Learn Japanese, properly

Master Japanese,
the complete way.

One app for all of it: a 169,000-word offline dictionary, JLPT grammar, 6,700 kanji with stroke order, graded reading, and flashcards that resurface a word right before you'd forget it.

4.6 from 125,000+ learners on Google Play
Get Tangoo for free

Free to start · No ads, ever · iOS & Android

Tangoo's tests screen with Quick Quiz, Recent Mistakes and Critical Condition decks.
The Tangoo dictionary entry for 食べる (taberu), with readings, a JLPT N5 tag and example sentences.
169,000+ Dictionary words, offline
6,700+ Kanji with stroke order
1,000+ Grammar points, N5 to N1
Zero Ads. Ever.

What's in a name

Tangoo means the king of vocabulary.

It comes from 単語王: 単語 means “vocabulary” and 王 means “king.” That is the whole goal. Make you the master of every word you meet, until Japanese stops feeling like a wall and starts feeling like yours.

169,000+ words · offline

A dictionary that
actually teaches.

Most dictionaries hand you a definition and walk away. Tangoo shows you the readings, how common the word is, its JLPT level, real example sentences, the kanji inside it, and native audio. Then it lets you save the word straight to a flashcard deck. Look it up once, keep it forever.

  • Every entry: furigana, romaji, JLPT level & frequency
  • 60,000+ real example sentences with audio
  • Tap any word, anywhere in the app, for an instant definition
Search any way: ✎ Draw it 🎤 Say it A Romaji 📷 Camera
Tangoo dictionary search results for ‘naka’, showing matching Japanese words with readings and meanings.

Features

Everything in one app,
so it actually sticks.

Stop juggling a grammar book, a kanji app and a paper dictionary. Tangoo puts the whole toolkit in one place, and most of it works completely offline.

Spaced repetition

Flashcards that
read your memory.

Tangoo uses spaced repetition to resurface each word the moment you're about to forget it. It even builds decks for you: “Recent Mistakes” and “Critical Condition” drill exactly the words you keep getting wrong.

  • SM-2 spaced repetition, tuned to you
  • Auto “Recent Mistakes” & “Critical Condition” decks
  • A five-minute Quick Quiz whenever you've got a moment
A Tangoo review card for もう (mou), with self-rating buttons — Again, Hard, OK, Easy and Perfect.

1,000+ points · N5 to N1

Every grammar point,
finally explained.

Over a thousand grammar points from N5 to N1, each in plain English with example sentences and audio. Plus themed tracks for anime & manga, business keigo, Kansai dialect, casual speech and internet slang.

  • Clear explanations, not grammar jargon
  • Example sentences with native audio on every point
  • Special tracks: anime, business, dialect, slang
A Tangoo grammar lesson for が (ga), the subject-marker particle, with a plain-English explanation and example sentences.

6,700+ kanji

Forgot the reading?
Just draw it.

Every one of 6,700+ kanji comes with animated stroke order, meanings and on/kun readings. Can't type it? Draw it with your finger and Tangoo finds it. Or learn hiragana and katakana from zero with the built-in kana trainer.

  • Animated stroke order for every kanji
  • Handwriting recognition: draw to search
  • Hiragana & katakana trainer for absolute beginners
Tangoo's handwriting search: the kanji 中 drawn by hand, with matching character suggestions below.

Built for the exam

From your first kana
to passing N1.

Every word, grammar point and kanji is tagged by JLPT level, so you always know what's on your level. An adaptive level test places you in minutes.

  1. N552 grammar pointsFirst steps
  2. N492 grammar pointsEveryday basics
  3. N3160 grammar pointsThe bridge
  4. N2163 grammar pointsReal fluency
  5. N1173 grammar pointsMastery

Free covers N5 to N3. Premium unlocks N2 & N1.

The Tangoo reading library, with graded stories grouped into Beginner Stories, Japanese Culture and Articles.
A Tangoo reading story, 'The Fireworks Festival', with furigana over the kanji and a tapped word (祭り) showing an instant pop-up definition.

Read real Japanese

Pick a story.
Tap any word.

Browse 100+ graded stories about Mt. Fuji, festivals, food and folklore, all written for learners. Open one and furigana appears over the kanji when you want it. Tap any word for the full dictionary without leaving the page, and reading stops being a chore and starts being reading.

  • 100+ stories, beginner to advanced
  • Furigana on tap, training wheels you can take off
  • Instant pop-up dictionary on every single word

More ways to learn

Listen, speak, and
sound like a local.

  • The Tangoo listening library, with graded conversations organised by difficulty and topic — over 120 in total.

    Listening

    Native conversations

    100+ real dialogues with native audio, transcripts and instant word lookups. Train your ear on how people actually talk.

  • Tangoo's phrase library, with categories like Business Japanese, Job Interviews and Anime.

    Phrases

    1,200+ real phrases

    Work, travel, keigo and 80+ lines straight from your favourite anime, across 31 ready-to-use categories.

Streaks · XP · belts

See every day
add up.

Tangoo turns practice into progress. Earn XP for everything you study, keep your daily streak alive, and climb from white belt to black. An activity calendar shows your whole journey at a glance.

  • XP and daily streaks for every review
  • Belt ranks from white all the way to black
  • An activity calendar of your whole history
The Tangoo progress screen showing a Blue Belt rank, a day streak, total XP and an activity calendar of study days.

How it works

Three steps to
your first kanji.

  1. 01

    Take the 2-minute level test

    Tangoo places you on the right JLPT level so you're never bored or buried. Or just start from the very first hiragana.

  2. 02

    Learn a little every day

    Look up words, read a story, run a Quick Quiz. Spaced repetition quietly locks in everything you've seen so it doesn't slip away.

  3. 03

    Watch the wall come down

    Within weeks, menus, manga and signs start making sense. Keep your streak alive and rank up belt by belt, from white to black.

Loved by learners

4.6 stars from 125,000+
Japanese learners.

  • “Finally one app instead of five. The dictionary alone is better than anything I paid for, and it works on the train with no signal.”

    Google Play review

  • “Drawing a kanji to look it up is magic. The ‘Recent Mistakes’ deck knows exactly what I keep getting wrong.”

    Google Play review

  • “The graded stories with tap-to-define got me reading real Japanese months earlier than I expected. And no ads, ever.”

    Google Play review

Based on 484 ratings on Google Play.

Questions

Before you start.

Is Tangoo free?

Yes. The full dictionary, N5 to N3 grammar and vocabulary, all kanji and kana, reading, the level test and spaced-repetition flashcards are free, with no ads ever. Tangoo Premium unlocks N2 and N1 content, the themed grammar tracks, 100+ listening conversations, premium stories, custom tests and advanced stats.

Do I need an internet connection?

Mostly no. The 169,000-word dictionary, kanji, grammar, flashcards and bundled stories all work fully offline. Listening conversations and premium cloud stories need a connection.

I'm a complete beginner. Is it for me?

Absolutely. Start with the kana trainer to learn hiragana and katakana from scratch, then your first N5 words and grammar. Tangoo grows with you all the way to N1.

How much is Premium?

$7.99 a month, $19.99 for three months, or $49.99 a year (prices vary by region). It's an auto-renewing subscription you can cancel anytime from your Google Play or App Store account.

Which devices does it run on?

Tangoo is on both Android and iPhone. Create a free account to back up and sync your progress across devices.

はじめましょう · Let's begin

Become the king of
your own vocabulary.

Everything you need to master Japanese, in one app. Free to start, with no ads, ever.

Get Tangoo on Google Play

Free to start · No ads · 4.6 stars from 125,000+ learners