ONE CLEAR STEP AT A TIME
How to start learning Japanese
Build a small routine with kana, useful phrases and active recall. This free beginner roadmap gives you one practical next step.
Your first useful week
You do not need to choose every textbook or memorise every character before starting. Work on sounds and short conversations together. Ten focused minutes you can repeat is a useful starting routine.
- Day 1: Meet five sounds. Practise あ い う え お on the hiragana chart.
- Day 2: Say hello. Finish the Hello, Japan lesson and its three checks.
- Day 3: Be polite. Practise thank you, excuse me and please.
- Day 4: Introduce yourself. Replace Alex with your own name and say the introduction aloud.
- Day 5: Read more kana. Practise the k and s rows; try a ten-character quiz.
- Day 6: Order a coffee. Learn コーヒーをください and notice the object marker を.
- Day 7: Practise recall. Do a short review and revisit the phrases you miss.
1. Learn the basic sounds
Start with hiragana, the script used for many Japanese words and grammatical endings. Then add katakana, often used for borrowed words and names. This site’s charts cover 46 basic kana per script; voiced sounds and combinations need additional study.
2. Use a few phrases
Read each phrase, listen if your device has a Japanese voice, and try to recall its meaning before checking. Say it aloud at a comfortable pace. Device speech is a practice aid; natural conversation includes context and rhythm a device voice may miss.
3. Return before adding too much
Use the review room to recall familiar phrases. When you miss one, read the explanation and say a useful example. Progress stays in this browser and does not sync between devices.
4. Build toward beginner reading
After the first steps, add vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening. Our N5 roadmap shows the gaps beyond this short phrase course. A seven-day starter plan is an introduction, not a promise of exam readiness.