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Beginner

Japanese: Beginner level

Japanese at beginner is where everything starts: the alphabet or first sounds, greetings, numbers and the simplest sentences. These lessons use very short texts and common words, with audio and translation so you can follow every line.

What you can do at beginner

  • Greet people and introduce yourself.
  • Understand and use very common everyday words.
  • Read very short, simple texts.

About 500 words and roughly 80–100 hours of study to reach this level.

Japanese lessons for beginner

Japanese beginner by topic

Other Japanese levels

Not sure this is your level?

Take the short placement test and we will suggest where to start.

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Questions about Japanese at beginner

What is the Beginner level in Japanese?
On Heylangs, Beginner is one of six levels that describe how well you handle Japanese. First words and simple sentences.
How many Japanese words do I need for beginner?
Around 500 words is a good target for beginner. The number depends on the language and on which words you choose. Learn the most frequent ones first.
How long does it take to reach Japanese beginner?
Roughly 80–100 hours of study in total, for an English speaker learning a language of average difficulty. Daily short sessions with content at your level work better than rare long ones.