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Free language learning resources
Writing-system charts, grammar guides, word lists and short stories, taken straight from the Open Lingo courses. Everything here is free to read, with audio from the app wherever a recording exists.
Japanese
Start with the two kana scripts, then the particles and verb forms every beginner sentence is built from.
Writing system
Grammar guides
- は vs がWhen to use は (wa) and when to use が (ga) in Japanese, with example sentences from the Open Lingo course and the mistakes beginners make most.
- The particle をHow the Japanese particle を (o) marks the thing a verb acts on, why it is written wo but said o, and how it fits Japanese word order.
- に vs でThe difference between the Japanese particles に (ni) and で (de) for places, plus に for clock times, explained with course examples.
- The て-formHow to build the Japanese te-form for every verb group, including the irregular verbs, and how it is used for requests, ongoing actions and linking actions.
- Polite vs plain JapaneseWhen to speak polite Japanese (ます, です) and when to use the plain form, how each is built, and why the quoted clause always stays plain.
- これ, それ, あれThe Japanese ko-so-a-do system explained: これ/それ/あれ/どれ, この/その/あの/どの and ここ/そこ/あそこ/どこ, with course examples.
- ある vs いるHow to say there is or I have in Japanese with ある (things) and いる (people and animals), and their negatives ない and いない.
Vocabulary lists
- Greetings and polite phrasesEssential Japanese greetings and polite phrases for beginners, with hiragana, romaji, meaning and audio, taken from the Open Lingo course.
- NumbersJapanese numbers for beginners: Sino-Japanese いち, に, さん, the native ひとつ, ふたつ counting set, and hundreds, thousands and 万, with audio.
- Food and drink vocabularyBeginner Japanese words for food, drinks and meals, from ごはん and すし to のむ and おいしい, with kanji, romaji and audio.
- Family wordsJapanese family vocabulary: the humble words for your own family (ちち, はは, あに) and the polite words for someone else's, plus counting people.
Reading
Korean
Hangul takes an afternoon to learn. After that, the particles and the polite 요 form get you speaking.
Writing system
Grammar guides
- 은/는 vs 이/가When to use 은/는 and when to use 이/가 in Korean, how to pick the right form after a consonant or vowel, with course examples and practice questions.
- The object particle 을/를 and Korean word orderHow the Korean object particle 을/를 works, how Korean word order puts the verb last, and why 좋아하다 takes 을/를.
- 에 vs 에서The difference between the Korean particles 에 and 에서, plus 에 for times and days, with course examples and practice questions.
- 하고, 와/과 and 도How to say and, with and too in Korean using 하고, 와/과 and 도, including why 도 replaces other particles.
- The polite present tenseHow to conjugate Korean verbs and adjectives into the polite 요 form: 아요 vs 어요, 하다 → 해요, the ㅡ drop and vowel contractions.
- 안 vs 못How to make Korean verbs negative with 안 (don't) and 못 (can't), where they go in 하다 verbs, and how negation works in the past tense.
Vocabulary lists
- Greetings and polite phrasesEssential Korean greetings and polite phrases for beginners: 안녕하세요, 감사합니다, the two goodbyes and more, with romanization and audio.
- NumbersThe two Korean number systems for beginners: Sino-Korean 일, 이, 삼 and native 하나, 둘, 셋, when to use each, plus counters, with audio.
- Food and drink vocabularyBeginner Korean words for food and drink, from 밥 and 김치 to 먹어요 and 맛있어요, with romanization and audio.
- Family wordsKorean family vocabulary for beginners, including why older-sibling words depend on the speaker's gender (형, 오빠, 누나, 언니).
Reading
Spanish
Beginner word lists from the Spanish course, with audio for every word.
Vocabulary lists
- Greetings and polite phrasesEssential Spanish greetings and polite phrases for beginners: hola, buenos días, gracias, por favor, mucho gusto and more, with audio.
- Numbers from 0 to 15Spanish numbers for beginners, from cero to quince, with pronunciation audio from the Open Lingo course.
- Food and drink vocabularyBeginner Spanish words for food, drink and eating out, with gender (el/la) and audio from the Open Lingo course.
French
Beginner word lists from the French course, with audio for every word.
Vocabulary lists
- Greetings and polite phrasesEssential French greetings and polite phrases for beginners: bonjour, salut, merci, s'il vous plaît, au revoir and more, with audio.
- Numbers from zero to a thousandFrench numbers for beginners, from zéro to mille, with audio from the Open Lingo course.
- Food and drink vocabularyBeginner French words for food, drink and the café, with gender (le/la) and audio from the Open Lingo course.
Practice this in Open Lingo
Every page here comes from a lesson in the app, where it is interactive: listening, speaking, handwriting and spaced-repetition review. Free, and no account needed to try a lesson.