Best 7 apps to learn Japanese for travel

When traveling, what interests you is communicating with local people? Don't worry because in this article we will introduce to you the best app to learn Japanese for travel applications. Besides, we will evaluate the features and point out the pros and cons so you can have the most objective view of Japanese learning apps and make the right choice.

HeyJapan

HeyJapan is a completely free Japanese learning app that ranks among the top 3 apps for beginners. With HeyJapan, you can practice all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Key Features:

• Equipped with AI voice analysis technology with the feature “Talk to Shibi.”
• A progress and results tracker to help learners monitor and adjust their study time according to the AI-recommended learning plan.

Advantages:

• Combines theory with quiz-based exercises on topics such as family, animals, food, and many other everyday topics.
• Learn and apply grammar through sentence rearrangement exercises.
• Easily memorize kanji characters and their meanings with the writing practice feature.
• Provides tips for effective Japanese learning.
• User-friendly interface with a cute and bright design, making learning Japanese on the app enjoyable and easy.
• Daily reminders help ensure you never miss a Japanese lesson.
• Prepare for JLPT exams directly within the app.

DOWNLOAD ON  

App store : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/learn-japanese-heyjapan/id1576311051

CH Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eup.heyjapan&hl=vi&pli=1

HeyJapan is a comprehensive tool that helps beginners master the fundamentals. If you're starting your journey, this learn Japanese alphabet app makes it easier to understand and practice Japanese characters effectively.

Google Translate

Google Translate is an online translation tool developed by Google, offering a web interface, mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Key Features:

• Supports translation of various types of content, including text, speech, images, websites, and videos in real-time.
• Integrated into Google Search services.
• Can translate PDF, Word, and Excel documents into other languages.

Advantages:

• Allows users to save translations and check translation history.
• Offline translation support, useful for traveling in areas without internet.
• Fast translation capabilities.

Disadvantages:

• The translation style lacks the emotional nuances of human speech, often sounding unnatural and rough.
• Quality of translation varies depending on the language pair.

DOWNLOAD ON  

App store : https://apps.apple.com/vn/app/google-translate/id414706506

CH Play:  https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/google-d%E1%BB%8Bch/aapbdbdomjkkjkaonfhkkikfgjllcleb?hl=vi

 

Imiwa

Imiwa is a free mobile dictionary app, perfect for looking up words while traveling in Japan.
Key Features:

• Searchable by example sentences.
• Analyzes all hiragana, katakana, and kanji into individual dictionary entries.

Advantages:

• All features are free, with no in-app purchases or ads.
• Powerful search tool allowing users to look up terms in English, Japanese, or romaji.
• Breaks down Japanese text into individual dictionary entries.
• Conjugation tables for verbs and adjectives, making it easy to learn verb forms.
• Rich kanji resources, with kanji organized by JLPT levels, Jōyō Kanji, and SKIP.
• Multilingual support, including English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

Disadvantages:

• Large app size.
• Does not provide full coverage of grammar points.
• Available only on the App Store.

DOWNLOAD ON  

App store : https://apps.apple.com/vn/app/imiwa/id288499125

CH Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yomiwa.yomiwa

Akebi

Akebi is a free Japanese-Vietnamese dictionary app with over 200,000 vocabulary words and more than 600 kanji entries.
Key Features:

• Supports handwriting recognition, with no need to follow stroke order.
• Provides English translations.
• Shows related kanji, explanations, readings, and writing methods when looking up a kanji word.

Advantages:

• Kanji data organized by JLPT and Jōyō Kanji levels (You can take a small JLPT quiz).
• Offline usage.
• Many example sentences and complete verb conjugation tables.

Disadvantages:

• Available only on Android.

DOWNLOAD ON  

App store :

CH Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.craxic.akebifree&

Hello Talk 

HelloTalk is a language exchange app that allows you to connect and chat with native speakers for free, including Japanese. It’s an excellent tool for practicing before traveling to Japan. Native speakers can help you correct your mistakes and provide real-time feedback via text messages, voice notes, or video calls, helping you quickly improve your communication skills.

Key Features:

• Voice message transcription to help users practice speaking and comprehension.
• Social network feature similar to Facebook, where you can post and view updates from people you follow.

Advantages:

• Large community of native speakers, making it easy to find conversation partners.
• Intuitive interface with a clean and simple design.
• Real-time pronunciation feedback helps quickly improve communication skills.

Disadvantages:

• Due to the large community, you may receive an overwhelming number of messages.
• The keyboard does not support landscape mode, which may be inconvenient for some users.
• The app can drain battery when running in the background.

DOWNLOAD ON  

App store : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hellotalk-h%E1%BB%8Dc-ng%C3%B4n-ng%E1%BB%AF/id557130558?l=vi

CH Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hellotalk&hl=vi

Obenkyo

Obenkyo is a smart Japanese learning app by Atomusk, designed for English speakers. The app is not structured like traditional courses, making it ideal for independent learners who want to explore content freely.

Key Features:

• Flashcards for writing practice with handwriting recognition.
• Practice through quizzes and written responses.
• Set personal goals to optimize your language learning.

Advantages:

• Covers all key aspects of the Japanese writing system.
• Organized by proficiency level, so you can easily find content suited to your level.
• Content broken down into levels of proficiency, ensuring easy access to suitable material.

Disadvantages:

• Does not offer in-depth lessons on Japanese grammar.
• Available only on Android.

DOWNLOAD ON  

CH Play:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Obenkyo&hl=vi

IOS: https://apps.apple.com/vn/app/obenkyo/id1438480626

 

Obenkyo is perfect for those looking to enhance their grammar skills. For structured learning, using a learn Japanese grammar app like this can significantly improve your understanding and application of Japanese grammar

Yomiwa

Yomiwa is a modern offline Japanese dictionary app with various features to help you read and learn Japanese. The dictionary is built from multiple sources to provide one of the most comprehensive Japanese dictionary apps available.

Key Features:

• Quick and offline optical character recognition (OCR).
• Advanced text analysis, breaking sentences into words, describing verb forms, and displaying furigana.
• “Yomiwa Wall” allows users to share images with the community.

Advantages:

• Improves Japanese with flashcards.
• A comprehensive and complete dictionary.

Disadvantages:

• The image translation tool lacks support for many hiragana and kanji characters.

DOWNLOAD ON  

App store : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yomiwa-japanese-dictionary/id670931120

CH Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yomiwa.yomiwa&hl=vi

Yomiwa is a versatile tool for Japanese learners, but pairing it with additional resources can enrich your experience. Discover the best Japanese learning YouTube channel to complement your study routine with engaging and effective content.

Above are the best 7 apps to learn Japanese for travel you can refer to. Enjoy your trip to Japan to the fullest by communicating fluently with the locals!