SimplyKanji - Read Japanese

Catalyst Code LLC

In-app purchases

About this app

Read Japanese.

SimplyKanji teaches you to read Japanese -- 2,400+ kanji and 6,000+ vocabulary words, covering every level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), from N5 to N1.

No accounts. No login. Tap Start and study.

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THE SCIENCE

In 1972, cognitive psychologists Craik and Lockhart showed that how deeply you process information determines how well you retain it. Re-reading produces shallow memory. Retrieving a character from scratch, and rating how hard it was, produces durable memory.

That's what SimplyKanji does. Every card is a retrieval attempt, not a review.

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WHY KANJI FEELS IMPOSSIBLE

Most apps show you a character and expect you to memorize it cold. SimplyKanji teaches kanji the way you'll actually meet them -- inside 6,000+ real words, across all 2,400+ JLPT kanji from N5 to N1.

Miss a card and it comes back until it sticks. Get it right and your weak kanji move to the front.

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HOW IT WORKS

1. Open. Tap Start.
2. Choose your JLPT level. Sequential, random, or spaced repetition.
3. Recall. Tap to reveal. Rate how well you knew it.

The app remembers what you struggle with and brings those cards back at the right time.

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WHAT'S INSIDE

- 2,400+ kanji across all JLPT levels (N5 through N1)
- 6,000+ vocabulary words, each tied to the kanji it uses
- Six study modes: Sequential, Random, Category, Weak Points, Review, Learning
- Spaced repetition that adapts to your memory
- Compound words from native Japanese sources
- Daily goals and streaks
- Works offline -- no internet required
- No tracking. No data collection. Your progress stays on your device.

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JLPT LEVELS

N5 - Beginner (100 kanji): basic daily life
N4 - Elementary (300 kanji): everyday conversations
N3 - Intermediate (650 kanji): written Japanese
N2 - Upper Intermediate (1,000 kanji): news and literature
N1 - Advanced (2,000+ kanji): native-level texts

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WHY I BUILT THIS

Years ago, I was living in Japan and commuting by train. I found a flashcard app -- nothing fancy, just kanji organized by JLPT level -- and started reviewing on the ride to work. Five minutes out, five minutes back. Within a few months, something shifted. Signs I'd walked past for years started making sense. Not all of them. But enough that the city felt different. I was reading it.

Then the app disappeared. Never updated, just gone. The replacements I tried were either buried in features I didn't need or missing the simplicity that made the original work. So I built SimplyKanji -- the app I wished still existed.

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Now on iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Five minutes on the train. Start today.

What’s new

Fixes for larger text sizes: the menu labels at the bottom of the screen no longer get cut off, and the study options list scrolls all the way to its last option. New users are also no longer asked where to resume before they have studied anything.