Japanese · 日本語

Japanese words with their reading, their forms, and a sentence to say them in, not just kanji on a card

For beginners who already read kana, and anyone coming back to Japanese. Every card has audio, the kana reading, a full polite example sentence, and the verb or adjective forms under the word.

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  • 300 ready cards for your level and goals – nothing to build
  • Reverse cards: from your language to Japanese
  • 走ります, 走って (五段): the forms under every verb and adjective
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Try it: tap the card to flip it, tap the speaker to hear the word.

Translation

Preparing your card Finding a useful word for this language pair.

A real card from My Lingua Cards – tap it, hear it, remember it.

Why Japanese feels hard

Japanese is three scripts, two verb groups, and a politeness level in every sentence – and all of it sticks when it comes with the word.

Here is what trips learners up and what the cards do about each.

Kanji and their readings

開始 is かいし, 走る is はしる, and nothing on the kanji tells you. Next to every word the card shows the reading in kana, and the memory cue names the kanji parts you already know: 開 as in 開ける, 始 as in 始める.

Two verb groups

食べる becomes 食べます, but 帰る becomes 帰ります, and both end in る. Under every verb you see its group and the two forms you will say first: 走ります, 走って (五段); 食べます, 食べて (一段).

い and な adjectives

ひどい changes itself – ひどくて, ひどかった – while 静か takes な or に. The card shows the forms under the adjective, so you learn which kind it is together with the word.

Polite and plain

Anime speaks in plain forms, textbooks and strangers in です・ます. Every example on a card is a full polite sentence, the register you need first; the plain forms are in the word’s full description.

Particles

は, が, を, に, で: a word is only usable once you know which particle it takes. Every example is a full sentence, so you keep meeting the word with its particle – 蓋をする, 公園で走る – instead of learning them apart.

Katakana words that changed on the way

マンション is an apartment, コンセント is a power socket, バイキング is a buffet. A loanword gets its source in the memory cue, and a false friend gets a warning, so English does not mislead you.

Where it pays off

Where you will need your Japanese words

The cards are the same, but different words come first depending on what you need Japanese for.

Anime, games, and J-pop

Following a series or a song without subtitles starts with the everyday words that come up again and again – and with hearing them, which is why every card plays the word and the sentence.

Travel in Japan

Ordering, asking the way, buying a ticket at the machine, checking into a ryokan: words you need to recognize by ear and say back politely without thinking.

JLPT

The vocabulary is organized by level from N5 to N1, so you work through it in order and see which level a word belongs to on every card.

Work and life in Japan

区役所, 在留カード, 印鑑, ゴミ出し, a meeting with colleagues: life in Japan begins with paperwork and routines, and they have their own words.

Getting started

From sign-up to your first card in a couple of minutes

No word lists to hunt for, no cards to make, no review schedule to plan – the app takes care of all that.

1

Answer a couple of questions

Tell us your language, your level, what you're learning for, and the topics you care about. It takes under a minute.

Done for you 2

You get 300 ready cards

From your answers the app picks words for your level and goals and groups them into sets, one for each topic you chose.

3

Straight to the words

After setup you land on a card, not on an empty dashboard. Your first session has as many words as you chose per day: 10, 20, or 30.

4

The next day

Your dashboard has one main button. It opens a session where new words come together with the ones that are due for review, so you never have to decide what to study today.

Behind the calm pace is spaced repetition: each review lands just as the memory starts to fade, so words settle into your active vocabulary.

Get my first 300 words 300 ready cards free · no credit card
Questions, answered

Quick answers before you start.

Yes, hiragana and katakana come first; they take a week or two with any kana app or chart. Here the kanji words carry their reading in kana, so once you read kana you can read every card.

For a verb, its group and the two forms you will say first: 走ります, 走って (五段). For an い adjective, ひどくて, ひどかった; for a な adjective, 静かな, 静かに. For a noun that takes する, the verb: 開始する. Next to every word stands its reading in kana.

Yes. You choose your level at the start, and the first 300 Japanese flashcards are picked for it. Each card gives you the sound, the reading, and a full example sentence, so you are not left guessing how a new word behaves.

It helps with what speaking depends on: having the word ready, in the right form and with its particle, when you need it. Reverse cards make you recall the Japanese word from its translation, and short exercises make you use it in a sentence, by voice or typing.

With kanji inside words, yes: you learn 開始 with its reading and a sentence, and the memory cue points to the kanji you already know. It does not teach stroke order or drill characters on their own.

No. It is a vocabulary trainer: ready cards, spaced repetition, reverse cards, and short exercises. It works well next to a class, a tutor, or a textbook, because it takes care of the words.

Yes. The first month is free: your first 300 ready Japanese vocabulary cards, no credit card. After that nothing is charged unless you choose a plan, and your words and progress stay saved.

Unlike Anki, there is nothing to set up: no building decks or importing shared files – ready-made Japanese cards come with audio, images, and example sentences. And unlike gamified apps, there are no streaks or lives to protect: just a calm daily review queue powered by spaced repetition.

Start Japanese the way you will say it: 走ります, not just 走る

The first month is free: 300 ready Japanese vocabulary cards with audio, the kana reading, the forms under every verb and adjective, and full polite example sentences. No credit card required.

Get my first 300 words
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