Learn the 2,000 Japanese words that make up 85 to 90% of everyday conversation.1
The best way to learn Japanese starts with the words you'll hear most. Core 2000 puts all 2,000 in frequency order, each in a natural sentence with audio. Anki then brings every word back when you're most likely to forget it.
Pay once and keep it. Studies in Anki, free on Mac, Windows, Linux and Android, $24.99 once on iPhone.
You know some Japanese. So why does real Japanese still fly past you?
Maybe you've done the lessons. You can say konnichiwa and count to ten. Then a Japanese friend talks at normal speed, or you put on a show without subtitles, and most of it slips by.
That's a really common place to get stuck, and the reason is simple. Everyday Japanese leans on a small set of words, again and again. Until you know those words, every sentence has holes in it.
Many courses teach by topic. Japanese runs on frequency.
Food one week, travel the next. Useful words, picked in an order that has little to do with how often you'll hear them. The good news is that you need far fewer words than you'd think. About 2,000 of them make up 85 to 90% of everyday conversation.1 Learn those first, and every show and every chat after that has fewer holes in it.
The Lemur Ladder
The most common words first, each one reviewed when you're most likely to forget it.
Climb in order of how often Japanese uses each word
We ranked words by frequency using BCCWJ, the 104.3 million word corpus of contemporary written Japanese from Japan's National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, combined with the wordfreq lists. The 2,000 words are split into 20 steps of 100. Some beginner essentials, like greetings, numbers and question words, were added or moved up into the first 200.
Let Anki do the remembering
Anki schedules every review with spaced repetition. Words you know come back less often, words you find hard come back sooner. Frequency order means the words that pay off most are the ones you lock in first.
Polite first, then casual
Steps 1 to 6 use polite Japanese, the safe choice with people you've just met, apart from a handful of words like うん (yeah) that only exist in casual speech. From step 7, casual Japanese joins in, so you start hearing how friends talk too.
From understanding to speaking
Speaking starts with having the word ready. Switch on speaking cards for any word to practice going from English to Japanese, and play the sentence audio to say it along with the voice.
One word's journey, for example
- TodayMeet 美味しい in a sentence
- 1 dayQuick review
- 4 daysStill there
- 2 weeksGetting easy
- 2 monthsYours
Anki sets the real gaps from your answers.
Try it right now
Study 8 real cards from the deck
These are the actual cards you get, running right here in your browser. Tap the sentence to see readings, play the audio, press Show answer, then grade yourself the way you would in Anki.
- Reading cards: see the word in a sentence
- Listening cards: hear it, then check you understood
- Tap ▶ for the word and sentence audio
Everything inside Core 2000
All 2,000 words come packed the same way, so you're never left guessing what a word means or how it sounds.
2,000
The most frequent words
Ranked from corpus data and laid out in 20 steps of 100.
4,000
Reading and Listening cards
See each word in a sentence, then hear the sentence and check you understood.
Audio for every word and sentence
A clear female voice made with AI text to speech. We checked every clip against the card text with speech recognition.
Lemur tips, furigana and romaji
Part of speech and politeness on every word, verb forms on every verb, plus tips on the tricky ones. Speaking cards switch on whenever you're ready.
Bonus: the Lemur Launch Guide
Step by step Anki setup for PC, Android and iPhone, from installing the app to your first review, plus the daily settings we recommend for this deck.
Core 2000 and Duolingo, side by side
Duolingo is a fun way to start, and plenty of people love it. To follow real conversation you need the most common words, ready to say. Core 2000 is built around exactly that.
Use both if you like. Keep your streak going and let Core 2000 lock in the 2,000 words everyday Japanese runs on.
Duolingo details checked 13 Oct 2026 from Duolingo's own blog and App Store listing.2 Duolingo is a trademark of Duolingo, Inc. Lingua Lemur has no affiliation with Duolingo, Inc.
Core 2000 is $97 once. Anki is free on computers and Android.
Anki is the flashcard app you study in. On iPhone, the official AnkiMobile app is $24.99 once. You buy the deck from us once, and there's nothing more to pay us. Spread across 2,000 words, $97 comes to under 5 cents a word.
- Get Anki. Free on Mac, Windows, Linux and Android. On iPhone, AnkiMobile is $24.99 once.
- Add Core 2000. Import the deck. The Lemur Launch Guide walks you through it.
- Do your daily reviews. Add a few new words a day and climb all 20 steps at your own pace.
Your bill
Third party prices checked 13 Oct 2026.3
Questions
Are you Anki?
No. Lingua Lemur made this deck. Anki is the flashcard app you study it in. We're an independent team with no connection to Anki, Ankitects or AnkiHub.
Do I need to know hiragana first?
You can start today. Every card has romaji, and you can tap any sentence to see furigana readings over the kanji. Learning hiragana alongside the deck helps you lean on romaji less as you go.
How long does it take each day?
You decide, because you choose how many new words to add. At 10 new words a day you'd finish all 2,000 in 200 days. At 20 a day it's 100 days. Reviews add some time on top, and our setup guide suggests a comfortable starting pace.
Does it work on iPhone?
Yes. On iPhone you study in AnkiMobile, the official Anki app, a one time purchase of $24.99 on the US App Store. On Mac, Windows, Linux and Android, Anki is free.
Is the audio recorded by native speakers?
The audio is a clear female voice made with AI text to speech. We ran every clip through speech recognition, checked against the card text. You get audio for every word and every sentence.
Is there a subscription?
No. You pay $97 once and the deck is yours to keep. It works offline, and there's nothing to renew.
I already use Duolingo. Should I switch?
Keep going if you enjoy it. Core 2000 works alongside any course or app, and makes sure the 2,000 most common words are solid, whatever else you use.
I'm a total beginner. Is this too advanced?
It's made for beginners. The first 200 words include greetings, numbers, pronouns and question words, and steps 1 to 6 use polite Japanese, apart from a handful of words like うん (yeah) that only exist in casual speech. Every word comes with a sentence, translation, audio and romaji, so you always have something to hold on to.
What do I get, and how?
The Core 2000 deck file for Anki (2,000 words, 4,000 cards, plus optional speaking cards) and the Lemur Launch Guide for setting up Anki on PC, Android and iPhone. Checkout runs through Whop. Right after you pay, your download and the guide are waiting in your Whop account, and Whop emails your receipt.
Start at step 1 today
Step 1 holds the most common words in Japanese, ready for your first study session. Pay $97 once, set up Anki with our guide, and the lemur keeps you company all the way to step 20.
- 2,000 most frequent Japanese words, in 20 steps of 100
- 4,000 Reading and Listening cards, plus optional speaking cards
- A natural sentence, translation, furigana and romaji for every word
- Word and sentence audio, every clip machine checked
- Politeness on every word, verb forms and Lemur tips
- The Lemur Launch Guide
You're in! 🎉
Your download and the Lemur Launch Guide are waiting in your Whop account, and Whop has emailed your receipt.
Open my Core 2000Secure checkout by Whop. One payment, no subscription.