Learn Japanese!!!

Update: I had given this app 1 star due to my comments below. The App developer has mainly fixed the issues and I am back to loving the app again! Thanks for fixing the writing bug! I use this app all the time. Still a few bugs left like crashing, but that is pretty infrequent. I gave 4 stars. Really wanted to give 4.5. I used to absolutely love this application but have soured on it as I get deeper into the learning. Why did I sour? If you read the other critical reviews they mostly center on one thing. The poor interface for writing Kana. Specifically writing Kanji. I asked a Japanese friend to write the Kanji and she failed every time just like me. Not sure what the problem is but I did email the developer to please fix it. The rest of the application is pretty good though. I am learning a lot of Kana and vocabulary. I especially like the grammar hints. I would probably give this a 4-5 star rating but the writing glitch is very frustrating so I am only giving 3. I am editing my review several months after I originally wrote it. The writing aspect of the program is still EXTREMELY glitchy and frustrating. The developer has not bothered to update the app since I bought it to fix the writing. Also when you click on App Support it does not work. I am downgrading my stars to 1. Please fix the writing!!

It’s definitely helping me learn Japanese, though some of the bugs others mentioned remain... I noticed that the longer I am on it, the more likely it will act as if I’m tracing the kanji wrong and reset constantly, even when I’m only on the first stroke. Once in a while it will freeze and bug out entirely, usually ending in a crash of the app itself. A reboot (of the app) fixes it, though, so it’s not a huge problem, just a bit frustrating. I do like the way it provides reviews as you progress, but one thing I thought would be nice would be a review option of the grammar in particular, not just the kanji/words, but also the explanations and uses—the same info it provides when first introduced, just easily accessible.

I have used several apps to work on learning Japanese, and I have been impressed with Learn Japanese!! in several ways. The way this app teaches hirigana writing is well thought-out. The sequencing is a nice, building progression and the drawing recognition is impressive. The app uses little quizzes to review past lessons which I found very helpful. A typical vocabulary lesson introduces four words and may include one new grammar rule. It has you build sentences, which are useful for remembering the vocabulary. The improvements I would make to have a 5-Star rating would be adding a reference card for vocabulary and kana. And the feedback form (nicely incorporated in the settings) doesn’t work on an iPhone. (The send button is covered by the keyboard).

I am using this with my daughter who wanted to learn French and Japanese. After trying the developer's other free trial app teaching Japanese character reading and writing, I saw this one that teaches words as well and let's just say that I decided to buy the full version and my daughter enjoys it so much that she decided to learn Japanese. I like that it incorporates reading, writing, and picture flash cards all together in bite sized lessons. And gives you reminders when it is time to review certain flashcards. And it actually works. We can now pick out characters when we are reading Japanese subtitles which makes you look forward to the next lesson.

This is a great tool for learning. You can go at your own pace (no matter how fast or slow it is) and even if you go a little too far out, the app has milestone reviews that let you practice the things you didn’t do so well at in the last review. It builds on itself and I like how you get an in depth look at the alphabets (duolingo was always useless with Kanji) by allowing practice writing them. This app also explains the grammar in little card blurbs, and it would be perfect if there was a list or something compiled of the different lessons, for a review. All in all, 10/10. Never change <3