Forvo

Free + paid optionsDictionariesforvo.com

Best for: Hearing real pronunciations

Overview

Pronunciation dictionary where native speakers record individual words. Handy for checking how a word or name is actually said.

Strengths

  • Recordings by native speakers

Drawbacks

  • Coverage of less common words is patchy

Alternatives to Forvo

See all 15 →

Kanji Study

Daily kanji practice on your phone
BeginnerIntermediate
Free + paid options

Android app for learning kanji, with stroke-order writing practice, flashcards, multiple-choice quizzes and spaced repetition, plus kanji and word search. The beginner kanji, radicals and kana are free with no ads; a one-time purchase unlocks the remaining kanji and custom study sets.

Android
Visit ↗

Jisho

Quick lookups at any level
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
Free

Free online Japanese-English dictionary. Search in English, kana, romaji or kanji, draw kanji by hand or by radical, and see example sentences and a JLPT tag on many words (taken from older unofficial lists, since the JLPT has not published official word lists since 2010).

Takoboto

Offline lookups on Android
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
Free

Japanese-English dictionary app for Android that works fully offline, with example sentences, kanji details and the option to save words to lists.

Android
Visit ↗