Daily lessons · 26 September 2026 · 4 min read
Learn everyday Japanese in 90 days: what the course covers
Most beginner courses open with the alphabet and a table of grammar. This one opens with the sentence you need first, which is hello and your name, and builds from there one short lesson a day. Here is what the 90 days cover and how a lesson works, so you can decide whether it suits you before you start.
Who the course is for
Complete beginners, and anyone who has picked up a few phrases but never put them together. You do not need to read Japanese script to start: every phrase is shown in Japanese with the reading in rōmaji (Japanese written in the English alphabet) underneath, and a switch in the header hides the rōmaji once you can read kana.
What a daily lesson looks like
Each day takes about ten minutes. You get a handful of phrases, each with the Japanese, the rōmaji, the English meaning and audio. Under each group is a short note on why the Japanese works the way it does, because a pattern you understand is easier to reuse than one you only memorised.
Then a short quiz of around ten questions, some multiple choice and some typed. Get 60% and the day counts as done. A few phrases from earlier days come back as a quick review, so day 12 still has a little of day 5 in it.
Days 1 to 30: getting around Japan
The first month is built around the places a visitor ends up in the first week: greetings and introductions, please and thank you, numbers and prices, ordering food, asking where something is, telling the time, the convenience store, buying a train ticket and checking in to a hotel. By day 30 you can hold a short, polite exchange in most of them.
Days 31 to 60: the grammar that joins things up
The second month turns set phrases into sentences you build yourself. It opens with the て-form (te-form), the most useful verb form in the language, then covers what you are doing right now, your daily routine, asking permission, must and must not, giving and receiving, and the plain form that every longer pattern is built on. It ends with comparing two things, saying what you can do, and talking about experiences: have you ever been to Kyoto?
Days 61 to 90: living and working in Japan
The last month is for people staying longer: plans and advice, casual speech with friends, the basics of a Japanese office, train announcements, menus and signs, renting a flat, the ward office, and keeping a conversation going. Day 88 is a short mock section in the style of the JLPT N5, the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and day 90 is a plan for the six months after.
What it costs
Days 1 to 7 are free with no account, and days 8 to 30 are free with an account. Days 31 to 90 are written and are part of the paid plan. The hiragana, katakana and kanji charts, all 831 N5 words, the grammar reference and the situation guides are free for everyone.
How to get the most from it
- One lesson a day, not three. The gap between lessons is when phrases move into long-term memory. Doing three at once feels productive and sticks less.
- Say every phrase out loud. Press the speaker, listen and repeat. Reading silently does not train your mouth.
- Learn hiragana alongside it. The rōmaji is there while you need it, and the lessons are easier to follow once you can read the kana.
- Do your reviews. Add the words to the review deck, and ten minutes a day keeps them.
Common questions
Can I learn Japanese in 90 days? You can learn to handle everyday situations politely and understand the grammar of the JLPT N5 level, which is what this course aims at. Fluency takes years. Being useful on a trip takes weeks.
Do I need to learn hiragana first? No. Rōmaji is shown under every phrase, so you can start today. Learning hiragana in the first couple of weeks makes everything after it easier, and the hiragana chart and drill are free.
How long is each lesson? About ten minutes of new material, plus a few minutes of review. Short enough for a commute.
The aim of the first month is not perfect Japanese. It is being able to say something useful on the first day of a trip.