# Japanese My Way — user reviews > 52 indexed App Store user reviews of Japanese My Way by Ray Price, rated 3.70/5 from 3 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-my-way/id327250496/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-my-way/id327250496.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 0 · 4★ 2 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 0 ## Newest reviews (15 of 52) ### 3/5 — Writing Practice *2016-03-11, version 4.4.4* I cannot find the place in the app where I can write, and the app recognizes whether my strokes are right. I see the animated and automated stroke order, but nothing where one writes freehand. Can anyone help? (I tried the website but "contact us" link wasn't working.) ### 4/5 — Good Purchase *2015-12-24, version 4.4.4* A little skeptical about purchasing this app at first, but I'm glad I did. LOTS of vocabulary and kanji to study. I don't think you'll run out of stuff to study. The only thing I'd like to bring up is the flash cards: it's really hard to read the words towards the bottom of the card. It's almost completely cut off. Other than, I advise any Japanese language lover like myself to really consider purchasing this app. ### 4/5 — great app, but... *2014-10-17, version 4.4* I absolutely love this app. it is fun to use and helps me study for my Japanese 1 class. HOWEVER, it is giving me trouble with the hiragana "ぴ" and "よ." I tap the help icon, and even when I trace the hiragana directly, it gives me a percentage in the single digits, typically not above 2%. I'm not sure if this is an effect of the update, but it makes practice difficult at times ### 3/5 — Generally like this app, but latest update has bugs *2014-10-14, version 4.4* I updated this app and have not been able to access practice decks since the update. I keep getting an error about cloud storage? ### 4/5 — Great, educational, versatile *2013-12-28, version 4.2.10* I love the stroke-recognition writing game/quiz--I can't find that anywhere else. The rest of the app is good too. The only thing holding me back from giving it four stars is the "wrong" buzzer that sounds even when I have the volume off. Is there a way to mute that for private study? ### 4/5 — Great App!!! *2013-11-24, version 4.2.10* What can I say? This app is absolutely required if you are studying Japanese!!! It has vocabulary for many popular Japanese learning methods, such as JLPT (all levels), Genki I and II, and so on!!! I attend a Japanese class that uses Genki books, and I go to a class that has their own vocabulary and words. With JMW, I was able to create my own vocabulary/word sets and use it to study. The kanji recognition is very good. You can change how strict it judges your writing to forgivable for newibies up to super strict for the experienced. It syncs everything cloud including your learning progression, your custom word sets, and so on. While it is a wonderful app, it does sometime crash. However, the crashes are few and are between but enough for me not to give it 5 stars. However, if you are learning Japanese, this app is a must for you. ### 3/5 — Why change the progress? *2013-08-28, version 4.1.6* man, i love this app, but its been changing in a way that drives me nuts. before when you went through a deck, you could check your progress, see how frequently you missed words and choose the problem words. now it tells you none of that and instead has this silly progress meter that isn't helpful in the least! bring back the percentages, and allow me to reset them like i used to! its essential for me to see exactly what I'm missing and give myself a fresh start! ### 4/5 — Awesome *2013-02-27, version 3.0.4* Incredibly helpful app, being able to write the kanji and vocab is the best part, well worth the money. Only problem is that it doesn't sync my iPhone with ipad so I have to use one or the other. It would be 5 stars if it automatically updated my progress and decks on all devices. Perhaps have a login feature? ### 4/5 — Brilliant upgrade *2012-10-14, version 3.0.1* I have to admit that when I first bought this app some months ago, I was disappointed. But the recent upgrade has just placed this app on my 'favourite study apps' list! The new interface is sleek and professional, the kanji writing practice drills seem to work better, and the 'correct stroke order' playback after mis-writing a character is amazing! I can now comfortably recommend this app for anybody who wants to learn to writ kanji for real. Keep up the good work guys! Looking forward to seeing the app develop even more. ### 3/5 — Good app, with a few flaws *2012-07-11, version 2.1.4* This app is quite good for learning kanji, but there are a few frustrating flaws with the interface that prevent the app from truly shining. The Good: -Excellent variety of kanji and vocabulary for practice -Very satisfying writing mechanic - the kanji look beautiful when you draw them. Very smooth and sleek; perhaps the best I've ever seen. -The kanji rating mechanic is helpful when it works. I know my stroke order now! The Bad -The interface feels very sloppy, and many functions are counterintuitive. For example, when you change a set, you can't simply hit the back button, as it will take you back to the main menu. To make things worse, if you hit back and navigate your way back to the lesson, the app doesn't remember the preferences you set. Instead, you have to hit the "play" button on the bottom. This took me a while to figure out, and I honestly thought that the app was broken in the meantime. -Once you've been shown how to draw a kanji, it immediately disappears and you have no option to practice it until it comes back around, at which point you've likely forgotten one of the stroke orders (which will give you a wrong answer). -Some kanji are completely broken, and it is impossible to get a high enough score on them to succeed. 水 in particular is impossible to get correct, even if you follow the paths and stroke orders perfectly. I think this app has tremendous potential, but it's interface flaws hold it back. With a better interface, this would easily be a five star app. ### 4/5 — Great program, missing element *2011-09-07, version 2.0.1* The program is great, but when I was reading about details, it says, "stroke recognition.". I thought this was also inclusive of a tutorial for the stroke order to practice. The recognition actually has you write kanji/kana, and gives you a percentage, but if you don't know how to write the kanji already, you have no possible way to write it. I basically wrote these kanji down on paper first and then tested. Really would be nice if there were a stroke practice game instead of just a write from memory. Also, the flash cards should be able to tap to flip, mostly because you cannot go back in the deck, only to the next card. Great application otherwise. ### 4/5 — been using this app forever and... *2011-08-05, version 2.0.1* I love it! it is so incredibly helpful! i just recieved the updates and i love that there are now premade lists for all the kanji grades as well as the word building game! really wonderful and this app has helped me a ton with studying for my classes. there are minor things that could be fixed, but no major problems :) there are spelling errors and a few generic translations that could be more specific. a lot of words will be listed several times, same word but different kanji being used. i have asked my teacher because it was suspicious and he said the meanings are indeed slightly different depending on the kanji. the app does not make a distinction between these different meanings, it instead lists the same definition for each entry but this information would be helpful to know. i would like to be able to reorder the definitions so that when i have the top ones down, i can switch to the other meanings without having to delete the entry, and reenter it, which is a slight hassle. like i said its just little things, this app is by far the best app you will find for kanji and vocab practice. extremely helpful and easy to use! you get a lot of options with this app and i have no doubt about it continuing to be useful to me! ### 5/5 — Perfect Companion for Students *2011-04-28, version 1.9.6* I'm a student of Japanese taking evening classes and have been looking for an application that has everything I need in one place. This application has it all and the great part is, it's only 3 bucks. I almost didn't buy because of a couple of bad reviews, but after using the application I can only imagine these people didn't even bother to use the application. I use this application along with my class textbook to create my own lists for studying and then drill the vocab for that week using the flash cards and drill the kanji using the writing (which is great, since it checks your drawing and gives you a grade!). The dictionary is great too, as you can get sample sentences for any of the words you're looking at which really helps with grammar, and at any point you can add it to one of your decks too. I agree with the one reviewer that it did take a while to get to grips with all the features of the application, but it was definitely worth the time. Fully recommended for anyone who is taking a Japanese class like myself. ### 5/5 — Great reference for students *2011-03-09, version 1.9.5* This app is an easy-to-use handheld dictionary, verb conjugator, and kanji database all in one. You can even practice character stroke order or make a deck of flashcards. If you need one app to help you with Japanese, this is the best value by far! ### 5/5 — Studying Japanese? Get this now. *2011-02-26, version 1.9.4* I've studied Japanese seriously for 8 years out of the past 15. In college, while living there, occasionally when the mood struck me...and although I can speak well, I'm still functionally illiterate. Anyone who knows Japanese knows that, without kanji, you really can't get the vocabulary necessary to really advance. So when I speak, it flows well, but I'm trapped into sounding like an uneducated high school student. All this would have been different if I had had this app on an ipad so many years ago. I'm sure I'd be watching kurosawa films in the original and chuckling at the refined wordplay. Ok..probably not. What's amazing is that there is really no reason reason for me to study kanji right now - don't live there, job, career, relationship, travel. But here I am tracing out kanji and covering gaps that have plagued me for a long time. Keeps the brain fresh. Suddenly, I'm enthusiastic about studying Kanji. Yeah..reread that one again. While the help and explanation of features is still a work in progress, the developer responded to my question with a detailed answer within hours. and lastly...2.99 for the ipad app. Ridiculous how much other language ipad apps - all languages, not just Japanese. I think this is only the second app I've been motivated to write about. I love studying kanji..anything or anyone that can make that happen deserves some recognition. I'm looking forward to this only getting better. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — none *2012-12-08, version 3.0.4* Do not update before checking it out .You might find the updated version appalling. I personally regret the update bitterly. ### 1/5 — Not recommended *2011-07-12, version 1.9.7* I purchased this for the writing recognition but it is way too inflexible. I had a Japanese native try it and the software couldn't recognize their writing correctly ### 1/5 — bunch of features are missing or buried in a useless interface *2011-04-24, version 1.9.6* Not a very good app. The write features and tests are not available. only grade 1 kanji available in flash cards. not acceptable for a paid app. ### 1/5 — Sad and looking elsewhere *2010-10-08, version 0* I would not recommend this product for anyone more skilled than extreme beginner. I was hoping for a serious Kanji study system (I have a BA in Japanese) to maintain and expand my knowledge, but the content in this app is very weak, and the design not very facilitative for learning in any serious way. ### 1/5 — Paid for nothing *2010-08-20, version 0* I paid for this...installed it...doesn't open. Just goes back to my menu. Took it off, installed it again...restarted...still doesn't work. Its like a bloody scam. How do i go about getting my money back? ### 2/5 — Not My Way *2012-11-24, version 3.0.4* I previously gave this app 4☆, but I'm reducing it to two as I have found that I cannot enter vocabulary lists as they appear in my textbook. The problem seems centred around compound words. e.g. 団体 and 生活 are both in the dictionary, but 団体生活 is not and JMW will not let me add the word as it appears in my textbook vocabulary list to a deck. Similarly, one cannot add a な adjective to a deck. You can add 有名 but not 有名な. There are workarounds, but it is frustrating and it's not My Way. I cannot drill the vocabulary lists as they appear in my textbook. Also, I am still frustrated by how picky JMW is about hiragana. It is annoying to be graded wrong on 難しい because your い is judged incorrect even though it could not be mistaken for any other character. ### 2/5 — Meh... *2011-04-25, version 1.9.6* Not that good. And it wasted my two dollars. : ( I thought it would show me how to write the letters on my screen but it didn't. X2 : ( it's also confusing on what to do. ### 2/5 — Not the greatest dictionary *2011-02-02, version 1.9.4* I tried to look up the word lamb and the dictionary gives me three different kanji spellings. How would I know which one is right? ### 2/5 — iPad images are misleading *2010-07-04, version 0* This thing as it currently stands is useless on the iPad. The working area shown in the images above actually occupy a very small area of the screen. It fails to properly recognize the kanji strokes unless they are very close to overlaying the sample. You can draw the kanji correclty but if it is out of position (too high or low, or too small) it fails to recognize it. You cannot create a new deck, the app crashes each and every time. This app attempts to fill a legit study need, kanji stroke practice, but fails in the execution. I hope they update it soon, because if the issues are resolved, it will be a very useful study aid. ### 2/5 — IPad version needs work *2010-06-29, version 0* It is very obvious that this was written for iPhone and very hastily adapted for iPad. The features of the app are great but the implementation is very problematic. Some issues: - Doesn't support landscape orientation - Kanji writing and a few other features don't use the full screen - The app crashes when I try to add Kanji characters to a deck - Overall app flow is awkward I love the app for what it does but I think it needs a rewrite and/or redesign for iPad. I'll be waiting for an update. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Excellent kanji app *2013-05-02, version 4.0.4* This app is definitely the best app for practicing and learning kanji that I have ever used. You can make your own decks of kanji and vocab, so that your studying ones specific to your curriculum, and can play a variety of different games so that you can practice reading, writing and recognizing the kanji. This app is so effective that I could not learn my kanji without it. I would highly recommend it to none studying Japanese. ### 5/5 — Great Kanji app *2013-04-20, version 3.0.4* Provides various ways to study, including writing the kanji. Can also test yourself for recognition of meaning, etc. While studying, can get proper stroke order demonstrated. Great support from developer. Immediate, helpful response. ### 5/5 — this app is definitely great *2012-10-20, version 3.0.1* it's really innovative, and even though I have quite a few flashcard applications for learning Japanese this one really stands out from the rest . however, if it had JLPT decks I think it would make the program perfect . it's dictionary does provide you with all the jlpt vocabulary and kanji BUT adding them manually gets pretty tedious . (especially with the amount of vocabulary learnt in every level) also if it had the vocab from the nakama editions it would be pretty nice as well ;) but overall all I really thinking having JLPT decks would essentially make this app the god of all Japanese learning apps . apart from that, this program is definitely a must for anyone who studies Japanese and needs to learn how to write Kanji in context . thank you so much for this program and I can't wait to see get better . :) ### 5/5 — Fantastic Update! *2012-10-13, version 3.0.1* Not so long ago, I criticized this app for its clunky interface and outdated appearance. I also suggested a few small changes I thought might make the app better. I don't know if the developer read my comments, but EVERY complaint I had has been addressed, and many of the suggestions have been implemented. So far I LOVE the result! Creating lists is still easy. The grading system continues to be the best around, and seems to have even improved a bit. Navigation is much, much easier. Single errant strokes can now be erased. Missed kanji can be practiced before moving on. It makes me very happy to see this clever and helpful app return to 5-star form. Welcome back to the family of serious Japanese study applications! ### 5/5 — Anonymous *2012-08-04, version 2.1.4* Would be a lot better if you could sync flashdecks to other devices with icloud ### 5/5 — Worth 10x the price! *2012-06-19, version 2.1.4* I have spent almost $75 dollars on Japanese apps, this is BY FAR the best. I am a serious student of Japanese. I am also a trained EFL teacher with a masters in education. This app does everything - it met my needs when I just wanted to play around and re-learn a few kanji, and it performed equally well when I wanted to get into more serious grammar. Technologically speaking, it is intuitive and fluid. Buy this app now before the developers get smart(er) and raise the price! ### 5/5 — Great way to learn! *2011-11-07, version 2.1.2* I've been looking for apps to keep up and build on my vocab and kanji skills. Of the japanese learning apps i've tried, this one i've already spent more time practicing with. Other apps i would get bored with, but this one is great because the flashcard games are so varied. You can practice the same vocab list with flashcards for reading, writing either kanji or kana, or any number of combinations. That really is the best way to learn, practicing many different ways. And the writting is really fun too! ### 5/5 — THE BEST KANJI/ hiragana/katakana APP!! *2011-10-31, version 2.1.0* You only need to buy this app if you are serious about learning kanji or hiragana. Very easy user interface that's basic and to the point...no unnessary " bells and whistles" like the other kanji apps (I.e. Stickstudy). Lots of options to customize study. For me I love the create your own deck feature which allows you to make a custom list of select kanji words to study. In my Japanese class we have specific kanji that we're learning right now, so this feature allows me to only choose the kanji that I'll be tested on in my class so I can focus my studies. Great job guys! I love simplicity! ### 5/5 — Chourou *2011-10-14, version 2.0.2* Great app. Learning/methods of study are well done - challenging without being frustrating. Categories/lesson groupings are complimentary of standards so this app helps build from other knowledge gained from other apps and books (ie Grades, Language test, etc). I find testing myself by reading first then learning to write the kanji is better for me. The hints are well balanced giving at first a slight hint, then more, then more, then more up to a full stroke order writing example. Very well done. My gratitude to the developers. ### 5/5 — Incredible for the price *2011-08-10, version 2.0.1* Absolutely love the dictionary. Very complete. Also, I love being able to make flash cards of the vocabulary words, and deciding if they need to be spelled out or if they can just be flipped for the answer. The other students in my class have decided to purchase this app as well. It just makes studying so incredibly convenient. The only thing I would add would be to the flash card game, the option to automatically remove cards that you get correct 3 times in a row, like an Elimination game. You can pick and choose which cards you flash now, and you can stop the game and check your percentage of how many you got right, but it would be nice if the app did that automatically, so that you could focus more on the cards you do not know rather than keep repeating the cards you do. Have an entire stack of flashcards that the other students want, but I am not sure if it is possible to share cards. Would be a nice feature. Otherwise, this app is worth much, much more than what it costs. --- *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.*