The year may be coming to an end, but it's the perfect time to do something new with your Japanese studies! Take a look below at our latest list of Japanese language learning resources, lovingly selected by our team, to help improve your Japanese language study.
Activate your Japanese language!
Activate your Japanese language! It is a 24-episode drama that revolves around a Vietnamese girl named Xuan who comes to Japan to work in a hotel. It comes from the Japanese National Broadcasting Network, otherwise known as NHK, which is known for producing high-quality video content on all kinds of topics. You can think of them like the BBC or Japan's CNN. In the drama, she encounters a sentient key chain, new friends, and a lot of new Japanese people. As with any drama, there are elements of humor and romance that make it really entertaining.
Each video is divided into parts: Main Skit, Strategy of the Day, Onomatopoeia, and Welcome to My Japan. The main sitcom follows Chuan and her time adjusting to Japanese life, all while providing helpful communication strategies. Next, the Strategy of the Day section focuses on a useful communication strategy or phrase that Schwan used in the main skit. Lots of examples are provided, making this part of each video particularly useful for learners. Then comes the onomatopoeia part, which introduces common Japanese onomatopoeia. Again, many examples are provided to help reinforce how the word is used in real life. Finally, “Welcome to My Japan” ends each video with a presentation of someone's life after coming to Japan. Many of these individuals immigrated to Japan to work and lived in the country for several years. Their work, interests and hobbies are highlighted in this section.
Each video in this series comes with subtitled captions and even transcript, making them ideal for A-level learners who want to practice their reading or listening skills. But even if learning Japanese isn't your main goal, the series can still be enjoyed as a drama purely for personal entertainment. According to the site, this series will be available until 2027, so there is plenty of time to watch each of the 15-minute episodes.
behind Activate your Japanese language!NHK has a number of other resources for Japanese language learners, such as Basic Japanese The section that provides survival statements, and Easy Japanese: Conversation Lessons, which contains a lot of educational content related to conversation practice. There's something for everyone, so check it out!
Japanese Akane class
Akane's Japanese class, also known as Japanese Akane class, is a popular YouTube channel produced by a Japanese teacher named Akane. This channel targets intermediate and advanced learners. However, Akane mentions that this channel is also available for beginners who want a bit of a challenge. The difficulty comes from the fact that all the videos are entirely in Japanese. The translations at the bottom of the screen are in Japanese, and include furigana above the more difficult kanji syllables. There are also closed captions that can be turned off and on, covering a huge number of languages – 15!
The videos on this channel are very educational and entertaining as well. Topics revolve around learning Japanese, traveling around Japan, daily life in Japan, and more. Examples of Akane videos that Japanese language learners might find very helpful include:[Business Japanese] “The Basics of Telephone Correspondence” and several interviews with non-native speakers living in Japan and studying the language. Each video lasts approximately 10-15 minutes and goes quickly. Since Akane speaks slowly, it's easy to follow the dialogue. If you're looking for more content by Akane, you can also check out her podcast and Instagram page as well.
Japanese Immersion with Asami
Japanese Immersion with Asami is a YouTube channel that, as the name suggests, focuses on teaching through comprehensible input; That is, the Japanese language has become as easy to understand as possible, even for beginners, without relying on English explanations or translations. Asami has been a Japanese language teacher since 2015, and with her trusted partner Hyunjin, she mostly reads the stories in her videos, with helpful explanations and comments; All in Japanese.
Videos are a great way to engage with Japanese media more, without feeling like you're alone in this endeavor. In fact, the casual and supportive atmosphere of her videos may be her best feature; It really feels like a private lesson. And with numerous series in a variety of genres and titles, such as Kiki's Delivery Service and short stories, you're sure to find a story that interests you.
Japanese expression information
Expressions can be one of the most difficult parts of learning another language. Since language transmits culture, each individual language has different expressions relevant to its own culture, and translating between them is not an easy task. Fortunately for Japanese language learners, there is the helpful website 日本語表現インフォ, or “Japanese Expression Information” to make things a little easier.
The site is very clear, with different expressions grouped into different categories, such as expressions that convey emotions, feelings or people, for example. From there it is often broken down further, such as expressions related to conveying different degrees of sadness.
Although the site states that it is intended to be a resource for people aiming to write in Japanese, it is useful for Japanese language learners as well. Using these types of expressions will not only add a sense of naturalness to your writing, but may also help you while reading Japanese. 日本語表現インフォ is a great resource for learning the Japanese language and culture.
feather
Sail is a unique style of Japanese language exchange apps. Available on iOS and Android, Japanese learners first sign up for an account, fill out some of their interests and essentially introduce themselves. But instead of connecting with teachers or other language learners, Sail connects you with native Japanese speakers in the form of retirees and seniors. Like all similar apps, you can look through the profiles of different exchange partners, and find someone who might be a good fit for you in terms of interests and availability. Chats are set to last 25 minutes, providing a built-in experience: long enough that you can actually chat, but not so long that you might run out of steam.
It's a unique concept and it works well. Older people make good conversation partners, are often very friendly and have a lot of free time. They are excited about the opportunity to connect with learners and share something of their language and culture, and this passion is contagious. Even better, Sail allows unlimited conversations for a small fee of $14.90 per month, with discounts for longer periods. This makes Sail one of the best games you can spend for Japanese learners hoping to speak.
Babababababi
Update: Unfortunately this resource is no longer available.
Do you miss the good days of reading comic books as a kid? Would you like to learn more about Japanese children's books and the colorful pictures and themes found within them? Through the YouTube channel パパパパパピィ, you can read many different Japanese children's books in bedtime story style.
Each story is read from front to back by the channel's host, who keeps you engaged with different sounds and voices, depending on the character or noise. You will be able to follow the text, as the pages are displayed as they are narrated. Picture books are a great resource for beginning learners, as they do not contain a large number of kanji. The readings are very short, with each video being less than ten minutes long. Whether you're looking for more resources for your kids, or want to relive the nostalgia of reading children's books, try this channel and watch how you're instantly transported to the land of delightful Japanese stories!
Megumi's Japanese Daily Adventures
If you want to get more listening practice, Megumi's Daily Japan Adventures podcast might be for you. This podcast was created for Japanese learners and can be used somewhat similarly to JLPT listening practice. In this podcast, host Megumi talks about the different experiences she's had regarding travel, Japanese culture, and more. The way Megumi describes these adventures is story-like, with background music accompanying her detailed tales and narrations. She speaks slowly and clearly, which is good for those who are just starting to listen to content entirely in Japanese. The target audience for this podcast is mid-range.
For listeners who want to follow the dialogue, there are also transcripts on Megumi's website. At the end of these texts are English translations of some of the more advanced vocabulary. Episodes are about 5 minutes long, so you can give them a quick listen if you want to give them a try.
Japanese human
Designed by the same people who brought us Satori Reader, the Human Japanese apps are essentially digital Japanese language textbooks, or as they call them, “your personal sensor in a box.” There is an app for beginners and then an intermediate level version. The Beginner's Edition features over 500 pages of content and nearly 800 example sentences, with details of every word and particle to boot! When teaching kana and kanji, there are animations of the stroke order, and plenty of word examples as well.
The lessons in this app are worded and organized like a textbook. You'll find lessons related to food, school, geography, health, work, and weather. Key grammar points are also included, including lessons on verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjugations, counting, particles, and more. At the end of each lesson, you can find review tests. By default, you can only move to the next chapter after passing the chapter review test, but you can change that in settings.
The overall design of the app is sleek and beautiful, but it can look a bit outdated to some because it was originally created over a decade ago. Some pages are a bit intimidating due to their word count, which some may find annoying. And there's no romaji to help you; The application assumes that you will learn hiragana and katakana. So, if this type of e-textbook is what you're looking for, Human Japanese might be the place for you. For readers looking to try it out, they offer a free lite version.
YumoJP
For Japanese readers looking for more material, you may want to check out YomuJP. This site is dedicated to providing Japanese language learners with easy, level-appropriate reading content in a simple design.
There are tons of writings in their database. Each article contains images, and even audio recordings of a native speaker reading the material. This means you can use this site to practice listening as well. Stories are separated by difficulty of reading. There are six categories, from N6 to N1, with N6 being the easiest (introductory Japanese) and N1 being the hardest (advanced Japanese). According to the website, this scale is based on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) where N6 is considered an easier level than the lowest level on the JLPT which is N5. You can browse articles by difficulty level or by tag.
The site also posts regularly on its Twitter page, often highlighting articles. New articles seem to be released constantly as well. If you're interested in practicing your reading (or listening) skills, or if you're thinking about studying for the JLPT exam, consider YomuJP as an easy-to-use tool in your toolbox.
Thank you so much for following along until the end of the year, and the end of the article! We hope you have a useful trip. From all of us at Tofugu, we hope you enjoy relaxing, and that spring is just around the corner.
