Lessons for English speakers
Learn to read Japanese
A short, active path into reading Japanese: decode seven real words from eleven kana, learn why the verb comes last and how nine particles carry the grammar, meet the plain past stories are told in, and read a short fable before opening your first book.
13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 4 optional lookups · ≈ 55 min with everything
How sentences work
4 sections6
Your first spoken words, and the register this path uses
≈ 2 min
What you'll learn
- There is no all-purpose “hello”: Japanese greets by the clock rather than by the person.
- こんにちはkonnichiwa ends in は and is said “-wa” — the spelling rule met in the wild.
- さようならsayōnara means parting for a long time; it is heavier than English “goodbye”.
- A polite gear exists — ですdesu and ますmasu — but books narrate plain, so this path is plain.
- Every word here is pure hiragana; the rōmaji line carries you until the kana do.
Six words people use immediately
| Japanese | When |
|---|---|
| おはようohayō“good morning” | until roughly the middle of the day |
| こんにちはkonnichiwa“hello” | through the middle of the day |
| こんばんはkonbanwa“good evening” | after dark |
| さようならsayōnara“goodbye” | parting for a long time — books use it; to a friend you will see tomorrow, people say something lighter |
| ありがとうarigatō“thank you” | any time |
| ごめんgomen“sorry” | any time, among familiars |
Two of these end in は and are said “-wa”, not “-ha”: the character doubles as a grammar mark, and the greeting preserves that spelling.
The polite gear, named once
おはようohayō“good morning”
おはよう ございますohayō gozaimasu
to a stranger, a teacher, or a colleague
ありがとうarigatō“thank you”
ありがとう ございますarigatō gozaimasu
same words, more distance
Say them, then check
- こんにちは
Five characters. The last one is not said the way it is written.
Show answer +Hide answer −
こんにちはkonnichiwa“hello”. The final は is “wa”. - きつね
Show answer +Hide answer −
きつねkitsune“fox”