Japanese!! Learn Kana & Kanji
authentic ratingA specialized app for learning hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji through drawing characters with a finger or stylus. Combines handwriting recognition with pronunciation and spaced repetition. Users migrating from Duolingo note that here they finally learned to read rather than guess from pictures. Speaking practice and advanced grammar are not included.
textAvg 3.93 vs storeAvg 4.76. The gap is explained by criticism of the paywall after basic lessons, not by the content itself. Reviews about the actual learning are detailed and specific: users describe particular character-drawing mechanics and repetition progression.
What users love
- Practice writing characters directly in the app: it recognizes strokes and corrects the stroke order. On an iPad with Apple Pencil this brings learning close to using an actual notebook.
What users hate
- Covers only the beginning of the journey: kana and basic kanji. Speaking is not practiced. A solid tool for reading and writing but not for reaching spoken fluency.
Who it is for
Those starting Japanese who primarily want to learn to read and write the syllabaries as a foundational first step before grammar and vocabulary.
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