Memrise

Free + paid optionsVocabularymemrise.com

Best for: Everyday vocabulary and phrases

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Overview

Language app built around vocabulary and phrases with native-speaker video clips, plus courses aimed at specific goals.

Strengths

Native speaker videos

Drawbacks

Lighter on Japanese than dedicated tools

Alternatives to Memrise

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Nihongo So-matome (日本語総まとめ)

Structured JLPT study, one skill at a time

IntermediateAdvanced

Paid

JLPT prep book series from ASK Publishing, split by level and by skill: grammar, vocabulary, kanji, reading and listening. Each book is a week-by-week plan with one short lesson per day, with English, Chinese and Korean translations for self-study.

Print books

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Kaishi 1.5k

Your first 1,500 words, right after kana

Beginner

Free

Free Anki deck of the 1,500 most useful beginner words. Each card shows the word inside an example sentence with it highlighted, plus the reading, meaning, and audio for both word and sentence; pitch accent can be switched on. Download it from AnkiWeb or GitHub.

Anki

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jpdb

Learning words for what you want to read or watch

IntermediateAdvanced

Free

Vocabulary tool built on frequency data from parsing real anime, novels, games and visual novels. Pick a show or book and learn its words in order of how often they appear, with built-in spaced repetition.

Web

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