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Lessons & Phases

Phase I (Kana Awakening), Phase II (Core Ascent), and how levels unlock.

学 · Lessons & Phases

Two phases, one path to reading.

Everything you learn in Fuguro arrives through a lesson. Lessons are grouped into levels, and levels into two phases: Kana Awakening first, then Core Ascent. This page covers what a single lesson holds, what each phase teaches, and how one level opens the next.

2 phases84 levelsOne item per card
札 · One card at a time

Inside a single lesson.

  1. Step 1

    One new thing, one card.

    Every lesson introduces a single item: a kana character in Phase I, or a kanji or vocabulary word in Phase II. Nothing else competes for your attention, so you can give the one item in front of you a real look.

  2. Step 2

    Read the whole card.

    A kana card shows the character, its reading, and a mnemonic, plus the occasional helper block for voiced marks, combined sounds, and easy look-alikes. A Core card shows the word, its meaning, its reading, and a real example sentence. For a full tour of every part of a card, see Getting Started.

  3. Step 3

    The mnemonic is the engine, not the trim.

    Each card carries a little story that ties the shape to the sound, or the characters to the meaning. Read it slowly and picture itbefore you move on. A mnemonic you glanced at is one you'll fumble at its first review.

    Ours not clicking?Write your own in the item's notes. The picture your brain actually formed always beats the one we handed you.
  4. Step 4

    Lock it in, and the clock starts.

    When the story has landed, press the button at the bottom of the card. That records the item and quietly schedules its first review for later the same day. That hand-off into spaced repetition is where the learning actually sets.

At your pace

You choose how many to take in one sitting.

Set a per-session lesson cap in Settings, or leave it on All. Small, frequent batches you can actually hold in your head beat one heroic cram every time.

IPhase
仮 · Kana Awakening

Learn to read the letters.

Nine short levels that take Japanese from shapes to reading. If hiragana and katakana still look like decoration, this is where you begin.

  1. What you learn

    The full kana system, in order.

    Hiragana first, then katakana, then the voiced marks (dakuten and handakuten), and finally the combined sounds (yoon). Each level is small on purpose, so the set never feels like a wall.

  2. Guided

    A short intro at every turn.

    When a brand new system arrives, hiragana, katakana, dakuten, or yoon, a quick intro card explains how it works before the first character. Transformation and fusion blocks then show exactly how a voiced or combined sound is built from its base.

  3. Shortcut

    Already read kana? Skip it.

    On your very first visit, the dashboard offers I already know my Kana. Choose it to jump straight into Phase II. Kana Awakening exists to onboard total beginners, not to slow anyone down.

IIPhase
語 · Core Ascent

The real climb.

Seventy five levels of kanji and the vocabulary built from them. This is the bulk of Fuguro, and the part that turns reading from a struggle into a habit.

  1. What you learn

    Kanji and vocabulary, level by level.

    Each level mixes new kanji with the words that use them, so a character and its vocabulary reinforce each other instead of arriving as two separate lists to memorize.

  2. On the card

    Meaning, reading, then the sentence.

    Core cards lead with the meaning and reading, then ground the word in a real example sentence. Don't skim the sentence: it shows the word doing its job, which is what makes it stick.

  3. As you climb

    Stories open along the way.

    Every four levels you clear unlocks a new chapter in Reading, built mostly from words you just learned. They force you to read real Japanese from early on instead of waiting until you feel ready.

    Turn furigana off once a kanji is yours. Reading without the crutch is the whole point of the climb.
門 · The next gate

How one level opens the next.

  1. 1
    Lessons plant the items. Everything you learn starts at the lowest rank, fresh and easy to forget.
  2. 2
    Reviews raise their rank. Each correct review promotes an item up the SRS ranks over the following days.
  3. 3
    Clear the gate, and the next level appears.You don't need to master every item or wait for perfection. Once most of a level reaches its milestone rank (the level gate in Kana Awakening, Hunterin Core Ascent), the next level's items quietly join your lessons.
  4. 4
    Finish a phase, and the next one opens.Clear the last level of Kana Awakening and Core Ascent unlocks itself. Clear all seventy five of Core Ascent and you've reached the summit.

And the good news: you never have to manage any of this yourself. Just do your lessons and show up for your reviews. Levels unlock, ranks promote, and the next chapter opens on their own. Your level map simply shows where the path has carried you, each level marked Locked, Active, Pending, or Conquered, with a you are herepin on the one you're climbing now.

Free to try

Phase 1 is free, and Phase 2 to level 5.

All of Kana Awakening is free, and Core Ascent is free through level 5, real lessons and real reviews. When you reach level 6 of Core Ascent, new lessons wait behind Fuguro Plus, but every review you've already unlocked stays free, forever. More in Billing & Plans.

Lessons in, reviews out.

Now see what happens after you lock a card in. Read Reviews & SRS to learn how spaced repetition decides exactly when each item comes back.