MARU: Learn Japanese Hiragana

125 reviews

Free

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Details about MARU

Released
Updated
iOS Version
Age Rating
Size
Devices
Languages

February 24, 2017
October 1, 2024
16.0+
4+
36.49MB
iPhone, iPad
Czech
Dutch
English
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Features

Apple silicon support

Developer of MARU

Alexander Hsu

⭐️4.9 / 5

Rating↘︎

🙌12K

Ratings

📼10 scs

Media↘︎

🧾$14.99

In-App Purchase↘︎

📦~ in 3 weeks

Updates frequency↘︎

📝41+ topics

Topics↘︎

📌15 available

Review highlights↘︎

🗣❌ unsupported

Your locale

🖼️Download

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Summary of user reviews for MARU

Positive highlights

🌟

This app hasFriendly and happy greeting from Maru

🎯

This app hasMeasured and smooth drill system

🔍

This app hasFocused on one row of characters at a time

🎨

This app hasColor-coded characters to indicate mastery

📚

This app hasIncludes vocabulary words and definitions

💰

This app hasFree app with ads only after 5 mistakes

🎉

This app hasMotivating to avoid ads by studying well

🧠

This app hasEffective for memorizing Hiragana and Katakana

🕰️

This app hasNo time limits, can learn at own pace

🙌

This app hasMinimalist and straightforward design

🤖

This app hasClear and natural-sounding audio

Negative highlights

📚

This app hasLacks explanation of dakuten/handakuten marks

🔤

This app hasUses random vocabulary words without context

🔊

This app hasAudio quality can be inconsistent, making it hard to distinguish similar sounds

🔀

This app hasNo option to practice Hiragana and Katakana together

Version History of MARU

2.15

August 2, 2024

やっほー！ Your favorite Hiragana learning app just got an update (•u•): • New MARU(•u•) Design! I’ve given MARU a new app icon, brighter colors, and some new expressions. MARU’s lip-syncing is smoother now too. Let me know if you liked it! Thank you for your support! Keep learning with MARU!

2.14

July 28, 2024

やっほー！It's August (はちがつ) and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got an update (•u•): • Kanji: By popular request, I finally added some Kanji, starting from the Words screen. More coming soon, so stay tuned! • Emojis: Added some emojis where meanings are clear. More to come. • MARU Speech Optimizations: Adjusted the duration of MARU's speaking time to be more accurate. • Daily Words Notification: Changed the default from 3 to 1 to reduce spam. Adjust it back if you miss the frequent reminders. • Crash Fix: Fixed the crash when setting Daily Words Notification to 1. Apologies for the inconvenience! If you're still having issues, please email nolan@overdreamer.com. Worst case, use this quick fix: delete and reinstall the app. Use "Progress Settings" in Settings to restore progress. Thank you for your support! Keep learning with MARU!

2.13.2

July 7, 2024

やっほー！July しちがつ is here, and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got a big update (•u•): • Hiragana/Katakana Switcher: Quickly switch between Hiragana and Katakana charts to see the difference. • Notification Redesign: Daily notifications have been the same every day and that can be dull. Added a variety of Daily Reminders and Daily Words to help you study better. • FAQ Screen: Added a FAQ screen to answer the many email questions I have compiled over the past year. Other Updates: • Long Press to quickly select the whole row of Kana to study. • A lot of translations fixes based on your feedback. • Removed Malay, Hindi, Romanian, Hungarian localizations due to very low usage and high maintenance cost. • MARU's mouth now moves when Date and Time are tapped. • Word to Meaning question now plays audio automatically. • Added retry and no internet connection warning when there's a purchase error. • 2.13.1: Fixed a crash that only affects users who installed the app more than a year ago. • 2.13.2: Fixed button not updated after toggle selection mode Thank you for your continuous support and feedback! Keep enjoying your journey to mastering beginner Japanese with MARU! (•u•)

2.13.1

July 1, 2024

やっほー！July しちがつ is here, and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got a big update (•u•): • Hiragana/Katakana Switcher: Quickly switch between Hiragana and Katakana charts to see the difference. • Notification Redesign: Daily notifications have been the same every day and that can be dull. Added a variety of Daily Reminders and Daily Words to help you study better. • FAQ Screen: Added a FAQ screen to answer the many email questions I have compiled over the past year. Other Updates: • Long Press to quickly select the whole row of Kana to study. • A lot of translations fixes based on your feedback. • Removed Malay, Hindi, Romanian, Hungarian localizations due to very low usage and high maintenance cost. • MARU's mouth now moves when Date and Time are tapped. • Word to Meaning question now plays audio automatically. • Added retry and no internet connection warning when there's a purchase error. • 2.13.1: Fixed a crash that only affects users who installed the app more than a year ago. Thank you for your continuous support and feedback! Keep enjoying your journey to mastering beginner Japanese with MARU! (•u•)

2.13

June 29, 2024

やっほー！July しちがつ is here, and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got a big update (•u•): • Hiragana/Katakana Switcher: Quickly switch between Hiragana and Katakana charts to see the difference. • Notification Redesign: Daily notifications have been the same every day and that can be dull. Added a variety of Daily Reminders and Daily Words to help you study better. • FAQ Screen: Added a FAQ screen to answer the many email questions I have compiled over the past year. Other Updates: • Long Press to quickly select the whole row of Kana to study. • A lot of translations fixes based on your feedback. • Removed Malay, Hindi, Romanian, Hungarian localizations due to very low usage and high maintenance cost. • MARU's mouth now moves when Date and Time are tapped. • Word to Meaning question now plays audio automatically. • Added retry and no internet connection warning when there's a purchase error. Thank you for your continuous support and feedback! Keep enjoying your journey to mastering beginner Japanese with MARU! (•u•)

2.12

January 29, 2024

やっほー！May 2024 be the year to become so so good at Japanese! Your favorite Hiragana learning app just got even better (•u•): • iPad Optimization: Hi my 12% iPad users, I finally spent some time to enlarge the font sizes for some areas in iPad. I also adjusted MARU's face a bit. Bye bye Fat MARU, hello Big MARU! • Sound Optimization: Based on your feedback, I increased the volume of all the pronunciation files. Hopefully that makes them clearer! • Detail View Optimization: I enlarged the Kana in the detail screen and added a cool scroll effect to make it prettier. • Hide Romaji: Tap top right toggle again to hide romaji to review Kanas • Dark Mode Fix: Fixed bug where sometimes borders disappear in practices when you first purchase Pro and switch to Dark Mode.

2.11

December 24, 2023

メアリークリスマス (Merry Christmas)!! And... あけましておめでとう (Happy New Year)!! Thank you for choosing to learn Japanese with my app this year. Well done, you!! Lazy me have implemented 11 major updates since July. Great job, me!! (•u•)!! This will be the last update for this year (finger crossed). Here are the updates for v2.11: • Sokuon confusion: Sokuon ("っ") must be practiced with words and has caused confusion for some users. For now, I've changed it so that the next section, Youon ("ざじずぜぞ"), will unlock without the need to master Sokuon. I've also fixed the bug where you couldn't select "っ" for practice. • Removed the scenario when MARU says Wo Ai Ni ("I love you" in Chinese) in a Japanese accent for non-Mandarin speakers to avoid any learning confusion. "I love you" and "How are you" in a Japanese accent are still available. What? You never heard them before? Hint: they only appear on certain days of the week! Cute cute! • Kana Detail Page Pronunciation: MARU now pronounces the Kana when you tap on the Kana header or turn a page. • Fixed a bug where Selected Kanas aren't properly displayed after reselecting the Selection Mode toggle. • Fixed a bug where selecting "っ" for practice would crash the app because it must be practiced with words that contain other Kanas, which I turned off in v2.10 based on your feedback. Now, when you select "っ", it will include words like "きっと" for practice even though "き""と" were not selected. This is a special treatment for "っ" only.

2.10

November 30, 2023

Your favorite Hiragana just reached 1 million downloading users over the past 7 years. Couldn't have reached this milestone without your support. Super ありがとうございました！(•u•) Version v2.10 Update: • Selection Mode Optimization: Based on your feedback, I now only include words containing the selected Kana in practices, as opposed to selecting "あ、お" but seeing the word"あき". • I added some recent reviews from all over the world to the purchase screen so that new learners are aware of how awesome my app is, and might buy buy buy (jk). • Some minor optimizations on timing of alerts and advanced settings to improve user experience.

2.9.1

October 22, 2023

Your favorite Hiragana learning app just got even better (•u•): • 2.9.1: Fixed crash in typing exercises when a mistake was made. Sorry my Pro version users. Also changed the new "Silent Mode" such that it doesn't lower the volume of other apps, allowing you to listen to music in its original volume while practicing in Silent Mode. 2.9 updates: • Slower Unlock Speed: I made the speed of unlocking new Kanas slower by default based on your feedback. • Customizable Unlock Speeds: I added settings that allow you to adjust the unlock speed based on your learning pace. • Silent Mode: I've added a Silent Mode toggle that lets you switch off all sounds and practices that requires listening/sound. This way you can practice in silent when needed. (MARU: Am I too loud?) • Other Updates: • I've translated the unlock row tutorial to all languages. • UI Improvements to the launch screen: MARU's eye height finally matches after launch.

2.9

October 19, 2023

Your favorite Hiragana learning app just got even better (•u•): • Slower Unlock Speed: I made the speed of unlocking new Kanas slower by default based on your feedback. • Customizable Unlock Speeds: I added settings that allow you to adjust the unlock speed based on your learning pace. • Silent Mode: I've added a Silent Mode toggle that lets you switch off all sounds and practices that requires listening/sound. This way you can practice in silent when needed. (MARU: Am I too loud?) • Other Updates: • I've translated the unlock row tutorial to all languages. • UI Improvements to the launch screen: MARU's eye height finally matches after launch.

MARU In-App Purchases History

$14.99

Pro Upgrade (Lifetime)

Unlocks awesome features

Price History of MARU

Description of MARU

Hey there! (•u•) Interested in learning Japanese but don't know where to start? You've come to the right place! MARU Japanese Kana, loved by over a million learners worldwide with an average rating of 4.9 (thank you so much!), is just what you need. As a lifelong learner of Japanese myself, I created this app to make Japanese alphabets less intimidating and more enjoyable. It's a simple app that focuses on one thing but does it very well: helping you start learning Japanese. I wish MARU had been around when I started learning Japanese. Lucky you! Stop learning with those robotic voices and non-native pronunciations. That will impede your learning effectiveness. Dive in and experience authentic Japanese through exercises voiced by a professional voice actress. With 14 different practice varieties, learning Hiragana and Katakana becomes a breeze. Reading, writing, listening, typing, and even building your vocabulary – it's all here, making it the perfect start to your Japanese journey! What's the catch? You’ll see an ad after every five mistakes. Since MARU's launch in 2017, it’s been downloaded over a million times, yet ad revenue has been modest. But that’s okay! My goal is to spread the joy of learning Japanese. To fulfill that goal, I try to provide tremendous value for everyone and keep as little as possible behind the Pro Version. Here’s what you’ll find in the default Free Version: • All 105 Hiragana and Katakana characters, not just the basic ones. • A short ad after 5 mistakes. No mistakes = No ads. • Over 300 everyday words for practice, like "hello" and "thank you." • Clear voice recordings for all words and characters. • MARU-kun, our adorable mascot, greets and motivates you each time you practice. • Date and Time that changes every minute to teach you Japanese words for numbers and calendar. • A smart feature that identifies your weak spots and helps you improve. • A fun way to practice Katakana using familiar Hiragana words. My app is completely free with minimal ads, but if you choose to upgrade to the Pro Version (one-time purchase), you’ll enjoy: • An ad-free experience. • Offline practice, anytime, anywhere. • Writing and typing exercises. • Timed challenges to test yourself. • Access to more words for time, date, and Katakana. Don't just take my word for it. Here’s one of my favorite reviews: "This is MY #1 app for learning Japanese. I downloaded EVERY Japanese app I could find without paying a single dime. The app does exactly what it promises - nice graphics, great voice acting, and awesome practice methods. I'm in love with this awesome app!" - A happy user Thanks for reading! If you're interested, just download and start your Japanese learning adventure with MARU! (•u•)

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MARU: FAQ

Is MARU iPad-compatible?

Yes, MARU can be used on an iPad.

Who built the MARU app?

Alexander Hsu built the MARU app.

What should be the minimum iOS version for MARU?

The MARU app currently supports iOS 16.0 or later.

How do users rate MARU?

MARU has an excellent rating of 4.9 out of 5.

What is the primary genre of the MARU app?

The Primary Genre Of The Maru App Is Education.

What MARU application version is the latest one?

2.15 is the most recent version of MARU.

When did the new MARU update happen?

The most recent update for MARU was released on October 1, 2024.

When did MARU first launch?

The release date of the app was on February 5, 2023.

What is the content advisory rating for MARU?

Suitable for children aged 4 and up, contains no objectionable material.

What languages does MARU support?

You can use the MARU app in Czech, Dutch, English and 16 more.

Is MARU part of the Apple Arcade gaming experience?

No, MARU is not on Apple Arcade.

Is MARU integrated with in-app purchases?

Yes, MARU seamlessly integrates in-app purchases for users.

Does MARU support Apple Vision Pro compatibility?

No, MARU does not support compatibility with Apple Vision Pro.

Does MARU include ads as part of its experience?

Yes, MARU includes ads as part of its experience.

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