# Human Japanese Intermediate — user reviews > 83 indexed App Store user reviews of Human Japanese Intermediate by Brak Software, Inc., rated 4.90/5 from 240 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/human-japanese-intermediate/id673228380/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/human-japanese-intermediate/id673228380.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 230 · 4★ 7 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 1 ## What do users think of Human Japanese Intermediate? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 📚 Excellent grammar explanations and clarity - 👨‍🏫 Conversational, friendly teaching style - 🎯 Well-structured curriculum with logical progression - 🔊 High-quality audio pronunciation guides - ✅ Comprehensive quizzes and tests for retention - 📖 Detailed explanations superior to textbooks - 🎨 Beautiful design and user interface - 💬 Practical, conversational example dialogues - 🧠 Helps understand the 'why' behind grammar rules - ⚡ Interactive and engaging learning experience - 📱 Works seamlessly across multiple platforms - 💰 Excellent value for the price - 🎓 Effective for self-study and independent learning - 🌟 Thoughtfully designed with care and attention **Cons** - 📱 Poor responsive design on desktop/iPad windows - 🔤 Limited kanji coverage (160 kanji for intermediate level) - 📝 Insufficient practice questions for vocabulary memorization - 🐛 App hasn't been updated in a long time - 🔤 Uses romaji instead of kana in some areas - ⏱️ Slow introduction of kanji throughout course - 🔍 Lacks search or index functionality - ☁️ No cloud sync between devices **Commonly reported bugs** - Blank pages when opening app - Pages displayed in wrong order from other chapters - Non-native swiping gesture that doesn't work reliably - Page advance button is difficult or impossible to use - Bundle purchase not properly downloading both apps - No user account system for cross-device access **Most requested features** - Advanced/Upper-intermediate course level - Spaced Repetition System (SRS) like Bunpro or Wanikani - More kanji coverage and faster kanji introduction - Increased vocabulary practice questions - Animation in dialogue examples - Search/index feature for finding topics - Cloud sync across multiple devices - Centralized vocabulary list view - Copy-to-notes button for example sentences - Kana instead of romaji for all content ## Newest reviews (15 of 83) ### 5/5 — Best Japanese study app *2020-12-21, version 1.2.1* You get the quality you pay for with the Human Japanese apps. The lessons are detailed, varied and fun. Strongly recommend the app for all those looking to study Japanese! ### 5/5 — Incredible *2020-08-05, version 1.2.1* It’s so incredibly well thought out and structured. It’s hard to imagine how it could be improved upon. An excellent continuation of the first one. Well worth the investment. ### 5/5 — Absolutely fantastic! *2020-07-09* Such an immersive way of learning with the writer using conversational ways of teaching you how to learn Japanese. I have been using this app for over five years and it is worth every penny. Sure, there are things that this app might not teach you, but it has so many fundamental teaching points whether it’s the beginner app or the intermediate one. The audio portion of this is easy to understand and the breakdown of sentences (the icon of a notepad) are so helpful. All in all, I absolutely treasure this app as an avid Japanese learner. Thank you for this recourse! ### 5/5 — The BEST! *2019-12-01, version 1.2.1* By far the best and simplest explanations of Japanese grammar ever written. Don’t just learn Japanese, understand it. I’ve read almost every Japanese textbook out there, and nothing comes close HJ. An educational masterpiece. ### 5/5 — Really good app *2019-11-17, version 1.2.1* After trying many apps over the years for learning Japanese, these app is really helping me make progress. Well worth the cost. ### 5/5 — Intuitive and well designed *2019-05-05* I started with the beginner version and moved to the intermediate. The progression is natural as it builds the vocabulary, grammar and kanji. My only suggestion would be the use of animation along with sound (sound is included already) in the dialogue examples. Highly recommend it to those who want to learn Japanese at their own pace! ### 5/5 — Absolutely worth the money *2019-03-28* I started with the beginner Human Japanese app, and it really kickstarted my Japanese learning and practice. So of course, when I finished that I got the intermediate app. The intermediate version has more grammar concepts, but the explanations are easy to understand. I also enjoyed the 5-kanji a lesson approach because it doesn’t overload you with memorization, but still gives you a great foundation for basic kanji. My only complaint is that there isn’t a Human Japanese upper intermediate/ advanced! I also purchased Satori reader, and it has greatly exposed me to more Japanese practice and vocabulary. I HIGHLY suggest this app to anyone who seriously wants to start learning Japanese. ### 5/5 — Excellent *2019-02-14, version 1.2.1* The best app, to learn japanese! Good explanation and very useful. ### 5/5 — Thanks for the continued development! *2019-01-17* I know I have left reviews for this app before. All glowing. But I just want to reach back out and thank the developer for continuing to support this app for all these years. It is a fantastic application that I use on-the-go. You can tell it is lovingly made. Thank you!! ### 5/5 — Great Japanese learning app *2018-11-14* I think this is a great app to use to complement other resources. I am learning Japanese with the Mirai Japanese app. I also studied with the Michel Thomas Japanese Foundation Course and Advanced Japanese courses. I also finished the LingoDeer Japanese course. I have been keeping Microsoft Word documents with vocabulary and sentences from all these courses for review. ### 5/5 — Illuminating! *2018-07-23, version 1.1.1* I’m almost at the end of the course, and it’s been a brilliant experience, explaining so many things better than standard course books, and providing useful reviews and tests at the end of each lesson. If there’d been an option to give it six stars, I reckon that’s what this course deserves. Thank you for all the hard work that has obviously gone into it. ### 5/5 — Best primer for starting Japanese *2018-06-21, version 1.1.1* Well written and payed out. This is the best text I’ve found for getting me into the beginning stages of learning Japanese. ### 5/5 — Excellent app! *2018-01-27, version 1.1.1* It works! Nice relaxed tone. Thoughtful teaching method. I look forward to the tests! Technically, the best app Ive ever purchased, all the components work seemlessly including sound and animations. ### 5/5 — Just as good as the original *2017-09-25, version 1.1.1* A great continuation of Human Japanese. If you liked the first one you'll love this one. As with the original Human Japanese this app is about how to speak Japanese from a proper sentence structure point of view. Vocabulary is obviously part of it but like the first app it's more about how to properly use the Japanese vocabulary you learn. The introduction to Kanji is great as well. ### 5/5 — Love it *2017-08-18* I have been studying Japanese for about 6 months now, and I wish I would have come across HJ from day 1. It has great learning material, the configuration settings for the quizzes turn reviews into a super fun game, the pictures are gorgeous. You can tell it's a product developed with love and pride of authorship. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Good content but buggy *2021-11-20, version 1.2.1* Hasn’t been updated in a long time and it shows. Sometimes you’ll open the app and the pages will be blank. Sometimes the pages are in the wrong order from another chapter. The swiping feels nonnative and doesn’t always work. Hitting the page advance button is impossible. ### 2/5 — Not Complete *2018-09-16, version 1.1.1* 160 Kanji for an intermediate course is disappointing. This shows that the developer doesn’t understand the importance of being able to read Japanese at an intermediate level. In my opinion reading really helps solidify learning and kanji helps with vocabulary learning. I don’t see how anyone who only know 160 Kanji would be considered intermediate. Learning Japanese is more than just speaking. ### 2/5 — Bundle problem *2015-05-31, version 1.1.1* I just bought the bundle (beginner + intermediate apps for $13.99 listed on the Apple App Store) but only the beginner app was downloaded. When I look again, it appears that I haven't made the bundle purchase as the price tag appears again. I hope I haven't been cheated and I want to know how this is going to be fixed. That said, the beginner app looks promising. ### 4/5 — Friendly grammar teacher *2025-06-17, version 1.2.1* I’m using this to recap my Japanese grammar and it’s a friendly, fun way to do so. The content is definitely worth five stars but the app is designed for a phone screen does not size well. You can run it at full screen on a Mac or iPad but not seemingly in a window ### 4/5 — Review *2019-07-30, version 1.2.1* Am using this app to revise, and finding it well constructed and with helpful explanations. However would much prefer it if you wrote Japanese words in kana rather than romaji. ### 4/5 — Almost perfect *2018-01-21, version 1.1.1* I love this text, its great and easy to comprehend. I only wish it had some sort of SRS like Bunpro or Wanikani. ### 4/5 — Best App *2016-11-29, version 1.1.1* Definitely the best app I can find, and am loving it so far(was recommended by a friend) I've been using it for a while now, along with other apps and sites to help me learn. It's great for vocabulary and grammar for sure, and context is explained well which helps you remember the words. The voices speaking the sentences for you is better than anywhere else for sure, not like the many robot voices on other apps. It's a great help for listening and pronunciation. My only wish is that it used more Kanji. I feel like it is too slow to introduce kanji. If the focus is on reading and speaking more than writing Kanji, instead of introducing Kanji separately, how come it doesn't just use Kanji and furigana for every vocab word? The faster and more often to see a word in it's Kanji form the quicker it will be to learn it ! Especially with furigana and/or the voice speaking the sentence for you, in my opinion, there should be no reason Kanji is not being integrated at a faster rate. I know a ton of vocabulary, but I'm working on grammar and would like to also work on Kanji. Flashcards are difficult because they don't put the words into context. I feel like it would be a great help to throw more kanji into the mix, so I could get used to seeing these Kanji. And then I could practice reading the Kanji elsewhere while I learn. This app is indispensable for me while I'm learning, but I can't find anywhere that is even half as good as this app that will also introduce kanji to me(like with the example sentences and such) I'm struggling to learn Kanji because all I can find is flashcard apps and games. That's the only reason I give this a four star and not five. ### 4/5 — Nicely designed app *2016-01-04, version 1.1.1* Good way to learn Japanese whenever you have a spare minute ### 5/5 — Lived in Osaka *2025-05-24* I lived in Japan for two years and learned as much as I could, but I didn’t know why verbs conjugated certain ways or why kanji has two pronunciations. Knowing the why makes all the difference. Understanding builds my confidence that I can learn some of the aspects of the language that I’ve struggled with for years. ### 5/5 — Great for self study! *2024-09-26, version 1.2.1* I live in Japan and have been studying Japanese on my own for years. These apps are perfect for self study because they are interactive and easy to understand. ## Most praised reviews (8 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Top notch *2024-08-23, version 1.2.1* This is a fantastic app for learning Japanese. It's beautifully crafted and the lessons are informative whilst still being easy to follow. The example dialogs are casual and conversational and more relevant to the average Japanese learner I'd say than other books I've used. There a several reasons that this app beats books: 1) The ability to quickly look up words that you may have forgotten. 2) The ability to listen to words and dialog. 3) The ability to check your understanding and retention of knowledge with tests and graded exercises. 4) The excellent planning and division of the language into lessons that focus on skills and knowledge in a thoughtful order. 5) The author's ability to cut down complex structures in a way that has you learning the most important and basic rules first, then adding complexity gradually. If there's one shortfall, it's that there's just not enough kanji covered. But maybe this will be done in Human Japanese Advanced - here's hoping :) ### 5/5 — Perfect complement to version 1 *2024-08-18, version 1.2.1* The maker of this app did an amazing job. This is perfect for those who are considering continuing their Japanese study ### 5/5 — Miles ahead of duolingo and the likes! Explains in a very human way! *2023-02-07, version 1.2.1* The app explains grammar to you in a familiar language, as if you were talking to a friend explaining something to you. The only place I feel like this app is lacking is the practice section. There’s not enough questions to really have you learn and memorize the vocabulary. But you only need to make yourself practice by other means. As far as laying the foundation, this is the place to do that. ### 5/5 — Best Japanese learning app *2022-03-03* I tried a lot of Japanese learning apps and this is easily the best. It is just so packed with useful extras. You can spend a lot of time going over the dozens of chapters, and when you’re done you really will have a better understanding of the language. Combine this with Midori for vocab and you will have powerful and useful tools for Japanese self-study. Human Japanese is also a very high quality, well-designed app and worth every penny. ### 5/5 — Best integrated Japanese study I’ve encountered… *2021-07-24* Having started learning Japanese late in life, I find Human Japanese to be better than any of the popular textbooks used to teach the language in America. I’ve used Genki, Japanese for Busy People, and Minna no Nihongo at various schools. After buying Human Japanese Intermediate for a quick review, I wished I had begun here. The explanations clarify grammatical and usage issues far better than any of the aforementioned texts. And best of all, the approach seems more pragmatic, with immediate online feedback, practice, and participation. Coupled with the affiliated Satori Reader, I think this is the best self-directed learning experience available, and is probably more useful than all the time I’ve spent in language classes! ### 5/5 — Very detailed *2021-07-12, version 1.2.1* There is much more detail about proper usage than textbooks like Genki. I learned so much about Japanese grammar. Great for people who want to learn Japanese quickly. If your name is John then this textbook is personalized just for you! ### 5/5 — This is the best Japanese learning resource I have used to date *2021-06-12, version 1.2.1* This app was by far the best resource I have used for learning Japanese and I have tried a lot of different books, apps, and online sources. I took a year of college JPN so I had some of the basics down but was still really struggling for the years after to improve. I tried many different books but found them either too hard for my level or completely un-engaging. After hearing about this app from Chris Broad on hit YouTube channel Abroad in Japan speak very highly of this app I downloaded it. I was immediately in love with it as it goes in to many nuanced questions I had when first learning Japanese. The level if detail and clarity this app portrays is like no other if you are at all interested in learning Japanese don’t think buy both the beginner and intermediate app it will provide you with plenty of reading time and a great many lessons in Japanese that would normally cost you 10x or more to get elsewhere!!! ### 5/5 — Human Japanese and Intermediate. *2021-06-01, version 1.2.1* Absolutely fantastic. Almost feels like having your own personal tutor. Great content and everything is explained so well. John --- *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 2026-06-10.*