Learn Japanese by reading what you love
Otto swaps a share of the words you read into Japanese: on any website, in books and in podcasts. You still follow everything, and the Japanese you understand grows a little every day, without setting aside time to study.
The same sentence at all seven levels
This is the sentence Otto uses to show its levels, taken straight from the app. At A few words only the most common words are Japanese; at Confident the sentence takes Japanese word order too; at Native it is all Japanese.
city council 予定で repair old bridge この winter, mayor promised と pedestrians と cyclists ことができる still cross footbridge.
city council 予定で repair old bridge この winter, mayor promised と pedestrians と cyclists ことができるまだ cross footbridge.
市議会は予定で repair 古い bridge この冬, mayor promised と pedestrians と cyclists ことができるまだ cross footbridge.
市議会は予定で修理する古い橋をこの冬, mayor 約束したと pedestrians と cyclists ことができるまだ渡る footbridge.
市議会はこの冬古い橋を修理する予定で, 市長は歩行者と cyclists まだ footbridge 渡ることができると約束した.
市議会はこの冬古い橋を修理する予定で, 市長は歩行者と自転車がまだ footbridge 渡ることができると約束した.
市議会はこの冬、古い橋を修理する予定で、市長は歩行者と自転車利用者が引き続き歩道橋を渡れると約束した。
The most common words come first
A few hundred words make up most of what anyone reads, so that is where Otto starts. In this sentence, the first Japanese you would meet is:
Japanese words appear in Japanese script (kana and kanji), as a Japanese speaker would write them. Tap one and Otto shows what it means and says it aloud, so the script comes to you word by word, in sentences you can already follow.
How you learn Japanese with Otto
- Pick your level. Start with a few everyday words, or most of the page.
- Read as you normally would. A book in the app, a podcast, or any website in Chrome, Safari or the app's own browser.
- Tap any word you don't know. See what it means and hear it. Save it with one tap.
- Practise and move up. Short games in Learn use the words you saved, and as you learn more, Otto shows you more Japanese.
Everything you read, in Japanese at your level
Any website
News, blogs, Wikipedia, recipes: Otto weaves Japanese into the page in Chrome, in Safari and in the app.
Books and podcasts
A library of classic books, and podcasts in which some of the words you hear are Japanese, both at your level.
Your word bank
Every word you save goes to Learn, where quick games bring it back until it sticks.
Your tutor
Working with a tutor? They can set your reading and see the words you looked up.
Questions
Can you learn Japanese just by reading?
Reading things you can mostly understand, with a few new words each time, is one of the best-supported ways to build vocabulary. Otto keeps your reading at that point, and pairs it with short practice games for the Japanese words you save.
What level of Japanese do I need to start?
None. At the first level Otto swaps only a handful of the most common words into Japanese, and it adds more as you learn them, all the way to reading entirely in Japanese.
Is Otto free?
Yes. Everything Otto does is free, with a daily limit. Otto Pro (£3.99 a month) lets you read five times more and work with a tutor; Otto Max (£9.99 a month) five times more again.
Where does Otto work?
On iPhone, iPad and Mac, and as an extension for Chrome and Safari, so it works on the websites you already read.
Do I need to read Japanese script (kana and kanji) before I start?
No. Words appear in Japanese script (kana and kanji), and a tap shows the meaning and plays the sound, so you learn to recognise them as you go.