The JFT-Basic exists to answer one question: can you handle daily life in Japan? That is why its questions are set in clinics, stations, shops and workplaces rather than in textbooks. These guides teach Japanese the same way — one real situation at a time, each with the vocabulary that actually appears there, the phrases that do the work, a realistic dialogue to read aloud, the signs on the walls, and a short quiz.
Each guide stands alone, so start with the situation nearest to your life: job-seekers usually begin with the workplace, new arrivals with the city hall, and everyone eventually meets the train station.
Japanese at the Hospital and Clinic
Explaining symptoms, understanding the reception desk, and reading the signs — the Japanese you need when you are unwell in Japan.
Japanese at the City Hall (市役所)
Residence registration, the forms, the numbered tickets — surviving Japanese bureaucracy politely.
Japanese at the Workplace
Greetings that structure the working day, asking for help, reporting problems — the Japanese of a good colleague.
Japanese at the Train Station
Tickets, platforms, transfers and the announcements everyone mishears — train Japanese from the gate to the platform.
Japanese for Shopping and the Konbini
From いらっしゃいませ to the point-card question — everything the cashier will actually say to you.
Japanese for Emergencies
110, 119, earthquakes and the vocabulary you hope to never need — learn it once, properly.
How to study a situation
- Read the dialogue aloud first — it shows you the whole scene before the vocabulary makes sense in isolation.
- Learn phrases as blocks. 保険証をお願いします does not need grammatical analysis at the counter; it needs to come out of your mouth in one piece.
- Drill the signs separately. Signs are reading, not conversation — five minutes of looking at 非常口 and 立入禁止 pays off for years.
- Then test the grammar with the linked lessons from the N5 grammar course and the JFT mock tests.
Written by Rahul Kumar Singh. Published 17 July 2026. All content original.