Study Japanese 101

What to use after Duolingo for Japanese

After Duolingo, keep at most a five-minute streak. Give the week to one course, Jisho, and a page or audio segment you will actually finish.

7 min read

How to follow this guide

  1. Decide whether Duolingo stays as a five-minute warmup or leaves.
  2. Choose one course that explains grammar and chooses the next lesson.
  3. Add Jisho for lookups instead of a second habit app.
  4. Finish one short reading or listening item several days a week.
  5. Add a review loop only after the course is producing material worth remembering.

After Duolingo, the next useful move is a course that explains why a sentence works, plus Japanese that is not shaped like a streak.

Keep Duolingo only if it still gets you into the chair for five minutes. Drop it if protecting the streak is the study. Official character practice can introduce hiragana, katakana, and kanji. That does not make Duolingo a grammar course or a reading habit.

If kana is still shaky, finish that job first with Learn kana in two weeks. Then come back here.

Pick one next owner

If this is the gap Use Limit
You finish lessons and still cannot explain the grammar LingoDeer Paid course; do not also keep Duolingo as a second tree
You want a free structured path Irodori Feels like lessons and worksheets, not a game
You will sit with a book and workbook Genki Buy the workbook; kana is early, not the whole series

Use Duolingo vs LingoDeer if those two apps are the actual decision. Do not add both.

The beginner apps shortlist is the broader menu. This page is the exit from Duolingo as the whole method.

Add lookup and input, not another tree

Jisho is enough for words that block you. Do not install a second dictionary in week one of the transition.

Then finish Japanese you did not author:

Opening a library is not practice. The beginner hub is the stack once the course is chosen.

What not to add this month

  • A second streak app.
  • Anki with a 5,000-card import.
  • A kanji SRS while you still cannot read kana comfortably.

A review loop can wait until the new course is producing words and sentences you already met. Inku offers prepared Japanese decks and personal cards on iPhone and the web. Anki fits when you need imports or detailed card templates.

If the week is already a pile of apps, use Too many Japanese apps before you buy anything else.

Frequently asked questions

What should I use after Duolingo Japanese?

One structured course such as LingoDeer, Irodori, or Genki, plus Jisho and short input you can finish. Duolingo can remain a warmup. It should not remain the plan.

Can I keep Duolingo and add LingoDeer?

Only if Duolingo is a short warmup. Do not run both as full courses. They compete for the same sequence job.

Evidence and sources