Can you play Sekiro in Japanese?
Short answer: it's the hardest game here. We scanned Sekiro's item and skill menus against a JLPT wordlist — feudal-Japan vocabulary, almost no katakana, and item names that fall off the scale entirely. Here's exactly how hard, word by word.
Menus
N2
Item lore
N1
88 words on its item and skill menus
We matched every word on Sekiro's item and skill screens against Playto's JLPT wordlist — dictionary matches only, with kanji compounds outside the lists counted honestly as "beyond JLPT." Here is where those 88 words land:
The shape is the story: a solid N3 core, but a long N1 + beyond-JLPT tail — and only 3 katakana words in the whole set. Most games hand English speakers a stack of loanword freebies (ステータス, メニュー). Sekiro barely does; it's kanji almost all the way down, and a lot of it archaic.
The words that make it hard
形代
Beyond JLPTかたしろ — spirit effigy — spent to use Prosthetic Tools
瓢箪
Beyond JLPTひょうたん — gourd (the Healing Gourd)
稀代
N3きたい — once-in-an-age, unequalled
いにしえ
N1いにしえ — ancient times, antiquity
印籠
Beyond JLPTいんろう — a traditional medicine case
These aren't obscure lore words hidden in a corner — 形代 is the resource you spend constantly, and 傷薬瓢箪 is your healing item. In Sekiro, even the things you use every minute are named in vocabulary the JLPT never lists.
Is Sekiro good for learning Japanese?
Best for upper-intermediate learners. The difficulty that makes Sekiro punishing to read is the same thing that makes it rich input: every item, tool and boss title is steeped in real Sengoku vocabulary you won't meet in a textbook. If you can handle N2–N1, it's some of the most atmospheric reading there is.
If you're earlier than that, it's still playable — combat carries you — but treat the lore as a stretch goal. Paired with a screen reader that shows meanings as you go, the item menus stop being a wall and start being a vocabulary source.
Read every screen like this as you play
Playto reads your game screen in real time and shows what the text means where it is — item descriptions, skill notes, dialogue. You read the original Japanese and lean on the hint when you need it, and it saves the words you meet so they turn into review.
Common questions
Is Sekiro's Japanese hard?
It's the hardest of the games we've scanned. Of 88 words on the item and skill menus, only 3 were katakana loanwords, and 35 were N1 or beyond the JLPT lists — item names like 形代 and 傷薬瓢箪 don't appear on the JLPT scale at all. The Sengoku setting means archaic, literary vocabulary and almost none of the loanword freebies modern games give you.
What JLPT level do I need to play Sekiro in Japanese?
You'll be comfortable with the item lore around N2–N1. Below that, combat and basic menus are followable, but the descriptions and story are a real stretch. It's better as intermediate-plus immersion than as a first game.
Why does Sekiro have so few katakana words?
Katakana usually spells out loanwords, which are near-free for English speakers (メニュー, ステータス). Sekiro's feudal-Japan setting barely uses them — 3 in 88 words — so you don't get that easy vocabulary. It's almost all kanji, and a lot of it archaic.
Can I play Sekiro in Japanese on PC?
Yes — set the game's language to Japanese (in-game or via Steam), and a screen reader like Playto shows what the text means on top as you play, so the item lore and menus stop being a wall.
Verdict data from a JLPT wordlist scan of Sekiro's item and skill menus. Screenshot captured in-game and shown with commentary. SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE © FromSoftware, Inc. Independent language guide, not affiliated with FromSoftware or Activision.