Japanese learning guides.
Field notes on hiragana, katakana, and the study habits that actually make them stick — written for the way people really learn.
Hiragana H-Row: は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ Mnemonics (and the ふ Sound Nobody Expects)
Visual mnemonics, audio pronunciation, and practice words for は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ, including why ふ isn't quite an f-sound or an h-sound.
Hiragana N-Row: な, に, ぬ, ね, の Mnemonics for the Easy Row
Visual mnemonics, audio pronunciation, and practice words for な, に, ぬ, ね, の, the first fully regular row after two rows of exceptions.
Hiragana T-Row: た, ち, つ, て, と Mnemonics for the Trickiest Row
Visual mnemonics, audio pronunciation, and practice words for た, ち, つ, て, と, the row with two irregular sounds that trip up almost every beginner.
Hiragana S-Row: さ, し, す, せ, そ Mnemonics and One Irregular Sound
Visual mnemonics, audio pronunciation, and practice words for さ, し, す, せ, そ, including why し breaks the usual consonant-plus-vowel pattern.
Hiragana K-Row: か, き, く, け, こ Mnemonics That Actually Stick
Memorable visual mnemonics, audio pronunciation, and practice words for the five K-row hiragana characters, plus the specific strokes that separate them from lookalikes later in the chart.
Hiragana Vowels: あ, い, う, え, お and the Mnemonics That Make Them Stick
A deep dive into the five hiragana vowels with a memorable visual mnemonic for each character, audio pronunciation, and the practice words that turn recognition into reading.
How to Say Dates, Months, and Days of the Week in Japanese
Japanese months are just numbers plus 月, but the days of the month are a memorization project of their own. Here's the full system: months, weekdays, and the counters that trip up every beginner.
Katakana Loanwords: How English Words Become Japanese
Once you know katakana, you can already read hundreds of Japanese words. This guide covers how English gets transformed into Japanese loanwords and how to decode katakana words you've never seen before.
Japan's New Work Visa Now Requires JLPT N2
Japan added a Japanese language requirement to its most common work visa in April 2026. Here's what changed, who it actually affects, and what it means if you're serious about working in Japan.
5 Essential Japanese Phrases Every Beginner Should Know
Five Japanese phrases that unlock real conversations from day one — written form, formal and casual variants, and the cultural rules that change when you use each one.
Effective Learning Tips for Japanese Characters
The spaced repetition schedule and active recall techniques that cut hiragana memorization time in half — plus the two study habits that undo your progress every time.
Understanding Katakana
Why katakana trips learners who already know hiragana — the confusing lookalike pairs, how to read any English loanword, and how to write your name in Japanese.
Getting Started with Hiragana
Learn the 46 hiragana characters with a proven sequence — what order to study them in, how long it really takes, and which confusing pairs trip up most learners.
Common Mistakes When Learning Hiragana and Katakana
The seven most common mistakes learners make with hiragana and katakana — including the romaji dependency trap and why similar-looking characters keep getting confused.
Contracted Sounds: Combination Characters in Japanese
The 33 contracted sound combinations (きゃ, しゅ, ちょ...) that extend kana beyond the basic 46 — how they are formed, why they are written smaller, and how to read them without guessing.
Understanding Diacritical Marks: Dakuten and Handakuten
What the two small strokes next to a kana character actually do — how dakuten and handakuten transform か into が and は into ぱ, with a complete voiced-sound reference table.