Start with a small task you want to do, such as greeting a teacher or asking where the station is.
The idea
Choose five useful cards. Read each aloud, cover it, recall its reading and meaning, then check. Try again tomorrow, three days later and after a week; these are examples, not a guaranteed schedule. Bring missed cards back sooner and use the words in sentences too. Learn hiragana and katakana in small groups while listening and reading short words. Alongside them, practise greetings, は and を, and polite verbs in useful sentences. Add kanji with a word and its reading, such as 水（みず）. Return to material over several days, try to recall it without looking, and use it in a short exchange.
| Time | Action |
|---|---|
| 今日 | Recall and check |
| 明日 | Recall and check |
| 三日後 | Recall and check |
| 一週間後 | Recall and check |
Examples
- 先生、おはようございます。Good morning, teacher.
- 私は日本語を勉強します。I study Japanese.
- 私は水を飲みます。I drink water.
- 駅はどこですか。Where is the station?
- 傘を買います。I buy an umbrella.
- コーヒーを飲みます。I drink coffee.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not wait to master every character before speaking or rely on romaji indefinitely. The N5 label is an approximate starting level, not an official list of topics.
Try it yourself
Ask where the station is. 駅の場所を聞きます。駅は＿ですか。（どこ／だれ）
Show answer or example answer
どこ
どこ asks for a place, so it fits a question about the station’s location.
Complete the sentence “I study Japanese”. 日本語を＿。（勉強します／勉強です）
Show answer or example answer
勉強します
勉強します is the polite verb “study”; 勉強です does not make this verb sentence.
Say that you drink water. 水を＿。（飲みます／読みます）
Show answer or example answer
飲みます
飲みます means “drink”; 読みます means “read”.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Ask where the station is. 駅の場所を聞きます。駅は＿ですか。（どこ／だれ）
Complete the sentence “I study Japanese”. 日本語を＿。（勉強します／勉強です）
Say that you drink water. 水を＿。（飲みます／読みます）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Choose a greeting and a destination question. Practise them aloud, then write two kana you want to revisit tomorrow.