If you read this post about how much (or how little) language learning has to cost, then you’ll no doubt be very pleased to find the follow up post here today on the blog. Yay! Today I’m going to share with you everything I’ve used to learn Japanese that is completely free. Well, some of them have the option to top up and get more but you can try all of them for free. Fancy some free Japanese learning resources? Let’s do this!

Podcasts

JapanesePod101

Japanese Pod 101 is brilliant! I have always loved the Pod 101 series, as you may have read in this article I wrote on The Guardian, and the Japanese series is no exception. There’s plenty of podcasts in the iTunes store that are free, but if you do feel like investing financially in your Japanese, then sign up via this link to their website and you’ll get access to so much more. I’ve been really lucky that the lovely people at Innovative Language have given me access to it all – there’ll be a review coming on the blog very soon. In the meantime, sign up today for a free 7 day trial!

News in Slow Japanese

These podcasts are the perfect length and the perfect speed for a newbie like me. Right now, I don’t understand a lot but it’s great exposure to the spoken language for my little ears.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Language Learning Podcasts

Apps

Tae Kim’s Learning Japanese

I can’t believe this is free. It’s just too good. Imagine having every essential grammar point for Japanese learners perfectly organised on your phone AND available offline. It’s a little bit perfect, isn’t it?

Hiragana

This app doesn’t exactly have the most imaginative name but it’s very simple and has lasted since I downloaded it last year. Despite my phone always telling me the memory is full, this one never makes the app cull. It’s very simple, and I imagine it’s made for Japanese children learning to write, but it’s also good for non-Japanese students mastering Hiragana. Handy if you’re on the go and haven’t got any paper to practise your writing.

Memrise

Of course, Memrise makes an appearance as this would have to be the app I use most frequently – at least once a day – to help with vocabulary. I’m sure you know how this one works!

Related: Why Social Media is the Best Free Language Learning Tool

Online

Tofugu

Tofugu is one of the most beautiful websites on the web. Seriously, if it was human, people wouldn’t be able to keep their eyes off it. It’s so aesthetically pleasing that it’s a real joy to use before you even get into the amount of amazing content here. Their Ultimate Guides to Hiragana and Katakana are great. On top of that, there’s also so much more I want to try here. I’ve just signed up to the Beta of Wanikani, where you get the first two levels free, and there’s also Textfugu, which isn’t free but looks awesome.

Yes Japan!

Yes Japan, or Japanese From Zero, offers Course 1 for free on their website, which gives you a great intro to Japanese. Sometimes the website looks a bit glitchy on certain pages, but definitely worth a look.

Erin

This is another one of my favourites! I love these lessons because they are so immersive yet so thorough. You feel like you’re thrown in at the deep end then they very kindly guide you back to the shore where you’re ready to swim out again because they’ve explained everything. There’s also LOADS of classes. I’m only at class 4 but I’m working on this at a very slow pace.

Related: Do You Need a Language Study Buddy? (+ 6 Tips on How to Make it a Success)