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Free Online Japanese Classes

By Jamie Littlefield, About.com

Take a look at the following free online Japanese classes to study the basics of Japanese vocabulary, grammar, and conversation. Although this language can be difficult for native English speakers, free online Japanese classes can help you understand the essentials.

About Japanese

The About.com guide to Japanese provides an entire website of language learning material. The Introductory Japanese class includes 14 lessons on subjects such as pronunciation, sentence structure, and daily expressions. The writing section offers a succinct overview of kanji, hiragana and katakana scripts.

Free Japanese Lessons

Take a look at this simple site to learn the basics of Japanese in nine quick, written lessons.

Japan Studies

This site offers dozens of free online Japanese lessons on language basics, conversation, and grammar. Their introductory class includes eight complete lessons on the essentials of the language.

The Japanese Page

This site offers the largest collection of Japanese learning material online. For a quick start, try their 15-minute Japanese beginning lesson. For more in-depth learning, take a look at the hundreds of lessons on grammar, vocabulary, and culture. You can even download audio podcast lessons or join a virtual study group.

BBC Japanese

This BBC site includes an overview of Japanese alphabets and an audio lesson on essential Japanese phrases.

Japanese Phrases for Travelers

Use this site to master common Japanese phrases. Each quick lesson includes Japanese characters, an English translation, and an audio file demonstrating proper pronunciation.

Japanese Online

If you prefer conversational learning, take a look at the free online Japanese classes from this site. Their beginning lessons include written dialog, vocabulary, and grammar lessons, each with accompanying audio files.

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