Free online courseLearn Japanese from Scratch: Organic Japanese Grammar and Sentence Structure
Duration of the online course: 20 hours and 14 minutes
New
Free Japanese course that teaches organic grammar and sentence structure, particles, verb forms, and real sentence analysis for natural comprehension.
In this free course, learn about
Core Sentence Structure: Subjects, Topics, and the Basic Frame
Foundations of Conjugation: Tense, Verb Groups, Te-form, and Adjectives
Particles in Action: Location, Direction, Desire, and Quotation
Voice, Agency, and Perspective: Receptive, Causative, Giving/Receiving, and Transitivity
Directional and Aspect Helpers: Demonstratives, Te-aru/Te-oku, and Linking Patterns
Evidentiality, Similarity, and Frequency: Sou, Rashii, Similes, Bakari, You ni
Decisions and Conditionals: Koto, To/Ba/Tara/Nara, and Limiting Expressions
Sentence Analysis Toolkit: Comparison, Tokoro, Kanji Compounds, and Questions
Structural Deepening: Ga vs Wa, Potential, Clauses, and Natural Contractions
Native Material and Irregularities: Reading Practice and Real-World Patterns
Particles and Compounds: No, Multi-Meaning Verbs, and Double Particles
Advanced Structure: Topic/Comment, Wa/Ga Contrast, and Real-Life Endings
Perspective and Hidden Structure: Te-iku/Te-kuru, Dropped Elements, and Time Words
Generalizers and Counters: All-Purpose Words and Counting Structure
Set Phrases and Expression Systems: Ki, Koto, and Japanese vs English Strategies
Lexical Nuance and Structural Reviews: Verb Pairs and Grammar Paradigm Checks
Complete Structure Framework: Word Types, Dropped Particles, and Commands
Copulas, Negation, and Structural Inversion: Advanced Mechanics
Universal Subject and Finishing Topics: Punctuation and Boundary Expressions
Course Description
Learn Japanese from Scratch: Organic Japanese Grammar and Sentence Structure is a free online Japanese course designed to help you understand how the language really works from the ground up. Instead of memorizing isolated rules, you will build a clear mental model of Japanese sentence structure so you can follow real Japanese more confidently and form natural sentences with less guesswork.
You will explore the logic behind core grammar, including how the basic sentence is constructed, how meaning is shaped through particles, and how verb forms connect ideas across time, intention, and nuance. The course breaks down common stumbling blocks such as topic vs subject, natural word order, and the hidden information Japanese often leaves unsaid, helping you read between the lines and avoid the typical textbook traps.
As you progress, you will strengthen your understanding of conjugation patterns, adjectives, negatives, conditionals, and helper verbs, along with practical structures used constantly in everyday Japanese. You will also learn how to analyze sentences systematically, making it easier to untangle complex lines in native materials and recognize the patterns behind expressions that often feel untranslatable.
Whether you are starting from zero or rebuilding your foundation, this course in the Languages category focuses on Japanese grammar and structure in a way that prioritizes clarity, consistency, and real-world comprehension. By the end, you will have a more reliable framework for studying, immersing, and understanding Japanese as it is actually used.
Course content
Video class: Lesson 1: Japanese made easy! What schools never teach. The core Japanese sentence -organic Japanese08m
Exercise: In the core Japanese sentence structure, what role does が (ga) play?
Video class: Lesson 2: Core Secrets. Japanese made easy - unlocking the code. Learn Japanese from scratch08m
Video class: Lesson 3: WA-particle secrets schools don't ever teach. How WA can make or break your Japanese08m
Exercise: What is the key function of the particle は (wa) in a Japanese sentence?
Video class: Lesson 4: Japanese past, present, and future tense. How Japanese verb tenses really work10m
Video class: Lesson 5: Japanese verb groups and the te-form. Verb groups 1, 2, 3 made easy. Organic Japanese09m
Video class: Lesson 6: Japanese Adjectives - the real secret that makes them easy. What schools never teach.08m
Video class: Lesson 7: Secrets of Japanese negative verbs, and Adjective conjugations10m
Exercise: How do you form the negative of most verbs in Japanese (godan/ichidan) according to the stem system described?
Video class: Japanese conjugation made easy! The super-simple key to all conjugations.15m
Video class: Lesson 8: Location, purpose and transformation - keys to the ni particle and he particle10m
Exercise: In the sentence 「お店に たまごを 買いに 行く」, what does the second 「に」 mark?
Video class: Lesson 8b: Japanese particles explained. How they REALLY work.08m
Video class: Lesson 9: How textbooks DESTROY your Japanese: No 1 Secret! Expressing desire: hoshii, tai, tagaru19m
Exercise: In the sentence Watashi-wa koohii-ga suki-da, what role does -ga indicate and what is the core meaning?
Video class: Lesson 10: Japanese conjugation myth busted! Also, potential verb form secret unlocked09m
Video class: Lesson 11: Compound sentences, kureru, ageru, more te-form uses09m
Exercise: In the sentence Oneechan-wa tsumaranai hon-wo yonde ite asonde kurenakatta, what does the te-form yonde ite mainly do?
Video class: Lesson 12: ? quotation particle secret - plus compound verbs, compound nouns - and More Alice!18m
Video class: Lesson 13: Passive Conjugation debunked: NOT passive. NOT a conjugation. IS easy.10m
Exercise: In a receptive (reru/rareru) sentence, which verb is the head (main) verb of the sentence?
Video class: Lesson 14: All About Adverbs: Mo Particle Secret; and more Alice!16m
Video class: Lesson 15: Transitivity- the 3 facts that make it easy. Transitive/intransitive verbs unlocked16m
Exercise: According to the self-move/other-move rules, what does it indicate if one verb in a pair ends in -su (e.g., deru/dasu, makeru/makasu)?
Video class: Lesson 16: Te-miru, try doing, ya-particle, kara-particle, exclusive-and more Alice20m
Video class: Lesson 17: How desu/masu RUINS your Japanese! How to use it correctly. Plus the volitional11m
Exercise: Which statement best describes how 「ます」 (masu) works in formal Japanese?
Video class: Lesson 18: ??tte = ?wa?? Mysteries explained! Toshite, toiu, to suru, ou to suru, tteiu10m
Video class: Lesson 19: Causative causative passive: what they NEVER tell you! It's logical and super easy15m
Exercise: In a causative sentence using the helper verb 「seru/saseru」, what is the most important structural point for understanding how it works?
Video class: Lesson 20: Sore/Sono/Sonna/Sou etc. how directional words REALLY work!11m
Video class: Lesson 21: Te oku/te aru: how to REALLY understand them. What they never teach!14m
Exercise: What does the pattern “V-te aru” mainly indicate?
Video class: Lesson 22: Te-wa, te-mo - topic/comment magic! How ??? and ??? REALLY work12m
Video class: Lesson 23: ??? Datte: what it REALLY means (hint: it's not a word) dakara, sore kara10m
Exercise: What is the core structure of 「だって」 (datte) in this lesson?
Video class: Lesson 24: Hearsay and guesses! ?sou da, ?sou desu - how they REALLY work.09m
Video class: Lesson 25: ??? Rashii made rational!. Rashii vs sou desu. ??? vs ????. ??? ppoi12m
Exercise: Which statement best describes how 「rashii」 differs from 「sou da」 when used to express impressions or “seems”?
Video class: Lesson 26: The crystalline logic of Japanese similes: ????????? ????grammar12m
Video class: Lesson 27: Bakari meanings:: crazy patchwork or logical pattern?12m
Exercise: Which statement best describes what 「ばかり」 (bakari) fundamentally is and means?
Video class: Lesson 28: You ni- one key to all the main uses! It's easy when you know12m
Video class: Lesson 29: Koto ni Suru, Koto ni Naru. The simple logic behind them.05m
Exercise: What is the core structural meaning of 「koto-ni naru」?
Video class: Lesson 30: Japanese conditionals: ?TO. What the textbooks don't tell you.07m
Video class: Lesson 31: The BA conditional. What it really means and how to use it easily.08m
Exercise: What is the key special characteristic of the Japanese conditional -ba/-reba?
Video class: Lesson 32: Conditionals made clear! Tara, nara - how they really work07m
Video class: Lesson 33: Dake, shika, bakari, nomi: making SENSE of Japanese limiting terms.10m
Exercise: What is the core meaning of 「しか」 and why does it appear with 「ない」?
Video class: Lesson 34: Understand any sentence. Powerful analysis technique.19m
Video class: Lesson 35: Yori, no hou, ippou- how they MAKE SENSE!13m
Exercise: What is the key grammar difference between 「より」 (yori) and 「ほう」 (hou)?
Video class: Lesson 36: Tokoro- the Japanese concept of Place - Grammar Magic10m
Video class: Lesson 37: Dominate Japanese Text! New structure secrets na vs no, naru20m
Exercise: When multiple kanji words appear together with no kana between them (e.g., 日本語能力試験), what is typically happening structurally?
Video class: Lesson 38: Know when it isn't means it is: mysteries of ???? janai, ???? de wa nai11m
Video class: Lesson 39: The ? Ka-particle's Secret Life! Buried questions, Kana, Monka, Ka dou ka14m
Exercise: In a sentence like 「Sakura-ga kuru-ka wakaranai」, what is the main grammatical role of 「-ka」?
Video class: 3 PITFALLS in Japanese and how to avoid them ?Japanese Structure Lesson 40?13m
Video class: 5 key facts they never tell you about the basic structure of Japanese. Lesson 4113m
Exercise: Which statement best summarizes how most Japanese words are structurally categorized?
Video class: Why textbook grammar points are so misleading. Basic word-confusion | ?? mama | Lesson 4210m
Video class: Japanese learning PARADIGM SHIFT: Cut through the confusion. Lesson 4317m
Exercise: In a sentence like hon-ga yomeru, what does the particle -ga mark according to this model of Japanese sentence structure?
Video class: How to use natural Japanese: chau, chatta, how they really work ???????? | Lesson 4408m
Video class: Japanese Immersion. First-Step Guide into Self Immersion Technique | Lesson 4521m
Exercise: In Japanese narrative, what common technique is used to turn a simple clause like inu-ga niku-wo kuwaeta into a descriptive clause niku-wo kuwaeta inu?
Video class: Japanese Word Order MATTERS (more than you think) 2 Simple rules crack tough sentences | Lesson 4616m
Video class: How to Understand Japanese: Your Secret Weapon for breaking down sentences | Lesson 4718m
Exercise: In an "A does B" Japanese sentence, what is the main function of nouns marked with -wo, -ni, -de, or -he?
Video class: Dealing with ambiguity in Japanese 3 Laws that Make Everything Clear! Lesson 4820m
Video class: Japanese Point-of-View Deconfused! -???????? morau, te-morau | Lesson 4913m
Exercise: In the “pull-sentence” logic, what does the particle -ni typically mark in a sentence using “morau” with a verb?
Video class: 2 Aspects of Japanese that Foreigners Can't Fathom: ?????? Last Secret of the Potential | Lesson 5012m
Video class: Hands-on Japanese: How to read a Japanese Kaidan (ghost story) | Lesson 5112m
Exercise: In Japanese, why might a story start with sore-wa to mean something like It was…?
Video class: In-DEPTH Japanese Sentence Analysis in Real Native Context | Lesson 5217m
Video class: Enjoy Japanese Horror in Japanese | Lesson 5317m
Exercise: In the clause denki-ga tsuite orazu, what does orazu mean?
Video class: IRREGULARITIES in Japanese and how they work | ??????????????????????????? | Lesson 5414m
Video class: Secrets of the ? particle. Why do we say ??????? and ?????? | Lesson 5515m
Video class: Agility: The Vital Language Factor No One Mentions. Deeper secrets of ? and ? particles| Lesson 5611m
Video class: ?? Komu and the secret of multi-meaning Japanese words | Lesson 5711m
Exercise: What core metaphor best explains the many meanings of the verb helper 「込む」 (komu) in compounds like 「飛び込む」 and 「読み込む」?
Video class: Japanese double particles. How they really work | lesson 58: Particle Combinations13m
Video class: Untranslatable Japanese exists! How to understand it | Lesson 5910m
Exercise: In the sentence hon-ga wakaru, what is the most structure-faithful way to understand it?
Video class: The OTHER HALF of Japanese Structure - non-logical topic/comment structure | Lesson 6009m
Video class: WA and GA: the Deeper Secrets! The yin-yang structure of Japanese | Lesson 6115m
Exercise: What is the main implied difference between 「watashi-wa hon-wo katta」 and 「watashi-ga hon-wo katta」?
Video class: Te-oku vs te-shimau, helper verb secrets. ??? ???? | Lesson 6207m
Video class: WILD sentence enders in real life Japanese ?????,????????????????? | Lesson 6312m
Exercise: In casual Japanese, what is the relationship between 「kai」 and 「ka」 when marking a question at the end of a sentence?
Video class: Things get Strange! Mono and Koto: advanced secrets: ???, ?????, ?? as sentence-ender | Lesson 6415m
Video class: Coming and Going: Deeper secrets of ?? and ??????and ??? (te-iku, te-kuru) | Lesson 6509m
Exercise: Which statement best captures the core distinction between 「いく」(iku) and 「くる」(kuru) in Japanese movement perspective?
Video class: HIDDEN Subjects in Japanese - and how to understand them | Lesson 6612m
Video class: ?? and ?? the time-relations that make sense of them (mou and mada) Lesson 6715m
Exercise: What is the core meaning contrast between 「まだ」(mada) and 「もう」(mou) in terms of time segments?
Video class: Japanese underlying logic: ??????????????????????? | Lesson 6816m
Video class: Japanese in the Wild! Tackling native Japanese material. Kaidan 4 | Lesson 6920m
Exercise: In the sentence 「kanojo-ni mite hoshii mono-ga aru」, what does the particle 「に」 mark?
Video class: ??? / ??? All-purpose Japanese Explained! Means everything = means nothing? Or real logic? Lesson 7014m
Video class: Japanese counters: 3 simple rules make them easy! Lesson 7117m
Exercise: In the sentence structure of 「neko-ga go hiki imasu」, what grammatical type are counters like 「hiki」 treated as?
Video class: Best kept secrets of Japanese structure - The Great Connector (?-stem magic) | Lesson 7217m
Video class: Secrets of ? Ki - ki ni naru, ki ni suru, ki ga suru, ki ni iru etc. ??????????????????? | Lesson 7315m
Exercise: Which sentence best matches the structural difference between 「ki-ni naru」 and 「ki-ni suru」?
Video class: LOVE and other mysteries of KOTO! ??????????????????????????????????????????? | Lesson 7411m
Video class: Japanese is NOT English: How expression strategies differ | polite Eihongo=rude Japanese | Lesson 7515m
Exercise: Which strategy is described as the usual way Japanese expresses what English often encodes with simple pronouns like it, I, or you?
Video class: The Right Opening? aku, akeru, hiraku, hirakeru | ???????????????? ????? | Lesson 7612m
Video class: Real Japanese Structure vs Tae Kim - Structural Review of Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar | Lesson 7716m
Exercise: What is the function of the particle -ga in Japanese sentence structure?
Video class: Breaking the Core: Tae Kim vs the Copula | Japanese Structure-Based Critical Review | Lesson 7819m
Video class: 1/3 of all Japanese sentences cracked! Deeper secret of the copula. The Tae Kim fallacy | Lesson 7914m
Exercise: In Japanese grammar, what is the core function of the copula (だ / です) as described here?
Video class: Understand Japanese Even When they Leave Bits Out! Dropped particles13m
Video class: At last! The TOTAL structure of Japanese! Global principle of all Japanese word-forms. Lesson 8109m
Exercise: Which set correctly describes the two main word types and how they behave in Japanese sentence structure?
Video class: ??? Nante ??? Nanka ?? Nado: 3 Common words clarified. Lesson 8214m
Video class: Three Levels of Command in Japanese: ?-form commands, ???, ?-commands, imperative form. Lesson 8311m
Exercise: How can you reliably tell the difference between the two command uses of 「な」 in Japanese?
Video class: De-aru and the Structure of Japanese. What older copulas tell us: ???, ????????????????? | Lesson 8415m
Video class: ?? the negative helper that never gets explained properly | Lesson 8510m
Exercise: Which meaning is described as the most common use of the helper 「〜まい」?
Video class: ?? (shidai) - What it really means and how it really works. Lesson 8611m
Video class: Japanese Structure INVERTED: the strange life of ??. How it really works. Lesson 8708m
Exercise: In a sentence like Sakura shika inai, what is the key structural effect of the particle shika?
Video class: The Indestructible Core of Japanese. How the logic never fails. X???? vs X???? | Lesson 8812m
Video class: De-mystifying Japanese. Let the world's most logical language shine! The Universal Subject Lesson 8909m
Exercise: What is the key reason Japanese sentences are analyzed as having a (sometimes invisible) subject?
Video class: Japanese Punctuation: How it REALLY works. Lesson 9010m
Video class: Outer Limits! ?? Kagiru ?? Kagiri - Its many meanings and how they work ?????????????? and more09m
Exercise: What is the core grammatical difference between 「kagiru」 and 「kagiri」?
