Japanese is the most widely spoken East Asian language in the world, with an infamous reputation for being the most difficult language for any English native speaker to master.

It has a total of 128 speakers worldwide. Many of its speakers credit its popularity to the city’s well-known entertainment sector as well as its dynamic culture. The entertainment business has swept the globe, and this dynamic culture has become an important aspect of the global cultural awareness movement.

The Genki Textbook series

The textbook series by Genki provides you with an extremely solid foundation in reading, writing, listening, and speaking using the audio files included with the textbook. The workbook is also very useful in getting you to apply what you’ve learned throughout the chapters.

Pimsleur

Pimsleur is not like other language learning programmes. Grammar is completely ignored, and there is little emphasis on written language. Instead, the lessons concentrate more on spoken Japanese. Thus throughout the course, you will listen, think, and speak in Japanese. Pimsleur necessitates a significant amount of concentration and participation on your part.I suggest going the subscription way rather than buying their entire program.

Italki

Italki is easily my top choice for finding a tutor with over 250 Japanese teachers, many of whom charge less than $10/hour. With the abundance of teachers, it is possible to find someone who fits your schedule and learning style. Furthermore, you can get feedback on your writing through their notebooks section, and ask any Japanese questions for free.

Lindodeer

Lingodeer teaches Japanese as well as other languages. The audio for the lessons is recorded by native Japanese speakers and sounds fantastic. Furthermore, there are numerous types of exercises to choose from.

Skritter

Skritter is an app that makes practising writing Japanese – both Kanji and Kana – much easier. You can write characters directly on your phone’s touchscreen with your finger. It also employs spaced repetition software (SRS)

JapanesePod101

JapanesePod101 is an unmissable vast resource with a plethora of podcast-style lessons ranging from absolute beginner to advanced.

Satori Reader

Satori Reader is a Japanese learning method that emphasises reading skills while teaching grammar and vocabulary via weekly annotated articles and dialogues. It also provides a vocabulary repetition app with the new vocabulary from the articles.

Speechling 

Speechling encourages Japanese learners to mimic Japanese speakers by listening to a recording of a word or sentence and then recording themselves saying the same thing, all for free.

Memrise 

Memrise is best for learning Japanese words or phrases because it is essentially a more enjoyable version of a flashcard app designed for quick revision.

Clozemaster 

Clozemaster is an excellent tool for learning Japanese and practising vocabulary in context. It’s a little archaic, but it gives you a plethora of sentences to fill in 

Tae Kim

Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese is a comprehensive guide that covers topics such as the three writing systems, verb tenses, and clauses. It’s free to read on the website, but you can pay for a paperback or Kindle version if you prefer.

Wanikani 

Wanikani is a fantastic Japanese resource that teaches radicals, kanji, and vocabulary using mnemonic devices and a spaced-repetition system. Because it does not contain everything you’ll need to learn Japanese, it’s best used in conjunction with other resources.

Takoboto 

Takoboto is more of a dictionary than a traditional Japanese learning resource.

Once you get the hang of the language you will start enjoying it more and more and with the help of these aforementioned aids, you can improve your Japanese beyond recognition. If you are already learning Japanese, I suggest trying these to see which ones help you and if you are still contemplating to learn Japanese I suggest give it a try with an open heart!