5 Japanese Learning Apps Recommended by a Native Speaker

Hi, I am Shingo SATO, a native speaker with more than 10 years of experience teaching Japanese.

You may be wondering which app to use for learning Japanese. This is because there are many Japanese language learning apps, ranging from high quality to not-so-high quality.

In this post, I will introduce 5 recommended apps for learning Japanese.

They are as follows.

1. Challenge with Erin – Japanese Language Test
2. Irodori Practice
3. Hiragana Memory Hint
4. Katakana Memory Hint
5. Kanji Memory Hint

As a Japanese language teacher, I have actually used them and selected the best ones. And they are all free and ad-free!

Comprehensive Japanese Learning（2 Apps）

I recommend the following two apps as comprehensive Japanese language study apps.

1. Challenge with Erin – Japanese Language Test
2. Irodori Practice

Let’s take a closer look.

Challenge with Erin – Japanese Language Test

This is a fun way to learn starter level vocabulary through games, manga, quizzes, and more.

All the words are in Romaji, so you don’t need to be able to read Hiragana or Katakana.

It is unfortunate that there is only a starter level, but it is perfect for those who want to try learning Japanese casually. I recommend it as a good first step.

Click on the following button to download.

For more information on this app, you can read the following post.

App Review Challenge with Erin! Japanese: An Insightful Look at the Japan Foundation’s Innovative Tool

Irodori Practice

This app allows you to practice language knowledge such as words, kanji, grammar, etc. You can learn from a starter to elementary level. There is no romaji, so use it after you are able to read Hiragana and Katakana.

Click on the following buttons to download.

This application is an extract of the practice part of the online course of the textbook Irodori published by the Japan Foundation.

The online course also includes videos and listening comprehension, in addition to the exercises shown in this app. video listening practice speaking practice.

To learn more about this app, read the following post.

An Insight into Irodori Practice App by the Japan Foundation

Japanese Letters（3 Apps）

The following apps are recommended for learning Japanese letters.

1. Hiragana Memory Hint
2. Katakana Memory Hint
3. Kanji Memory Hint

Let’s take a look at the details.

Hiragana Memory Hint/Katakana Memory Hint

Hiragana Memory Hint and Katakana Memory Hint have a lot in common, so I will explain them together.

With Hiragana Memory Hint/Katakana Memory Hint, you can enjoy learning through illustrations and games.

By connecting the shapes of the illustrations with the shapes of the letters, you can efficiently memorize the hiragana and katakana characters.

The games include the following four menus, so you can try again and again without getting bored.

1. Read (look at the characters and choose how to read them)
2. Choose (Look at the romaji and choose a letter)
3. Listen and Choose (Listen to the audio and choose a character)
4. Similar Hiragana/Katakana (Look at the romaji and choose the correct one from the similar letters)

Click on the following buttons to download.

For more information on Hiragana Memory Hint and Katakana Memory Hint, please read the following posts.

A Comprehensive App Review: Hiragana Memory Hint from the Japan Foundation

App Review: Katakana Memory Hint from The Japan Foundation

Kanji Memory Hint

Like Hiragana Memory Hint and Katakana Memory Hint, this app allows you to learn Kanji through illustrations and games.

This app is from Vol. 1 to Vol. 3 and corresponds to the starter to elementary level of the textbook called Marugoto as follows.

Vol.	Marugoto	Number of Kanji
1	Starter	59
2	Elementary 1	179
3	Elementary 2	238
	Total	476

A total of over 400 Kanji can be learned, which is enough for an elementary level. For example, the number of Kanji required to pass elementary level of the NAT-TEST exam is 300.

For more information on this app, you can read the following post.

Unlocking the Secrets of Japanese Kanji: A Comprehensive Review of The Japan Foundation’s Kanji Memory Hint App

Kanji Memory Hint can be downloaded from the following button.

For more information on Marugoto, please read the following post.

A Comprehensive Review of Marugoto Japanese Language and Culture

Conclusion

In this post, I introduced the following 5 apps for learning Japanese.

1. Challenge with Erin – Japanese Language Test
2. Irodori Practice
3. Hiragana Memory Hint
4. Katakana Memory Hint
5. Kanji Memory Hint

I hope this post will be of help to you in learning Japanese.