Start with the task you need now
You do not need to finish a course before opening a useful lesson. Choose Quick Start when you expect a real conversation soon and want help with one of ten tasks. Use the Full Beginner Roadmap when you want the Start Guide followed by the complete sequence of task lessons.
Pick one task you can name, such as greeting someone, confirming a train, or asking for help. If an emergency is happening, stop practising and follow the emergency-number guidance at the top of the medical and emergency information policy.
Move through one lesson in a practical order
- Read the Can-do and time estimate so you know the task.
- Use the opening answer to understand the smallest useful response or next step.
- Practise the Key phrase and any likely reply the lesson supplies.
- Read the manga in narrative order and notice where communication changes.
- Continue through the remaining explanation and active practice, using any tables or repair language the lesson supplies.
- In a task lesson, use the Street Check to choose the next honest step.
For a first pass, choose Rōmaji and Full lesson. Those are the initial fallback settings when no saved choice is available. The controls described below are optional ways to reduce support or shorten a later pass.
Adjust the reading support, not the Japanese
The Reading settings bar appears near the start of each lesson. Rōmaji, the fallback when no preference is stored, leaves all supplied rōmaji, readings, and furigana visible. Kana hides supplied rōmaji while keeping furigana and other Japanese readings. Kanji also hides furigana and separate reading lines.
These choices change only the tagged reading support already on the page. They do not rewrite the Japanese or generate a missing reading. When browser storage is available, the selected level is saved in this browser and applied to other lessons. If storage is blocked, it can still change the current page but may reset after navigation or reload. Without JavaScript, the bar is hidden and the full supplied reading support remains visible. The accessibility statement records the same fallback.
Use Phrase sheet as a shorter view of the same lesson
Full lesson keeps every explanation visible. Phrase sheet keeps the opening answer, relevant headings, and learning components such as key phrases, tables, manga, active practice, and the Street Check, while hiding most standalone prose and top-level lists.
Phrase sheet is not a separate summary or a custom saved list. Return to Full lesson whenever you need the missing context. This view uses the same browser-only setting and the same storage and JavaScript limits as the reading level.
Save only the phrases that show a Save button
A Save to My Phrasebook button appears on a Key phrase and on each Phrase table row. General prose and manga dialogue are not automatically saveable. A successful save keeps that item’s Japanese, supplied rōmaji, English meaning, and source page path in this browser; it does not create an account or cloud copy.
Open My Phrasebook to confirm the item, export the list as text, or clear the Phrasebook. Saving, showing the saved list, exporting, and clearing all require JavaScript and access to the same browser storage. If storage is unavailable, do not assume the item persisted. The privacy policy explains the stored fields and how Phrasebook clearing differs from removing all site data.
Use Play and Slow only where those controls appear
Some Key phrases, eligible Phrase table rows, replies, and Japanese manga dialogue show Play and Slow. A row with a placeholder or an explicit audio exception may not show them. The buttons request Japanese speech from the browser’s speech-synthesis service. The actual voice depends on the browser or device; the buttons do not play a human recording and never start automatically.
Voice quality and availability vary. With JavaScript enabled, an unsupported browser disables the buttons and reports that audio is unavailable. Without JavaScript, the speech controls are hidden while the Japanese and English text remain readable. Use the visible wording as the source, not the generated voice as proof of pronunciation quality.
End with a Street Check and choose the next step
Task lessons end with a Street Check that restates the real-world task and the conditions for being ready. Choose “I can do this,” “I can do this with help,” or “I need one more practice.” The choice is your next-step note, not a school grade or a test score.
When browser storage is available, the choice is saved for that lesson, restored when you return, and may appear among up to three saved Street Check results on the Roadmap. If storage is blocked or JavaScript is unavailable, you can still use the radio choice on the current page, but it may not persist. Open one task now, choose Rōmaji and Full lesson for the first pass, and change only what helps the next attempt.