Learn Japanese with The Wind Rises

Anime by Japanese level › N2

How hard is the Japanese in The Wind Rises?

Ikkimi rates The Wind Rises at N2 (fast talk on many topics). What sets its level: a film, engineering words, polite pre-war speech. Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 139 are easier and 15 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.

The words in the title

The Japanese title, 風立ちぬ, is a first lesson in itself. Its 2 words, as a dictionary lists them:

How to learn Japanese with The Wind Rises

Ikkimi lists The Wind Rises on Netflix. 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 Netflix

On Netflix, turn on Japanese subtitles in the player, where your country’s Netflix has them for this title, and Ikkimi makes the line clickable. If there are none, open the Ikkimi popup, choose Find Japanese subtitles, and search Jimaku’s catalogue or load a file from your computer.

1. Add Ikkimi to Chrome

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

2. Play the film

   Open The Wind Rises on Netflix. 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). At this level, turn on the English line under the Japanese at first, and keep only the words that come back.

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.

The film runs about 2 h 06, so you can split it over a few evenings and rewatch the scenes you liked.

Easier and harder shows

Shows within a level of The Wind Rises, with the most genres in common first.

Easier

• N3 to N2Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活fast emotional monologues, fantasy wordsCrunchyroll
• N3 to N2Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai青春ブタ野郎はバニーガール先輩の夢を見ないquick banter, some science wordsCrunchyroll
• N3 to N2Tokyo Revengers東京リベンジャーズdelinquent slang, rough speechCrunchyroll

Also N2

• N2My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFUやはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。wordy, cynical monologuesCrunchyroll
• N2My Happy Marriageわたしの幸せな結婚very polite, old-fashioned speechNetflix
• N2Rurouni Kenshinるろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-old-fashioned speech, sword termsCrunchyrollNetflix

Harder

• N1Bakemonogatari化物語wordplay, very fastCrunchyroll
• N2 to N1STEINS;GATEnet slang, science talk, fastCrunchyroll
• N2 to N1Code Geassコードギアス 反逆のルルーシュformal speeches, politics and military wordsCrunchyrollNetflix

See every N2 anime or all 192 anime by Japanese level, and read how to learn Japanese by watching anime from zero.

Questions

Is The Wind Rises good for learning Japanese?

Not for beginners. Ikkimi rates it N2 (fast talk on many topics). What sets its level: a film, engineering words, polite pre-war speech. It suits learners who already follow easier shows. Expect to click a lot of words at first.

What Japanese level is The Wind Rises?

N2, on Ikkimi’s scale from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 139 are easier and 15 are harder. The level is Ikkimi’s estimate, not an official JLPT rating.

Where can I watch The Wind Rises with Japanese subtitles?

Ikkimi lists The Wind Rises on Netflix. What each service carries varies by country. On Netflix, turn on Japanese subtitles in the player where they are offered, and Ikkimi makes every word clickable.

What does the title 風立ちぬ mean, word by word?

風 (kaze) means “wind; breeze; draught”; 立つ (tatsu) means “to stand (up); to rise; to get to one's feet”. Words the title writes in another form are shown here as a dictionary lists them.

How long is The Wind Rises?

AniList lists The Wind Rises as a film of about 2 h 06, released in 2013.

What should I watch before The Wind Rises?

Shows a little easier than The Wind Rises, with genres in common: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (N3 to N2), Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (N3 to N2) and Tokyo Revengers (N3 to N2).

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.