Welcome to Japanese!
こんにちは (konnichiwa) — hello, and welcome to your very first Japanese lesson! This course, Basic Japanese (Pre-N5), is designed for people starting from absolute zero. You do not need to know a single Japanese word or letter to begin. By the end of this course, you will be able to read two full Japanese alphabets, know your first kanji characters, hold simple conversations, and be completely ready to start studying for the JLPT N5 exam.
Here is some great news before we start: Japanese pronunciation is one of the easiest of any major language — there are only five vowel sounds, and words are pronounced exactly as they are written. There are no verb changes for "I / you / he / she", no gendered nouns like in French or Spanish, and no plural forms to memorize. The writing system takes effort, yes — but it is a fun, steady climb, and we will take it step by step together.
1. The Three Writing Systems
The first thing everyone notices about Japanese is that it uses three different scripts, often mixed together in a single sentence. This sounds scary, but each script has a clear job, and knowing "who does what" makes everything click.
| Script | Looks like | What it is used for | How many characters? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiragana (ひらがな) | あ い う え お | Native Japanese words, grammar endings, and particles. The "default" script — and the first one you will learn. | 46 basic characters |
| Katakana (カタカナ) | ア イ ウ エ オ | Foreign loanwords (coffee, computer…), foreign names, and emphasis — like italics in English. | 46 basic characters |
| Kanji (漢字) | 日 本 語 | Characters borrowed from Chinese that carry meaning. Used for nouns and the core of verbs and adjectives. | Around 2,000 in daily use — but you only need about 100 for N5, and we start with ~30 |
Let's see all three working together in one real sentence:
私はコーヒーを飲みます。
Watashi wa kōhī o nomimasu.
"I drink coffee."
- 私 (watashi, "I") and 飲 (no-, the core of "drink") are kanji — they carry the meaning.
- コーヒー (kōhī, "coffee") is katakana — it is a loanword from English.
- は (wa), を (o) and みます (-mimasu) are hiragana — they are the grammatical glue and the verb ending.
Did you know? Hiragana and katakana together are called kana. Both represent the exact same set of sounds — they are like lowercase and UPPERCASE in English. Learn the sounds once, and you get two scripts for the price of one!
What about romaji?
Romaji (ローマ字) means Japanese written with the Latin alphabet — like konnichiwa. In this course, every Japanese word appears in three forms: Japanese script + romaji + English meaning. Use romaji as training wheels: it gets you speaking from day one. But be warned — real Japanese is never written in romaji, so our goal is to switch you to reading kana as quickly as possible. After the hiragana and katakana chapters, try covering the romaji with your finger and reading the kana first!
2. Pronunciation: The Five Vowels
Japanese is built on just five vowel sounds. Master these five and you can pronounce almost everything correctly. They are always pronounced the same way, every single time — unlike English, where "a" sounds different in "cat", "father" and "cake".
| Vowel | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a (あ) | "ah" as in father | あさ (asa) — morning |
| i (い) | "ee" as in see | いぬ (inu) — dog |
| u (う) | "oo" as in food (but shorter, lips relaxed) | うみ (umi) — sea |
| e (え) | "eh" as in bed | えき (eki) — station |
| o (お) | "oh" as in go (but pure, no "w" at the end) | おちゃ (ocha) — tea |
Almost every Japanese sound is either a vowel alone or a consonant + vowel pair: ka, ki, ku, ke, ko… sa, shi, su, se, so… This is why Japanese sounds so rhythmic and clear.
The beat of Japanese: mora
Japanese is spoken in even beats called mora. Each kana character = one beat, and every beat gets the same length. The word にほん (nihon, "Japan") has three beats: に・ほ・ん — ni-ho-n. Think of a metronome ticking evenly. English speakers tend to squash unstressed syllables ("t'day" for "today") — resist that habit! Give every beat its full, equal time and you will instantly sound more natural.
Sounds that need a little practice
- The Japanese "r" (ら・り・る・れ・ろ): halfway between English "r", "l" and "d". Tap the tip of your tongue lightly just behind your top teeth — like the quick "dd" in the American pronunciation of "ladder".
- ふ (fu): softer than English "f". Blow air gently between your lips, as if blowing out a small candle — do not bite your lip.
- つ (tsu): like the "ts" at the end of "cats", but at the start of a syllable. Try saying "cats — u" and dropping the "ca".
- Long vowels: some vowels are held for two beats, and this changes the meaning. おじさん (ojisan) = uncle, but おじいさん (ojiisan) = grandfather! We mark long vowels in romaji with a line: ō, ū.
- Double consonants: a tiny pause before a consonant, written with a small っ. きって (kitte, "stamp") has a little "held breath" in the middle: ki-(pause)-te. More on this in the Hiragana II chapter.
A word about pitch: Japanese does not have strong stress like English. Instead, words have a gentle high-low pitch pattern. The classic example: はし said high-low means "chopsticks" (hashi), said low-high means "bridge". Do not worry about memorizing pitch now — context almost always makes you understood. Just listen and copy native audio whenever you can, and keep your intonation flat and even rather than bouncy.
3. How Japanese Sentences Work
Here is the single biggest structural difference from English: the verb comes at the END of the sentence. English is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO); Japanese is Subject–Object–Verb (SOV).
English: I eat sushi.
Japanese: 私はすしを食べます。 (Watashi wa sushi o tabemasu.) — literally "I sushi eat."
How does Japanese keep track of who does what, if the order is different? With tiny words called particles — one-syllable tags that come after a word and label its job:
- は (wa) marks the topic — "as for…" → 私は (watashi wa) = "as for me…"
- を (o) marks the object — the thing the verb acts on → すしを (sushi o) = "sushi" (being eaten)
- か (ka) at the end of a sentence turns it into a question — no word-order change needed!
Particles are the skeleton of Japanese grammar, and the whole Grammar Foundations section of this course is built around them. For now, just recognize the pattern: [Topic は] [Object を] [Verb].
Japanese loves to leave things out
If something is obvious from context, Japanese simply drops it — especially "I" and "you". A Japanese person rarely says "I drink coffee"; they just say コーヒーを飲みます (kōhī o nomimasu, "drink coffee"), because who is drinking is clear from the situation. When you see a sentence with no subject, that is not a mistake — it is natural Japanese!
4. Politeness: One Language, Several Gears
Japanese changes its verb endings depending on who you are talking to. Think of it like gears on a bicycle:
| Style | Example: "(I) drink" | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Polite style (です・ます / desu–masu) | 飲みます (nomimasu) | Strangers, colleagues, shops, teachers — the safe default for learners |
| Plain / casual style | 飲む (nomu) | Close friends, family, children — and inside written text |
This course teaches the polite です・ます style first, because you can use it with anyone without being rude. You will meet the plain style in the Verb Basics chapter, and it becomes important at N5 and beyond. The key idea for now: when you hear both 飲みます (nomimasu) and 飲む (nomu), they are the same verb, "to drink", in two different gears.
Did you know? Politeness is also why Japanese has so many set phrases — fixed expressions for entering a house, starting a meal, or leaving work. You will learn the essential ones in the Greetings chapter, and they instantly make you sound (and feel!) more Japanese.
5. Your Roadmap Through This Course
Here is how Basic Japanese (Pre-N5) is organized, and the best order to study:
- 文字・発音 — Writing System & Pronunciation: You are here! Next you will master hiragana (2 chapters), then katakana (2 chapters), then meet your first ~30 kanji. This is the foundation for everything — take your time here.
- 語彙 — Essential Vocabulary: Greetings, numbers and time, people and family, everyday objects, food, and the core verbs and adjectives. Around 500 words that cover most daily situations.
- 文法 — Grammar Foundations: Sentence structure, the essential particles, and how to conjugate verbs and adjectives in the polite style.
- 会話 — Conversation Basics: Putting it all together — introducing yourself, shopping, asking for directions, and surviving real-life situations.
A few study tips that make a huge difference:
- Say everything out loud. Japanese pronunciation is regular, so reading aloud builds speaking skill automatically.
- Write the kana by hand a few times each. Your hand remembers shapes that your eyes forget.
- Fifteen minutes daily beats two hours on Sunday. Language sticks through frequent, small exposures.
- Wean yourself off romaji as soon as the kana chapters are done — reading kana is a superpower on the JLPT, where romaji does not appear at all.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- Three scripts, three jobs: hiragana for native words and grammar, katakana for foreign words, kanji for meaning. They mix in one sentence.
- Five pure vowels (a, i, u, e, o) that never change; almost all sounds are consonant + vowel.
- Even beats: each kana is one mora, one beat. Long vowels and double consonants take an extra beat and can change meaning (ojisan vs ojiisan).
- Verb goes last: Japanese is SOV, and particles (は, を, か…) label each word's job, so word order is flexible.
- Subjects are often dropped when obvious — that is natural, correct Japanese.
- Politeness levels exist: learn the polite です・ます style first; it is safe with everyone.
- Romaji is your temporary helper — the real goal is reading kana, starting in the very next chapter. がんばって (ganbatte) — you've got this!