There are plenty of reasons to learn Japanese. Maybe you want to travel to Japan one day and you want to be able to communicate at least a little. Or perhaps you’re moving to Japan for your job or vocation. Or maybe you just really like anime and manga and want to enjoy the medium in its original language. Whatever your reason, learning Japanese is easier than ever before.

That’s not to say that Japanese is an easy language to learn. It’s considered to be one of the most difficult languages to learn, particularly among English speakers. However, considering how connected the world has become, learning Japanese is certainly more accessible than it used to be.

But what’s the best way to learn Japanese? We can’t all go to college or a language school to study a foreign language. Perhaps your financial situation can’t afford to take formal classes, or maybe you just don’t have the time to commit to a whole class.

The good news is, you don’t need to attend a Japanese class to learn Japanese! You can study all on your own. From mobile apps to online courses, to the traditional textbook, there are several ways to learn Japanese in your own time.

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Mobile Apps

I’ve tried and tested a number of apps for studying Japanese (among other languages), and I’ve narrowed down some of my favorites to help you know where to start.

LingoDeer (Beginner+)

LingoDeer is a great place to start for absolute beginners. With over 10 million downloads and a steady rating of 4.5 stars, its popularity speaks to its success.

Not only does it teach you the basics of the Japanese writing systems (hiragana and katakana), it lists most new vocabulary words with the kanji from the get-go. In my experience, this method is immensely useful and effective for learning kanji in context.

LingoDeer takes a holistic approach to learning Japanese, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking exercises. It even has short conversations you can listen to or practice reading yourself. It also includes detailed grammar explanations and cultural knowledge points. 

LingoDeer offers a range of lessons from complete beginner to intermediate levels (N5-N3), plus a special “Travel Phrasebook” lesson collection. But I especially recommend LingoDeer to anyone just starting out in their Japanese language journey. The introductory lessons are comprehensive as far as the writing systems and basic grammar are concerned. It’s well-crafted for new learners.

The app is free to start, but has limited features in the free membership. The premium membership option gives you unlimited access to all lessons, plus offline learning, access to the web version, and sharing across devices. You can pay on a subscription basis or a lifetime account. It’s a little spendy, but if you’re serious about your study of Japanese (or any language), I think it’s worth the cost.

HeyJapan (Beginner+)

HeyJapan is pretty similar to LingoDeer as far as content goes. Great for beginners, it starts you off learning hiragana and katakana before you learn anything else. Then it launches you into basic grammar and phrases to build your foundation. Each lesson includes reading, writing, listening, and speaking practice, with explanations for grammar theory and vocabulary. 

One key difference between HeyJapan and LingoDeer is the layout. HeyJapan wants to encourage you to study every day, so they break up each lesson into “days.” So you just open your app, do that day’s lesson, and you’re finished! Simple as that. It also tracks your progress and consistency, showing study streaks and awarding you with digital “trophies.” There are also extra “real-life” conversation lessons you can explore on your own.

Like most apps these days, HeyJapan starts out free, but comes with ads and has limited features. However, the price is a bit more reasonable compared to LingoDeer. With the premium membership, you’ll have access to all 150 lessons, unlock 30 JLPT trial exams, can practice speaking through conversation, gain access offline and across 3 devices, and remove ads. 

If you’re on a tighter budget, but want a lot of the same features of LingoDeer, HeyJapan is a great alternative.

*Note: HeyJapan is produced by the same company as the Migii JLPT study app, Todai Easy Japanese Reading, and Mazii Japanese-English dictionary app. These are great apps if your Japanese level is intermediate or higher.*

Duolingo (Beginner+)

Where would we be without Duolingo? With over 100 languages courses and 500+ million users, Duolingo still remains one of the top language learning apps to date. Beginners can start the Japanese track on Duolingo without any prior knowledge of hiragana or katakana, and higher-level learners can test out and jump to more difficult lessons and tracks. The lessons are short and manageable, with Duolingo’s cute little green owl cheering you on at all times.

Duolingo covers grammar, reading, listening, writing, and even speaking. While I personally prefer other apps over Duolingo, there’s no denying that it’s a highly accessible and well-regarded language learning program. Even schools use it! 

The biggest benefit, though, is the fact that Duolingo’s lessons are truly free. While there is a “Super Duolingo” membership option, the only real benefits are ad-removal, some personalized practice lessons, and access to “Legendary Level” lessons without paying with Duolingo gems. But honestly, you can still access these lessons with the gems you earn in the free version.

So if you don’t mind the occasional ad, Duolingo is the best place to start your Japanese language journey at no cost. And if you’re unsure about studying Japanese, it’s a great, low-risk way to get your toes wet and try it out!

Memrise (Beginner+)

Memrise is a personal favorite of mine for language study. Much like the previously mentioned apps, it provides an ample number of exercises for learning Japanese hiragana and katakana, with a stronger emphasis on pronunciation.

Formatted as a flashcard system, Memrise capitalizes on the benefits of repetition. Through spaced repetition exercises, you’ll review kana, kanji, vocabulary, and phrases at different intervals in order to help you remember. You will find grammar explanations in Memrise, but they aren’t nearly as comprehensive as other apps. But Memrise’s focus is for you to speak and listen to natural Japanese rather than understanding its grammatical complexities. As such, there are a number of listening and speaking exercises as well.

One unique feature of Memrise is its short video stories. Created like Facebook Reels or Instagram Stories, Memrise creates these funny little videos to teach more authentic, real-life conversations. They even include slang! They’re a little cheesy sometimes, but I find these conversations do model natural, spoken Japanese pretty well. Since Memrise has an emphasis on being able to speak and listen to natural Japanese, there are a number of listening and speaking exercises. 

Most of the features on Memrise are free. However, there is also a pro membership, which gives you full access to all 23 language courses (not just Japanese), 30,000 native speaker video clips, no ads, and offline access. 

I like Memrise a lot. However, I recommend Memrise as a supplementary app for your Japanese language study. It’s not comprehensive enough to be your end-all-be-all. If you learn well with spaced repetition and want to focus on vocabulary and expressions in natural, spoken Japanese, Memrise is a great supplement!

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Web-based Courses

While mobile apps are convenient, they’re not the only way to study Japanese. Here are a few web-based Japanese learning programs that I’ve used in the past and recommend.

JapanesePod101 (Beginner-Advanced)

JapanesePod101 is one of my favorite web programs for studying Japanese. While there is a mobile app for it, it started out online, with courses ranging from absolute beginner to advanced Japanese. I’m currently using it to study for the JLPT N2 exam.

JapanesePod101 organizes its lessons into collections called “pathways,” which basically serve as a curriculum for your Japanese study. These lessons especially focus on speaking and listening over reading and writing. Each lesson includes an audio conversation, vocabulary and kanji lists, grammar points, and an audio explanation of the lesson with some cultural points. It’s ideal for auditory learners and people that learn vocabulary better in the context of a conversation.

For beginners, there’s an absolute beginner pathway that starts from the very basics of Japanese conversations and grammar. You don’t have to know hiragana or katakana to complete this pathway, but they do provide separate pathways and worksheets for learning kana. For the beginner pathways (level 2 on JapanesePod101), you will need to be comfortable with hiragana and katakana, as well as a number of grammar points.

As an auditory learner myself, the JapanesePod101 lessons have suited my learning style rather well. Moreover, the conversations have been especially relevant for real-life conversations. They do usually have something a little dramatic or strange in each conversation, but I think it makes the lesson more entertaining and leaves a stronger impression. Regardless of the conversation’s eccentricities, the vocabulary and grammar are natural and actually used in real-life. 

One thing to note is JapanesePod101 is a paid program. You can access the basics of some of the lessons on the Basic plan, but I’d recommend paying for a premium membership to make the most out of JapanesePod101. I personally use a premium plan, and if you’re serious about studying Japanese, it’s so worth the money.

NHK Easy Japanese (Beginner-Elementary)

If you’re looking for free conversation lessons for beginners, NHK’s Easy Japanese lessons are a great option! NHK is one of Japan’s top news companies, but they’ve created 48 lessons to learn the basics of Japanese conversation.

Each lesson includes audio, animated video, and text materials, with a conversation as the main focus. Similar to JapanesePod101, each lesson includes a transcript of the conversation, a vocabulary list, kanji video, a grammar point, plus culture and travel tips and quizzes. Each conversation models real-life conversations that you’ll use if you visit or live in Japan.

NHK Easy Japanese is ideal for beginners that are familiar with hiragana and katakana, but there are some kana worksheets available on the website. But if you’re lower-intermediate or higher, these lessons might be a bit too simple for you.

Attain Online Japanese Language School on Udemy (Beginner-Advanced)

Udemy is a great resource for courses on any subject, but Attain Online Japanese Language School has probably the most comprehensive Japanese courses available. All of their courses are sorted by JLPT level (N5-N1), but they do have one course for complete beginners where you can learn hiragana, katakana, and some basic Japanese. 

Since Attain Online provides proper Japanese language courses, you’ll find that the lessons are extremely thorough and detailed. Each lesson is centered around a conversation, with vocabulary/kanji lists, grammar explanations, reading exercises, and quizzes to create a complete, well-rounded lesson plan. You’ll definitely get listening, reading, and writing practice through these courses.

I’d recommend these courses for committed, serious learners who are willing to pay for their education. I’d also recommend these courses for anyone that wants to intensely study for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at any level. Definitely the priciest option on this list, but you get your money’s worth in content.

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Textbooks

We live in a digital age, but that doesn’t mean that good old-fashioned books are completely useless for language learning. Sometimes it’s nice to have physical lessons and workbooks to work on our reading and writing. Here are some of my favorites. 

Genki 1 and Genki 2 Textbook & Workbook (Beginner-Intermediate)

The Genki textbooks were created by The Japan Times, and are the go-to textbooks for Japanese language classes in high schools and universities. I used the Genki textbooks in my college classes, and they’re great for beginners! These textbooks are obviously text-based (rather than audio or video-based), but there are supplementary dialogue videos and vocabulary, kanji, and grammar practice exercises on the Genki website.

One benefit of the textbook and workbook format for beginners is the emphasis on writing. That’s probably the greatest weak point with digital study materials. You have to physically write your answers in the book, which is useful for getting accustomed to writing in Japanese. Plus, the workbook includes practice pages for kanji where you can learn the proper stroke order and practice writing the kanji yourself. It’s a valuable skill that gets overlooked in the digital age of language learning.

You can find the Genki books on Amazon. The cost for the textbook/workbook set is about $55-$60.

Tobira Textbook (Intermediate)

Tobira is a popular textbook once you move into intermediate Japanese study. I used this textbook in my 3rd-year college-level Japanese class. The goal of Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese is to bridge the gap between beginner and advanced Japanese.

While you’ll get your fair share of reading practice, the textbook does aim to teach all 4 main language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking.

You can purchase Tobira on Amazon for about $35-$40. There are also additional kanji and grammar workbooks available.

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Language Exchange

Mobile apps, websites, and textbooks are all wonderful ways to learn a language, but they all lack one major component: talking with real speakers. You can only get so far with recorded conversations. You don’t get the chance to hear a native speaker speaking in real-time, and you definitely don’t get to practice speaking in return. That’s where language exchange opportunities really shine.

HelloTalk

While I almost always recommend meeting with people face-to-face, that’s not always possible. You may live somewhere that doesn’t have many Japanese people, or doesn’t have many language exchange clubs or community activities. Or maybe in-person feels a little too intimidating for you. In any case, if face-to-face is a no-go for you, I’d recommend HelloTalk.

HelloTalk is a worldwide community of people that are all wanting to practice their language of study. With over 30 million members, you can easily find a Japanese person to chat, voice message, or video call with.

What makes HelloTalk especially great for language learning is the built-in translation, pronunciation, transliteration, and correction features. When you’re chatting with a Japanese speaker, they can correct any mistakes in your messages as real-time feedback. Or if they send a message that is a bit difficult for you to understand, you can easily translate or transliterate it. And you can do the same for them if they’re practicing their English (or whatever language you speak). 

A fellow missionary of mine used HelloTalk all the time before he came to Japan, and it helped him feel so much more comfortable with his speaking and listening ability. I know when I first moved to Japan, I was a bit overwhelmed. All my classes and audio recordings were still a little too neat and tidy, and natural Japanese felt like a different beast altogether. There are just some things that you can’t practice without a real, native speaker.

While it takes a bit of courage to talk to a stranger, I truly recommend talking with native speakers to boost your confidence in listening and speaking. It also exposes you to real, natural Japanese that you likely won’t learn in other Japanese language programs and apps.