Aug 17, 2017

Welcome to Japanese 4.0 for iOS

Collection of screenshots showing Japanese 4.0 on iPhone

Today is the big day! After years of development, we're happy to announce Japanese 4.0.

Rewritten from the ground up, Japanese is now better than ever. We've updated all of our best-loved features and added new features that'll help you take your Japanese learning to the next level.

Faster & More Accurate

We’ve taken huge steps in improving Japanese's search engine. Perhaps the biggest leap forward is our new Handwriting Recognition software, which allows you to draw any kanji in any order and have it recognised by the app. We've got it pegged at about 99.3% accuracy at the moment, but as more and more users make use of the new software, that accuracy will go up and up.

We’ve also added a text reader tool, where you can input text copied from messages, emails, the internet etc. and have Japanese display the kanji readings in furigana. Each word links back to its dictionary entry so that you can translate the text quickly and accurately and add any unknown words to your study lists.

Intuitive and Easy to Use

Japanese's study system has also been improved. The flashcard system has been redesigned and upgraded, making it more intuitive and useful. We also upgraded the SRS study algorithm study algorithm behind it and it is now based on the famous Anki algorithm. However, we’ve made changes to the code, gearing the platform to those learning the Japanese language.

Across the board, Japanese has become even more intuitive to use. With an all new user interface and the inclusion of Split View for large screen Apple devices, you can now look up definitions while you surf the Internet, without ever having to switch apps. We think this is the best version of Japanese yet.

Constantly Improving

To make sure the app is always the best version of what it can be, users can now submit feedback/report errors on definitions and examples, and we will forward this feedback to the relevant sources: JMdict for definitions and Tatoeba.org for examples sentences. We hope you enjoy all the new features! We hope you enjoy the update, and the access to new features! To see a more comprehensive list, please visit our features page.

As ever, thanks for using Japanese and for sending in your suggestions for improving the app.

Jul 20, 2017

Version 1.7 for Android

Today we’re pleased to announce the launch of Japanese 1.7 for Android. This update brings the Android version of Japanese closer to the iOS version and is free for all users.

The main changes can be found in the reference section. JLPT lists (N5 - N1) have been added, meaning that you can study the words you need for those taxing proficiency tests.

We’ve also added words by parts of speech and by classification, alongside a list of kanji that can be found in each level of the notorious Kanji Kentei and classifications of kanji by school year.

For those needed to refresh or relearn their kana, we’ve added a kana library, allowing you to quickly and easily check basic kana before moving on to kanji.

We’ve also made several minor bug fixes and changes under the hood that should speed up the running of the app.

Apr 20, 2017

Version 1.6.2 for Android

Version 1.6.1 includes additional information when displaying kanji. Kanji dictionary reference information now appears alongside each kanji.

In this release several minor bugs and compatibility issues were fixed, so the app should run more smoothly.

Mar 13, 2017

Version 1.6.1 for Android

Version 1.6.1 includes additional information when displaying kanji. KanjiDictionary reference information now appears alongside each kanji.

In this release several minor bugs and compatibility issues were fixed, so the app should run more smoothly.

Sep 26, 2016

Version 1.6 for Android

Welcome to version 1.6 of Japanese for Android. It's another big release that takes the Android app ever closer in functionality to the iOS app.

New features include:

  • Search from other apps: You can now directly search for words from another app in Japanese. Just highlight the desired search term and use the 'Share' button to look up the term in Japanese.
  • Component keyboard: The component keyboard design has been updated to make it more intuitive to use.
  • Flashcards: Several improvements have been made to the flashcard sections including language direction selection (Japanese → English, English → Japanese), the ability to shuffle lists and enhanced display options. ‍

Get Japanese Now.

Japanese can be downloaded for free.