Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids

Kotonoa（コトノア）

In-app purchases

About this app

Note: this app's screens are in Japanese. It is made for children learning Japanese as a first language, and for learners who can already read Japanese.

Kotonoa is a kanji tracing app covering all 1,026 kanji taught in Japanese elementary school (grades 1–6). Children trace each character with a finger and learn the correct stroke order one stroke at a time.

■ 3 easy steps — even brand-new characters feel doable
1. Watch — an animation shows the correct stroke order
2. Guided — trace from the blue dot, following the stroke numbers
3. Free — write it on your own
Finish, and you get a cheerful "You did it!" Turn on auto-advance and it moves to the next step on its own, so even young children keep a smooth rhythm (you can switch it off in Settings).

■ Build correct stroke order
Every stroke is gently checked for start point, shape, length, and order. Mistakes get friendly hints ("start from the blue dot", "this is stroke 2") instead of penalties, so children stay motivated and learn at their own pace. Stroke-order data is verified against Japan's Ministry of Education stroke-order guide (all 1,026 characters matched).

■ See the stops, hooks and sweeps
Model strokes are drawn with brush-like ends, so you can see where to stop, where to hook and where to sweep as you learn the stroke order. You can switch back to a uniform line in Settings.

■ On & kun readings, too
Each kanji shows its on reading (katakana) and kun reading (hiragana), with okurigana clearly marked. Children learn reading and writing together.

■ A per-grade picture book for a sense of achievement
A grade-by-grade list lights up in gold as children master each character, so it is easy to see "just a few more to complete" — a daily motivator.

■ Find a kanji
Search by reading (hiragana), or narrow the list by school grade and stroke count. Results are grouped by grade, so the character you want is easy to reach.

■ Treasure box
Every 10 kanji mastered earns one treasure. Nine series, 104 treasures in all — stationery, sparkles, snacks, animals and more. Each comes with a small piece of trivia, so collecting them keeps daily practice going.

■ Daily goal
Set how many characters to write each day (5, 10, 20, 30, or your own number). A ring on the home screen shows how many are left, so the pace stays reasonable. Decide it together with your child.

■ Readings shown by school level
On and kun readings are colour-coded by the level at which they are taught — elementary, junior high, or high school. You can also narrow the display to just the readings your child needs now.

■ Great for siblings (up to 4 profiles)
Register up to 4 child profiles, each with its own saved progress and a favourite emoji avatar.

■ Free to start
All grade 1 and grade 2 kanji are free forever, with every feature and no ads. Try it without paying.

■ Premium (unlocks grades 3–6)
When your child moves up to grade 3 and beyond, Premium opens all the kanji for grades 3 to 6. Monthly and yearly plans are available; prices are shown on the purchase screen. Purchases are made in the app and are intended for a parent or guardian (an adult check comes before the purchase screen).

■ Safe by design
- No ads
- Learning works offline (the app connects only to check a purchase or subscription)
- No third-party tracking
- Progress is saved only on the device
- Back up and restore learning data to a file, so progress survives a device change
- Sound effects with on/off and volume control

■ Who it's for
- Parents who want their child to learn correct stroke order before or during elementary school
- A fun, game-like warm-up before workbook practice
- Anyone looking for an ad-free app to hand a child

A little every day — let's make friends with kanji.

What’s new

- The "For parents" support section now mentions the order number, when you have one.
- Refined how the free trial is presented on the purchase screen, so it is clearer what applies to you.