Learn Japanese + vs Nihongo Lessons
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Learn Japanese +
This app offers a fun and engaging way to learn Japanese with AI-powered conversational practice and real-life scenario lessons. It features advanced speech recognition for pronunciation practice and allows flexible learning paths.
- AI Virtual Tutor for conversation practice
- Real-life scenario lessons
- Advanced speech recognition for pronunciation
- 101 lessons and 1,190 phrases
- Interactive vocabulary and comprehension exercises
- Offline functionality
Read full descriptionHide full description
Do you want to learn Japanese quickly and have fun doing it? Learn Japanese + by Vidalingua is the first language app of its kind with a Virtual Tutor you can chat with on any topic, using advanced AI with ChatGPT. The New York Times says "Apps from Vidalingua are hugely popular... they're free and they work offline, handy when you're actually abroad." Immerse yourself in real-life situations that you can use in the classroom or on a trip. Learn Japanese + includes 101 lessons, 1,190 phrases and 4,027 exercises to help you become proficient in Japanese in record time. Vidalingua is a leading developer of language apps with over 15 million users. See what others have to say. "Great for students! I teach at a bilingual school and it’s challenging to keep the students' attention. Apps are the best way to go and this offline app is one of my favorites." "I downloaded several free apps. Some are like games but I’m not sure I’m learning things I can use. This app has lessons that are immediately useful for talking to real people in real situations.” "Lingidy is a super fun way to learn Japanese. It steps you through lessons you will need for a trip then throws in a few unexpected ones. Fun app. Bravo!" The Vidalingua Method Real-life Learning Other apps waste time on vocabulary and grammar you’ll rarely ever use. Learn Japanese + jumps right to lessons that you can use immediately. Start by learning Greetings, Essentials and Questions to get a conversation started. Progress to helpful lessons such as Airports, Hotels and Directions. Make the most of your travels with lessons such as Museums, Movies and Making Friends. Understanding & Speaking Understanding Japanese is a good start but speaking is critical. Learn Japanese + provides advanced speech recognition to help you master pronunciation. Practice speaking at your own pace until you build the confidence to talk to others. Engaging Experience Some of the lessons in Learn Japanese + teach the basics such as telling Time, using the Subway or Eating Out. Others are unique and amusing such as Limousines, Hot Tubs, Pick-up Lines and Rejections. Interactive exercises keep your attention and improve retention. Meerling the meerkat provides help and encouragement. Learn as you Like Other apps force you to learn in a specific order. Lingidy allows you to move through lessons, phrases and exercises freely. Features • 101 lessons for real-life situations like taking Taxis, arriving at a Hostel or asking about the Weather. Fun lessons such as Flirting and Swearing. • 1,190 useful phrases such as “Can you speak slowly?” and “Where is the closest cash machine?”. • 5,277 exercises to master vocabulary, pronunciation and comprehension. • Vocabulary exercises to help you master Numbers, Menus, even Cocktails. • Audio pronunciations. Choose accents and speed. • Select favorites to create your own study list. • Word Jumble Exercises challenges you to order words in a phrase correctly. • Pronunciation Exercises with advanced speech recognition to know if you say a phrase correctly. • Picture Exercises to choose the image that matches a word. • Write Exercises teaches you to understand spoken words & write them correctly. • Multiple Choice Exercises to recognize the correct translations of a phrase. • Set goals for yourself and track your learning progress. Learn Japanese fast and have fun doing it. Download Learn Japanese + today! Terms & Conditions • Learn Japanese + includes 12 free lessons and 101 lessons with a subscription. • Payment charged to iTunes Account at the end of the trial period. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off 24-hours before expiring. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Terms of Service https://vidalingua.com/terms-of-service
Nihongo Lessons
This app helps learners of all levels achieve Japanese fluency. It uses a flashcard format to teach vocabulary, grammar, and writing systems, with advanced spaced repetition for effective retention. Content is sourced from real manga for advanced learners.
- Learn Hiragana and Katakana
- 7000+ handcrafted sentences
- Professional voice actor audio
- Advanced Spaced Repetition System (SRS)
- Vocabulary and grammar from manga
- Flashcard learning format
Read full descriptionHide full description
A new app for people serious about becoming fluent in Japanese, from the maker of Nihongo: a modern Japanese dictionary. Nihongo Lessons is based off the excellent Japanese Level Up (Jalup) series, and is made to help all levels of learners. * If you're a complete beginner, the app starts you off by teaching you to write the Japanese alphabets hiragana and katakana, and then quickly starts building your vocabulary and grammar fundamentals. * If you're at an intermediate level, you can jump into content that will help you grow your Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and listening skills more efficiently than ever before. * If you're an advanced learner diving into the world of native content or studying for JLPT N1, Nihongo Lessons can help fill in the gaps in your knowledge with vocabulary and grammar pulled directly from real manga. Instead of a traditional textbook, everything in Nihongo Lessons is in a flashcard format. Flashcards are easier to take in, easier to know how much to learn and how often to review, and simplify the mountain of information you need to absorb. Each flashcard introduces one new sentence for you to understand, and every new sentence introduces exactly one new word, grammar point, or concept. This keeps you constantly moving forward in your learning journey - never bored, never overwhelmed. * Learn to write hiragana and katakana, the main alphabets of the Japanese language. * Progress from beginner to fluent across 7000 handcrafted sentences, each introducing a single new word or concept. * Listen to sentences spoken out loud by a professional voice actor. * Advanced Spaced Repetition (SRS) to help you retain everything you've learned for the long-term. * Nihongo Lessons doesn’t just plop a fun game on top of the language. It engages the brain’s natural urge to solve problems by making learning the language itself the game.
Screenshots
Verdict
Learn Japanese + and Nihongo Lessons both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Learn Japanese +'s written reviews are positive against 85% of Nihongo Lessons's. Learn Japanese + also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17). Nihongo Lessons's advantage is ratings volume (129 vs 17). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Learn Japanese + sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Nihongo Lessons sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Learn Japanese + against 4.8 for Nihongo Lessons. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nihongo Lessons has 129 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Learn Japanese +'s written reviews are positive against 85% of Nihongo Lessons's.
Learn Japanese + ships an update every 6 weeks, Nihongo Lessons every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Learn Japanese + | Nihongo Lessons |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (17 ratings) — better | 4.8 (129 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 84.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 129 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 258 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ascendo Inc. | Serpenti Sei Japan |
Customer experience
Learn Japanese +
Nihongo Lessons
Bugs and requests
Learn Japanese +
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Nihongo Lessons
Reported bugs
2 issues- Explanation modal flashed and cannot be brought back
- Unclear how to interact with cards (swiping direction)
Requested features
11 requests- Add notifications
- Add a way to add own notecards for review
- Add meaning and context for some words in dictionary
- Add monthly subscriptions or lower prices
- Add Kanji section
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Add Kanji decks
- Add dark mode
- Automatically play audio when flipping card
- Teach word in context, then quiz for understanding using only the Japanese word
- Surface Japanese definition and make user remember the word
- Optimize for iPad
In-app purchases
Learn Japanese +
- Premium Lessons (1 month)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Premium Lessons (1 year)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Nihongo Lessons
- All Access Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- All Access Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Beginner Deck (Discounted)$59.99
- Champion Deck (Discounted)$59.99
- Expert Deck (Discounted)$59.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Master Deck (Discounted)$59.99
- Intermediate Deck (Discounted)$83.99
- Beginner Deck (Discounted)$101.99
- Beginner Deck$119.99
- All Decks (Discounted)$149.99
- All Decks (Discounted)$254.99
- All Decks$299.99
- All Decks (Discounted)$299.99
Questions
Is Learn Japanese + free?
Is Nihongo Lessons free?
Which has better reviews, Learn Japanese + or Nihongo Lessons?
Do Learn Japanese + or Nihongo Lessons have ads?
Which is updated more often, Learn Japanese + or Nihongo Lessons?
Other comparisons















