Genki Flow — Learn Japanese in 5 Minutes

Seven episodes of real-life Japanese — and today the arc closes with the most human skill of all: asking for help. You will learn お願いします (the all-purpose please), the polite request form てもらえますか (could you~?), すみません as a request opener, and the direct call for help 助けてください. With a full politeness spectrum — from the blunt to the beautifully polite.

Walk into a real Japanese scene — a Saturday café meet-up with a friend — and pick up five words that let you describe where things are and who you're with. 友達と (with a friend), 近く (near), 隣 (next to), 前 (in front of), and 一緒に (together). All sit before the verb, marked by に. One predictable structure that covers every spatial situation you'll need.

Four adverbs that color your verbs with frequency — いつも (always), よく (often), たまに (sometimes), ぜんぜん (not at all). Each anchored to a vivid scene so the abstract word becomes concrete and memorable. Learn where they sit in a sentence, and why ぜんぜん requires a negative verb every time.

Japanese has a counter for almost everything — long thin things, flat things, people, small animals. But before all that, there is a universal native counter that works for almost any object: 一つ, 二つ, 三つ, 四つ, 五つ. Learn the counter chant, use it in real sentences, and get a first look at how to ask and say what time something happens.

Four grammar points. Eight drills. This review closes the Expressions & Sequencing arc — too much with すぎる, sensations with がする, time sequencing with のあとで, and connecting with と. Walk back through all four and make sure they land cleanly in your mouth.

The particle と does three jobs. It lists things as equals — rice and fish, bread and coffee. It marks the person you do something beside — I talk with friends, I go shopping with my mother. And in its third form, it shows what happens naturally as a consequence — when spring comes, cherry blossoms bloom. One particle, one core idea: beside.

Time sequencing in Japanese. のあとで lets you string events together — after this, then that. The kanji 後 means 'behind' or 'back,' which makes it a spatial metaphor for time: you are standing behind the first event, in the position where the second one happens. This episode covers the noun pattern, the verb variant, a contrast with から, and closes with a milestone moment for the fiftieth episode.

English says 'I smell something.' Japanese says 'a smell is doing its thing.' The little phrase がする flips the subject — the sensation itself takes center stage, and you become the observer. This episode is a sensory tour: sounds, smells, dizziness, and strange tastes — all expressed through this elegant pattern.

One suffix. Infinite complaints — and compliments. Attach すぎる to an adjective stem or verb stem and suddenly 'too sweet,' 'too bitter,' 'ate too much,' 'drank too much' are all in reach. This is one of the most satisfying patterns in Japanese.

Four grammar points. Eight drills. This review closes the Te-form Extensions arc — permission, the 'not doing / coming' patterns, going somewhere to do something, and purpose. Walk back through every room of the te-form house.

You already know how to go somewhere to do something. Today you learn how to say WHY. The word ために — for the purpose of — gives you the grammar of goals. Use it with a noun or a verb and you can explain the reason behind any action.

Combine going somewhere with doing something when you get there. The pattern activity-noun plus に plus 行く says exactly what you're headed out to do — and it maps beautifully onto English 'go for a walk' or 'go shopping'.

Two te-form extensions in one episode. ていない flips the progressive into 'not doing' — and てくる adds direction and change to any verb. Plus: the phrase every Japanese household says at the door every morning.

The te-form gets another job today — asking for permission. Add もいい after the te-form of any verb and you're asking 'is it okay if I do this?' A wonderfully indirect, very Japanese way to request.

Six grammar points. Six drills. From 'can you do it' through 'let's do it together' all the way to what you're doing right now — this review closes the Te-form Unlock Arc.

The te-form has a second job — and it's one you'll use constantly. Add いる after the te-form of any verb and you're describing something happening right now. But ている can also describe a state that's just sitting there, quietly ongoing. This episode introduces both uses, gives you the progressive, and asks you to recognize the rest.

The te-form you learned last episode has its first job today: making polite requests. Te-form plus ください means 'please do this' — and ください itself is literally 'give me.' A very Japanese way of asking.

The te-form is the biggest grammatical unlock in N5. It's not a tense and it's not about politeness — it's a connector. Dress up a verb in the te-form, and suddenly you can place it side by side with another action.

Tone particles at the end of a sentence don't change its meaning — they change its feeling. ね invites agreement. でしょう softens a statement into a prediction.

ましょう turns any ます-form verb into an invitation. One small swap, and you go from doing something alone to doing it together.

できます means can, or to be able to. Attach it to a noun with the particle が and you can describe any ability in Japanese.

The most versatile verb in Japanese. する means 'to do' — and the real magic is that it turns nouns into verbs.

Build your own self-introduction in Japanese using 好き, 上手/苦手, ほしい, and ～たい. Your first real personal expression.

Express what you want to do in Japanese. Built from the verb ます stem and conjugates like an い-adjective.

Express what you want in Japanese. ほしい is an い-adjective, which means you already know how to conjugate it.

Express what you're good and bad at in Japanese. Same が pattern as 好き, with a cultural twist about humility.

Express what you like in Japanese. The pattern is simple, but there's a surprising twist about which particle to use.

Put all adjective forms together — い-adjectives, いい/わるい irregular, な-adjectives, and becoming. A full apartment walkthrough.

Learn to describe change — things getting hotter, neighborhoods becoming lively, wanting to become a teacher.

Learn な-adjectives — a whole new category of describing words that work differently from い-adjectives.

Master the irregular adjective いい (good) and its regular counterpart わるい (bad).

Learn to describe things with い-adjectives — present, negative, past, and past negative forms.

Walk through an apartment using あります, います, ありません, いません, and じゃない — everything from the last three episodes.

Learn to say what doesn't exist and what things are not. ありません, いません, じゃないです.

Learn います — to say that people and animals exist. The living counterpart to あります.

Learn あります — to say that non-living things exist. Describe what's in your room, on your desk, in your bag.

Drill all your verb and copula forms until they're automatic: ます, ません, ました, ませんでした, です, でした.

Learn でした — the past tense of です. Describe what things were, not just what they are.

Learn to talk about the past with ました — the polite past tense verb ending.

Learn to say what you don't do with ません — the polite negative verb ending.

Your first action verbs in Japanese. Learn the polite ます ending and start doing things, not just describing them.

Test your knowledge of all 8 particles in a challenge format: は, が, の, に, を, で, から, まで.

Learn から〜まで (from...to...) and まで (until/up to) — particles for expressing ranges, distances, and limits.

Learn で — the particle that marks where actions happen and the means by which you do things.

Learn を — the particle that marks what you eat, drink, read, listen to, and act upon.

Learn に — the particle that marks where things are and when things happen.

Review everything from units 1-5: greetings, です, questions, は/が, の, and この/その/あの.

Learn この (this), その (that near you), and あの (that over there) — demonstratives that point to specific things.

Learn の — the particle that connects nouns and shows possession. From 'my family' to 'today's homework', の is everywhere in Japanese.

Meet が — the particle that marks the subject. Learn when to use が vs は and why it matters.