15 minutes
Keeps the habit- 5 minReviews due today: kana, words or kanji
- 5 minFive new words, each said out loud
- 5 minRead or listen to something short at your level
Guide日本語の学び方
How to learn Japanese, from zero to N1
Learn hiragana and katakana first, then the N5 words, then grammar and kanji together. Read and listen from the first weeks, speak from day one, and review everything on a schedule spaced over time. This guide takes you through each stage, how long it takes and what to do every day.
The short answer
- 1
- 2
Then the N5 words
The N5 vocabulary, about 800 words, is what every later lesson assumes: numbers, time, family, food and the verbs of every day.
- 3
Grammar and kanji together
Learn each grammar point with the words it uses, and each kanji inside words you already know, never from a separate list.
- 4
Read and listen early
Short texts at your level and audio with a transcript, from the first weeks. Don't wait until grammar feels finished: it never does.
- 5
Speak from day one
Say everything out loud, start with everyday phrases, and talk to someone as soon as you can introduce yourself.
- 6
Reviews spaced over time
Review each word a day later, then after a few days, a week and a month. Ten minutes a day keeps what you learned.
The six stages, from kana to N1
Learning Japanese goes through six stages: the two kana syllabaries, then the five JLPT levels from N5 to N1. Each one below says what it covers, roughly how long it takes with regular daily study, and the free pages for it.
- かな1 to 3 weeks
Hiragana and katakana
Japanese is written with two syllabaries of 46 basic characters each, plus kanji. Hiragana writes grammar endings, particles and native words; katakana writes foreign words and names. Learn hiragana first, then katakana, until you read both without thinking of romaji. Write each one by hand in the right stroke order: drawing fixes a shape in memory far better than looking at it.
Free on Naraio
- N53 to 6 months
First steps
About 100 kanji and 800 words: numbers, time, family, food, places and the verbs of every day. The grammar here is the base of everything after it: the verb at the end, the particles that mark each part of a sentence, polite verbs, adjectives and simple questions. By the end you can introduce yourself, order food, ask for directions and read short, simple texts.
Free on Naraio
- N4About 6 more months
Everyday life
Around 300 kanji and 1,500 words in total. The te form arrives, and with it half of everyday grammar: actions in progress, requests, one thing after another. Plain verb forms open casual speech, and you learn to give and receive, say what you can do, and talk about your plans and routines.
Free on Naraio
- N3About a year
The bridge
Around 650 kanji and 3,750 words. Conditionals, the passive and causative, reported speech and the basics of keigo carry you from textbook dialogues to real conversations and short articles. For most learners this is the longest stretch: the words multiply, so reading something every day matters more than ever.
Free on Naraio
- N21 to 2 years
The real thing
Around 1,000 kanji and 6,000 words: the Japanese of the news, the office, novels and dramas without subtitles. Most new words are compounds of kanji you already know, formal grammar takes over, and keigo becomes something you use, not only something you recognize.
Free on Naraio
- N11 to 2 years
Mastery
About 2,000 kanji and 10,000 words, close to all of the 2,136 jōyō kanji, the official list for everyday writing. This is the Japanese of editorials, literature and formal writing, and of the nuance between near synonyms. By now, reading widely does most of the teaching.
Free on Naraio
The times are a rule of thumb for regular daily study, not a promise, and the counts are rough: the JLPT publishes no official kanji or word lists. The JLPT page covers the exam itself: when it is held, how to register and when results come out.
How long does it take to learn Japanese?
For an English speaker, about 2,200 hours of class to reach professional working proficiency, according to the US Foreign Service Institute. It puts Japanese in its hardest group for English speakers, with Arabic, Chinese and Korean.
That figure is for diplomats training full time, with 23 hours of class and 17 of self study a week, who need to work in the language. You need far less to travel, enjoy manga or hold a simple conversation: N5, a few months of regular study, already lets you introduce yourself, order food and read simple sentences.
With daily study, a common rule of thumb is kana in one to three weeks, N5 in three to six months, N4 about six months later, N3 a year after that, and N2 and N1 a year or two each. Your hours decide the pace far more than talent does.
Three habits change the pace the most: studying every day instead of in bursts, reviewing on a spaced schedule so you stop relearning, and using the language (speaking and writing) instead of only reading about it. Some learners start ahead: Chinese speakers already know many kanji, and Spanish speakers find the sounds easy, since the five Japanese vowels are very close to theirs.
A daily routine for 15, 30 or 60 minutes
Study every day, even for 15 minutes: a little daily beats a long session once a week, because memory keeps what it meets often. Whatever the length, keep the same order: reviews first, then something new, then use it.
30 minutes
Steady progress- 10 minReviews due today
- 10 minSomething new: a grammar point, or a few kanji inside their words
- 5 minA short text, or audio with its transcript
- 5 minThree sentences of your own, written or said out loud
60 minutes
Serious progress- 15 minReviews due today
- 15 minNew grammar and the words that go with it
- 10 minReading at your level, looking up what you miss
- 10 minListening with a transcript, then repeating each line after the speaker
- 10 minA short paragraph written, or a conversation with a tutor or a partner
Short on time? Keep the reviews. Ten minutes of reviews a day protect everything you have already learned.
Common mistakes when learning Japanese
The four mistakes that cost learners the most time: staying in romaji, learning kanji in isolation, never producing Japanese of your own, and cramming without reviews.
Staying in romaji
Romaji, Japanese in the Latin alphabet, feels faster for a week and slows you down for months. Textbooks, signs, games and every app past the basics use kana, and romaji blurs sounds that matter, like long vowels and double consonants.
Instead: Learn kana in your first weeks and stop reading romaji. Keep it for typing: a Japanese keyboard turns what you type in romaji into kana.
Learning kanji in isolation
A kanji memorized as a list of meanings and readings rarely sticks, and it doesn't tell you how to read it: most kanji have several readings, and the word decides which one. 日 is {にち} in 毎日 (every day) and {ひ} in 日の出 (sunrise).
Instead: Learn each kanji through two or three words you will use, and draw it in the right stroke order. Every kanji page lists its common words.
Only taking Japanese in
Reading and listening build understanding, not speech. Learners who never speak or write end up understanding far more than they can say, and freeze in their first real conversation.
Instead: Say every example out loud from day one, write a few sentences a day and get them corrected, and speak with someone as soon as you can introduce yourself.
Cramming without reviews
What you cram on Sunday is mostly gone by Friday. Memory fades fast after a first meeting and slower after each review, which is why spaced reviews work: a day later, then a few days, a week, a month.
Instead: Review a little every day, on a schedule that spaces each item further apart, and do your reviews before anything new.
Apps, textbooks or classes?
Any of them works if you use it every day, and most learners who get far combine two: one for structure and reviews, one for conversation.
Apps
Good for
A daily habit, reviews scheduled for you, audio, and progress you can see.
Falls short on
Many stay at single words and tapping answers. Look for one that explains grammar, makes you write and speak, and leads to real texts.
Textbooks
Good for
Structure: grammar in a careful order, with readings, exercises and a clear sense of where you are.
Falls short on
Feedback and speaking. Nobody corrects your sentences or reminds you to review last month's chapter.
Classes and tutors
Good for
Speaking, correction, and someone who expects you back next week.
Falls short on
Cost per hour and a fixed schedule; one class a week is not enough practice on its own.
Whichever you pick, check four things: kana from the start, grammar explained and not only drilled, reviews spaced over time, and regular speaking and writing. That checklist is what Naraio is built on.
Questions about learning Japanese
For English speakers it is one of the harder languages: the US Foreign Service Institute puts it in its hardest group, at about 2,200 class hours to a professional level. The hard part is kanji and the time it takes, not the sounds: pronunciation is simple, kana takes weeks, and the grammar is regular once its order (the verb at the end, particles after each word) clicks.
Kana takes one to three weeks. With regular daily study, N5 takes three to six months and N4 about six more; N3 comes a year after that, and N2 and N1 a year or two each. For professional working proficiency, the US Foreign Service Institute estimates 88 weeks of full time training for English speakers.
Yes, and most learners do, up to a high level. What self study lacks is correction and conversation, so add them on purpose: get your written sentences checked, and speak with a tutor or a language partner once you can introduce yourself.
Hiragana first. It writes grammar endings, particles and native words, so you see it in every sentence. Katakana comes right after, for foreign words and names; together they take one to three weeks.
Around 100 for N5, 300 for N4, 650 for N3, 1,000 for N2 and 2,000 for N1. The 2,136 jōyō kanji, the official list for everyday writing, cover most of what you will read in newspapers and books. Learn them inside words, a few a day.
Yes. On Naraio the kana charts, every kanji from N5 to N1 with its stroke order, the word list for each level and the grammar topics are free, with no account. When the Naraio app opens, all of N5 will be free on it too.
Follow the whole path in one place
Naraio is this guide built into an app: it knows your stage, brings reviews back on time, corrects what you write, listens when you speak and teaches Japan along with the language. It opens soon. Leave your email and you're among the first in, free to start.