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Coban: Learn Japanese

Coban: Learn Japanese

JLPT N5-N1 Grammar & Kanji

621 ratings
88 reviews
With Ads
📚 Education
🔍 Reference
Free
In-App PurchasesWith Ads

Details

Released
April 8, 2020
Updated
November 2, 2026

Features

Developer

Akira NOGUCHI
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🧾$59.99 - $99.99
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About

Master Japanese grammar, kanji, and vocabulary from beginner to advanced levels. Learn in context with example sentences and audio, and reinforce your knowledge with review tools. Study offline and prepare for JLPT exams with comprehensive content.

✓Structured lessons from N5 to N1
✓7,500+ vocabulary words
✓2,100+ kanji
✓490+ grammar points
✓12,000+ audio recordings
✓Offline study mode
✓SRS review system
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What users say about Coban

Reviews of Coban are mostly positive: the Education app is rated 4.8/5 from 621 App Store ratings. What users like most: cute and genuinely helpful, great app for learning Japanese. Top complaints: occasional crashes and bugs, volume issues with audio. Summarized from real user reviews.

Positive things

  • 👍Cute and genuinely helpful
  • 🚀Great app for learning Japanese
  • 🤩Engaging and fun to use
  • 💯Best kanji practice
  • 🙌Excellent for N5 and N4 levels
  • 🤖Palatable grammar for short attention spans
  • 🎉Super useful and underrated

Negative things

  • 🐛Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔇Volume issues with audio
  • 💰Subscription model with lack of lifetime purchase
  • 🤯Confusing UI and navigation at times
  • 🤔Wonky translations and quiz issues
  • 🙄Annoying ads interrupting the flow
See all reviews
+1

What's New in Coban

4.6.0

November 2, 2026

- New Counters & Onomatopoeia Lessons: Learn Japanese counters (本, 匹, 枚…) and onomatopoeia (ドキドキ, ふわふわ…) with practice quizzes. - Fixed a crash when opening the Podcast list. - Fixed minor bugs.

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6

Subscriptions & In-App Purchases

Premium User

Unlimited access to premium content

$59.991 Year
Price Updates
November 3, 2026→$59.99
November 10, 2025→$39.99
October 13, 2024→$34.99
How to cancel Coban subscription ⁉️

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

Amazing!

I’ve been a fan of the creator of this app for the longest time, before the app evolved so much. I knew them from a series of N5 and N4 materials available online entirely for free. I studied alone for some years, and it’s in great part thanks to this material that I passed on both N5 and N4 (back in 2021 and 2022). Now, I am very happy to see how the app is much more polished, with lots more resources, as I’m sure it will help me a lot with N3 and beyond. This is a creator I am very happy to support, and I have been very satisfied with everything I have seen so far. I highly recommend it for anyone who’s serious about studying Japanese! The app has a friendly interface and plenty of examples. The VS functionality to help identify differences in similar grammar points is especially useful. Keep up the excellent work! ⭐️
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Rriiiiv1119993331

Response from developer

Thank you so much for such a warm and thoughtful review. As an independent developer working on this app by myself, messages like yours truly mean a lot to me. Knowing that you have been using the app since its early days, and that my materials helped you pass both N5 and N4, makes me incredibly happy and grateful. Your support gives me a lot of motivation to keep improving the app and to continue adding useful features, tools, and content little by little. There are still many things I would like to improve to make studying Japanese even more useful and enjoyable. If you ever have any suggestions or requests, please feel free to contact me anytime through the app. Feedback from long-time users like you is especially valuable to me. As a Japanese person, I’m also very happy to know that you enjoy learning Japanese. Thank you again for supporting my work for so many years, and I hope you continue to enjoy your Japanese learning journey!

Finally!

The best app hands down for learning Japanese! So thankful with the amount of other apps I’ve used, dr Moku, Anki, kana, this is by far the best app I’m super thrilled with my experience!
IIcebergMenace

Response from developer

Thank you so much for your kind review! It really means a lot to hear that, especially after you’ve tried so many other Japanese learning apps. As a solo developer, feedback like this is incredibly motivating and encourages me to keep improving Coban. If you ever notice any issues or have any suggestions or feature requests, please feel free to contact me through the app anytime. Thank you for using Coban and for your support!

This app has everything

I recently abandoned a well-known language app for this one, and my wife and I have been really pleased with what this one has to offer. It has a nice, intuitive flow with daily reviews, podcasts, books, and language tests. It has everything that I wanted in a Japanese language app.
EEnay

Response from developer

Thank you so much for your kind review! I’m really happy to hear that you and your wife are enjoying Coban and finding the different features useful. As a solo developer, feedback like this is incredibly motivating and encourages me to keep improving the app. If you ever have any questions, problems, or feature requests, please feel free to contact me through the app anytime. You’re also always welcome to ask me anything about Japanese or Japan.

I love this app… but

The new update makes it very laggy when scrolling up to the top selector for selecting what you want to study (ie grammar, vocab, kanji). It makes the site slightly annoying to use. Overall though, I love the content in the new update, the only thing stopping me from getting the premium upgrade is the lagging (You can still learn up to JLPT 3 for free.) it’s still a very good source to use, it has just become slightly annoying.
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ココアカアイ

Response from developer

フィードバックありがとうございます、コアカアイさん。 Thank you very much for your feedback and for your kind words about the new content! Thanks to reports from users like you, I was able to identify the cause of the lag when scrolling to the study selector. The issue has already been fixed and is now available in version 4.2.1. I apologize for the inconvenience, and I truly appreciate you taking the time to report it. Feedback like yours helps me improve the app for everyone. Thank you again for your support, and I hope you enjoy the latest update!

Incroyable

Cette appli est vraiment génial, que ce soit la qualité de son interface, au contenu des cours/ leçons proposés, tout est top. La version gratuite offre un panel de démarrage dans l’apprentissage cent fois plus qualitatif que bon nombre d’autre appli entièrement payantes !
Honnêtement c’est un 10/10.
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ネネサちゃん~
See 83 more reviews

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User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

3 issues

Drag and drop feature not working

Bug

Crashes after completing quizzes

Bug

Vocabulary lessons causing the app to freeze

Bug
✨

Requested Features

4 requests

Expand to higher JLPT levels (N3, N2, N1)

Feature

Add a placement test to determine user's level

Feature

Improve vocabulary practice and review options

Feature

Offer an ad-free version for a one-time purchase

Feature

FAQ

What levels of Japanese does Coban cover?

Coban covers Japanese learning from beginner levels up to JLPT N1. It includes content for JLPT N5, N4, N3, N2, and N1, offering over 7,500 vocabulary words, 2,100 kanji, and 490 grammar points.

How does Coban help with pronunciation?

Coban includes over 12,000 audio recordings to help you connect written Japanese with natural pronunciation. You can listen to vocabulary and example sentences, practice shadowing, and improve your listening comprehension.

Can I study Japanese with Coban offline?

Yes, Coban's learning content is stored on your device, allowing you to study Japanese even without an internet connection.

What is the subscription model for Coban?

Coban offers a Premium User subscription with options for monthly ($6.99), 6-month ($39.90), and yearly ($59.99) plans. Users have noted a lack of a lifetime purchase option.

Does Coban have ads?

Yes, Coban contains advertisements that may interrupt the learning flow, as indicated by the 'hasAds' flag being true.

How does Coban's learning methodology differ from others?

Coban is designed for learners to understand Japanese in context, rather than just memorizing. It focuses on recognizing patterns and building skills for natural use in reading, listening, and conversation.

What is the update frequency of Coban?

Coban was last updated on November 2, 2026, with version 4.6.0 released on April 8, 2020. This indicates a potentially infrequent update cycle.

What do users like most about Coban?

User reviews highlight that Coban is genuinely helpful, great for learning Japanese, engaging, fun to use, and excellent for N5 and N4 levels. Many find the grammar palatable and the kanji practice the best.