The first and most important step when embarking on the studying Japanese journey is ensuring you master pronunciation.  It is imperative that you take the time to learn the sounds before learning Japanese words and phrases to ensure that you learn to pronounce the words correctly.  It is much better to take the time and learn the correct way the first time than having to unlearn incorrect pronunciation habits.

The Japanese vowels are very different to the way we pronounce them in English.  First step is to practise how to pronounce “a, i. u, e, o” until you have mastered it, because the vowels are a part of all of the sound combinations (except for ‘n’).

All of the Japres products include authentic Japanese pronunciation files to assist you in learning Japanese correctly.

For those studying Japanese through the Australian Curriculum, the next step is to learn the Japanese characters within the Hiragana script and then the Katakana script.  Japres offers Hiragana flashcards and Katakana flashcards (with authentic Japanese pronunciation files) to make learning these characters easier and quicker. You can also find out more tips, advice and useful information in the ‘tips and useful information’ blog.

We wish you all the best in your Japanese language journey <3