A Guide to Japanese - 10 facts, 20 key phrases and the alphabet
Japanese language facts
10 revealing facts about Japanese. Get your head around tongue twisters and jokes.
It's also available in Japanese with audio.
Japanese words and phrases
Get started with 20 audio phrases and learn how to say a range of useful phrases from 'Hello' to 'Pleased to meet you'.
Japanese alphabet
Why Japanese has three different alphabets and how they are combined.
Japanese challenge
Try your hand at this quiz and see if you can avoid social embarrassment.
BBC Languages links
Quick Fix: Essential phrases in 40 languages
Your Say: Language and identity
Learning tips: How to learn a language




