Pimsleur Japanese Review: Effective Audio Foundation with Some Underdeveloped Elements

I first tried Pimsleur Japanese a while back when a trip to Japan was on the horizon. I believed its emphasis on speaking would be beneficial—and it proved to be. The program has since incorporated new elements to attract students who prefer more than just audio.

Now that I'm at an intermediate stage and wanted to refresh my Japanese, I thought I'd try it again. I hoped its familiar structure would help reactivate my language knowledge.

In general, I find it remains effective—it's a dependable audio-based course for those starting out in Japanese, featuring clear organization and progress monitoring. More recent additions, such as Voice Coach, have expanded its scope. My main criticism is that a few of these elements seem to require further refinement. I'll explore all of this in my evaluation.

If you'd rather watch a video, my colleague's assessment of Pimsleur is available here:

How the Pimsleur System Works

Before examining the specifics of Pimsleur Japanese, let's first understand the general Pimsleur approach.

Pimsleur employs shadowing and spaced repetition methods to help you learn to speak your target language. Here's the practical application:

• You hear a short conversation segment in the language you're learning.
• That conversation is then deconstructed into manageable pieces covering vocabulary, grammar, context, and more.
• You'll need to listen attentively to native speaker audio of the words or phrases from the conversation, beginning with the initial one.
• You'll then be prompted to repeat the native speaker audio aloud, mimicking it as closely as possible.

Of course, Pimsleur doesn't just have you mimic phrases. It also revisits and mixes these phrases with others you're learning in each lesson, helping you remember their meanings and appropriate usage contexts.

The concept behind this method is that it replicates how you naturally acquired your first language. Consider how you learned words based on their immediate usefulness—for instance, you first said “mama” and “papa” to call your parents, then “milk” to show you were hungry, and so on. Pimsleur operates on a similar principle, though unlike when you were a child, you're now conscious of the learning process.

Pimsleur Japanese: Course Structure

The complete Pimsleur Japanese course is made up of five levels, each containing 30 lessons. Every lesson centers around a 30-minute audio file, with extra features meant to support your learning.

Starting from the second lesson, each subsequent session begins with a brief review of the prior one and slowly adds new material.

What level it’s aimed at

The course appears to target beginner to intermediate learners. Based on my experience, if you're studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), it could be helpful up to the N4 level.

What topics it covers

Pimsleur Japanese concentrates on conversational practice. Therefore, subjects like giving directions, food, travel, and daily activities are emphasized throughout.

How long it takes to finish the whole course

If you only use the 30-minute audio lessons, you would complete Pimsleur Japanese in 4,500 minutes (30 minutes x 30 lessons x 5 levels), or 75 hours. Even studying for just an hour daily, you could finish in under three months.

What I Liked About Pimsleur Japanese

Intuitive progression of core lessons

The initial phrase you learn is すみません、英語がわかりますか？ (すみません、えいごがわかりますか？) — “Excuse me, can you understand English?” This is a very practical expression for visitors to Japan, given that highly fluent English speakers there are quite rare.

Lesson 1 continues from that first phrase, allowing you to practice saying 日本語が少しわかります (にほんごがすこしわかります) — “I understand a little Japanese” and 日本語がわかりません (にほんごがわかりません) — “I don’t understand Japanese.”

Subsequent lessons cover greetings such as おはよう — the informal “Good morning,” questions about locations like 上野駅はどこですか？ (うえのえきはどこですか？) — “Where is Ueno station?” and other key phrases for managing daily life in Japan as a visitor.

Naturally, the complexity increases as you advance. But it's evident that careful consideration was given to the order of the phrases. With Pimsleur, the learning process feels quite organic—similar to what you might encounter if you were learning while traveling in Japan.

Flexible language preferences

If you're using the non-audio parts of Pimsleur Japanese, you can select from three language display options: romaji, romaji with Japanese, or Japanese only. Simply click the translation icon in the upper-right corner of your screen to switch between them.

If you haven't begun learning the three Japanese writing systems (hiragana, katakana, and kanji) yet, romaji is a reasonable starting point. It represents Japanese words using the Roman alphabet, which is handy for basic communication needs in the country.

However, if your goal is fluency and you already have some familiarity with the written language, I recommend using the Japanese settings as much as you can. As noted before, English isn't commonly used in Japan, even though urban centers are becoming more bilingual. In my view, the earlier you learn to read Japanese using its native script, the more advantageous it is.

Ability to track what you’ve learned

The drawback of the older, audio-only Pimsleur was that, unless you took detailed notes while listening, you couldn't easily review the new phrases you learned.

Fortunately, the current version of Pimsleur now lets you see your new vocabulary through “Flash Cards” and “Speak Easy.” The first is exactly what it sounds like—a simple set of flashcards for all your new words. The second is essentially a transcript of the main conversation you studied in the lesson.

Both “Flash Cards” and “Speak Easy” include audio, so you can review both the pronunciation and the written form. You can also select your preferred writing style—romaji, standard Japanese, or both.

Directly below each 30-minute audio lesson, your new vocabulary is listed under sections like “Meet + Greet,” “Survival Skills,” “General Phrases,” etc. You'll also find “x/y” indicators within each category, where x shows how much you've mastered and y shows the total to master, providing a clear overview of your progress in the course.

Option to test what you’ve learned

Another limitation of the older Pimsleur system was the inability to quickly assess your retention from each lesson. Previously, you had to start the next lesson and review within the first few minutes of audio, which could be inconvenient if you were short on time. The program now includes “Quick Match” and “Speed Round” to address this.

“Quick Match” is a brief multiple-choice quiz, which I found acceptable. My small complaint is that it's described as a “fast quiz,” but it didn't feel particularly quick. Perhaps “fast” refers to the short completion time?

“Speed Round,” however, definitely matches its name. In this game, English phrases descend from the top like Tetris blocks, and you must match them to their correct Japanese translations before they land. If you like challenging games that also teach you something, you'll probably enjoy this one (I certainly did). And if the romaji translations are too simple, you can always switch the settings to written Japanese to increase the difficulty.

What I Didn’t Like About Pimsleur Japanese

Some half-baked features

Pimsleur is, and always has been, intended for independent study. The disadvantage of most self-study audio programs is the lack of feedback on your pronunciation, accent, etc.

This kind of feedback is particularly crucial for native English speakers because Japanese pronunciation has some unique aspects that require practice—for instance, producing the “r” sound in a specific way. (Some compare it to the Spanish “r” sound, though I believe that's only partially accurate. As you can hear in this video, the Japanese “r” also subtly includes “l” and “d” sounds.)

Pimsleur tries to tackle this with “Voice Coach,” which includes “Pronunciation Practice” and “Challenge.” “Pronunciation Practice” is a self-guided audio session on the phrases from the current lesson, while “Challenge” is basically an audio quiz based on that practice.

In theory, this seems good: Listen to a phrase, record yourself saying it in the app, and get a score on your pronunciation accuracy. It should also be a useful supplement for learners who want a condensed version of the main lesson.

Although both “Voice Coach” sections use color codes to highlight mispronunciations, they don't explain the specific error or how to correct it. You could try to identify the issue by repeatedly comparing your recording to the native speaker audio, but you could do that through other methods anyway. Also, how can you be sure the problem isn't a subtle pronunciation difference or even a technical glitch?

Another feature I had concerns about is the “Mini” section, accessible by tapping “Enrich” on the main screen.

“Mini,” as the name suggests, contains shorter audio files. The first part involves the narrator sharing insights on the topic, while the rest is a highly condensed version of the main Pimsleur lessons. I felt the “Minis” attempted to include too much information in a short time, making them more suitable for intermediate learners seeking a review. The narrator does suggest replaying the audio, but shouldn't Pimsleur be handling the repetition aspect itself?

Also, while I see the reasoning behind separating certain topics (e.g., “Improve Your Japanese With Anime”) from the core lessons, I think these would have been better as longer bonus lessons. I, for example, am interested in learning about other anime expressions that learners might incorrectly use in everyday conversation, beyond Naruto’s famous だってばよ (dattebayo).

Lastly, even though there is a “Reading” section, it isn't accessible until Lesson 11. I realize reading isn't Pimsleur's main focus, but the timing of this feature's availability seems unusual. As I mentioned earlier, I think it's important for learners to be introduced to the native Japanese writing system early on, so this is likely the program's most significant shortcoming for me.

Nuance is lost in places

As a former beginner in Japanese, I understand why Pimsleur simplifies its content. Overwhelming beginners with too much information from the start is counterproductive, especially with a language as challenging as Japanese for English speakers.

However, I also believe it's important for Japanese learners to build a strong foundation, even if the initial learning process is somewhat uncomfortable. As someone between the beginner and intermediate stages, I noticed that Pimsleur occasionally takes shortcuts to make the lessons more digestible.

For instance, in Lesson 1, 英語が (えいごが) — English ga is simply described as “English as used in a sentence.” Instead of this somewhat ambiguous explanation, the program could have said “English as the subject of the sentence.” This would give learners a better understanding of the Japanese particle ga from the start.

I also observed that the program didn't emphasize that こんにちは (good afternoon) should be pronounced as kon-ni-chi-wa (with the first syllable ending in an 'n' sound) rather than ko-ni-chi-wa. The distinction is slight, but it's important for a common Japanese expression, especially in a program meant to improve your pronunciation.

These are just a couple of examples I came across. To be fair, I'm not claiming the information on Pimsleur is incorrect. I'm suggesting that when important subtleties exist, they should be emphasized rather than overlooked for the sake of simplicity.

Who Would Benefit from Pimsleur Japanese?

Given the program's current design, I believe the following individuals would gain the most from Pimsleur Japanese:

• People planning to visit Japan for a short stay. This seems to be the program's primary audience. The foundational lessons focus on travel and essential phrases rather than, for example, the writing systems. Additionally, each audio lesson includes a random cultural note about Japan that you can view by swiping the main lesson screen.
• Absolute beginners to the language. Despite my earlier comments about missing nuances, I still consider this a reliable introductory program for anyone starting to learn spoken Japanese.
• Intermediate students needing a review. I think intermediate Japanese learners would agree that revisiting basics periodically is useful. For example, I knew that 方 (かた) refers to a method, but I didn't realize it was also a polite term for a person!

Alternatives to Pimsleur Japanese

But what if you don't fall into the categories mentioned above? You might want to consider these alternatives instead:

JapanesePod101

JapanesePod101 is another strong program centered on audio and podcasts, but its content is more extensive.

For one, it covers up to advanced Japanese levels. From the beginner stages, it encourages moving away from English, which is great if you want more challenging and immersive material.

Also, JapanesePod101 definitely provides more reading practice. Check out our full review of JapanesePod101.

Lingflix

Lingflix uses authentic videos in your target language that native speakers actually watch. This means that, unlike primarily audio-based programs like Pimsleur, you experience the language as it's used in real situations.

You can also observe how native Japanese speakers use body language to express or emphasize their words, which is an added benefit!

Final Verdict

Comparing this version of Pimsleur to the one I used previously, I'd say it's generally an upgrade.

For instance, I value the supplementary tools like flashcards and quizzes that help reinforce my learning.

On the other hand, I think features such as “Voice Coach” and “Minis” need some adjustments, particularly since they are essentially additional audio lessons—Pimsleur's core offering.

For travelers to Japan, as well as beginner to lower-intermediate learners, this is a useful addition to other Japanese learning resources you might be using.