Anki Word Bank
Best Japanese Anki Decks (Free and Paid, Compared)
Updated October 14, 2026. Prices checked on each seller's page on that date. We sell Japanese decks at Anki Word Bank; every claim is linked so you can check it.
Short answer
- General beginner: Kaishi 1.5k, free. About 1,500 common words with audio and example sentences. Learn kana first.
- Studying for a JLPT level: Anki Word Bank JLPT N5–N1, $5 per level, the cheapest paid JLPT decks we found. Audio and an example sentence on every card, 30-day money-back guarantee. Other paid Japanese decks we checked cost $9.99 to $199.99.
- Human-recorded audio: Refold Japanese 1K, $29.99.
- All JLPT levels in one purchase: DeckLearn Complete Japanese, $19.99, 10,000 sentence cards from N5 to N1.
Compared
| Deck | Price | Scope | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaishi 1.5k | Free | ~1,500 words, general | Yes |
| Anki Word Bank JLPT N5–N1 | $5 per level | 490–1,000 words per level | Neural TTS, native accent |
| Playnese JLPT N5 | $9.99+ (pay what you want) | 1,000+ cards | Type not stated |
| DeckLearn Complete Japanese | $19.99 (sale, listed from $79) | 10,000 sentences, N5–N1 | Type not stated |
| Refold Japanese 1K | $29.99 | 1,000 cards, beginner | Native-speaker recordings (stated) |
| Language Atlas Japanese (per deck) | €29.99 (sale) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Anki Core Japanese | $199.99 | 8,000–11,000 cards | "Native-speaker audio" (type not stated) |
Anki Word Bank JLPT decks
One deck per level, same format throughout. One-time purchase, standard .apkg file for Anki desktop, AnkiMobile and AnkiDroid.
- JLPT N5: 490 words. $5.
- JLPT N4: 500 words. $5.
- JLPT N3: 530 words. $5.
- JLPT N2: 800 words. $5.
- JLPT N1: 1,000 words. $5.
Each card is an AI-generated Japanese example sentence built around the target word, with its translation and audio. The audio is neural text-to-speech with a native Japanese accent, not human recordings; each deck page has samples. Card fronts are available in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
There is no official JLPT vocabulary list, so every JLPT deck, ours included, uses its own word selection.
Free 100-word samplers for each level: N5 · N4 · N3 · N2 · N1
Which to pick
- Beginner, general fluency: learn kana, then Kaishi 1.5k (free).
- One JLPT level at a time, on a budget: Anki Word Bank, $5 per level.
- You want human voices: Refold Japanese 1K ($29.99).
- Your first language isn't English: Anki Word Bank decks come with Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese card fronts.
Sources
Checked October 14, 2026: Kaishi 1.5k on AnkiWeb · Refold Japanese 1K · DeckLearn Japanese · Playnese JLPT N5 · Language Atlas Japanese · Anki Core Decks store · JLPT official site (no official word list)