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Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language Syllabus

The Introduction to Japanese Language syllabus for Japanese in full: 3 chapters and 9 topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Introduction to Japanese Language flashcards with answers.

3Chapters
9Topics
50Flashcards

Introduction to Japanese Language syllabus: all 3 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  1. Understanding the Japanese Writing Systems

     3 topics
    • Hiragana
    • Katakana
    • Kanji

  2. Basic Japanese Grammar

     3 topics
    • Sentence Structure
    • Particles
    • Verb Conjugation

  3. Basic Japanese Vocabulary

     3 topics
    • Greetings and Common Phrases
    • Numbers and Counters
    • Days of the Week and Time

Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language flashcards — 50 questions with answers

  1. What are the three writing systems used in modern Japanese, and what is each primarily used for?

    Hiragana (native Japanese words and grammar), Katakana (foreign loanwords, onomatopoeia, emphasis), and Kanji (Chinese-derived characters for content words like nouns and verb stems).

  2. How many basic (gojūon) characters are in the Hiragana syllabary, and what does each represent?

    46 basic characters, each representing a single syllable (mora) — either a vowel (a, i, u, e, o) or a consonant + vowel combination.

  3. What are the five basic vowel sounds of Japanese, in standard dictionary order?

    あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o) — pronounced ah, ee, oo, eh, oh.

  4. In Hiragana, how is the voiced sound formed from an unvoiced kana, and what is that diacritic called?

    By adding a dakuten (two small marks, ゛) — e.g., か (ka) → が (ga), さ (sa) → ざ (za), た (ta) → だ (da).

  5. What is a handakuten, and to which Hiragana row does it apply?

    A handakuten is a small circle (゜) added only to the は-row (ha, hi, fu, he, ho) to make the p-sounds: ぱ (pa), ぴ (pi), ぷ (pu), ぺ (pe), ぽ (po).

  6. How are contracted sounds (yōon) like 'kya', 'shu', 'cho' written in Hiragana?

    By writing an i-column kana (き, し, ち, etc.) followed by a small や, ゆ, or よ — e.g., き + ゃ = きゃ (kya), し + ゅ = しゅ (shu), ち + ょ = ちょ (cho).

  7. What is the function of the small tsu (っ) in Hiragana?

    It marks a sokuon (geminate/double consonant), doubling the following consonant sound — e.g., きって (kitte, 'stamp'), がっこう (gakkō, 'school').

  8. How is a long vowel typically written in Hiragana?

    By adding a vowel kana: あ-row lengthened with あ, い-row with い, う-row with う, え-row usually with い, and お-row usually with う — e.g., おかあさん (okāsan), がくせい (gakusei).

  9. Write the Hiragana for the greeting 'konnichiwa' and note its spelling quirk.

    こんにちは — the final は is written with the particle 'ha' kana but pronounced 'wa'.

  10. What is Katakana primarily used for in modern Japanese?

    Transcribing foreign loanwords (gairaigo), foreign names, onomatopoeia, scientific/technical terms, and for emphasis (similar to italics).

  11. How is a long vowel written in Katakana, unlike in Hiragana?

    With a long dash/chōonpu (ー), regardless of the vowel — e.g., コーヒー (kōhī, 'coffee'), ラーメン (rāmen).

  12. Give the Katakana transcription of 'terebi' (television) and 'konpyūtā' (computer).

    テレビ (terebi) and コンピューター (konpyūtā).

  13. Katakana and Hiragana together are called what, and what type of scripts are they?

    Together they are called kana; both are moraic (syllabic) phonetic scripts, unlike Kanji which are logographic.

  14. What is Kanji, and what does a single Kanji character represent?

    Kanji are logographic characters borrowed from Chinese; each character represents a meaning (morpheme) and can have multiple readings, rather than a single fixed sound.

  15. What are the two main categories of Kanji readings, and what is each's origin?

    On'yomi (音読み), the Sino-Japanese reading derived from Chinese pronunciation, and kun'yomi (訓読み), the native Japanese reading.

  16. When is on'yomi typically used versus kun'yomi?

    On'yomi is generally used in compound words (multiple kanji together, e.g., 学生 gakusei); kun'yomi is generally used when a kanji stands alone or with hiragana okurigana (e.g., 学ぶ manabu).

  17. What are okurigana?

    Hiragana suffixes written after a kanji stem to indicate inflection/conjugation and disambiguate readings — e.g., the べる in 食べる (taberu, 'to eat').

  18. Roughly how many kanji make up the jōyō (regular-use) list that literate adults are expected to know?

    2,136 jōyō kanji, designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education for everyday use.

  19. What is the canonical word order of a basic Japanese sentence?

    Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) — the verb comes at the end of the clause.

  20. Translate and give the structure of 'わたしはすしを食べます' (Watashi wa sushi o tabemasu).

    'I eat sushi.' Structure: topic (わたし + は) + object (すし + を) + verb (食べます) — SOV order with particles marking each role.

Show the other 30 Introduction to Japanese Language flashcards

  1. What is the basic pattern for the Japanese copula sentence 'A wa B desu'?

    'A is B' — topic A marked by は, followed by B, followed by the copula です (desu), e.g., これはペンです ('This is a pen').

  2. Why can the subject often be omitted in Japanese sentences?

    Japanese is a pro-drop (context-dependent) language; when the subject/topic is clear from context, it is routinely omitted — e.g., 食べます alone can mean 'I/we/they eat.'

  3. What is a particle (joshi) in Japanese grammar?

    A particle is a short, uninflected function word placed after a word or phrase to mark its grammatical role (subject, object, topic, direction, etc.).

  4. What is the difference between the particles は (wa) and が (ga)?

    は marks the topic (what the sentence is about, often known/contrastive information); が marks the grammatical subject (often new information or the answer to 'who/what').

  5. What does the particle を (o) mark?

    It marks the direct object of a transitive verb — e.g., 本を読む (hon o yomu, 'read a book').

  6. What roles does the particle に (ni) commonly play?

    It marks a point in time, a destination/direction, a location of existence, an indirect object (recipient), or the agent in some passive/causative constructions — e.g., 7時に (at 7 o'clock), 学校に行く (go to school).

  7. What does the particle で (de) indicate?

    The location where an action takes place, or the means/instrument by which something is done — e.g., 図書館で勉強する (study at the library), バスで行く (go by bus).

  8. Compare へ (e) and に (ni) for expressing destination.

    Both can mark a destination; へ (written へ, read 'e') emphasizes the direction/toward-ness, while に emphasizes the specific arrival point/goal. They are often interchangeable for 'go to.'

  9. What does the sentence-final particle か (ka) do?

    It turns a statement into a question — e.g., 行きますか (Ikimasu ka? 'Will you go?'). No question mark is grammatically required.

  10. What does the particle の (no) express?

    Possession or noun modification, linking two nouns (A の B = 'B of A' / 'A's B') — e.g., わたしの本 (my book), 日本語の先生 (Japanese-language teacher).

  11. Into what three groups are Japanese verbs classified for conjugation?

    Group 1 (godan / u-verbs, e.g., 飲む nomu), Group 2 (ichidan / ru-verbs, e.g., 食べる taberu), and Group 3 (irregular: する suru 'to do' and 来る kuru 'to come').

  12. What are the two irregular verbs in Japanese?

    する (suru, 'to do') and 来る (kuru, 'to come').

  13. How do you form the polite present/future (-masu) form of an ichidan (ru-)verb?

    Drop the final る and add ます — e.g., 食べる (taberu) → 食べます (tabemasu), 見る (miru) → 見ます (mimasu).

  14. How do you form the -masu form of a godan (u-)verb such as 飲む (nomu)?

    Change the final -u sound to the corresponding -i sound, then add ます — 飲む (nomu) → 飲みます (nomimasu); 書く (kaku) → 書きます (kakimasu).

  15. What is the plain (dictionary) form versus the polite form of a verb, and which is used when?

    The dictionary form (e.g., 食べる) is the plain/casual form used with friends and in subordinate clauses; the -masu form (e.g., 食べます) is the polite form used in formal or unfamiliar settings.

  16. How is the negative polite present (-masen) formed from the -masu form?

    Replace ます with ません — e.g., 食べます (tabemasu) → 食べません (tabemasen, 'do not eat').

  17. How is the polite past affirmative (-mashita) formed?

    Replace ます with ました — e.g., 行きます (ikimasu) → 行きました (ikimashita, 'went').

  18. What is the て-form (te-form) used for in Japanese?

    It connects clauses, forms the progressive (ている), makes requests (てください), links sequential actions, and gives permission (てもいい). E.g., 食べて (tabete).

  19. How do you form the te-form of the ru-verb 食べる and the irregular する?

    食べる → 食べて (tabete); する → して (shite).

  20. What are the standard Japanese greetings for morning, daytime, and evening?

    おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu, good morning), こんにちは (konnichiwa, good afternoon/hello), and こんばんは (konbanwa, good evening).

  21. How do you say 'thank you' politely and 'you're welcome' in Japanese?

    ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu, thank you) and どういたしまして (dō itashimashite, you're welcome).

  22. What does すみません (sumimasen) mean, and in what situations is it used?

    It means 'excuse me,' 'sorry,' or 'thank you (for trouble taken)' — used to apologize, get attention, or express gratitude for someone's effort.

  23. How do you say 'nice to meet you' when introducing yourself, and what phrase follows?

    はじめまして (hajimemashite, 'nice to meet you'), typically followed by どうぞよろしくお願いします (dōzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu, 'please treat me favorably').

  24. What are the Japanese numbers 1 through 10 in their basic on'yomi readings?

    1 いち (ichi), 2 に (ni), 3 さん (san), 4 し/よん (shi/yon), 5 ご (go), 6 ろく (roku), 7 しち/なな (shichi/nana), 8 はち (hachi), 9 きゅう/く (kyū/ku), 10 じゅう (jū).

  25. What are counters in Japanese, and give three common examples with what they count.

    Counters are suffixes attached to numbers to count specific categories of things: 人 (nin, people), 本 (hon, long cylindrical objects), 枚 (mai, flat thin objects like paper), and 個 (ko, small general objects).

  26. Why do numbers like 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 often change sound before certain counters?

    Because of euphonic sound changes (rendaku/gemination): e.g., with 本, いっぽん (ippon, 1), さんぼん (sanbon, 3), ろっぽん (roppon, 6), はっぽん/はっぽん (happon, 8), じゅっぽん (juppon, 10).

  27. How are the days of the week named in Japanese, and what pattern do they follow?

    Each ends in 曜日 (yōbi, 'day of week') preceded by an element: 月 (Mon), 火 (Tue), 水 (Wed), 木 (Thu), 金 (Fri), 土 (Sat), 日 (Sun) — e.g., 月曜日 (getsuyōbi = Monday).

  28. Which nature/element characters correspond to Saturday and Sunday in Japanese?

    Saturday is 土曜日 (doyōbi, 土 = earth/soil), and Sunday is 日曜日 (nichiyōbi, 日 = sun).

  29. How do you ask and state the time in Japanese using 'ji' and 'fun/pun'?

    Hours use 時 (ji) and minutes use 分 (fun/pun) — e.g., 3時15分 (sanji jūgofun, 3:15). 'What time?' is 何時 (nanji).

  30. What words distinguish AM and PM in Japanese, and where are they placed?

    午前 (gozen, AM) and 午後 (gogo, PM), placed before the time — e.g., 午前7時 (gozen shichiji, 7 AM), 午後9時 (gogo kuji, 9 PM).

Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language FAQ

What is in the Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language syllabus?

Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language is split into 3 chapters: Understanding the Japanese Writing Systems, Basic Japanese Grammar and Basic Japanese Vocabulary. Together they contain 9 topics.

How many chapters are in Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language?

3 chapters, containing 9 topics. The largest chapter is Understanding the Japanese Writing Systems, with 3 topics.

Are there flashcards for Japanese Introduction to Japanese Language?

Yes — a 50-card Introduction to Japanese Language deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.