N5 — Foundations
Sentence Structure 101
SOV order, the topic は, and verbs that come last
LESSON 2Particles I: は vs が
Topic and subject — the two faces of "be"
LESSON 3Particles II: を・に・へ
Objects, destinations and directions
LESSON 4Particles III: で・と・の
Tools, companions and connections
LESSON 5Verb Classes
Godan, ichidan and the two irregulars
LESSON 6Polite Present: です・ます
The foundation of formal speech
LESSON 7Negation
〜ません・〜じゃない — saying what is not
LESSON 8Past Tense
〜ました・〜た — talking about yesterday
LESSON 9て Form I
The connector that runs Japanese
LESSON 10い-Adjectives
True adjectives that conjugate themselves
LESSON 11な-Adjectives
Noun adjectives and the な that links them
LESSON 12Existence: ある・いる
"There is" and "I have" — あります/います
LESSON 13Numbers & Counters
本・枚・匹・人 — counting the Japanese way
LESSON 14Time & Duration
に・から・まで・ごろ
LESSON 15Desires & Preferences
〜たい and 〜が好き
LESSON 16Questions
か plus 何・誰・どこ・いつ
LESSON 17Reasons
から・ので — because and since
LESSON 80Plain Form I
Casual verbs: dictionary and ない forms
LESSON 81Plain Form II
Plain past, adjectives and nouns
LESSON 82Demonstratives & Places
これ・それ・あれ, ここ・そこ・あそこ
LESSON 83More Particles
も・や・でも・だけ・しか・ね・よ
LESSON 84Quotation
と思う・と言う・って
LESSON 85Becoming & Deciding
になる・にする and linking words
KANJIN5 Kanji List
About 80 kanji with readings
VOCABN5 Vocabulary
About 150 essential words
COUNTERSCounters Chart
Every counter you need, with sound changes
DIALOGUESN5 Dialogues
6 everyday conversations
PRACTICE 1N5 Practice
19 questions with answers
PRACTICE 2N5 Practice 2
Plain form and demonstratives
PRACTICE 3N5 Practice 3
Particles and quotation
PRACTICE 4N5 Practice 4
Mixed review
PRACTICE 5N5 Practice 5
Final N5 review
STORYN5 Story: Mina's Week
Kanji, hiragana and English
N4 — Building Fluency
て Form II
〜てください・〜ている — requests and ongoing action
LESSON 19Permission & Prohibition
〜てもいい・〜てはいけない
LESSON 20Obligation & Advice
〜なければならない・〜ほうがいい
LESSON 21Potential Form
〜られる・〜える — "can do"
LESSON 22Conditional I: たら
If and when
LESSON 23Conditional II: ば
The hypothetical if
LESSON 24Conditional III: と・なら
Triggers and topics
LESSON 25Volitional
〜ましょう・〜よう — let's, shall we, intention
LESSON 26Giving & Receiving
あげる・くれる・もらう
LESSON 27Passive Voice
〜れる・〜られる
LESSON 28Causative
〜させる — making and letting
LESSON 29Relative Clauses
Verbs that describe nouns
LESSON 30Nominalizers
こと and の — verbs become nouns
LESSON 31Hearsay & Appearance
〜そうだ vs 〜らしい
LESSON 32Likeness & Inference
〜ようだ・〜みたい
LESSON 33Transitive & Intransitive
落とす/落ちる and friends
LESSON 34ながら・し
While doing, and stacking reasons
LESSON 35のに
Although, despite — and its sigh of regret
LESSON 86Imperative & Prohibition
食べろ・行くな・なさい
LESSON 87ないで・ても・てほしい
Without doing, even if, wanting someone to
LESSON 88つもり・予定・てある
Plans, prepared states and ところ
LESSON 89Casual Speech
Contractions like ちゃう・てる・なきゃ
KANJIN4 Kanji List
100+ kanji with readings
VOCABN4 Vocabulary
About 130 words
DIALOGUESN4 Dialogues
6 everyday conversations
PRACTICE 1N4 Practice
18 questions with answers
PRACTICE 2N4 Practice 2
Commands and casual speech
PRACTICE 3N4 Practice 3
Plans, negative requests, even if
PRACTICE 4N4 Practice 4
Mixed N4 patterns
PRACTICE 5N4 Practice 5
Conditionals, reasons, review
STORYN4 Story: The Pink Umbrella
Kanji, hiragana and English
N3 — Broadening Horizons
Keigo I: 尊敬語
Honoring other people's actions
LESSON 37Keigo II: 謙譲語
Humbling your own actions
LESSON 38Keigo III: 丁寧語
Polished politeness and beautiful words
LESSON 39Embedded Questions
〜かどうか — asking indirectly
LESSON 40Explanation: わけ
〜わけではない — "that's not what I mean"
LESSON 41Expectation: はず
What must logically be true
LESSON 42Duty: べき
What ought to be done
LESSON 43Decisions
〜ことにする vs 〜ことになる
LESSON 44Concession
〜といっても・〜からといって — even so, even if
LESSON 45〜たびに
Every time
LESSON 46〜ばかり
Just now, only, lately
LESSON 47〜とおりに
As shown, as planned
LESSON 48おかげで・せいで
Credit and blame
LESSON 49をきっかけに
Turning points
LESSON 50どころか
Far from, let alone
LESSON 51がち・気味
Prone to, a touch of
LESSON 90Causative-Passive
させられる — being made to do
LESSON 91ように Family
ようにする・ようになる・ように言う
LESSON 92Probability
かもしれない・に違いない・はずがない
LESSON 93Timing & Leftover States
うちに・間に・ついでに・まま
LESSON 94Compound Particles I
について・に対して・によって・として
KANJIN3 Kanji List
110+ kanji with readings
VOCABN3 Vocabulary
About 110 words by topic
DIALOGUESN3 Dialogues
6 conversations with keigo
PRACTICE 1N3 Practice
18 questions with answers
PRACTICE 2N3 Practice 2
Causative-passive and ように
PRACTICE 3N3 Practice 3
Probability, timing, states
PRACTICE 4N3 Practice 4
Compound particles and review
PRACTICE 5N3 Practice 5
Final N3 review
STORYN3 Story: A New Town, A New Friend
Kanji, hiragana and English
N2 — Precision & Formality
上で・末に
In the course of, after much
LESSON 53あまり
Carried to excess
LESSON 54一方だ・一方で
Trends and contrasts
LESSON 55限り
As long as, to the limit
LESSON 56に応じて・に伴って
In line with, along with
LESSON 57に際して・にあたって
On the occasion of
LESSON 58に先立って
Prior to
LESSON 59ものの・とはいえ
Although, that said
LESSON 60ば〜ほど
The more… the more…
LESSON 61にすぎない・にほかならない
Nothing more than / nothing other than
LESSON 62ざるを得ない
Left with no choice
LESSON 63つつある
Change in progress
LESSON 64を余儀なくされる
Forced into — the formal passive
LESSON 65Written Style: である
The plain register of essays and news
LESSON 95わけにはいかない・かねない
Cannot, no way, might well, unable to
LESSON 96に基づいて・をもとに・をめぐって
Based on, along, through, over
LESSON 97にかかわらず・にもかかわらず
Regardless of, despite, although
LESSON 98ものだ・ことだ・ものなら
Truths, advice, nostalgia, wishful if
LESSON 99ほど・ばかりに・だけあって
Degree and special reasons
KANJIN2 Kanji List
About 100 kanji with readings
VOCABN2 Vocabulary
About 110 words by topic
DIALOGUESN2 Dialogues
6 conversations in business Japanese
PRACTICE 1N2 Practice
15 questions with answers
PRACTICE 2N2 Practice 2
Cannot, no way, based on
PRACTICE 3N2 Practice 3
Regardless of and despite
PRACTICE 4N2 Practice 4
ものだ, ことだ, ものなら
PRACTICE 5N2 Practice 5
Final N2 review
STORYN2 Story: The Greengrocer
Kanji, hiragana and English
N1 — Mastery & Capstones
ずにはいられない
Can't help but
LESSON 67んばかり
As if about to
LESSON 68んがため
For the sake of — the literary purpose
LESSON 69てやまない・にたえない
Heartfelt extremes
LESSON 70ものを・てからというもの
Regret, and "ever since"
LESSON 71に即して・にかこつけて
In line with / under pretext
LESSON 72はさておき・もさることながら
Setting aside / not to mention
LESSON 73が早いか・や否や
No sooner than
LESSON 74であれ・であれ
Regardless of whether
LESSON 75と相まって
Combined with
LESSON 76いかんによらず
Regardless of — bureaucratic style
LESSON 77ならでは
Unique to
LESSON 78Capstone: Reading Real Japanese
Parsing a real article with N5–N1 tools
LESSON 79Capstone: Style & Register
Choosing grammar by situation
LESSON 100とあって, ばこそ, ゆえに, をもって
Special reasons and formal means
LESSON 101をものともせず, をよそに, をおいて, にひきかえ
Defying, ignoring, only and contrast
LESSON 102極まる, の至り, 限りだ, この上ない
Extreme feelings and states
LESSON 103までもない, に足る, に値する, たりとも, すら
No need, worth and not even
LESSON 104べく, べからず, まじき, ごとき
Classical and literary forms
KANJIN1 Kanji List
82 kanji with readings and examples
VOCABN1 Vocabulary
About 100 essential words
DIALOGUESN1 Dialogues
6 conversations in kana and English
PRACTICE 1N1 Practice 1
14 questions with answers
PRACTICE 2N1 Practice 2
18 questions on Lessons 100–101
PRACTICE 3N1 Practice 3
18 questions on Lesson 102
PRACTICE 4N1 Practice 4
18 questions on Lesson 103
PRACTICE 5N1 Practice 5
Lesson 104 and mixed review
STORYN1 Story: The Hometown Station
Kanji, hiragana and English