Japanese that actually clicks.

Kotsu turns kana, radicals, kanji, and useful words into one serious little study system, built for quick sessions before Japan and the long game after.

Start here Sound Seeds 0/46 learned
Course 0/273
Map 0/12
Awards 0
Awards

Make category clears feel earned.

0 unlocked

No awards yet — finish a category and Kotsu should hand you one.

The first clear is the point: progress should feel ceremonial, not invisible.

Chasing next

Hiragana Bloom

ひらがな開花

0 / 105

Cleared every hiragana shape, branch, and double so the base sound map is yours.

Katakana Circuit

カタカナ回路

0 / 105

Finished the borrowed-sound set and locked in the sharp mirror script.

Radical Forge

部首鍛錬

0 / 42

Mastered the building blocks that make later kanji feel less mysterious.

Course Tree

A trunk for required order, branches for the nearby ideas that still belong to mastery.

1 Sound Seeds あいうえお Beginner Build the first sound map with simple, repeatable kana shapes. Ready 2 Sound Branches 濁音 Beginner Add marks and small kana so one shape can open into nearby sounds. Ready 3 Borrowed Sound Map カタカナ Beginner Map familiar sounds onto sharper katakana forms. Ready 4 Borrowed Sound Branches ダクオン Beginner Finish the sound system with marked katakana and compact blends. Ready 5 Nature Radicals 自然 Radicals Learn the picture-words children meet early: water, fire, tree, sun, moon, mountain, river, rain. Ready 6 People And Body からだ Radicals Study the radicals that show bodies, hands, mouths, eyes, hearts, strength, and family. Ready 7 Things That Act 道具 Radicals Add radicals for field, thread, speech, food, vehicle, and gate. Ready 8 Counting Kanji 一二三 Kanji Move from simple strokes into the first number kanji. Ready 9 Nature Becomes Kanji 日月火 Kanji Turn familiar radicals into full kanji with readings attached. Ready 10 Body, Size, Place 人大小 Kanji Learn kanji that describe people, scale, direction, and time. Ready 11 First Words はじめて Words Read the kinds of words a child hears early, using kana you already know. ママパパはいワンワンニャーニャーおいしいいたいすき Ready 12 Social Words あいさつ Words Finish the first course loop with greetings and polite everyday phrases. こんにちはありがとうごめんなさいさようならおはよう Ready
Radical Recipes

Pieces become meaning.

+ = bright

sun plus moon

Open
+ = woods

tree beside tree

Open
+ + = forest

three trees become forest

Open
+ = rest

person leaning against a tree

Open
+ = flame

fire stacked on fire

Open
+ = boulder

stone at the foot of a mountain

Open
+ = good

woman and child together = good, beloved

Open
+ = man

strength working the field

Open
+ = interval

light through the gap in a gate

Open
+ = hear

ear pressed to a gate

Open
+ = peaceful

woman sheltered under a roof

Open
+ = character

child learning under a roof

Open
+ = autumn

grain dried by fire — harvest season

Open
+ = old

ten generations of mouths = ancient

Open
+ = watch over

hand shading the eye to look far

Open
+ = think

heart below the old symbol for the brain (looks like 田)

Open
+ = trust

a person's word is their bond

Open
+ = mutual

eye looking into a tree — observing each other

Open
+ = hermit

person who lives on a mountain

Open
+ = burn

woods set on fire

Open
+ = east

sun rising through a tree — the eastern sky

Open
Study Loop
1 shape
2 name
3 combine
4 read
Hiragana ひらがな

Structured kana rows with voiced sounds, contractions, and doubles grouped into one clear path.

Items 105
Basic · 46Voiced · 20P-sounds · 5Contracted · 33Double · 1
soundsrowsstarter
Katakana カタカナ

A mirror course for borrowed sounds so learners can compare shape, sound, and usage side by side.

Items 105
Basic · 46Voiced · 20P-sounds · 5Contracted · 33Double · 1
mirror setloanwordscontrast
Radicals 部首

Semantic building blocks taught as reusable parts, not isolated trivia.

Items 42
Core · 42
meaning piecesrecipesfamilies
Kanji 漢字

Starter kanji ordered to feel reachable, with readings and meaning attached early.

Items 41
N5 · 41
N5readingscore set
Vocabulary 語彙

Short everyday words and greetings that make the symbols feel immediately useful.

Items 15
Common · 15
daily wordschunksrecall
準備

5-minute warm-up

Run one sound unit, then one matching katakana branch while the contrast is still fresh.

start sprint
組み立て

Radical recipe loop

Spot a radical, recall the meaning, then jump into the kanji it unlocks.

start sprint
ことば

Read a real word

Finish a short session by reading one usable word chunk without spelling it out.

start sprint