Japanese from zero · Starter 1

How Japanese works

three scripts · five vowels · how to study

In this lesson, you will see how Japanese is written (three scripts that work together), hear its five vowels, learn the rhythm that every word follows, and set up the study habit that gets you reading in about two weeks. No Japanese needed: everything has romaji.

By the end you will be able to say

はじめましてHow do you do (the first thing you say to someone new)

よろしくおねがいしますNice to meet you (said at the end of an introduction)

すしsushi: your first word in hiragana

テニスtennis: your first word in katakana

日本Japan: your first word in kanji

The grammar in this lesson

Three scripts that work together — Hiragana for grammar and everyday words, katakana for foreign words, kanji for meaning.
Five vowels and an even beat — a, i, u, e, o: short, pure vowels, and every letter takes one beat.
How to study kana (and this course) — Fifteen minutes a day, out loud, by hand, and let the quizzes remember for you.