Your First Steps in Japanese
Like Duolingo, but for Your First Steps in Japanese. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Survival Kit and Cracking the Code. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Your First Steps in Japanese
- Sumimasen is the standard way to initiate an interaction with a stranger
- Desu acts as a polite 'to be' verb at the end of Japanese sentences
- Sumimasen is used to acknowledge an inconvenience caused to others
- Ending a sentence with 'Desu' signals a polite relationship with the listener
- Sumimasen functions as a polite 'thank you' when someone has gone out of their way for you
- Dropping 'Desu' makes a sentence casual and potentially rude to strangers
- Recognizing the appropriate context for using 'Sumimasen'
- Applying 'Desu' to adjust the politeness level of a statement
- Onegaishimasu follows a noun to mean 'Please give me [noun]'
- Bowing is a physical signal of respect that accompanies spoken Japanese
- Onegaishimasu is more formal and polite than the casual 'kudasai'
- A slight nod or bow 'punctuates' the end of an apology or greeting
- Using 'Onegaishimasu' to make a polite request
- The suffix '-san' must be added to other people's names to show basic respect
- Using a person's name without a suffix (yobisute) is considered overly familiar or rude
- Understanding the role of bowing in Japanese communication
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Your First Steps in Japanese the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You are at a busy train station and need to ask a staff member for help. Which word should you use to start the interaction?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where Your First Steps in Japanese takes you
Skip the dry grammar drills and learn the 'magic words' and logic needed to navigate your first day in Japan with confidence.
- 1
The Survival Kit
- The Magic Words of Politeness
- The 'A is B' Sentence Logic
- 2
Cracking the Code
- Navigating the Three Scripts
- The Rhythm and Sounds of Japan
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Your First Steps in Japanese is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Language on Tomo
First Steps in English
Start speaking English today by mastering the essential sounds, greetings, and survival phrases needed for your very first conversation.
First Steps in Mandarin
Break the sound barrier of Mandarin Chinese by mastering the four tones and building your first practical sentences for daily life.
Unlock the Magic of Reading
Stop struggling with symbols and start seeing stories. This course turns reading from a chore into a superpower by focusing on how words paint pictures in your mind.
Speak and Live Japanese
Start speaking useful Japanese immediately while unlocking the secrets of the writing system. Go from ordering ramen to navigating Tokyo like a local pro.
Spanish for Your First Conversation
Skip the dry grammar drills and learn the essential phrases and patterns needed to start speaking Spanish immediately. This course focuses on the high-utility 'survival kit' of the language.
Katakana for the Real World
Move beyond the basic alphabet to master the nuances of loanwords, stylized text, and the unique rhythm of Katakana in daily Japanese life.
Start Your First Steps in Japanese today.
Download Tomo, search Your First Steps in Japanese, and play your first lesson in under a minute.