What you’ll be able to do
The aim is to help you speak Japanese and understand what people say to you, starting from nothing.
Introduce yourself
Greet people, say who you are and where you’re from.
Talk about family and work
Introduce your family, talk about jobs and count in Japanese.
Eat and drink
Order drinks in a café and a meal in a restaurant, with the food vocabulary to go with it.
Get around
Tell the time, talk about dates, go shopping and use public transport.
Inside every lesson
All 20 lessons follow the same shape, so you always know what to do next.
What’s included
Pay once and it’s yours for life.
- 20 lessons Each in video and audio.
- 20 review episodes Audio and notes after every lesson.
- Downloadable lesson notes For every lesson.
- Quizzes To check your progress.
- The Coffee Break Academy app Study on your phone.
- Lifetime access One payment, no subscription.
Video
The video lesson
Chie and Mark work through the lesson together.
Audio
The audio lesson
Listen to the same lesson as audio, and download the lesson notes.
Review
Review audio
After every lesson there’s a review episode, with its own notes.
Quiz
Quizzes
Check your understanding as you go.
The 20 lessons
There’s a review at the end of each block of ten lessons.
Part 1 · Lessons 1 to 10
Meeting people
Greet people, introduce yourself, say where you’re from, talk about your family and your job, count, and ask where places are in town.
- 1Greetings: Konnichiwa! こんにちは！
- 2Introducing yourself: Hajimemashite はじめまして
- 3Nationalities: Watashi wa Nihon-jin desu. 私は、日本人です。
- 4Family members: Kochira wa watashi no kazoku desu. マークさん、こちらは、私の家族です。
- 5Talking about your family: Kochira wa dare desu ka? こちら は、誰ですか？
- 6Jobs and numbers: Shigoto wa, nan desu ka? 仕事は、何ですか？
- 7More on numbers and family: Ichi, ni, san 一二三
- 8Places in town: Eki wa doko desu ka? 駅は、どこですか？
- 9Talking about language: Nihon-go o hanashimasu 日本語を 話します
- 10End-of-unit review: Kochirakoso こちらこそ
Part 2 · Lessons 11 to 20
Eating out and getting around
Order in cafés and restaurants, learn food vocabulary, tell the time, talk about dates, go shopping and use public transport.
- 11Ordering drinks in a café: Kōhī o hitotsu kudasai. コーヒーを一つください。
- 12Ordering a meal in a restaurant: Tēburu ga arimasu ka? テーブルが、ありますか？
- 13Japanese food vocabulary: Watashi wa sushi o tabemasu. 私は、寿司を食べます。
- 14Telling the time: Nan-ji desu ka? 何時ですか？
- 15More about time: Hiru-gohan wa nan-ji desu ka? 昼ご飯は、何時ですか？
- 16Talking about dates: Kyō wa nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka? 今日は何月何日ですか？
- 17Shopping vocabulary: Kore wa ikura desu ka? これは、いくらですか？
- 18Public transport: Kono shinkansen wa Kyōto ni ikimasu ka? この新幹線は京都に行きますか？
- 19Getting around town: Michi ni mayoimashita. 道に迷いました。
- 20End-of-unit review: Tanjōbi omedetō! 誕生日おめでとう！
Questions
Do I need to read Japanese script?
No. The lessons use romaji, Japanese written in the Latin alphabet, so you can concentrate on speaking and listening. The lesson notes also give the key words and phrases in kanji and kana.
Do I need any Japanese to start?
No. Level 1 is for absolute beginners and starts from your very first words.
Can I download the materials?
Yes, you can download the lesson notes, and you can also study on the Coffee Break Academy app.
How long do I have access?
For life. Pay once and study at your own pace.
Can I try it before I buy?
Yes. Start with First Steps, our short free course, and you’ll see how the lessons work before you buy.
Not ready to buy? Start free
Try a few lessons in First Steps, our short free course, then carry on into Level 1 when you’re ready.
Coffee Break Japanese · Level 1
Start speaking Japanese
Every lesson comes with video, audio, notes and its own review episode, so you can work through them at your own pace.
$134One payment, yours for life
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