How to learn Japanese by watching Solo Leveling

If you’ve been hooked by the intense action and stunning visuals of Solo Leveling, you’re not alone. Or maybe you’ve been waiting until you know a bit more Japanese to jump into the fantastical world of dungeon raiding and monster fighting? Either way, this hit anime can be a powerful tool for learning Japanese.

Most importantly, combining your language goals with gripping anime series like Solo Leveling makes studying feel a lot less like homework. It can reduce the mental pressure of “learning” by making it fun, and honestly… that’s key to keeping yourself motivated.

We’ll explore how anime can help you learn Japanese, introduce key vocab straight from the show, and show you how tools like Netflix and Migaku can help you on your Japanese journey.

Ready? Step into the world of Solo Leveling:

What is Solo Leveling?

Solo Leveling is a South Korean web novel, manhwa (Korean comic), and now also an anime. It falls into the genres of action, fantasy, and adventure, often described as part of the "system-based leveling" or "dungeon hunter" sub-genre.

It was first published between 2016–2018 by Chugong as a web novel. Following its popularity, it was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (Dubu) of Redice Studio as a manhwa (Korean comic)—also known as a “webtoon”—between 2018-2021.

Now, Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow is the anime that’s taking the world by storm. Developed by A-1 Pictures and first premiering on Crunchyroll in January, it’s broken multiple anime records:

Where can I watch Solo Leveling?

You can watch Solo Leveling on:

While you may be reading this from outside Japan, and therefore have access to multiple languages, you’re going to choose the original Japanese voice acting—perfect for training your listening skills—and either the subtitles of your native language or Japanese.

Or, if you watch with Migaku, you can use subtitles in both languages simultaneously!

Can you really learn Japanese from anime?

You might be wondering… “This is great, and Solo Leveling sounds interesting, but can I really learn Japanese from anime?”

The short answer is yes! As you might already know from our article on mastering Japanese vocabulary, the best way to work towards fluency in any language is to increase the range of words you know and understand by consuming content you enjoy.

But which words should you learn?

As it turns out, different words are used more or less often in different scenarios. "Spatula" is a useful word to know if you enjoy cooking and reading recipes in other languages, but it's not super useful outside of that context. The same concept can be applied to most vocabulary words, beyond the most common few thousand.

As you watch your favorite series, encounter that show's vocabulary words more often, and perhaps make flashcards out of those words—you'll learn them. (Naturally, you'll also learn lots of everyday Japanese words, too.)

In fact, that’s another important aspect of language learning: The more you see a word, the more likely you are to remember it. *Spaced repetition systems (SRS)**, such as Migaku Memory or Anki, automate this process—essentially ensuring that you'll eventually remember anything you make a flashcard out of.

Find out more: How Spaced Repetition (SRS) Can Help You Learn a New Language

Put both of these things together and you’ll soon realize that you’re beginning to understand the characters in your favorite anime. Though it may begin with simple greetings and “ogenki?” (お元気?), it won’t be long before you’re starting to piece together longer sentences, seeing words you recognize, and picking out different characters’ unique ways of speaking.

So long as you're using Japanese to do something you enjoy, and understanding some of what you see or hear, you'll make progress.

Japanese vocab you can learn from Solo Leveling

While we’re going to list out all the useful and interesting phrases you could learn even just from the first episode of Solo Leveling (no spoilers, of course!), we’re going to highlight a few common words and expressions you can expect in action or fantasy-based anime like this.

Noun: Weapon | 兵器 | へいき | Heiki

兵器

, or weapon, is made up of two kanji:

Literally, a weapon is an “instrument of warfare.”

Understanding 兵器 opens the door for new vocab found in news, anime, films and more:

Although you hopefully won’t need either of these words in daily life, can’t you already see how just picking up 兵器 as “weapon” begins to give you a better understanding of what a word might mean?

Noun: Magic | 魔法 | まほう | Mahou

魔法

, or magic, is another common word that comes up in anime:

Literally, magic is a “witch’s method.” So, magic, or a spell.

Again, this opens a portal to a new world of words:

Verb: To appear | 出現する | しゅつげん する | Shutsugen suru

出現

is a noun that means appearance or arrival by itself.

する

means “to do,” and is likely one of the very first verbs you’ll learn when you start Japanese.

Put the two together and you make a verb that means “to appear.” However, though it uses the active する (to do) and not the passive される (to be done)

, it stills takes on a passive tone of "having appeared" (by itself).

In Solo Leveling, the context of this verb is that the gates linking the real world to another dimension “have appeared.” No one made them appear, but they appeared all the same.

Verb: To pass through | 潜る | くぐる | Kuguru

In a world with portals and gates, you’re going to need to know the verb for passing through such a thing, aren’t you? Well, here you go!

潜る

means “to pass through (something).” In this case, passing through a portal and into the confines of a 洞窟 どうくつ (dungeon) .

It can also be used for diving into (or under) water, or to evade or slip past (something). And just like that, you know a verb that might be used in three different ways!

Sound: Roar, bellow | 咆哮 | ほうこう | Houkou

If you’re watching an anime with monsters, goblins, and fantastical creatures, you’re going to see this one a lot. Normally seen between brackets to clarify that it’s a sound being heard, rather than dialogue, 咆哮

can refer to multiple sounds, including a roar, bellow, howl, or yell.

Though the sound itself varies, you can be sure that anything making this sound is rarely human; it’s some kind of beast, and it’s mad.

The two kanji making up 咆哮 are:

Technically, both characters can be used in standalone words to represent similar sounds:

But if you see them together, think “big mad.”

Sound: Rumble (in the ground) | 地鳴り | じなり | Jinari

地鳴り

is made up of two kanji:

Together, think of a low rumbling sound, as if an earthquake is taking place, a large cavern is about to collapse, or a large swarm of ants are heading your way for a fight.

鳴り is also often used for animal or crying sounds, such as in:

You’ll see this one a lot, often used with loud or whiny sounds. Get ready!

More Japanese vocab from Solo Leveling

Those words appear all the time in fantasy anime... but they're also not words you'd encounter in a textbook. There's a place for formal learning, but if you want to get good at watching anime, you really need to spend time actually watching anime.

Here are just a few Japanese words you could pick up from the very first episode of Solo Leveling—many of which will continue to appear throughout the series, meaning you’ll pick them up through repetition in no time!

First, here's a table of nouns you'll see if you watch Solo Leveling in Jpaanese:

And here's a bunch of Japanese verbs you'll encounter in the show:

Learning Japanese with anime & Migaku

Ready to start leveling up your own Japanese? All you need is two things:

Here’s how easy it is to start learning Japanese with anime.

Choose whichever anime you’ve had your eye on (but been too nervous to start because of the language barrier). In this case, let’s say it’s Solo Leveling.

If you watch it on Netflix via Migaku, the subtitles will become interactive. When you come across a word you don’t know, you can tap directly on the word and your class in Japanese from anime begins!

You can see a definition of the word you've clicked on, an AI breakdown of how it fits into this particular sentence, a translation of the dialogue to a language of your choosing... and more.

Now let’s say that you've come across 任せる a few times and have decided you want to learn it. Tap that orange button you see in the top-right corner of the pop-up dictionary to automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:

The card contains:

By testing yourself on these Cards over time, you’re sure to build up your vocabulary even faster, making future episodes of Solo Leveling (and any anime!) easier to understand and enjoy.

Watch: Use modern flashcards to boost your vocabulary [YouTube]

More fantasy anime you might like

Once you’ve picked up enough action, fantasy, and dungeon-related vocabulary from Solo Leveling, why not give a few other fantasy anime a try? You might find that you’ve already picked up enough relevant Japanese that you can actually keep up with slashing and spell-casting a little easier.

To jump into a few more isekai (new worlds) with anime, try watching:

Or, to try another angle, try learning Japanese through manga!

Conclusion: Learning Japanese with anime

Though jumping into a new language by diving right into a show might seem scary at first, it’s much like a dungeon… With each new word you learn—and each new creature you slay—you’ll level up.

What once was an unknown word becomes a new skill in your inventory, leading you deeper into the dungeons of a language and culture you once yearned to understand.

With Migaku by your side, keep your motivation sharp and before you know it, you’ll be the final boss.

Try Migaku for free