Free and Affordable Japanese Study Tools for Serious Learners (Dabblers Welcome)

As with most things in life, the key to making progress in learning Japanese is consistency.

I know from experience that it can be tempting to procrastinate by tinkering away at the tools and systems you use to study and learn new languages. Maybe the seventh page of Google will hold the secret to fluency. Maybe this fifteen-minute YouTube video will solve all of my pronunciation mistakes and I will finally sound like a native speaker.

Spoiler: you won’t.

The facts are much less glamorous. An imperfect study method used every day will get you much further than hoping you will someday stumble across the secret to instant fluency.

No matter what some polyglot influencers may want you to believe, the price of improving your language skills is well-directed effort, not ten easy payments of $9.99. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with investing money in tools to help you learn Japanese, the mindset that purchasing one miracle system after another will automatically boost your language skills will leave you heavy with disappointment and light in the wallet. So, here are some free and inexpensive options that I’ve found helpful as a language learner and teacher.

Free Daily Flashcards: Drops

Summary: Drops is an app that provides a “gamified” experience for learning and reviewing words and phrases in your target language. The free version gives you five minutes of learning, with daily bonuses if you maintain an unbroken streak. You can also set it up based on whether you want words to be written in romaji, kana, or kanji. Unless you have multiple languages you want to learn or practice, I actually suggest not upgrading to the paid version. Knowing that you only have five minutes makes it easier to open the app every day, and “streaks” give you just enough of a push to stay consistent. It’s the perfect way to supplement your other studies, and a great way to make sure you get a little bit of Japanese exposure every single day. But used alone, it’s definitely not enough for sustained improvement in the language.

Kana Workbook: Japanese For Busy People

Summary: Learning how to read and write in Japanese is essential if you want to move past memorizing set phrases and learn how to use the language in a more dynamic and long-term way. While not free, this workbook is inexpensive and does a great job of helping you learn hiragana and katakana, the two basic phonetic scripts in Japanese. It doesn’t address kanji (Chinese characters), but it’s a good idea to have a solid understanding of kana before moving forward in your studies. You can also learn and review hiragana and katakana using the Drops app (see above), but practicing writing the characters is very useful for retention and avoiding issues with lookalikes later on. It also comes with a CD to help you begin learning how to pronounce and listen to Japanese.

Japanese Language and Business Culture: Business Success Japan (available on most podcast platforms)

Summary: The early episodes of my podcast summarizes much of the content covered in my corporate classes. Current episodes contain full-length interviews with thought leaders and professionals working in Japan and with Japanese professionals. Each episode also covers an important Japanese word or phrase for people who want to work in Japan. It’s a convenient resource for previewing, reviewing, or digging deeper into learning more about Japanese culture.

Textbook: Japanese for Busy People I

Summary: To be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge fan of this textbook. The usage of some phrases in dialogues is questionable, and some of the vocabulary that it uses is pretty dated. However, as a tool for organizing core Japanese skills for use in a professional context, there are no other (inexpensive) resources that I am aware of that really compare. Although there is a romaji (English alphabet) version available, I highly suggest waiting until you’re comfortable with hiragana and katakana and purchasing the kana (Japanese phonetic alphabet) version instead. While romaji is useful, it will eventually cripple your Japanese studies if you rely on it too much past the absolute beginner stage.

Free Online Alternatives: Tae Kim’s Guide (largely accurate, user-friendly, initial focus on casual Japanese), Imabi (more accurate, less user-friendly, focuses more on “proper” Japanese)

Write in Japanese on Your Computer

Summary: Tae Kim (see above) links to a few websites that can help you set up typing in Japanese on your computer. Typing in Japanese is relatively simple and won’t take too much time to get used to with some practice. And once you’re able to type in Japanese, you can make your own flashcards (see below) to really start making progress developing your language skills to address your own needs and reach your unique goals as a learner.

Electronic Flashcards/Spaced Repetition Software: Anki

Summary: If you’re looking for a more intentional way to study, Anki is the best choice. It’s an open-sourced software that’s free (except for iOS) to use and syncs between all of the devices connected to your account. It’s not exclusively for language learning, but it’s a great tool because it’s based on a “spaced repetition” learning system. Be sure to check out the website to read about why it’s such an effective way to study if you’re interested. You can make your own cards, or use a pre-made deck. For beginners, I suggest this core 2000 deck. If you’re an absolute beginner, you may want to suspend the cards with example sentences to avoid feeling overwhelmed. But as you progress, I highly suggest you learn using cards that have example sentences. Learning vocabulary completely out of context can lead to difficulties later on, as it increases the odds that you will get used to using them incorrectly. It also helps with memorization. Once you complete the core deck, you should go on to make your own flashcards using words that you find in your studies, and you can find useful example sentences using an online dictionary (see below).

Free Online Dictionary: Jisho

Summary: This dictionary is an extremely convenient resource that you should consider bookmarking. You can look up words in English, Japanese, or even Japanese words in romaji (phonetically in English) if you don’t want to switch to writing in a Japanese script. It’s not the best dictionary in terms of definitions, but it also lets you look up the kanji (as well as how to write them) and example sentences that you can then easily use to make your own flashcards (see above). It will also mark words that are commonly used, which can help you avoid spending too much time memorizing vocabulary that might not end up being worth the effort.

Assistance for Reading Japanese Online: Rikaikun

Summary: This browser extension lets you hover over Japanese words to find their English translations. This is especially convenient once you start reading Japanese material online. If you’re collecting new words for flashcards, however, I suggest looking up the full translation and an example sentence using an online dictionary (see above).

Read The News in Japanese: NHK News Web Easy

Summary: Don’t be discouraged if you find the articles on this website too difficult to read early on in your studies. By “easy,” they mean that it’s written with Japanese middle schoolers (who are native speakers) and functional but non-native Japanese speakers in mind, not that it’s intended for beginners in the language. They typically post a few new articles every working day, so it’s a great place to consistently find new, high-quality reading material on diverse and interesting topics. This website is useful not only for reading practice, but also to practice listening and reading along. It’s also a great resource to start gathering new vocabulary to learn using your Anki deck.

If you need some guidance, this is how I use the website:

• read the article, writing down new words by hand in a notebook to put into my Anki deck later
• turn off the furigana and follow along silently to the Japanese recording
• read the article aloud (with or without the furigana)
• if available for the article, watch the accompanying video and pick out recognizable words and phrases

Language Exchange: Tandem

Summary: This application is designed to help you find language partners. While you can come up with your own arrangements as needed, usually partners will take turns practicing their conversation skills for a certain amount of time before switching to the other person’s target language for an equal amount of time. You are also able to correct each others’ messages in the app itself. This is a great way to get free language practice, and you can also learn more about culture and lifestyles in Japan through your partners.

Online Tutors: iTalki

Summary: If you’re willing to invest more in your learning, I recommend finding an online tutor to help you along in your studies. You can find inexpensive (less than $10/hour) tutors for more informal guidance and practice, or you can pay more to have a professional teacher really help you make progress with your language skills.

Passive Input: Podcasts

Summary: While passive exposure is no replacement for intentional study, listening to podcasts is a great way to gain just a little bit more Japanese exposure during your daily commute or while doing chores. If you’re already a podcast junkie like me, subscribing to a few Japanese language or bilingual podcasts is a great way to incorporate a little bit more of the language into your everyday life. Here’s what I’m subscribed to right now (in no particular order):

• NHKラジオニュース
• Intellectual Japanese
• News in Slow Japanese
• Her Confidence Her Way
• Hapa英会話Podcast
• バイリンガルニュース(Bilingual News)
• YUYU NIHONGO
• Let’s Talk in Japanese!
• SBS Japanese — SBSの日本語放送
• Nihongo con Teppei

Honorable Mentions:

• HelloTalk application (women: maybe write that you only want to connect with other women, since some people seem to think it’s Tinder)
• Learning Languages with Netflix: a very powerful tool for turning Netflix subtitles on Japanese content into a resource for learning Japanese
• Read! Here’s a link to a web page that will help you find level-appropriate reading material: https://teamjapanese.com/free-websites-japanese-reading-practice-every-level/
• “Remembering the Kanji” by Heisig

Are there any tools you love, or is there anything I missed? Let me know!