Family route · 33 lessons
Choose one family or community task.
A lesson filter—not school, medical, legal, or child-safety guidance. Pick one task; use Lesson 1 only for foundations.
Immediate safety
Immediate danger in Japan?
Stop using this site. Call 119 when a fire engine or ambulance is needed, or 110 for a crime or accident requiring an immediate police response. Do not work through language lessons first.
Direct answer
Choose what is happening now—not the earliest lesson number.
If nobody is in immediate danger, choose the task in front of you. This page practices language; it cannot verify identity, consent, guardian or pickup authority, set school rules, decide child-data sharing, assess health, determine eligibility, or replace the responsible school, clinician, authority, organizer, provider, or emergency service.
Six task families · one foundation group
What do you need to communicate now?
Open only the group that matches the adult communication task in front of you. Lesson numbers are Roadmap references, not steps you must complete here.
Contact the school as an adult · 4 lessonsI need to call, report an absence, ask a teacher, or meet another parent.Identify the purpose, share only what is needed, and confirm the next step
Choose the exchange closest to the school contact, teacher question, absence notice, or adult-to-adult introduction in front of you.
Boundary: A phone number, name, school reference, or polite introduction does not verify identity or authority. These lessons cannot establish guardian or pickup authority, provide consent, decide what child or family data may be shared, or set attendance, return, transport, safeguarding, or health rules. Use the school's approved channel and current instructions.
- Japanese Phone Call Phrases: Introduce, Ask, and ConfirmCan-do: Open one phone call, state its purpose, and confirm the next action.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese School Absence Phrases: Notify the SchoolCan-do: Report one child's absence or lateness and confirm the school's next request.Open this lesson
- Japanese Teacher Meeting Phrases: Ask and ConfirmCan-do: Ask a teacher about one concern and agree on a follow-up action.Open this lesson
- Japanese Parent Introduction Phrases: Meet Other FamiliesCan-do: Make a short adult-to-adult introduction through a child or school connection.Open this lesson
Connect with nearby adults · 2 lessonsI need to meet a neighbor or join a local event.Introduce yourself and confirm the current activity details
Choose one adult exchange for a nearby resident, organizer, or local activity.
Boundary: Participation, fees, deadlines, supervision roles, photography, and data handling belong to the organizer. A greeting or offer to help does not authorize child supervision, photography, or contact-data sharing.
Ask the responsible institution · 3 lessonsI need a form, an insurance-desk exchange, or a support referral.State the issue and confirm who owns the next decision
Choose the task closest to the form, administrative question, or support handoff in front of you.
Boundary: These lessons cannot determine eligibility, coverage, required evidence, deadlines, benefits, fees, legal rights, representative authority, what personal data must be shared, or referral outcomes. Follow the verified responsible institution's current written instructions.
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Health Insurance Desk Phrases: Ask for GuidanceCan-do: Present one health-insurance administrative issue and follow the official next instruction.Open this lesson
- Japanese Form Filling Phrases: Name, Address, and HelpCan-do: Complete the identity and address fields of a basic form with staff guidance.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Consultation Desk Phrases: Find the Right SupportCan-do: Explain one practical problem and follow a confirmed referral to the right support.Open this lesson
Handle a local home issue · 3 lessonsI need to check waste rules or report a utility problem.Ask for the current rule, place, time, or immediate instruction
Choose one exchange for the municipality, address, building, item, or utility issue in front of you.
Boundary: Waste rules are address-specific and utility procedures are provider-specific. A phrase cannot classify an item, authorize a repair, assess a utility hazard, or decide that waiting or remaining in place is safe. Follow current municipality, provider, property-manager, and emergency instructions.
- Japanese Trash Sorting Phrases: Ask Which CategoryCan-do: Ask which local waste category one item belongs to.Open this lesson
- Japanese Trash Day Phrases: Confirm When and WhereCan-do: Confirm when and where one waste category is collected.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Utility Problem Phrases: Water, Gas, and PowerCan-do: Report one utility problem and follow the provider or manager's immediate instruction.Open this lesson
Prepare before health or danger decisions · 7 lessonsI need allergy, medical, disaster, or emergency language.Report observable facts and follow current professional instructions
These seven safety-essential lessons are language preparation, not a child-health assessment, medical service, live alert, or emergency response.
Boundary: They cannot decide urgency, diagnose, recommend treatment or dosage, guarantee ingredient or cross-contact safety, decide evacuation or whether waiting is safe, replace emergency services or a live alert, or guarantee an outcome. Follow the responsible venue, clinician, authority, municipality, school, and emergency instructions.
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Phrases for Food Allergies and Dietary RestrictionsCan-do: State a food allergy, ask about ingredients and shared preparation as separate facts, and decide whether to order from the restaurant's current answer.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Phrases for Visiting a DoctorCan-do: Describe one symptom, body location, and duration, then confirm medicine timing.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Emergency Phrases: How to Ask for HelpCan-do: Ask for emergency help and give a simple location and problem.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Pharmacy Phrases: Ask for the Right HelpCan-do: Describe one symptom and confirm whether and how to use a pharmacy product.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Clinic Reception Phrases: Appointment and FormsCan-do: Check in at a clinic and confirm the form, waiting, and language-support steps.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Earthquake Phrases: Understand Immediate InstructionsCan-do: Recognize one immediate earthquake instruction and confirm where to move next.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Typhoon Phrases: Understand Warnings and ClosuresCan-do: Recognize one typhoon warning and confirm the current local action.Open this lesson
Support an adult exchange · 5 lessonsI need to greet, introduce, thank, repair, or slow the conversation.Use one general interaction foundation
Choose the short move that helps the adult exchange begin or continue.
Boundary: A name or courteous exchange does not verify identity, relationship, role, authority, consent, or permission. Do not share passwords, one-time codes, or unnecessary child or family details through an unverified contact.
- Japanese Greetings: 15 Useful Phrases for Everyday LifeCan-do: Choose an appropriate Japanese greeting for the time and relationship.Open this lesson
- How to Introduce Yourself in JapaneseCan-do: Give a 20-second Japanese self-introduction.Open this lesson
- Arigatou Meaning: 7 Natural Ways to Say Thank You in JapaneseCan-do: Thank someone in casual and polite everyday situations.Open this lesson
- Sumimasen Meaning: Sorry, Excuse Me, or Thank You?Can-do: Use sumimasen to get attention, make a small apology, or acknowledge another person's effort.Open this lesson
- How to Say “Please Speak Slowly” in JapaneseCan-do: Ask a speaker to slow down or repeat, then confirm one recovered detail without ending the conversation.Open this lesson
Support, not another family task · 9 lessonsScripts, sound, or sentence choices block every task.Open a foundation or grammar reference
Use this support group only when the language system—not the current exchange—is what stops you.
Boundary: For one recommended order, switch to the Roadmap. Pre-N5 is Kotoba Street's own foundation label, not an official JLPT level, school requirement, placement decision, or prerequisite.
- Learn Japanese for Beginners: Choose Your First RouteCan-do: Choose one immediate Japanese need, select a route, and open its first useful lesson.Open this lesson
- Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji: How Japanese Writing WorksCan-do: Identify the hiragana, katakana, and kanji parts of one mixed Japanese word or message.Open this lesson
- Hiragana Chart for Beginners: Learn the 46 Basic CharactersCan-do: Read the five vowel hiragana and identify the main sound rows.Open this lesson
- Japanese Pronunciation Guide: Vowels, Rhythm, and Long SoundsCan-do: Pronounce the five Japanese vowels and hear the difference made by sound length.Open this lesson
- Japanese Sentence Structure: The Beginner’s GuideCan-do: Build a simple Japanese sentence with a topic, information, and final verb or predicate.Open this lesson
- What Does Desu Mean? Japanese Polite Sentences ExplainedCan-do: Make basic polite noun and adjective statements with desu.Open this lesson
- Wa vs Ga: How to Choose the Right Japanese ParticleCan-do: Use wa to establish a topic and ga to identify or present focused information in basic sentences.Open this lesson
- Ni vs De in Japanese: Place and Action ParticlesCan-do: Use ni for a destination or existence and de for where an action happens.Open this lesson
- Japanese Masu Form: Present, Past, Negative, and Past NegativeCan-do: Say what you do, do not do, did, and did not do in polite Japanese.Open this lesson