Learn Japanese
One path, from the characters to speaking. It shows you what to do today, so you never have to decide where to start.
Today
Start here
This is the path to reading Japanese. All of it is free and none of it needs an account. Begin with the characters.
Start with hiraganaWhich hiragana character is read "be"?
Where you are
Kana
0 / 142
Kanji
0 / 285
Words
0 / 10000
Stories
0 / 6
The path
Top to bottom. The numbers are not everything there is; they are the point at which it is safe to move on.
- 1Read the charactersYou are here0 of 142
Hiragana and katakana. Nothing else on this page works until these do.
- 2Your first kanji0 of 100
The first hundred. That alone makes a lot of station and shop signs readable.
- 3Everyday words0 of 300
Three hundred words by theme. Enough to get through shopping, travel, and work.
- 4Read whole sentences0 of 3
Three short pieces. This is where words turn into sentences, and where most people stall.
- 5Say it out loud
Once you can read it, the mouth is next. Talk to the AI partner, or book a lesson.
Everything on this path is free and needs no account.