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

Katakana and kanji reference

Optional lookup · ≈ 4 min

What you'll learn

Open this when a spiky word or an unfamiliar character stops you; nothing here is needed to finish the path.
Katakana has the same sounds as hiragana, in sharper shapes and the same layout.
Only katakana uses the length mark ー, meaning “hold that vowel”.
Borrowed words grow vowels, because Japanese has no lone consonants except んn.
The same animal can be written 犬, いぬ or イヌ, and nothing about it changes.

You do not need this section to finish the path either. Open it when a spiky word or an unfamiliar character stops you. This is recognition only: nobody expects you to write katakana, and you can look these tables up forever without shame.

The katakana table — same sounds, sharper shapes

Row	a	i	u	e	o
vowel alone	アa	イi	ウu	エe	オo
k	カka	キki	クku	ケke	コko
s	サsa	シshi	スsu	セse	ソso
t	タta	チchi	ツtsu	テte	トto
n	ナna	ニni	ヌnu	ネne	ノno
h	ハha	ヒhi	フfu	ヘhe	ホho
m	マma	ミmi	ムmu	メme	モmo
y	ヤya	——	ユyu	——	ヨyo
r	ラra	リri	ルru	レre	ロro
w	ワwa	——	——	——	ヲo
on its own	ンn	——	——	——	——

Compare it to the hiragana table: identical layout, identical sounds. Only the drawing changed.

The four that catch everybody

シshi
“shi”
Two dots stacked on the left and a stroke sweeping up from below — everything comes in from the left and rises, like a smile.
シャツshatsu
“shirt”
ツtsu
“tsu”
The same three marks, but the dots sit on top and the stroke drops down from above — a frown, and it falls like a tsunami.
ツナtsuna
“tuna”
ソso
“so”
One dot on top, one stroke falling — the top half of ツ, so it drops the same way.
ソフトsofuto
“soft”
ンn
a plain “n”, not a syllable
One dot on the left, one stroke rising — the bottom half of シ, so it rises the same way.
パンpan
“bread”

The trick for all four is the direction the short strokes travel, not their number. Follow the direction you would write them in.

The voicing strokes and the small ャュョya yu yo work identically here: カka → ガga, キki + ャya → キャkya. Katakana adds one thing hiragana does not: the long dash ー, which means “hold that vowel”.

Sound these out

Katakana	Sound	Which English word
コーヒーkōhī	ko-o-hi-i	coffee
ドアdoa	do-a	door
ミルクmiruku	mi-ru-ku	milk
パンpan	pa-n	bread — this one came from Portuguese, not English
ネコneko	ne-ko	cat — a native word, written spiky for emphasis, the way English uses italics

Japanese has no lone consonants except んn, so a borrowed word grows vowels: “milk” has to become “mi-ru-ku”. Once you expect that, most loanwords decode instantly.

Nine more kanji

Kanji	In a word
人hito“person”	おとこの人otoko no hito“a man”
山yama“mountain”	three peaks — a picture, like 木
月tsuki“moon; month”	月tsuki“moon”
川kawa“river”	three channels of water
火hi“fire”	火hi“fire”
下shita“below; under”	木の下ki no shita“under the tree”
一ichi“one”	一人hitori“one person”
二ni“two”	二人futari“two people”
三san“three”	三人sannin“three people”

Look at 一二三 — one stroke, two strokes, three strokes.