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Sources for Japanese Vocabulary Games

Japanese is spoken by more than 130 million people and written using three scripts: hiragana, katakana and kanji. It's Latin alphabet variant, romaji, also is used around the world. With so many symbols, learning Japanese can be a difficult but rewarding experience. These game suggestions might assist you with learning Japanese vocabulary.

Word Searches
- Japanese word search games can help individuals become familiar with romaji. Romaji is composed of Japanese words written using the Latin alphabet and targets people unable to read the language's traditional logograms. These word searches can be found, printed and played online.
Software &Video Games
- "Triple Play Plus: Japanese" is a computer program designed for students ages 8 and older. It uses games and vocabulary drills to teach more than 1,000 Japanese words via three lesson modes and difficulty levels. "My Japanese Coach" for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system teaches players how to write and speak more than 12,000 words through 12 mini games.
Flashcard Games
- Making flashcards can help match a word to its translation. Traditionally, flashcards are written on index cards (Japanese word or phrase on one side, translation on the other). Japanese-Kanji.org also offers online flashcard games with four difficulty levels. The kana and kanji flashcards provide an English word and ask players to select the correct kana or kanji from a list. For an alternative, the "Find the Reading" game asks players to type the answer in romaji.
Online Games
- Online Japanese vocabulary games span from builders to recognition. DigitalDialects.com offers 15 games to improve vocabulary and understanding and include topics such as numbers, colors, animals, calender components and greetings. The games can be played using romaji, script or with audio.

Games