BeginnerFree courseJapanese

Japanese from Zero: Sounds and Scripts

A free beginner Japanese course for Nepali learners: hiragana, katakana and your first kanji with stroke order, audio on every word, and questions with answers after each lesson.

📘 16 lessons⏱ About 5 h 36 min🌐 English🎓 Self-paced
Japanese from Zero: Sounds and Scripts

What you'll learn

  • Read and write all 46 hiragana and 46 katakana, with their stroke order
  • Pronounce Japanese clearly: the five vowels, long vowels, the small っ and ん, and the rhythm of beats
  • Read voiced sounds (が, ざ, ば, ぱ) and contracted sounds (きゃ, しゅ, ちょ)
  • Write your own name and Nepali words and places in katakana
  • Greet people, count to 100, read your first kanji and introduce yourself in Japanese

Course syllabus

Part 1: Start here

  1. 1
    Lesson 1: How Japanese Works
    36 min
  2. 2
    Lesson 2: Japanese Sounds and Rhythm
    30 min

Part 2: Hiragana

  1. 3
    Lesson 3: Hiragana 1: Vowels and the K Row
    18 min
  2. 4
    Lesson 4: Hiragana 2: The S, T and N Rows
    18 min
  3. 5
    Lesson 5: Hiragana 3: H, M, Y, R, W and ん
    18 min
  4. 6
    Lesson 6: Voiced Sounds: ゛ and ゜
    18 min
  5. 7
    Lesson 7: Small Characters and Long Sounds
    18 min
  6. 8
    Lesson 8: Reading Practice and the Particles は, を, へ
    18 min

Part 3: Katakana

  1. 9
    Lesson 9: Katakana 1: Vowels and the K, S, T, N Rows
    18 min
  2. 10
    Lesson 10: Katakana 2: H, M, Y, R, W and ン
    18 min
  3. 11
    Lesson 11: Voiced Katakana, Foreign Sounds and Your Name
    18 min

Part 4: Using what you know

  1. 12
    Lesson 12: Greetings and Polite Phrases
    24 min
  2. 13
    Lesson 13: Numbers from 0 to 100
    18 min
  3. 14
    Lesson 14: Your First Kanji: Numbers, Days and 人
    24 min
  4. 15
    Lesson 15: Your First Conversation
    24 min
  5. 16
    Lesson 16: Checkpoint and Your Study Plan
    18 min

Before you start

  • No Japanese needed. Lessons are in English with Nepali meanings (नेपाली अर्थसहित)
  • A pen and paper for writing practice, and headphones or a quiet place for the audio