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All Japanese lessons

Choose a topic, read the examples and try the exercises before revealing the answers. Follow a related lesson when you are ready to use the same idea in a new situation.

Adventure journal

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2,000Lessons

N3Japanese verbs

Receiving humbly with いただく

Learn how to receive things and favors humbly with いただく, conjugate this Japanese verb, and practice its particles in context.

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N3Japanese verbs

Japanese honorific speech: おっしゃる

Learn how to use おっしゃる for someone else’s words, form its polite and て forms, and practise respectful speech.

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N3Japanese verbs

Japanese honorific verb いらっしゃる

Learn how いらっしゃる respectfully expresses being, going or coming, and practise its irregular polite forms in context.

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N3Japanese verbs

Japanese verbs: humble movement with 参る

Learn how 参る humbly expresses going or coming, conjugate its key forms, and practise choosing it in professional contexts.

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N3Japanese verbs

Japanese honorific verbs: なさる

Learn how to use なさる for someone’s actions, form its polite and て forms, and practise choosing the right level of respect.

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N3Japanese verbs

Japanese 申す: saying and introducing yourself humbly

Learn how to use the humble Japanese verb 申す in introductions and formal speech, with conjugations and practical exercises.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Polite Japanese: choosing です and ます

Learn how polite noun, adjective and verb endings work, including negative and past forms, with practical examples.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Using さん with Japanese names

Learn when to add さん to another person’s name, when to use 先生, and how to introduce your own name politely.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Polite greetings for meeting someone

Choose a polite Japanese greeting for the time of day and introduce yourself naturally at a first meeting.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

すみません: attention, apology and thanks

Use すみません to get attention or apologise, and recognise how it can acknowledge the trouble someone took to help.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Using お願いします for a request

Make polite requests with お願いします in a shop, and understand よろしくお願いします when starting a relationship.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Japanese name order and address

Identify family and given names in Japanese order and choose a respectful way to address someone or fill in a form.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Everyday requests with ください

Ask for an object or an action using ください, and learn when the polite form may still sound direct.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Japanese thanks: ありがとう and ありがとうございます

Choose a natural Japanese thank-you for friends, teachers and completed occasions, with examples and explained practice.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Basic Japanese apologies

Learn to apologise in Japanese with ごめん, ごめんなさい and すみません, choosing a form for the relationship and situation.

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N5Japanese politeness and forms of address

Plain and polite Japanese

Compare Japanese plain and polite sentence endings, choose them for the relationship, and practise matching forms.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Japanese address suffixes: くん, ちゃん and 様

Learn how Japanese くん, ちゃん and 様 express familiarity or respect, and choose a form that fits the relationship.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Addressing people as 先輩 and 先生

Learn when Japanese speakers use 先輩 and 先生 as address terms, with examples of names and respectful speech.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Soften a Japanese request with a reason

Learn to give a brief reason with ので before a polite Japanese request, and practise asking without sounding abrupt.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Politely declining an invitation in Japanese

Learn to thank someone, give a brief reason and decline an invitation in Japanese while leaving room for another occasion.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Opening a conversation at work in Japanese

Learn Japanese workplace greetings and polite openings for asking a colleague for time, plus a phrase for leaving first.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Polite requests with ていただけますか

Build Japanese requests with the て-form and いただけますか, and practise asking someone politely for help.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Choosing polite giving and receiving

Choose Japanese giving and receiving verbs for teachers, friends and favours, and practise the direction of respect.

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N4Japanese politeness and forms of address

Switching to plain speech with permission

Learn to ask before switching to casual Japanese, then practise plain forms for a friendly conversation.

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