Duolingo for Japanese - EVERYTHING You Need To Know - duoplanet (2023)

If you’re thinking about learning Japanese, then you might be wondering whether Duolingo’s Japanese course is the way to go.

Despite only being an official language in Japan, Japanese is actually the ninth most spoken language in the world. Over the last few years, it’s also become one of Duolingo’s most popular courses.

This is the first language guide I’ve written where I’ve REALLY had to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve devoted the last 6-7 years almost exclusively to Romance, Germanic and Slavic languages. Japanese is my first genuine foray into the world of East-Asian languages.

As such, I’m coming at this as a complete beginner. So if you’re in a similar position and you want to know whether Duolingo is the way to go, then you’ve come to the right place.

Is Duolingo any good for learning Japanese?

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know.

We’ll go over:

  • How Duolingo’s Japanese course is structured
  • Special features
  • Other features you need to be aware of
  • The pros of Duolingo’s Japanese course
  • The cons of Duolingo’s Japanese course

Shall we get started?

行こう!

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What you’ll find in Duolingo’s Japanese course

If you’re new to Duolingo, then you’ll find that all of the courses are structured in much the same way.

They all follow what is commonly referred to as the lesson tree.*

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Basically…

The tree is broken up into a set of units

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Each unit has a set of skills

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Each skill has up to 6 crown levels

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And each crown level has a set of lessons

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The basic goal is to work through the tree by completing every lesson… in every level… in every skill… in every unit.

As of October 2022, Duolingo’s Japanese course has a total of 6 units, broken down into a total of 131 skills. That means there are 655 crown levels in Duolingo’s Japanese course — or 786 if you include the legendary levels.

The exercises in the Japanese course are basically the same as in all of Duolingo’s courses. Some of the common exercises you’ll come across include:

  • Complete the translation
  • Mark the correct meaning
  • Picture flashcards
  • Select the missing word
  • Sentence shuffle
  • Speak this sentence
  • Tap the pairs
  • Translation
  • Tap what you hear
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*Duolingo are switching up their courses to a brand new format known as the Learning Path. It’s only been rolled out to a handful of users so far, so the majority of users will get the traditional lesson tree above. However, if your Japanese course looks different to the above, then you’ve probably got the new lesson path. Check out this post from Duolingo to learn more!

Does Duolingo’s Japanese course have any special features?

(Video) Is Duolingo Really a Good Way to Study Japanese? | A Japanese Man Reacts to Duolingo

Although Duolingo offers nearly 40 language courses for English speakers, not all of the courses are created equally. Some courses have special features that others don’t.

Some of the notable features include stories, audio lessons and podcasts.

As of September 2022, Duolingo’s Japanese course has a total of 30 stories, but doesn’t have any audio lessons or podcasts.

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It also has a neat little feature that only a few other Duolingo courses have: the writing-system tool.

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As you’ll know, Japanese uses a completely different writing system to English. Whereas other languages with different writing systems (e.g. Greek, Russian) at least bear some similarities with the Roman alphabet, Japanese doesn’t.

And to make things even trickier, Japanese utilises not one but TWO additional writing systems: Hiragana and Katakana.

Duolingo’s writing system tool is designed to help you get to grips with both. It allows you to practice every character and symbol through a range of different exercises, including tracing, sound matching, and type what you hear.

Other features in Duolingo’s Japanese course

Duolingo’s Japanese course is built on the same stuff as all of Duolingo’s other language courses.

We won’t go into too much detail here, but some of the features worth knowing about include:

  • XP – As you work through Duolingo’s Japanese course, you’ll earn experience points, which are more commonly known as XP. You’ll earn XP for pretty much everything you do. Some lessons, tasks and exercises will earn you more XP than others.
  • Leagues – Every week you’ll be entered into a league with other Duolingo learners. There are 10 leagues to work through, starting at Bronze and ending at Diamond. The leagues are basically leaderboards — simply earn more XP than others in your league to have a chance of winning.
  • Gems – XP and crowns aren’t the only things you’ll earn as you learn Japanese. You’ll also earn gems, which you can spend in the Duolingo Shop. There isn’t really much you can buy here, but you can use your gems to pick up things like Streak Freezes, Timer Boosts for timed challenges, and some costumes for the owl.
  • Friends – Duolingo is a social experience, so you’re able to follow other users and compare your progress. The guys at Duolingo reckon you’re 5 times more likely to finish your course if you follow people! To get you started, feel free to give me a follow — my username is DCiiieee!
  • Duolingo Plus/Super – This is Duolingo’s premium membership. Pay for Plus/Super and you’ll get access to some useful features, including unlimited hearts, no ads and Practice Hub.

Is Duolingo good for learning Japanese?

Now to answer the all-important question: Is Duolingo good for learning Japanese?

Let’s take a look at some pros and cons.

pros

a good place to start

For native English speakers, Japanese is a scary language.

Not only is the writing system completely different, but the way in which the language works also differs a lot to English as well.

Fortunately, Duolingo is well-equipped to help you in the daunting early stages.

Whether you’re using the old-style tree or the new learning path, Duolingo’s Japanese courses are structured in such a way that makes Japanese accessible from the very beginning.

Sure, compared to many of Duolingo’s other courses, Japanese is far from its easiest. (It also has some issues that beginners will find frustrating, which we’ll get to shortly). But for a language as multi-faceted and different to English as Japanese, it does an excellent job of getting beginners into the swing of things.

Writing-system tool

For me, this is probably one of Duolingo’s biggest selling points when it comes to the Japanese course.

Duolingo have developed various versions of the writing system tool for their other language courses, but it’s in the Japanese course that it really stands out.

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It was one of my favourite features of the Russian course, and it doesn’t disappoint in the Japanese one either!

(Video) Japanese Guy Tries Duolingo Japanese

Not only does it get you used to how the different systems look and sound, but it also gives you the opportunity to write out the characters with tracing exercises.

Depending on what you want Japanese for this might not matter much to you…

But in any case, it does a great job of getting you up to speed with something that can seem so alien in the beginning.

I’d go as far as to say it’s my favourite thing about the Japanese course — and it’s probably one of the best Japanese-learning tools I’ve found on the market right now.

While the tree/path is fine and structured fairly logically, the writing system tool has done a much better job of helping me understand the different characters and symbols.

I’d be pretty lost without it!

Stories

Stories is one of Duolingo’s standout features and it’s only available in a few of its courses.

Fortunately, Japanese is one of them!

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One of the best things about the Japanese stories is that they’re genuinely interesting and funny as hell! Duolingo have got some seriously great writers!

They’re so good that reading them typically doesn’t feel like work. Yet all the while your reading and listening comprehension is going up, up and up!

And while the stories aren’t up to the same standard as some of Duolingo’s other courses (we’ll get to that in a sec) they’re still a HUGE selling point for the Japanese course.

I highly recommend getting stuck into them as soon as you can!

Fun!

This doesn’t just go for Duolingo’s Japanese course, it’s the same for ALL of them!

One of the best things about Duolingo is that it’s more than just a language learning tool.

It’s also a game. And although this isn’t to everyone’s liking, it’s a big part of why so many people show up every day to do their daily lessons.

For everything you do in Japanese, you’ll earn XP (experience points) which contribute towards your position in the weekly leagues.

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Now this isn’t something you should take too seriously (you can read more about why here) but if you take it lightly it’ll definitely make your Japanese a lot more enjoyable.

Because ultimately, the more you enjoy something, the more likely you are to do it. Learning Japanese is going to require A LOT of your time, so the more enjoyable it is, the better — and Duolingo definitely has you covered here.

Free

Another great thing about Duolingo is that the Japanese course is 100% free.

There is a premium subscription — Duolingo Plus (or Super, depending on your device) — but this isn’t something you need in order to complete the course. The whole thing is completely free; the premium membership just adds a few features that make things a bit smoother.

This is great if you’re just dabbling with Japanese and aren’t ready to commit just yet. But also if you’re keen to get started with the language but don’t want to fork out on special software or tuition.

Super motivating

(Video) What happens after 365 days on Duolingo?

I take it you’ve seen the owl memes?

Yes, the owl can be *a bit* of a stalker at times, pestering you at all hours to do your daily Japanese lessons!

But relax, contrary to popular belief, he’s not gonna kidnap your family anytime soon!

Jokes aside, Duolingo is brilliant for keeping you motivated.

Learning Japanese is a long journey. It’s not something you’re going to pick up overnight.

According to the US Foreign Service Institute, it takes roughly 2200″class hours” to reach “Professional Working Proficiency” in Japanese.

So yeah, if you’re going to learn Japanese, you’ve got to be in it for the long haul!

That means creating an unbreakable habit. And Duolingo’s amazing for doing that.

Put it this way — my current streak (i.e. the number of days in a row I’ve used Duolingo) goes all the way back to May 2016.

And that’s not just because I’m a bit obsessive! It’s thanks to Duolingo being such a great way of keeping me motivated!

cons

Short course

Duolingo’s a great way of getting started with Japanese. But eventually, you’ll need to look further afield if you want to progress.

For such a complex language, Duolingo’s Japanese course is fairly short. Although each skill has up to 6 levels, realistically you could complete the course to crown level 1 in a fairly short time.

Compared to some of Duolingo’s other popular courses, like French and Spanish, there’s nowhere near as much content.

And considering Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn for English speakers, 6 units of content just isn’t going to be enough to reach an acceptable level.

The writing-system tool is where the majority of the magic happens. Beyond this, the course still requires a lot more fleshing out.

Average grammatical explanations

Japanese is a tricky language, so whichever way you come at it, it’s always going to be challenging. But aside from this, one of the main reasons the Duolingo’s Japanese course is so challenging is that it lacks a lot of fundamental grammatical explanations.

This becomes more obvious as you work your way through the course. But if you’ve never sat down with an East-Asian language before, you’ll almost certainly find yourself struggling from the very beginning.

Although Duolingo includes some OK tips sections, these don’t always go into enough detail to help you fully comprehend what’s going on in your lessons. Even with the romanised assist on, it stands a chance you’ll still find yourself struggling.

For a language as deep and complex as Japanese, this is something the guys at Duolingo definitely need to improve on.

Not great for speaking

If you’re hoping to get conversational in Japanese, then Duolingo probably isn’t the tool that will get you there.

Well, not by itself anyway.

That’s because Duolingo focuses mainly on reading and listening. You do get the opportunity to practice your pronunciation with the speaking exercises (although these seem to be few and far between) but these aren’t conversation exercises and a lot of the stuff you’ll practice aren’t sentences you’ll ever use anyway.

(Video) Is Duolingo getting more difficult to become fluent? | An update rant with tips

Speaking is a skill in its own right and to learn it you’ll need to practice it regularly, ideally with a native speaker, or at the very least using a program that has conversation scenarios (such as JapanesePod101).

Stories aren’t as good as in other courses

As above, stories is definitely one of Duolingo’s best features, and so it’s definitely a selling point of the Japanese course.

That said, unfortunately, they don’t hit the heights of the stories in other courses, such as French, Spanish and German.

One reason is there just aren’t that many. As of October 2022, there are only 30 — which is pretty low compared to the French course, which has nearly 300!

They’re also pretty difficult. Stories in the other courses are a lot more straightforward and easy for beginners to follow. For the most part, this is because Japanese is a significantly harder language. But this is something Duolingo should take into consideration. For many, even the first couple of stories will seem pretty overwhelming — even though they’re supposed to be the easiest.

Hearts

If you’ve read any of my other articles then you’ll know one of the things I dislike most about Duolingo at the moment is the heart system.

Hearts are basically lives or chances. You start off with 5 then lose one every time you make a mistake.

If you lose all your hearts then you’re not allowed to progress through your course until your hearts replenish.

You can either watch an ad to get one back, do a practice session, spend some gems or wait 5 hours.

It’s far from ideal as it does the unhelpful thing of punishing you for making mistakes.

Which, as far as I’m concerned, is ridiculous as mistakes are absolutely essential and unavoidable when learning a language — especially one as complex as Japanese.

And when you factor in the lack of tips and explanations, you’re going to be making lots of mistakes — and therefore you’re going to be losing lots of hearts.

Conclusion

There’s a reason Japanese has become one of Duolingo’s most popular courses over the last few years, and it’s not just because of the popularity of the language — it’s also because Duolingo is one of the best ways to get started in it.

Thanks to it’s welcoming course, writing system tool, mini stories and accessbility, Duolingo’s is now one of the go-to platforms to start learning Japanese.

If you’re at the beginning of your Japanese journey, Duolingo is definitely something you’ll want to consider. Not only to get you going in the language, but also to keep you motivated over the years of study required.

However, for all it’s strengths, Duolingo’s Japanese course is still lacking in a number of key areas. By itself, it’s not going to get you to a comfortable conversational level in Japanese.

One of the best tools to use alongside Duolingo is JapanesePod101.

As a beginner, I’d be pretty lost without it. It does a good job of plugging the grammatical holes in the Duolingo course, and the podcasts are also really accessible from the very beginning.

With JapanesePod, you’ll also come to learn the 2,000 most common Japanese words, and experience the language in its authentic context. This makes a huge difference in your ability to both understand and produce basic everyday sentences.

if you’re new to japanese…

I’d recommend using Duolingo to get familiar with Hiragana and Katakana and start writing out basic sentences.

At the same time, it would be a good idea to take advantage of JapanesePod’s free trial to get familiar with how the language sounds, pick up some useful phrases and cultural insights, and practice speaking as soon as possible.

Once you’ve worked your way through the Duolingo course, I’d recommend coming back to it daily to keep the streak alive (habit is SO important when learning a language) and start to move through the intermediate to advanced packs on JapanesePod.

(Video) Introducing Duolingo Max

Also, make sure you’re getting enough passive exposure to Japanese as well — so things like TV shows, music, books and real-life conversations — so everything you learn on Duolingo and JapanesePod can begin to bed in.

FAQs

Has anyone become fluent in Japanese from Duolingo? ›

Whilst you cannot get fluent in Japanese using Duolingo, you can master the two alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana.

How many days to finish Japanese Duolingo? ›

Most of the Duolingo marketing touts “Spending 15 minutes a day learning a new language.” So, if you have 387.5 hours of material to get through – and you practice for 15 minutes a day – that's 1,550 days. (387.5 hours is 23,250 minutes. Divide that by 15 minutes per day, and you get 1,550 days to finish a language.)

What Duolingo level is B2? ›

Upper Intermediate
DuolingoCEFR
100-125B2

How many units are there in Duolingo Japanese 2023? ›

Japanese has a total of 90 units on Duolingo.

What level of Japanese does Duolingo go up to? ›

As of October 2022, Duolingo's Japanese course has a total of 6 units, broken down into a total of 131 skills. That means there are 655 crown levels in Duolingo's Japanese course — or 786 if you include the legendary levels. The exercises in the Japanese course are basically the same as in all of Duolingo's courses.

Is Duolingo reliable to learn Japanese with? ›

Duolingo Is Great as a Supplement

It is great for learning vocabulary and seeing how words are used in context. However, it's generally not great for learning the “why”s or “how”s of language. This includes grammar and semantics–how words interact with each other to create different meanings.

What is the hardest language on Duolingo? ›

It means they've gotten the word right every time it has been shown. Anyway, based on this linear regression, French is definitely the hardest language, insofar as it takes more instances of seeing a certain word before reaching the same number of correct productions as one of the other languages.

How many months does it take to be fluent in Japanese? ›

However, many experts believe it takes between 4 to 6 months of dedicated study to reach a beginner level. On the other hand, you can expect to spend at least 3 years studying to become fluent in Japanese with near-native level accuracy.

How long can I fluent Japanese? ›

Learning Japanese isn't easy and it will take time. It's probably fair to say that you can expect a commitment of at least three years in order to achieve something resembling fluency. The average learner gets to the advanced level in three or four years.

Can you become C2 with Duolingo? ›

At Duolingo, we use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to set goals for different proficiency levels when we design our courses. The levels are labeled A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2, and they cover increasingly complex language needs.

Is B2 considered fluent? ›

Level B2: Basic Fluency

Reaching B2 is generally considered by most people as having basic fluency. You'll have a working vocabulary of around 4000 words.

What is the lowest score in Duolingo? ›

The minimum score is 10 and the others are 15, 20-25, 30-40, 40-50, 55-60, 65-70, 75-80, 85-90, 95-100, 105-110 and 115-120. The highest band corresponds to IELTS 7.0. The highest possible scores in Duolingo are also 125-130, 135-140, 145-150 and 155-160.

What percentage of Duolingo users finish their course? ›

Duolingo doesn't release completion rates for its courses, but a report last year said American users ranked 68th out of all countries in the number of lessons completed. A separate informal study put the overall completion rate for Spanish at less than 0.01 percent.

Has anyone ever finished every Duolingo course? ›

That said, no course is ever complete (just look at all the changes Duolingo have made to the French and Spanish courses over the years!)

What unit of Duolingo do you become fluent? ›

Basically, if you can get to B2, then you can get by in a language with minimal discomfort. You won't be perfect, but you'll be more than capable of functioning. This pretty much marries up with my definition of fluency. And so, if you subscribe to my definition, it could be said that Duolingo aim to make you fluent.

Can you master Japanese with Duolingo? ›

The world's most popular way to learn Japanese online

Learn Japanese in just 5 minutes a day with our game-like lessons. Whether you're a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work.

Is it possible to learn Japanese in 6 months? ›

You Can Learn Japanese to a Good Level After Just a Few Months. Chris Broad (Abroad in Japan) shows that it's possible to survive in Japanese with as little as 6 months of studying.

Can you learn Japanese in a year? ›

In fact, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn for a native English speaker. If you want to speak enough Japanese to make friends in Japan and carry on simple conversations, you can master casual Japanese in under a year, especially if you are skipping over hiragana and katakana.

How many kanji should I learn a day? ›

1. How many kanji will I learn each day? Some simple math will show that you need to learn at least 23 kanji every day to complete your mission on schedule (2,042 kanji ÷ 90 days = 22.7).

How to get fluent in Japanese? ›

7 tips for learning to speak Japanese fluently
  1. Don't rush the basics. For some learners, the three Japanese writing systems can be intimidating. ...
  2. Find media you love. ...
  3. Practise with native speakers. ...
  4. Record yourself speaking. ...
  5. Set goals. ...
  6. Use mnemonics. ...
  7. Stay positive.

What is the #1 hardest language to learn? ›

Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.

What is the top 3 hardest language to learn? ›

Let's explore the 10 hardest languages for English speakers to learn, and the challenges they deliver:
  1. Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken by 70% of the Chinese population, and is the most spoken language in the world. ...
  2. Arabic. ...
  3. Japanese. ...
  4. Hungarian. ...
  5. Korean. ...
  6. Finnish. ...
  7. Basque. ...
  8. Navajo.
Sep 16, 2022

What type of Japanese does Duolingo teach? ›

Our course teaches you characters (yes, even Kanji)

In our Japanese course, you can learn the shapes, pronunciations, and meanings of all Hiragana characters (there are about 50), all 50 Katakana characters, and 88 basic Kanji (Chinese) characters that you need to know in order to reach basic proficiency.

Is 2 Years enough to learn Japanese? ›

The average length of time to learn advanced Japanese is 2-3 years. At the intermediate level, you can understand most of what your teacher says, and you can follow along with TV programs. When it comes to using the language with other Japanese speakers, however, you still have some limitations.

How many hours to study Japanese? ›

Native English speakers, or those who do not have previous Kanji knowledge, need approximately 325-600 hours of studying for N5 and 575-1000 hours for N4 level. JLPT assesses mainly reading and listening skills, so you may need to put in some extra effort to write and speak at such levels.

How long does the average Japanese student study? ›

Japanese students devote approximately two hours per weekday to homework, and about three hours on Sunday.

Is 30 too late to learn Japanese? ›

Age is just a number

Other than that, applying to study in Japan when you're over 30 is very much the same as for anyone else. The slightly stricter requirements shouldn't put anyone off, if it is something they want to pursue. Studying abroad when you're a bit older is incredibly fulfilling.

How much vocabulary do you need to be fluent in Japanese? ›

For starters, Japanese has three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Kanji includes over 50,000 different characters, however, you only need to know about 2,000 of them to be considered fluent. You also only need to know about 5,000 Japanese vocabulary words to be considered fluent as well.

Do Japanese people have a hard time learning English? ›

Probably the most important factor is the language itself. Japanese is a very different language compared to English and other Indo-European languages. This makes learning English a real challenge for many Japanese.

Is 115 a bad Duolingo score? ›

A good Duolingo score will be 110 and above. If you score above 120, it is considered excellent.

Is it hard to get 115 in Duolingo? ›

Upper-Intermediate: A Duolingo test score between 90-115 means the applicant is an upper-intermediate student who can converse on unfamiliar topics, can understand ideas behind both concrete as well as abstract writing and can interact with proficient speakers with ease.

How much time should I spend on Duolingo a day? ›

To optimize your learning, aim to spend between 15 and 30 minutes on the app each day. If you're struggling to commit a decent amount of time to your learning, try breaking the time up throughout your day.

Is Duolingo enough for B2? ›

Duolingo claims users can reach B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. B2 is upper-intermediate level or basic fluency. It is considered sufficient to live and work in a country.

What is A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2? ›

There are six levels of language proficiency (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) according to the CEFR scale. They are grouped into three broader levels: A1-A2 (Basic User), B1-B2 (Independent User), and C1-C2 (Proficient User). What is the most popular CEFR level?

What are the 5 levels of language? ›

0-5 Language Proficiency Levels
  • 0 – No Proficiency. At this lowest level, there is basically no knowledge of the language. ...
  • 1 – Elementary Proficiency. ...
  • 2 – Limited Working Proficiency. ...
  • 3 – Professional Working Proficiency. ...
  • 4 – Full Professional Proficiency. ...
  • 5 – Native / Bilingual Proficiency.

What is the minimum Duolingo score for harvard? ›

Meeting the Requirement
TestMinimum Approved Score
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)*100 on the Internet-based TOEFL iBT, including the TOEFL iBT Home Edition
International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Academic*7.0
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTEA)70
Duolingo English Test (DET)125

Which university in usa accept Duolingo? ›

Other Duolingo Accepted Universities in USA
The University of ChicagoIllinois Institute of Technology
Southeastern UniversityBoston College
Kent State UniversityUniversity of Kansas
University of West FloridaCalifornia State University
Iowa State UniversitySan Jose State University
5 more rows

What if Duolingo is too easy? ›

If you have previous experience with a language and feel that lessons are too easy, you can scroll to the next locked unit and tap the circle that says “Jump here?”. If you pass the test, you'll unlock that unit! NOTE: This will complete all levels up to that point.

What happens when you reach 100 days on Duolingo? ›

Reaching certain milestones (such as 100 day streak) can earn the user 3 days free of Super Duolingo.

How long does it take the average person to finish a Duolingo course? ›

5 Minutes a Day: 4,650 days // 12.7 years. 10 Minutes a Day: 2,325 days // 6.4 years. 15 Minutes a Day: 1,550 days // 4.2 years. 20 Minutes a Day: 1,163 days // 3.2 Years.

What is the average age of people who use Duolingo? ›

duolingo.com's audience is 50.58% male and 49.42% female. The largest age group of visitors are 18 - 24 year olds (Desktop).

How far does Duolingo Japanese take you? ›

For such a complex language, Duolingo's Japanese course is fairly short. Although each skill has up to 6 levels, realistically you could complete the course to crown level 1 in a fairly short time. Compared to some of Duolingo's other popular courses, like French and Spanish, there's nowhere near as much content.

Who has the longest Duolingo streak in the world? ›

Congrats to John Arnold, who has the highest-ever Duolingo streak of over 2000 days! He's a horse farmer and chemist who's been studying for 5.5 years straight. His secret?

What is the longest course on Duolingo? ›

What is the longest Duolingo streak?
  • SarkaB – 3675 days.
  • johnarnold – 3671 days.
  • DeeRamm – 3670 days.
  • jelinek – 3670 days.
  • davidbohardt – 3652 days.
Feb 3, 2023

Is learning Japanese on Duolingo good? ›

Its unique learning method makes it a great tool to memorize new Japanese vocabulary. But if you are a visual learner who needs engaging graphics to learn and likes to study on the phone, Duolingo offers a way better user experience.

Does Duolingo test your level? ›

So if you manage 10-55 on the Duolingo English Test, your level would be considered Basic. If you manage 60-95, your level would be considered Intermediate. Score 100-125, and your level would be considered Upper Intermediate. And if you manage anything above 130, your level would be considered Advanced.

How many Japanese learners on Duolingo? ›

Duolingo currently offers Japanese courses for English speakers and Chinese speakers. There are over 15 million active learners in our Japanese courses.

Has anyone ever fully learned a language with Duolingo? ›

Has anyone learned a language completely through Duolingo? No, Frankly speaking you cannot command an entirely new language by using just an application. Duolingo is though one of the best app for learning a new language but then learning a language and having a complete command over it are two different things.

How many people are learning Japanese on Duolingo right now? ›

As of February 2023, Duolingo offers the following languages for English speakers: Spanish – 33.4m learners. French – 20m learners. Japanese – 13.8m learners.

What is the hardest language to learn on Duolingo? ›

It means they've gotten the word right every time it has been shown. Anyway, based on this linear regression, French is definitely the hardest language, insofar as it takes more instances of seeing a certain word before reaching the same number of correct productions as one of the other languages.

What percentage of people finish a language on Duolingo? ›

Unfortunately, there is a wealth of difference between installing an app, and learning a new language. An informal study estimates that course completion rates fall as low as 0.01% for Spanish learners (second most popular language on Duolingo), and peak at 0.24% for Ukrainian learners.

How long would it take to learn Japanese fluently? ›

Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for English natives to master. This is because it does not have a lot of likeness in structure to English. Approximately it will take 88 weeks, or 2200 hours of studying, to become fluent.

Is Duolingo better than Babbel? ›

The biggest difference between Babbel and Duolingo is the approach to language learning. Babbel is a better option if you want traditional language instructions through modules and lessons. By contrast, Duolingo works great if you need a playful, gamified experience.

Which is better Duolingo or Rosetta Stone? ›

Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone, which is better for travel? If you are going to be travelling and want to learn a language at a beginner to intermediate level, we believe Rosetta Stone is a better option than Duolingo. Their lessons are more comprehensive and you will learn more quickly.

What happens when you finish a language in Duolingo? ›

There is no such thing as a “finished” language course. So at Duolingo, we're always working to make our courses better! If you've gotten an update, it's because we're excited to share the latest changes to the existing course.

What happens when you finish all the leagues in Duolingo? ›

From there, the goal is to work your way up through the leagues all the way up to Diamond — Duolingo's highest league. Once you've done that and you've finished every single league, you will progress onto the Diamond Tournament (more on that below!).

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