The app store is littered with low effort, useless garbage apps for learning Japanese but are any actually good for self study? A basic flash card app is easy to make so there are heaps of them available but most don’t have a lot of useful features.
Self studying Japanese takes a lot of commitment and you need great resources to back up your study. I’ve spent hundreds of hours trying out apps and study techniques so let’s take a look at the best apps I’ve found for studying on my iPhone or iPad.
While I recommend using a selection of apps, the sections below are divided into Hiragana/Katakana, Kanji, Vocabulary, Grammar and Other so you can skip to the area you’re looking to learn.
Apps for Hiragana
Read my full post on the best apps for hiragana for more suggestions, honourable mentions and apps to avoid!
Hiragana Memory Hint
Hiragana Memory Hint’s layout
This app is a fantastic way to learn hiragana. It’s a full featured app made by the Japan Language Institute in Kansai. It has full mnemonics to help you learn, several quiz types and character break downs.
Good for: Beginners who want to learn hiragana with mnemonics
Japanese level required to use: None.
Japanese levels included: Hiragana only, other apps by the maker include katakana and kanji.
Best features: Mnemonics, clean design, free!
Read a more in depth review in the free section here.
Get it here: Apple. Free.
Kana – Hiragana and Katakana.
Kana Hiragana and Katakana App
Another great app for tracking hiragana (and katakana) study. This one has a heap of interesting statistics to help you tailor your study approach. As well as regular multiple choice and writing, it also has my favourite quiz: type in answer. The only downside is that there are no helpful mnemonics, it’s completely self study.
Good for: Beginners learning hiragana who like statistics.
Japanese level required to use: None.
Japanese levels included: Hiragana and katakana
Best features: Great design, lots of stats, good quizzes.
Read a more in depth review in the free section here.
Get it here: Apple. Free.
Pastel Kana
Pastel Kana’s clean design is one of the reasons I love it.
This app is my favourite way to review kana. The design is pleasant to look at and it’s so speedy. Each question is a race against a clock and it’s really great to improve your character recognition. The app is pricey to unlock and there are free options that do similar things but I really like the design.
Good for: Beginners that have an understanding of hiragana or katakana and want to review items quickly to improve reading speed.
Japanese level required to use: None.
Japanese levels included: Hiragana and katakana
Best features: Speed reviews.
Read a more in depth review in the review section here.
Get it here: Apple, Free, AU$7.99 upgrade to unlock hiragana with modifiers and katakana.
Apps for Katakana
Most of the apps recommended for hiragana also have katakana options so if you found them useful then you can upgrade.
The apps here are my ultimate favourites, but you can find more options in my full post on the best apps for katakana along with some that are not worth bothering with.
Katakana Memory Hint
Katakana Memory Hint app layout with mnemonics
This app is the follow up for the hiragana version listed above and it’s basically the same but for katakana. The mnemonics are still really useful and very different from the hiragana so you won’t get confused. I also like that you can quiz based on similar looking characters.
Good for: Beginners who want to learn katakana with mnemonics
Japanese level required to use: None.
Japanese levels included: Katakana only, other apps by the maker include hiragana and kanji.
Best features: Mnemonics, clean design, free!
Read a more in depth review in the free section here.
Get it here: Apple. Free.
Kana Mind
The Kana Mind app has a lot of review options!
This app focuses on quick guided repetition to teach you the characters. The questions are multiple choice and you can adjust the kana that is included easily. You can review characters really quickly which is great for building recognition. The downside is that other than recognition there’s no way to learn the characters here.
Good for: Beginners that have an understanding of hiragana or katakana and want to review items quickly to improve reading speed.
Japanese level required to use: None.
Japanese levels included: Hiragana and katakana
Best features: Speed reviews.
Read a more in depth review in the review section here.
Get it here: Apple, Free.
Apps for Kanji
Scribe Japanese.
The flash card layout of Scribe Japanese.
A basic SRS flash card app to learn Japanese vocabulary and kanji. It features beginner words all the way up to N1 vocabulary. Easy on the eyes and good options to review flash cards. Ideal for kanji on the go with offline access and syncing between devices.
Good for: Beginners who want offline access to an SRS kanji learning system without ongoing subscription fees.
Japanese level required to use: None.
Japanese levels included: N5-N1 vocabulary and kanji.
Best features: Offline access, unlimited revisions, no ongoing fees.
Read my full Scribe Japanese review here.
Get it here: Apple. Free to start, AU$13.99 one off in app purchase.
Wanikani.
A full featured SRS flash card system to learn kanji, radicals and vocabulary. Great clean design, hilarious mnemonics and an active community of other students. The community has many userscripts you can extend or change your learning experience with.
Good for: All level of learners with online access who want good mnemonics and a clean interface.
Japanese level required to use: Hiragana/Katakana.
Japanese levels included: N5-N1 vocabulary and kanji.
Best features: Proper spaced repetition (reviews only available after the timed interval), huge number of custom userscripts, funny mnemonics.
Full review coming soon.
Get it here: Wanikani. First 3 levels free then monthly US$9, yearly US$89 or lifetime US$299 subscription.
Apps for Vocabulary
Coming soon 🙂
Apps for Grammar
Mirai Japanese.
The guided lesson screen of Mirai Japanese.
A guided study app with a heavy focus on grammar. The lessons are both written and spoken by native speakers so you can also practice talking and listening by following along. Don’t bother learning vocabulary, kana or kanji from this app, just focus on the grammar. There is a good range of clearly spoken examples and a variety of phrases that are useful in every day life.
Good for: Beginners looking for an introduction to Japanese grammar.
Japanese level required to use: None but ideal to have hiragana and katakana.
Japanese levels included: N5 vocabulary and grammar.
Best features: Simple to follow guided lessons with spoken and written format. More interesting than a standard text book.
Read my full Mirai Japanese review here.
Get it here: Apple/Google.
First 20 lessons free then AU$14.99/month, $79.99/6 months or $139.99/year subscription.
50% educational discount easily available.
Clozemaster.
Clozemaster is great for testing grammar
A seemingly endless supply of fill-in-the-blank cloze tests! These quizzes are perfect for testing and improving your Japanese grammar levels. The leaderboard makes it addictive. It’s great to use in combination with a kanji app to get a better grasp of written Japanese.
Who is this good for: People with online access who want good mnemonics and a clean interface.
Japanese level required to use: N5 level grammar, hiragana, katakana and kanji.
Japanese levels included: N5-N1 vocabulary, kanji and grammar.
Best features: Proper spaced repetition (reviews only available after the timed interval), huge number of custom userscripts, funny mnemonics.
Read the full review here.
Get it here: Apple/Android. Free to use, pro account upgrade with a few extra features currently costs US$8/month or US$60/year.
Other Self StudyApps
Coming soon 🙂
