Getting Started · 3 min read
How to Learn Japanese from Scratch
A practical starting point for absolute beginners. Scripts, sounds, and first steps.
Key takeaways
- Learn hiragana and katakana first. Most learners manage both in three to four weeks.
- Start making simple sentences in week one instead of waiting to “know enough”.
- Learn kanji inside words you already know, not as isolated characters.
- Short daily practice and regular feedback from a teacher matter more than long weekend sessions.
Start with the sounds
Japanese has only five vowel sounds, a, i, u, e, o, and almost every syllable is a consonant followed by one of them. Once you can say か き く け こ (ka ki ku ke ko), you can already pronounce a large part of the language.
There are a few sounds to listen for: the small っ that doubles a consonant (きって, kitte = stamp), long vowels (おばさん aunt vs おばあさん grandmother), and the ん sound. Getting these right early saves you from habits that are hard to fix later.
Learn the two kana scripts
Hiragana (46 basic characters) is used for native words and grammar endings. Katakana (another 46) is used for loanwords such as コーヒー (coffee) and テレビ (television). Together they let you read everything in a beginner textbook.
Learn them a row at a time, the あ row, the か row and so on, and read real words straight away rather than drilling characters alone.
- Week 1: hiragana あ to な rows
- Week 2: hiragana は to ん rows, plus voiced sounds (が, ざ, だ, ば, ぱ)
- Week 3: katakana, using loanwords you already know
- Week 4: reading short sentences in both scripts
Build sentences early
Don't wait until you have memorised hundreds of words. A handful of patterns lets you start speaking in your first week, and using words in sentences is what makes them stick.
- わたしは がくせいです。— I am a student.
- これは ほんです。— This is a book.
- コーヒーを のみます。— I drink coffee.
- えきは どこですか。— Where is the station?
Pick up particles one at a time
Particles are short words that mark the role of each part of a sentence. は marks the topic, を the object, に the time or destination, and で the place where something happens. Learn each one with two or three example sentences and you will recognise the pattern quickly.
Add kanji gradually
Kanji look intimidating, but JLPT N5 needs only around 100 of them. Learn each kanji as part of a word, 日 in 日本 (Japan) and 日曜日 (Sunday), so you learn reading, meaning and use together.
Five new kanji a day, reviewed the next day and again a week later, will cover N5 in about a month.
Make a simple daily routine
Consistency beats intensity. Thirty minutes every day is far more effective than three hours once a week, because memory is built through repeated review.
- 10 minutes: review yesterday's words with flashcards
- 10 minutes: one grammar point with example sentences
- 5 minutes: listen to a short audio clip and repeat it aloud
- 5 minutes: write three sentences about your day
Get feedback early
Apps are good for vocabulary, but speaking and grammar improve fastest with someone who can correct you. A live class gives you a reason to speak, a teacher who hears your mistakes, and classmates at the same level.
A level test is a quick way to find where to start, so you don't repeat what you already know or skip something important.
Frequently asked questions
Use romaji only for the first few days to get the sounds. Move to hiragana quickly. Relying on romaji slows your reading later.
You can learn to read and build vocabulary alone, but most learners need a teacher for speaking practice and to catch grammar mistakes.
次の一歩 · Your next step
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