Japanese Masterclass: From Zero To Japanese Language Hero

Explore the four writing systems of Japanese—hiragana, katakana, kanji, and romaji—and learn how they express native words, imported terms, meanings, and pronunciation in real writing.

Explore hiragana seion vowels, learn the five vowels and how dakuten and youon modify sounds, and practice reading, writing, and pronunciation with romaji as a guide.

Explore the hiragana seion table from vowels through the k, s, t, y, w, and n lines, learn pronunciation nuances, and practice reading and writing with a downloadable PDF.

Master dakuten and handakuten in hiragana, turning ka, sa, and ha into ga, za, ba sounds, and produce p sounds on the h row. Practice the dakuten table pronunciations.

Master youon in hiragana by using consonant + ya/yu/yo combinations and small ya/yo/yu to form sounds like kya, sha, nya, and more, with printable practice lists.

Master katakana basics by comparing it with hiragana, learning 46 letters and five vowels, and applying dakuten and handakuten to modify sounds for foreign words and names.

Learn katakana fundamentals by reviewing the five vowels and the k line, the s line, and other key lines. Practice reading and writing katakana, noting its pronunciation matches hiragana.

Master hiragana reading by practicing sokuon and chouon, including small tsu, geminate consonants, and long vowels. Explore how pronunciation changes meaning with examples like pollock, rocket, cop, and coco.

In stroke order, this lecture teaches how to write kanji using 17 basic strokes, with rules like top-to-bottom, left-to-right, outside-to-inside, and middle-to-sides, and practicing kanji numerals from one to ten.

Practice hiragana reading through extensive kana drills and box-guided prompts, with examples like kumo and sensei to reinforce sounds and character recognition.

Learn how Japanese uses two number systems. Practice saying and writing 1–10 in kanji and kana with romaji, and read dates, prices, and ages.

Learn to read and pronounce numbers from 11 to 99 in Japanese by applying the tens rule: tens digit plus ju, with special handling for 11–19, plus guided practice.

Learn to count Japanese numbers from 100 to 900 and 1000 to 9000, covering hundreds and thousands rules and irregulars like 300 san'yaku, 600 rokkaku, and 800 irregulars.

Explore how Japanese counts large numbers using units like ichi man, ju man, and oku, and learn the four-digit grouping system that differs from English.

Engage in comprehensive number practice across easy to extreme levels, reading numbers in Japanese and completing number listening exercises to reinforce numeral recognition and pronunciation.

Explore how to say dates in Japanese, including date, month, and day of the week, with focus on irregular dates, number plus nichi, and common month names.

Master time in Japanese by learning hours and minutes, with gozen and gogo, noon shogo and midnight shinya, and minute groups ending in 2,5,7,9, 3,4, or 1,6,8,0.

Explain why the number four is unlucky in Japan, due to the shi sound meaning death, and note practices like skipping four floors and four-item gifts, using yum instead.

Master the x is y sentence structure in Japanese, with present and past forms using desu and deshita, the wa particle, and vocab like watashi wa, gakusei, and sensei.

Learn to form Japanese questions by turning affirmative sentences into questions with the ka particle, using the X is Y structure and a step-by-step process.

Learn to form Japanese question sentences using nani, dare, doko, and itsu (what, who, where, when) by swapping word order and adding ka, with practical examples.

Explore forming nationality with country name plus jin and language with go, and use the possessive no to connect noun1 and noun2, illustrated by watashi no okasan and nihongo.

Learn how to use the particle mo to say 'also' or 'too' in Japanese, with practical sentence examples and practice transforming wa to mo in present and past tense.

Learn present tense negative sentences in Japanese using arimasen or janai, with examples like watashi wa nihonjin arimasen and watashi wa gakusei janai.

Learn to form negative past tense sentences in Japanese using the x y y pattern, with examples like watashi wa deshita and watashi wa gakusei arimasen or nakatta.

Engage in ten unit three writing practices that reinforce Japanese grammar concepts. Build sentences about family, pets, birthdays, and occupations using noun phrases, tenses, and question forms.

Practice six reading activities and three listening activities to reinforce unit three grammar concepts and sentence structure. The video guides translation, sentence meaning, and writing practice to deepen understanding.

Discover nine everyday Japanese gestures that convey meaning without words, including come here, secret, no thanks, bows, the peace sign, me gesture, money gesture, and the check please gesture.

Master Japanese demonstratives this, that, and which to form sentences like 'this is X' and 'that is X', using wa and ka.

Master kono, sono, ano, and dono with nouns to express this x is y or that x is y, with examples this book is mine and which pen is yours.

Learn how to form 'whose' questions in Japanese using no after a noun, with the question particle ka, and practice with sentences like whose car is this.

Explore how to express here and there in Japanese using koko, soko, asoko, and doko, with grammar templates and practical examples from the lecture.

Practice nine Japanese writing prompts for unit four, focusing on basic sentence structure, possessives, demonstratives, questions, and negatives, with 15-second prompts.

Explore five reading practices and three listening practices to test your understanding of Japanese sentences, meanings, and options, with guided drills and immediate feedback.

Learn how ru verbs conjugate in Japanese, using dictionary forms, present tense affirmative and negative forms, and base and stem concepts with taberu, neru, okiru, miru.

This lecture introduces u-verbs and their conjugation, showing how to form present affirmative and present negative from the dictionary form with examples like nomu, yomu, chiku, iku, kaoru.

Learn irregular japanese verbs with kuru and suru, focusing on their present affirmative and negative forms. See how these irregulars form compound verbs like benkyō suru.

Explore verb types and the present tense, illustrating habitual and future actions with examples like yoku, mimasu, and ikimasu.

Explore how to form the Japanese past tense, contrast it with the present tense in affirmative and negative forms, and practice with concrete examples.

Practice eight verb conjugation exercises and six writing tasks in unit five. Master present affirmative and present negative forms, and past tense with examples like watashi wa koko ni ikimasu.

Engage in Japanese language practice with seven reading exercises and four listening exercises, answering multiple-choice options to infer sentence meaning and tense.

Discover six ramen styles across Japan, from shio in Hakodate to tonkotsu in Hakata, and tsukemen dipping ramen plus miso, shoyu, and hiyashi chuka.

Master basic Japanese particles de, ni, e, and o by exploring location, direction, time reference, and direct object usage through clear examples.

Master basic particles de, ni, and o to mark location, time, destination, and direct object, using examples like watching TV at home and Mary’s cafe trip.

Explore time references in the Japanese Masterclass, including the ni particle with days of the week and numeric time expressions, months, present-relative expressions, regular intervals, and morning or weekend.

Learn how the topic particle wa marks topics in Japanese, after subjects or non-subject phrases, emphasizes words, and guides listener attention with examples like weekends, today, and dinner.

Explore how the particle ga marks the subject and emphasizes new information, while wa marks the topic. See how ga answers questions with nani or dada to fill the blank.

Learn how the particle mo links a second item with a shared attribute, shows multiple people performing the same action, and replaces wa or ga in Japanese sentences.

Master the particle to, which links nouns with and and marks with whom you do something. See examples like Nihongo to igo hanashima and Tokyo to Osaka ni ikimasu.

Explore the particles ya and tau: ya links two nouns as examples, tau lists all items. Practice with miso shiru ya okonomiyaki and Nihongo ja Durango.

Explore the particle de in Japanese to mark means of transportation and instruments, with practical examples like chopsticks, bus, TV, and nihongo de hanashimasu.

Learn seven frequency adverbs and how to place them after the particle, with vocab like yoku, itsumo, amari, and zen, plus daily, weekly, and yearly examples.

Explore Japan's weird but real vending machines that sell clothes, rice, fresh eggs, vegetables, edible insects, hot meals, onigiri, cake in a can, and even umbrellas, highlighting everyday convenience.

Learn to form invitation sentences in Japanese using the present negative verb plus the question particle ka, including three new examples such as shall we have lunch together.

Discover how to form invitation sentences in Japanese by using the long form of verbs with masu or mashou, with examples like let's study or shall we drink.

Learn the x arimasu construction to express there is or there are, ownership, and events, using location ni and event de with examples like asoko ni McDonald ga arimasu.

Learn to say there is a living being in a location using asoko ni [living object] ga imasu, with inu and neko as examples, and contrast it with nonliving arimasu.

Master how to describe where things are in Japanese with ten location terms: front, behind, next to, left, right, inside, outside, and between, and use the de location marker.

Practice writing and reading in Japanese for unit eight with ten writing practices and four reading practices, including locating objects, describing possessions, and understanding tense and affirmative/negative forms.

Discover how Japanese konbini offer 24/7 fresh meals, cheap fast coffee, and high-tech services—from ticketing and bill payment to package pickup—alongside clean, well-stocked stores.

Explore Japanese adjectives, including e adjectives and na adjectives, their present and past conjugations, with examples like omoshiroi, kawaii, samui, and atsui.

Master na adjectives in Japanese by learning their conjugation across present affirmative, present negative, past affirmative, and past negative forms, with examples like Shizuka na, Genki, and Ninguna.

Discover how irregular adjectives conjugate in Japanese, focusing on the irregular adjective e meaning good, with forms like yokatta and yoku nakata, and the rule for adjectives ending with e.

Learn to express likes and dislikes in Japanese with suki and kirai, using sukina and kirina na adjectives and the wa and ga particles in practical sentences.

Explore degree expressions in Japanese, using totemo and chotto before adjectives, with intensified forms like daisuki for sukina and kirai to express strong liking or disliking.

Practice eight adjective conjugations and apply them in writing practice to form present and past tense sentences, including affirmative and negative forms in Japanese.

Engage in unit nine's Japanese reading and listening practice to decode sentence meaning, identify tense and polarity, and practice multiple-choice questions across drills.

Explore yokai, Japan's supernatural creatures from folklore, including Tiki Tiki, Kappa, Hitodama, Yuki-onna, Tsukumogami, and Kodama, and learn how these spirits embody regional traits, fears, and culture.