Japanese from zero · Complete guide
How to learn Japanese from zero
Three scripts, five vowels, one first month.
From the outside, Japanese looks impossible: three writing systems, thousands of kanji, a verb at the end of every sentence. From the inside, the start is smaller than it looks. The language has only five vowels. The Japan Foundation plans about 14 hours to learn each kana script. And the first official milestone, JLPT N5, sits about 150 hours of study away. What follows is the route, week by week, and what research says actually works.
Based on 26 official and research sources · Updated September 23, 2026
Japanese at a glance
- Writing
- Three scripts used together: hiragana, katakana and kanji1
- Sounds
- Five vowels and a steady, beat-by-beat (mora) rhythm4
- Word order
- Subject, object, verb: the verb comes last3
- First milestone
- JLPT N5, shown as CEFR A1 on the score report9
- Time to N5
- About 150 hours of study, the last official figure8
- Free in Aaronsan
- Both kana alphabets with audio, and all of N5
- people learning Japanese at schools and institutions outside Japan in 2024, a record, not counting the self-taught12
- 4,000,750
- of the characters in a large sample of 1994 Japanese magazines were hiragana, more than kanji (26.9%)1
- 35.7%
- kanji on Japan’s official list for everyday use; the old test’s entry level expected about 1002
- 2,136
- hours of study: the official baseline for the level that became JLPT N58
- 150
Japanese in 6 facts
What you are actually signing up for
Six facts explain most of what makes Japanese feel hard, and most of what turns out easier than expected.
Three scripts, one sentence
Japanese mixes hiragana for grammar and native words, katakana for loanwords and emphasis, and kanji for the core of most words. In a study of 1994 magazine text, hiragana made up 35.7% of characters, kanji 26.9% and katakana 16%. Japan’s everyday kanji list holds 2,136 characters; a beginner starts with about 100.12
The verb comes last
Japanese is a subject–object–verb language: “I sushi eat.” Small particles such as は, が and を mark each word’s role, which is why they are the first grammar you learn.3
Five vowels, even rhythm
Japanese has five vowels, a, i, u, e, o, and a rhythm where each beat takes about the same time. Long vowels and the small っ count as beats of their own, and getting them wrong changes words.4
Pitch accent: real, but not a wall
Japanese words carry a high–low pitch pattern rather than a stressed syllable. A brain-response (EEG) study found that native listeners rely on context more than on pitch to tell apart words such as ame, “rain” and “candy.” Pitch matters for sounding natural, but for native listeners, context usually carries the meaning.5
Politeness is built into verbs
Japan’s cultural agency describes five kinds of respectful language. Beginners start with the polite です and ます forms, which are safe with strangers, teachers and colleagues.6
The language of a country of about 123 million
Japan has about 123 million people, and Japanese is the language of daily life there, from signs to paperwork. Outside Japan, it is taught in 143 countries and regions.26
How long
How long does it take to learn Japanese?
Reading both kana takes about 28 hours in the Japan Foundation’s free courses. Reaching the JLPT N5 takes about 150 hours of study, the last official figure. Answers of “50 hours” or “600 hours” online mix different goals, backgrounds and ways of counting.
| Goal | 15 min a day | 30 min a day | 60 min a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read hiragana and katakana28 hours | about 4 months | about 2 months | about 1 month |
| Reach JLPT N5150 hours | about 20 months | about 10 months | about 5 months |
Why estimates disagree: the JLPT has published no hour figures since 2010. The 150 hours come from the old test’s entry level, which the JLPT pairs with today’s N5, and describe completing the first half of an elementary course.810
Kana: the Japan Foundation’s free Minato courses plan about 14 hours for hiragana and 14 for katakana, including reading and typing.22
Fluency is another scale. The US Foreign Service Institute budgets 88 weeks, about 2,200 class hours, for English speakers to reach professional Japanese. That is a career goal, not a beginner’s.11
Your background changes the math. Readers of Chinese characters usually move faster through kanji; learners new to any non-Latin script often need more time for the first months.
The road
The road from zero to N5, in seven steps
A sensible order: sound and kana first, then words and grammar together, kanji from the first months and listening every day. The steps overlap, and none waits for the previous one to be perfect.
Day 1
Weeks 1–4
From week 3
From week 3
Particles and polite verbs
は, が, を, に, で, then the ます form and simple adjectives. A textbook or course gives grammar a clear order.
From week 4
Kanji inside words
Start with the most frequent ones (日, 人, 大, 年) and learn them inside real words. Pointing out a kanji’s components when you first meet it helps recall.17
Every day
Input you can follow
Short dialogues, easy podcasts, slow videos. Understandable input is central to learning; incomprehensible input, however fun, teaches little.20
After about 150 hours
First month
Your first month, day by day
Thirty minutes a day is enough to start. Month one is about habit, not speed: learning to recognize both kana scripts and your first words. Reading them fluently takes longer; the Japan Foundation budgets about 28 hours.
Day 1
The five vowels and the first row
Listen to あいうえお and かきくけこ, repeat them aloud, and write each one a few times. Ten characters is plenty.
Days 2–3
Ten new hiragana a day
Add the next rows, and review yesterday’s characters before learning new ones. Read short words you can already sound out: あお, いえ, かお.
Days 4–7
Finish hiragana, drop romaji
Complete the 46 basic hiragana and the voiced marks (が, ざ, だ, ば). You will recognize them before you read them fluently; keep reviewing, and from now on read Japanese in kana, not in romaji.
Week 2
Katakana and first words
Learn katakana through words you already know: コーヒー, テレビ, パン. Start a small daily set of new words with spaced reviews.
Week 3
Particles and first kanji
は, が, を and the です sentence. Your first five kanji: 日, 一, 人, 年, 大. Five minutes of shadowing a day: listen, then repeat just behind the speaker.
Week 4
First sentences, first check
The ます form of a few verbs. By the end of the month, you should be able to sound out most kana words and know your first 50 words. Check yourself with a short quiz.
What works
What research says works, and what doesn’t
Two findings are solid enough to use from day one: test yourself, and space your reviews. Most others are promising but rest on small studies, and each is flagged below.
Testing yourself works
In a study published in Science, students who kept testing themselves on new foreign words recalled about 80% a week later; those who stopped testing recalled about a third, and extra study time did not close the gap. Yet the students did not see it coming: their predictions did not match their results.13
Spacing reviews works
In a study of 128 Japanese university students learning English words, how far apart the reviews were spaced had large effects on retention; expanding the gaps gave a small extra edge.14
Picture mnemonics help beginners start
In a classroom study, 27 beginners, most of them struggling, volunteered for extra sessions on mnemonics for kana and kanji; the pass rate improved afterward, though not the average mark. There was no control group: useful to get going, not proof of long-term memory.15
Romaji does not help memory
In a study of 61 beginners, adding romaji to vocabulary did not improve retention, while students who used the audio more learned more words. That does not show romaji is harmful, only that it gave no benefit here.16
Components help with characters
Learners new to Chinese characters remembered them best when each character’s components were pointed out the first time they saw it. The study used Chinese characters in a lab; the principle likely carries over to kanji.17
Handwriting: the evidence is mixed
One study found that writing characters by hand improved recognition and meaning more than reading alone. A later preregistered classroom study found that, with total practice time held equal, learners who skipped handwriting did better on word recognition, though handwriting practice still helped them write. If your goal is reading, writing is optional.1819
Input is central, but not everything
A 2021 review argues that meaningful input remains central in current theories of acquisition; whether input alone is enough is still debated. Pair listening and reading with explicit study.20
Shadowing helps beginners listen
In a classroom study, repeating recordings just behind the speaker improved sound perception, and listening comprehension for the lower-level group. It was a small study of Japanese learners of English, so treat it as promising, not proven.21
Myths
Six myths that cost beginners months
Each holds a grain of truth, which is why it survives. Below is that grain, and what it leaves out.
“I will learn Japanese from anime”
On day one, anime is mostly noise: input you cannot understand teaches little, and its speech styles are often far from everyday Japanese.20
The truth Anime is excellent motivation and ear training once you know a few hundred words. Use it alongside study, not instead of it.
“One app is enough”
Apps are good at vocabulary and daily habits. They rarely explain grammar in depth, and none can replace conversation.
The truth Use an app for memorization, a textbook or course for grammar, and real listening every day. That goes for Aaronsan, too.
“Romaji makes it easier”
Romaji feels like a shortcut, but it did not help retention in the study that tested it, and every real resource is written in kana.16
The truth Read kana from the end of week one. Keep romaji only for typing on a keyboard.
“Kana in three days”
Recognizing kana in three days is possible; reading them fluently is not. The Japan Foundation plans about 14 hours per alphabet.22
The truth Aim to recognize both scripts within a few weeks, then keep reading them every day until they are automatic; the Japan Foundation budgets about 28 hours in all.
“Fluent in three months”
Japanese is in the US Foreign Service Institute’s hardest category: about 2,200 class hours to professional level.11
The truth Aim for milestones instead: kana in two weeks, N5 in months, and each level after that.
“Without pitch accent, nobody will understand you”
Pitch matters for sounding natural, but native listeners lean on context to understand, as a brain-response study showed.5
The truth Listen and shadow from week one; study pitch rules later, once basic listening is comfortable.
Your language
Your head start and your trap, by native language
Where you start from changes what is easy and what is hard. The card for your language comes first.
English speakers
Head start: hundreds of katakana loanwords come from English (コーヒー, テレビ). Trap: they are pronounced the Japanese way, with every syllable and vowel, and long vowels and っ change meanings.
French speakers
Head start: French i, é, a, o and ou sit close to the Japanese vowels. Traps: the flat Japanese u, the tapped r, the h you must pronounce, long vowels that count as a full beat, and pitch accent, which French does not use.
Spanish speakers
Head start: the five Japanese vowels are very close to Spanish ones, so pronunciation feels natural early. Trap: long versus short vowels and the small っ, which Spanish rhythm tends to flatten.
Indonesian speakers
Head start: simple vowels and syllables that sound familiar. Trap: Indonesian puts the verb before the object, Japanese after it, so particles need early attention.
Vietnamese speakers
Head start: Sino-Vietnamese words often hint at a kanji’s Chinese-derived reading. Traps: word order is reversed compared with Vietnamese, and tonal habits can interfere with Japanese pitch.
Korean speakers
Head start: the same subject–object–verb order, particles that map closely (은/는 and は, 이/가 and が) and many Sino-Korean words. Traps: voiced sounds such as が and ざ, and writing Japanese sounds in Hangul instead of kana.3
Living in Japan
If you already live in Japan, free local Japanese classes and the education ministry’s learning site for daily life, available in many languages, are the fastest start, alongside easy-Japanese news.25
Free resources
The best free resources to start
The most reliable beginner material comes from Japanese public institutions, and it is free. Add one tool for daily memorization.
Minato (Japan Foundation)
Free self-study courses for hiragana and katakana, about 14 hours each, with reading and typing, plus Marugoto A1 courses.22
Irodori (Japan Foundation)
A free course for everyday life in Japan from the A1 Starter level, with PDFs and hours of audio.23
NHK World Easy Japanese
Forty-eight free audio lessons in many languages at the A1–A2 levels, ideal for a daily listening habit.24
Tsunagaru Hirogaru (Ministry of Education)
Free videos and exercises for Japanese in daily life, designed for residents of Japan.25
Genki or Minna no Nihongo
The two standard beginner textbooks, for learners who want a structured grammar course.
Aaronsan, free from day one
Both kana alphabets with audio and stroke-by-stroke writing, then all of N5: 103 kanji, 1,065 words and 81 grammar points, scheduled for you with spaced reviews.
Next step
From zero to N5
Once you read kana and know a few hundred words, the JLPT N5 is the natural first target: official and concrete, and a few months away at a steady daily pace.
The N5 checks that you can read basic sentences in kana and kanji and follow short, slow conversations. Aaronsan’s N5 path teaches 103 kanji, 1,065 words and 81 grammar points toward it.9
N5 corresponds to A1, the first level of the framework Japan now uses in its immigration language requirements: understanding and using familiar everyday expressions.7
Questions
Questions beginners ask
Short answers, each with its source when one exists.
Where should I start learning Japanese?
With sound and hiragana. Listen to the five vowels, learn to recognize hiragana in the first week or two, then katakana, while you start your first words and particles with daily spaced reviews.
How long does it take to learn Japanese?
About 28 hours to read both kana, about 150 hours to reach JLPT N5 (the last official figure), and about 2,200 class hours to reach professional level according to the US Foreign Service Institute.811
Is Japanese hard to learn?
The writing system and politeness are hard; the sound system is small. Japanese has only five vowels and a steady rhythm, and its grammar is largely regular once the verb-last order clicks. Long vowels, the small っ and pitch take practice.43
Can I learn Japanese on my own?
Yes, for reading, listening and vocabulary, especially with daily self-testing, which research shows beats rereading. For speaking, you will eventually need people to talk to.13
How long does it take to learn hiragana and katakana?
The Japan Foundation’s free courses plan about 14 hours for each. Most learners recognize them within a few weeks and read them fluently after more practice.22
When should I start kanji?
From the first month, inside real words: 日, 人, 大, 年 are among the most frequent. N5 needs about 100; pointing out each kanji’s components when you first meet it helps recall.17
How much should I study each day?
Thirty minutes a day is a good start. Testing yourself and spacing reviews over days, rather than cramming, is what makes words stick. At that pace, N5 is about 10 months away.14
Is Duolingo enough to learn Japanese?
No single app is enough. Apps help with vocabulary and habit; you also need clear grammar explanations, real listening and, later, conversation.
Can I learn Japanese from anime?
Not from zero. Input you cannot understand teaches little. Once you know a few hundred words, anime becomes great listening practice and motivation.20
Should I learn Japanese with romaji?
Only to type. Research found romaji did not improve vocabulary retention, and every real resource is written in kana. Switch to kana by the end of your first week.16
Can I learn Japanese for free?
Yes, to a solid beginner level: the Japan Foundation’s Minato and Irodori courses, NHK World Easy Japanese and Aaronsan’s free kana and N5 cost nothing.222324
Am I too old to learn Japanese?
No. Adults learn vocabulary and grammar efficiently, and for reaching N5, daily consistency matters more than starting age. Native-like pronunciation is harder to reach later in life.
Sources
Links checked on September 23, 2026.
- 1
National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics · What share of Japanese text is written in kanji, hiragana and katakana? · in Japanese
- 2
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan · Jōyō kanji list (Cabinet Notice of 2010) · November 30, 2010 · in Japanese
- 3
World Atlas of Language Structures · Order of subject, object and verb: Japanese
- 4
Journal of the International Phonetic Association · Okada, Japanese (Illustrations of the IPA) · December 1991
- 5
Journal of Neurolinguistics · Tamaoka et al., Is pitch accent necessary for comprehension by native Japanese speakers? · January 2014
- 6
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan · Guidelines on honorific language · February 2, 2007 · in Japanese
- 7
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan · Reference Framework for Japanese Language Education · October 12, 2021 · in Japanese
- 8
JLPT (Japan Foundation and JEES) · Comparison of old test levels and new test levels
- 9
JLPT (Japan Foundation and JEES) · N1–N5: summary of linguistic competence required for each level
- 10
JLPT (Japan Foundation and JEES) · Frequently asked questions
- 11
US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute · Foreign language training: language difficulty categories
- 12
Japan Foundation · Survey on Japanese-language education abroad, 2024 · September 3, 2025
- 13
Science · Karpicke and Roediger, The critical importance of retrieval for learning · February 2008
- 14
Studies in Second Language Acquisition · Nakata, Effects of expanding and equal spacing on second language vocabulary learning · December 2015
- 15
JALT Journal · Manalo, Trafford and Mizutani, Using mnemonics to facilitate learning of Japanese script characters · May 2004
- 16
Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages · Review of Japanese CALL for kanji, including Okuyama (2007) on romaji glosses
- 17
Psychologia · Taft and Chung, Using radicals in teaching Chinese characters to second language learners · December 1999
- 18
Journal of Educational Psychology · Guan et al., Writing strengthens orthography and alphabetic-coding strengthens phonology in learning to read Chinese · August 2011
- 19
AERA Open · Lu, Ostrow and Heffernan, Handwriting practice in Chinese as a foreign language · October 2019
- 20
Foreign Language Annals · Lichtman and VanPatten, Was Krashen right? Forty years later · June 2021
- 21
Language Teaching Research · Hamada, Shadowing: who benefits and how? · January 2016
- 22
Japan Foundation · Minato: Japan Foundation e-learning
- 23
Japan Foundation · Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan
- 24
NHK World-Japan · Easy Japanese
- 25
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology · Tsunagaru Hirogaru Nihongo de no Kurashi · in Japanese
- 26
Statistics Bureau of Japan · Population estimates · in Japanese
Please note
Aaronsan is an independent study app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Japan Foundation or Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, which administer the JLPT.
Study-time figures are averages; your own pace depends on your background and daily practice.
Keep reading
More on the JLPT
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