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The Best Tools for Learning Japanese

We were updating our links page recently, which includes a list of what we think are the best tools for learning Japanese.

Since we’re so in love with these resources, we thought we’d also include them in a post of their own.

The Best Tools for Learning Japanese

This list is ever-changing as we find new and awesome things that deserve to appear on it.

  1. Anki: Smart flashcards are the most powerful language learning tool in existence. Period. Start your own deck, then build it for years and years and years. In this way, you can master any language.
  2. JapanesePod101.com: Hundreds of lessons. Great grammar, vocab, and listening practice all rolled into one. I use it every day. They have replaced all of the music on my daily commute.
  3. Remembering the Kanji + Reviewing the Kanji: The haters will hate. I’m convinced this combo is the fastest and most efficient way to remember all of those thousands and thousands of kanji. It worked for me.
  4. Jisho.org: I spend more time on this site than anywhere on the WWW. The ultimate denshi jisho (electronic dictionary).
  5. The Dictionary of Basic/Intermediate/Advanced Grammar Series: Great references for all of that pesky Japanese grammar. A great tool when writing NihongoShark articles, too ^_^.
  6. Rikaichan or Rikaisama: Great tools for browsing the web in Japanese.
  7. imiwa?: If you have a smartphone, this is one of the best (free) Japanese apps out there. It essentially turns your phone into a denshi jisho.
  8. JGram: Extensive database of Japanese grammar. I often wish there were more explanations, but the breadth of listings alone makes this site worth placing on this list.
  9. Reviewing the Kanji Wiki: Tons of information. Tons of links that lead to Japanese superpowers.

What would you add to this list? What would you remove from it? If you think you could make it better, please let us know. In the spirit of Kaizen, we are always striving for improvement!

For the entire list of all things awesome about living/working/studying in Japan and learning Japanese, please check out our links page.

Good luck with your studies, everyone.

Keep swimming!

Niko

p.s. Here’s my free course, bundled with awesomeness (and love):

Niko

Niko

Yo! I'm Niko, the founder of NihongoShark. I'm also a Japanese translator, writer, and all-around language nerd.

I created this site to help as many people master Japanese (any language, really) as possible.

Uh, what else? Well... I live in Tokyo, Bangkok, Sapporo, Saigon, San Diego, Tokyo, Chiang Mai, Portland, Oregon! So if anyone wants to meet up for a refreshing nama beer, I'm probably down for that. Or a coffee. Learning Japanese is tricky-tikki-tavi. But we're in this together. ファイト！

Good luck with your studies!

Niko

p.s. If you like my articles, you may very well love my daily lessons.