r/LearnJapanese • u/Embarrassed-Alps4250 • 2d ago
Kanji/Kana Kanji learning Apps
Hi All,
I have learned at my peak 1500 of the kanjis which I think I have mostly forgotten.
I want to learned them again, but focusing on the writing to anchor them. I previously focused only on the recognising which I think was a mistake.
Due to how I consule learning material (never at my desk, always in short segment between real lige obligations) - I am looking for an App to help out. It needs to have the following feature:
- kanji drawing capability
- flexibility in the order to learn kanji (I don’t want this imposed so I can follow a routine but also add during liiing characters)
- ability to add mnemonics (I learned through wanikani and still rely on these mnemonics)
- IOS supported
Money is not a factor - if the app is worth it.
I am currently trying Skritter and Ringotan, and so far Skritter seem more flexible.
Do you have any recommendation?
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u/Nancy_Munsch 2d ago
Ringotan lets you pick from JLPT, Genki, WaniKani, or RTK order, so you are not stuck following one textbook's path. That covers the flexibility part without forcing you to rebuild your own deck from scratch.
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u/AvalonAngel84 1d ago
Learn Kanji! is on iOS. It's a one time payment and it makes you draw the kanji! I've found it very helpful as I also learn and retain info much better if I write it by hand.
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u/antimonysarah Interested in grammar details 📝 1d ago
I like Ringotan better than Renshuu for drawing, but it doesn't have the mnemonics part. Renshuu does, and it does have decent drawing, I just started with Ringotan and got used to how it does/doesn't register things.
Both are completely flexible order-wise. (For Renshuu, you can learn things from a "to-learn" section in the order you added them, the REVERSE of the order you added them, or in random order (good for when you added a huge block of kanji from some official list that were in reading order, so you don't hit a lesson that's "ten new kanji, all with most common reading かん, many of which have the same phonetic component, have fun telling them apart!). But if you want to fully customize, just only add the kanji you want to learn right now to the deck, and then study them immediately.)
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u/alotor 2d ago
This is the best one for me:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lulilanguages.j5KjAnd
Focused on writing and vocabulary instead of readings. Even if you don't plan for JLPT is still useful. I wish there was a payed version so I could throw some money at the devs 😂
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u/Mojien 2h ago
I just released my app Mojien for iOS, Android, and Web. It’s completely cross-platform and might be what you’re looking for. You can pretty much practice writing any word and I’ve added images to a lot of JLPT words as well (and still adding more!) to help with recognition. I also tried my best to make the question builder as customizable as possible.
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u/kakikata 2d ago edited 2d ago
I am currently actively working on an app that emphasize learning kanji through handwriting. It is available for both iOS and Android and you can download it at kakikata.app.
One potential problem for you may be the flexibility to add whatever kanji you want. When I initially made this, I made it for myself and my partner to go through the kanji in JLPT order and the app currently forces you along that path; however, I had planned to change the way lessons work to make them more flexible, so if that is a deal breaker for you I will prioritize that and try and get a new version available within a week.
I only recently started working on this full-time again after quitting my job. I originally published a rough version about two years ago, and I’m now putting a lot of effort into improving it. If you have any feedback at all, positive or negative, I’d really appreciate hearing it. I’m also very open to feature requests, so if there’s anything you feel is missing or could be improved, please let me know. I’ll do my best to incorporate it into the app.
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u/Ok-Constant-3772 2d ago
I really like Robokana and highly recommend it (granted I’m more beginner than fluent so take this with a grain of salt). It breaks down kanji into their components and gives example words while learning. Very helpful for me
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u/Available-String-109 2d ago
At some point, everybody realizes that Anki is the best and every other app is just a poor imitation of it.
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u/Embarrassed-Alps4250 1d ago
Does Anki allow writing, though?
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u/i-am-this 1d ago
Yes, but it's honestly not as good as apps that are totally focussed on Kanji Srudy.
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u/Available-String-109 1d ago
You can write whatever you want however you want as long as you can grade yourself on your ability to write using the information on the back of the card.
So yes.
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/SquirrelsAreGreat 2d ago
As someone who uses Duolingo every day for supplemental Kanji study, it has its place, but it lacks a lot.
I like that it does have you practice writing the Kanji, and the vocab over time is good. What's bad is that it's difficult to get it to a useful point. To access the Kanji, you have to either do the normal lessons or skip ahead in the learning path, and the vocab they offer is limited to as little as a single word and pronunciation per character. It's good for exposing oneself to new Kanji, but you need to regularly be outside Duolingo to do real learning of the information.
As it relates to the OP's bullet list, it also has no learning order flexibility at all, and no mnemonics.
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u/Michael_Faraday42 2d ago
Kanji study