Japanese for Absolute Beginners

Konnichiwa! Japanese has a reputation for being hard for English speakers – and it is different. The word order is different, the verbs sit at the end, and there are particles English simply does not have. This course takes that seriously and builds you up one step at a time. Across ten lessons, Anya Lewis teaches you to speak rather than just listen. Every lesson opens with a review of what came before, introduces new vocabulary, then walks you through the grammar and leaves you space to answer out loud before revealing each answer. You will introduce yourself, say where you are from and how old you are, talk about your job, your school year and your hobbies, describe going somewhere with someone by train or by car, ask who an object belongs to, tell the time, name the days of the week and say what you have. Along the way you will master the patterns that make Japanese click: noun wa noun desu, the four tenses of desu, turning any sentence into a question with ka, the ni, no, to, de and ga particles, and the difference between arimasu and imasu. The final lesson reviews everything from the very beginning. Roughly three hours of clear, patient teaching with practice built into every topic. Ganbatte!