Practicing speaking Japanese with other humans is one of the highest impact activities you can do as a language learner.

While you can easily connect with native Japanese speakers using a site like italki, what can you do to practice speaking Japanese between your tutoring sessions?

If you have an Apple iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, TV, or HomePod, you can practice communicating in Japanese with your devices! It just takes a few clicks or taps to change your Siri language to Japanese (step-by-step instructions below).

Talking with Siri may not be as rewarding as chatting with humans, but it can still be an effective (and free!) form of practice when there are no Japanese-speaking homo sapiens around.

Here's how!

How to set up Japanese in the Siri settings

Here is how to change your Siri language to Japanese on your Apple devices. Note that I've included the Japanese menu titles in case you have already changed your device to Japanese.

How to set up Japanese Siri on iOS & Apple Watch

Here are directions for changing Siri to Japanese on your iPhone running iOS 17 (which will automatically update settings on your Apple Watch, too):

1. Open Settings (設定) and tap Siri & Search (Siriと検索).

2. In the Ask Siri (SIRIに頼む) section, tap on Language (言語).

3. Select Japanese (日本語) from the list.

4. Tap the back arrow to return to Siri & Search (Siriと検索).

5. Tap Siri Voice (Siriの声) and choose a preferred voice (声1 or 声２).

How to set up Japanese Siri on macOS

Here are directions for changing Siri to Japanese on your Mac running macOS Sonoma:

1. Click the Apple icon in the upper left of the screen and select System Settings (システム設定).

2. Click on Siri & Spotlight (SiriとSpotlight).

3. Select Japanese (日本語) from the Language (言語) dropdown menu.

4. Click the Choose (選択) button in the in the Siri Voice (Siriの声) row.

5. Choose either Voice 1 (声1) or Voice 2 (声２) from the dropdown menu.

How to use Siri in Japanese

To use Siri in Japanese, just "Hey Siri" or "Siri" followed by a question or command. Here are some suggested Japanese questions and commands to try out:

Calendar & Reminders

Kyo-u no ka-ren-da-a no yo-te-i wo o-shi-e-te.

今日のカレンダーの予定を教えて。

Please tell me what's on the calendar today.

I-e ni tsu-i-ta-ra sho-ku-bu-tsu no mi-zu-ya-ri wo ri-ma-i-n-do shi-te.

家に着いたら植物の水やりをリマインドして。

Remind me to water the plants when I get home.

Cooking

Pi-za no ta-i-ma-a wo ju-u-ni-fun ni set-to shi-te.

ピザのタイマーを12分にセットして。

Set a pizza timer for 12 minutes.

Yon-bun-no-ichi kap-pu wa o-o-sa-ji nan-ba-i?

4分の1カップは大さじ何杯？

How many tablespoons are in ¼ cup?

Fitness & Sports

San-jup-pun no o-ku-ga-i ran-nin-gu wo su-ta-a-to shi-te.

30分の屋外ランニングをスタートして。

Start a 30-minute outdoor run.

Ki-no-o no shi-a-i de Ma-ri-na-a-zu wa nan-ten tot-ta?

プロ野球のホームラン王は誰？

How many points did the Mariners score in yesterday's game?

Maps & Navigation

I-e ma-de na-bi shi-te.

家までナビして。

Navigate home.

Ku-ru-ma wo to-me-ta ba-sho wo o-shi-e-te.

車を駐めた場所を教えて。

Tell me where I parked.

Messages & Phone

"I-ma mu-kat-te-i-ru" to Ro-u-zu-ma-ri-i ni mes-se-e-ji wo o-kut-te.

「今向かっている」とローズマリーにメッセージを送って。

Send a message to Rosemary that "I am on my way."

De-bid-do ni den-wa shi-te.

デビッドに電話して。

Call David.

Music & Podcasts

Ap-pu ten-po na kyo-ku wo ka-ke-te.

アップテンポな曲をかけて。

Play an up-tempo song.

Ko-no pod-do-kya-su-to wo ni-ba-i so-ku de sa-i-se-i shi-te.

このポッドキャストを2倍速で再生して。

Play this podcast at 2x speed.