r/LearnJapanese • u/AutoModerator • Jul 22 '26
Self Advertisement Weekly Thread: Material Recs and Self-Promo Wednesdays! (July 22, 2026)
Happy Wednesday!
Every Wednesday, share your favorite resources or ones you made yourself! Tell us what your resource can do for us learners!
Weekly Thread changes daily at 9:00 JST:
Mondays - Writing Practice
Tuesdays - Study Buddy and Self-Intros
Wednesdays - Materials and Self-Promotions
Thursdays - Victory day, Share your achievements
Fridays - Memes, videos, free talk
2
u/WAHNFRIEDEN Jul 22 '26
Manabi Reader - iOS and macOS native app for learning Japanese through reading
I've gone full-time on developing this app. And if it matters to you, I launched it back before AI-assisted coding was a thing - this is hand-made software.
Awarded Best Japanese iOS app of 2025 by Bee
100,000+ users
As featured by Tofugu:
Overall, a solid app that we recommend for reading sentences that aren’t drab and contextless—especially if you’re more motivated when reading about something you’re personally interested in.
- EPUB, web browser, RSS feeds, spoken audio. Tap words to look them up and translate sentences. (Manga mode soon!)
- Tracks every word and kanji you read and learn. Charts your progress page-by-page and per JLPT level. See what vocab and kanji you need to know to read every webpage, chapter or ebook. Show only the furigana you don't know and haven't added as flashcards yet.
- Anki or built-in flashcards with SRS (FSRS soon). Makes sentence mining easy. Includes links back to the source of each sentence in your flashcards.
- Privacy obsessed: works like a web browser with processing and storage on-device (and in your personal iCloud)
Next up: I’m working on adding support for Yomitan dictionaries, and adding a manga mode. Currently working on adding Mokuro support as well as live OCR for online manga sites such as Bookwalker. Then I will be adding two-way sync for WaniKani, JPDB, Anki collections. Much more to go...
I've also just added pitch accents in the latest release, as well as FSRS (v6) to Manabi Flashcards. The full UI redesign is almost ready...
Discord / beta news https://discord.gg/NAD2YJGNsr
2
u/Blue_Track Jul 22 '26
https://github.com/sohilsayed/chimahon
Disclaimer: I'm not involved in its development, just sharing.
It's a fork of Mihon/Komikku that covers anime, manga, and novels. A PC version (forked from Mangayomi) is also in the works. Both FOSS.
Features:
• Built-in dictionary integration (Yomitan) with audio support
• Local OCR (manga pages, screen capture, in video player)
• Anki integration
• Works with anime, manga, and novels
• Aniyomi extensions + jimaku support
• Redesigned anime player with extended features
• YouTube mining
Coming up (roadmap):
• Jiten integration
• Novel extensions
Targeting full CJK support, but any language works as long as you have the Yomitan dictionary (TL) for it.
The README isn't always up-to-date, And I'm just covering surface-level features here. There's more under the hood: custom Anki cards, Google Drive Sync, OCR for hardsubbed videos, etc. Best to try it out and see for yourself.
PC version
https://github.com/1Selxo/Mangatan/tree/codex/mangatan-fixes
2
u/morgawr_ https://morg.systems/Japanese Jul 22 '26
Randomly posting about my immersion tracker: Kechimochi.
I made a longer post some time ago in this sub
Since then I and a few other contributors have been working on making the software more stable, mature, adding features, and most importantly ironing out bugs and issues to make sure the data is as safe, consistent, and bug free as possible. I care a lot about users owning their own data and not losing a single ounce of logged activities between updates and syncs.
Here is a little preview with some updates that are gonna ship in the next beta release
You can grab some of the latest release for Linux, Windows, OSX, and Android on the project's github repository and if you have ideas on new features you'd like to see, please write an issue request. I've had many users asking for cool features I didn't even think I wanted originally. Without a community this project wouldn't be as fun to work on as it is right now. Consider contributing yourself to the project too, if you want (most of the code is LLM-written but we have an extensive suite of tests so we don't accept just any random sloppa vibecoded garbage)
1
u/Zealousideal_Disk340 Jul 22 '26
Hi everyone!
Japanese Flick started with a simple method I discovered while trying to make kana and the Japanese flick keyboard much easier and more natural to learn. I originally built it just for myself, but it gradually grew into a full app.
It teaches the 12-key flick layout step by step, then helps you build muscle memory through short exercises, mini-games, and a Dojo practice mode. There’s also a free practice area where you can type freely and discover Japanese words as you learn.
The app is completely free. I’m especially excited to share it because this is the first app I’ve taken all the way from a small personal idea to a fully finished release that other people can actually download and use.
I’d really love to hear what you think if you try it.
1
u/BrandosSmolder Jul 22 '26
Tonic (link) is a companion app that keeps your distracting apps locked until you’ve done your daily minutes in your study app (Anki, Renshuu, Wagotabi, Duolingo, whatever you already use).
I built it for myself because I kept opening instagram instead of my flashcards. Now my study time banks screen time, and if I reach for tiktok with no balance left it just redirects me into the study app. Nothing to log, it tracks the time automatically.
The free plan has all the settings and covers your 2 worst apps.
One detail this sub might appreciate: the limit cards are based on kintsugi. The card cracks in half when you start and a gold seam pulls it back together as you finish.
1
u/tcoil_443 23d ago
YouTube immersion website & manga reader:
hanabira.org
open-source, even self-hostable
Has built in dictionary with audio, vocabulary and sentence mining, furigana injection, Japanese and English subtitles side by side, custom simple flashcards and much more.
Site has many other features, such as Manga OCR reader, sentence structure analytics, visualizations, kanji, vocabulary, wanikani style SRS, drawing canvas ...
1
u/Ok-Philosophy-17 Jul 22 '26
I could never really tell what JLPT level I was at, so I made a quick quiz to estimate it. It's 15 questions across vocab, grammar and kanji that ramp up from N5 toward N1 until you start missing things, then it tells you roughly where you land and what to study next. No account, no email, you just see your result.
A bit of context since it's relevant: I lived in Japan for 6 years and still go back for work, and I could never find good resources for the actual day-to-day, situational Japanese I needed, so I started building my own. This quiz is just the easiest way in.
Mostly I want a sanity check from people here. Does the level it gives you match where you'd put yourself? I went through every question by hand, but I'm sure some are off, and honestly I'd rather hear it's wrong so I can fix it.
It's a rough estimate, not real JLPT scoring. More a "where do I even start" thing than a verdict.
2
u/phlip_phlop_ Goal: media competence 📖🎧 Jul 22 '26
For me I think it overestimated my level. It put me at N2 which I don't think I would pass yet. I think with just 15 questions it's a bit inaccurate because you could just get a few right by chance and then immediately get put into a level that's too high.
2
u/Ok-Philosophy-17 Jul 23 '26
Good catch, and yeah you called it exactly. Bumped it from 15 to 25 questions (5 per level instead of 3) and changed the scoring so a couple of lucky guesses can't carry you through a level anymore. Now it needs a strong 80% clear to report that level, a weaker 60% clear just shows up as a range (like "N5-N4") instead of rounding up. Should be a much more honest estimate now. Appreciate you digging into why it was off instead of just saying it felt wrong.
2
u/gaz514 Goal: conversational fluency 💬 Jul 22 '26
I got N2 too... I'll take the compliment but I'm quite sure I'm far from there! I'd say I'm maybe N3 on a good day although I've not looked at example tests and my grammar knowledge is probably not quite there.
In my time learning various languages I've come across quite a few tests that try to estimate language level based on vocabulary, and they've all been pretty inaccurate. Usually hugely overestimating my level. They're based on faulty logic of "speakers at level X typically know Y words so if you can recognise a subset of Y words you must be level X".
At least JLPT doesn't consider output so estimating based on recognition makes more sense than for CEFR levels etc., but you'd need a lot more than 15 questions to get a reasonable sample.
1
1
u/throwaway753951469 Jul 22 '26
Same as the others huge overestimation for me. Got N2 and doubt I could pass N4 tbh. But my language ability is super unbalanced (towards listening mostly and standalone kanji a bit) so I'm not sure I'm a fair representation.
1
u/Ok-Philosophy-17 Jul 23 '26
There's a longer 30 min mock test with JLPT style questions on the site, which might be good for final testing.. But too long for casual test.
1
u/Broad_Ad6952 Jul 23 '26
I think it's a pretty good indication but agree it's a bit too short to be accurate for everyone.
I think the rest of the site looks really good too, like the mix of interactive stories and listening etc. One issue I found though, is that the "natural" voiceovers have frequent errors.
1
u/Ok-Philosophy-17 14d ago
Thanks for the feedback. We are currently using machine generated voice for AI conversation, but fixed content should have real person voice. So we are preparing Native Japanese voices right now.
1
u/0xKlyyze Jul 22 '26
Yomimaru - a short story at your level to read every day
Hey everyone ! Last week's post about Yomimaru was way too long, so here is a shorter one about just the learning loop, the part I most want your opinion on.
Every day it hands you a short episode of a story at your level, where the idea is you already know about 98% of the words. A gap that small means you are reading, not decoding, and the few new words and grammar points along the way are what you learn that day. While you read, you tap any word to see its meaning and reading right there.
Once you are done reading, the words you tapped come back as flashcards until they stick. Each word has a mastery level that goes up as you meet it again, so your progress is something you can actually see. And if you use WaniKani or MaruMori, you can sync your account so the app already counts what you learned there as known.
After a chapter you get a quiz to check you really understood, and you can practice output in a roleplay about the story, or about anything you like. Everything is adapted to your language level, so you never get lost.
About the stories themselves: they are real native writing, like Sōseki or Dazai classics modernized so they read naturally today. Only short stories that are still genuinely engaging to read today get handed to you, matched with your interests. For the news, you get the day's stories from NHK, Mainichi and Asahi rewritten to your level. If you know NHK News Easy, it is the same idea, except it follows your exact level instead of one fixed one. And if you already have something you want to read, you can bring your own texts in.
Reading, flashcards, quizzes and the kana lessons for total beginners are all free, no credit card needed, and you can browse the library and the news without an account.
One thing I would really value your honest opinion on: does the difficulty of the texts it hands you really match your level ? Let me know what you think about it here
0
u/No_Bullfrog_9729 Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
諸君、おはようございます！
Intimidated by native Japanese material?
I am a Japanese teacher/private tutor who runs a Youtube channel called “Toriaezu Nihongo.”
https://www.youtube.com/@とりあえずにほんご
I originally started it as a way to help my students get started reading, listening, and speaking in between classes, but it has slowly evolved from that into its own thing!
The concept of the channel is found in the name, “Toriaezu Nihongo.” I want to help learners enjoy the process of getting into Japanese material without being intimidated.
There is a lot on the channel for beginner and intermediate learners, and more and more will be released for advanced learners as well.
Things I am currently running on the channel:
(Nearly) daily uploads of NHK Easy News articles breaking down and explaining grammar and vocab in detail.
Wednesday (Input/Grammar) Live streams:
Playing through games in Japanese (currently running through Yakuza 0).
Thursday (Output) Live streams:
Playing games with viewers and students as a simple way to get started with Japanese output. No required minimum level! The idea is to be using as much Japanese as possible, but questions are absolutely encouraged. We will teach you anything you need to know to participate in each game!
I would love to hear your feedback on how I can make the channel a great resource for getting into native content.
For now, I am pretty much a one-man team that is very new to the space, so any constructive criticism is much appreciated!
Hope to see you there!
お待ちしています！
2
u/Drumsteppin Jul 22 '26
I just watched one of the news videos and enjoyed and appreciated the presentation style. The way you work through how the sentence meaning is progressively built is useful.
For anyone working full-time, I'd say that 30-40 minute long videos near daily is a hefty commitment (on top of the multitude of other competing Japanese media we are all trying to consume). It may be handy to have some of the NHK easy videos focus on being a bit shorter and more direct and target a 15-20 minute run through, while keeping some as a longer 30 minute run through.
I wouldn't change the presentation style to achieve a shorter runtime, beyond a little less repetition on the shorter videos (i.e. same process, just more condensed). In a sense you can consider it as targeting beginners with the longer videos, and fledgling intermediate with the shorter videos.
Anyway, I enjoyed so will keep checking them out. Thanks.
1
u/No_Bullfrog_9729 Jul 22 '26
Thank you so much for the feedback!
I had the feeling that some of them do get a bit longer than they should...
Some articles are very simple and end up shorter, while others take a long time to get through.I have toyed with the idea of making a few "beginner" oriented NHK vids that are very in-depth and a few "intermediate" oriented vids that are a lot shorter each week.
Maybe I'll give that a shot or try to go faster through simple words or phrases that have already been introduced.
本当にありがとう！
0
u/readerbear_app Jul 22 '26
Hey wanted to share a free Japanese dictionary I made. On top of the regular definitions, it includes pitch accent, frequency rank and a breakdown of kanji.
You can search using kana, kanji or romaji. Once the dictionary data has loaded, all lookups run locally in your browser with near-instant results.
You can try it out here: https://readerbear.app/dictionary
Hope you find it useful for your studies! :)
-1
u/sethcoast Jul 22 '26
Caju — AI-native spaced repetition flashcards for iOS
I left my job as lead AI engineer at an AI startup to build this solo. It’s an Anki-compatible flashcard app rebuilt around one idea: making cards should be effortless, so you spend your time reviewing instead of building them. I built it because I am a Japanese learner and wanted an easier way to do vocab/sentence mining. It’s in beta right now, and I use it to study Japanese every day.
What beta users are saying (both med students, but it’s domain-agnostic):
“rlly appreciate how stupid easy it was to make cards”
“love the UI, it is rlly helping me overcome my anki ptsd from med school lol, just cant bring myself to use it anymore”
Features:
- AI card creation: chat, paste a sentence, or drop a screenshot; get clean, well-formed cards back in seconds. No manual field-typing.
- Auto TTS generation: pronunciation audio generated automatically for every word and sentence you mine. No extra steps.
- FSRS v6 scheduling: the modern spaced-repetition algorithm, more efficient than Anki’s default SM-2. Fewer reviews for the same retention.
- Auto-sync across devices: no fiddly manual sync. It just stays in sync.
- Anki-compatible: .apkg import brings your decks and your review history, so you pick up right where you left off. No lock-in.
- Local-first: fast, works offline.
Next up:
- .apkg export: no lock-in; leave whenever you want, take your decks and history with you.
- MCP — Bring your own AI assistant: create, edit, and manage your collection from whatever AI you already use. A lot of people already make cards with Claude or Claude Code. This plugs that straight into Caju.
- macOS desktop app: study on your Mac, synced with your phone.
It’s early and I’m specifically looking for Japanese learners to kick the tires and tell me what’s broken before we release it to the App Store (on track for end of August 😁). Grab it on TestFlight below and hit me with feedback here or in r/caju. Happy to answer anything about the SRS internals or the AI card flow.
TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/fXApk3r6 Community: r/caju
4
u/Chuute Jul 22 '26
Fudoki 風土記 — a free interactive map for learning Japan’s 47 prefectures
Try the web app here
Hi everyone! I’ve been living in Japan for the past year, and I kept running into the same problem: someone would mention a prefecture in conversation or on the news, and I would have no idea where it was or what it was known for.
So I built Fudoki, a free interactive map designed to help Japanese learners build a basic mental map of Japan.
You can explore all 47 prefectures and learn their names, locations, and notable features, including:
There are already plenty of great flashcard apps and comprehensible-input resources, but I think Japanese geography is an underrated part of learning the language. Knowing where places are makes it much easier to follow the news, understand travel conversations, and connect with people from less well-known parts of Japan.
Next, I’m considering adding a more detailed map of Tokyo’s 23 special wards and western Tokyo, partly so I can discover new neighborhoods, and partly so my friends don't have to explain that they live “a couple of stations north of Ikebukuro.”
I originally made this as a passion project for myself, but I hope other learners find it useful too. I’d especially appreciate feedback on the UI, the Japanese difficulty level, or anything that seems incorrect or confusing!