Learn Japanese with Polar Bear Café

Anime by Japanese level › N5

How hard is the Japanese in Polar Bear Café?

Ikkimi rates Polar Bear Café at N5 (the easiest level). What sets its level: slow, polite everyday talk. Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, none is easier and 191 are harder.

Levels follow the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). They are Ikkimi’s estimate of how hard a show’s Japanese is to follow, from how fast people talk, how many unusual words there are and how clear the voices are. They are not official JLPT ratings.

Format, episodes, year and genres are from AniList’s entry, which may cover only the first season.

The words in the title

The Japanese title, しろくまカフェ, is a first lesson in itself. Its 2 words, as a dictionary lists them:

How to learn Japanese with Polar Bear Café

Ikkimi lists Polar Bear Café on Crunchyroll. What each service carries varies by country. Ikkimi does not stream anything: you watch on your own account, in Chrome on a computer, and Ikkimi adds a Japanese line you can click on top of the player.

On Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll rarely has Japanese subtitles. On a Crunchyroll episode, Ikkimi looks for a matching Japanese subtitle file in Jimaku’s public catalogue, loads it and lines it up with the episode by itself. If Jimaku has no file for an episode, you can search by hand in the Ikkimi popup or load a subtitle file from your computer.

1. Add Ikkimi to Chrome

   Get the extension from the Chrome Web Store and sign in.

2. Play an episode

   Open Polar Bear Café on Crunchyroll. The Japanese line appears on top of the video.

3. Click the words you keep hearing

   The video pauses and the word opens: kana, romaji, meaning, JLPT level and a recording by a native speaker where one exists (never a computer voice; otherwise the line from the show plays again). Keep three to five words an episode, the ones that come up again.

4. Review them later

   Kept words come back as flashcards on the Ikkimi website, with the scene and the line they came from, just before you would forget them.

With 50 episodes on AniList’s entry, the same words get many chances to come back.

Easier and harder shows

Polar Bear Café is the easiest show Ikkimi rates, so start here. Shows within a level of Polar Bear Café, with the most genres in common first.

Harder

• N5 to N4Teasing Master Takagi-sanからかい上手の高木さんtwo speakers, short linesNetflixCrunchyroll
• N5 to N4Rilakkuma and Kaoruリラックマとカオルさんshort episodes, one calm speaker, everyday lifeNetflix
• N4K-On!けいおん!school club chatter, everyday wordsNetflix

See every N5 anime or all 192 anime by Japanese level, and read how to learn Japanese by watching anime from zero.

Questions

Is Polar Bear Café good for learning Japanese?

Yes. Ikkimi rates it N5 (the easiest level). What sets its level: slow, polite everyday talk. It is one of the easiest shows Ikkimi rates, and a good first show for a complete beginner.

What Japanese level is Polar Bear Café?

N5, on Ikkimi’s scale from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, none is easier and 191 are harder. The level is Ikkimi’s estimate, not an official JLPT rating.

Where can I watch Polar Bear Café with Japanese subtitles?

Ikkimi lists Polar Bear Café on Crunchyroll. What each service carries varies by country. Crunchyroll rarely has Japanese subtitles, so Ikkimi looks for a matching file in Jimaku’s catalogue and lines it up with the episode.

What does the title しろくまカフェ mean, word by word?

しろくま (shirokuma) means “polar bear (Ursus maritimus)”; カフェ (kafe) means “café; cafe; coffeehouse”.

How many episodes does Polar Bear Café have?

AniList’s entry lists 50 episodes of about 24 minutes, first aired in 2012. Later seasons may be listed separately.

What should I watch after Polar Bear Café?

Shows a little harder, with genres in common: Teasing Master Takagi-san (N5 to N4), Rilakkuma and Kaoru (N5 to N4) and K-On! (N4).

Sources: show details from AniList; meanings from JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0); readings and word splits from kuromoji.js with IPADIC; JLPT word levels from Jonathan Waller’s unofficial lists. See Credits. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@ikkimi.app.