Almost everything here is free
No card, no trial timer on it, and no limits I'm being quiet about.
- Reading with the popup dictionary
- The browser extension, including YouTube
- Explore, difficulty levels and coverage
- Decks and SRS review
- The 87-lesson introductory course
- Grammar points with examples
- Kanji lists, word lists, word tracking
- Lookup history with the context you found it in
- XP, levels, streak and activity heatmap
- Export to Anki, CSV and JSON
Premium adds four AI features on top — and it is how I keep the servers running and the project moving.
Plans
What Premium adds
All four sit on top of the normal dictionary popup, while you read.
Free vs Premium
| Capability | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Reading with the popup dictionary | ||
| Browser extension, web and YouTube | ||
| Explore, difficulty and coverage | ||
| Word stages and vocabulary tracking | ||
| Decks and SRS review | ||
| Introductory course, grammar, kanji | ||
| Progress, levels, streak, heatmap | ||
| Export to Anki, CSV, JSON | ||
| In-context definition | ||
| Sentence breakdown | ||
| Sentence translation | ||
| AI help when building decks |
What you're actually paying for
Two things, and I would rather be clear about both.
The first is the AI features. Those cost me money every time they run, and a subscription covers that directly.
The second is everything else. Lingaku is one person. I started it at university — first as my bachelor's thesis, then as my master's thesis — and I have been building it for about ten years since. There is no company behind it and no funding. Subscriptions pay for the servers and buy me the time to keep working on it.
If the free version is useful to you and you want it to still be here in a few years, that is the honest reason to subscribe.
- You want to read Japanese, not only drill flashcards.
- You're tired of stitching three or four apps together.
- You're in this for years, not for a weekend.
- You need to cram for a JLPT exam next month.
- You want to memorise 2,000 kanji in isolation.
- You want one fixed 15-minute lesson a day and nothing else.
Trial and billing
- Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial. No credit card required.
- 14-day money-back guarantee after your first payment.
- Cancel anytime — your access stays active until the end of the billing period.
- Lifetime is a one-time payment and never renews.
- Downgrading between plans isn't supported.
Try Premium free for 7 days
Or just use the free version — that's most of Lingaku, and it isn't going anywhere.
Lingaku