Learn Japanese in Bengali: Counters, Particles and Politeness (বাংলায় জাপানি শিখুন)

The short answer: yes, and Bengali lines up with Japanese in more ways than most people expect. Both put the verb at the end; both add small markers after a noun to show its role (বাড়িতে, 家で); neither has grammatical gender; Bengali classifiers (একটা, দুটো, একজন) work like Japanese counters; and a phrase like জেগে আছে is built the same way as 起きている. What's new is the writing (hiragana, katakana, kanji), a topic marker (は), politeness that depends on who you're talking to, and a few sounds that Bengali habits get wrong. Learn kana first, then grammar through daily listening. The JLPT is held in Dhaka and Kolkata in July and December.

Japanese is nearly always taught through English, a language that orders its words the opposite way from both Bengali and Japanese. This guide starts from Bengali instead, for learners in Bangladesh and West Bengal alike.

Four ways Bengali already thinks like Japanese

1. The verb comes last. আমি ভাত খাই: I, rice, eat. 私はご飯を食べます (watashi wa gohan o tabemasu): I, rice, eat. Japanese is strict about it: the verb ends the sentence almost every time.

2. No grammatical gender. Bengali says সে যায় for "he goes" and "she goes"; adjectives don't change either. Japanese is the same: 行きます (ikimasu, "go") is the same for everyone. Unlike Hindi, no verb or adjective has to change for gender in Bengali or in Japanese.

3. Classifiers are counters. In Bengali you don't just say "two pens", you say দুটো কলম: a number plus টো. People take জন: একজন লোক. Japanese does this too, with a counter for each kind of thing:

Japanese has more counters than Bengali, but the idea that a number needs a helper word is one you already have.

4. "Having woken, is" means "is awake". The song 深夜の自販機 ("the late-night vending machine") has a line that shows it; this is how Soma displays it with Bengali selected:

自販機だけが起きている
শুধু ভেন্ডিং মেশিনটাই জেগে আছে

Bengali জেগে আছে is জেগে ("having woken") plus আছে ("is"). Japanese 起きている (okite iru) is 起きて ("having woken") plus いる ("is"). Same recipe. It works for other states too: বসে আছে and 座っている (suwatte iru, is sitting), ঘুমিয়ে আছে and 寝ている (nete iru, is asleep). And だけ ("only") sits right after the noun, where Bengali puts শুধু in front and adds -ই at the end: মেশিনটাই.

Particles and Bengali endings

Bengali adds endings to the noun (বাড়িতে, বন্ধুকে) or a small word after it (ঢাকা থেকে). Japanese particles do the same jobs as separate little words after the noun. They don't map one to one, so look carefully:

Three things to notice:

• を takes -কে only sometimes. Bengali marks a person as the object (তোমাকে) but usually not a thing (ভাত খাওয়া). Japanese marks both with を. In the song's chorus: 缶コーヒーにあなたを映す, which Soma's Bengali gives as ক্যান কফির ভেতর তোমাকেই দেখতে পাই. Here あなたを really is তোমাকে.
• স্টেশনে splits in two. Japanese says 駅にいる (I'm at the station) but 駅で待つ (I wait at the station). Bengali uses স্টেশনে for both.
• Japanese needs です. Bengali drops "is" in the present: আমার বাবা ডাক্তার. Japanese says 父は医者です (chichi wa isha desu); in polite speech the です stays.

In Soma's player, tap a particle and you see its nearest Bengali word: を gives কে, の gives এর/র, に gives তে/এ. Treat these as hints, for the reasons in the table.

Politeness: আপনি, তুমি, তুই and です/ます

Bengali has three levels, and the verb follows the pronoun: আপনি যান, তুমি যাও, তুই যাস. Japanese works differently in one important way.

• Bengali politeness is about the person you're talking about. You choose আপনি, তুমি or তুই for them, and the verb agrees when they are the subject.
• Japanese です/ます is about the person you are talking to. 私は行きます (watashi wa ikimasu, "I go") is polite toward your listener even though you are the one going. Speaking to a friend, you'd say 行く (iku).
• Begin with です/ます: you can't go wrong with it, much as with আপনি.
• Use names, not あなた. Where Bengali says আপনি, Japanese prefers the name with さん: ラフマンさん (Rahman-san).
• Later: keigo, special verbs that raise the other person or lower yourself, such as いらっしゃいます and 参ります. Leave them until after N5.

Sounds: where Bengali habits trip you up

Most Japanese sounds exist in Bengali, but four habits need attention:

• Bengali অ is "o". কম is "kom". So when you write Japanese in Bengali letters, か is কা, not ক, and さ is সা. Better still, read kana directly.
• In many Bengali words স is said "sh" (সব, সে); Japanese さ, す, せ, そ are always a real s, like the স of স্টেশন or স্নান. 寿司 is su-shi, not shu-shi. Only し is "shi".
• Japanese has z; Bengali জ is j. ざ, ず, ぜ, ぞ start with a z sound (ず is zu, not জু). じ is ji.
• Length changes meaning. Bengali writes ই and ঈ but says them the same. Japanese doesn't forgive that: おばさん (obasan, aunt) and おばあさん (obāsan, grandmother), ビル (biru, a building) and ビール (bīru, beer).

Two that come easily: the small っ is a short pause, like the double consonant in বাচ্চা (きて kite, "come"; きって kitte, a stamp), and ん is a nasal you already make.

Kana first, and some familiar katakana

Japanese uses three scripts together: kanji for meaning (缶, a can), hiragana for grammar and native words (だけ), and katakana for borrowed words. Start with hiragana, then katakana, 46 basic characters each, a week or two for each with daily practice. The kana chart runs a, i, u, e, o, then ka, ki, ku…, an order believed to come from the order of Sanskrit sounds: the vowels as in অ ই উ এ ও, then the consonant rows in the order ক চ ত ন প ম য র ব.

Katakana holds a surprise for Bengali speakers. The song has ボタン (botan, button), and Bengali has বোতাম: both come from the Portuguese botão. Japanese パン (pan, bread) comes from Portuguese pão, the পাউ of পাউরুটি. Portuguese traders reached both Bengal and Japan, and left words in both languages.

Soma's lyrics and stories are in kanji and kana, the way Japanese is really written, with no furigana or romaji, so start it once kana feels comfortable.

The JLPT in Bangladesh and West Bengal

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test has five levels, from N5, the easiest ("the ability to understand some basic Japanese"), to N1, the most difficult, and every level has a Listening section.

• Where: in 2026, the JLPT's test cities include Dhaka (July and December), Kolkata (July and December) and Santiniketan (July only).
• Free practice: the JLPT publishes sample questions for each level, N5 to N1, on its official site.
• No mock tests in Soma. It gives you the daily listening practice that a grammar-only plan misses.

A rough path to N5, about an hour a day (an estimate; your hours decide): kana in the first month; then です/ます sentences, particles and counters, ten words a day in spaced repetition (see how to learn a language with spaced repetition) and daily listening; then the official sample questions under time. To compare tools for kanji and the JLPT, see the best app to learn Japanese.

Soma in Bengali

Choose Bengali in Soma and Japanese is explained in Bengali everywhere, menus included.

• Songs with the Bengali line underneath. Original Japanese songs written for learners, sung word by word in karaoke; every word you tap shows its Bengali meaning (路地 gives গলি). Slow a song down, or mute the vocals and sing. The songs are made with AI for learners, and every lyric is checked by people.
• Shadowing for s, sh and long vowels. Repeat each sentence and get word-by-word pronunciation scores against Japanese (ja-JP), on the Pro and Max plans.
• Stories and dialogues at three levels, with a part you can take and answer aloud.
• YouTube Learn, which turns a Japanese YouTube video into a lesson where you translate and save any phrase.
• A single spaced-repetition review for everything you save.

The free plan includes one language with every song, story and picture in it. Soma runs in any browser on your phone or computer; native iOS and Android apps are coming soon. Hindi readers have their own guide: learn Japanese in Hindi.

Frequently asked questions

বাংলায় কি জাপানি শেখা যায়? হ্যাঁ, যায়। বাংলার মতো জাপানিতেও ক্রিয়া বাক্যের শেষে আসে, আর শব্দের পরে বিভক্তি বা ছোট শব্দ বসে তার কাজ বোঝায়, যেমন বাড়িতে আর 家で। আগে হিরাগানা আর কাতাকানা শিখুন, তারপর ব্যাকরণ আর প্রতিদিন শোনা।

JLPT N5-এর জন্য কত সময় লাগে? এটা নির্ভর করে আপনি রোজ কত সময় দেন তার ওপর। কানার জন্য দুই থেকে চার সপ্তাহ রাখুন, তারপর N5-এর ব্যাকরণ, রোজ দশটা নতুন শব্দ আর রোজ শোনা।

Is Japanese hard for Bengali speakers? Kanji will take the longest. The grammar is friendlier than it is for English speakers: the word order, the endings after the noun, the classifiers and the lack of gender all line up. The sounds to watch are s against sh, z against j, and long vowels.

Where can I take the JLPT in Bangladesh or West Bengal? In 2026, the official list includes Dhaka and Kolkata (July and December) and Santiniketan (July only). Check jlpt.jp for the current list before you plan.

Will Soma show me furigana or romaji? Not yet. Lyrics and stories are in Japanese script, kanji and kana, and a tap on any word gives its meaning in Bengali. Learn hiragana and katakana first.

Can I learn Japanese in Bengali for free? Yes. The JLPT's sample questions are free, and Soma is free for one language, with all its Japanese songs, stories and pictures explained in Bengali.

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Try Soma free. Hear Japanese in songs, stories and real YouTube videos, with every line and word explained in Bengali and kept with spaced repetition. Play 深夜の自販機 first, no sign-in needed, then start at app.soma.ninja; plans are on the pricing page.

Drafted with AI, edited and fact-checked by a human.