Grammar lessons
Eleven beginner-friendly lessons covering the sentence patterns you need to start reading and writing Japanese.
Basic Grammar
- State-of-Beingだ / じゃない / だった / じゃなかったDeclare what something is (or isn't, or was) using the casual copula だ and its forms.Start
- Introduction to Particlesは / も / がParticles are short hiragana that attach to a word to mark its role in the sentence. Swapping one particle for another can change what the sentence actually means.Start
- Adjectivesな-adjectives / い-adjectivesJapanese has two families of adjectives — な-adjectives and い-adjectives — that conjugate differently and attach to nouns in different ways.Start
- Verb Basicsru-verbs / u-verbs / する・来るIdentify and classify every Japanese verb. The ru-verb / u-verb / irregular distinction decides how every later conjugation works.Start
- Negative Verbsない conjugation patternMake any verb negative by attaching ない to a class-specific base. Ru-verbs drop る, u-verbs shift the final u-sound to its a-row partner, and the two irregulars する・来る have memorized forms.Start
- Past Tenseた / なかった conjugationExpress that something happened (or didn't) using the た and なかった forms. Ru-verbs take た directly; u-verbs split into three sound groups (した / いた / んだ / った); the irregulars する・来る have their own forms; and past-negative is built off the negative form from L5.Start
- Verb Particlesを / に / へ / でUse を, に, へ, and で to wire a verb up to its object, destination, direction, and the place or means by which it happens. Combined with the topic particles from earlier lessons, you can now build complete two- and three-particle sentences.Start
- Transitive vs Intransitive Verbspaired verbs / を vs がPair up the verbs that come in transitive / intransitive flavours: an active agent doing something (transitive, marked by を) versus the same change happening on its own (intransitive, marked by が). Particle choice and verb choice always have to agree.Start
- Relative Clausesverbs as noun modifiersDrop any verb form (or じゃない / だった / じゃなかった) directly in front of a noun and it becomes a modifying clause — no "who/that/which" word needed. The clause keeps its own particles; only plain だ has to step aside.Start
- Noun-Related Particlesと / や / とか / のJoin nouns together with と (exhaustive "and" or "with someone"), や (open-ended "and"), とか (the casual version of や), and の (possessive, noun-link, and nominalizer). Pick the particle that matches how committed your list is and what the second noun says about the first.Start
- Adverbs and Sentence Endersく / に / ね / よ / よねTurn an い-adjective into an adverb by swapping い for く, and a な-adjective by adding に. A handful of words (たくさん, ぜんぜん, よく) are adverbs on their own. Close a sentence with ね to invite agreement, よ to deliver news, or よね to do both.Start
About these Japanese grammar lessons
These eleven lessons walk an absolute beginner from a first Japanese sentence all the way to relative clauses, covering the core grammar most learners meet at the JLPT N5 level. Everything is taught in plain (casual) form first, because the plain forms are the base that every polite and compound form is built on. Each lesson pairs a short explanation with interactive drills so you practise the pattern instead of just reading about it.
How the lessons are ordered
Work through them from the top down — the sequence is deliberate. You begin with the copula だ to state what something is, add the topic particles は・も・が, then adjectives, before moving into the verb system: how verbs are classified, then the negative and past forms. From there you wire verbs to their objects and destinations with を・に・へ・で, sort out transitive and intransitive pairs, turn verbs into noun-modifying clauses, and finish with noun-joining particles and the sentence-ending nuance of ね・よ・よね. Each lesson reuses the forms from the ones before it.
Before you start
You should be able to read hiragana, since every example is written in real Japanese. If you are still learning the kana, start with the hiragana chart and the stroke-order pages, then come back to grammar once you can sound out the characters.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know hiragana before learning Japanese grammar?
Yes — every lesson writes its examples in real Japanese, so you should be able to read hiragana first. Work through the hiragana chart and stroke-order pages until you can sound out kana, then come back; katakana and a handful of kanji also show up, but hiragana is the one you truly need up front.
What order should I study these grammar lessons in?
Top to bottom. They are sequenced so each lesson reuses what came before: you start with the copula (だ), add particles, then adjectives, then work through the verb system (classes, negative, past), and finish with verb particles, transitivity, relative clauses, and sentence-ending nuance. Skipping ahead means meeting forms that an earlier lesson already explained.
Is this JLPT N5 grammar?
Broadly, yes. These eleven lessons cover the core beginner sentence patterns — the copula, the main particles, adjective and verb conjugation, and plain-form clauses — which line up with the grammar expected at JLPT N5 and the first weeks of most beginner courses.
Do the lessons teach polite (です／ます) or casual Japanese?
They teach the plain (casual) forms first — だ, ない, た, and so on — because plain form is the base that every polite and combined form is built from. Once the plain forms are automatic, the polite endings are a small, regular step on top.
Are these Japanese grammar lessons free?
Yes. Every lesson, along with its interactive drills, is free to use with no account required.
Credit
These lessons follow the structure, sequence, and grammar-first approach of Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese. We are grateful to Tae Kim for making his guide freely available; the explanations here are our own retelling, and the interactive drills are original to this site.