1–3:   Hiragana   →  daily reference chart + quiz
Week 3–5:   Katakana   →  same approach
Month 2+:   Kanji      →  5–10 new ones per week
Ongoing:    Phrases    →  real sentences from day one

Don’t wait until you’ve mastered one before starting the next. Overlap is fine and normal.

How to use this site

Your first task right now

Go to Hiragana, read the chart from top to bottom (click every character to hear the sound), then take the quiz. Don’t stress about the score — just get familiar with the shapes.

See you on the other side. がんばって！ (Ganbatte — do your best!)