Japanese is not memorized
Many learners study Japanese by memorizing word lists, grammar rules, and exercises. After two years, real Japanese can still feel hard to follow.
The problem is often not effort. It is too little input, or input that is too difficult to understand.
EasyJP is built to solve that problem.
Why understandable content matters
Stephen Krashen argued that people acquire language through a lot of input that is just above their current level: mostly understandable, with a small number of new words mixed in.
This is close to how children learn their first language. They understand the rough meaning first, and only later become precise. They do not start by memorizing a complete grammar table.
For adult learners, that means three hours spent following stories can be more useful than three hours spent only memorizing verb forms. Grammar appears again and again inside real sentences.
Why simple audiobooks, not dramas or podcasts
Dramas are useful, but for many beginner and lower-intermediate learners the speech is fast, contracted, and hard to follow. When you cannot follow it, it turns into background sound.
EasyJP uses content rewritten in やさしい日本語: shorter sentences, controlled vocabulary, and a manageable speaking speed. It is useful because you can understand it.
How the content is organized
Content is arranged as Book -> Article. Each book has a clear topic and difficulty instead of being a pile of unrelated articles.
You do not need to search from the beginning every time. When you come back, you can continue from where you stopped.
How the tools are designed
EasyJP aligns audio with each word timeline. While audio plays, the current word is highlighted separately, so your eyes and ears follow the same content.
Kana readings, word spacing, JLPT markings, and translations can be turned on or off independently. It is fine to start with everything on, then turn off aids when you no longer need them.
Some content provides multiple voices. Choose the one that is easiest to follow. Keeping up matters more than anything else.
Vocabulary marking logic
EasyJP marks words with color, but keeps the marks sparse. The rule is simple: show only states that are useful, and leave everything else alone.
Underline: which JLPT level the word belongs to
Words from N5 to N1 have level-colored underlines. This is a property of the word, not a judgment of whether you know it.
Background: your relationship with the word
Beyond the underline, the background color records your study state:
No background
Words you have not touched stay plain, with only the JLPT underline if one exists.
Light blue background
Words whose dictionary meaning you have opened.
Light amber background
Words you marked as learning. You recognize them somewhat, but have not fully mastered them.
No background, no underline
After you mark a word as known, all marks disappear. The absence of marks is the feedback: you remembered it.