A Complete Guide to Learn Japanese with Songs (+ List of Best Songs)
How to Learn Japanese With Songs
Sometimes we just aren’t in the mood for studying our target language, we’ve all been there!
Motivation can be hard to come by, especially when learning by oneself, or if classes at school or university are not as engaging as we’d like.
But do not give up on learning your favourite language!
Learning a language can be done in a lot of different ways. Exercise books and audio lessons are not the only way, especially in this day and age.
You can, for example, watch TV shows in your target language or read children books. In fact you can even listen to music.
In this article we will introduce you to a new way of learning Japanese: by listening to Japanese songs!
You will definitely learn a language faster if you have fun studying it.
By understanding parts of a Japanese song, the reward will be more far sweeter than successfully completed an exercise in a textbook, take it from us!
Let’s go!
Learn Japanese with Songs | Why Study Japanese with Songs?
Learn Japanese with Songs | How to Choose the Right Song?
Learn Japanese with Songs | Tips & Advice
Learn Japanese with Songs | List of Japanese Songs
Learn Japanese with Songs | FAQ’s
Why Learn Japanese With Songs?
You might wonder why study Japanese with songs?
The answer is quite simple, music can help improve your listening skills, but not just that.
If you’re not in Japan or you do not have a friend to talk to in Japanese, hearing spoken Japanese is quite rare.
This why a lot of Japanese learners are more comfortable with written Japanese, compared to spoken Japanese.
Music, along with Japanese movies and series, are the best way to work on your listening skills.
By listening to music, you will get a better grasp of the pronunciation of words and even learn full sentences in Japanese.
If you spend time analysing the lyrics, you’ll also get to study more sentence structures and grammar points.
It can even help you with your speaking too. As you sing along Japanese songs, you are training your muscles to clearly pronounce the lyrics.
If you sing a song several times, you will train your brain and your memory. By doing so, the new words and sentences will be easier to remember.
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How to Choose a Japanese Song?
How to choose a song that fits your level? The answer will depend on your goals.
First of all, pick a song that you really like because you will listen repeatedly.
We have a few tips for you, right here:
Beginner
If you are a beginner you have to select a song with a slow beat, and also with simple words.
Typically kids’ songs are actually the best way to go here.
As a beginner it may be difficult at first to hear and distinguish every word from the other.
This is why kids’ songs are the best option, because they are more straightforward to understand, usually sung at a slow pace, you can learn a lot of basic and common words.
This way, you can start by building a good foundation to subsequently become fluent in Japanese as you make progress in your studies.
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Intermediate
If you are an intermediate learner in Japanese you can listen to pop music with a faster rhythm, or love songs if you’d prefer a slow pace.
These kind of songs will allow you to use more complex sentence structures, as well as colloquial terms used in everyday speech.
In real life, Japanese people don’t speak like the characters in textbooks!
Advanced
If you are an advanced learner of Japanese, you can pick a song with more abstract or deeper lyrics.
If you like rock music or rap music, this is a great opportunity to listen to it and learn Japanese.
These songs with a very fast rhythm and very abstract lyrics will help you learn more about the Japanese culture, different tenses and variations of words, Japanese expressions and the Japanese way of thinking.
After Choosing the Song
After choosing the song, you have to find the lyrics, the romaji and the translation online.
You should typically be able to find these lyrics on YouTube of Spotify.
Copy them down and listen to the song. At the same time write every new word(s) you know but you don’t remember, on a paper.
This will be your vocabulary list for this song.
You can organise your paper like this – one line of lyrics, one line of romaji, one line of translation, etc.
You can also add some further notes, for example how the singer pronounces a word that you struggle with or don’t fully understand.
Afterwards, listen to the song a second time, and repeat over and over!
Start singing along with the singer.
If the tempo is too fast for you, it is possible on YouTube to slow down the music video (check the settings button on the video and edit the PLAYBACK SPEED).
When you are more comfortable with the song, put aside or hide the romaji, and try to sing without the romaji.
Gradually increase the speed to reach the normal speed of the song (if you previously slowed it down).
NOTE | Make sure to understand what you are singing!
BONUS | Our friend Sarah, a fluent Japanese speaker, wrote a super guide on how she studies Japanese through music and how she prepares her notes.
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Tips & Advice
When you are studying Japanese songs, just like with movies and TV shows, you need to be aware of a few things:
Songs from Japanese Anime
If you choose a song from a Japanese anime, you need to be aware that the Japanese spoken in anime and spoken Japanese in real daily life are quite different.
Anime Japanese is not something you want to be using in day to day life. Natives simply do not use it.
The same goes if you are watching historical J-drama’s, know that what you hear might not be used in conversation today.
Appropriate Speech
Some Japanese songs lyrics might not use appropriate speech, so you can’t use the sentence you’ve learned to talk to others.
Insults in Japanese and swear words are a prime example.
Choose your song wisely and try to avoid one with too many bad words in!
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Pronouns
Another point that you need to be careful with is pronouns. You may have noticed that songs use more pronouns than usual speech.
But as you might know, in Japanese the subject doesn’t have to be expressed in a sentence, if the context is clear.
This is one of the most important differences between Japanese and English.
Pronunciation
Also be careful with the pronunciation.
For example, the particle を is sometimes pronounced as “wo”, and some romaji systems transcribe it like this as well.
Be sure to double check with a native speaker if you are unsure. Always best to check.
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List of Songs to Learn Japanese
Here are some example of songs you can use to learn Japanese.
AIUEO Song
The first song on this list is the AIUEO Song.
If you are a beginner in Japanese, this one is made for you!
In this song, you will find the basics of hiragana and katakana. This song based on the same goal as the ABC song in English.
As you can see in the video, each syllable of hiragana is shown across the screen, and with the drumbeat you will want to sing this song while learning hiragana.
Learn Japanese Vocabulary by Wordpie’s
The song Learn Japanese Vocabulary by Wordpie’s is a great song for beginner learners.
The music is really catchy, so we can easily retain the music in mind.
In this song you will learn new vocabulary, as it uses flashcards. Each new word is illustrated by an image that defines the word.
Also, you can learn how to write this new word.
On top of this, using Wordpie’s YouTube channel, you can find a hundred useful words ranked in different categories such as furniture or weather etc.
If’s a fun way to learn new vocabulary.
Song for Learning Japanese by Mihara Keigo
This song is called Song for Learning Japanese by Mihara Keigo.
In this song, you can learn useful and basic sentences in Japanese.
The singer is really enthusiastic and dances like a fitness teacher at the gym.
The lyrics and the translation are written on the screen so you can sing along the video.
Karate by Babymetal
The next song is called Karate by Babymetal.
First though, let’s introduce you to Babymetal. If you don’t know about this group yet, it’s a good opportunity to discover them.
Babymetal is a Japanese metal female idol group. They have won the hearts of Japan, but also the hearts of people around the world.
The group consists of three members, Suzuka Nakamoto (who is the lead singer), Yui Mizuno, and Moa Kuchiki.
The lyrics of this song are easy to follow.
The song is suitable for both beginners and advanced. In fact, this song will be a good listening and practice tool.
Marigold by Aimyon
Ready for a popular one? This is Marigold by Aimyon.
This song is very popular in Japan generating over 245 million views on YouTube.
In 2020, it was one of the most popular songs for karaoke and the lyrics are quite interesting too when you learn Japanese.
The song has a summery and romantic vibe. You can impress your Japanese friends in a karaoke with this song!
Umbrella by THREE1989
Our final Japanese song is called Umbrella – not the one you might be thinking by Rihanna though. This is by a band called THREE1989.
THREE1989 shot to fame when lead singer, Shohei, appeared on the Netflix hit Terrace House.
THREE1989 typically mix Japanese and English in their songs and the beat is quite a nice one to study with.
Probably best suited for intermediate/advanced learners, Umbrella is one of their biggest hits to date and one we really liked to learn Japanese with.
Did you like these Japanese songs? Do not hesitate to tell us in the comments which is your favourite song to learn Japanese!
How about discovering some of our favourite Chinese songs whilst you’re here as well?
FAQ’s
What are the benefits of learning Japanese songs?
The answer is quite simple, music can improve your listening skills, but not just that:
– You can improve your speaking abilities. As you sing along, you are training your muscles to clearly pronounce the lyrics.
– It can teach you new words, sentences and grammar points.
– Help you understand how to pronounce new words.
– If you sing a song several times, you will train your brain and your memory. By doing so, the new words and sentences will be easier to remember.
What are the steps to follow to learn Japanese with songs?
– Choose a song that fits your level of Japanese.
– Find and copy the lyrics, the romaji and the translation on internet.
– Listen to the music, at the same time write the new words on paper.
– Listen to the music a second time or more if necessary.
– Start singing the song, if the tempo is too fast for you, slow it down.
– When you are more comfortable with the song, put aside or hide the romaji, and try to sing without the romaji.
These steps should help you gain a deeper understanding into Japanese.
Can I pick an anime song to learn Japanese?
Yes, you can choose an anime song to learn Japanese, but you need to be careful…
Be aware that the Japanese used in anime compared to daily life are quite different.
Some expressions in anime are no longer used in daily conversations.
The same goes for historical J-dramas, for example.
What is the best song to learn hiragana and katakana?
The best song to learn hiragana and katakana, is the AIUEO Song.
If you are a beginner in Japanese, this one is for you!
This song is similar to the ABC song in English.
Each syllable of hiragana and katakana is used in this song, and with the drumbeat, you will want to sing this song while learning hiragana and katakana.
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