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Learn Japanese Īs you would expect from the website name, this site teaches Japanese for free. So, I recommend Marugoto for serious students who would like to take a structured Japanese course for free. There is also an online noticeboard for students where you can chat about your experience learning Japanese with other students across the world. You submit assignments online and even get a certificate at the end. To take the course, you have to register (for free) on the Japan Foundation Minato e-learning portal.Įven though this is a free, online self-study course, it is more structured and formal than the other courses on this list. The course is available in a few different languages, including Spanish, Indonesian and Thai. The other option covers the same listening and speaking lessons, but you will also learn how to read and write in Japanese and you will study more grammar. The ‘katsudoo’ course focuses on listening and speaking for everyday situations. There are actually two options you can choose from: Marugoto ‘katsudoo’ or ‘katsudoo & rikai’. You can also get extras such as word of the day emails and special one-off vocab lessons for free. There are 3 to 5 new lessons published every week, and free members get access to all the new lessons for three weeks. You can get a free lifetime membership at JapanesePod101 which gives you access to all the newest lessons.
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Lessons run all the way from absolute beginner to advanced, and they have special courses for JLPT preparation too.
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It’s been around for years and has literally thousands of audio and video lessons, accompanied by printable lesson notes, interactive quizzes, flashcard decks and more. JapanesePod101 is one of the most famous Japanese online courses, and for good reason. See more (including screenshots) in my Duolingo Japanese review. You will learn lots of words related to food and drink, and there’s even a special bonus lesson about the Tokyo Olympics. It’s especially good for people who want to learn Japanese for travelling. I’d recommend the Duolingo Japanese course to any beginner looking to learn Japanese free in a fun way, who doesn’t like traditional textbook or classroom ways of studying! So if you are an intermediate or advanced learner, don’t bother with Duolingo. The downside is that the Duolingo Japanese course currently doesn’t go very far (around JLPT N5 level or less). They sync with each other, so you can study in whichever version is more convenient for you. There is an online version and a mobile app version. Duolingo is completely free to use because they make money from advertising.
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