Watching tv shows in Japanese is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the language, understand context and pick up new words… but most other countries don’t have dedicated Japanese programming so how can you watch Japanese TV when you’re living overseas?
There are lots of ways to watch Japanese tv online these days but the easiest is to stream either using your regular local subscription services like Netflix or Youtube. You can also download shows or use a streaming box like the Ubox to get tv live.
We will look into each method in more depth as they all have pros and cons. Before you decide what method to use, you should also figure out what you are hoping to gain from watching the tv in the first place!
What makes watching tv good for learning Japanese?
Kaitlin thought her new plan to watch Japanese tv might be a bit too immersive this time.
Watching tv in Japanese can improve your listening skills, help you pick up new words and understand context. It’s often much more fun and engaging that just reading text books too!
Actually learning anything can be a little tricky as to be successful you need to make sure that you don’t just tune out what’s being said. TV is my relaxing time so I tend to zone out a bit while watching and I don’t actually take anything in. Japanese tv is fantastic for showing pictures and text alongside what’s being said so it can be easy to just look at the images and get the gist without using any actual Japanese.
If you’re at the beginning of your Japanese journey then that’s fine because it’s still great to get your ears used to the speech sounds and patterns. If you’re further in, then you will need to get in the habit of actively listening and reading rather than watching lazily.
For good results you should:
Look up words you hear often so you can memorise them.
Try to read words you see on screen.
Actively listen to conversations.
Choose tv shows which are around your level.
Try to immerse yourself in what’s going on.
Do you need subtitles to watch Japanese TV?
Some of the services I mention today have subtitles and some do not. Some of them include subtitles in Japanese while other have a selection. What you need will depend on what you’re trying to learn. Watching with no subs is a totally valid choice. It can help force your ears to listen rather than relying on what’s on screen. No subs is my preferred method, even if I lose a bit of what’s going on, I find it more helpful!
Watching with subtitles in your native language. Watching with English or your native language subtitles switched on seems like a great idea because it can help you understand plot and context really quickly. It can definitely help you make connections from spoken Japanese but subs can be unreliable and translations vary a lot in both quality and how literal the translations are. Some translators might translate common words several different ways. Some translations are done by volunteers who are hoping to improve their own language skills.
Watching with Japanese subtitles.
Mina laughed angrily at the pathetic library internet speeds as she struggled to watch the latest episode of One Punch Man on her phone.
By turning on Japanese subtitles you can help speed up your reading skills. If you are studying kanji, it can help you practice. Even if you aren’t quick enough to read full sentences, you can greatly improve kanji recognition times. The down side is that this is quite an advance technique so it can be very discouraging for beginners.
Overall just keep in mind that subs should be used as more of a guideline rather than a full language teaching resource because you never know the language level of the person writing them.
Do I need a VPN?
Yes and no. Many of the services included on this list do not require a VPN. Some do which are marked accordingly.
Streaming TV through official Japanese channels
Streaming tv on demand through the various official websites of Japanese tv channels is probably the safest way to watch Japanese tv online. It can be a bit tedious though as they are generally smaller clips that you have to navigate to get to.
To get the most out of these you may need a VPN set to Japan as some are region locked.
What can you watch: Mostly news, sometimes special interest shows etc, depends on the channel. You won’t get full tv shows usually. Ease of use: Websites can be harder to navigate. What do you need:Browser, VPN (some sites only) Subtitles: No.
Good:Safe and easy. Bad: Often not full tv shows. Legality of using a VPN to access other countries content may be vary in your location.
Price: Free, often ad supported.
Great if you want to just watch small things here and there and focus on your translation. Ideal for news stories.
QVCHome Shopping channel (yes this is the live home shopping channel, actually great for picking up descriptive words! No VPN required.)
Nippon TV (on demand site for full tv shows, requires VPN)
NHK (Japanese website, advanced content, some news and special interest clips)
Netflix and similar local streaming services
Using streaming services that you already pay for to learn Japanese is ideal for the budget too! With Netflix you have a couple of options. If you don’t want to use a VPN you can watch regular shows with Japanese audio or subs. You will get the best results with this by changing your profile language to Japanese. If you want to view Japan only content, you can use a VPN to get to Japanese Netflix directly. Keep in mind that shows on Japanese Netflix probably won’t have any English subs.
Of course this will have varied results depending on what kind of content and how international the streaming service you’re using has. There are also sites like Crunchyroll and AnimeLab which specialise in anime content (both subbed and dubbed) if that’s your style.
What can you watch: Variety of shows depending on streaming service. Ease of use: Easy to use, just switch languages or audio. VPN if required can be slightly trickier but still very easy.. What do you need:App or browser. VPN for Japan only content. Subtitles: Yes, sometimes also dubs.
Good:Lots of varied content. Easy to use. You probably already have a Netflix subscription. Switching language and sub tracks is totally legal. Bad: Legality of using a VPN to access other countries content may be vary in your location.
Price: Varies based on streaming service, usually under $10 a month.
An easy way to use tolls you probably already have to supplement your learning experience.
Popular streaming services to watch Japanese tv on:
Crunchyroll (Anime content only. Free with ad support, $7.99 per month, has subs. Old and new content.)
AnimeLab (Aus and NZ only currently. Anime, $8.99 per month. Subs and dubs. Old and new content.)
Any other local streaming services (Use with a VPN or switch your language to Japanese to view relevant subbed content.)
Youtube
Youtube is full of Japanese content but it can be a pain to find any! My biggest tip is to search for what you want to watch in Japanese and subscribe to lots of channels to get a constant stream of a variety of content. Search for your interests and hobbies outside of Japanese eg. cooking, sewing, building, whatever and go from there!
Youtube is useful because a lot of the creators are every day people so you can see unpolished, normal speech as well as professionally done clips etc.
There are also a lot of Japanese drama and tv show rips on Youtube, and while the legality is questionable, they are certainly available.
Additionally you can watch a lot of non-Japanese content with subtitles turned on. Of course, the quality of these subs can be very questionable because it’s often user submitted so try at your own risk.
What can you watch: A huge variety of content. Some live, some full shows, some short clips. Ease of use: Simple to use, can be hard to find content. What do you need:Browser or app. Subtitles: Yes, quality varies.
Good:Lots of information included. Bad: Annoying to search through junk for good stuff, legality of tv rips is questionable.
Price: Free, ad supported.
If you can be bothered to put in the effort to search then there’s lots of great content worth watching.
Note the above are just professionally produced content, I will write a separate post on specific Youtubers I think are worth subscribing to.
Ubox and Streaming Boxes
If you want to go a step further than just watching shows then you can watch live tv straight from Japan. The benefit for this is that it makes immersion much easier. You also get some hilarious ads mixed in too!
Streaming boxes are available all over Asia and you can buy them directly on places like Aliexpress or eBay. The most popular seems to be UBox via Unblock Tech, though there are others that you can install on any android device. They work by connecting to your TV and streaming the channels directly. As they generally just run on android you can install your own apps and do whatever else you like with them.
Most of these also seem to allow you to view tv that has passed for a week or so in case you miss anything.
What can you watch: Anything available on live tv in Japan. Ease of use: Seems to be straight forward to set up. What do you need:Streaming box and tv. Subtitles: No.
Good:Lots of channels are available including non-Japanese ones. Watch TV live as it happens. Live tv is great for immersion. Bad: Expensive one off fee. Legality will vary based on your location.
Price: Around $150-250 for a box on eBay currently with no ongoing fees.
If you plan to watch a lot of live tv and don’t want to pay ongoing subscription services then this might be a good option for you.
Online Live TV Services
Similar to Ubox, there a lot of online versions which will allow you to tune into Japanese tv live from your browser or phone via an app.
What can you watch: Channels offered differ between services but anything on live tv is available. Ease of use: Varies between services but most of them you seem to just sign up and select the channel What do you need:Browser and sometimes to download an app. Subtitles: No.
Good:Live tv very useful for immersion. Bad: Expensive, VPN may be required and legality of the service will vary from place to place.
Price: Varies between services, some are completely free, others go from $20-30 per month.
Try the free ones and see if you like them, there’s no subscription or account required.
Popular sites to stream Japanese tv on:
TVJapanLive (no app required, free, ~15 channels of live TV)
Hopefully this has given you a decent idea of how to watch Japanese tv outside of Japan. Of course these are just a start and there are plenty of other ways to get your language fix. Some language learning apps even include it in their course work which I will get further into later.
My suggestion is the start with some of the offical sites and then move on to youtube and full tv shows on Netflix. This will allow you to grow as you learn more language.
If you can get live tv to work and have it on in the background you can really immerse yourself and make learning more fun! If you’re tired of listening and want to get stuck into some kanji, read my review of Wanikani here next.
Tofugu’s Wanikani SRS system has recently become extremely popular for leaning kanji, but is the subscription pricing actually worth it?
Overall, Wanikani is a fun and engaging way to learn kanji. The mnemonics are funny and the review system is useful. It really shines in the ability to have userscripts to customise your learning experience. The pricing is via subscription and the SRS review times are strictly enforced so it’s not ideal for those who want to blast through kanji in a couple of months.
While it looks ideal on face value, it’s quite a commitment when trying to allocate your Japanese budget and time so let’s find out if it’s really worth it.
Wanikani for kanji – the basics
The Wanikani crabgator mascot is an example of the kind of mnemonics they feature.
Covers: Kanji, radicals, vocabulary. Design: Nice clean design. Radicals/Kanji/Vocab are colour coded . Mobile version could be easier to use. Learning style:Broken into 60 levels with radicals/kanji/vocab in each. Learn via reading mnemonics then review at SRS intervals via text input. Mnemonics included: Yes.
Good:Great mnemonics, customisable via userscript, very active community, huge amount of content. Bad: Subscription pricing, no official app, mixing in vocab means longer to learn the radicals and kanji.
Price: First 3 levels are free, after that it’s US$9p/m, $89p/y, $299 lifetime. For reference, I’m currently on a yearly subscription up to Level 12.
What will Wanikani teach you?
Wanikani is a web based SRS system with a focus on mnemonic learning. The system aims to teach 2000+ kanji, 6000+ vocabulary words using those kanji and radicals on top of that. This provides a good foundation of kanji for reading and use with other systems for learning grammar etc.
Radicals
Radicals are kind of like the building blocks that make up kanji. They are smaller, simpler characters that are put together to make full kanji. By learning radicals you set yourself up to be able to “read” kanji easier as you can use context of the radicals to know the meaning or sound of the kanji. The radicals also help with mnemonics because they are often used in the stories.
Kanji
Kanji known at the various levels from WKStats
The kanji covered by Wanikani is not necessarily the the core 2000, Jouyou or JLPT list. While there is a lot of cross over, according to WKstats if you complete Wanikani you will only know 91.90% of Jouyou, 88.20% of JLPT N1, or 80.04% of the most frequently used kanji in newspapers. The included kanji is still a hell of a lot of the way there but just keep the content in mind if you are aiming for a specific standard.
Vocabulary
There are around 6000 vocabulary items included in Wanikani and while that seems like it would be all you need, the items included are only those that are relevant to the kanji you’re learning. The vocabulary is there to supplement and re-enforce the kanji rather than as a comprehensive list. The inclusion of vocab here is fantastic as a learning tool but you will also need to supplement with other resources for a full learning experience.
What Wanikani won’t teach you
Wanikani is certainly not a complete Japanese learning solution. It will not teach you grammar, how to speak, listen or a lot of non-kanji vocabulary you need. It cannot be used alone to learn Japanese, you will need to use it in conjunction with other learning systems to understand what to do with the vocabulary and kanji you have learned here.
That said, it’s a fantastic base to start with especially if you’re doing self study as it’s structured and the content is good.
How is Wanikani to use?
The Wanikani dashboard is clean and simple to see at a glance how far you’ve come.
The first 3 levels of Wanikani are free and there is no time limit so you can trial at your own pace. Learning is done online via the website. Currently there is no official app which is a pretty big downside to me as I like to revise on the go. The unofficial apps are clunky and don’t have great designs. The website has mobile versions but they are a bit awkward to use so desktop has been the easiest for me. Desktop also has the added benefit of being able to install userscripts which can customise your learning experience. Desktop and mobile versions all require an internet connection.
The basic concept is that via spaced repetition, each item you learn progresses through various levels (Apprentice, Guru, Master, Enlightened) until you know it well enough that it becomes “Burned”. After an item is Burned, it’s no longer shown because you are deemed to have successfully learned it. Burning an item takes several months and until you start burning things, the revision work load can get quite high.
Dashboard
The basic dashboard is set out so you can see how many lessons and reviews you have and how many items per level.
Lessons
Each level is broken into 2 sets of lessons that you must revise before moving forward. There are around 140 items per level. New lessons become available when you have successfully moved enough radicals and kanji to the “Guru” stage. During the lessons you are shown the character, mnemonic, meaning, readings, pronunciation, and context sentences. You can complete 5 lessons before
A lesson example for a vocabulary word.
you must review the items and get both the meaning and reading correct before moving on to the next set of 5. Completed items are moved to your revision queue.
Revisions
Once an item reaches it’s SRS period, it’s moved into your Revision queue. During revisions you type in the meaning or reading (in hiragana) of the item shown. Correct answers move the item to a higher tier, incorrect answers move it lower. If you get an item incorrect then you can view the meaning and it’s moved randomly into the revision queue again. Wanikani is a fairly basic SRS in this sense and it forces you to stick to the timeline by not allowing early revisions. Once you finish your day’s revisions, that’s it.
How long does it take to complete Wanikani?
Each level can be completed in just over a week IF you revise at exactly the correct time. This is fairly difficult so I average around 11 days per level. If you were to take 11 days per level it would take 660 days to complete 60 levels plus then the time on top to burn every item. Working quickly, people estimate around a year and a half to complete the levels with additional time to burn items after.
Wtf are Userscripts?
An example of a userscript that shows a heatmap of my reviews over time.
Userscripts are custom browser add-ons that can completely change your experience with Wanikani. To use them, you install a Chrome or Firefox add-on and then each userscript individually.
One of the most popular scripts adds the ability to change the order of revisions (radicals and kanji first, meanings then readings). This can be great if you want to level up quickly as you only need to get radicals and kanji to Guru before the next lessons are available. The downside is that it can cause a huge build up of vocabulary reviews.
Another script gives you the ability to undo wrong answers and have another try without effecting your score. This is great for typos but can certainly give you a little too much power to cheat and not actually learn anything… use with caution!
Other scripts give additional stats and features such as showing which reviews are coming up in the next hour etc. It’s hard to judge basic Wanikani fairly because I use a lot of these scripts now and without them it’s a lot less fun to use.
What level of Japanese do I need to use Wanikani?
Before starting Wanikani, you should have a basic understanding of Hiragana and Katakana. Hiragana is used for typed in answers as well as pronunciation and in some mnemonics. Completing reviews or lessons will be very slow and difficult if you don’t have the ability to read hiragana quickly.
Are Wanikani’s mnemonics any good for learning Japanese?
The mnemonics in the course range from great to average, leaning on the side of great. A lot of them are silly, some are weird, some violent and some involve references you might want to look up to fully understand. Those factors make them quite memorable and so it’s easy to get a good learning rhythm down. Many of the mnemonics also include recurring characters. For example the founder’s name is Koichi so all of the kanji with a pronunciation of “kou” have mnemonics that involve Koichi doing things. I found this really useful to link readings together in my mind.
That said, some people prefer mnemonics that are REALLY crazy because they stick well, if that’s you then this is probably not the right program.
Is Wanikani fun to use?
Yes… and then no… and then yes again and repeat. At the beginning, there are only a few reviews per day and building up it moves at a fast pace. When you get further into the course, it can get extremely tedious. By level 10 I was averaging around 130 reviews per day plus lessons on top. At this point I still hadn’t burned any items so the reviews were just going up and up. That isn’t Wanikani’s fault, it’s the flaw of all SRS systems: the more items you have, the more revisions you have.
I didn’t feel like I was making progress so when I finished level 10 I took an extended break. While it felt good at the time, I was burned out and the time off set me back further from my goals. Wanikani does warn you about this because their levels are named 1-10 (Pleasant), 11-20 (Painful), 21-30 (Death), 31-40 (Hell), 41-50 (Paradise) and 51-60 (Reality).
Now that I’m back into it, it’s started to be a bit more fun. Really, I don’t think kanji is ever going to be FUN. It’s something you kind of just have to get through? Wanikani is the only kanji system that I’ve wanted to come back to which is a big compliment to them.
Another example of information included for each item and mnemonics
Self studying kanji can be quite difficult as it’s hard to know where to start and what order to tackle things in. Wanikani guides you and provides a great system for re-enforcing kanji with vocabulary.
The system is really structured which is ideal for people learning on their own. So long as you’re committed and able to push through the more repetitive revisions you will do very well. With the revision timing being enforced, this system is ideal for people who tend to try to learn EVERYTHING at once and then retain nothing.
If you find yourself struggling then definitely check out the forums too, they are very active and a great place to find people to practice (or commiserate) with.
The best parts of Wanikani
Engaging, funny mnemonics.
Slower pace forces you to learn and retain information rather than overwork.
Userscripts give you a lot of options to customise your learning experience.
Pause feature for extended breaks.
Extremely active forum community.
Updated and supported regularly.
Where does Wanikani need improvement?
The mobile versions of the site are a bit meh. Keyboard input on iPhone is annoying as the keyboard pops up and down making revisions slow.
Can’t add your own items to learn.
Pricey when there are similar free systems available.
Slower pace means longer monthly/yearly fees unless you opt for the lifetime membership.
Is Wanikani worth the money?
Wanikani is definitely a great app for learning and retaining kanji. While it is a basic SRS system, what sets it apart is the cleanly designed package that provides an exact road map for completing a large number of kanji.
That said, this is not a stand alone all-in-one Japanese course. You can have great success using Wanikani as the kanji section of a larger Japanese study plan but you still need to include other methods for grammar, speaking and vocabulary.
Overall, I think Wanikani is worth the subscription fee because it’s an easy to use system with good mnemonics. Kanji is a massive part of Japanese so it’s important to find a system that motivates you to keep going. I recommend trying the first 3 levels free to see if it clicks for you!
If you want to start learning your grammar before you attempt kanji check out my review on Mirai Japanese.
Once you’re finished with hiragana apps, you’ll be ready for Katakana study apps! But should you just use the same apps or are there katakana focused ones that you should be learning with?
The criteria I judge katakana apps on is the same as hiragana: includes a fun way to learn, allows reviews and has a clean design. Once you finish with katakana you won’t need these apps anymore so they just need to motivate you enough to get you through the second stretch!
Some of these apps will be the same that you used for hiragana and some are just katakana focused. Make sure you click the links to get the right ones because they all have very similar names!
These guides will change over time as I update them with new apps I’ve tested. If you’re looking for an idea of how long it will take to learn katakana check out my earlier post.
Best Free Apps To Learn Katakana.
The first category of katakana study apps we’re looking at is completely free! These apps don’t have paid upgrades and are just as good as thier paid counterparts. Learning Japanese on a budget can be tough but it is definitely do-able. It’s better to put money into learning kanji than kana because it’s a longer part of your journey and can be very tedious if you don’t have a way to keep it fun.
This app will be familiar to you if you did hiragana with it’s counterpart. The series is made by the Japan Language Institute and includes mnemonics, quizzes and kana tables. This is one of my favourite apps because it features visual mnemonics drawn with the characters. A native speaker pronounces the character and you can flip the cards to see the drawings side by side.
Quizzes include reading, listening and reversed multiple choice. They have a review period after each answer so you can really secure things in your memory. There is also a quiz for similar looking characters which is a great point for beginners.
Once you finish with your katakana there is also a follow up with beginner kanji. It’s great to be able to grow within a series of apps once you find your ideal learning methods.
Covers: Katakana Design: Nice design, coloured backgrounds with black and white illustrations that stand out. Learning style:Review the mnemonics at your own pace then try the quizzes. Mnemonics included: Yes, illustrated.
Good:Clean modern design. Bad: Some of the mnemonics are a bit of a stretch, it would be nice having a voice over to read the captions.
This is the best free option for katakana! The mnemonics are a big plus and the design is clean and easy to use. I think this is the best of all of the katakana apps and it’s free!
This is a great app for revising and tracking your learning. It features detailed statistics on your time reviewing so you can adjust your study. The downside is that there are no mnemonics or ways to learn outside of staring at the kana table. Within the kana table you can select a character for more information, try drawing it and listen to pronunciation.
The app features a variety of tests including multiple choices, type in answers and drawing. Like most apps, the drawing tests are self marked against the guides. I find the most useful tests to be typed in answers, it’s a nice middle ground between multiple choice and writing. It also helps link the character in your brain with how you will usually be using it.
Covers: Hiragana and katakana Design: Clean, modern and simple. Easy to read. Learning style:Learn via a kana chart, then various quizzes. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Great design, lots of statistics about your learning. Reminders and written answers available. Bad: No mnemonics or interesting ways of learning the characters.
This is a really interesting app as it focuses on learning through quick guided repetition. When starting a new game you are presented with a number of customisation options. You are then shown a character with 6 answers. When you are learning, only the correct answer is clickable. As you review, more items are clickable and you can only progress with the right answer. It’s an effective way to build up quick recognition.
My favourite part of this app is the speed that you can review items. The animation is really quick so there’s no waiting around for the next question. The faster you go through the better you will be at reading.
Covers: Hiragana and katakana Design: Clean and simple. Learning style:Learn via guided repetition and speed reviews. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Simple design, speedy, fun reviews. Bad: No mnemonics, no kana chart and no sound.
Fun for reviewing and getting yourself speedy with recognition. As there is no sound you will need to already know how to pronounce the kana.
Honourable mentions:
Kana School– Another great app for revisions with both hiragana and katakana.
Best paid katakana study apps.
The free resources are great but sometimes it’s worth paying extra for curated content. The apps in this section are fantastic learning tools but they average around AU$15 to unlock. You may already have them from learning hiragana so the prices aren’t that bad when you can learn both.
Dr Moku is a popular system of Japanese apps known for their mnemonics. The lessons are katakana mixed with pictures and funny captions to help them stick in your mind. You view the picture while Dr Moku reads the mnemonic. His over the top voice acting and annunciation helps keep things memorable. If you flip the card you can view an animation of the stroke order.
For revising katakana you’ve learned, there are multiple choice quizzes for reading and listening. Writing practice is via a self graded test.
Additional quick reference and audio charts are included along with some common words and phrases. If you enjoy the style of the app, there are other apps for kanji and phrases once you finish katakana.
Covers: Katakana (25% included in free app, the rest unlocked with paid upgrade) Design: Bright and simple. Easy to see each item for review. Fun drawings. Learning style: Review at your own pace, then timed multiple choice quiz. Mnemonics included: Yes.
Good: Good mnemonics, written practice included. Family of apps available if you like the style. Bad:Lots of upgrade banners and ads for the other apps. The app design can get tedious with several selection screens before you start most options.
Price:Free download, AU$7.99 upgrade to unlock all hiragana. Bundle in the app store with the katakana and phrases apps for $12.99
A fun way to learn katakana via mnemonics. The free version is ok to test but you will need to upgrade to learn the whole alphabet. The bundle is good value if you are also needing hiragana.
You might be familiar with this app as it covers hiragana, katakana and also some vocabulary grammar and kanji. The lessons are worked in sections and the style of learning via repetition.
The app doesn’t include mnemonics but there are a variety of multiple choice formats to teach you with active repetition. The reviews are in an SRS style but I’m not sure on the frequencies.
During the quizzes you can toggle an option for written answers which begins with you tracing as you learn and then progressively fades the character until you are remembering how to write it. I find this to be a really effective way to memorise as it holds your hand a bit without being annoying.
Covers: Basic katakana (5 items available free per lesson, others unlocked via paid upgrade) Design: Dark, clean and simple. Easy to see each item in quiz. Learning style:Learn via repetition, writing and quizzes. Review with the same methods. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean, modern design. Writing reviews are useful. Bad: No mnemonics or learning options other than repetition.
Price:Free download, AU$2.99 upgrade for katakana only or $12.99 for all lessons (hiragana, katakana, some kanji, vocabulary and grammar)
Great dark design, worth downloading with the full unlock for the amount of content. If you don’t learn well via repetition then I would look for an app with mnemonics.
I still think this app is a bit expensive compared to other apps but the design and speed of reviews make up for it. The app revises katakana (and hiragana) through timed multiple choices. The timing makes you answer fast and it’s really good for improving your recognition times in reading. The design is clean and simple which I love. If you are looking to learn katakana then I would stick to other apps but if you just want to speed revise then this might be great for you.
Covers: Katakana and hiragana (katakana via paid upgrade) Design: Clean and simple. Easy to see each item in quiz. Learning style:Learn at your own pace via kana chart, then timed multiple choice quiz. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean modern design, fast pace for improving reading. Bad: High unlock price, no spoken pronunciation during learning, no mnemonics.
Price:Free download, AU$7.99 upgrade to unlock hiragana with modifiers and katakana.
Worth it if you want to do speed reviews but it’s too fast for learning katakana from scratch.
This is the app you need when regular flash cards are too boring. Ok so it’s still just a regular flash card app but there’s also a ninja and some kind of skeleton viking… When you get answers correct the ninja does some sweet moves with his sword to celebrate! If you get one wrong he… kills himself… So, you know, that’s fun.
There is also a reference chart which has stroke order animations for each character.
Covers: Katakana Design: Nice and simple. Learning style:Multiple choice quiz with a reference kana chart. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Funny animations, standard revisions. Bad: Just a plain old no frills quiz system, nothing to help you actually learn.
This app pretty much does what it says: it drills kana. It’s a multiple format multiple choice app without much customisation. You unlock 1 row of kana at a time as you progress with reviews.
The only downside I found is that when you exit a test half way through, it’s supposed to punish you with an ad but the the button only seems to work sometimes. If it’s not working then there’s no way to exit the test without closing the app.
Covers: Hiragana and katakana Design: Minimal and red. Learning style:Not much learning, just lots of multiple choice questions. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean modern design, fast pace for improving reading. Bad: Obviously requires sound to use so you can hear the beat.
Price:Free download, possibly ad supported but I could find any.
Easy way to review kanji quickly but I would stick to a different app for actual learning.
Honourable mentions:
Hiragana Pixel Party– A fun way to test your kana knowledge with a rhythm based jumping game. Very cute, AU$2.99 to unlock all levels including katakana.
Katakana study apps not to waste time with.
With so many katakana apps available there is definitely a wide variety of quality too. The apps in this section are ones that I didn’t like or found unhelpful. While they may not be terrible, they are here because there are better options in the apps listed above so don’t waste your time with these ones.
I was a bit sad about this app because it looked like it had promise. The layout is fairly clean and it has interesting stats included about reviews. The problem is that a lot of the buttons don’t seem to work. Full screen ads pop up at random through reviews and when I went to pay to remove them, the link was broken. I would revise this when the app is updated to fix the bugs. Regardless of what I was doing in the app the “End game” screen would randomly show up.
Covers: Katakana Design: Nice design but not currently working. Learning style:Not really focused on learning, there is a kana chart but if you click it just takes you to an immediate quiz. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Interesting stats. Bad: Lots of ads, weird pop ups, pretty broken.
Price:Free download, ad supported, unsure of cost to remove ads.
Could be a decent review app but currently broken.
While this app had good reviews on the app store, I didn’t have a good experience. On opening there’s an ad for a Japanese ebook which I couldn’t close without signing up. The design is very dated and the layout is distracting. The quizzes are standard multiple choices.
It features study and test areas. The information in the study areas is good but to get to each item you have to click through several screens. On the plus side there are a lot of vocabulary items included as examples.
Covers: Katakana, hiragana and vocabulary. Design: Cluttered and annoying to use. Learning style:Review at your own pace, then multiple choice quiz. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Lots of information. Bad: Hard to use design, annoying to find information, no mnemonics.
Price:Free download, ad supported or $1.49 to remove ads.
Don’t bother, just get one of the other apps that has both good information and good user experience!
My favourite katakana app study plan of attack
By now, you will have mastered hiragana and so you should have an idea of what kind of study works well for you. Mnemonics are definitely the quickest and easiest way to power through katakana so continue on with either Katakana Memory Hint or Dr Moku. You might like the swap to the one you didn’t use for hiragana to prevent yourself zoning out.
After you’ve gotten through the basic learning, it’s time to get quick with revisions. Move onto a combination of Pastel Kana, Kana Mind or Learn Japanese!!. Do reviews until you can speed read the characters.
The biggest tip for katakana study apps is to review as often as possible and try to get your speed up. The faster you can recognise the characters, the faster you will be able to get into proper reading.
Having to slowly sound words out makes reading boring. If you can recognise katakana quickly then it will be less tempting to quit later!
Hiragana is your first step to learning Japanese but which hiragana study apps are the best? The app store is absolutely packed with hiragana content and it can be difficult to figure out which ones are worth looking at.
My criteria for a good app is something with includes a good way to learn and review hiragana with a clean design. You want to get through kana as fast as possible so these aren’t apps you are going to keep forever, they just need to be engaging enough to get the job done!
Ideally you will want an app that can follow through and do katakana too but for these reviews I’m focusing on the hiragana side. Unfortunately a lot of them have very similar names so make sure you check the links and grab the right ones!
These guides will change over time as I update them with new apps I’ve tried. If you’re looking for an idea of how long it will take to learn hiragana check out my earlier post.
Best Free Apps To Learn Hiragana.
These apps are completely and totally free, no upgrades in sight! Japanese is a long journey so even if you plan on using paid resources later it’s a good plan to check out the free hiragana apps. Ideally you would learn hiragana and katakana for free then upgrade to a paid app for kanji when you know you’re committed.
This app is put out by the Japan Language Institute in Kansai so it’s got some street cred behind it. It’s divided into memory hints, quizzes and revision tables. The memory hints are visual mnemonics drawn on the character with short animations. There is a native speaker voice for pronunciation but not to read the mnemonic. You can view the character inside the illustration or flip it to see them side by side.
The quiz includes reading, listening or reversed multiple choices with a quick review period after each. There is also an option for “similar hiragana” which will quiz you on characters that look the same. This is great for improving reading comprehension. One funny aspect is that for a correct answer you are shown a red O with a blue X for incorrect. In Japan that’s common but in my brain red always means “wrong” so it took a moment to figure that out!
The Institute also puts out a larger family of free apps including katakana and basic kanji. If you like this way of learning you have room to grow with the apps.
Covers: Hiragana Design: Nice design, coloured backgrounds with black and white illustrations that stand out. Learning style:Review the mnemonics at your own pace then review with quizzes. Mnemonics included: Yes, illustrated.
Good:Clean modern design. Bad: Some of the mnemonics are a bit of a stretch, it would be nice having a voice over to read the captions.
This is the best free option out there! It’s nicely designed, includes mnemonics and has decent quizzes. I absolutely recommend Hiragana Hint Memory if you are sticking to free apps, you can’t get better.
This is a great app for revising and tracking your learning. It features detailed statistics on your time learning and reviewing so you can adjust your study. The downside is that there are no mnemonics or ways to learn outside of staring at the kana table. Within the kana table you can select a character for more information, try drawing it and listen to pronunciation.
The app features a variety of tests including multiple choices, type in answers and drawing. Like most apps, the drawing tests are self marked against the guides. I find the most useful tests to be the typed in answers, it’s a nice middle ground between multiple choice and writing. It also helps link the character in your brain with how you will usually be using it.
Covers: Hiragana and katakana Design: Clean, modern and simple. Easy to read. Learning style:Learn via a kana chart, then various quizzes. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Great design, lots of statistics about your learning. Reminders and written answers available. Bad: No mnemonics or interesting ways of learning the characters.
This app proves that free resources can be just as good as the paid ones! The app is set out between learning, kana tables and infinite quizzes. In the learning section you can view the characters, try them out in mini quizzes or do the full test to advance to the next character set. Each set has 5 characters and you need to complete the previous ones before the next is unlocked. The tests are simple multiple choices and you have 3 lives for incorrect answers. There is a text to speech voice that reads the characters as you go.
Covers: Hiragana and katakana Design: Clean and simple. Learning style:Learn via looking at the characters, trial quiz, then test to unlock the next set. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean modern design, 3 heart system for wrong answers during the test. Bad: No mnemonics or interesting ways of learning the characters.
While this one is not full featured for learning, it’s fantastic for reviewing. The design is pleasant and it does exactly what it promises.
Best paid apps to study hiragana.
While there’s a number of free resources around online, sometimes it’s worth paying a bit to get really GOOD resources. These apps have great design and features but on average they will set you back around AU$15 to unlock fully. Many of these also include katakana so the price is shared across both alphabets.
Dr Moku’s learning system is one of the bigger players in terms of learning apps so the name comes up often. The teaching is based on clever mnemonics which include pictures to help you remember. In learning mode, you view the picture with the hiragana over the top and then listen to Dr Moku read the mnemonic to you. His voice and pronunciation is quite distinctive so it helps things stick in your memory. You can also toggle to see an animation of how each character is written.
There are quizzes for reading, listening and writing. The reading and listening are standard multiple choice questions while the writing is a self graded test.
Additional quick reference and audio charts are included along with some common words and phrases. The company has other apps for katakana, basic kanji and phrases. If you like the style of mnemonics then this is something to consider.
Covers: Hiragana (25% included in free app, the rest unlocked with paid upgrade) Design: Clean and simple. Easy to see each item for review. Fun drawings. Learning style: Review at your own pace, then timed multiple choice quiz. Mnemonics included: Yes.
Good: Good mnemonics, written practice included. Family of apps available if you like the style. Bad:Lots of upgrade banners and ads for the other apps. The app design can get tedious with several selection screens before you start most options.
Price:Free download, AU$7.99 upgrade to unlock all hiragana. Bundle in the app store with the katakana and phrases apps for $12.99
A great system for mnemonics and reviews. Free version is not worth it but if you don’t mind the price then the bundle of kana and phrases is good value for learning and revising.
With a very basic name you would be forgiven for thinking this is a basic app. There are 6 lessons that cover hiragana, katakana, some vocabulary, kanji and basic grammar points. The lessons are broken into sections and focus on repetition in different formats. There are no mnemonics to help you but each character is shown a variety of ways and then you must select it in multiple choice. The reviews are given in an SRS style but I’m not sure on the frequencies.
The questions also have a writing option which you can toggle during reviews. The writing practice starts with you tracing the character with coloured dots showing the start and end points of each stroke. The character gradually fades through each quiz until you are writing completely on your own which is a great approach.
Covers: Basic hiragana (5 items available free per lesson, others unlocked via paid upgrade) Design: Dark, clean and simple. Easy to see each item in quiz. Learning style:Learn via repetition, writing and quizzes. Review with the same methods. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean, modern design. Writing reviews are useful. Bad: No mnemonics or learning options other than repetition.
Price:Free download, AU$2.99 upgrade for hiragana only or $12.99 for all lessons (hiragana, katakana, some kanji, vocabulary and grammar)
Worth it for the smooth design and writing practice. Nice that it has more than just hiragana for the price but if you want to learn with mnemonics then you’ll have to look elsewhere.
This app is pricey compared to the features of other apps but the design is great and the speed that you can review is very useful. The main part of the app is revising kana via timed multiple choice questions. It features a self study kana chart but does not include mnemonics or pronunciation there. This is definitely not an app that will help you learn hiragana to begin with but the super quick quizzes are great for making sure your recall and reading skills are on point.
Covers: Basic hiragana (hiragana with modifiers and katakana available via paid upgrade) Design: Clean and simple. Easy to see each item in quiz. Learning style:Learn at your own pace, then timed multiple choice quiz. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean modern design, fast pace for improving reading. Bad: High unlock price, no spoken pronunciation during learning, no mnemonics.
Price:Free download, AU$7.99 upgrade to unlock hiragana with modifiers and katakana.
Worth it for nice design and speed but only if you are focused on reviewing rather than learning and you don’t mind spending for the upgrade.
This one is a literal flash card study app for hiragana. It won’t teach you anything about the characters or help you learn them with mnemonics etc but it is a quick and easy way for no fuss reviews. There’s not much else to say about it because that’s all it is: hiragana flash cards!
Covers: Hiragana Design: Clean and simple. Learning style:Flash cards only, no customisation. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean design, quickly and easily get through lots of flash cards. Bad: No mnemonics or interesting ways of learning the characters. No flash card customisation.
Now this is something different from boring flash cards! Hiragana pixel party is one part review and one part rhythm game. You play as Mihiro who is running through various cities and landscapes while jumping over kana obstacles to the beat. As Mihiro calls out a hiragana character, you need to press the correct character on the screen to make her jump in time to the beat and clear the obstacle. The better you do, the higher your score. Each level unlocks a couple of hiragana at a time so you can breeze through. There’s not really much actual teaching though so I would recommend using this once you have a basic grasp. It’s a really fun way to review though!
Covers: Hiragana (12 levels free, 100 more plus katakana unlocked through paid upgrade) Design: Pixel game style. Learning style:There isn’t a whole lot of learning here, just reviewing through the mini game. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Clean modern design, fast pace for improving reading. Bad: Obviously requires sound to use so you can hear the beat.
Price:Free download, 12 levels free AU$2.99 upgrade to unlock 100 extra levels, song etc.
Great way to get some kana practice in without feeling like you’re studying, definitely download.
Hiragana study apps not to waste time with.
There are a LOT of apps for hiragana study in the app store and a lot of them are really good. Unfortunately a lot of them are also not so good. These are some apps that came up in my searches that I didn’t find helpful. While they aren’t necessarily bad, there are better options in the apps I’ve already listed so try one of those instead of wasting your time!
This app has great reviews on the app store but I couldn’t figure out why. When I opened it, I was greeted with an advertisement for a Japanese ebook. Fairly standard except I couldn’t find a way to close it without clicking to sign up on the ebook. The design of the app is busy and like looking at a 2002 Geocities page which is distracting.
Beyond that, the app is sectioned into study and test areas. The actual study information is useful but to get to each item takes several clicks. There are a lot of vocabulary items included as examples of hiragana use. Quizzes included are standard multiple choice options.
Covers: Hiragana, katakana and vocabulary. Design: Cluttered and hard to do anything. Learning style:Review at your own pace, then multiple choice quiz. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Lots of information. Bad: Hard to use design, annoying to get to information, no mnemonics.
Price:Free download, ad supported or $1.49 to remove ads.
Don’t bother, just get one of the other apps that has both good information and good user experience!
This app has a lot of potential but falls down in design again. There is a LOT of text to read through which some people may enjoy but I found it distracting. It covers everything you would need for hiragana and katakana. While being heavy on information, it’s sparce on helpful things like memory aids etc or learning tools.
Covers: Hiragana, katakana and some vocabulary. Design: Minimal, many menu systems to get to the content. Content is mostly plain text. Learning style:Learn at your own pace with included lessons, some characters have additional information on style or pronunciation. Mnemonics included: No.
Good:Lots of information included. Bad: Hard to use design, hard to get to information, no mnemonics.
Price:Free download, ad supported, contribute $1-3 to remove ads.
The information included is good but the clunky navigation make it not worth the time to navigate to each item.
My favorite hiragana app study plan of attack
If you’re just starting out with hiragana then I recommend that you begin with either Hiragana Memory Hint or Dr Moku to get the full benefit of mnemonics.
The biggest tip for hiragana study apps is to do your reviews often throughout the day until you can recognise the characters easily and read along words even if you don’t know their actual meanings!
Today I’ll show you one of my favourite ways to practice my language skills: play Animal Crossing Pocket Camp in Japanese!
Switching the language in Pocket Camp to Japanese is simple, all you need to do is head into the settings. Of course there’s a little more to it than that so let’s take a deeper dive into the benefits of playing games for solo study and some problems you might run in to.
Before you run to download and change the language right away, I recommend that you start the game and play for a day in your native language before making the transition. At the start of the game, there are a lot of explanations and screens to get through so it’s a good idea to understand how to play before you focus on Japanese.
How to turn your Animal Crossing Pocket Camp language to Japanese.
On the home screen, open the menu in the top left corner.
Scroll down to where it says “Language” and press the one that is currently selected.
Scroll to the bottom of the list to see “日本語” and select it.
Look at the confirmation screen and press the “change” button.
Wait for the game to reload to the title screen.
Congratulations, you can now play Animal Crossing in Japanese!
If you every need to change the language back to English:
Head to the main menu again.
Find the option that says “言語” (language).
Select your desired language.
Press “変更する” at the confirmation screen.
Reload the game and you’re good to go!
Why play Pocket Camp in Japanese?
Well the most obvious reason is: because it’s freaking fun!
Animal Crossing is long running franchise with a huge following and Pocket Camp is the first mobile game in the series. In Pocket Camp, you are the manager of a campsite and you visit the areas around your site and do favours for animals. Your aim is to convince them to come live in your campsite. You can decorate it however you like and there are a lot of challenges and goals to obtain more furniture and the like.
The basic game is free to play but you can also buy Leaf tickets with real money to finish crafting things more quickly or make special items.
The reason I love playing Pocket Camp in Japanese is that the mechanics are extremely simple so I can focus on unfamiliar words and grammar.
You can pick up the basics of playing Pocket Camp in about 20 minutes when using in your own language. Once you understand the concept you can spend your time interacting with animals and enjoying the game. The language that the villagers use in Pocket Camp is fun and interesting. There are a lot of different personalities so you can see how phrases are used in different scenarios.
Even if you plan to skip a lot of the more repetitive villager dialog, it’s still a fantastic way to learn useful vocabulary. Take a look around the menu and you’ll see a lot of words that come up often. Even just understanding the phrasing for agreeing or opting out of something in the app is good to know.
How much Japanese do I need to know to play?
Unless you have a lot of experience playing Pocket Camp in English and plan to ignore all of the dialogue then you will need at least an N5 level of reading comprehension. The game is aimed at younger people but it uses kanji with no furigana. You will need to know hiragana, katakana and a range of kanji.
Grammar will also be important so you can understand the context of what’s happening. The game contains a lot of contractions, made up words and onomatopoeia so it’s important to be able to understand the contexts.
Of course you can absolutely just skip the reading and find your way with trial and error, but that won’t help you learn much Japanese!
Common problems you might come across while playing.
Don’t expect to power through and collect everything like you would in English. Playing in another language and trying to understand every sentence is hard work. You are probably not at similar reading speed to your native language so you are going to be slower at doing anything and understanding what’s going on in game. While Pocket Camp isn’t crazy text heavy outside of villager interactions, there can still be a lot to get through. So if your aim is farming bells, collecting Leaf tickets or being a completionist you might prefer to stick to your own language.
Dialogue skipping from boredom or frustration. Even in English, chatting to the animals in Pocket Camp can get super repetitive. When you don’t fully understand what they’re saying, there’s the temptation to just tap through to get to the parts you do know. Doing this will progress the game faster but it won’t help you learn Japanese so try to avoid the temptation.
Not being able to find what you need. The menu systems in Pocket Camp can be a bit crazy when you’re doing challenges. Most of them don’t have much text but there’s eventually going to be a time when you want to change a setting and can’t find it. Luckily the app is set out the same way in all languages so you can always google what you need and find a guide. Alternatively you can just
switch between languages until you get what you need then head to Japanese again.
Overestimating your language skills
This is a tough one because the answer is unfortunately just to study more! It’s easy when you’re just starting out in Japanese to want to jump into a game immediately. Until you have a good level of reading comprehension it’s not a good idea to play a game like this because it will end in frustration when you have to look up every second word. Games are much more enjoyable when it doesn’t take 20min to get through the title screens! The plus side is that you have something to work towards and that’s great motivation.
The best parts of AC:PC in Japanese
Here are my favorite parts of playing with the language changed to Japanese:
Everyone has different names! Did you know that in Japan, Isabelle’s name is Shizue (しずえ)? Most of the animals have different name
s in the Japanese version and it’s so fun to see who’s who if you’re a long time fan of the series!
Making friends in JapanOf course you can’t actually talk to each other… but you can certainly help each other out in the game! I’m hopeful that eventually they will add a way to talk or leave messages for our friends in game.
Finding fun grammar examples. The dialogue in Animal Crossing has always been quite funny. It’s full of conversation that you wouldn’t find in a regular textbook. Things tend to be very casual so it’s a great way to expand your understanding of different kinds of Japanese. Of course you probably wouldn’t talk like your animals do in real life but it’s fun anyway!
Conclusions
Playing Animal Crossing Pocket Camp in Japanese is a fantastic way to supplement your regular self study sessions. When you’re studying alone you need to find as many ways as possible to keep your motivation up. Playing games that you enjoy in your native language is a fantastic way to do that! Pocket Camp is particularly good because the interactions are simple and the gameplay is easy.
If you are a fan of the Animal Crossing franchise then I would definitely recommend giving Pocket Camp a try in Japanese and seeing if you enjoy the mobile mechanics.
Clozemaster is a popular language app that uses gamification to make learning fun but is it actually any good for learning Japanese? The app is made by Betten and is available on both Apple and Android.
Overall, yes Clozemaster is a pretty good system for reviewing grammar points but it’s not going to be suitable for every level of Japanese student. The game is certainly addictive and offers a wide range of content but it can be a bit repetitive.
There are many language choices in the app so I was skeptical that it would be specifically useful with Japanese. Lots of interesting points to get through, so let’s dive right in!
Wtf is a cloze?
A cloze test is basically a fill in the blanks question. It’s useful for improving and testing your language skills as it relies on your ability to figure out answers by context.
Example:
Question: Today I put on my hat and went for a _______ in the sunshine. Answer: walk
Cloze test are useful tools because they require you to read the sentence, understand it’s full meaning and decide the word that fits. This is a great judge of your grammar understanding. Questions like these are often used on official language tests so it’s in your best interests to study them well.
The downside of cloze tests is the dreaded synonym. The example above seems like an easy one but it’s a bit misleading because there could actually be several correct answers. I might have gone for a walk, a stroll, a run, a hike etc. All of those answers are technically correct but there is usually only one “correct” answer when you’re using an app.
How is the Clozemaster app to use?
Clozemaster is basically an endless stream of cloze tests. The app itself is no frills and while there is a lot of text there aren’t too many options to fiddle with.
Free to play You can use the app completely free and without an account but if you want to save your progress or score you will need to sign up to a free account. Once you have an account, you are able to do as many cloze tests as you like. The main restriction of the free account is that you are only able to do 1 listening test per day. The other restriction is that you must have an internet connection to play.
Clozemaster Pro Upgrade There is an option of subscribing for a paid account. You can’t do this in the app, you will need to head to their website to sign up/upgrade. A pro account currently costs US$8 a month or US$60 per year.
The pro account allows you to play unlimited listening rounds, revise your favourites offline, customise how you want to do reviews, google translate within the app and some other little features.
For a casual user the Pro upgrade is not really worth the cost. For a heavy user, the extra features are nice but the main benefit is being able to play more listening rounds and support the app developer.
How to play
To play a round you select your language, difficulty and then either multiple choice or text input. If you select text inp
ut you will get double the points as it’s more difficult. There is an option for the standard questions or Cloze-Listening during which the question is spoken before the text is shown.
The questions are provided in rounds of 10 and you select or type in the word that is missing in the example sentence.
You are scored for correct answers, streaks and reviews. You can then favourite the sentences you like, review previous tests or start the next set of clozes. The web version of the app also seems to have some features such as creating your own cloze collections (still in beta testing).
The difficulties are ranked by the most to least common words used in Japanese. According to the app there are a total of 176,282 sentences in the Japanese section with the “Fluency Fast Track” course having 32,232 words to master.
What level of Japanese do I need to use Clozemaster?
The app’s about page says that Clozemaster is aimed at people looking for what to do once they finish Duolingo. I think that’s a pretty fair way to describe the levels.
To play even the easiest levels of Clozemaster you will need to have a good grasp of kana and kanji. There is no romaji option that I have found.
I recommend waiting until you have learned the JLPT N5 level of kanji before you start playing or you will find yourself frustrated trying to read. There is an option to show the English translations before or after answering but you really do need a basic reading level to get far.
For context, I tried the beginner level with very little kanji knowledge and was getting around 60% correct. After reaching to level 9 in Wanikani I have a 100% success rate on the easiest cloze level.
Is Clozemaster’s content good for Japanese?
The concern I always have with apps that offer lots of languages is that they often aren’t particularly focused on any of them. Clozemaster’s content comes from Tatoeba which is a massive and open source translation library. The best part about it is that anyone can add content, the worst part about it is that anyone can add content. While the majority of the translations are good there are definitely some errors and sentences that sound a bit weird.
The other thing to point out is that the voices used in the listening options are computer generated via text to speech programs. They sound good but the technology isn’t quite as natural as a real native speaker. Picture an audio book read by Siri vs a voice actor.
Is Clozemaster actually fun to use?
Yes, it can get quite addictive because there is an international leader board. It’s extremely motivating to see yourself climbing the ranks! Of course it would take real commitment to get close to the top. As I’m writing this, the top score in Japanese is 116,756 and I’m at…. 3172nd for this week. Hah!
It’s also motivating to work you way up from doing multiple choice questions to typing. While it’s not easy to jump directly into typing as there are so many possible synonyms, you can use them for reviews once you know the pool of word options.
Is it useful for self study?
It can be very difficult to get decent grammar practice in when you’re self studying. There are plenty of kanji apps for revisions but unless you want to use Anki, there are fewer easy options for grammar.
Clozemaster is great for self study because, so long as you have an internet connection, it’s always available. The questions being in groups of 10 makes it very easy to get a few rounds in between projects during the day. If you want to commit to a longer study session there is an endless stream of revisions.
It’s also very useful to have an option to type in the answers as it will help you revise your kanji skills.
The best parts of Clozemaster
The sheer amount of content, there are thousands of questions, sentences and words to learn.
It’s a quick light weight app.
The leader board… I will get to the top one day!!
More advanced questions – lots of apps stop after N5 content, this has enough questions to last you well past N1.
Where does the app need improvement?
The design is very blocky and plain. It looks like it was aiming for pixel art but mixes it in with some odd design choices. I’m not a fan and would prefer something easier on the eyes for long sessions.
Content is sometimes a bit awkward sounding.
More features would be great including options for those still learning kana or kanji
Is Clozemaster worth trying?
If you have a solid grasp of basic kanji and are looking to improve your Japanese grammar knowledge I absolutely recommend trying out Clozemaster. You will need to know the fundamentals but the app is a fantastic way to test yourself and further your practice. The content will grow with you as you progress to advanced Japanese, so it’s a great app to keep in your revision arsenal.
If you need to brush up on your grammar before you jump into cloze tests then check out my review on Mirai Japanese.
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