Learn Japanese Mac App
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Your smartphone is your unlimited access pass to the world of Japanese language learning.
Learn Japanese offline with free, fun lessons. Start learning Japanese now! Bunpo is a free, fast and easy way to learn Japanese. This free Japanese learning app provides grammar explanation and lessons for learners of any levels, from JLPT N5 to JLPT N4, JLPT N3, JLPT N2 and JLPT N1. Get JLPT ready with interactive lessons. The app offers over 1700 example sentences and 8000 Japanese grammar. Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 Team (Surface Hub), HoloLens, Xbox One. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Kakitai - Learn Japanese by Writing. LEARNING JAPANESE CAN HELP YOU LEARN OTHER LANGUAGES. While Japanese is its own language with distinct regional dialects, it also shares similarities with other Eastern languages like Chinese and Korean. Korean and Japanese are sometimes referred to as sister languages, but there are a few caveats. LEARN to read Japanese the fun and easy way with this collection of traditional Japanese stories. For Beginners (with hiragana knowledge) up. With this app, you can read real Japanese, listen to the story, and tap any word to get an instant definition. Read Japanese is your ticket to the world of Japanese. Price: Free / $17.99 per year / $29.99 per 2 years. Busuu is one of many language learning. Japanese Kanji Study is an Android Education App that is developed by PORO LINGO and published on Google play store on Dec 26, 2018. It has already got around 10,000+ downloads so far with an average rating of 4.0 out of 5 in play store.
Discover the smart in smartphone by downloading some awesome apps for learning Japanese.
Once you’ve got your favorite apps pegged to your home screen, you’ll be able to introduce yourself to a whole new method of language study. While killing time in the doctor’s office waiting room or riding the bus to work, fire up your apps and get to learning.
Every little bit of Japanese helps. Sure, some apps are designed to become part of your long-term study program and can provide you with hours upon hours of language lessons. With these, you can delve deeper into learning kanji, practice hiragana and katakana, and learn how to weave expressive Japanese verbs into your speech.
Others are there for you just when you need them in a pinch, such as interactive dictionaries and translation apps. These could seriously come in handy while speaking with a language exchange partner, watching Japanese television shows or navigating Tokyo with survival phrases.
Still others are around just for pure fun, and are primarily entertaining games infused with key language information.
Here, we’ve sifted through app stores and websites to find the cream of the crop. Which ones are best suited to your personal language learning preferences? Which will be more effective when added to your existing study routine? All that depends on you, your goals, your study tactics and the way your brain learns best.
These apps are bursting with information – and using your smartphone to study is undeniably a new frontier for the language learning community. The smartphone interface allows you to easily swipe and tap your way to improved Japanese fluency.
After reading our reviews of these stellar apps for learning Japanese, be sure to test them yourself. But hey, what’s not to love?
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
FluentU
Website || App Store || Google Play
Category: Vocabulary & Grammar (+Dictionary)
Price: Free trial and subscription
FluentU naturally and gradually eases you into learning Japanese language and culture. You’ll learn real Japanese as it’s spoken in real life by native speakers.
That’s because you’ll be watching authentic content that Japanese speakers actually watch on the regular.
FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
It naturally and gradually eases you into learning Japanese language and culture. You’ll learn real Japanese as it’s spoken in real life.
Just take a look at the wide variety of authentic video content available in the program. Here’s a small sample:
You’ll discover tons of new Japanese vocabulary through these great clips.
Don’t worry about your skill level being an issue when it comes to understanding the language. FluentU makes native Japanese videos approachable through interactive transcripts.
Tap on any word to look it up instantly.
You’ll see definitions, in-context usage examples and helpful illustrations. Simply tap “add” to send interesting vocabulary words to your personal vocab list for later review.
FluentU even uses a learning program which adapts to your specific needs to turn every video into a language learning lesson and get you to actively practice your newly-learned language skills.
Access FluentU on the website to use it with your computer or tablet or, better yet, start learning Japanese on the go with the FluentU app for iOS or Android!
FluentU is highly recommended for people who are audio-visual learners or who want to learn Japanese with fun content.
Learn Japanese
App Store || Google Play
Category: Vocabulary & Grammar
Price: Free Version; In-app purchases required
Learn Japanese contains over 800 popular words and phrases aimed at beginner learners. The application is grouped into sections like greetings, eating and romance. Users can track their favorite phrases in a personal collection. Each word and phrase is accompanied by audio which can be slowed down manually. Learn Japanese also allows you to record yourself speaking and compare your pronunciation with the program’s to ensure that your pronunciation sounds like that of a native.
Learn Japanese by Mindsnacks
Category: Vocabulary & Grammar
Price: Free
Learn Japanese by Mindsnacks is an app that focuses mostly on building vocabulary, and is great for adults and children alike. The application provides over 800 words and phrases to study, and supports kana, kanji and romaji. The application is broken into different games where users can introduce new vocabulary while advancing to different levels.
Users can quiz themselves on useful vocabulary, as well as learn and review numbers, colors, daily items and more. Each lesson contains 20 words, so you won’t become overwhelmed by an abundance of vocabulary. Also, past lessons can be reviewed in the application’s review mode.
Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese
App Store || Google Play
Category: Vocabulary & Grammar
Price: Free
Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese is collection of Tae Kim’s online grammar guide, smoothed into a user-friendly app. The application is set up like a book, and is exactly as the title reads: a guide. The guide is written for any learner who wants to learn, review or increase their grammar and vocabulary. The guide is broken into different lessons that introduce new grammar, structures and vocabulary.
Beginners can choose to start by introducing themselves to the Japanese writing system and then move on to essential grammar involving verb and adjective conjugation. Advanced users can browse topics that cover special expressions, conditionals and more.
Hello Talk
App Store || Google Play
Category: Digital Japanese Penpals
Price: Free
HelloTalk is a language exchange application that’s available on your iOS or Android device. HelloTalk allows you to talk with others from around the world. You can write a brief summary about yourself in your profile, choose your native language and select the language and level that you’re currently learning. After, you’re able to search for native language partners from around the world! HelloTalk is immensely popular with many users who are eager to start a language exchange.
That platform that you use to chat is very much like any other texting application. What sets HelloTalk apart from similar language exchange apps are some of its useful features. Native speakers can edit your messages and correct your grammar while you chat together about AKB48’s upcoming concert. Users are also able to transcribe a voice message, so you’re not always reading and writing, but can practice speech and comprehension as well.
Lext Talk
Category:Digital Japanese Penpals
Price: Free
Like many of its kind, Lext Talk is an application that allows users to connect to language partners from around the world. Once your profile is complete, you can select which language you speak and which language you’d like to learn.
A very convenient feature that Lext Talk offers is its map. Users can browse and navigate through Lext Talk’s map for language partners in their area, or to find a partner in a specific region. That means things get a whole lot easier if you’re looking for someone who speaks 関西方言 (Kansai dialect).
Lext Talk also provides chatrooms with various themes like “Let’s Learn English” or “Jpop Fans United”, where you can meet friends with similar interests and chat in your desired language.
Doongle (Formerly ePenPal)
Category: Digital Japanese Penpals
Price: Free
Liked the sound of Lext Talk but you have an Android phone? Don’t worry, there’s a similar app for all you Galaxy owners too! Introducing Doongle: the app formerly known as ePenPal that allows its users to share voice messages, photos and more. Like other language exchange apps, you can easily browse maps to find a language partner in the same area, or in a selected region.
This application also allows you to filter through its users’ profiles so you can easily find someone within your age group, who lives in your city or next travel destination, or even someone who shares the same interest in kabuki (traditional Japanese dance-drama).
Doongle also offers a group chat feature, where you can talk about grammar or share tips on how to make a mean okonomiyaki with others.
imiwa?
Category: Dictionary App
Price: Free
Imiwa? is a powerful dictionary that allows you to make searches using kanji, kana or romaji. Words are accompanied by example sentences (with furigana provided) so users can see how new vocabulary is used in conversation. You can also tap a word and hear how it’s pronounced. Other features include verb conjugation charts, notebooks to keep track of your favorite words, JLTP vocabulary lists and more.
One of imiwa?’s most useful features is its kanji feature. You can search for a kanji character simply by drawing the character directly on the screen. Imiwa? also provides helpful guides that allow you to look up kanji by its radicals or strokes. Once you’ve located the character you’re looking for, imiwa? will show you how many strokes the character consists of, and let you practice writing the character as well.
IMI FREE
Google Play (No longer available)
Category: Dictionary
Price: Free
IMI is another brilliant dictionary that allows you to search for vocabulary using kanji, kana or romaji. IMI provides example sentences with new vocabulary, and verbs and adjectives come with a conjugation list.
IMI can work as a study tool as well for any user learning kanji. Users can learn and memorize different characters with IMI’s flashcards. You can also view animated stroke orders, and have the ability to search for kanji easy by its radical or stroke order.
IMI originally planned to release more features in the future that include quizzes and mini games, and the ability to sync study collections across multiple devices, so hopefully it will return soon!
Yomiwa
Category: Dictionary
Price: Limited Version Free
Yomiwa isn’t a like a conventional dictionary. In addition to having multilingual capabilities where learners can translate Japanese into languages other than English including French and German, Yomiwa is particularly useful for translating kanji.
Simply take a picture of the kanji in question or select one from your phone’s photo album and Yomiwa will translate the kanji into the language of your choice. It can read both vertical and horizontal text, and its dictionaries entries are quite extensive allowing you to get to the nuances of the language.
You can also search Japanese words using hiragana, katakana, romaji and even by drawing the kanji itself.
Waygo
App Store || Google Play (No longer available)
Category: Dictionary
Price: Limited Version Free
Like Yomiwa, Waygo allows learners to use a picture of kanji to be translated into English. In fact, Waygo is even capable of live translations: just open up the app, hover your phone’s camera over the Japanese in question and watch as the translation appears on your phone screen right before your eyes.
This capability works offline as well, so users will never be stuck for a translation. Waygo can also translate text from Mandarin and Cantonese into English as well. Waygo’s free version allows up to 10 translations per day.
Kana (Hiragana & Katakana)
App Store || Google Play
Category: Reading & Writing
Price: Free
There are many apps in the market that will help you learn hiragana and katakana. Kana is an app that introduces both alphabets for free, and also shows how they compare to kanji. The application is organized into chapters that provide pronunciation examples, quizzes, flashcards, stroke diagrams and more.
Kana will not only teach you the sound of a character, but will also show you how the character is used in different words. Users can track their progress as they review charts or complete tests.
The producers of Kana also have a similar app for learning and reviewing kanji.
Kana Quiz
Category: Reading & writing
Price: Free
Kana Quiz is a basic application where users are given two study choices: Users can select to read a word in romaji and match it with its kana counterpart, or users can view a word in kana and locate its romaji counterpart. Kana Quiz takes a flashcard approach to learn, and separates hiragana and katakana characters into different levels so you won’t feel overwhelmed by the two alphabets. Each time you tap on a character, a voice will pronounce the character to encourage memorization.
Kanji Senpai
Category: Reading & writing
Price: Free
Kanji Senpai uses spaced repetition system (SRS) which means that once you learn a kanji character it doesn’t go away forever. The characters will come back in later courses to ensure that learned characters don’t slip away from your mind. Kanji Senpai incorporates characters that will show up on all levels of the JLPT, and offers several ways to study different characters.
Users can practice writing characters, create and download custom vocabulary lists and review vocabulary through different quizzes.
Hirameki! Crossword | ひらめき！クロスワード
App Store || Google Play (No longer available)
Category: Game & Social
Price: ¥100
Hirameki! Crossword is a Japanese app that’s available for iOS and Android devices. The app is entirely in Japanese and is aimed at children, which means the interface is easy to navigate and understand. Hirameki! Crossword uses only hiragana, which means that everything from the menu selections to the crossword puzzles themselves are beginner Japanese friendly.
Users have the choice to pass on a puzzle and move onto the next if they find a particular puzzle too easy or difficult. There are plenty of different configurations and modes to keep you entertained, including a practice mode where you can enjoy solving crossword puzzles without being timed.
Pocket Colony
App Store || Google Play
Category: Games & Social
Price: Free
Pocket Colony is a popular app in Japan where users can create a mini “pockatar” that lives in a virtual world. Much like other applications (like LINE PLAY), you and your pockatar can complete quests together, play games, dress up and model a home for yourself. There is a large Japanese presence on this application, and if you’re up for the challenge, you can download the application in Japanese as well.
You can chat in the message boards or travel through different worlds to meet and befriend potential language partners. English support is only available on the iOS version at this time.
Ameba
App Store || Google Play
Category: Games & Social
Price: Free
Ameba is a popular blogging website in Japan. Like many social networking sites, Ameba is available to take with you on your phone. Their application allows you to stay in tune with your favorite bands, fashion icons or video games. Ameba can be downloaded by users across the globe, however, the application itself is in Japanese.
The biggest benefit to using Ameba is that you’ll be able to maintain a blog in Japanese, and find native speakers who share similar interests. This can be a great way to discover new talents in Japan, make friends with native speakers, learn internet slang or record a dairy in Japanese and look back on your improvements later.
What you write about and the amount of writing you do is completely up to you.
So, the next time you’re on your phone while killing some time, don’t play mindless games or scroll social media. With these 16 apps for learning Japanese, you can make the most of your dead time and tap your way to higher fluency!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Japanese with real-world videos.
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When it comes to learning Japanese, every little bit counts. You need to make the most of your time and focus on immersing yourself in the language as often as possible. One way to do that is to use the power of apps on your smartphone! And there are many amazing Japanese learning apps out there.
In fact, there are so many… how do you even know where to begin? Because they aren’t all made equal.
In my experience, I’ve tried a lot of Japanese language learning apps, and some were just a flat out bust. They wasted my time and taught inaccurate info. Others didn’t progress much farther than basic phrases, and I wanted to learn much more than that.
So I’ve rounded up the very best apps to learn Japanese fast. They’re easy to use, make the most of your study time, and help you to cram in Japanese whenever you can.
Learn to Speak Japanese — Pro Tips
Before we get to the apps, let’s go over some pro tips on how to learn to speak Japanese.
If you’re an English speaker (and I’m assuming you at least speak it well, since you’re reading this), then you’ve probably heard how hard Japanese is. But I don’t believe Japanese is any harder than any other language. In fact, I think it all comes down to your interest in the language. If you’re passionate about Japanese, then it will come more naturally to you.
So when you’re learning Japanese, use these tips to improve your study strategy:
- Skip past what you already know. A lot of apps repeat the same information. If you’re not an absolute beginner, don’t keep repeating what you know in every app you start. If you already know hiragana and katakana, move on to kanji… don’t keep reviewing it. That said, reviewing is good, but not if you never progress.
- Stick with only one or two apps at a time. If you want to test out the apps below, that’s fine. Test them out and find what works for you. But then stick to one or two, and hold off on the rest. Dive deep into them and get through them, instead of jumping around when it gets hard.
- Make sure you’re well-rounded. Don’t pick two apps that only focus on writing, for example. You’ll be neglecting your other language learning skills. Focus on improving your speaking, reading, listening, and writing.
- Don’t only use apps. Apps are great, but they’re supplementary. Don’t use them as your exclusive practice! Find other resources, too.
For other resources, check out our Japanese language learning resources page. I also highly recommend finding a Japanese language exchange partner, and the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge to push your skills to the next level. (You can read my experience learning Japanese in the Fi3M Challenge here.)
The Best Apps to Learn Japanese
If you’re serious about learning Japanese, these are the places to start. These are the best apps to learn Japanese with extensive learning materials that cover all four language skills.
Innovative Language: JapanesePod101
Innovative Language is one of the best resources for learning any language, but especially Japanese.
These Japanese lessons are effective, accurate, and cover a wide variety of topics and skill levels.
You can learn Japanese slang, onomatopoeia, or prepare for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. And they have lessons if you’re learning for travel, all the way to advanced lessons.
JapanesePod101 also has amazing culture lessons. Culture is a huge part of the Japanese language, and they offer several seasons of podcasts on all kinds of cultural insights.
JapanesePod101 is a podcast but also has video lessons, PDF notes, a word bank, and tutors. You’ll also select your Japanese level, and they’ll give you a “lesson plan” to progress through. The app is free to download but worth getting the premium package.
You can get JapanesePod101 here.
Mimic Method Japanese
Mimic Method is technically not an app, but I wanted to include it because it’s great for listening to on the go. It focuses on listening comprehension and speaking like a native.
By learning all the elemental sounds of Japanese, you start understanding faster because it won’t sound “foreign” anymore. It’s all about learning to mimic what you hear and focusing on the sounds so you can speak like a native. You’re learning “by ear”, the same way one might learn how to play an instrument.
You can learn the 31 elemental sounds of Japanese and master the pronunciation.
Read our review of the Mimic Method here.
LingQ
LingQ is a vast library of audio, video, and written content to help you improve your Japanese language skills. It can be difficult and time-consuming to find native Japanese content at your skill level that you’re actually interested in… but LingQ does that for you. The premise is you learn best when you’re interested, so immerse yourself in interesting Japanese content.
Learn Japanese Mac App Download
It’s also a language learner community, where you can find a language exchange partner, as well.
Read our review of LingQ here.
Mondly
Mondly is one of the best-known language learning apps out there, with a ton of different types of content. There’s mondlyVR for a virtual reality immersion experience. There’s mondlyKIDS to help your kids learn through play. Mondly for businesses, and so much more.
One of the coolest things about Mondly, though, is that you can learn Japanese… from any language. Meaning, if you’ve already learned Spanish, you can learn Japanese from Spanish. It doesn’t have to be English to Japanese! This is a handy feature for people who have learned more than one language. So, you keep up their other languages while learning Japanese.
This one is best if you’re a beginner to the language but it can work up to an intermediate level.
Drops
Drops is a free app with a paid upgrade option, and it’s absolutely worth the premium price. Drops helps you learn vocabulary fast on a wide range of topics. I’ve learned so many words I had never even thought of learning, but are helpful to know.
The free version allows you to study for five minutes per day, but the premium version gives you access to the Dojo for reviewing and unlimited study time. Plus, you can use your account to switch between languages. So if you decide to learn another (or Japanese is your newest language you’re picking up), it’s great for multilingual study.
They also have another app, Scripts, that’s specific for learning to write in another language, like Japanese.
Free Japanese Learning Apps
LingoDeer
A fantastic app for absolute beginners to intermediate learners. LingoDeer has several courses of study based on the JLPT N5 – N3 levels. The format is like Rosetta Stone. You learn by trial-and-error and image association. Meaning, you see a picture with the Japanese word, instead of seeing the English and Japanese words side-by-side. The design of this app is super cute and easy to navigate.
There are a lot of free lessons to get you to an upper-beginner level. But the premium version would be needed for the intermediate lessons.
Beelingual
Beelingual is a reading app. It’s full of short stories, novels, children’s stories, and news in your target language. It ranks the stories by the level of difficulty and includes audio and the translation to guide you along.
While it does have quite a few pop-ups, it’s still a helpful app. And the unlimited version is only a couple of dollars a month, if you want more to read.
Anki
A classic. The app itself is simple with no fluff, but it’s efficient. You load in your flashcard decks (or make your own) and Anki uses spaced repetition to help you memorize it. This one is a must-have.
Read our guide on how to use Anki here.
NHK News Easy
From top Japanese news source NHK, this app helps beginners and intermediate Japanese learners improve reading comprehension. It takes real NHK news articles and simplifies them to shorter, easier to digest articles. The kanji and vocab are often more simple, and the articles will highlight new words. It links to a dictionary as well and often includes audio or video.
Bunpo
Bunpo, which means “grammar” in Japanese, helps you master Japanese grammar based on your level. It has 6 categories: the 5 JLPT levels and an absolute beginner category to learn kana and basic words.
The app has a clean design and explains all the important grammar to know in a clear and easy way. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered this app. Grammar I had struggled with before was explained in a better way, with clear examples.
After it teaches you the grammar, it quizzes you on what you learned. As you progress, you can move up levels until you’ve mastered them all.
Takoboto Japanese Dictionary
It’s always a good idea to have a dictionary app, and Takoboto is one of the best. Search for the words in kana, kanji, romaji, or English, and it’ll pop up with all the answers you need. You can also see the kanji breakdown and stroke order, and example sentences.
Learn Japanese Mac App Keyboard
Poro
Poro has three different Japanese apps. One for vocab, one for phrases, and one for kanji.
While the pop-up ads can get a bit annoying, it’s a good app. The kanji one, especially, can help you memorize it faster. It includes helpful mnemonics and a radical breakdown of the kanji. Poro is available for Android and Apple.
Japanese Learning Games
Why not make a game out of learning? These apps will help you learn Japanese while playing around. It won’t even feel like studying!
Learn Japanese with Bucha
Similar in style to Super Mario, you have to answer Japanese vocabulary questions fast to jump over goomba-like creatures, and collect sushi.
Get it on Android and Apple.
Learn Japanese with Yami
An RPG-style adventure game. You earn coins and materials for your character by correctly answering questions in Japanese. You can customize your character and their weapon, and fight creatures.
Get it on Android and Apple.
Japanese Dungeon
Like a Game Boy style quest (think like Dragon Quest). You travel through a dungeon defeating different bosses to earn coins so you can “travel to Japan.” Because the main dashing hero is broke. Relatable, right?
Find it for Android or Apple.
Learn Japanese Mac Apps
PokemonGo, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, and any Nintendo game
If you change your language settings on your phone to Japanese, almost any game or app will change its language to Japanese. But the best, most fun way to use this?
Learn Japanese Mac App Installer
With Nintendo gaming apps, for Android or Apple.
Download your favorite, switch your language, and play away in Japanese! I especially like Animal Crossing for this.
Learn Japanese with Apps, Anytime, Any Place
Now no matter your learning style, you can master Japanese right on your smartphone. There are tons of great Japanese apps, making it easier than ever to learn Japanese.
These are some of my favorites, but I’d love to hear from you, too. Which Japanese learning apps do you love? Leave a comment below and let me know!
And finally... One of the best ways to learn a new language is with podcasts. Read more about how to use podcasts to learn a language.