Goal: Move to Tokyo — zero prior Japanese

"Starting from zero in Japanese felt impossible. The multiplier in my V-program was honest — HEXI told me it would be hard and why. Nine months in, I can hold real conversations."

Lucas's placement was 0/0/0/0 across all rings — the starting state for a zero-input learner. HEXI computed a V9 and was explicit about the language-distance factor: Portuguese and Japanese share almost no phonological, grammatical, or lexical material. The multiplier is high. Nine months gets you to A2.

At A0, the training structure is deliberate: Imprint™ five times per week for the first six weeks. The phonology of Japanese is narrow (24 consonants, 5 vowels) but prosodically complex — pitch accent determines meaning in ways that require early intensive training. Most apps skip this.

Retention in Japanese starts with hiragana, katakana, and 300 high-frequency kanji at functional depth. Anchor™ mode applied spaced retrieval to writing system knowledge. By month four, Lucas was reading real signs and menus in Tokyo photos.

A2 in Japanese is not conversational fluency. Lucas was honest about that in his assessment. What he could do: navigate daily logistics in Japanese, ask for help and understand the answer, follow slow conversation on familiar topics. That was enough to make the move and continue training in-country.

FP Ring Progress · 9 months

Methodology: Composite profile based on typical A0→A2 relocation trajectories for typologically distant languages. Ring scores are VOICECAST-verified.

Your rings start at zero. VOICECAST measures where you actually are.