Three scripts, your first greetings
Meet hiragana, katakana, and kanji through phrases you can use today.
Recognize the jobs of the three scripts.
Hear the lesson phrases
Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback.
Read the audio transcript
おはようございます。
Three scripts work together
Hiragana writes grammatical endings, particles, and many everyday words. Katakana commonly writes borrowed words and foreign names. Kanji often carries the core meaning of nouns and word stems. An ordinary sentence can mix all three.
A kanji can have several readings. Learn a word, its kana reading, and its meaning together rather than assigning one sound to every character. The smaller reading line here uses kana; it is not a separate translation.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- にほんごnihongoJapanese languageLearn にほんご as the reading of the whole word; kanji readings depend on the word.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- コーヒーkoohiicoffeeThe long-vowel marks extend the preceding vowels.
Begin with useful complete phrases
Use おはようございます in the morning and こんにちは during the day. こんばんは is an evening greeting. The は at the end of こんにちは and こんばんは is pronounced wa, although the spelling is は.
ありがとうございます is a polite thank-you. These phrases are useful before you can analyze their grammar. A common casual goodbye is またね; with people you do not know well, use the polite phrase また会いましょう when it fits the situation.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- こんにちは。konnichiwahello / good afternoonA set greeting; its final は is pronounced wa.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- こんばんは。konbanwagood eveningA set greeting; its final は is pronounced wa.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- またmataagain
- あいましょう。aimashoulet’s meet / see each otherA polite invitation or suggestion; naturally used as a farewell here.
The natural English farewell is not a literal word-for-word translation.
Lesson vocabulary
Read each word aloud, then test your recall of its meaning.
| こんにちは こんにちは | hello | |
| おはようございます おはようございます | good morning (polite) | |
| こんばんは こんばんは | good evening | |
| ありがとうございます ありがとうございます | thank you (polite) | |
| 日本語 にほんご | Japanese language | |
| コーヒー コーヒー | coffee |
Practice questions
Answer the questions and read the explanations. You can repeat the exercises.
Read kana as sound clues.