# Hatsuona — Japanese Pitch Accent Coach

> Japanese Pitch Accent Coach (iPhone/iPad app by Sebastian Ashworth Bartholomew.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hatsuona/id6810736825 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Sebastian Ashworth Bartholomew](https://appshunter.io/developer/6801820639)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.6 · 52 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-17
- Data updated: 2026-11-01

## What is Hatsuona?

Hatsuona is a Japanese pronunciation coach built around the one thing most courses skip: pitch accent.

Japanese doesn't tell words apart with stress the way English does — it uses the high and low of each mora. Say あめ high→low and it's rain; low→high and it's candy. Same kana, different pitch, different meaning. Hatsuona makes that pitch visible and gives you a score.

WHAT YOU GET
• Speak and get scored — read the kana aloud and your device rates your accuracy and pitch on the spot.
• See your pitch — every take is drawn over the target contour, so you see exactly which mora went high or low.
• Learn the four patterns — heiban, atamadaka, nakadaka, and odaka, with clear diagrams and examples.
• The full kana chart — hiragana and katakana, base, dakuten, and yōon, each one tappable to hear and record.
• Train your ear — minimal-pair listening drills for long vowels and geminates that change meaning.
• Remember what you learn — spaced review brings words back right before you'd forget them.
• Stay motivated — daily goals, streaks, XP, and achievements.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
On-device speech recognition and real-time pitch analysis run entirely on your iPhone. Your audio stays on the device and is never uploaded. Works fully offline.

The interface is available in English and Japanese.

## Is Hatsuona safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Hatsuona.

## Is Hatsuona legit?

Hatsuona has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Hatsuona is 50 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.0.2 — 2026-09-29

New ways to learn:
• Video Lessons — animated pitch-accent clips
• Shadowing Studio — slow a phrase down and repeat it
• Reference — short offline reads on how pitch works
• My Words — your own word bank with pictures and QR sharing
• Dictionary lookup and word-bank export
Plus fixes and polish.

### 1.0.1 — 2026-09-19

Bug fixes and improvements.

### 1.0.0 — 2026-09-16

No release notes.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-11-01.*