Rocket Japanese is the most comprehensive course available for anyone looking to learn Japanese online. The full language course will take you from absolute beginner to intermediate level. In Rocket Japanese you are taught using two lesson tracks: one to teach you vocabulary, and the other to teach you grammar. The vocabulary lessons are called interactive audio lessons. They are built around a recorded dialogue between two native speakers. Each lesson teaches pronunciation and points out key phrases and vocabulary. The lessons are designed to get you speaking from day one. The dialogues cover plausible everyday situations and supply you with phrases that can easily be used in a real conversation. Each lesson gives you the chance to role play as someone speaking Japanese. It's an effective way to cement the phrases into your brain. and build your language skills.

The grammar lessons are called Japanese language and culture lessons. They provide in depth explanations and examples of Japanese grammar. They also delve into cultural topics too. Often in the grammar lessons you will work with phrases similar to the ones in the interactive audio lessons.

Rocket Japanese's two lesson approach is really what sets it apart from other online Japanese language courses. There is something to said for learning grammar after you've already spent some time speaking the language. Traditional online Japanese language courses usually teach grammar first, and leave you to fend for yourself when it comes to speaking.

Rocket Japanese also teaches you how to read and write too. The first level of the course doesn't have any writing lessons, but once you get into levels two and three you will be working a lot with the written Japanese language.

Japanesepod101

Japanesepod101 started out a couple decades ago as a simple podcast for learning Japanese online. Since then is has grown into one of the largest resource hubs for anyone interested in learning Japanese as a foreign language. The mainstay of the site (which is also available as an app) are the Japanese podcast lessons. Each episode features a real conversation between native Japanese speakers. Two podcast hosts act as your personal Japanese teachers during each lesson. They introduce the dialogue, point out and explain new vocabulary and grammar, and also share insights into Japanese culture. The Japanese lessons come with full transcripts in English, romaji, as well as kana and kanji. Japanesepod101 lets you play back individual phrases and record yourself to compare your Japanese pronunciation to the person speaking. There are literally thousands of podcast episodes spread across five lesson tracts ranging from beginner to advanced. While the majority of the Japanese lessons focus on teaching you vocabulary and grammar; other lesson units also teach how to read and write kanji and kana, pronunciation, cultural etiquette, slang and more.

The site isn't limited to just Japanese language podcast episodes. There a ton of other language resources to discover too. There's a Japanese to English dictionary, video lessons, word frequency lists, kanji bank, space repetition flash cards, verb conjugation charts, downloadable eBooks, and a lot more. Japanesepod101 offers a free lifetime account and a premium account at a low cost monthly subscription (starting at $4).

Pimsleur

Pimsleur is one of the oldest language programs on the market. There's a reason their courses have been around so long: they work. Pimsleur is an audio course that teaches you how speak and read Japanese. The secret sauce behind Pimsleur is their trademarked technique. You are taught whole phrases word by word and syllable by syllable (with a big emphasis on correct pronunciation). Then you are prompted to answer and ask questions using the phrases you've learned. You have a limited amount of time to response to each prompt before the correct response is given by a native Japanese speaker. This creates a sort of pressure to think of what to say before tie runs out. It's similar to the feeling you get when speaking with real people. Initially the lessons use a lot of English as they teach and explain Japanese. As the course progresses, English is used less and less until finally the lessons are completely in your target language. The situations presented in the course are centered on everyday situations you're likely to encounter in Japanese culture.

Pimsleur also includes reading lessons in their Japanese language course. You'll be taught hiragana, katakana, as well as characters. Initially you start reading Japanese phonetically using kana (learners don't always know the meaning of the word they read, but do know how they are pronounced). Then gradually you begin reading phrases from previous lessons and start to understand what you read.

Not too long ago Pimsleur was only available on CD rom. Now the course has been updated and is available on the new Pimsleur app. If you want to start speaking Japanese then it's definitely worth checking out!

Good Online Japanese classes and courses

FluentU

Watching movies, anime, tv shows, and news is fun and effective way to learn Japanese language and culture. But for beginner and even intermediate students it can be hard to learn Japanese with video. You often find yourself wanting to switch between English and Japanese subtitles, or you have to constantly pause the video and go look up a word's definition. This is where FluentU comes in.

FluentU teaches languages through video through their site and app. They feature videos from Japanese movies, tv, news, online videos, and more. You can toggle Japanese subtitles and English subtitles. You can click any word in the subtitle and you will be instantly given a definition as well as a list of example sentences. You can even make flashcards from the word using the onsite flashcard system. FluentU is great for learning new vocabulary or practice what you're already familiar with.

 Italki

Italki is the world’s largest marketplace of online language teachers. Lessons range from 30 minutes to an hour and a half long (but are typically one hour). Teachers provide their own language learning materials like pdf textbooks, video or audio files, shared documents, and more. At the time of writing this article there are well over 600 teachers on Italki offering online Japanese courses. Each teacher follows their own method of teaching and they set their own price. It’s worth it to shop around and find the best online language teacher for you. 

Though Italk is mainly known for its paid online language lessons, there are also a ton of useful free resources available for anyone looking to learn Japanese. Italki lets you browse the profiles of other users based on their native language and the language they’re learning, and message them. The idea is to find someone fluent in your target language who is themselves learning English, so you can practice your respective target languages together. There are a lot of Japanese students on the site learning English, so If you want a Japanese speaking partner Italki is definitely worth checking out. 

Italki also features an online public notebook, where you can write journal entries in Japanese and have them corrected by a native Japanese speaker (this is great for writing practice) There’s also a language learning blog and public forum where you can ask other users fun questions about Japanese culture and language.  

*with purchase of $20 or more. After you complete your first lesson 10 free Italki credits will be added to your account at no cost.

Glossika

Glossika is an AI driven platform that helps you develop your speaking and listening skills. Like every other course on this list, Glossika teaches Japanese vocabulary and grammar. Unlike most other courses, Glossika also puts a huge emphasis on teaching syntax. Syntax is the way words and phrases are formed to create longer sentences. Good Japanese syntax would mean you know the right words to use, and you know where to use them in a natural sentence. If you think of the analogy of a wooden house vocabulary would be the wood, grammar would be the nails and tools, and syntax would be the instructions you use to put everything together.

Glossika's Japanese lessons never teach a word or grammar rule in isolation. You will always be working with complete phrases (that’s where syntax comes in). The course functions like a foreign language workout program. There are three exercise types that make up Glossika Japanese: listen & repeat training, helpful interpretation training, and dictation training. Each day you complete one training session. Together these training exercises are an excellent way to practice Japanese in a holistic way.

With Glossika students will learn Japanese phrases, but the course doesn’t dive that deep into grammar.  

Still, there’s something to be said for conversational language learning. If you want to start using basic conversational Japanese, then Glossika is worth looking at. 

FSI Japanese Courses

FSI Japanese courses are a series of language learning courses that were developed by the US Foreign Service Institute to teach and train American diplomats and personnel who work abroad. These Japanese courses are in the public domain and free to download and use. For each course there is a textbook and accompanying audio. These courses are heavily audio based, and students will be listening to and repeating Japanese phrases over and over (not unlike Pimsleur). To be honest the courses can feel repetitive and even dull at times. Even so the method works. If you have the discipline and tenacity to work through these Japanese learning courses your ability to speak and understand Japanese will improve significantly. Depending on the course the content can feel dated and the vocabulary a bit on the formal side (you won’t find any slang or overly casual speech here).

 As mentioned before, the courses come at no cost and are legal to download and be used by anyone. At the very least they’re worth looking at. 

EDX Online Courses

EDX is an online learning platform created by MIT and Harvard. It offers college level courses across a wide variety of topics. The courses on EDX are taught by professors and professionals from universities around the world. Some of the courses on EDX are free, while others you have to pay money to attend. Currently EDX hosts a series of free beginner Japanese courses taught by professors from Waseda University in Japan.  

In addition to Japanese language courses, EDX also has several courses on Japanese culture, history, and even business. This includes a two part course on Postwar Tokyo, a Japanese business management class, and a course on Japanese folklore. 

Kanji Study

Kanji study is essentially a course for reading and writing Japanese made available as an app. The app is designed to take learners from the level of absolute beginner to an advanced level in Japanese reading (according to the N5-N1 levels of JLPT). The course offers free Japanese lessons on kana, radicals, and 80 of the most common characters for the beginner level. If you want to start studying at a higher level you will need to make a one time cost of $12.99 (not bad for the price) Each of the higher levels on the app teach anywhere from 200 to 300 Kanji. There are ten levels on the app.

Minato by the Japan Foundation

Minato offers free self-study courses for Japanese. Courses are categorized by difficulty level or by topic. Lessons are largely text based and feature common conversational phrases. There are also lessons on hiragana, katakana and kanji. There's even a course for learning common phrases from anime and magna!

Marugoto

Marugoto is an online Japanese course for beginners. It uses a combination of audio, video, and exercises in its Japanese lessons. All audio and video is done by native speakers. This program is a great option for students who want learn Japanese as a beginner.

Learn the Japanese language with IMABI

IMABI is less an online course, and more like a free online reference tool. It features dense and no nonsense lessons on Japanese grammar (and some content on vocab too). Students won't find any activities, exercises, or games here. The information here isn't the most fun, but it is helpful.

Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese

Take Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese is a free online Japanese grammar course written in layman’s terms. Tae Kim breaks down the mystery behind the language as explicitly as he can. Sentences are broken down into their smaller grammatical parts, and example phrases are abundant. It’s the ultimate grammar reference guide, and throughout your Japanese language learning journey you will find yourself coming back to it to review again and again. Want to know the best part about Tae Kim’s guide? It doesn't cost anything! You can find it on his website, or download the Tae Kim app.

Lingodeer

The Lingodeer Japanese course is built around topical units such as nature, food, shapes, family, etc. Each unit has anywhere from 2-5 lessons. Lessons are similar to what you might expect from an app like Duolingo or Babbel (albeit better catered to Asian languages). Learners practice vocabulary by completing a set of exercises like fill in the blank, matching, listening comprehension, and translation. Lingodeer is a good way to get your feet wet in the language and review what you already know. You can start learning with the beginner units for free. Some premium features available at an extra cost.

Verbling

Similar to Italki, Verbling is a site that connects language learners with teachers for one on one online courses. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two sites is that Verbling courses exclusively use the site’s own platform for video lessons (whereas Italki teachers usually use Skype). Verbling’s platform makes it easy to take notes, share files, and even make flashcards while learning with a teacher. These features are included in the lesson price. Unfortunately Verbling doesn’t have the free community features found on Italki. Aside from occasional online articles, you won’t find any resources on Verbling besides their courses. Each teacher on Verbling sets their own price.

Honorable mentions

Duolingo

Any casual reader of our blog knows that we are big fans of the Duolingo online courses and apps. However, their Japanese course falls a bit short.

For starters Duolingo doesn't put much effort in teaching written Japanese lessons. Japanese characters make an appearance in the course, but they're an after thought at best. Moreover, the differences between kanji, hiragana, and katakana isn't always clear. If this app was all you had to learn Japanese, you might not ever understand how written Japanese works.

Grammar is also a bit problematic. The sentence structure isn't always clear from the exercises. Many of the nuances of the Japanese language are never covered. Exercises are often so easy to guess that they require little brain power from learners. As a result a lot of information you're learning doesn't stick and your language skills can suffer for it.

Rosetta Stone

Honestly Rosetta Stone has never been our favorite language learning platform. Their courses have some value if you're learning a language from the Romantic family like Spanish or French. But if you're learning Japanese, the Rosetta Stone method falls flat on its face. Their method follows a strict no translation and no explanation policy.

The cost of RS is high relative to other learning resources.

Often learners walk away with more questions than answers, as it's often not clear precisely what a specific Japanese phrase means. Also writing systems like Japanese need to be explained in order to be taught to native English speakers. The price for the program is also high compared to others. Needless to say we don't recommend Rosetta Stone as a Japanese learning course.

Updated November 19, 2023

If you want to learn Japanese, finding a good program is hard...

Which is surprising when there are almost 130 million people who speak Japanese in Japan and aboard. Not to mention Japanese culture has made inroads across the globe. 

Many language education companies take their best Spanish and French program and more or less copy and paste Japanese phrases into it. Then they slap a "best way to learn Japanese fast" sticker on and sell it to new learners. 

Converting a Spanish course into a French or Italian course wouldn't be that hard. It's easier learning a language closely related to your native one....in a way you have already have a head start But the truth is that, in linguistic terms, Japanese is its own language when compared to English. 

Differences in grammar, no shared vocabulary with English, and a complex writing system all mean that if you're going to make a program for learning Japanese you really have to go the extra mile. 

In this post:

First we'll discuss the four features of the language that a good Japanese course should cover: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and writing.

Then we'll dive into our top list of programs to help you get started learning Japanese.

What is the best method to learn Japanese?

The best way to learn Japanese is to learn it holistically. Here's a quick list of the 3 important aspects of the language you'll need to learn to do that.  

1) Good explanation of grammar

Japanese grammar is markedly different from English grammar. Some of the difficulties English speakers encounter with Japanese grammar include: a different word order (subject, verb, object, etc), implied words that are omitted, the absence of auxiliary verbs, verb tenses, and more.

The best courses strike a balance between exposing a learner to new material, and not exposing them to so much new gramma they lose their way while learning Japanese.

A solid understanding of grammar is a step by step process, and course material should reflect that.

It recognizes the levels of honorific language

One often overlook aspect of Japanese grammar is its honorific language.

The Japanese language has many levels of formality that affect which word forms you use and when. Words may change based on your relationship with the person you're talking to, or the context of the situation you're in.

While you can't pick up all the cultural nuances of the language directly from a program, a good one will at least introduce you to the different forms and give you a general idea of how to use them when speaking in Japan.

Some Japanese programs completely ignore the levels of formality and only teach you the most formal level of the language.

2) Vocabulary

When you learn Japanese and start combining an understanding of grammar with a wider vocabulary your speaking abilities really start to take off. The best Japanese course will expose you to new vocabulary in the context of phrases, texts, or even conversations.

When you use the classic textbook approach to build your vocabulary, you’re simply memorizing the translations of Japanese words. It can be hard to recall new words during a conversation, not to mention route memorization in and of itself can get pretty dull.

If you learn Japanese words in the greater context of phrases and conversations you'll understand their meaning without necessarily having to translate them. 

It also provides a broader picture of how the word(s) function in the language and make them easier to remember when you need them. 

3) Pronunciation

Why pronunciation is important

To learn a language fluently you can't overlook pronunciation. Pronunciation is one of the fundamental building blocks of learning Japanese.

When you can correctly speak Japanese sounds it will be much easier for you to 1) understand Japanese people and 2) remember new phrases. All too often students make the mistake of only memorizing sentences from textbooks or flashcards. 

Thus to them, words are written symbols that they have to translate from English in their mind before they speak.

Knowing new words phonetically (while also learning them from text), helps you cut down on the translating students do in their head. This way a Japanese word isn’t just a written symbol, but also an audible (and thus memorable) sound. 

This is why veteran language learners often recommend that you learn Japanese pronunciation at the start of your studies. 

Best way to learn pronunciation

In any language good pronunciation starts with breaking down speech into individual syllables/sounds. In Japanese this is most easily done by learning hiragana (after all hiragana are designed to be read as individual syllables!).

The majority of your pronunciation work will be with hiragana, but even after you’re comfortable with the script you will have to practice imitating native speakers in order to master a Japanese accent. 

4) It teaches written Japanese

The Japanese writing system is very complex, in fact it's one of the most complex writing systems in the world. Written Japanese combines two character systems: one that represents words (kanji) and one that represents syllables (kana). 

Kana is broken into to two forms hiragana and katakana. Both essentially work as a Japanese phonetic alphabet with katakana being used for foreign loan words and hiragana used for native words.

Theoretically you could spell out any word or phrase exclusively in kana lettering. The only problems is that Japanese is written with no spaces in between words. That's where the kanji come in...

Written Japanese uses a combination of kanji and kana to express meaning. Learning kana isn't too bad. To the native English speakers it's just an odd looking alphabet. 

The trouble comes in trying to learn kanji. Because they are logographic (they represent words or phrases), the only sure fire way to remember them is memorization.

Most language learning programs gloss over kanji completely, which puts new Japanese learners at a serious disadvantage when they get closer to an intermediate level of Japanese. Just imagine traveling to Japan and not be able to read!

Best way to learn Japanese (Our Top Picks)

1) Learn holistically with Rocket Japanese

Rocket Japanese is an online Japanese course built around recorded audio in the form of dialogues. The dialogues have English explanations help you learn the language in "chunks" or phrases versus individual words (this is great for learning to speak Japanese conversationally). 

Vocabulary and grammar

Rocket Japanese offers two lesson tracks: one which focuses on grammar, and the other on vocabulary.

Students work through the two lesson tracks at the same time, so they can build out their grammar knowledge and vocabulary evenly.

The vocabulary lessons are called audio lessons, and use Japanese dialogues

Each lesson teaches the vocabulary used in the dialogue, so you can see how the vocabulary works in context.

The grammar centric lessons are called language & culture lessons, and break down the Japanese grammar behind a given text or phrases. These lessons also touch on various aspects of Japanese culture. 

You can create flashcards of words from each lesson and study them using Rocket languages' spaced repetition flashcard system. 

Pronunciation and speaking

Rocket Japanese is a good resource on pronunciation, as each audio lesson allows you to listen to the given dialogue as a whole, word by word, or even syllable by syllable.

This provides you with a great way to imitate Japanese speakers, develop your ear for the language, and overall improve your pronunciation. 

Each lesson also provides users with audio playback for the conversation at different speeds so learners can practice their listening comprehension. Playback is also available for individual phrases so you can focus on initiating and hearing the correct pronunciation.

Rocket Japanese emphasizes more formal Japanese but does make a distinction between the various levels of politeness. 

Written characters

What really makes the program standout is that Rocket Japanese also has a hefty literacy component. Level 1 covers kana. Levels 2 and 3 focus on learning kanji. This includes videos on how to actually write the characters. 

The emphasis on the writing system is the main reason Rocket Languages is our first pick. Most Japanese courses simply don't offer any help with writing or reading. The course's focus on conversational vocabulary will also help anyone wishing to speak Japanese.

2) Listen to podcasts with Japanesepod101 

Japanesepod101 is really closer to an app than a program. It's built around audio lessons just like Rocket Japanese.

The main difference is that Rocket Japanese is more structured and provides more resources for reading and writing overall.

Japanesepod101 is also a lot cheaper than Rocket Japanese.

Japanesepod101 is one of the most popular Japanese learning resources out there.

This is because at its price point it provides a ton of value. There are over 1,000 lessons on the site to help anyone from beginner to advanced learn Japanese. 

Japanesepod101 provides well structured lessons around difficulty level and subject

Japanesepod101's podcast style lessons

The lessons are set up as podcast episodes and usually feature two hosts and a prerecorded conversation between real life native Japanese speakers.

The hosts do an excellent job of keeping the content engaging and they also explain grammar points and vocabulary pretty well too. They even shed light on Japanese culture and traditions. 

The site features transcripts for each lessons in kanji, romaji, hiragana, and English. There is also a flashcard system for cementing your kanji knowledge. 

Japanesepod101 teaches how to read Japanese and write it

Japanesepod101 provides entire lesson packs on how to read kana.

There’s well over 100 lessons available on learning kanji, and even a 25 lesson tract which is focused completely on how to write kanji. 

When paired with the podcast transcripts these lessons are a great resource for learning how to read and write in Japanese. 

3) Read and listen to Japanese with Pimsleur 

Pimsleur's conversational approach

Pimsleur is a completely audio based approach to learning a foreign language, and is a great resource for anyone interested in speaking Japanese.

Each 30 minute audio lesson is built around a question-recall-response method that forces you to think and speak Japanese as if you were actually having a real conversation or practicing at a language exchange.

Pimsleur is designed so that you use a language and learn it at the same time.

The courses are highly structured, provide great practice, and will leave you with a working knowledge of the spoken language.

Pimsleur's focus on pronunciation and speaking

Pimsleur lessons focus a lot on pronunciation.

While the app always teaches phrases in the context of a conversation, new sounds are introduced to the learner by syllable so that he or she can practice mimicking the native speaker. 

No other audio course I know of deals as thoroughly with pronunciation as Pimsleur does. It helps accelerate your learning and prepares you for real world conversations in Japan.

Pimsleur's reading lessons

The app also has reading lessons, which start off by teaching you to read hiragana phonetically.

At first no translation of the words is given (along with recorded audio of a native speaker reading the given word), this is so your brain can focus on the sounds produced by the letters.

Gradually you will start reading for meaning, and you will start to see vocabulary from the audio lessons you’ve already completed.

After hiragana, katakana and kanji are also introduced. 

Pimsleur lets you access all 5 levels of their courses for $14.95 a month.

They also offer a 1 week free trial of their courses so you can test them out before you pay.

4) Learn basic Japanese with Duolingo

Duolingo is usually one of the first courses we recommend for foreign language learning. It's effective and fun to use.  But there are some things to note about their Japanese course

There's some kanji used in Duolingo, but mostly you will be using hiragana.

Because of the complexity of the Japanese language a successful completion of the course should put you at around an A2.

Most Duolingo courses get you to around a B1 in a foreign language. 

Katakana also makes an appearance but is sort casually mixed into the lessons with hiragana.

One Problem with Duolingo

One of the bigger problems Duolingo’s Japanese course has, is that it often doesn't differentiate between hiragana, katakana, and kanji; nor does it help learners understand how each script fits into the Japanese writing system as a whole. 

Initially you will learn Japanese fast enough, but after the basics, things can get a little confusing.

Finer points of grammar and sentence structures are never explained, and users can walk away from lessons unclear on how exactly a certain phrase or sentence functions grammatically. 

With weaknesses aside, Duolingo is an easily accessible app that follows a freemium model.

Duolingo as a potential review tool

It definitely shouldn’t be your standalone course, and probably shouldn’t be the only way you practice the language.

That being said it makes a fun review tool and can expose users to foundational vocabulary and grammar. 

Still, the company has gone through great lengths to do the language justice. The app is free so it's definitely worth trying out!

5) Watch Japanese TV and Movies with Fluentu

Fluentu is a site/app created to help you learn a language through native videos. With FluentU you can use in site flashcards, captions, and games to learn vocabulary in context while watching TV shows, movies, commercials, Japanese music, and more.

It's a great way to practice listening and to learn vocabulary, all while exposing yourself to culture.  

Fluentu isn't structured enough to be used as a stand alone course (that's the main reason it's number 5 on our list). It's best used as a supplement alongside a course as a part of your study routine. 

Using FluentU to learn vocabulary 

FluentU’s real strength is vocabulary acquisition, and it's a fun tool for anyone studying Japanese.

Still the app is unique and is a great way to practice what you know and learn vocabulary along the way.

6) Leap into learning with LingoDeer

Lingodeer looks and feels a bit like Duolingo, with short, fun lessons and lots of easy rewards. It has an edge over Duolingo when it comes to learning Japanese, though, because this program is designed especially to teach Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. 

This means it does not have the common problem of the cookie-cutter model that works well for a European Language but not so well for Japanese.

Grammar and honorifics

The lessons in LingoDeer focus on activities, like matching games or fill-in-the-blank. But if you select the option for “learning tips,” you will actually find quite a lot of information about grammar and honorifics. These pair with each lesson and review segment. In fact, you may find it helpful to start with the learning tip and then move on to the fun activities.

Lingodeer itself claims to offer all the grammar and sentence structure you need to reach CEFR  level B1, which is roughly where most beginner textbooks or app-based courses reach.

Reading and writing

Lingodeer has a special segment to teach you how to write 100 kanji characters. As you may recall, this is a bit rare, because many programs focus just on hiragana and don’t teach the logographic kanji system at all!

This is called the “Character Drill” within Lingodeer, and it teaches you the construction of each character.

Pronunciation

Lingodeer offers really good sound effects and recordings by native speakers in the sample audio you listen to during the lessons. It also features speech recognition software to let you test out your pronunciation. This tool does not work perfectly, but it will encourage you to practice speaking out loud.

7) Busuu

Busuu provides a learning plan built around the CEFR levels, helpful for anyone studying for a language proficiency exam or just someone who really wants to track fluency progress.

The program works better for European languages than it does for Asian languages, unfortunately, but it can still offer a structured introduction to Japanese for a beginner.

Grammar
One of the good things about Busuu is that it lets you take a placement test to begin at your own knowledge point in terms of grammar and vocabulary. It also uses a slow progression that builds on each previous lesson to help you develop your skills in a logical way.
Pronunciation
One advantage Busuu offers is that it has a lively and active social forum built into its program. This gives you a chance to engage with other language learners, find potential conversation partners, or just ask questions about grammar or something linguistic you don’t understand.

Busuu also uses good audio recordings. This is important because pausing and repeating a word or phrase will help you develop your own pronunciation skills.
Not enough writing
Busuu does offer some attempt at teaching kanji, but the lessons seem sporadic and not always accurate. This seems to hold true for other Asian languages like Chinese as well. Perhaps over time, the app will develop to better represent non-European languages!

8) Tofugu

While not a learning course per se, Tofugu can provide a wonderful supplement to your core Japanese learning program because it dives deep into teaching characters and grammar. This website offers a grammar hub, a database of Japanese learning resources including recommended books for learning Kanji, and a podcast.

Grammar Hub

The Grammar Hub lets you select what topic you want to explore, such as the Japanese verb Conjugation. From there, you can select from a list of links taking you to more specific information, like Godan vs Ichidan verbs.

Each link takes you to an informative but easy-to-understand blog article about that topic. You will find lots of charts and examples using hiragana and kanji to help you understand the concepts, too! The intuitive online format makes the website easier to use than a traditional textbook, but it honestly provides equally in-depth grammar explanations.

Vocabulary

Tofugu does not really serve as a vocabulary-learning tool. It focuses more on learning characters and understanding grammar. It also has some emphasis on Japanese culture, especially through the podcast.

Pronunciation via Podcast

You can choose to listen to Tofugu podcast episodes on Spotify, Soundcloud, or Apple Podcasts. The podcast is extensive and covers complex grammar issues like how to use particles, fun topics like different kinds of stories in Japanese culture, travel tips, and much more!

One thing to note is that these are not structured audio lessons like you would find in JapanesePod101. They are a supplemental, interesting resource for a Japanese learner, but they will not take you through the basics of learning Japanese one step at a time.

However, they will give you a peek into Japanese culture and grammar which can help your learning process a lot. Plus, the sample Japanese dialogues and phrases will help you develop your ear for Japanese pronunciation.

8) Japanese Uncovered

If you dread the thought of sitting through a class, reading a textbook, or completing one more boring matching exercise in a language app, you may need to take a more innovative approach to learning Japanese. In that case, you may want to consider learning Japanese through the lens of a story.

Storylearning’s Japanese Uncovered online course is based on the concept that humans communicate using narratives. This means that using a story can help you understand a new language more easily.

The online course consists of 20 chapters. Each chapter includes a segment of an ongoing story, and multiple lessons on grammar, culture, speaking practice, and more that build on the elements of the story.

This online course does have a really high price tag compared to many other programs, which is one reason it is ranked lower on the list. But it is quite comprehensive and can take you from beginner to intermediate Japanese if you complete all the lessons ad activities.

Great grammar focus
Storylearning includes a lesson on grammar in every chapter of the 100-hour course. The lessons usually include a video presentation from a professional Japanese tutor, followed by activities and review options for you to practice what you learned.

The grammar focuses on something you will have noticed in the chapter of the ongoing story that you just heard and read too!

Honorifics
One of the ways you know this course was designed specifically to teach Japanese, rather than as a cookie-cutter copy of another language, is that it includes lessons on honorifics in every chapter. You will find this super thorough and helpful!

Lots of literacy focus
Every chapter in the program includes a lesson on literacy. Early on, the literacy lessons used Romaji, which is a Romanized way of writing Japanese. Then you move into hiragana and even some kanji by the end of the course. Since this is not an app, there is no cool feature where you can try writing characters on the screen, but you will learn the basics at least.

Poor pronunciation
The big weakness of Japanese Uncovered is that it does not give you a lot of pronunciation guidance. Because it is an online course and not an app, you don’t get any fancy speech recognition software. The “speaking activities” in each chapter are just text encouraging you to say words and phrases out loud.

7) A not so honorable mention: Rosetta Stone

You may have noticed that our list didn't include the most popular brand name in language learning. This is because the Rosetta Stone Japanese course falls terribly short of being effective. We don't recommend it for anyone who wants to learn Japanese fast.

Rosetta Stone Japanese method is not the best way to learn Japanese

The method of the course was pretty much lifted from their Spanish course and doesn't really cover much of the complexities and common difficulties of the Japanese language. There's virtually no information on Kanji, and there are no explanations whatsoever to help you learn grammar. 

This is because Rosetta Stone uses a no translation method, meaning that their courses offer no translation or explanations in English. Their courses are entirely in the target language (thus their Spanish course is entirely in Spanish, Japanese in Japanese, etc.). 

Such a method can work well for languages which are similar to English, but with Japanese being so distant from English in just about all aspects, the Rosetta Stone method does little to help users learn Japanese. 

The course can work if you want to learn basic phrases, but its shortcomings and somewhat high price tag prevent it from being in our list. 

What does Japanesepod101 offer?

Podcast lessons

It's hard to write a Japanesepod101 review and not mention its flagship feature: the Japanese audio lesson podcasts. All the way back in 2005, Japanesepod101 started out as a simple podcast to help listeners learn Japanese online. Since then it has grown into the ultimate one stop shop for learning the Japanese language. The simple podcast has grown into over 1,200 lessons. Japanesepod101 sorts their podcast lessons into five levels: absolute beginner, beginner, intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced (these levels are called learning paths). There is also a fifth category of bonus lessons in addition to the difficulty levels. The learning paths are set up sequentially, but you are free to jump from one level to the next if you want. Within each difficulty level you will find a large collection of podcast seasons. Each season is essentially a mini course. Each season focuses on a specific learning goal. For instance in the absolute beginner level there's a 20 lesson season on conversational phrases. There's also a season which provides a intro to Japanese writing, and another which gives an intro to reading. There are seasons which teach a solid foundation in Japanese grammar and vocabulary. There's even one that covers body language and hand gestures within Japanese culture. All this and more in just the first level of podcast lessons.

Anatomy of a Japanesepod101 podcast lesson

A podcast lesson on Japanesepod101 can be anywhere from five minutes to around 20 minutes long. Each lesson features an audio track of a conversation between two native speakers.

Each lesson also has a host (often there's two hosts). The hosts introduce the lessons, provides important info about the grammar and vocabulary in the conversation, and shares cultural insights. The hosts are great at keeping things fun and engaging. They also works your personsal teachers, making the conversation in the audio track easy to understand.

While the audio track is the backbone of each lesson, there are also a lot of important secondary features. Each lesson has full transcriptions in English, kanji, romaji, and hiragana. There are also individual recordings of each phrase from the lesson dialogue.

You can play back each phrase by itself, and even record yourself repeating the phrase and compare it to the original (this is great for accent reduction). You can also add any of the phrases from the lesson to your flashcard deck (another feature on Japanesepod101), so that you can review them later. There's even a quiz option which will test your knowledge on the vocabulary and kanji used in the lesson.

Features

Lifelike situations

The designers of Japanesepod101 try to keep the conversations and material grounded in real world situations. Often they center on a given scenario like chatting with a friend over lunch or running into someone at the supermarket. The whole point is to teach you Japanese that you can use in real life. You won't find any of the dull and useless word lists that many more traditional learning methods use.

Lessons are engaging and interesting

As I mentioned before another great thing about the podcast are its hosts. They are personable and do a pretty good job of keeping you engaged as a listener (as almost any Japanesepod101 review will tell you).

Before and after the lesson’s conversation they often segue way into personal stories, interesting facts, or jokes (some jokes are better than others). This helps humanize the podcast and make it fun. There some language learning audio courses out there what make you feel like you're listing to a robot, Japanesepod101 isn’t one of those.

Bonus features

PDFs galore

Japanesepod101 offers a ton of downloadable PDF files. Each pdf file is a mini lesson and worksheet that helps you learn Japanese vocabulary. Each pdf file focuses on a specific topic like occupations, romance, Japanese verbs, and more.

Resources for writing Japanese

Anyone serious about learning Japanese knows that the Japanese language has one of the most difficult writing systems in the world. The folks at Japanesepod101 know this too. That's why they created an array of free lessons and resource dedicated to written Japanese. There's free ebook for learning kana, and another for learning kanji (they include worksheets to practice with!). There are also free charts for learning katakana and hiragana. There's also a huge collection of video lessons on how to write and read both kanji and kana.

Grammar and kanji banks

There is a grammar bank on Japanesepod101 which provides you with quick examples and explanations of grammar rules. They are basically mini grammar lessons. The website and app also feature a kanji bank and a kanji dictionary.

Conjugation charts

If you've dabbled in language learning before, then you've probably heard of a grammar concept called verb conjugation (if you haven't head of it yet don't worry). Japanese verbs change according to who or what is performing an action. These conjugation charts will give you an easy to understand list of all of a verb's forms, as well as audio so you can remember them and learn to pronounce them correctly too.

Pronunciation guide

There's also a free pronunciation guide on Japanesepod101. This guide is a mix of video lessons and downloadable worksheets which give you everything you need to train your tongue to pronounce Japanese. The guide covers individual sounds, and pays close attention to sounds that are different from ones found in English.

Tools and Resources

Along with their podcast Japanesepod101 gives you access to a fair amount of tools and resources. They include hiragana and katakana practice, kanji dictionary, pronunciation guide, word lists, and verb conjugation tables. 

There are also three tools more exclusive to Japanesepod101 that are also notable: their flashcards, slow playback feature, and lesson transcriptions. (I do want to point out that these features are only available to premium and premium plus members).  

Flashcards

Japanesepod101’s flashcards work a lot like Anki or Memrise in that they use a Spaced Repetition System when you review them. The benefit of using Japanesepod101’s in site system is that it’s quick and easy to build decks from the lessons. If you've ever used Anki you know that building your own flashcard decks can take hours. Japanesepod101 saves you the trouble.

All you need to do is select a word and add it to your cards and Japanesepod101 will create a card with script and audio. This takes a lot of the pain of making your own flashcards.

Slow playback and self record features

There are plenty of Japanese audio courses out there, but not very many let you playback words at a slower speed. In each podcast episode you can pick any word and listen back to it at a reduced or normal speed.

This can be a godsend if you’re trying learn correct pronunciation or if you have trouble understanding native speakers. It allows you to pick out difficult sounds. You can even record yourself repeating the recorded tracks from the course. This means you can easily compare your pronunciation and phrasing to that of a native speaker.

Lesson notes

You can find full episode transcripts on the site which is a great way to review afterward or get a feel for the Japanese writing system. Transcripts are available in kanji, English, romaji, and hiragana. 

Is Japanesepod101 any good for learning Japanese?

Learners of all levels will find value in Japanesepod101. However the bulk of the podcasts are for beginner and intermediate students.

The thing I love most about Japanesepod101 is that even though it's primarily an audio based course, there is no aspect of the Japanese language that isn't covered. Naturally Japanesepod101 is a great way to practice your listening comprehension skills. It's is also a great tool if you are still learning grammar and vocabulary. The lessons are set up so that you learn new words and concepts in the context of a scripted but natural conversation. This makes new vocabulary more memorable, and also gives you a better sense of how and when to use new words.

Japanesepod101 is also a great option for learning on the go. All website content is available via their mobile app which you can use at no additional cost. Their app is available on Iphone, Ipad, and Android devices. There's nothing on the website version, that you won't find on the mobile one.

How much does Japanesepod101 cost?

Subscription levels

Japanesepod101 is available in 3 different monthly subscription options: basic premium, premium and premium plus. Just as with other monthly subscription sites, the more months you pay for upfront the more money you save per month.

The basic premium plan includes the entire podcast library plus some other less significant features like lesson notes and checklists. The lesson notes are one of the most helpful features in my opinion. The lowest pricing plan per month for basic is $4 per month.

The premium plan offers you everything from the basic level along with the full range of tools and features on the site. Pricing plans start at $10 per month.

Next comes the premium plus option which has all the content from the prior two levels with the addition of personal advice and instruction from a teacher. This level is the most costly with plan as low as $22.88 per month.

Which subscription should I buy?

From a pure value standpoint the basic plan is a great deal. In the end the podcast episodes themselves are enough to improve your Japanese. If you prefer the lesson transcripts and other added content then the premium is also a reasonable purchase.

It’s really the premium plus that stands out as a the most costly option. The actual value of the involvement of a teacher is questionable, especially at the high price point. For the same price you could purchase a basic plan AND book 2 private video lessons with teachers on Italki. In my opinion the lesson quality of an Italki class is better than the feedback from Japanesepod101's teachers. But to each his own. Perhaps for you the premium plus plan will be worth it.

Free lifetime account

Not every Japanesepod101 review mentions the free lifetime account option, so we thought we'd point it out here. It's one of the best free options for learning Japanese available.

Is Japanesepod101 really free?

Yes. The Japanesepod101 account really is free, and with it you'll be a member for life. All you to need to signup for it, is give your email address. You don't need to submit any sort of payment information, so there's no sneaky monthly subscription to worry about.

With a free account you won't have access to the bulk of Japanesepod101's audio lessons. Also some of the bonus features won't be available either. Even so there's still a lot of value in a free Japanesepod101 account.

What you get as a free lifetime account member

• Free weekly audio and video lessons.
• Access to the first three audio lessons in each podcast series (across the different learning paths that's over 100 free lessons)
• Pronunciation guide
• Writing lessons
• Downloadable kanji and kana ebooks
• Access to the full library of pdf downloads

Japanesepod101's limitations

A Japanesepod101 review would be lacking if it didn't point out some of the short comings of the site and app.

No speaking needed

Japanesepod101 is an audio based approach to learning Japanese. As a result you don’t actually need to speak Japanese to use it. You can record yourself on the app and the site, and play back your recoding to compare it to the original, but this more pronunciation practice than speaking practice. As awesome as Japanesepod101 is, remember that you will have combine the site with some actual speaking practice. It's best to take what you learn from the lessons and practice with a friend or language exchange partner.

Lesson structure

Japanesepod101 was designed a the ultimate way to learn Japanese online. With Japanesepod101 users can walk down the metaphorical aisle and pick and choose what they want to learn that day. While a lot of learners like the freedom that comes with this kind of learning platform, others don't.

While podcast seasons are sorted under a difficult level (which are called lesson paths), there's no guided path through the Japanese lessons. You the user must decide which seasons you listen to, and which you skip. If you're looking for a step by step or systematic way to learn Japanese, then Japanesepod101 might not be your cup of tea.

Podcast seasons themselves aren't really sorted in any order. Under each of the lesson paths you’ll find a list of lesson seasons. But the season numbers don’t indicate the order in which you should listen to each season. They only represent the order the seasons were made it.

For example you don’t necessarily have to work through season 2 at the beginner level after Season 1 or before season 3. “Season 2” just means it was made after seasons and before the following season. 

This can be especially confusing for beginners who aren't sure where to start. Luckily Alan from nihongonobaka.com has worked through most of the lessons and put together a guide on which lessons you should listen to first and which you should avoid. You can check it out there.

No community

Japanesepod101 is a fairly popular site. It’d be awesome to see any kind of feature that would connect learners. Even just a discussion board would be nice. Though I think they do have a forum, it would be great for them to add a way for users to practice with each other. Of do what Duolingo does and allow you to compare your progress with a friend.

You can ask the Japanesepod101 teachers questions in a public mini forum under each lesson.

Best way to use Japanesepod101 to learn Japanese

We wrote this Japanesepod101 review because it's is easily one of the most popular Japanese learning tools on the web. There's a good reason people have used the course: it’s a phenomenal resource! As great as it is though it won’t be enough on its own to get you fluent.

Like any other language learning tool it’s simply just that...a tool. Use it to add to your regular studies. It’s a great way to learn grammar, vocabulary, and listen to the language as it's spoken. Just make sure you go the necessary mile and practice speaking with real Japanese speakers. 

Using the site for listening & pronunciation

When you’re first learning a new language, normal native speech can feel like you're listening to a pile of mush. It can be hard to hear and recognize the words you know (not to mention the ones you don’t).

Japanesepod101 is a valuable resource for breaking down native speech into smaller chunks to help you learn pronunciation. 

Using the site’s play back features you listen to the audio at a slower speed. When you do this concentrate on each syllable you hear versus each word. Take each syllable one by one and do your best to imitate what you hear.

As we already mentioned, you can also record yourself and play it back to compare your accent with the native speaker’s. Once you get a handle on each syllable try to connect them together, using the same intonation you hear the native speaker use. 

Once you feel comfortable, try role playing the conversation. You can use the audio or the lesson notes to ask and answer questions, as if you were one of the speakers in the dialogue.

This process will help your accent and listening skills grow leaps and bounds. It will also help you remember the phrases from each lesson, and how and when to use them in conversation.

Squeeze more language practice into your day

Because of Japanesepod101’s mobile app you can practice pretty anywhere and at anytime throughout the day. Use the site to make the most of of your time.

Even with a busy schedule there’s a lot of moments throughout the day where we’re waiting in line, getting somewhere, or simply have time to kill. Use these times to work through an episode or two of Japanesepod101. 10 minutes here, five there. Before you know it, it all adds up. You could add an extra couple hours per week to your language practice.

Take advantages of the flashcards

Spaced repetition are a powerful tool for language learning. Japanesepod101 makes it easy to add word directly from a lesson to your flash deck. Even just spending ten or fifteen minutes a day reviewing flashcards will help you remember and retain what you learn in the lessons. Flashcards are also a great way to memorize kanji. In fact the only sure fire way to learn how to read Japanese, is to memorize kanji. Most veteran Japanese learners recommend using Anki to create your own kanji flashcards. Anki is an awesome and powerful flashcard system, but it's also not the most user-friendly sometimes. Japanesepod101 lets you create a kanji flashcard with the click of a mouse. It doesn't get more convenient than that!

Use all of resources for written Japanese

Japanesepod101 has a lot of lessons and content dedicated to learning kanji and kana. Use all of them. Learning how to read will be the hardest part of learning Japanese. So it's a good idea to make full use of every resource available. There are video lessons which teach you how to write kanji characters by hand. They take you step by step through the correct stroke order. While writing Japanese by hand isn't absolutely necessary to reach fluency, it does make kanji more memorable. Don't be afraid to experiment and have fun with the writing lessons too.

The ultimate review tool

Even intermediate and advanced learners can get complacent. Not matter how long you've taken Japanese lessons your new language isn't your native one, and it's a use it or lose situation when it comes to proficiency. Unless you're a native Japanese speaker, you never get to a place where you don't need to review the basics.

One thing I like about Japanesepod101 is that the lessons on Japanesepod101.com are perfect for review. The audio lessons and lesson notes will reveal any gaps you might in your language learning, a specific grammar point or vocabulary word.

Alternatives to Japanesepod101.com

Rocket Japanese

Rocket Japanese in a comprehensive Japanese course that will take you from absolute beginner to intermediate level in Japanese. Rocket Japanese shares a lot of similarities with Japanesepod101. Like Japanesepod101, Rocket Japanese is built around high quality audio lessons with real Japanese conversations. Rocket Japanese is also accessible through their website or their mobile app.

The biggest difference between Rocket Japanese and Japanesepod101, is that Rocket Japanese offers a systematic step by step teaching style for learning Japanese; where Japanesepod101 leaves people to sort of bounce around their content and learn on their own.

Rocket Japanese also splits up it's course into two lesson types: one which focuses on conversational phrases, and one which focuses on grammar. You take the two lesson tracks in tandem. The goal of this teaching method is to get you speaking with conversational lessons, but also providing you with a balanced understanding of grammar as well.

Rocket Japanese lessons aren't available through a monthly subscription, instead you pay once upfront for the whole course.

Pimsleur 

Pimsleur is a Japanese online audio course and app with one goal: to get you thinking and speaking in Japanese. Their audio lessons teach you phrases word by word and syllable by syllable so that the user can master pronunciation and listening comprehension. After that you're prompted to answer and ask questions in Japanese without using English. This approach trains your brain to start thinking in Japanese, versus having translate everything in your head from English.

The Pimsleur experience is similar to the kind of language practice you get, when you talk with native Japanese speakers. Pimsleur also includes a reading section where you learn kana and some kanji.

Duolingo

Duolingo is a freemium language learning platform, that has become the most popular app for learning Japanese. While Duolingo works great for a language like Spanish or French, it has tougher time with languages that have little in common with English. Japanese students often complain that Duolingo glances over grammar without explaining the many nuances, leaving you to guess for yourself what a particular translation means. Also the app struggles to teach kanji. Many questions are so easy to guess right that the kanji you do learn, doesn't stick.

Still Duolingo isn't a bad way improve your language skills by learning basic words and phrases, and fundamental grammar. The app is mostly free to use (with adds). There is a premium plan which removes adds and gives users unlimited access.

Conclusion

Japanesepod101 isn’t a perfect app, or an all inclusive Japanese learning course. But if you use it right, it can be a powerful tool in your Japanese learning arsenal. The complaint I have about is its lack of lesson structure, but this can be overcome by either working through the guide at nihongonobaka.com, or by previewing each season an episode at a time to see which you like the best. Also some users will like the lack of structure and prefer to take a more independent approach to learning.

The site is probably the most valuable at the basic level subscription, but the premium level is also worth checking out to. The site overs a free 1 week trial of its premium features. All you need is an email (no credit card required) to take a look and see if it's the best way for you to lean Japanese or not.. If you're serious about learning Japanese then it's worth it.  That concludes this Japanesepod101 review

This post is for anyone who is on the fence about learning either Japanese or Korean. Here we’ll look at some of the pros and cons of learning each language, and provide you with a few resources to help you, no matter which language you plan to learn.

Enjoy!

Which is easier Korean or Japanese?

Speaking & pronunciation

Korean is more difficult

The Korean sound system includes a subset of sounds from Japanese. This means in order to learn Korean you will need to learn the sounds from Japanese, in addition to other sounds unique to Korean. So in Korean you are learning more new sounds than you would when learning Japanese. 

Reading

Japanese is more difficult to read 

When compared to Korean, Japanese definitely has the more difficult writing system. In fact the Japanese writing system is one of the most difficult in the modern world, in part because it has no alphabet.

  Instead of an alphabet, written Japanese uses a combination of two writing systems. The first writing system is called kanji and it’s logographic: meaning it doesn’t use letters to form words, rather each individual Japanese character represents a word.  This is similar to written Chinese characters.

The second writing system used in Japanese is called kana. Kana is syllabic. This meaning means kana characters represent syllable sounds. To make these even more interesting, kana is broken up into categories: hiragana and katakana. 

Reading Korean

Korean has a written alphabet called hangul. Unlike languages who use Latin alphabets (like English), hangul letters aren’t written linearly to form words. Instead they are written in blocks. 

Reading words in blocks might seem strange at first, but all in all it’s still much easier to learn than Japan’s compound writing system. 

Grammar

Korean and Japanese grammar are both difficult

Grammatically speaking Japanese and Korean share some major similarities, though there are some distinct differences.

For the average native English speaker either language will prove difficult grammatically. This is because both Japanese and Korean grammar differ a lot from English. 

Still, it’s hard to say that Japanese grammar would be more difficult than Korean, or vice versa. Whichever language you decide to learn, the grammar will take some getting used to. 

Resources for learning Korean and Japanese

Japanese and Korean each present their share of difficulties to language learners. To overcome them here are a few useful resources.

Resources for learning Korean

Pimsleur Korean

For speaking practice and help with Korean pronunciation, one of the best resources is Pimsleur Korean. With Pimsleur you’ll learn how to read hangul, but you will also develop your ability to speak spontaneously in Korean. Pimsleur’s lessons are largely audio based. You are taught Korean phrases word by word, and even syllable by syllable (to help you fine tune your pronunciation). Then you are required to use the phrase you’ve learned as a speaker from the course prompts you to answer and ask questions using only Korean. 

Pimsleur is a mental workout for sure, but that’s because it works. 

Koreanclass101

Koreanclass101 features Korean lessons in the form of podcast episodes. Each lesson is built around a Korean conversation. The podcast hosts act as personal Korean tutors and coaches. In each episode they explain difficult grammar, highlight important vocabulary, and even share interesting facts about Korean culture. 

In addition to the podcast episodes, Koreanclass101 also features a ton of additional Korean learning resources. These include a Korean-English dictionary, reading and writing resources, listening comprehension exercises, phrases lists, downloadable pdfs, a lot more. 

Resources for learning Japanese

Rocket Japanese

Japanesepod101

Made by the folks behind Koreanclass101, Japanesepod101 is one of the most popular learning resources for Japanese. Much like Koreanclass101, Japanesepod101 features podcast lessons, and provides a plethora of learning resources. There are literally hundreds of lessons available at Japanesepod101, making it one of the largest libraries of Japanese lessons available. There's even Kanji charts, and flashcards to help you learn written Japanese. 

Which language is more interesting? 

This question is more a matter of personal taste and interest in culture. Both Korean and Japanese have rich histories, and include a lot of pop culture. 

Japanese pop culture

Japanese pop culture is a global phenomenon. Anime, manga, godzilla, automobiles, Japanese food...they all have a global fanbase. If you decide to learn Japanese you will never lack something interesting to read, watch, or eat. 

Korean pop culture

Korean pop culture is also a force to be reckoned with. K-pop is one of the largest cultural exports coming out of the Korean speaking world, and has a massive following. Also K-Dramas are beloved by millions of fans too. Korean cars are ubiquitous, and Korean food is also growing in popularity. 

Final thoughts

At the end of the day reasons for learning a language are personal. What motivates one person to learn a language might not be what drives someone else. The purpose of this post wasn’t to tell you which language to learn. Instead I hope this post gives you the extra insight you need to choose for yourself which of these awesome and interesting languages you want to learn! 

In the first matrix movie there is a scene where Neo first learns about the possibilities of the matrix. They hook up his brain and download the knowledge of kung fu. Instantly he is a kung fu master. 

For some people looking for a way to learn Japanese in their sleep, this is the image that comes to mind. They hope against hope that there’s an easy and effortless way to “download” Japanese into their brains while they sleep. 

As much as I wish that were true, there is no respectable scientific evidence that you can learn a language while you sleep. However there are some who think that listening to Japanese as you fall asleep may help you remember knowledge you already learned earlier in the day. 

Four stages of sleep 

Experts break down our normal nightly sleep patterns into four stages. 

First stage

In the first stage your brain starts to slow down as you drift on the edge of being awake and falling asleep. 

Second stage

In the second stage you become less aware of your surroundings, also your breathing and heartbeat become more regular.

Pimsleur is largely an audio based course. Pimsleur’s Japanese lessons teach you whole Japanese phrases and you’re required to answer and ask questions in Japanese using those phrases. This prompt, recall, respond technique is unique to Pimsleur and is an effective way to improve your spoken Japanese. 

Of all the Japanese courses out there, the Pimsleur experience is the closest you’ll get to talking with a native Japanese speaker using just a course. 

One thing that’s also great about Pimsleur is that all their courses are available on their mobile app. Not too long ago if you wanted Pimsleur you had to by their CD-rom based course. 

You can even get a week of full access to all five of Pimsleur’s Japanese courses for free. It’s definitely worth checking out, if you’re looking to improve your Japanese speaking skills before bedtime. 

Japanesepod101

Another awesome resource for learning Japanese at night is Japanesepod101. 

Japanesepod101 is a massive collection of Japanese lessons in the form of podcasts. Each episode features a conversation between two Japanese speakers. The hosts of the podcast act as your personal Japanese teachers and point out useful vocabulary, nuances of Japanese grammar, and even interesting cultural insights. 

In addition to hundreds of podcast episodes Japanesepod101 offers a wealth of other learning tools like a Japanese-English dictionary, spaced repetition flashcards, video lessons, resources for learning to read and write Japanese, and much more. 

While most of the content on Japanesepod101 is only available through a paid monthly subscription, they also offer a free lifetime account. With the free account you have access to some of the podcast lessons. You’ll also receive a free gift pack every month which includes things like video lessons, audiobooks, interactive phrase lists, and other useful resources.  

Resource for learning Japanese in bed (video & media)

If you’re an intermediate to advanced learner just watching your favorite anime (preferably without english subtitles) or listening to Japanese music and media will help you review the Japanese you’ve already learned. If you’re a beginner and you’re looking for Japanese video content I highly recommend the Youtube channel Easy Japanese. 

The folks at Easy Japanese walk around Japan and interview people on the street, asking them interesting questions. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in day to day spoken Japanese. Subtitles are offered in both Japanese and English. 

Conclusion

While learning Japanese in your sleep isn’t likely, there are still some awesome and effective ways to learn the language before you sleep, or even as you fall asleep! 

A nightly routine of Japanese learning is a powerful tool on the road to fluency. Check out some of the resources mentioned in this post and boost your bedtime Japanese learning. 

Goodluck!

What is Duolingo and how does it work?

Duolingo takes a gamified approach to language learning. Lessons are grouped together by topic, or specific parts of grammar. These groups of lessons are called units and they make up the "language tree" (course) of Duolingo. 

Each lesson will walk you through a series of exercises which test and expand your abilities in your target language. These exercises vary greatly and can include fill in the blanks, matching, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and more. 

You get points for each lesson completed, and bonus points for streaks of correct answers. Also if you answer a question wrong you "lose a life". If you lose enough lives the lesson stops and you have to start over. 

The gamification aspect is subtle but does make Duolingo more enjoyable and engaging that a lot of other Japanese learning apps. 

Are there hidden fees in Duolingo?

No. The app is very upfront about its premium pricing features. Duolingo is monetized through a freemium model. This means the app is free to use if users are willing to view ads.

If a user loses all of their lives by giving incorrect answers they have the option of paying in order to receive new ones. Otherwise they'll have to wait 5 hours before they can continue learning. 

If you run out of lives you will have to refill them with gems, which often (but not always) cost money

There is also the option of a premium monthly subscription to Duolingo for $9.99. This subscription gets rid of the ads, gives the user unlimited lives, and allows for offline use of the app.

Strengths of Duolingo Japanese

It really does feel like a game

Duolingo helps you consistently practice Japanese

Duolingo's practice reminders are internet famous, and have been made into memes.

The app's reminders and its bonus study streak gives incentives to help users practice their Japanese on a daily basis, if only for five or ten minutes a day. 

Consistency is king when learning a foreign language, so we're glad that Duolingo emphasizes this (even if you have to save your family).

Four weaknesses of Duolingo Japanese

1) Shaky understanding of written Japanese

Due to the complexity of the Japanese writing system, it does feel like Duolingo glosses over writing. New kanji are thrown in fast. It's questionable if the user is given enough chance to master any part of the written language. However, you are able to review a previous lesson at any time.

Users are never given an in depth explanation on how written Japanese works. They may know kana and kanji, but Duolingo never really shows them how these two work together to form written Japanese sentences. 

2) Duolingo struggles with Japanese grammar

Japanese grammar is very different from English

A closer look at some basic grammatical differences between English and Japanese

Duolingo glosses over some aspects of Japanese grammar

3) Too much "handholding" in the course

In Duolingo's effort to make their Japanese app fun and accessible to as many learners as possible, sometimes the effectiveness of the course suffers.

Lessons often contain multiple choice exercises which are rather obvious, even without knowing any Japanese.  With questions and answers so easy, you don't really learn or retain that much.

This is especially true when it comes to learning kanji. With Duolingo Japanese you will be exposed to Kanji, but often the app doesn't work your brain hard enough. You're likely to breeze over the characters without remembering them.   

4) No cultural context

Alternatives to Duolingo Japanese

Final thoughts

Duolingo Japanese has its pros and cons. On one hand the course does a good job of helping learners practice Japanese consistently, all while keeping things fun and engaging. 

On the other hand, the course doesn't do much to help users grasp the complexities of Japanese writing and grammar, and gives little to no explanation of sentence structure.

The course is also a bit too easy at times, making it hard for the material to stick.

Duolingo can introduce you to basic phrases and words in Japanese, but if you're serious about grasping and understanding the language as a whole then this app falls short.

Duolingo Japanese is best used for beginners who have a very casual interest in Japanese.  More advanced beginners could also use it to review and reinforce the Japanese they're learning through a more comprehensive course. 

The app is free to use, so its best to download the app and see for yourself if the course is right for you!

There are a number of significant differences between Japanese and English, and their not always accounted for in apps for those who want to learn Japanese

What makes a great app for learning Japanese?

It doesn't ignore the writing system (specifically kanji)

There are entire Japanese courses and apps out there that simply don't focus on teaching the Japanese writing system; but if you're serious about learning the language this aspect is crucial to becoming fluent! The best and most effective apps will help you learn and use the writing system in a practical way.

Kana (hiragana and katagana)

Kana is broken up into two scripts: hiragana and katakana. Both hiragana and katakana function much like an alphabet with each symbol representing a syllable/sound (there are 46 symbols in hiragana and 48 in katakana).

Hiragana

Hiragana is almost always used alongside kanji in Japanese writing, as it helps the reader know how to say and pronounce a given word. Outside of language learning textbooks you’re unlikely to find words written exclusively in hiragana, and there are few words written using only kanji.

Katagana

However words derived from English and other foreign languages are written in katakana. Words like company names, food menu items, and modern technology terms are common examples of words written in katakana.

If you’re committed to learning Japanese you will need to learn both hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The best apps for learning Japanese will expose you to the various parts of written Japanese, and help you practice using each one

Our picks for best Japanese learning apps

1) Pimsleur Japanese

Pimsleur has a long-standing reputation for being an effective way to learn a foreign language in a conversational way. The program uses a method called spaced repetition theory to help you store key vocabulary and concepts in your permanent memory.

The program uses a unique call/response/feedback method to help you practice thinking in Japanese and produce your own answers and sentences. As far as apps go, it’s the closest you can get to speaking practice without being face-to-face with a real-life native Japanese speaker.

You will also find speaking activities within lessons that use speech software to provide feedback on your pronunciation.

The real advantage of this kind of approach is that you learn grammar implicitly (via conversation patterns), and not simply explicitly (through rules and grammar charts). It’s one thing to know grammar, it’s another to use it in a practical way. Pimsleur lets you use Japanese grammar in a conversational context. It’s one of the only apps that does this.

The app also includes a hefty reading track woven into the audio lessons. Learners are first taught hiragana by reading texts phonetically (along with native audio). Then users are gradually introduced to Kanji. This is a great way to learn Japanese.

Pimsleur offers five Japanese course levels from beginner up to intermediate. For a monthly subscription of $19.95, users get access to all five course levels. Pimsleur offers 1 week of full access to their Japanese courses for free, so you can test the courses out for yourself and see if they’re right for you before you pay for anything.

How to Use Pimsleur’s Japanese App to Learn Japanese

Pimsleur’s Japanese app makes a solid choice for the core of your language learning program because it focuses on all the key elements of the language, including grammar, reading & writing, listening comprehension, and speaking. The thirty-minute audio lessons do require a lot of focus, but they will get you fluent in basic conversation super quickly.

To get the most out of the program, try to complete one full lesson with its accompanying activities each day. This takes about an hour. Consistency helps with the Pimsleur method because you will easily remember the review material as it is re-presented to you in spaced intervals, reinforcing the core concepts you learn.

If you struggle to set aside a full hour every day for study, you could easily listen to the audio portion of each lesson while doing chores, going on a walk, or commuting to work if you ride a bus or train (you may not want to try this while riding a bike or driving, as the lesson takes a lot of attention and active listening).

That said, you will likely still want to pair your Pimsleur course with extracurriculars like tools for conversation practice. 

If you have a more visual learning style, you might want to pair Pimsleur with video learning tools, too. You can find lots of free Japanese learning videos on YouTube, or subscribe to an app like FluentU to access a library of Japanese videos with interactive subtitles.

2) Japanesepod101

3) Kanji Study

Kanji Study is among the best apps for learning to read and write Japanese. The app provides a thorough and comprehensive approach that will take you from a N5 reading level (absolute beginner), all the way through N1 (advanced). 

Kanji study is free for beginners. At this level users will learn kana, radicals, and first level Kanji. They will also have access to a full Japanese dictionary. 

For a one time purchase of $12.99, users get access to all  kanji, which the popular app breaks down into 10 levels. Each level is broken into sets of  kanji. The beginner level has eight sets of ten kanji (80 total), while most other levels have as much as two or three hundred individual kanji which are sorted into sets. 

The method Study Kanji uses is simple, straight forward, and very effective. The app will show you a set of kanji with their translations and some example phrases or sentences. After this users are given three options for studying the kanji set.

The first is a flashcard style route memorization and the second is a timed multiple choice option. The third option will provide you with the English translation of a word and require you to draw the kanji with correct stroke order.

The only drawback to this app is that it remains available only for Android, not iOS.
How to Use Kanji Study to Learn Japanese
Obviously, Kanji Study will work best as a supplement to your core learning program, especially if you pick a primarily audio course like Pimsleur that doesn’t have a heavy emphasis on literacy.

Besides helping you gain literacy in Japanese, using Kanji Study can break up the routine of your regular language study time and keep things interesting. You may want to focus on your core learning program for most of the week, and then spend an hour or two with Kanji Study on the weekends.

If you don’t have much experience with kanji, you can use the “split set” feature in the app to focus on a smaller number of characters at one time. This is also a good trick if you only have a few minutes a day to work in a bit of study time.

If you constantly get stuck on a certain character, you can “favorite” it so it keeps popping up in your reviews too! This way, you will learn the tricky characters over time.


If you really want to get the most out of the app, try writing characters by hand with a pen and paper as you complete lessons and quizzes in the app. This gives your brain another way to remember the character, and develops your literacy, too!

4) Obenkyo

5) Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese

Italki

Anki

Anki isn’t exclusively for language learning. But it is one of the best in a long line of customizable flashcard system apps that use spaced repetition. It is a powerful language-learning tool and is extremely popular in Japanese learning circles.

Anki won’t actually teach you Japanese. Rather, it helps you remember and retain the Japanese you’ve already learned. Again, the app is literally a personalized flashcard study system.

You could use this app to transcribe with translating practice, so you can try to stray away from Japanese translation apps, Google Translate app, and translating Japanese characters.

Anki is probably the least user-friendly app in this article. It does take some leg work to set it up and start creating your own decks and flashcards. but don’t let that scare you away. Here’s a step-by-step video to help get you started learning Japanese with Anki.

The app is completely free, and many learners swear by it, especially for memorizing kanji. Why not learn to speak Japanese for free?
How to Use Anki to Learn Japanese
Once you get past the work of setting up your own flashcards, you can use Anki daily or weekly to drill yourself on new words and characters. This can make a fun break from your regular lessons, or serve as a review session if you consistently update your flashcards.


It is a good idea to use Anki consistently, though, because this will make the most of its Spacred Repetition cycles. Basically, Anki is smart enough to help you review material in a timed way that helps you remember things better. It also helps you pinpoint words or characters you struggle with so that you can circle back until you learn them.

If you start using Anki as a beginner in Japanese, you probably want to focus on Hiragana first and save kanji for last. This will help you develop fluency more quickly.

Duolingo Japanese

Duolingo is one of the most popular language learning apps, and it offers courses for a plethora of languages, not just ones from Asia.

Duolingo has a long-standing reputation for being one of the best learning apps for languages that are more closely related to English, such as the Romance languages and the West Germanic languages.

However, many Japanese learners have mixed feelings about Duolingo. Japanese is a world away from English grammatically speaking. Thus a learning program that works well for a language like Spanish or French, won’t necessarily carry over well to Japanese.

There are a lot of grammatical nuances that don’t get explained well in the app, if at all. This may not be the best option on how to become fluent in Japanese.

The app does expose the reader to hiragana and then to kanji, but it also starts throwing out kanji a lot faster than most beginners can handle at one time. Learners also complain that it’s too easy to guess the app’s multiple-choice questions for kanji, and because of this, the material doesn’t stick.

The app uses a freemium model, meaning there’s a lot of content you can use for free (with ads), but you will need to pay to use the full features of the app, called Super Duolingo, and get rid of the ads.

How to Use Duolingo to Learn Japanese

If you need a challenge or love playing video games, you may find that Duolingo’s gamified style appeals to you. In this case, it might be a good place to start and at least get your feet under you as you learn basic vocabulary. Plus, you can easily work the short games and challenges into your day to try out the free app.

That said, you shouldn’t stick with Duolingo long-term. It has lots of potential issues like confusing translations, lack of grammar lessons, and stilted sample dialogues. You will do better if you pick a structured and comprehensive course like Pimsleur as the core of your Japanese learning program.

Final thoughts

There are a ton of Japanese learning apps out there, and you’re certainly able to try them all. Hopefully, this post helped you decide which Japanese app might be best for you, so you can dive into Japanese and start leaving right away.

Every app on our list offers some sort of free version or free content. If you’re interested in an app or you’re on the fence about which one might best suit your learning needs, it’s a good idea to try out an app before paying anything.

Language learners tackling Japanese learn in different ways and for different reasons. It may not be realistic to have “Japanese lessons near me.” This is why these apps are the best options depending on the needs of the individual learning the language. Don’t be surprised if you favor one app over another. These are great options on how to learn Japanese at home at a convenient time for you.

Is Rocket Japanese the right course for you?

Yes

If you're a beginner to intermediate learner

If you're looking for a comprehensive course

No

If you're looking for a supplemental tool 

If you're an advanced student

Rocket Japanese Method

Rocket Japanese follows a straightforward and effective method. Users are taught vocabulary and grammar simultaneously through two lesson types: the interactive audio lessons and the language culture lessons.

Audio lessons

The audio lessons are built around a recorded conversation between two Japanese speakers.  New words and phrases are then explained in the lesson and users get the chance to practice with different review activities (more on the review activities later). 

The main advantage of these audio lessons is that you learn new Japanese words in the context of an actual conversation, instead of through a list of translations given in a textbook. 

The audio lessons also let you playback words at different speeds so you can hear pronunciation better.

Language and culture lessons

These lessons focus specifically on grammar. These lessons provide a sample text and break down the grammar being used. 

Users are given examples and thorough explanations on how the grammar works. Finally users are given the chance to practice what they’ve studied, and start making sentences of their own using the grammar from the lesson.

In addition to grammar these lessons also discuss different aspects of Japanese culture. 

Review activities

Both lesson types include a collection of review activities. There is an audio role play activity, where the user must answer audio prompts using words learned in a lesson. There’s also writing activities where users must respond to a written prompt. 

To help you speak Japanese and practice pronunciation, Rocket Japanese uses voice recognition technology.

Rocket Japanese also includes a flashcard system, where users can add flashcards from a lesson or create flashcards of their own. This flashcard system is especially helpful when reviewing kanji.

What’s included in Rocket Japanese

Course levels

There are a total for three course levels available in Rocket Japanese. Each level has around 7-8 modules of interactive audio lessons, and another 7-8 modules of language and culture lessons. Each module will have between 3-8 lessons in it. 

Survival kit lessons

Each course level in Rocket Japanese also includes a bonus section called survival kit lessons. These are essentially audio phrase books in the form of course lessons. Each lesson has to do with a specific topic such as around the house vocabulary, love and romance phrases, etc.

What makes Rocket Japanese so valuable

It does justice to Japanese grammar

It teaches the Japanese writing system

Rocket Japanese includes reading and writing lessons which teach both kana and kanji. There's even an in site flashcard system you can use to review characters. 

It distinguishes between politeness levels

Some challenges with Rocket Japanese

It's not particularly entertaining

It's a great primary resource, but the best supplementary resource

Great audio course, visual course...not so much

Rocket Japanese is a great option for auditory learners. Visual learners however, will not find the course as appealing. The visual layout of the course is practical and easy to navigate, but there is little to no visual content to go alongside the actual lessons.

What other people are saying about Rocket Japanese

Alternatives to Rocket Japanese

Conclusion

 1 level starts at $99.95 for lifetime access