Apps that actually taught me Japanese 🍜

When learning Japanese, combining various apps can significantly boost your progress. Aside from Hellotalk and iTalki, apps like Shirabe Jisho and Penglo are invaluable. Shirabe Jisho functions as a "goated" dictionary, allowing you to search both English and Japanese terms, including detailed kanji lookup, which is essential for understanding meanings and stroke orders. Meanwhile, Penglo offers an underrated but comprehensive approach to kanji, grammar, vocabulary, and reading practice, providing a perfect complement to speaking-focused apps. In my experience, Hellotalk is great for casual conversation and making friends who are native speakers. The mutual exchange—where your Japanese partners want to practice English—creates a balanced learning environment that’s motivating and fun. iTalki, on the other hand, is perfect when you want more structured learning. Hiring a tutor allows personalized feedback and correction that you can’t get from self-study apps alone. Integrating these tools helped me cover all language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. I recommend setting daily goals and mixing tutor sessions with casual chat apps and dictionary lookups. This multi-app strategy keeps learning dynamic and prevents burnout while accelerating fluency. Learning Japanese through these apps also introduces cultural nuances and idiomatic expressions that traditional textbooks often miss. Overall, these apps collectively foster a well-rounded and engaging language journey.