Japanese Learning Apps: Courses, Tools and Games

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Japanese learning apps can turn a spare five minutes into useful reading, listening or review. The difficult part is choosing a tool that matches the skill you want to practise.

This guide separates structured courses, reading and vocabulary tools, dictionaries and games. Availability and free access can change, so check the current store listing before you subscribe.

I’ve tried a lot of Japanese learning apps. Some gave me useful practice; others stopped at basic phrases or did not suit the way I wanted to study.

Use the options below as a shortlist, then test one or two alongside a broader Japanese learning plan.

Editor's note: Before we get started, if you’re looking for an online Japanese course, here’s the course we recommend: Japanese Uncovered – Learn Japanese Through the Power of Story, a course with a fascinating new method by Olly Richards. You can try it for free for 7 days!

How to Use Japanese Learning Apps

Before downloading anything, decide what the app needs to do for you.

Japanese may feel unfamiliar to an English speaker, but a clear routine makes it manageable. Start with a realistic goal and choose tools that support it; our guide to approaching Japanese can help you set expectations.

These four rules will keep your app routine focused:

• Place into the right level. Review is useful, but do not restart the same beginner material in every app. If you can already read hiragana and katakana, look for a course that lets you move on to kanji and new grammar.
• Use only one or two apps at a time. Try several briefly, then keep the one or two that fit your goal. Switching whenever a lesson gets difficult can leave you repeating the basics.
• Cover more than one skill. Two writing apps will not give you speaking practice. Make room for speaking, reading, listening and writing across your routine.
• Practise beyond the screen. Use apps as tools, then apply what you study in conversations, messages and material made for Japanese speakers.

For practice beyond apps, see our Japanese learning resources, find a Japanese language exchange partner, or join the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge. You can also read about my experience learning Japanese in the challenge.

Structured Japanese Courses and Immersion Tools

Start here if you want a guided course or a large library of Japanese material. Each tool has a different emphasis, so compare its lesson style with your main goal.

Innovative Language: JapanesePod101

JapanesePod101 is Innovative Language’s Japanese course. On a phone, you access it through the Innovative Language Learning app and select Japanese.

Its library includes short audio and video lessons across several levels and topics.

You can search for lessons on topics such as Japanese slang, onomatopoeia, travel and Japanese Language Proficiency Test preparation.

The library also includes culture lessons, which can give useful context alongside our guide to Japanese culture.

Depending on your account tier, the service includes lesson notes and transcripts, study tools and learning pathways. Teacher access belongs to its higher-tier plan, so compare the current plans rather than assuming every feature is included.

See the current JapanesePod101 offer here (affiliate link).

LingQ

LingQ pairs Japanese audio with transcripts and lets you save vocabulary as you read or listen. You can also import material, which makes it useful if you already know what you want to study.

Its community features include forums, conversations and writing correction. Check which features are included in the current free and paid plans.

Read our review of LingQ here.

Drops

Drops uses short, visual sessions to practise Japanese vocabulary by topic. It works best as a vocabulary supplement rather than a complete Japanese course.

Drops offers both free and paid access, but limits and features can change. Check the current plan screen before choosing it for a daily routine or several languages.

Drops also offers Scripts, a separate app focused on learning writing systems, including Japanese scripts.

Japanese Learning Apps with Free Options

LingoDeer

LingoDeer offers a structured Japanese course with grammar explanations, native-speaker audio, stories, quizzes and offline lessons. Its current course is designed to move learners from beginner material towards intermediate study.

Some introductory material is free, while full course access requires a membership. Check the current pricing page because the available lessons and offers can change.

Beelinguapp

Beelinguapp is built around reading and listening to stories with Japanese and a translation side by side. Its Japanese catalogue includes texts at different levels, audio and vocabulary support.

You can start free, while premium features and the current subscription price are shown in the app. Try the reading interface before paying, because this approach suits learners who enjoy extended input.

Anki

Anki schedules flashcards according to your recall. The desktop app and AnkiWeb sync are free; AnkiMobile is the official paid iOS app, while the separate contributor-built AnkiDroid app is free on Android.

Read our guide on how to use Anki here.

NHK News Easy

NHK News Web Easy is a mobile-friendly website rather than an official learning app. It publishes news in simpler Japanese and often adds readings, definitions and audio, making it useful for supported reading practice.

Bunpo

Bunpo organises Japanese grammar practice from introductory material through Japanese Language Proficiency Test levels.

Lessons pair explanations and examples with short exercises. I found some of its explanations clearer than material I had used before.

Use the quizzes for targeted review, but practise the same grammar in reading, writing and conversation rather than treating an app level as mastery.

Takoboto Japanese Dictionary

Takoboto is a Japanese-English dictionary and study tool. It accepts searches in kanji, kana, romanised Japanese or English and includes example sentences, kanji information, conjugations and study lists. It is available on Android and iOS, as well as online.

Poro

PORO Nihongo publishes several Japanese apps covering areas such as conversation, vocabulary, grammar and kanji.

The apps use ads and in-app purchases, so compare the specific course and permissions you want. PORO is available for Android and iOS.

Japanese Learning Games

Games can make repetition easier to return to, but treat them as extra vocabulary or reading practice rather than a complete course.

Learn Japanese with Bucha

Learn Japanese with Bucha combines an endless-runner game with timed Japanese vocabulary questions. Its store pages describe material across the five Japanese Language Proficiency Test levels.

It remains listed for Android and iOS. Check that its interface supports your strongest language before relying on it.

Learn Japanese with Yami: Availability Note

This role-playing quiz game appeared in the original guide, but I could not verify a current official store listing. Do not install an unofficial copy; choose one of the supported games below instead.

Japanese Dungeon

Japanese Dungeon: Learn J-Word is a current Android game built around timed word questions and pixel-art battles. It is mainly a reading and vocabulary drill, not a grammar course.

Pokémon GO and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete

A familiar game can provide low-pressure Japanese input, but language settings vary by app. Check the game’s own settings and supported-language list instead of assuming it follows your phone.

Pokémon GO remains available, while the original free-to-play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp ended service in 2024. Nintendo replaced it with the paid Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, which officially supports Japanese. I especially like Animal Crossing for this kind of contextual reading.

Build a Small Japanese App Routine

Pick one main course or input app and one supporting tool, such as Anki or Takoboto. Use them for a week, then keep what helps you practise consistently and replace what does not.

An app can make Japanese easier to fit into your day, but conversations, reading and listening beyond the app are where that study becomes usable.