Japanese (autonym: 日本語) is a Japonic language spoken mainly in Japan by roughly 125 million total speakers.
It developed in the archipelagoes of Japan during the 8th century AD with the Heian period and during Japanese Imperialism helped add more loan words from Japanese. In contrast to Korean and Chinese, it has a three writing systems (such as kanji, hiragana, and katakana) influenced by Chinese shipping material and to help distinguish letters from whole sentences.[1] Nowadays, Japanese is common in anime, pop culture and internet culture due to Japanese culture being shown worldwide and it having the 3rd largest economy of tech, auto, and economic opportunities.
This course was created by the Duolingo staff and was released on the website version on October 11, 2017. Spanning 5+2 sections,[2] it teaches 221 skills in 143 units.[3]
The courses' sections contain 10, 35, 91, 40, 4 and 31 units respectively.
The first three sections are aligned to CEFR A1 while the rest have yet to be aligned.
Caption
Section (unit)
Topic
1 (1)
Order food
1 (2)
Describe People
1 (3)
Introduce yourself
1 (4)
Order Food and Drink
1 (5)
Talk about Countries
2 (6, 1)
Get to know people, describe your family
2 (7, 2)
Talk about hobbies, describe eating habits
2 (8, 3)
Shop for clothes, order food and drink
2 (9, 4)
Use present tense verbs, get around a station
2 (10, 5)
Describe your routine, talk about interests
2 (11, 6)
Describe your home, take public transit
2 (12, 7)
Use na-adjectives, get emergency help
2 (13, 8)
Talk about weather, describe your family
2 (14, 9)
Discuss chores, say what you want to do
2 (15, 10)
Discuss a family visit, order pastries
2 (16, 11)
Use negative verbs, describe classes
2 (17, 12)
Talk about jobs, get around a theme park
2 (18, 13)
Discuss media, communicate at work
2 (19, 14)
Talk about hobbies, discuss seasonal events
2 (20, 15)
Talk about date plans, take public transport
2 (21, 16)
Discuss college life, count animals
2 (22, 17)
Discuss outdoor activities, eat in a restaurant
2 (23, 18)
Communicate at a hotel
3 (24, 1)
Use past tense verbs, make transit plans
3 (25, 2)
Shop for electronics, express what you want to do at a concert
3 (26, 3)
Talk about a college town, shop for clothes
3 (27, 4)
Use negative adjectives, make plans for a party
3 (28, 5)
Describe what you don't want to do, arrange to meet up
3 (29, 6)
Use the past tense, make plans to go to a festival
3 (30, 7)
Describe what you see in the zoo, use past tense negative verbs
3 (31, 8)
Discuss work issues, talk about gifts you gave or received
3 (32, 9)
Share travel experiences, buy clothes
3 (33, 10)
Describe a day at college, cook with someone
3 (34, 11)
Use past tense adjectives, describe health issues
3 (35, 12)
Complain about a hotel, talk about your childhood
3 (36, 13)
Use past tense negative adjectives, describe health habits
3 (37, 14)
Suggest things to do at the beach, discuss what to eat
3 (38, 15)
Describe a wedding, make plans to go out
3 (39, 16)
Connect two adjectives, talk about classes at university
3 (40, 17)
Describe a recent date, buy stationery
3 (41, 18)
Communicate at a store
3 (42, 19)
Discuss a meal, talk about your day
3 (43, 20)
Describe your home, talk about yourself
3 (44, 21)
Talk about your family, ask about food
3 (45, 22)
Talk about your schedule, say where things are
3 (46, 23)
Make requests, talk about hobbies
3 (47, 24)
Describe extended family, talk public transit
3 (48, 25)
Talk about clothes, describe your hobbies
3 (49, 26)
Discuss weather, talk about food and drink
3 (50, 27)
Get directions, discuss food you like
3 (51, 28)
Express days and times, shop for common items
3 (52, 29)
Discuss relationships, talk about weather
3 (53, 30)
Discuss belongings, describe nature
3 (54, 31)
Talk about school, shop at a convenience store
3 (55, 32)
Talk about class, express how you feel
3 (56, 33)
Get around a building, describe belongings
3 (57, 34)
Shop for groceries, describe clothes
3 (58, 35)
Discuss interests, talk about class
3 (59, 36)
Discuss health, talk about travel
3 (60, 37)
Use the past tense, talk about mail
3 (61, 38)
Talk about games, describe a city
3 (62, 39)
Talk about sports, say what you can do
3 (63, 40)
Ask for and offer help, talk about money
3 (64, 41)
Describe the outdoors, express what you can do
3 (65, 42)
Talk about restaurant food, discuss nature
3 (66, 43)
Describe common objects, express possibilities
3 (67, 44)
Discuss cooking, talk about common items
3 (68, 45)
Discuss possibilities, get emergency help
4 (69, 1)
Take public transit, talk about education
4 (70, 2)
Discuss work, use numbers
4 (71, 3)
Discuss the outdoors, suggest activities
4 (72, 4)
Express opinions, get around an airport
4 (73, 5)
Talk about school, discuss religion
4 (74, 6)
Talk about opinions, describe health issues
4 (75, 7)
Identify seafood, discuss society
4 (76, 8)
Talk about your day, express feelings
4 (77, 9)
Discuss politics, talk about creative arts
4 (78, 10)
Use the passive form, talk about geography
4 (79, 11)
Discuss the law, talk about weather
4 (80, 12)
Make plans, talk about cooking
4 (81, 13)
Discuss conflict, talk about disasters
4 (82, 14)
Discuss laws, talk about your home
4 (83, 15)
Use commands, schedule plans
4 (84, 16)
Use polite language, talk about a work day
4 (85, 17)
Discuss geography, talk about money
4 (86, 18)
Discuss politics, describe health issues
4 (87, 19)
Check in to a hotel, talk about the news
4 (88, 20)
Discuss conflict, talk about transportation
4 (89, 21)
Talk about exercise, discuss fairy tales
4 (90, 22)
Talk about technology, express ideas
4 (91, 23)
Talk about celebrations, describe a hospital visit
4 (92, 24)
Discuss cooking, ride a train or bus
4 (93, 25)
Discuss business
4 (94, 26)
Discuss people's jobs, talk about chores
4 (95, 27)
Discuss the news, express you feelings
4 (96, 28)
Use commands, describe the outdoors
4 (97, 29)
Talk about animals, discuss space
4 (98, 30)
Use casual language, discuss religion
4 (99, 31)
Express desires, talk to a hair stylist
4 (100, 32)
Talk to a dentist, describe home appliances
4 (101, 33)
Follow a cooking recipe, talk about work
4 (102, 34)
Discuss relationships, talk about school
4 (103, 35)
Discuss medical treatment, talk about science
4 (104, 36)
Discuss creative arts, express thoughts
4 (105, 37)
Talk about history, discuss food and drink
4 (106, 38)
Talk about nature, discuss fiction
4 (107, 39)
Use casual language, discuss life on a farm
4 (108, 40)
Use polite language, talk about languages
5 (109, 1)
Say how you feel, discuss science
5 (110, 2)
Talk about business, share opinions
5 (111, 3)
Discuss nature, talk about the news
5 (112, 4)
Express feelings, talk about seasons
6 (113, 1)
Personalized practice
6 (114, 2)
Personalized practice
6 (115, 3)
Personalized practice
6 (116, 4)
Personalized practice
6 (117, 5)
Personalized practice
6 (118, 6)
Personalized practice
6 (119, 7)
Personalized practice
6 (120, 8)
Personalized practice
6 (121, 9)
Personalized practice
6 (122, 10)
Personalized practice
6 (122, 11)
Personalized practice
6 (123, 12)
Personalized practice
6 (124, 13)
Personalized practice
6 (125, 14)
Personalized practice
6 (126, 15)
Personalized practice
6 (127, 16)
Personalized practice
6 (128, 17)
Personalized practice
6 (129, 18)
Personalized practice
6 (130, 19)
Personalized practice
6 (131, 20)
Personalized practice
6 (132, 21)
Personalized practice
6 (133, 22)
Personalized practice
6 (134, 23)
Personalized practice
6 (135, 24)
Personalized practice
6 (136, 25)
Personalized practice
6 (137, 26)
Personalized practice
6 (138, 27)
Personalized practice
6 (139, 28)
Personalized practice
6 (140, 29)
Personalized practice
6 (141, 30)
Personalized practice
6 (142, 31)
Personalized practice
7
Daily refresh
Course structure[]
The Japanese course's five main sections are targeted to the following CEFR levels (according to the in-app descriptions):
Section 1 - very early A1
Section 2 - high A1
Section 3 - high A1
Section 4 - none (yet to be CEFR aligned)
Section 5 - none (yet to be CEFR aligned)
An overhaul
Course history[]
In 2023, the beginning of the Japanese course was revamped, shifting its focus to introducing content in a logical order. The kana lessons on the path were completely removed. Instead, tabs were created for hiragana and katakana, dedicated to introducing and revising them.
A 2023 update added a kanji tab in the characters menu. It allowed kanji to be learned and revised.
A February 2024 update added 23 units and 43 skills to the path. This was to align the content to CEFR levels, and to introduce kanji more gradually.
The new update expanded section 3, aligning it with CEFR A1 standards.
Section description for the updated section 3.
Example of a new unit added.
In fact, only 62 kanji are introduced in the 23 new units.
The new units caused conflict with later units. Some vocabulary is now taught twice.
An upcoming update will align the Japanese course with CEFR A2.
Unique features[]
As Japanese possesses multiple major differences from English, its course also has additional features.
The menu for Japanese characters, namely hiragana, katakana, and kanji, to be learned.
The kanji tab which allows the learning of how kanji are written, their pronunciations, the words they appear in, and their components. To unlock a kanji, you must have first been introduced to it on the path.
Notes[]
As of January 2016, Duolingo staff noted that for Japanese:
"The biggest challenge for us is teaching the writing system. Duolingo currently does not have a good way of teaching new character sets, but we’ll be working on that soon", Luis von Ahn (2016).[4]
Duolingo Course Binder PDF[]
The entire Duolingo Japanese Course as documented by the Fandom Community will be made available soon on PDF. Allow us to complete it first!
Toucan Chrome Extension - When you visit text-based websites like Wikipedia or read articles online, Toucan changes a few words into Japanese and you can hover over them to read their meanings and Hiragana. The amount of text to change and what level of words are configurable.
Reading texts[]
KakuYomu.jp - Write Japanese stories and read others'!
The Ten Tenants has 2 episodes, contains Furigana and has an English version so you can compare.
NHK Easy - NHK, but watered down! Everyday 4 short articles are released with Furigana. You can also scroll through past daily releases (bottom right).
Human Rights Watch - The Human Rights Watch publishes Japanese articles about worldwide issues in a dedicated Japanese section. All Japanese articles have an equivalent translation in another language including English so you can compare your understanding—simply look at the top right for each article.
Bunpo for Android and iPhone (subscription-based with a small amount of free content)
Busuu.com (To learn and practice grammar and vocabulary, practice writing and have it graded by native speakers, and to live chat with Japanese speakers)
Elon.io (For learning and practicing grammar & vocabulary, kanji & kana, and for (video) chat with peers)
Lingoci Japanese tutoring via Skype (1-on-1 tutoring with experienced, native Japanese tutors. Cost is $20-$25 per hour. They offer a free trial session. Great for improving your speaking and pronunciation.)
LingoDeer for Android, iPhone, and web (subscription based, incredibly well thought out Japanese course w/ specific grammar & Kanji help)
Nihongo Master (Learn Japanese online with lessons, tools and a big community)
Kawaraban (German) - Structured in-Depth Guide showing a clear way how to achieve Japanese mastery
Duolingo vs. the JLPT[]
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験, Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken) is Japan's official measure of a person's Japanese competency. The levels vary from N5 (lowest) to N1 (highest).
Taking the test has advantages. But up to what level can Duolingo take you, that is the question:
The graph[5] (which is cropped; click on image to see in full) shows that Duolingo coverage is only about 15% the lexis for JLPT N1. Filling the remaining 85% gap (amounting to about 2000 words) will require additional resources, such as this Memrise Course.
This reddit user points out that the N1 is "at best a high-school level understanding", and is nowhere near native-level. However, despite the N1 is not comprehensive, achieving at least that level will definitely make progress towards Japanese mastery.
This Wikipedia page gives more formal vocabulary lists for all the N-level tests, but in a less-learnable and nongamified format.
