JapanesePod101
A large catalog of leveled Japanese podcast lessons and transcripts.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningWeb, iPhone, Android
Japanese listening resources
Listening tools range from hosted lessons to narrow pitch drills. Match the tool to the ear problem.
Nihongo con Teppei
A free beginner Japanese podcast for daily listening.
BeginnerFreeEasyListeningPodcast, Web
Comprehensible Japanese
Leveled all-Japanese input videos. The site is now branded Natural Japanese.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningWeb, YouTube
Miku Real Japanese
YouTube and podcast lessons, plus a paid grammar and shadowing audio course.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyGrammarYouTube, Web, Podcast
Nihongo no Mori
JLPT-focused video classes taught in Japanese, with a paid site and app.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumModerateCourseYouTube, Web, iPhone, Android
Let's Learn Japanese from Small Talk
Unscripted Japanese conversation podcast with vocab lists on a Hatena blog.
IntermediateFreeEasyListeningPodcast, Web
News in Slow Japanese
Slow news and culture lessons with transcripts and popup glosses.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningWeb
That Japanese Man Yuta
Street-interview YouTube on Japanese culture and language, with paid courses sold separately.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningYouTube, Web
Ask Japanese
Street interviews in Japan about culture, anime, and daily life.
BeginnerIntermediateFreeEasyListeningYouTube
Akane Japanese Class
All-Japanese teacher videos and a podcast on daily life, with transcripts on the site.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningYouTube, Web, Podcast
SAKURA TIPS
Beginner listening podcast with Japanese transcripts on the site.
BeginnerFreemiumEasyListeningPodcast, Web, YouTube
Bilingual News
Weekly unscripted English-Japanese news podcast. Audio free; transcripts in a paid app.
IntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningPodcast, Web, iPhone, Android
Learn Japanese Pod
Conversational Japanese podcast with Alex and Ami, plus Patreon extras.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningPodcast, Web, YouTube
Japanese with Shun
Beginner Japanese podcast and YouTube that follows Genki grammar.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningPodcast, YouTube
Game Gengo
YouTube and scripts for learning Japanese from video games.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyListeningYouTube, Web
NHK World Easy Japanese
Free official beginner Japanese lessons with audio from NHK World.
BeginnerFreeEasyListeningCourseWeb
kotu.io
Pitch-accent tests plus search, flashcards, and media tools for Japanese study.
IntermediateFreeModerateListeningWeb
NHK News Web Easy
Free graded Japanese news with furigana and audio.
BeginnerIntermediateFreeEasyReadingListeningWeb
Irodori
Free Japan Foundation textbooks for daily-life Japanese, with audio.
BeginnerFreeEasyTextbookListeningWeb
Pimsleur
Audio-first Japanese lessons designed for spoken recall on the go.
BeginnerPaidEasyListeningCourseApp, Audio
Language Reactor
Dual Japanese subtitles and lookup for YouTube and Netflix in the browser.
IntermediateFreemiumModerateListeningBrowser
Dogen
Comedy-and-phonetics YouTube. Pitch-accent lessons live on Patreon.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasySpeakingYouTube, Web
Hirogaru
Free A1-A2 Japan Foundation site with interest-topic articles, videos, and kanji practice.
BeginnerFreeEasyReadingWeb
Japanese from Zero
Beginner textbooks plus a matching interactive web course and lesson videos.
BeginnerFreemiumModerateTextbookPrint, Web, YouTube
Kaname Naito
Spoken Japanese grammar on YouTube, plus free dialogues and paid beginner courses.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyGrammarYouTube, Web
Satori Reader
Annotated Japanese articles and dialogues with audio and inline notes.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasyReadingWeb, iPhone
Speak Japanese Naturally
Pronunciation, rhythm, and pitch videos from Fumi, plus a paid phonetics course.
BeginnerFreemiumEasySpeakingYouTube, Web
Speechling
Record Japanese, compare with a native speaker, and send audio to a pronunciation coach.
BeginnerIntermediateFreemiumEasySpeakingWeb, iPhone, Android
Showing 28 resources.
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Listening practice fails when the audio is either too hosted or too hard.
Listen-only sources fit commuters. Text-plus-audio fits learners who need support. Official numbered lessons fit learners who need a path. Choose one tool from this page.
If you want a lesson around the audio
JapanesePod101, Nihongo con Teppei, and NHK World Easy Japanese give you spoken Japanese with a frame. Pod101 is a large catalog. Teppei is a free beginner podcast, so it fits listen-only commute time. Japanese with Shun is extra Genki-shaped audio. Game Gengo is for people who already play Japanese games. NHK World is official numbered lessons. Irodori is a free course with official audio. Use NHK World or Irodori when you need a path. If the paid audio-course slot is Pimsleur versus JapanesePod101, use Pimsleur vs JapanesePod101.
If you want news you can follow
NHK News Web Easy includes audio on simplified articles. Use it when you need text plus audio.
If the problem is pitch, not vocabulary
kotu.io trains accent contrasts. It is not a beginner podcast. For lookup, ear training, and coaching as separate jobs, use the pronunciation and pitch-accent shortlist.
One week with one transcript-supported source
Choose one short item from a source that gives you a transcript. First listen without text. Read the transcript and note at most 5 blockers. Relisten with text. Relisten without text. Repeat the same item later in the week.
Pick one daily audio source. Add pitch drills only after you can follow slow speech.
Official JLPT listening audio lives with the official sample questions. Use it to learn the test item types, not as a daily podcast. The exam-practice map is the JLPT study resources shortlist.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Japanese listening practice for beginners?
Daily audio you will actually play. A free podcast such as Nihongo con Teppei, or official NHK World lessons, beats a library you never open.
Related
Japanese listening resources for beginners, by support levelUse Irodori or NHK World when you need numbered lessons, Comprehensible Japanese when visuals keep meaning available, Nihongo con Teppei for short listen-only practice, and News in Slow Japanese when text support matters.Game GengoYouTube and scripts for learning Japanese from video games.Japanese with ShunBeginner Japanese podcast and YouTube that follows Genki grammar.JapanesePod101A large catalog of leveled Japanese podcast lessons and transcripts.kotu.ioPitch-accent tests plus search, flashcards, and media tools for Japanese study.NHK News Web EasyFree graded Japanese news with furigana and audio.