Lesson 1
Hiragana あ–そ: the vowels and the K and S rows
Learn your first 15 hiragana — the five vowels あいうえお and the か and さ rows — and start reading real words like すし, えき and かさ.
Learn Japanese
JLPT N5 lessons
The first level. Read hiragana, katakana and basic kanji, and understand simple everyday phrases spoken slowly.
28 lessons
Lessons in this level
Lesson 2
Hiragana た–ほ: the T, N and H rows
Learn the next 15 hiragana — the た, な and は rows — including the special sounds ち (chi), つ (tsu) and ふ (fu), and read words like ねこ, いぬ and さかな.
Lesson 3
Hiragana ま–ん, plus dakuten and handakuten
Finish the basic hiragana chart with the ま, や, ら and わ rows and ん, then learn how the small marks ゛ and ゜ turn か into が and は into ば or ぱ.
Lesson 4
Katakana basics: the 46 characters and how to read them
Meet katakana, the Japanese script for foreign words and names. Learn the 46 basic characters by linking them to the hiragana you already know, and read words like カメラ, テレビ and パン.
Lesson 5
Katakana for loanwords: long vowels, small ッ and new sound combinations
Read real katakana words from menus, shops and signs: learn the long-vowel mark ー, the small ッ, combined sounds like シャ and ジュ, and special pairs such as ティ and ファ.
Lesson 6
Greetings and introducing yourself: 〜は〜です
Greet people at the right time of day and introduce yourself politely with 〜は〜です, 〜じゃありません, 〜ですか and の — plus your first kanji: 日, 本, 人, 学, 生 and 先.
Lesson 7
Numbers and counting: from 0 to 10,000, prices and phone numbers
Count from 0 to 10,000, read prices in yen and say phone numbers. Learn the numbers with two readings (4, 7, 9), the sound changes in 300, 600 and 800, and the number kanji 一 to 十, 百, 千, 万 and 円.
Lesson 8
Time and dates: hours, minutes, days and months
Tell the time with 〜時 and 〜分, say the days of the week and the months, and learn the special readings for the dates — ついたち, ふつか, はつか and more — with the kanji for time and the days of the week.
Lesson 9
This, that and which: これ・それ・あれ・どれ and more
Point to things and places in Japanese with the こ・そ・あ・ど words: これ／この／ここ (this, here), それ／その／そこ (that, there), あれ／あの／あそこ (that over there) and どれ／どの／どこ (which, where).
Lesson 10
Basic particles: は, が, を, に, で, へ, と and も
Learn the eight particles you need for N5 sentences — は, が, を, に, で, へ, と and も — with clear contrasts like に vs で and は vs が, the mistakes learners make most, and the kanji 行, 来, 食, 見 and 友.
Lesson 11
Verbs in the ます form: present, past and negative
Talk about what you do, did and didn’t do with the polite ます form — 〜ます, 〜ません, 〜ました, 〜ませんでした — meet the three verb groups, and use the time words 毎日, 今日, 明日 and 昨日.
Lesson 12
い-adjectives: 大きい, 高い, 新しい and how they change
Describe things with い-adjectives: present, negative and past forms (〜くない, 〜かった, 〜くなかった), the irregular いい → よくない, and how to put an adjective before a noun.
Lesson 13
な-adjectives: きれい, しずか, 好き and how they work
Learn the second type of adjective: な-adjectives like しずか, べんり and 元気. Use 〜な before a noun, make the negative and past with です, and avoid the classic traps — きれい and きらい look like い-adjectives but are な-adjectives.
Lesson 14
あります and います: saying where things and people are
Say what is where with あります (things) and います (people and animals), using 〜に〜があります and 〜は〜にあります, plus the position words 上・下・中・前・後ろ・となり・近く.
Lesson 15
Counters: 〜つ, 〜人, 〜本, 〜枚, 〜個 and 〜台
Count things the Japanese way with counters: 〜つ for general things, 〜人 for people (ひとり, ふたり), 〜本 for long things, 〜枚 for flat things, 〜個 for small items and 〜台 for machines — including the sound changes like いっぽん, さんぼん and ろっぽん.
Lesson 16
Question words: なに, どこ, だれ, いつ, いくら and more
Ask what, where, who, when, how much, why and how with なに／なん, どこ, だれ, いつ, いくら, どうして, どう／いかが and どれ／どの — and ask politely at work and in shops with どちら, どなた and いかがですか.
Lesson 17
Saying what you want: 〜たい and 〜がほしい
Say what you want to do with 〜たいです, what you don’t want to do with 〜たくないです and what you wanted to do with 〜たかったです; say what things you want with 〜がほしいです — and learn why Japanese doesn’t use 〜たい about other people.
Lesson 18
The て-form: rules, 〜てください and 〜てもいいですか
Make the て-form of every verb — って, んで, いて, いで and して for Group 1, 〜て for Group 2, して and きて for Group 3, plus the exception 行って — then use it to ask with 〜てください and to ask permission with 〜てもいいですか.
Lesson 19
〜ています: actions in progress and states
Use 〜ています for what is happening right now and for states that continue — すんでいます (live), けっこんしています (be married), しっています (know) and its negative しりません — and say where you work with 〜ではたらいています.
Lesson 20
Kanji review: numbers, days, dates and prices
Review the number and calendar kanji — 一 to 十, 百, 千, 万, 円, 日 月 火 水 木 金 土, 年, 時, 分, 半 and 何 — learn 週 and 曜, and practise reading calendars, dates, times and prices.
Lesson 21
Kanji: people and places
Review the people and place kanji from earlier lessons, learn ten new ones — 山, 川, 外, 東, 西, 南, 北, 駅, 店 and 校 — and read real-style station and shop signs: station exits, 駅前, 本店 and more.
Lesson 22
Shopping conversation
Everything you need at the shop counter: understand いらっしゃいませ, ask for things with 〜をください and 〜はありますか, ask いくらですか, talk about sizes and colours, pay with カードでいいですか, ask for a receipt — with two full model dialogues.
Lesson 23
Workplace basics: greetings, safety and reporting
Japanese for your first weeks at work as a Specified Skilled Worker or technical intern trainee: greetings through the day, asking for help (すみません、〜をおしえてください), safety words (あぶない, 気をつけて, とまって), reporting (おわりました, 分かりません) and ほうれんそう — with a model dialogue with a supervisor.
Lesson 24
Reading practice: short notices
Read the short Japanese texts you meet every day — signs, a shop notice, a train announcement, a workplace memo and a short email — find the key information fast, and check yourself with comprehension questions.
Lesson 25
Invitations and offers: 〜ましょう, 〜ませんか and 〜ましょうか
Invite people politely with 〜ませんか, suggest doing something together with 〜ましょう, offer help with 〜ましょうか and say no without sounding cold — plus the kanji 花, 空 and 魚.
Lesson 26
Comparisons and order: より, のほうが, いちばん, 〜てから and 〜前に
Compare two things with より and のほうが, ask which of two with どちら, say what is the best with いちばん, and put actions in order with 〜てから and 〜前に — at a company health check, with the kanji 目, 耳 and 足.
Lesson 27
Plain forms: dictionary, ない, た and なかった
Make the dictionary, ない, た and なかった forms of every verb and the plain forms of adjectives and nouns (だ, じゃない, だった), read casual messages, and learn when casual speech is fine and when to stay with です and ます — with the kanji 文 and 字.
Lesson 28
N5 mock test: 30-question practice exam
A 30-question N5 practice test written by TalkToJapan, in three JLPT-style parts — vocabulary, grammar and reading — with explanations and a printable version. It is a practice test only, not official JLPT material.