japanesen4in 47 days
After N5, real conversation: plain Japanese with friends, giving and receiving, if and when, and your first keigo, one short lesson a day.
- free, no sign-up
- 166 kanji · 659 words
- audio · writing · practice exams
- 0 xp
- 0 day streak
- 0 / 659 words met
- 0 cards due
- 0 / 47 dots
at a glance
JLPT N4 (estimated level). About 25 minutes a day, in bites of one to three minutes.
- 47days
- 7units
- 659words
- 21writing & speaking tasks
- 2practice exams
before you start
The JLPT N5 level, for example our Japanese N5 course: hiragana, katakana, the 79 N5 kanji and polite です/ます Japanese. Its 747 words come back in every lesson here without being taught again.
pick your pace
People who decide when and how much stick with it far more often. Pick one: you can change it any time.
No pace picked yet. Steady is a great start.
your path
47 dots in 7 units. Every lesson is open, so jump anywhere. The pink dot is your next one.
unit 1 · plain talk & feelings
unit 2 · gifts, guests & shopping
unit 3 · getting around
unit 4 · work & polite Japanese
unit 5 · home & health
unit 6 · free time & school
unit 7 · nature & the world
free tools
- all 659 words
Search, filter by unit, hear every word.
- card play
Flip cards that come back just before you forget, a memory match and a speed round.
- writing studio
Every new character with animated stroke order: watch, trace, write from memory.
- practice exams
Two full practice exams in the JLPT N4 layout: vocabulary, grammar and reading, and listening.
print & share
Branded PDFs to print, stick on the fridge or send to a friend who wants to learn with you.
questions & answers
Is it really free? Do I need an account?
Yes, it is free: every lesson, the audio, the writing practice and both practice exams, with no sign-up and no ads. There is no account either. Your progress is saved only in this browser, on this device, and clearing your browser data resets it.
How long does it take?
47 days of about 25 minutes: 38 days of new words and grammar, 7 review missions and 2 practice exams. Go faster or slower as you like; nothing is locked.
Does it match the JLPT N4?
The Japan Foundation has published no official word, kanji or grammar list since 2010, so no course can promise an exact match. We follow the widely used community lists for N4 (about 635 new words, 166 kanji and 50 grammar points), add a few words everyday Japanese needs, and copy the layout of the real exam: vocabulary (25 minutes), grammar and reading (55 minutes) and listening (35 minutes), 180 points with a pass at 90. The level is an estimated JLPT N4 level, and this is not official JLPT material.
I finished N5. What is new here?
This course builds on N5: the 747 words of our N5 course are used in every lesson without being taught again, so each day adds only new things. N4 brings the plain forms (dictionary, ない, た), can-do forms, giving and receiving (あげる, くれる, もらう), if and when (たら, ば, と, なら), passive and causative verbs and the basics of keigo, plus 659 new words.
Plain or polite Japanese: which will I learn?
Both. Polite です/ます Japanese stays the default with people you do not know well, at work and in shops. From day 1 you also learn the plain style that friends and family use with each other (行く？ うん、行く！), and later the respectful and humble keigo you hear from shop staff and at work.
What will I read and write, and is there rōmaji?
The 166 kanji of N4 to read and write, on top of the 79 of N5; other words are in their usual spelling with furigana (small kana above the kanji). Rōmaji (Japanese in Latin letters, modified Hepburn) is still on by default at this level: switch it off whenever you like, because the real exam uses none.
after this course
Carry on with Japanese N3 in 99 days: it builds on everything you learn here.
back up my progress
Your progress lives in this browser. Copy the code to move it to another phone or computer, then paste it there.