Every sentence you built in the first two weeks had は in it — now here’s what it actually does. English shows what a sentence is about purely by position: whatever sits before the verb is the subject, end of story. Japanese instead tags it with a marker, は, so the role is labelled, not just placed. は marks the topic — what you’re talking about — and is read “wa” here, not “ha.” Think “as for ___”: 私は… = “as for me…”. (Later you’ll meet が, which spotlights the doer; for now, は = the thing the sentence is about.)
Today's words
僕
I; me
暮れる
to get dark; to grow dark
聞く
to hear
知る
to know; to be aware (of)
大丈夫
safe; secure
自分
myself; yourself
Write today's kanji — tap to replay
僕
暮
聞
知
大
丈
夫
自
See it in real sentences
私は田中です。
I am Tanaka. · seed
これは本です。
This is a book. · seed
山田さんは先生です。
Mr. Yamada is a teacher. · seed
今日は月曜日です。
Today is Monday. · seed
Practice
Spaced review — recall from earlier days (tap to flip)
to sound
鳴る
1d ago
so
だから
1d ago
to say
言う
3d ago
Recall
Which word means “to hear”?
Which word means “I”?
Which word means “to know”?
Which word means “to get dark”?
Listen and choose
What did you hear?
What did you hear?
What did you hear?
Your turn — say it, then check
Say: “I am Tanaka.”
私は田中です。
Say: “This is a book.”
これは本です。
👀 Today’s input · ~10 min — where fluency actually comes from
Read your first real books
You can read kana now — so read. Open a Level 0 Tadoku graded reader: picture books made for absolute beginners, almost all kana. Sound each page out loud and don’t stop to look up every word; getting the gist is the goal.