A guided beginner path: learn to read kana, pick up the core grammar particles, then your first words — with everything on this page.
Hiragana and katakana are the two alphabets. Learn to read these first — every chart is below.
らりるれろ: To pronounce this row, lightly touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth (just behind the teeth) and say an "R" sound. It's between an English R and L, closer to a quick flap.
KatakanaPractice kana →A handful of small words (は, が, を, に…) do most of the grammatical work. Here are the essentials.
は marks the topic — what the sentence is about. It's pronounced 'wa' here. Think of it as 'as for X…'.
わたしは学生です。As for me, I'm a student. (I am a student.)
が marks the subject — often the new or specific information, or the thing that does/has something. Used with new info, questions like 'who/what', and with すき/ある/いる.
ねこがすきです。I like cats. (literally: Cats are likeable [to me].)
を marks the direct object — the thing the verb acts on. Pronounced 'o'.
パンを食べます。I eat bread.
に marks a point in time, a destination (with go/come), or where something exists (with ある/いる).
七時（しちじ）に起きます。I get up at seven o'clock. (Note: in time/counter contexts, 七 reads しち, not なな.)
Start with the words you'll use on day one — numbers, days of the week, and colors. Tap any item to hear the pronunciation.
Spaced-repetition review and quizzes lock it in.
で marks where an action happens, or the means/tool used to do something (by/with/at).
としょかんで勉強します。I study at the library.
へ marks direction of movement, like に for destinations. Pronounced 'e'. Often interchangeable with に for going places.
日本へ行きます。I'm going to Japan.
の links two nouns: the first describes or owns the second (X's Y, or Y of X).
わたしの本my book
と joins nouns into a complete list (A and B), and also means 'together with'.
パンとたまごbread and eggs
も replaces は or が to mean 'also/too'. It says the same applies to this item.
わたしも学生です。I'm a student too.
Put か at the end of a sentence to make it a question. No question mark needed.
学生ですか。Are you a student?