Learn Japanese app review: useful for travel in Japan 2021

Introduction

“Konnichiwa,” the app greets me, thanking me for installing the app and letting me know this languages app works on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Would I like to upgrade now?

I don’t know yet, as I have yet to try the iPhone languages app! Tapping through a quick, one-page guide shows me how the app works and lets me know that if I have trouble, I can always contact them on their website.

I quickly found out that this app is not designed to actually teach you Japanese, but it’s a very handy phrasebook to have with you if you plan to travel to the country of sushi, teriyaki, and gadgets.

For more details about this good languages app for iPhone and iPad users, check out our Learn Japanese Phrasebook for Travel in Japan app review. 

Often-Used Sentences When Traveling

The app is well laid-out and comes with an overview of the most used sentences for traveling to Japan, particularly the sprawling city of Tokyo. Available in the free version, before upgrading the app, are six handy subjects: Greetings allows you to do quick introductions, about where you’re from, and what age you are.

General Conversation simply has handy conversational sentences to offer. The Numbers subject speaks for itself, while Directions and Places focus on the most common amenities in Japan. Transportation is very Tokyo-based, talking about the subway lines and the Narita and Haneda airports. Lastly there is Eating Out, which has all the basics in there.

Upgrading the app for $4.99 will unlock another 12 subjects, giving you a total of more than 800 sentences to reference.

A Sentence Spoken For You

If you’re completely useless with a language, sometimes it’s handy to have the app do the hard work for you. When you click on a word or sentence, the app will pronounce the sentence for you as if the app itself is a Japanese person.

Luckily, if you actually want to learn to communicate in Japan a little bit, you can have the app repeat it really slowly, which helps you with the pronunciation.

If there are sentences you use often, you can add them to your favorites page. There is also an option to have the app read out an entire list or subject, which goes so quickly, I can’t really seem to find a use for it.

In addition to the spoken word, the app also shows the sentences and words in Japanese writing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Very useful if you are traveling to Japan
• Well-designed
• Clear voice

Cons

• Upgrade is expensive

Conclusion

Learn Japanese - Phrasebook for Travel in Japan is a very useful app to have in your pocket when traveling to Japan. It won’t make you learn the language and speak it fluently, but it will help you get around and it covers all the basic needs for visiting the country.

The app looks really good, is easy to use, and only takes up around 26 MB of space on your device. I will definitely recommend this app for anyone wanting to visit Japan.