JapaneseMod - Learn Japanese while you play Minecraft
A Minecraft companion that actually speaks Japanese back — grammar, listening, and a friend who never runs out of patience.
JapaneseMod is a free Minecraft mod (Java Edition, Fabric) that teaches you Japanese while you play. You talk to an in-game companion out loud; it answers in natural Japanese, names the blocks and mobs around you, and explains grammar the moment you ask.
Not a translator. A tutor.
Everything below is a real, shipped feature — not a roadmap.
Talk to it, out loud
Push-to-talk voice chat in-game, with a companion that answers in natural Japanese and English support.
Learns from what you do
Say the name of the block you're holding, the mob nearby, the thing you just crafted — it's grounded in your actual game state.
Grammar that sticks
Built-in grammar and reading tools surface the pattern behind a sentence the moment you ask about it, mid-game.
Install in 3 steps
Needs Minecraft Java Edition with Fabric — no separate Japanese setup required.
Install Fabric
Grab the Fabric installer from fabricmc.net and run it against your Minecraft install once.
Download JapaneseMod
Get the latest release from the GitHub releases page and drop the .jar into your mods folder.
Launch and talk
Start Minecraft with the Fabric profile, join a world, hold your push-to-talk key, and start speaking to the companion.
Two creators, one obsession
A Japanese-immersion YouTuber and an animation YouTuber who both got tired of flashcard apps.
"No study, just watch." Masa teaches Japanese through comprehensible input — mistakes welcome, perfectionism not required.
Ubonga builds the mod itself — the companion's brain, the voice pipeline, and everything that makes it feel alive in-game.
Support the mod
JapaneseMod is free. If it's helping you learn, buying us a coffee keeps development going.
Buy Masa a coffee
JapaneseMod is free, always. If it's helping you learn, a coffee goes straight back into recording lessons, running the Discord, and building the mod.
Support on Ko-fiOne-off or monthly — whatever works for you.
Questions people actually ask
Can you learn Japanese with Minecraft?
Yes. JapaneseMod adds an AI companion to Minecraft that speaks Japanese back to you, names the blocks and mobs around you, and explains grammar the moment you ask — turning ordinary play into Japanese immersion.
Is JapaneseMod free?
Yes, JapaneseMod is completely free. Support from players on Ko-fi goes toward development, but the mod itself never requires payment.
What Minecraft version do I need?
JapaneseMod runs on Minecraft Java Edition with the Fabric mod loader. Check the install steps above for the exact supported version.
Do I need a microphone?
A microphone is required to talk to the in-game companion out loud with push-to-talk, which is the core of how JapaneseMod teaches Japanese.
Does it work with other mods?
JapaneseMod is a Fabric mod and is built to run alongside other Fabric mods in a normal modded Minecraft setup.
Who made JapaneseMod?
JapaneseMod is made by Masa, a Japanese-immersion YouTuber behind Comprehensible Input Japanese, and Ubonga, an animation YouTuber and developer who builds the mod itself.
How is this different from Duolingo or a textbook?
JapaneseMod teaches Japanese through comprehensible input inside a game you're already playing, not flashcards or drills — you hear and speak real Japanese tied to what's actually happening around you in Minecraft.