Guides
Japanese Learning Guides
Six long-form guides that cover everything Inku teaches, end to end. Written from the founder's own path through the language.
These are the pillars. Each one stands alone, and together they map a path from zero Japanese to comfortable N5 reading and listening. They are long because Japanese deserves the room.
Learn Hiragana: Inku's Complete Guide
28 min readLearn all 46 hiragana in three days with this complete illustrated guide. Audio, mnemonics, stroke order, and a printable worksheet.
HiraganaKanaBeginnersLearn Katakana: A Practical Guide for Adults
22 min readThe complete katakana guide. 46 characters, side-by-side with hiragana, pronunciation audio, and the loanword patterns that make katakana click.
KatakanaKanaBeginnersJLPT N5 Vocabulary: The Definitive List
35 min readThe 600 most useful N5 words, organized by category, with audio and downloadable flashcards. The exact list Inku's N5 deck is built on.
JLPTN5VocabularyHow to Learn Japanese: An Honest Roadmap
32 min readIf I had to learn Japanese from scratch again, this is exactly what I would do. Six phases, real time estimates, specific tools.
LearningStrategyRoadmapSpaced Repetition, Explained Without the Hype
18 min readThe memory science behind Anki, WaniKani, and Inku. Why spaced repetition works, where it breaks, and how to use it without wasting your time.
MemorySRSLearningJapanese Particles: The Masterclass
26 min readA complete, example-dense guide to every core Japanese particle: は, が, を, に, で, へ, と, から, まで, の, も, や.
GrammarParticles