Listening practice

Japanese listening practice, with real podcasts

By Mariano Matayoshi · building Wakatta, still learning Japanese

Wakatta is a Japanese listening app. You listen to real podcasts and YouTube channels, made for learners and for native speakers, with a transcript that follows the audio. When you don't understand, help is one touch away, and the audio keeps going.

Why real audio

Textbook audio is slow, clear and short. Real Japanese is none of these. To understand real speech, you need to hear a lot of it, at a level you can almost follow. Wakatta gives you shows at every level, and tools for the moments you can't follow yet.

What you can do while you listen

Hold any word to see its reading, meaning and pitch accent Tap “I got lost” to keep the sentence you just missed, and fill it in later by listening Tap a line's time to hear it again, then loop it Show a translation under each line, in your language (podcasts, for now) Get any line explained: its grammar, its nuance and its words

Slow the audio down or speed it up, from 0.5× to 2×

At your level

Shows are tagged from N5 to N1. Start with podcasts made for learners, which are slow and clear, and move to native shows when you are ready. You can also import your own audio or video.

Podcasts by JLPT level — 52 curated shows, N5 to N1 Your own audio — import anything and hold any word

A habit that fits your day

Episodes play one after another, so you can listen on a walk, on the train or while you cook. On iPhone, the “I got lost” button is also on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island.

On the go — learn Japanese while driving or commuting

Start with a real podcast at your level

Free to start, no account needed. iOS and Android.