Wish to learn Japanese? We’ve gathered a list of online resources for learning Japanese just for you. Also, find helpful tips on how to improve your learning.
It’s easier than ever to learn a new language! Thanks to the internet, you no longer have to go to Japan, to a language school, or even to an expensive college to learn Japanese. With all the resources out there – and mostly for free – you can easily pick up and master the language.
Since many of you have asked, we’ve put together a list of some of the best websites and apps for learning Japanese. Each learning tool provides different experiences, and all you have to do is to find the ones that suit your needs and goals.
Happy learning and Ganbatte 頑張って!
Table of contents
11 Best Websites & Apps to Learn Japanese
1. Duolingo
This is a popular free language app you can download to your phone. The 5 minutes a day game-like lesson makes it doable for everyone to pick up Japanese at their own pace. It gives you a great jump start on building vocabulary, and you can quickly customize your learning as you go. Whenever you’re ready to commit more time, you just need to customize your learning time. The app is kid-friendly too!
2. JapanesePod101
If you’re looking for something more in-depth, Japanese Pod 101 offers personalized guidance. You can get a personal teacher that will work with you on improving your skill. The site also has thousands of podcasts to download. It’s suited for beginners right up to advanced levels.
3. Easy Japanese Program by NHK
NHK never fails to offer great programs, including this one for learning Japanese. It’s particularly useful for people who wish to travel or study abroad or work in Japan. You’ll find audio, animation video, and text that portray practical scenarios and handy conversation topics on the website.
4. Spotify
If you have only a few minutes to spare each day, then Spotify Japanese Podcast for Beginners might be an easy place to get started. Download the app today and learn a few words every day!
5. Rocket Japanese
The online and app-based language courses are a no-brainer for any Japanese learner. The content is comprehensive, covering all skills from audio lessons, vocabulary, writing, grammar, etc. This is an all-round platform. You can learn on full functionality at a computer, or on the go with its free app tool.
6. Japanese Ammo on YT
As they say, you can literally learn anything from Youtube. With over 320k subscribers, Japanese Ammo is one of the top channels to learn Japanese. Misa, the animated Japanese teacher, is fun, energetic, and engaging. You don’t have to worry about falling asleep in her virtual class. She organizes learning into different categories like listening skills, Japanese slang, or even sing in Japanese.
How fun is that? Definitely the best place for visual learners.
7. Italki
This is one of the best language websites for anyone who likes to take it seriously. Italki connects the students with native teachers for lessons and conversations online. You get to practice speaking Japanese with a Japanese tutor! Depending on your needs and goals, there are plenty of options to choose from.
The learning experience is fully immersive, which makes it an efficient way to learn Japanese in a short time. All fees are per-hour and vary depending on the instructor, but the fees are really affordable.
8. Matcha
In addition to learning the Japanese language, I personally enjoy visiting the website just to learn more about various cultural topics, travel, and the latest trends in Japan.
Most of the articles are available in English, but you can read and practice kanji, hiragana, furigana, and katakana at the same time. It’s great for intermediate self-learners who want to practice Japanese on a regular basis.
9. Tofugu
Tofugu has a clear and effective structure for learning Japanese. I like that the site lays out the concept of the language before you jump start, which helps to build a strong foundation in the learning process. It offers podcasts, Japanese grammar guides, in-depth looks at Japanese vocabulary, writing, Japanese resources, and textbook reviews. Recommended for serious learners.
10. WaniKani
This is developed by the same people behind Tofugu. It provides an effective method to learn kanji, and thus improve your vocabulary extensively. What I enjoy about this platform is its community forum where you can post questions and share resources about your learning. WaniKani is free until level 3.
11. Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese
A highly popular app for learning Japanese grammar, Tae Kim is set out to help learners build a solid grammatical foundation. There are various chapters, and the guide covers different topics and structures for you to navigate.
Readers’ Recommendations on Learning Japanese Online
- Memrise – A language learning app, the courses focus on real-life learning, instead of text book style. Plenty of videos featuring native speakers having conversations in the country.
- SmileNihongo – There are mini courses for beginners, and plenty of free resources on honing your language skill and understanding of Japanese culture.
- Genkijacs – Accredited by the International Association of Language Centres, Genkijacs is a highly professional Japanese culture school that places students in Japan for language learning. It also provides group and private online classes so you can learn Japanese anywhere in the world.
- Kotonaha Study – Founded by one of Just One Cookbook readers with two Japanese friends, Kotonaha is specifically catered for Germans who wish to learn Japanese and English.
- Coto Japanese Academy – Founded by a group of volunteer Japanese language teachers with a mission to help international residents in Japan, they offer various programs to meet different needs.
- Human Japanese – “One of the few comprehensive programs that focus on conversation, grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing.” — The Wall Street Journal. This learning app also comes highly recommended by one of our readers. It features thousands of crystal-clear, down-to-earth explanations, fun quizzes and reviews, animations of hiragana, katakana and kanji characters, and much more.
- Hayai Learn – A Japanese learning platform using Youtube video immersion.
Other Practical Ways to Actually Learn Japanese
Here are some helpful tips to get the ball rolling:
Learn by Immersion
By that means, immerse yourself in Japanese cultural output like Japanese dramas, movies, J pop, anime, or whatever entertainment channels that strike your interest. They are absolutely the easiest way to surround yourself with the language. You’ll be surprised by how fast you can pick up Japanese
Find a Support System
Reach out among your social circles to see if a friend might want to start learning as well. One of the best ways to really learn is by actively listening and speaking, putting your newfound vocabulary words to real use. Practice speaking together and set times when no English is allowed.
Friends make a great support system. Invite 1-2 friends to do this with you! It’s easy to slip when you don’t have anyone to practice the language. If you have someone that makes you accountable, learning becomes more fun and effective!
Commitment is KEY
Like many things in life, you need a sincere commitment to making it work. Put down a simple and achievable goal, and make sure you follow it through.
Practice, Practice & Practice
It’s no secret that practice makes perfect. If you choose to pursue this challenging and rewarding goal of learning Japanese, take a hard look at your schedule, and set aside time daily to study and practice.
Videos that will inspire you to learn Japanese fast
We hope you find these tips helpful. If you have been learning Japanese for a while, what are some of your favorite online resources? Leave a comment below. We love to hear about your experiences.
I like the Kansei app for learning conversational Japanese. It’s a bit daunting to speak with a real person sometimes when practicing as you get in your head and it helps a lot.
Hi, I also never heard of Matcha, which is nice for tourists or people who live in Japan.
Another nice resource is https://www.DiveIntoJapanese.com. This lets people learn 55% of the Japanese language in 30 days so they can watch anime without subtitles or speak in Japanese
Thanks for sharing, Wasif!
Dear sir please add our website as well in the list. Toppersmind also offer Japanese
Thank you for this list! I didn’t know the site “Matcha” and I’m enjoying it a lot.
I also LOVE and recommend everyone the app “NHK world” https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/ and the YouTube Channel “Japanese with Lily” https://youtube.com/c/japanesewithlily.
Thanks for sharing, Miyuki!
You guys should include http://www.cotoacademy.com/blog to this list – they put out great japanese learning articles every week
Looks like a great place for learning Japanese. Thanks for sharing!
I’m an intermediate/advanced learner and really like Nihongo no Mori. They have an app as well as free videos on YouTube. The app currently only covers N1 level(advanced) on the JLPT but they have plans to expand it to N2(intermed/adv). The videos are very entertaining and many explain the concept in Japanese only, which is great for listening comprehension. I think they have beginning level videos too, I just haven’t looked for them as much.
I just visited the Nihongo no Mori site and found out they have expanded to N2 level and are working on N3 now. It’s a really fun program, highly recommend it.
Thanks for your excellent recommendation, Brenda! We’re glad to learn about your experience with Nihongo no Mori. I’ll add that to the list.
You can also try hiring a native Japanese tutor. There are websites nowadays where you can find native language tutors who offer online and offline classes like TUTOROO.
TUTOROO is a marketplace connecting students with qualified language tutors. You can choose your own Japanese tutor on their website and inquire directly with them about the classes. You may visit this link for more information: https://www.tutoroo.co/japanese-tutor
Thanks for sharing, Bhie.
The link to Matcha is to the Japanese version. Since this article is in English, perhaps the English version might be more useful to your readers. All the best, LMC
Hi Laramie – we do get readers from different background and of all levels when comes to Japanese fluency. Since Matcha includes English in most of their articles, we want to recommend it anyway:)
Thanks so much for this list! I recently discovered NHK World Japan by flipping through the channels I receive on my HD TV receiver, and I love it, so I’m definitely going to be checking out their Easy Japanese program.
I’ve been using an app called LingoDeer to learn Japanese. It’s a lot like Duolingo, but it has more East Asian languages available. I’ve also used Tae Kim’s guide (except I haven’t finished it all the way yet), and I’m very glad for its more casual tone and approach—I probably never would have learned だ as a casual form of です without it!
I used an app called easy japanese. You learn to fully read hiragana and katakana, but only the kanji that is in the lessons. It’s motly jus japanese for traveling with a bit extra debth, but you learn to read, speak, listen, understand dramma and it has extra lessons for a broder amount of words. For those who want to, there are even news stories from japan you can read and watch
Thanks for sharing, Emma! Love your recommendation.
I also really enjoy using Memrise! Visually appealing, and I’m starting to get the basics of particle use now 🙂
Great to know about Memrise! And good luck with your learning!
You can also have live classes with Japanese Schools IN JAPAN. I’m going to GenkiJACS. Their website is here: https://www.genkijacs.com/
Professional classes can provide structure, and help with speaking Japanese. (I also use some of the apps listed in the article. I think tofugu is the best way to learn Kanji!!)
This is great! Thanks for chiming in, Bronwyn.
I’ve studied Japanese on and off for years. The problem with most Japanese lessons, online or in person, is that they teach you a more literary formal style which is fine as far as it goes. But after literally an Associates Degree in Japanese studies, Duolingo Rosetta Stone and others I found that I still couldn’t understand people talking on the street. For me the answer to this has been NativeShark. They are an online self paced program. Started as NihobgoShark by a young American kid and his Japanese wife they have just this past year revamed their program. They teach all of the basics but also teach how people actually speak… dropping particles は and が… anda myriad of other things that people say or dont day that doesnt get covered in typical Japanese classes. I can’t reccomend it enough. Between these classed and finding a native japanese person to speak with ive made more rogress in the pst two years than i did in the 20 years prior. nativeshark.com
Hi Randy – You brought up a really important point! Languages, especially the spoken ones, often come with cultural nuances. There are slangs and informal exprssions that a formal education/ lesson can’t really achieve. That’s why Youtube channels such as Japanese Ammo can be more practical for everyday uses. And I must thank you for recommending NativeShark. It looks like the right place for full immersion.
I second nativshark. I studied Japanese for around 3 years before finding nihongoshark just in time for them to do their launch sale for nativshark. I’ve used most of the sites and apps on this list and made more progress in a year than I ever did with any of those.
Hi Nami,
the miso factory tour was so interesting and the eleven sites for learning Japanese is very helpful…so thank you for both! I so enjoy YOUR site…learn something new every time I view it! Kale Lani Okazaki
Hi Kale – In addition to recipes, we hope that readers find cultural articles interesting and helpful too. So thank you for letting us know that you enjoyed these posts.
SmileNihongo.com is a great place to start your journey learning Japanese. Yuko-sensei’s YouTube videos are very good and well paced. She’s a college professor and has great explanations for better understanding. From time to time she has sales on her courses, frequently bundling them for extra savings.
Other resources that I like are TheJapanShop.com and 8020japanese.com. And lastly, if you want to learn kanji, check out WaniKani.com that uses a SRS learning system. It made all the difference in my kanji studies.
Excellent recommendations, Mora! Thanks for sharing these with our community. Very much appreciated.