Lesson 1
Daily routine and shift work: 〜た後で, 〜ながら and 〜までに
Talk about your day and your shifts: 〜た後で (after doing), 〜ながら (while doing) and 〜までに (by a deadline), with words for early, day and night shifts — plus the first N4 kanji 朝, 昼, 夜, 夕 and 起.
Learn Japanese
JLPT N4 lessons
Basic everyday Japanese: simple conversations and short texts on familiar topics.
30 lessons
Lessons in this level
Lesson 2
Opinions and messages: と思います, と言っていました and という
Give your opinion with plain form + と思います, say “I don’t think …” the Japanese way, pass on messages with と言っていました, name things with という and talk about a topic with について — plus the kanji 思, 考, 意 and 味.
Lesson 3
Experiences: 〜たことがあります, 〜たり〜たり and 〜てみます
Talk about what you have and haven’t done with 〜たことがあります, give examples of activities with 〜たり〜たりします, say you will try something with 〜てみます and list examples casually with 〜とか — plus the kanji 旅, 写, 真, 映 and 画.
Lesson 4
Workplace rules: 〜なければなりません and 〜てはいけません
Understand and ask about the rules at work: 〜てはいけません (must not), 〜なければなりません and 〜なくてはいけません (must), 〜なくてもいいです (don’t have to) and 〜てもかまいません (it’s fine to) — plus the kanji 仕, 事, 員, 工, 場 and 業.
Lesson 5
At the clinic: 〜んです and 〜ほうがいいです
Explain your symptoms at a clinic with 〜んです, start a request with 〜んですが, understand advice with 〜たほうがいいです and 〜ないほうがいいです and read medicine instructions — plus the kanji 医, 病, 院, 体 and 心.
Lesson 6
Kanji: family and people
Learn the family kanji 私, 家, 族, 兄, 弟, 姉 and 妹, the two sets of family words — for your own family and for someone else’s — and how to talk about your family with coworkers and read the family fields on Japanese forms.
Lesson 7
What you can do: the potential form
Say what you can and can’t do with the potential form — 話せる, 食べられる, 来られる and できる — and with ことができます, tell 見える from 見られる, and describe your skills in a job interview — plus the kanji 英, 漢, 習, 勉 and 強.
Lesson 8
Changes: 〜くなる, 〜ようになる and 〜ようにする
Talk about change with 〜くなる and 〜になる, change things with 〜くする and 〜にする, describe new abilities and habits with 〜ようになる, 〜なくなる and 〜ようにする — plus the colour kanji 赤, 青, 黒 and 色.
Lesson 9
Reading messages and work emails
Read the messages you get at work and in daily life — a chat between coworkers, an email from a manager and a dormitory notice — find who, when and what to do, and reply in the right style — plus the kanji 始, 終, 帰 and 歩.
Lesson 10
Review 1–9: a first month at work
Review N4 lessons 1–9 with three new texts about a first month at work in Japan — a diary, a rules sheet and a clinic notice — and check every pattern and all 45 kanji from those lessons. No new kanji.
Lesson 11
Plans: the volitional form, 〜つもり, 〜よてい and 〜かもしれません
Talk about plans for holidays and trips home with the volitional form (行こう, 食べよう), 〜ようと思っています, 〜つもりです and 〜よていです, guess with 〜でしょう and 〜かもしれません, and read a departure board with the kanji 特, 急, 発 and 着.
Lesson 12
Reasons and excuses: 〜ので, 〜のに, 〜けど and 〜し
Give reasons politely with 〜ので, show surprise or disappointment with 〜のに, soften what you say with 〜けど and 〜が, list several reasons with 〜し — and call work when your train stops, with the kanji 用, 悪, 止, 通 and 道.
Lesson 13
Giving and receiving: あげる, くれる and もらう
Say who gives what to whom with あげる, くれる and もらう, talk about favours with 〜てあげる, 〜てくれる and 〜てもらう, ask politely with 〜てくれませんか and 〜てもらえませんか — plus the kanji 親, 切, 送, 持 and 物.
Lesson 14
Cooking and food shopping: 〜すぎる, 〜やすい and 〜かた
Shop for food and cook in Japan: say “too much” with 〜すぎる, “easy / hard to” with 〜やすい and 〜にくい, “how to” with 〜かた and decide with 〜にします, read supermarket labels and check for pork — plus the kanji 料, 理, 肉, 牛, 鳥, 飯 and 茶.
Lesson 15
Kanji: seasons, weather and amounts
Learn the kanji of the four seasons — 春, 夏, 秋, 冬 — plus 去, 同, 多 and 少, compare with 〜ほど〜ない and 同じ, and make small talk about the weather and how Japan’s seasons feel compared with home.
Lesson 16
If and even if: 〜たら and 〜ても
Say “if”, “when” and “even if” with 〜たら and 〜ても, use them for typhoon and earthquake safety rules, read a simple safety poster, and learn the kanji 風, 地, 注 and 死.
Lesson 17
Conditions and directions: 〜ば, 〜と and 〜なら
Make the ば form, give directions and explain machines with 〜と, give advice with 〜なら, choose between たら, ば, と and なら, and use an ATM — with the kanji 銀, 使, 町, 京 and 図.
Lesson 18
Verb pairs and results: 〜てある, 〜ておく and 〜てしまう
Learn the common transitive and intransitive verb pairs (開ける / 開く, しめる / しまる), describe states with 〜ている and 〜てある, say what you do in advance with 〜ておく and what went wrong with 〜てしまう, and read the kanji 開, 室, 屋 and 紙.
Lesson 19
Exam-style reading: newsletters and longer notices
Read three longer N4-level texts — a ward office notice about garbage days, a company newsletter and a learner’s short essay — answer questions in the style of the JLPT reading section, and learn the kanji 早, 広, 方, 問, 題 and 答.
Lesson 20
Review 11–19: kanji and grammar review
Review N4 lessons 11–19: compare たら, ば, と and なら and ている, てある, ておく and てしまう, sort all 48 kanji by meaning, tell look-alike kanji apart, and read a train notice, a recipe card and a typhoon notice. No new kanji.
Lesson 21
Looks like and I heard: 〜そうです, 〜らしい and 〜ようです
Say what something looks like with 〜そうです, pass on news with 〜そうです and 〜によると, guess from what you see with 〜ようです and 〜みたい, use 〜らしい, understand the weather forecast — and learn the kanji 世, 界, 海, 洋 and 有.
Lesson 22
Describing things: noun-modifying clauses, 〜かどうか, の and こと
Describe things with a whole sentence before a noun (きのう買ったかさ), put questions inside sentences with 〜か and 〜かどうか, turn verbs into nouns with の and こと, report a lost umbrella at the station — and learn 品, 別, 売, 借, 貸 and 服.
Lesson 23
City hall and moving house: 〜ために, 〜ように and 〜ことにする
Learn the words for registering a new address at the ward or city office, say why you do something with 〜ために and 〜ように, talk about decisions with 〜ことにしました and 〜ことになりました, and read the kanji 住, 建, 公, 館 and 堂.
Lesson 24
The passive: 〜られる
Make the passive form of every verb, say what was done to you (ほめられた, 注意された), complain with the suffering passive (雨にふられた), read passive sentences in news and notices, deal with a removed bicycle — and learn 自, 転, 運, 集, 知 and 動.
Lesson 25
Causative: 〜させる and 〜させてください
Make the causative form, say who makes or lets someone do something, ask for permission politely with 〜させてください and 〜させていただけませんか, recognise the causative-passive (〜させられる), talk about training and skills tests — and learn 研, 究, 試, 験 and 質.
Lesson 26
Polite Japanese I: honorific verbs (sonkeigo)
Recognise and use honorific Japanese (sonkeigo) in set phrases: special verbs such as いらっしゃる, おっしゃる and めしあがる, お〜になる, お〜ください and polite requests — for customers in a shop, hotel or care home. Kanji: 者, 主, 代, 以 and 正.
Lesson 27
Polite Japanese II: humble verbs (kenjougo) and phone calls
Use humble Japanese (kenjougo) for what you and your company do — まいる, おる, いたす, もうす, うかがう, はいけんする, いただく and お〜する — talk about your own manager to people outside the company, answer the office phone and take a message. Kanji: 不, 度, 計, 立 and 力.
Lesson 28
Reading signs and work notices: commands, 〜な, 〜こと and 〜中
Read the short, strict Japanese of signs and notices: command forms (止まれ), prohibitions with 〜な (走るな), instructions ending in 〜こと, 〜中 (さぎょうちゅう, えいぎょうちゅう) and ごえんりょください — with factory and station signs, apartment rules and a company notice. Kanji: 待, 走, 重, 犬 and 作.
Lesson 29
Timing and expectations: 〜ところ, 〜はず, 〜始める and 〜がる
Give status updates with 〜るところ, 〜ているところ and 〜たところ, say what should happen with 〜はずです, start, finish and continue actions with ます-stem + 始める / 終わる / つづける / 出す, talk about other people’s feelings with 〜がる and 〜たがる, and read names on the shift board — kanji 田, 野, 歌, 教, 音 and 楽.
Lesson 30
N4 mock test: 30-question practice exam
A 30-question N4 practice test written by TalkToJapan, in four JLPT-style parts — kanji, vocabulary, grammar and reading — with an explanation for every answer, a review table and a printable version with an answer sheet. It is a practice test only, not official JLPT material.