Apps for learning Japanese can be daunting in amount, but this overview will help you find the best ones. Included here are only the best apps I selected based on my own personal experiences, five years’ worth of living and working in Japan, and the input of others whose opinions I trust.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Learning Japanese Android
Busuu
Price: Free / $17.99 per year / $29.99 per 2 years
Busuu screenshot 2022
Busuu is one of many language learning apps with a whole heap of available languages. Japanese is, in fact, among them. The app tests you on your current knowledge so it knows to skip the intro stages if you already have some Japanese-speaking experience. In addition, the app includes accent training, grammar tips, and over 150 courses in total. There is even support for offline learning. Much of the app is free to use. However, to get the full experience, you have to pay for a subscription. There are three, six, 12, and 24-month subscriptions available. We highly recommend going 12 or 24 because the others aren’t a great deal comparatively.
See also: The best language learning apps for Android of 2021
Drops: Learn Japanese
Price: Free / $7.49 per month / $48.99 per year / $109.99 once
Drops: Learn Japanese is one of the newer Japanese learning apps. It tries to liven up the learning experience. You only get five minutes per day to learn Japanese. Additionally, the app includes games, simple controls, and more. It puts a much lower emphasis on grammar in favor of vocabulary and phrases. You learn a great deal about the language this way. The app gives you 1,700 words across 99 topics. That should be enough for beginners at least. There is a subscription for all of the features or you can pay for the whole thing at once. It’s your choice.
HelloTalk
Price: Free / $1.99-$4.99 per month / $21.99-$29.99 per year
HelloTalk screenshot 2021
HelloTalk is an excellent app for learners. The app hooks you up with fellow language learners. You teach them your language and they teach you theirs. This progressive premise uses community and cultural exchange as the main vehicle for learning. We thought that was neat. The app supports over 100 languages, including Japanese, as well as audio and video calls, text messages, and more. We might not recommend this as a sole source of learning. However, this with a phrasebook or a free app like LingoDeer is an excellent and potent combination.
See also: The best Japanese to English dictionaries and phrasebooks on Android
Learn Japanese Offline
Price: Free / $1.49
Learn Japanese Offline screenshot
Learn Japanese Offline is another helpful tool for learners. It’s basically a phrasebook. The app contains over 1,000 words and phrases in Japanese across over a dozen categories. It works best for independent study for immediate need. However, we still recommend a course-style app for the bulk of your learning. Nevertheless, this app is cheap, accessible, and makes a handy tool for learners and travelers. It is missing a few phrases. However, active learners should have multiple apps to help fill in the gaps.
LingoDeer
Price: Free / $11.99 per month / $39.99 per 3 months / $79.99 per year / $199.99 once
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LingoDeer screenshot 2021
LingoDeer is one of the better free Japanese learning apps. It uses bite-sized lessons with simple vocabulary and works its way up from there. It shows things in writing as well as audio clips with proper pronunciation. The app also features offline downloads, support for Kana, Kanji, and Romaji, 2,000 words and phrases, and over 150 lessons. The app is rather expensive, but at least there is a single payment option alongside the subscription service so you can choose the route you want to take.
See also: The best translation apps for Android
Memrise
Price: Free / $9 per month / $59.99 per year
Memrise is one of the most popular language learning apps on mobile. It supports dozens of languages, including Japanese. Its approach is rather broad. You learn vocabulary and grammar through a variety of exercises, games, lessons, and quizzes. It also includes offline support, daily goals, a pronunciation guide, reading games, and a bot that teaches you proper grammar. The subscription is a bit expensive. However, this app is for serious learners. We highly recommend at least trying it.
Mondly
Price: Free / $9.99 per month / $47.99 per year
Mondly Learn Japanese 2019 screenshot
Mondly is another popular and powerful language learning app. This one supports dozens of languages including Japanese. It uses conversational Japanese to teach. You’re thrown into a conversation where you learn core words. The app expands from there. It’s a lot better than memorizing hundreds of words right off the bat and we appreciated its progressive system. The app also features audio pronunciations, speech recognition (for your own practice), quick sessions, and more. It’s one of the most expensive in terms of monthly subscriptions costs. However, it is a serious app for serious learners, much like Memrise.
See also: The best anime apps for Android
Rosetta Stone
Price: Free / Up to $199.99
Rosetta Stone – best language learning apps
Rosetta Stone is one of the bigger names in language learning. It’s also among the most expensive. The company uses a proprietary learning method. It seems to work fairly well. Rosetta Stone isn’t exactly new in this space. There are 24 languages to choose from, including Japanese. It uses a method where it teaches basic words and phrases first and then expands from there. It gets rather expensive. Subscriptions range from $49.99 every three months to $94.99 every 12 months. However, we recommend the one-time $199.99 fee so that you get it all for good.
Simply Learn Japanese
Price: Free / Up to $6.99
best japanese learning apps
Simply Learn Japanese is, well, a simple app for Japanese learners. It works best as a study aid rather than a full set of courses. The app includes flashcards, a phrasebook with over 1,200 phrases, audio pronunciations, and even some quizzes. It uses a spaced repetition system. It’s not the most effective in our experience, but it’s better than nothing, especially for its price. This one is cheap and pairs well with other learning apps for a fuller, faster experience.
See also: The best English learning apps for Android
Tandem
Price: Free / $6.99 per month / $34.99 per year
Tandem screenshot 2022
Tandem is a lot like HelloTalk. The app links you with other language learners around the world. You teach them your language and they teach you theirs. This one also includes video, voice, and text chats along with audio and picture messages. It also supports over 150 languages as well as over 2,500 language combinations. We’re sure that whatever language you speak and Japanese are linked up. We recommend this one as a study aid much as we do with HelloTalk. In fact, the two apps are basically interchangeable. It’s just a matter of finding the one you like better. Speaky is another app in this space that isn’t half bad.
Best app to learn japanese for beginners free
- Learn Japanese
Learn Japanese
Learn Japanese is one of the best free Japanese learning apps, and it will help you strengthen your vocabulary and grammar skills. You can learn more than 800 useful Japanese words and phrases like greetings, expressions, and terms for dining out. The app also includes audio, so you can listen to the pronunciation of the words. You can also record yourself speaking, so you can work on perfecting your own pronunciation.
- Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese
Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese
This app is useful for both beginner and intermediate students, and serves as a guide for anyone who wants to learn or strengthen their Japanese language skills. You can learn grammar, Japanese language structure, and vocabulary. If you’re new to the language, you can start with an introduction to the Japanese writing system, and then move on to conjugating verbs and adjectives. If you’re more advanced, you can learn specific expressions and more complex aspects of the Japanese language.
- Learn Japanese by Mindsnacks
Learn Japanese by Mind Snacks
Learn Japanese by Mindsnacks is the best app for learning Japanese. It will help you build your Japanese vocabulary with more than 800 words and phrases. This app is great for children, but works well for adults as well. You can learn kanji, kana, and romaji by playing games that gradually introduce the Japanese language. As you advance through the games, you will build your knowledge of Japanese vocabulary and grammar. You can learn 20 words from each lesson, and the review mode allows you to go over previous lessons to build on what you’ve learned.
- imiwa?
imiwa
imiwa? is a dictionary app that helps you learn Japanese words. Search and listen to kana, kanji, and romaji words, and practice your pronunciation. Each word is used in sentence form to help you understand proper usage. This app will also teach you how to conjugate verbs. Use the notebook feature to make lists of words and look up the corresponding characters. Once you find the character you’re looking for, the app will show you the number of strokes, and help you practice writing the characters.
- TenguGO Kana
TenguGO Kana
TenguGo Kana is one of the best Japanese learning apps to practice hiragana and katakana. Learn the Japanese alphabets with charts, quizzes, stroke diagrams, and flashcards. This app gives you a good foundation once you’re ready to learn kanji, since it lets you see how hiragana and katakana relate to kanji.
- Waygo Translator & Dictionary
Waygo
Waygo will come in handy as you learn to read and write in Japanese. Snap a picture on your phone of any characters you don’t understand, and then use the app to find the English translation. Once you’ve translated a word or sentence, you can listen to the pronunciation. If you’re planning a trip to Japan, you should definitely get this app, it will help you translate menus, signs, and anything else you may not understand while traveling.
- HelloTalk
Hello Talk
One of the best ways to practice your Japanese speaking skills is to converse with other Japanese speakers. HelloTalk allows you to do just that right from your mobile device.
In fact, HelloTalk is perhaps the best app to learn conversational Japanese!
Your HelloTalk friends can even edit your messages to ensure you’re using proper grammar and sentence structure.
- Pimsleur Japanese
The best app to learn Japanese for advanced learners is Pimsleur. There are plenty of resources on this learn Japanese app for beginner students, too, but it works primarily on fortifying your skills in the basics quickly so you can go on to have conversations with native speakers.
Although the Pimsleur Method has been around for many years, it was only recently released in an app form.
- JA Sensei
This Japanese learning app has all kinds of features to help you learn Japanese, from reading comprehension activities to situational Japanese lessons and even practice with kanji stroke order.
There’s even a culture section and a phrasebook to make it easier for you to converse confidently when you travel to Japan!
- Human Japanese
Japanese is an incredibly unique language, entwined with a rich cultural heritage and all kinds of linguistic nuances. This app takes all those nuances into account, offering pace-focused teaching and well-rounded lessons that incorporate cultural insights.
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