The basics
Everything you need before the articles make sense: the two alphabets, numbers, counters, and how to say the time. Free, no account.
Practise them →
Flashcard quizzes on all of it. A card you miss comes back until you get it right, and what you miss most is remembered.
Reference charts
Hiragana chart
All 46 hiragana with romaji, plus dakuten, combinations and the reading traps beginners hit first.
Katakana chart
All 46 katakana with romaji, plus dakuten, combinations and how long vowels work.
Japanese numbers
How to count in Japanese: 1 to 10, the places, the sound changes, and why Japanese groups digits in four.
Japanese counters
The counters for people, long things, flat things, animals, cups and machines, with every irregular form written out.
Telling the time and dates
Hours, minutes, days of the month and months, including the forms that break the pattern.
Then what?
Once you can read kana, start lesson 1 of the course — it is free. When you want real text to read, the daily articles give you the reading and meaning of every word when you hover or tap it.
← All the basics