Good bye Kanji!

You were too difficult!

Katakana is a simpler system, easy to write, and most English words are already written with it. It’s the perfect system for simplifying Japanese for Japanese learners and the world. Right?
Japanese would much easier to read, right?

You would think so, but…

In this lesson, we’re not going to look at so much Japanese grammar, as much as we’re going to discuss the place of katakana in the Japanese and show you why, a katakana-only world would be a very scary pace.

Premium Members 
Bonus | Play | Popup
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Video Vocab | Watch
Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 

Learn Japanese at JapanesePod101.com! Golden Week has again come upon us and Tokyo is a ghost town! We have a slightly modified schedule for this week, so we wanted to get the message out. Also, we want to remind everyone about the Chiba Lotte Marines game on Thursday - come on down and watch the game with us! And, of course, you can save 33% on any Basic or Premium subscription! After listening, stop by JapanesePod101.com and be sure to leave us a post!

Premium Members 
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 
Audio | Play | Popup
Golden Week Promo!

Learn Real Japanese at JapanesePod101.com! Kumi and Kenji are driving back to Tokyo after spending Golden Week out of town. Problem is, they’re not the only ones. Now they’re stuck in 4 km traffic jam, part of the yearly U-Turn Rush. We’ll focus on some formal language used on television and radio, traffic terms and a rather easy grammar point, -tto. After listening, stop by JapanesePod101.com and be sure to leave us a post!

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Grammar | Play | Popup
Video Vocab | Watch
Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji-Close up
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 

Learn Japanese the Fun Way at JapanesePod101.com! The New Year holiday continues here in Japan. In today’s dialog, Kōji and Mariko are racing to get to Mt. Fuji in time for hatsu-hinode, the first sunrise of the year. We’ll talk a little bit about this unique Japanese tradition and the more recent tradition of police blockades to stop rowdy motorcycles gangs from ruining it for everyone else. After listening, stop by JapanesePod101.com and be sure to leave us a post!

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 

Learn Japanese at JapanesePod101.com! Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year! Today’s conversation is between 6 people: ojiichan (grandpa), obaachan (grandma), okaasan (mother) and 2 musuko (sons). The whole family is gathered at the grandparents’ house in the country to celebrate the new year together. We’ll talk about some traditional food and drink and enjoy Japanese New Year. After listening, stop by JapanesePod101.com and be sure to leave us a post!

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content