Japanese Course for Absolute Beginners (Letters, Alphabet)

Explore the fundamentals of hiragana, katakana, and kanji, learn how to distinguish kana from kanji, and understand how each kana represents a single sound with gojuonzu as the foundation.

Explore the Gojuonzu chart, learn to read and name its 46 kana by rows and columns, grasp the consonant + vowel pattern, and preview hiragana and katakana correspondences.

Master the five vowels of Japanese in the first Gojuonzu row, learn stroke orders, practice writing and pronunciation, and build basic vocabulary like あい meaning 'love'.

Master the Japanese intonation system and pitch accent, understand accent marks and the five vowels, and practice with Gojuonzu vocabulary.

explore common mistakes learners make with Japanese vowels, including mouth shape for あ/い/え/お, subtle う pronunciation, overreliance on romanization, and the importance of pitch accent.

Master the second row of Gojuonzu using the consonant + vowel system, practice pronouncing and writing ka ki ku ke ko, and prepare for the remaining rows.

Master ka row hiragana vocabulary with pronunciation and pitch marks, forming words such as kaki (persimmon), aka (red), aki (autumn), kiku (chrysanthemum), ike (pond), koi and ai (love), and aishiteru.

Explore Japanese currency, the yen, its reserve status, the kanji and romanization for pronunciation, and the forms: banknotes and coins, with denominations and the 1000 yen ≈ 9 dollars reference.

Explore the s-row hiragana by linking s with vowels a, i, u, e, o to form sa, se, so, and learn shi and su through guided pronunciation drills.

Practice reading and writing hiragana row さ with sa, shi, su, se, so through standard, reverse, and linking drills, then master stroke order and pronunciation.

Practice the sa row pronunciation by reviewing the five hiragana sa, shi, su, se, so and vocab like sake, osake, shiki, sushi, osushi, ase, and uso within gojuonzu pitch accents.

Explore the ta row of gojuonzu, introducing ta, te, to, chi, tsu and pronunciation tips for hiragana, with mnemonics and practice phrases like tsunami to master consonant-vowel combinations.

Practice writing and pronouncing the ta row of hiragana, including ta, chi, tsu, te, and to, with stroke counts, pronunciation drills, and connected reading exercises.

Practice pronunciation and learn ta row vocabulary, including uta, shita, chichi, chikatetsu, tsuki, and soto, while reviewing pitch marks and pitch accent rules.

Explore the fifth gojuonzu row, learning na, ni, nu, ne, no hiragana by combining the consonant n with vowels, and practice strokes, pronunciation, and forming nani meaning what.

Review the five hiragana and gojuonzu rows, and practice pronunciation with pitch marks for natsu, nishi, inu, neko, ani, ane, tsuno, and nani.

Practice the ha row in the gojuonzu, pronouncing the five hiragana ha, hi, fu, he, ho, and learn the strokes and linking drills to reinforce standard order and pronunciation.

Practice five hiragana—ha, hi, fu, he, ho—and master pitch accent with words like haha, hana, hito, fuku, and hashi, noting chopsticks versus bridge to understand meaning shifts.

Explore oshogatsu, omisoka, and hatsumode traditions in Japan's new year celebrations. Learn nengajo cards, toshikoshi soba, jinja and otera visits, and akemashite omedetou gozaimasu greetings.

Explore the ma row of gojuonzu, pronouncing and writing the five hiragana ma, mi, mu, me, and mo. Practice with words mimi (ears) and momo (peach).

Master the ma row vocabulary in gojuonzu, pronouncing ma, mi, mu, me, mo and forming words like ima, uma, mimi, umi, ame, mono, momo along with pitch marks.

Introduce the ya row in gojuonzu, teaching ya, yu, and yo with pronunciation and stroke order, explain why ye isn't used, and preview the next word list.

Practice ya, yu, yo and learn words like yama, yakusoku, yasumi, yume, fuyu, and yoyaku while reviewing hiragana and the pitch accent system with mark 0, 2, and 3.

Master the ra row of hiragana, pronouncing Ra, Ri, Ru, Re, and Ro with a soft tongue position. Learn the writing strokes and practice sequences that link these sounds.

Learn the hiragana ら row and pronounce sakura, tori, haru, furo, kumori, hare, yoru, and hiru with correct pitch marks. Practice with careful intonation and note the polite o prefix.

Explore the wa row of Gojuonzu, learning wa, wi, u, we, and wo pronunciations, writing two strokes, and applying wa/wo as grammatical particles in sushi wo taberu.

Master row vocabulary in hiragana through gojuonzu with watashi, watakushi, wakai, and pitch patterns, including linking practice and wa versus o pronunciation tips.

Learn the final Gojuonzu hiragana ん, pronounced as n, which cannot start a word and always follows another kana, with one stroke and examples nihon, hon, and tenki.

Explore how sushi uses vinegared rice with toppings and distinguish it from sashimi, the raw fish component. Identify makizushi, nigirizushi, inarizushi, and chirashizushi, and note kaitenzushi conveyor belt dining.

Learn diacritical marks in hiragana that turn ka, ta, and ha into ga, da, and ba or pa, including the circle mark, and practice z and d consonants with vowels.

Master diacritical marks to convert k to g, practice the five hiragana ga, gi, gu, ge, go, and learn vocab like がいこく and ぎんこう with pitch and long vowels.

Master diacritical marks that shift consonants from h to b and to p, practice BA–BO and PA–PO sequences, and read gojuonzu hiragana pronunciations.

Learn about small hiragana and contracted sounds in Japanese, practice forming じゅ from じゆ, and follow a four-syllable pitch pattern for ごじゅうおんず with a later pitch rise.

Learn contracted hiragana sounds using small ya, yu, and yo after i-vowel kana, creating kiya, kyu, kyo, sha, shu, sho, plus marks to make g, b, and p variants.

Master pronunciation and pitch in Japanese kana through contracted sounds, syllable blending, and pitch marks, with practical examples like きょ, しゃ, ぎゅうにく, はっぴょう, and りゃく.

Explore how the small つ doubles consonants in Japanese, forming syllables like さっか and がっこう, while mastering pitch patterns for words such as きっさてん and きっぷ.