Here’s How You Can Learn Japanese on Your Own, Online & for Free

If you want to learn Japanese online, you must focus on listening to fluent speakers.

Here’s How You Can Learn Japanese on Your Own, Online & for Free

If you want to learn Japanese online (or 日本語 Nihongo – how it’s pronounced in Japanese), the World Wide Web is a very fruitful place these days. More and more people are sharing their knowledge with the world, so there are a lot of online resources that can help you master the basics of the Japanese language fast. The only problem you may encounter is the reliability of these resources. Which one is better? Which one is more accurate? Which one can help you achieve fluency fast? After doing some extensive research, I finally found the answer to all your questions. Read on to discover how to learn Japanese online for free.

With some 128 million native speakers, Japanese is the 9th most spoken language in the world and the hardest language to learn by a native English speaker, along with Arabic, Chinese and Korean. How long would it take to learn Japanese fluently? 

The FSI (Foreign Service Institute) of the US Government claims that an English speaker would need about 2200 hours or 88 weeks of study to achieve Japanese fluency.

japanese neighbourhood
‘Sangenjaya, Tokyo, Japan’ by Alex Knight©

Luckily, there are Japanese learning apps that can make the lengthy process of learning one of the hardest languages on Earth a piece of cake even for a beginner. Amongst these life-saving Japanese learning resources, Mondly is probably the best Japanese learning website!

How to learn Japanese by yourself: Tips and Tricks

How to learn Japanese on your own for free? Learning Japanese for beginners is not necessarily an easy task, but we can help you by providing some tips and tricks you can use. Learn how to speak Japanese by using the following steps: 

  • Learn to read Hiragana. The Japanese language actually uses an alphabet made up of three scripts: hiragana, katakana and kanji. Start by learning how to read hiragana. You’ll find a lot of resources online, some even with illustrations!
  • Then, approach Katakana. Even the types of pen and paper are important so pay attention;
  • Become familiar with Kanji and remember to practice it constantly;
  • Start building a core vocabulary. We’ll give you some resources, for example, Japanese words, phrases and expressions, greetings and counting;
  • Learn the basics of Japanese pronunciation. Get your hands on a good pronunciation dictionary or use the Mondly learning method. Find out more about our Japanese lessons!
  • Approach Japanese grammar by getting familiar with the basic particles;
  • Understand the Japanese sentence structure. The basic ones are “Subject Object Verb.”

The benefits of learning Japanese online with Mondly

How to learn Japanese on your own fast? Use Mondly! Here are some of the benefits: 

  • state-of-the-art chatbot with speech recognition that will help you experience REAL Japanese conversations;
  • exclusive Augmented Reality courses where a lifelike language learning assistant uses AR to make planets, animals and other virtual creations magically appear in your real environment and help you learn Japanese;
  • flawless recordings of fluent Japanese speakers;
  • conjugation tables and grammar features to give you advanced Japanese knowledge;
  • an ultimate gamified experience that will literally glue the Japanese language to your brain!

Well, there you have it! Out of hundreds of online resources, Mondly will probably help you master Japanese faster than any other course. The key is to be consistent. Give it a try and let it work its magic!

How long does it take to learn Japanese on your own?

Well, as we already mentioned, the FSI claims that on average you’ll require about 2200 hours or 88 weeks of study to become fluent in Japanese. However, depending on your resources and motivation, but also your goals, it may take even approximately 90 days to learn basic level Japanese. 

So, you can invest 30 minutes to an hour every day and you’ll be conversational in Japanese in, give or take, 3 months. But, is it possible to learn Japanese on your own? Yes, very much so, given the right resources! 

How to learn Japanese on your own?

How to learn Japanese by yourself? Learning the Japanese language doesn’t have to be drudgery!

Did you know that the Japanese language has no grammatical gender and no articles? Using the right course, you’ll soon find out a lot more “learning Japanese” tips that will make you feel confident about your journey towards Japanese fluency.

Since we referenced grammar, there are quite a few important things to mention: 

  • As we said, nouns have no gender;
  • Most nouns don’t have separate plural forms;
  • The subject is optional and you may omit it;
  • The predicate will always be at the end of the sentence;
  • The verbs won’t change according to the subject or number;
  • Personal pronouns will differ according to the level of formality of the situation. 

That should be enough to get you started! 

By creating new, super fun, cool and compact lessons, Mondly makes it possible for you to master both Japanese writing and Japanese speaking with a FREE lesson every day. You’ll start by memorizing words, then you’ll move to phrases, grammar and even real conversations within a cool chatbot with speech recognition.

learn japanese online
Learn Japanese online with Mondly

The best part of learning Japanese online using Mondly? You’ll get to listen to professional, fluent speakers. For you, as an English speaker, Japanese isn’t the kind of language you can learn by reading books. You have to hear it in day-to-day contexts. And Mondly, one of the best Japanese mobile learning apps out there, recorded all its Japanese learning content with fluent speakers so you can enjoy flawless accents and learn from the best!


But wait, there’s more! If you are really determined to learn Japanese, there’s an exclusive chance to get Mondly Premium and learn Japanese + 32 other languages at the lowest price ever! The deal can’t get any better than this.

Get Mondly Premium now and unlock your full journey towards Japanese fluency!

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Diana Lăpușneanu - Linguist at Mondly Blog

Diana is a Linguist at Mondly by Pearson. Learning English as a second language early on fueled her lifelong passion for language learning, leading her to pursue a diverse array of languages as a hobby alongside her academic endeavors. With a Master’s Degree in advertising and a fascination for historical linguistics, she brings a unique perspective to her role, making language learning fun for readers worldwide.

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