Best apps to learn Japanese for a trip
Pimsleur to speak before you go, with lessons that play offline; Duolingo, free, for hiragana and katakana with your first phrases; Busuu or LingoDeer for a course you can download; and uTalk or Drops for the words and phrases a trip needs.
Prices checked 6 Sept to 14 Oct 2026 · How we check
Each Japanese course, its writing, and what works offline
Each app's lesson in a line, its Japanese course and what it teaches of the script as its maker states them, what you can download, and its cheapest yearly plan.
- Duolingo
A few minutes of game-like exercises (translate, match, listen, speak), with English throughout.
- Busuu
Short lessons with dialogues, grammar tips and exercises; you can send spoken or written answers for the community, native speakers included, to correct.
- StoryLearning
Listen to and read a chapter of a story told with native audio, watch short video lessons on its words, grammar and pronunciation, then go back to the story.
- Mango Languages
Hear a conversation, break it into phrases and repeat them, with notes on grammar and culture.
- Pimsleur
A 30-minute audio lesson: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, then hear the right answer.
- LingoDeer
Short lessons that introduce words and a sentence pattern with native-speaker audio and a grammar tip, then quizzes and flashcards.
- Rocket Languages
Audio lessons built on conversations, with language and culture lessons and voice-recognition drills alongside.
- Rosetta Stone
Pictures and audio with no translation at all, and your pronunciation scored.
- Clozemaster
Fill in the missing word in real sentences, in quick rounds.
- uTalk
Picture games for words and phrases by topic, with native-speaker audio.
- Drops
Five-minute picture games that teach words by topic.
- Glossika
Listen to whole sentences and repeat them aloud, with spaced review and little explanation.
- MosaLingua
Flashcards of everyday words and phrases with audio: recall each one, rate yourself, and MosaLingua schedules the next review; dialogues and listening practice sit alongside.
- Michel Thomas Method
Join a teacher and two students in a recorded class: when the teacher asks for a sentence, pause and say it before the students do.
Our picks
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Best for a trip
Busuu
Course app
$72.99 a year$6.08 a month, billed yearly · Premium
Why it's here. A structured course gives you a path through lessons, with corrections from native speakers. You can start with a free account before deciding whether the paid extras are useful.
Free: Free account with the complete course in each language, community feedback and basic progress tracking.
Skip it if you want live conversation with a person; Busuu has no live lessons.
14 languages · offline lessons
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Best to learn by ear on the way
Pimsleur
Audio course
$149.95 a year$12.50 a month, billed yearly · Premium
Why it's here. Half-hour audio lessons get you answering aloud, which suits a commute or a walk. Download lessons before you leave and you can practise without a connection.
Free: No free tier; 7-day free trial on subscriptions.
Skip it if you want to read and write, or want something free: it is audio first, with a 7-day trial.
51 languages · offline lessons
14 of the 52 apps we cover teach Japanese and work offline.
A trip needs the everyday exchanges said out loud first, and the two kana alphabets help with signs and menus. The courses differ most in the writing: some start in romaji, some with the kana, and the all-audio courses teach none of it. Every app on this page teaches Japanese and works offline in its mobile app, some only on a paid plan.
Every Japanese course and phrase app that works offline, compared
Recommended first within each type of app. Sort any column or filter by what matters to you.
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| Best for | Free tier | Speech | Tutor | Offline | CEFR | Refund or trial | Where to buy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course apps | ||||||||||||
| DuolingoCourse appSuper in the US App Store: $9.99 to $119.99, depending on the plan. | A free daily habit | Freepaid tier priced in-app | — | — | Free to keep using Full free tier with ads and limits; Super removes the ads and limits, and Max adds AI practice (Video Call and Roleplay). | 40 | Yes | No | Yes · Limited lessons available offline; progress syncs when connected | A1 to B2 | 1 week free trial on Super | |
| BusuuCourse app | Corrections from native speakers | $72.99 a year$6.08 a month, billed yearly | — | — | Free to keep using Free account with the complete course in each language, community feedback and basic progress tracking; Premium adds review tools, offline mode and no ads. | 14 | Yes | No · Live Lessons are exclusive to Busuu for Business, outside the consumer subscription | Yes | A1 to C1by course | 14-day money-back guarantee on the initial Premium payment; no renewal refunds. Apple and mobile-operator purchases require a refund from that provider. | |
| StoryLearningCourse app | One long story per course, with video lessons on it | $297Uncovered Beginner course | — | $997 | Free trial No | 16 | — | StoryLearning VIP: a 10-week programme with two coaching sessions a week, sold apart from the courses. | Yes | A1 to C1by course | A 7-day free trial of each Uncovered course, then one payment with a 365-day money-back guarantee; bundles have 30 days. The StoryLearning App's page gives no trial or refund terms. | |
| Mango LanguagesCourse app | Free through many public libraries | About $120 a year$10 a month, billed yearly | $13.99 | — | Free sample Free trial on both personal plans; the first lesson of any language is free; 10 endangered and indigenous language courses are free; free full access through participating public libraries | 73 | No | No | Yes | A1 to B1by course | Free trial on Individual and Family plans; cancel before it ends and you are not charged | |
| LingoDeerCourse app | Grammar-led lessons, with alphabet units for Japanese and Korean | $95.99 a year$8 a month, billed yearly | $14.99 | — | Free to keep using A free version with limited lessons; a membership unlocks every course and feature. | 20 | — | — | Yes | A1 to B1by course | A 7-day money-back guarantee on yearly and longer plans bought on LingoDeer's website, one request per person; no refund for part of a period or a renewal you forgot. | |
| Rosetta StoneCourse app | Immersion without translation | $159 a year$13.25 a month, billed yearly | $19.99 | — | Free sample Free sample lessons on its site and a one-time 7-day free trial in the app; no lasting free plan. | 25 | Yes | Coaching sessions with a Rosetta Stone certified tutor. | Yes | — | A one-time 7-day free trial in the app. Bought from Rosetta Stone: a 14-day money-back guarantee, refunded by its Memberships team by email or phone. App Store purchases go through Apple; a retailer's follow that retailer's policy. | |
| Rocket LanguagesCourse app | Paying once per level, not a subscription | $99.95Rocket Sign Language | — | $449.85 | Free trial A free trial; the page does not say what it includes or for how long. | 13 | Yes | No | Yes · audio lessons download in the app; voice recognition needs a connection | A1 to B2by course | A free trial; 60-day money-back guarantee on purchases. | |
| Audio courses | ||||||||||||
| PimsleurAudio course | Audio lessons for a commute | $149.95 a year$12.50 a month, billed yearly | $19.95one language | $798 | No | 51 | Yes | — | Yes | — | A 7-day free trial on subscriptions. Pimsleur's 30-day money-back guarantee covers only a subscription bought on pimsleur.com or by phone without a free trial of 7 days or more, once per customer; App Store and Google Play purchases are not covered. | |
| GlossikaAudio course | Sentence drills by ear | About $199 a year$16.58 a month, billed yearly | $19.99one language | — | Free trial 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages | 63 | No | No | Yes | A1 to C1by course | 7-day free trial with no credit card; monthly payments are non-refundable, annual plans refundable pro rata within 60 days of purchase | |
| Michel Thomas MethodAudio course | Speaking from the first hour, with no writing or homework | $11.99Start course | — | $273 | Free sample A free lesson and a free booklet for every course (sign-up needed, no card); the app that plays the courses is free. | 19 | — | No | Yes | — | A refund or exchange within 14 days of buying, if you have not finished the course; the Start course is not refunded if you then buy Foundation. | |
| Vocabulary and flashcard apps | ||||||||||||
| ClozemasterVocabulary and flashcards | Free vocabulary practice in context | $79.99 a year$6.67 a month, billed yearly | $12.99 | — | Free to keep using Free account with up to 30 sentences a day; Pro adds unlimited play and advanced features | 71 | — | — | Yes · on Pro, in the mobile app | — | 30-day money back guarantee on the Yearly plan; no refunds on Monthly plans | |
| uTalkVocabulary and flashcards | Phrases in 160 languages | From $24.99 a year$24.99 to $39.99 a year for one language, depending on the language | From $3.99depending on the language | — | Free sample Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com | 160 | No | No | Yes | A1 to A2by course | 28-day money-back guarantee | |
| DropsVocabulary and flashcards | Five-minute vocabulary sessions | $69.99 a year$5.83 a month, billed yearly | $11 | $150 | Free to keep using Free access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay | 55 | — | — | Yes | — | 7-day free trial on the Yearly plan; affiliate terms reference a 14-day refund period | |
| MosaLinguaVocabulary and flashcards | The most useful words first, on a review schedule | $71.88 a year$5.99 a month, billed yearly | $9.99 | — | Free trial Free download and a free trial; the full set of features needs a Premium subscription. | 11 | — | — | Yes | — | A free trial first, then a 30-day money-back guarantee on website and Android purchases; not on App Store purchases. | |
Which to choose
You leave in a few weeks and want to speak
Pimsleur, or Michel Thomas
Pimsleur's 30-minute lessons have you answer aloud and play without a connection once downloaded, at $19.95 a month for one language after a 7-day free trial; its Japanese course adds about 100 reading lessons for the script. Michel Thomas is all audio and teaches no writing, and its courses are bought once.
You want to read the kana before you go
Duolingo, or Rosetta Stone
Duolingo's free Japanese course starts with hiragana, then katakana and kanji, with romaji optional; only some of its lessons work offline. Rosetta Stone teaches hiragana and katakana in 12 units over 3 levels, and its iPhone and Android apps download units, for $159 a year.
You want a course to work through on the flight
Busuu or LingoDeer
Busuu's Complete Japanese runs from A1 to B2 in 570+ lessons, with separate hiragana, katakana and kanji courses; its Offline Mode comes with Premium, $72.99 a year. LingoDeer's Japanese course opens with a unit on the writing system and goes from A1 to B1, and the whole course downloads in one click, for $95.99 a year.
You only want the words and phrases
uTalk or Drops
uTalk's Japanese is 2,500+ words and phrases in 60+ topics, speaking first, with the scripts not taught in depth; it works offline once fully downloaded and costs from $24.99 a year. Drops teaches 2,000+ Japanese words in five-minute picture games, in katakana, hiragana and kanji; the free version gives five minutes every ten hours.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to learn Japanese for travel?
Pimsleur, to speak before you go, with lessons that play offline. Duolingo, free, to read hiragana and katakana with your first phrases. Busuu or LingoDeer for a course you can download, and uTalk or Drops for travel words and phrases.
Do I need to learn hiragana for a trip to Japan?
Not to speak: Pimsleur, Michel Thomas and uTalk teach speaking first, with little or no writing. To read signs and menus, the kana help; Duolingo's free course starts with hiragana, and the kana and kanji page compares the tools for the script.
Which Japanese apps work offline?
Every app on this page: Pimsleur, Busuu (Offline Mode comes with Premium), Rosetta Stone, Rocket Japanese, LingoDeer, Mango Languages, Drops, uTalk, Glossika, Clozemaster, MosaLingua, Michel Thomas, StoryLearning, and some of Duolingo's lessons. AI conversation apps such as Speak need a connection.