Japanese Intensive Course in Berlin

For complete beginners with no prior knowledge who want to learn Japanese from scratch and encounter the Japanese writing systems for the first time.

This course introduces you to the two syllabaries Hiragana and Katakana and teaches the polite です/ます form along with the essential particles (は, を, が). You will get to know the SOV word order (subject–object–verb) typical of Japanese and introduce yourself in simple sentences. First Kanji for numbers and everyday terms, together with basic counters, round off your start.

For learners who have mastered Hiragana and Katakana and want to expand their vocabulary and first Kanji for everyday situations.

Building on the です/ます form, you learn the versatile て-form, which lets you make requests (てください) and link actions together. You form the past tense (ました/でした) and master the conjugation of both い- and な-adjectives. Further particles such as に, で, へ and と broaden your expression, while your active Kanji vocabulary grows to several hundred characters.

For learners with a solid foundation who want to move from polite forms to natural colloquial speech and build more complex sentences.

You switch between the polite です/ます form and the plain form (普通形) of everyday speech and learn to express intentions and opinions with と思う. Conditional forms (と, ば, たら, なら), the potential form (可能形) and the verbs of giving and receiving (あげる, くれる, もらう) broaden your range of expression. You distinguish transitive and intransitive verb pairs (自動詞/他動詞) and master around 650 Kanji.

For advanced learners who want to discuss demanding topics and dive into the honorific language Keigo for the first time.

You enter the honorific language Keigo and distinguish between respectful (尊敬語) and humble (謙譲語) expressions. Passive (受身) and causative (使役) forms as well as complex relative clauses considerably expand your sentence structure. You grasp the subtle nuances between the particles は and が, discuss abstract topics and master around 1000 Kanji.

For very advanced learners who want to use Japanese precisely and in a stylistically appropriate way in professional and academic contexts.

You master the complete honorific language Keigo, including the business Japanese (ビジネス敬語) common in the corporate world, and switch confidently between spoken and written language (書き言葉). Idiomatic expressions (慣用句), four-character compounds (四字熟語) and the rich onomatopoeia (擬音語/擬態語) add nuance to your expression. You read newspapers and literature and command around 1500 to 2000 Kanji.

For learners at the highest level who want to command Japanese in a near-native fashion across all registers and situations.

You use every register of Japanese effortlessly – from formal Keigo through literary language to regional dialects (方言). You grasp and deploy subtle nuances, wordplay, humour and cultural allusions with confidence. The complete set of Jōyō Kanji (常用漢字) and classical language elements are actively at your disposal, enabling you to understand and compose demanding literary and specialist texts.