I do know 2 differences (Duolingo teaches more languages unlike renshuu, and renshuu doesn't have a whole group of workers unlike Duolingo), but I wanna know more differences since I'm new to renshuu and wanna learn more about it. I would love to know more about renshuu!!
Renshuu is best for Grammar, Kanji, vocabulary whereas duolingo is best for sentence building ( it also teaches weird sentences that no one wants to study about; im still using it). I don't hate it. =) Renshuu > Duolingo.
In my opinion, renshuu is leaps and bounds better than Duolingo. Yes, Duo offers a wide range of different languages, but in doing so, it can't address all the nuances that come with each. And while Duolingo teaches you words and sentences, it doesn't explain the grammatical structure behind them, so you only get a limited understanding of the language at its core. Renshuu has so many tools that not only allow you to learn Japanese, but comprehend it as well. You'll also find plenty of options to help you customize your learning schedule and not feel pressured to progress at a specific pace. I'd recommend renshuu any day of the week
I would like to add Duolingo's Japanese course is pretty short and even with the Premium grammar it doesn't have as much content for Japanese, Michael is actively adding on to the grammar lessons which currently cover N5 N4 and part of N3, which is way more than Duolingo's course, and Renshuu has all vocabulary and kanji in the dictionary while Duolingo has a limited amount.
I had it for a while and barely used the Japanese course because I've heard too much bad stuff, but I briefly used it for French and hated how minimal the vocabulary:grammar ratio was. There were as few words as probably possible
Renshuu is better than Duolingo in basically every single way. That said, I am still doing both every day. However I'm probably going to finish the Japanese course on Duolingo within the next few months as I'm in the final section.
One of my main issues with Duolingo is how it doesn't follow JLPT levels even loosely. While by the final section where I'm at it's mostly N3 stuff there's the occasional N2 and N1 stuff thrown in as early as about halfway through the course!
Explanations are also almost completely lacking on Duolingo, except for early on if I remember correctly. There's also no explanation of Kanji radicals or other important things. There are times where a lesson actually never even tells you what a certain word means in English, though that is pretty rare. Because of the AI voice, it also can mispronounce words actually pretty frequently.
Duolingo also suffers from a glitchy interface, some pretty big inconsistencies at times between the app and PC versions, and worst of all: ads. Ads are an even worse problem on Duolingo now than they were even a few months ago.
Despite all of the issues, I do intend to go through and finish the Japanese course on Duolingo. It's the course that got me started and I've learned a lot through it, so it's still definitely worth something, especially for foundational things like learning Hiragana and Katakana.
But Renshuu is better in basically every single way. Not to mention the fact that Renshuu has got a wonderful community, whereas Duolingo mainly just works with interacting with people you know.
No AI on renshuu. All audio and sentences are by native speakers. In contrast, Duolingo fired their native speakers so that they could invest in AI.
No ads or monetization gimmicks on renshuu. There is a pro subscription you can sign up for if you want to support the site, and it gives you a few nice extras, but all the materials are available to everyone for free. With no ads.
No guilt tripping. There’s a community here to support you. We know how hard it is and what you’re going through, and we are here to encourage and support you and offer whatever advice we can.
Thanks for the answers! I still do wanna hear more about renshuu, so I might go on forums more soon.
Since lots of people are saying renshuu is better over Duolingo, I still think I will go on both, and most likely sticking to renshuu more often, but now I know the difference and I'm proud!!!
I would like to hear more answers, but otherwise I am happy with what I have so far !
I find renshuu to be superior. I use Duolingo to kind of do a light “review” of stuff, but I find diving right into vocab using renshuu has been much more beneficial. I can actually pick out Japanese words when doing listening practice, whereas Duolingo makes you talk about rice and water for the first 10 lessons lol. Also the games and user notes for renshuu are so helpful and I don’t think Duolingo has any of that.
