6 Best Japanese Anki Decks 2023 | Guide To Learning Japanese With Anki

Are you looking for the best Japanese anki decks? Check out the top recommendations for anki decks that will ease your Japanese learning and make you fluent in the language like a local!

In my journey of learning Japanese, I used to face a lot of issues in forming sentences and differentiating between the hiragana and katakana.

All thanks to some of the best Japanese Anki decks that made me fluent in the language. 

From anki Japanese verbs to anki Japanese phrases and sentences, you’ll find the decks for everything. I collected a lot of best Japanese anki decks that strengthened my reading and writing skills in the language.

I particularly loved it because it’s so easy and also available on mobiles. These anki decks have audio and words of native sentences and pictures for being more descriptive.

So if you’re really interested in learning Japanese, here are some of the best Japanese anki decks that you’d like to go through.

Which are the best Japanese anki deck?

The best Anki deck beginners is Japanese Core 2000 Step 02 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images. This deck focuses on high-frequency words, includes audio and images for better retention, and progressively increases difficulty.

Best Japanese Anki Decks: Summary

Best Japanese Anki decks	No. of Audio	No. of Images
Japanese Core 2000 Step 01 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images	405	235
Japanese Core 2000 Step 02 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images	404	236
Hiragana Basic Deck	46	0
Katakana with Stroke Diagrams and Audio	123	71
Kanji All in One Heisig RTK + Kondansha KKLC + Vocabulary Ex	0	2200
Japanese Visual Novel, Anime, Manga, LN Vocab – V2K	2016	11

Top Japanese Anki Decks

Japanese Core 2000 Step 01 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images

If you’re not sure about how to start learning with Anki decks, pick this one as it’s the beginner Japanese anki deck. It contains 2000 Japanese words that you can learn. They’re basic and easy. 

Thi is actually the first step of Japanese core as the name suggests. I started with this and found it to be the best Japanese vocabulary Anki deck that is so well structured and also has images.

This deck has 405 audios and 235 images with descriptive sentences. I’d recommend you to start with this deck and then move on to the more complex ones as this will clear your base for the language. 

It’s among the best Japanese Anki decks that you’ll ever find for basic learning. 

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Japanese Core 2000 Step 02 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images

This is the next step to Japanese core. Ideally, you should start with the core step 01 first and then move to this anki deck for better learning experience. 

This Japanese anki deck is just the advanced level of the first one with 399 notes in it. This anki has Japanese sentences with the audio, meaning of it in english and also an image. 

This is one of the best Japanese anki decks with 404 audios and 236 images. If you regularly practise with this deck, you’ll be able to complete it within 2-3 months. 

I  started this deck with my friends after we were done with the step 01 deck, this deck seemed much simpler after that. It has verbs, sentences and phrases in Japanese that are used in everyday life. 

Japanese Basic Hiragana

Although this deck doesn’t contain any images, it’s one of the highly rated and recommended anki decks. This Anki Japanese Hiragana contains only 46 audios and notes. 

It’s not so elaborate but still lays the foundation for learning hiragana for beginners. It’s very easy to learn from this as it quickly finishes and you can also look for the words quite easily as there are only 46 notes. 

I started with this hiragana basic deck and found it super useful. I also shared it with my friends who were struggling to learn hiragana. All thanks to this deck for making our basics of Hiragana crystal clear. 

This deck is simple and easily sets in the memory. There’s also romaji characters underneath the characters for you to help further with learning. 

This anki deck is one of the best Japanese anki decks for learning hiragana basics. It’s highly recommended for people wanting to learn hiragana.

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Katakana with Stroke Diagrams and Audio

As the name suggests this is an Anki guide for Japanese katakana. It’s extremely elaborate with audio and stroke diagrams but doesn’t contain images. 

The best part about this is that it has hiragana characters beneath the katakana. Well, that’s not about it, it also has romaji characters. So, if you’re confused, you’ll definitely find your way through this deck. 

It contains 123 audios and 71 images to provide a descriptive experience to the users of this best Japanese anki decks for learning katakana. This anki deck has stroke diagrams wherever required. 

I was initially looking for a basic katakana deck when I found this and found it to be perfect. It’s great for beginners as well as intermediate level learners. 

If you guys want to learn writing katakana with proper pronunciations, this should definitely be your go to as it’s one of the best Japanese anki decks for katakana.

Kanji All in One Heisig RTK + Kondansha KKLC + Vocabulary Ex

This deck has to be the best kanji anki deck that I’ve come across. It’s so descriptive and information rich. 

It blew my mind when I first started with the deck because it has every detail you’d want to know about kanji.

It’s a combination of two most popular books to learn kanji, ie, “Remembering the Kanji” (RTK) by Heisig and “Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course” (KKLC) by Conning and Halpern. 

This deck is also loaded with stories from WaniKani and Koohii for better understanding, what else do you need, right?

Most of the notes in this deck have 3 cards: 1st one is recognition, 2nd is production and the last is memorise. These cards help in easy learning and clearing concepts with basics. 

It has animated gifs so that you can learn how the kanji strokes are made. The reviews of this deck are amazing. I’d recommend you to definitely go for this deck to learn kanji.

Related: Why Learning Japanese is Difficult?

Japanese Visual Novel, Anime, Manga, LN Vocab – V2K

If you’re an anime or manga fan and you find it difficult to understand the language used, go for this one as it’s the best Japanese anki deck for anime and manga. 

Most often than not, the language used in manga and anime have different context and mixed with english metaphors. This becomes difficult for new learners to understand as a lot of words don’t have simple translations.

So here is an anki deck for you that’ll help you learn words, phrases, and sentences used in anime and manga to strengthen your vocab. It’s one of the best Japanese Anki decks

This was a fun deck for me as I love watching anime. After completing this deck, I was able to decipher what was said in the anime and was quite happy with it. 

 It contains 2016 audios and 11 images that sums up the language used in Japanese visuals. I’d totally recommend it for Japanese visual fans. However, if you’re not one then you can avoid it as it might confuse you.

How To Choose the Best Japanese Anki Deck?

The best Anki deck for you depends on your current level, learning goals, and preferred learning style. Here’s a breakdown to help you choose:

1. Your Level:

• Beginner: Focus on basic vocabulary and grammar decks like Japanese Core 2000 Step 01, Japanese Basic Hiragana, and Katakana Reading Practice.
• Intermediate: Move to advanced decks like JLPT Grammar from Jtest4you, Japanese Visual Novel, Anime, Manga, LN Vocab – V2K, and Official KanjiDamage deck.
• Advanced: Utilize decks focusing on specific interests or create your own using content from your preferred media.

2. Your Learning Goals:

• Vocabulary: Choose decks rich in words and sentences.
• Grammar: Prioritize decks with detailed explanations and exercises.
• Kanji: Seek decks with plenty of kanji and mnemonic aids.
• Reading: Opt for decks with extensive reading passages and questions.
• Listening: Choose decks with ample audio recordings and interactive exercises.

3. Your Learning Style:

• Visual learners: Choose decks with images and diagrams.
• Auditory learners: Prioritize decks with audio recordings.
• Kinesthetic learners: Opt for decks with interactive exercises.

4. Your Time Commitment:

• Limited time: Choose smaller decks with fewer cards.
• Dedicated study program: Choose larger decks for long-term learning.

Best Japanese Anki Decks: FAQs

How many Anki cards should I do a day in Japanese?

Start with doing 10 Anki a day but if that’s overwhelming you can go for 5 per day. You can also modify and 10 more if you think you’re pretty fast at learning the language.

Is Anki good for the Japanese language?

Yes, Anki is really good for Japanese language learning. It’s extremely flexible and you can take up flashcards of any specific type you want like vocabulary, scripts, grammar etc. Most people don’t use it for language but it’s one of the best in the market.

Fun Way to Learn

I’ve to admit that anki decks are the most fun and useful way of learning Japanese. If you wanna learn on your own, I’d recommend you to go for these best Japanese anki decks. 

Hope this article- best Japanese Anki decks helped you in picking the best one for yourself to learn Japanese!

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