r/japaneseresources

I've been trying to learn Japanese for ~2 years or so, primarily on Duolingo (streak of 500+ days!). I realized that I honestly wasn't learning anything. Every time I tried to write something from scratch instead of just tapping tiles, I couldn't.

So I built Shinme! It's a from-zero course which focuses on developing actual Japanese writing skills. Each lesson comes with its own vocab and grammar content. In order to completing each lesson, users need to complete a set number of translation exercises which are graded.

Shinme fully supports custom deck/card management too, so learners can import what they already know. Exercises are generated dynamically, so that exercises are tailored to what the user already knows.

The first six lessons are out right now!

It's in beta right now and the costs are on me, so there are some usage limits while I keep the AI costs sane. I would love feedback: what is confusing, what broke.

https://shinme.app/

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a free Japanese reading tool I’ve been building called EZFurigana:

https://www.ezfurigana.com/

It adds furigana to Japanese text, but the main thing I’ve been focusing on is making the readings more context-aware rather than just applying a dictionary reading everywhere.

For example, simple furigana tools can struggle with words where the reading changes depending on context, such as:

• 市場: いちば / しじょう
• 大分: おおいた / だいぶ
• 人気: にんき / ひとけ
• 最中: さいちゅう / さなか / もなか
• 方: かた / ほう

EZFurigana combines Sudachi, expanded dictionary coverage, custom rules, and a lightweight ModernBERT ambiguity classifier to choose readings from sentence context, not dictionary lookup alone. It is not perfect, especially with names, unusual compounds, and ambiguous phrases, but I’m trying to make it more useful for real reading rather than just short example sentences.

I also ran an internal benchmark to check whether the context-aware approach was actually helping. Each engine was tested on the same evaluation set. The table below reports 1,000 manually checked target readings drawn from a larger 7,500-line Japanese text set.

Tool	Wrong readings	Accuracy
EZFurigana	12 / 1,000	98.8%
Sudachi	54 / 1,000	94.6%
MeCab	61 / 1,000	93.9%
Yahoo API	98 / 1,000	90.2%

This is still just one benchmark, so I don’t want to overclaim from it, but it was encouraging and helped me find cases where dictionary-based readings break down.

I’ve also been working on file-based reading tools:

• PDF furigana converter for Japanese PDFs and documents
• EPUB ebook reader for reading Japanese ebooks with furigana
• Browser extension for adding furigana while reading Japanese web pages
• Dictionary popups for checking words while reading
• JLPT-level filtering and reading settings

The tool is free and does not require signup. My main goal is to help learners move from textbook/kanji study into native Japanese material more smoothly.

I’d especially appreciate feedback on:

• whether the furigana readings feel trustworthy while reading
• examples where the reading is wrong
• whether the PDF or ebook workflows are useful
• what would make it better for reading native Japanese material

Thanks, and criticism is welcome.

Thank you to everyone who tested the app, reported bugs, and shared feedback. The new update is finally live on iOS!

GoJiKanDoku (語辞漢読) started as a personal tool to help me read Japanese books and review vocabulary through printable study materials. Your suggestions helped shape this release.

🆕 What’s new in v1.1

🔍 Kanji Detail Screen
Tap the 漢 button on any word card.
View meanings, On’yomi, Kun’yomi, Nanori, JLPT level, grade, radical, stroke count, and related vocabulary.
Navigate between kanji inside multi-kanji words.

👀 Export Preview
See exactly what will be exported before generating PDFs.
Include or exclude words individually.
Re-export with different selections anytime.
Your original history is never modified.

⚡ Faster PDF Generation
Search History (SH): ~5–10 seconds
Word Exercise (WE): ~5–10 seconds
Kanji Practice Sheet (KPS): ~5–10 seconds
Kanji List (KL): ~20–30 seconds depending on size.

💾 Smaller PDF Files
Reduced from roughly 15 MB to around 3 MB per export.
Easier sharing and storage without sacrificing quality.

📚 Four Study PDFs
Search History (SH) — review everything you’ve searched.
Kanji List (KL) — meanings, readings, names, related vocabulary, JLPT information.
Kanji Practice Sheet (KPS) — handwriting practice and your own example sentences.
Word Exercise (WE) — synonyms, antonyms, word forms, notes, and self-review.

🎨 Improved Design
Better spacing and readability.
Support for Original, Light, and Dark themes.
Numerous bug fixes and stability improvements.

📱 Availability
✅ Available now on iOS (App Store)
🟢 Android version is ready, but I’m still looking for testers before the wider release. If you’d like to help, please let me know.

⚠️** Note for older devi**ces
The dictionary itself works on older phones, but large PDF exports may not work reliably on very old devices (for example, iPhone 6/7 and some low-memory Android phones). Modern devices should have no problems.
Thank you again for your patience and support. More features are already being planned, including pronunciation audio, stroke-order animations, improved name recognition, and optional repeated-kanji filtering.
Feedback, bug reports, and ideas are always welcome!

#Japanese #LearnJapanese #JLPT #Kanji #LanguageLearning #JapaneseLanguage #StudyJapanese #JapaneseStudy #ReactNative #IndieDev #iOSApp #AppStore #GoJiKanDoku #語辞漢読 #Japanesedictionary

Hey there! I built a local desktop/browser app for Japanese sentence practice. This has you actually assemble sentences yourself for grading.

I made it because Anki’s {{type:}} requires a perfect answer, and filling in gaps on Bunpro isn’t enough for me to start feeling confident about assembling sentences myself. This has helped me a lot. I hope it can help you too!

It imports sentences from Anki via AnkiConnect, Bunpro, or CSV, shows the English prompt, and asks you to type the Japanese. It then uses an LLM provider or local OpenAI-compatible model to grade the answer as correct/close/incorrect, provide personalised English or Japanese feedback, and schedule missed sentences for retry. A correct answer doesn’t have to match the Japanese answer character for character, meaning that you can express the sentence in your own way so long as the meaning holds up and the grammar/vocab are solid.

The app runs locally in your browser. API keys for LLM providers as well as imported sentence caches stay in the app folder.

GitHub repo for trying it out below (just use and follow the steps for Gemini free, but I didn't tell you that sshhh)

https://github.com/h7-v/japanese-full-sentence-trainer

Tidy Words is a word game where a big pile of cards spills across the table and you tidy it by matching the two that mean the same thing (English-Japanese, or any pair of its 11 languages). It's a game first: timers, combos, no lives, no pressure. But every card is real vocabulary, so the reps happen while you play.

For Japanese learners:

- 10,000+ words, graded by school level in the free game, so you can start on elementary words and climb all the way to university level

- furigana above the kanji and romaji below it on every card, each can be toggled off as you level up

- a free hiragana-katakana matching deck if you're still on the kana

- 11 languages: English, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Indonesian, Vietnamese. Pick any two for a round, or mix up to four at once if you want the polyglot workout

- plays fully offline, free, no ads, no subscriptions

The one paid thing, upfront: if you want to drill a specific topic instead of the graded piles (themed packs, study chapters, or a 2,000+ kanji ladder from N5 to N1), that's a one-time unlock, not a subscription. Everything above is free.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6780423143

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.availablecompany.tidywords

https://practicejlpt.com/
Covers all of vocabulary kanji and grammar from n5 to n1. And practice tests as well. Will be open sourcing it soon.

Hi all~ Since my last post, I've updated JLPT Speak with the full N5-N3 vocabulary (N2, N1 coming soon), and a host of new features.

JLPT Speak is an anki style flashcarding app that checks your pronunciation and automatically builds review decks to help you focus on the words that need more attention. Think of it like Wanki Kani, but you speak the words instead of typing them.

Features:
- Speak Japanese readings aloud instead of typing them out
- SRS/Anki-style system that tracks your progress and focuses on words that need attention
- Create custom lists for practice or review
- Auto-play through lists, or entire JLPT decks for quiet studying
- Adjust session size, daily goals, spoken voices
- Japanese and Simplified Chinese localization

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jlpt-speak/id6765824150

Hi everyone! I wanted to share a project I've been working on for the past couple of years called Readerbear. I actually shared an early version of the app in this subreddit a while back here when the app was still in its initial stages.

I'm a Japanese learner myself (passed the JLPT N2), and built Readerbear to solve the problems I kept running into while learning through real content. Every feature has come from my own study experience and feedback from other learners.

Some of the things I wanted to solve were:

• Accurate splitting of Japanese text, with in-context grammar and kanji information
• A discovery system that recommends content based on my current level and interests
• One place where I can import content from YouTube, Netflix, books and more, then study them on any device
• Built-in vocabulary tracking and spaced repetition, so I can effectively remember new words I encounter

It's designed especially for learners who are ready to move beyond textbooks and start learning through real content.

If you have some constructive feedback to share, I would be happy to extend your free trial.

https://readerbear.app/

Hey everyone! I've been working on Vesper for a while and finally feel ready to share it more widely.

Vesper is an AI-powered prayer and Bible app for iOS. Here's what it does:

• AI-generated prayers personalized to your mood and what's on your heart
• Daily Scripture — a new verse every day with a memorization feature
• Prayer streaks to build a consistent habit
• Lock screen widgets so your verse is always visible
• Prayer journal to save and revisit your prayers

It's free to download with a 1-week free Pro trial (no credit card required to start). Pro unlocks unlimited prayers, the full journal, advanced Scripture memorization, and spiritual insights.

Would love any feedback from this community!

🔗 App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vesper-ai-prayer-bible/id6769672048
🔗 More info: https://linktr.ee/vesper.app

Hey all,

Being a learner myself I often struggle with my Japanese sentence output. So I built a tool to help correct grammar, particle usage, style, and wording. Or just find a clearer way to express what I’m trying to say

You can check it out here - https://chigau.app

I actually built it for myself because I wanted a faster and better way than just asking any other LLM for corrections. After noticing I started using it daily, I thought to myself, why not share it with the world?

The premise is quite simple: instead of having another learning app, you have a sidekick in your pocket where you can quickly input a sentence, or even a half-baked one, and get a corrected one back. The goal is not to write sentences for you, but rather to have a fast way to proofread your mistakes or ask for feedback.

What can it do?

Correction

Type in or paste a sentence, choose a formality level, and see the sentence being corrected in real time. Every mistake is highlighted and corrected, and a short explanation is also shown. Sometimes a passage might be grammatically correct but sounds a bit off. In that case, it will highlight that as well. And finally, after the correction, an alternative sentence is suggested.

Translation

Input a Japanese sentence and it will be translated to English, or input an English or any other language sentence, choose formality, and it will be turned into a Japanese one, followed by a short nuance section on why specific words were chosen.

Treat this one as lazy mode. While the app is focused on you constructing Japanese sentences, sometimes we get tired, lazy, or don’t even know how to begin a sentence.

Ask

General purpose Q&A about grammar usage, word nuance, or sentence nuance explanation.

Apart from the 3 modes, all Japanese words with kanji have their furigana displayed. You can toggle it off or on in the app settings. If you use Wanikani, you can also connect it to show it only on words you don’t yet know.

And finally, you can also tap on Japanese words, which will show a dictionary popover with meaning and Japanese voice actor audio playback. You can then expand it to show the full dictionary entry with conjugations, example sentences, and even pitch accents!

Is it the same as asking a Japanese native?

Oh gods, no! Only a native can give a definitive natural sentence, so unless you have a Japanese friend always with you, checking with online tools or asking other learners is probably the only other way to get feedback.

Why not just use ChatGPT?

Think of it as if ChatGPT and a Japanese dictionary had a baby, or a dictionary on steroids. ChatGPT and others are general assistants, and while you can definitely ask for corrections, it might not be the best or fastest tool for language learning. This app was born out of the frustrations of using a general assistant for corrections.

Why is it free?

Honestly, it’s just a personal project for myself, and I’m just happy to share it with other learners to help them on their path. I’m not here to sell tokens at a markup. There's a daily quota (~50 corrections), which almost nobody will hit. If you have your own ChatGPT subscription, you can link it in the settings and run on that instead.

Why do I have to sign up?

Mostly to prevent abuse of the service. AI always has a cost, but in return, you get correction history and preferences that carry over across devices.

So, happy to share it with everyone, hope you find it useful!

Hey everyone!

I made a free, open-source app called Anki Miner to make vocabulary mining much easier.

You input local media or Youtube video links and it makes high-quality Anki cards to your specifications. Attached is a demonstration of a mining session - 100 high-quality Anki cards in only 2 minutes.

Often compared to subs2srs or Migaku's batch mining, but free+open-source (unlike Migaku) and actively maintained (unlike subs2srs).

Filtering options are very extensive (i+1 sentences only, sentence length filters, wordset filters, word blacklisting, and more) so you will not get any junk cards. Example cards shown on GitHub.

The idea is to actually immerse instead of mining.

I'm actively adding new features and building the community so feel free to ask questions and suggest new things :).

If the concept sounds interesting, try it out (GitHub link below). It's free and setup is lightning-fast.
Also consider joining the Anki Miner Discord server for help and discussions (link on GitHub and in app).

Download: https://github.com/0xzerolight/anki_miner

Haven't studied for a while

Hi, I’m Federico. I created LevelKana, an app to shorten the study time needed before you can start enjoying Japanese video games and manga. I shared it here a little while ago.

Some users wanted to start with the Pokemon path, which is mostly hiragana and has no kanji, but they were still at their very first steps in Japanese and didn’t know hiragana or katakana yet.

I usually point people to Tofugu, which in my opinion is still one of the best beginner resources. But I also felt that kana practice can be a bit dry: I wanted to bring the same gamified, progression-based style we use in LevelKana.

So I made this free hiragana practice: https://levelkana.com/kana/hiragana/

The idea is pretty simple:

• unlock hiragana in small groups
• practice one row at a time
• get extra practice for what is still weak

The full hiragana and katakana path is free. Registration kicks in partway through so your progress can be saved if you decide to continue.

I’d really appreciate feedback, especially from beginners or people who remember learning kana. Does the pacing feel useful, or would you change anything?

Federico