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Learn Japanese by speaking

The most practical way to learn Japanese for real conversations is to speak it early: learn hiragana and a few polite phrases like こんにちは (konnichiwa) and ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu), then practice out loud a little every day and get corrected as you go.

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Your turn: try sayingこんにちはkonnichiwa

Where do you need Japanese?

Pick one to start your plan. It takes about a minute.

Why speaking

Why learn Japanese by speaking

こんにちは
konnichiwa"Hello"
  • Hello: こんにちは (konnichiwa)

Japanese has a reputation for being hard, and the writing system earns some of it. Spoken Japanese is a different story. It has only five vowel sounds, no articles, no gendered nouns, and verbs that stay the same whether you mean I, you or they. You can hold a simple, polite conversation long before you can read a newspaper.

Many learners spend months on flashcards and still freeze when someone talks to them. Speaking early fixes that. When you say a sentence out loud, you have to choose the particle, the verb ending and the level of politeness in real time, and that is exactly the skill a conversation needs.

Reading and kanji still matter, and they get easier when the words are already in your ear. Learn hiragana first, keep a small set of phrases you can say without thinking, and build from there one conversation at a time.

Start here

Your first five phrases

These five cover a surprising amount of daily life in Japan. All of them are polite and safe with anyone.

こんにちはkonnichiwaHello
polite

The everyday daytime greeting. Written with は but pronounced wa.

ありがとうございますarigatō gozaimasuThank you
polite

Often spelled arigato gozaimasu without the macron.

すみませんsumimasenExcuse me / I'm sorry
polite

Use it to get attention, squeeze past someone or apologize for a small thing.

はじめましてhajimemashiteNice to meet you
polite

Said only the first time you meet someone.

お願いしますonegai shimasuPlease
polite

Add it after what you want: お水お願いします (omizu onegai shimasu), water, please.

Practice these out loud with a tutor
With Tooter

How Tooter teaches Japanese

Japanese for beginners, online or on your iPhone: short Japanese lessons first, then out-loud practice with an AI tutor.

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Real Tooter lessons, filmed by learners on TikTok

  • Lifelike AI tutors

    You talk out loud with AI tutors who play real roles, like a waiter, a new friend or a shop owner. Sessions are short, from 5 to 30 minutes.

  • Corrections while you speak

    The tutor points out pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency as you go, and can explain in English when something is unclear.

  • Guided lessons

    Short chapters with listening, translation, word ordering, matching and dialogue build the phrases you then use with a tutor.

  • Politeness, practiced

    Japanese changes with who you talk to. Tooter lets you practice polite です and ます forms as well as casual speech for friends, so you hear and use both.

Easy and hard

What makes Japanese easy or hard for English speakers

  1. Easier

    The sounds

    Five clear vowels, and kana are read the way they're written.

  2. Easier

    Simple verbs

    食べます (tabemasu) works for I, you, she and they.

  3. Easier

    A hidden help: loanwords

    Many words come from English: コーヒー (kōhī, coffee), テレビ (terebi, TV).

  4. Takes practice

    Three scripts

    Hiragana, katakana and kanji appear in one sentence.

  5. Takes practice

    Word order and particles

    The verb goes last, and particles like は (wa) mark each word's job.

Start here

Japanese phrases, words and guides

Tap a bubble for the phrase, its audio and how to use it.

Your tutors

Say it out loud with a Japanese tutor

Lifelike AI tutors play the other person and correct you as you speak. Pick one to start.

Yukirhythm-awarePractice with Yuki Hanaconversation-firstPractice with Hana Aikotravel-focusedPractice with Aiko Meiculture-richPractice with Mei Sakuraconfidence-buildingPractice with Sakura Rinnatural correctionPractice with Rin Emifluency-drivenPractice with Emi Haruculture-richPractice with Haru
FAQ

Questions learners ask

How long does it take to learn enough Japanese?

It depends on your goal and how much you practice. Simple polite conversations about yourself, food and plans come much sooner than reading. Japanese is in the US Foreign Service Institute's hardest group for English speakers, mostly because of kanji, so think in months for basics and years for full fluency.

What is the 80/20 rule in Japanese?

It is the idea that a small set of very common words and patterns covers most of what you say every day. In Japanese that means the polite です and ます endings, the main particles and a few hundred high-frequency words. Learn those first and use them out loud.

Can I learn Japanese for free?

You can learn a lot for free: hiragana and katakana charts, shadowing short audio clips, reading simple texts for learners, and talking to yourself in Japanese. Most learners also want feedback on their speaking, which is where a tutor helps.

What is the best app to learn Japanese?

The best app to learn Japanese is one you use every day that makes you speak, not only tap. Look for out-loud practice in real situations and feedback on your pronunciation. Tooter does this with AI tutors on iPhone and the web.

Can you learn Japanese online?

Yes. Online lessons, audio and video cover vocabulary, listening and hiragana well. Make sure you also speak out loud regularly, with an online tutor, a language exchange partner or an AI tutor, because reading and listening alone won't prepare you for a real conversation.

What are the most common Japanese phrases?

Start with こんにちは (konnichiwa, hello), ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu, thank you), すみません (sumimasen, excuse me), お願いします (onegai shimasu, please) and わかりません (wakarimasen, I don't understand). Our Japanese words page groups many more by situation.

Do I need to learn kanji to speak Japanese?

No. You can speak and understand a lot without kanji. Learn hiragana first so you are not stuck with romaji, then add kanji gradually through words you already know.

How do I start speaking Japanese?

Learn a few set phrases like はじめまして (hajimemashite, nice to meet you) and よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu), use the polite です and ます forms, and say them out loud every day. Japanese pronunciation is fairly easy for English speakers, so speaking early pays off quickly.

What is the difference between hiragana, katakana and kanji?

Hiragana spells native Japanese words and grammar endings, katakana is mostly for loanwords like コーヒー (kōhī, coffee), and kanji are characters from Chinese that carry meaning. A normal sentence mixes all three.

Is Japanese grammar hard?

It is different more than hard. The verb comes at the end of the sentence, particles like は and を mark each word's role, and verbs don't change for I, you or they. Politeness levels usually take more practice than the grammar itself.

Join the learners filming their Tooter practice on TikTok Follow @tooter.app

Say こんにちは to a tutor today.

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Updated October 23, 2026. Tooter tutors are AI characters, not human teachers. Romanization follows Hepburn romanization.