# Kotoba Snap — Snap Japanese, get flashcards

> Snap Japanese, get flashcards (iPhone/iPad app by YINGDE YANG.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kotoba-snap/id6788997948 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [YINGDE YANG](https://appshunter.io/developer/6788997950)
- Category: Education, Reference
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.5 · 93 MB
- Languages: American English, Chinese (Simplified, China)
- Released: 2026-08-05
- Data updated: 2026-10-04

## What is Kotoba Snap?

Snap a photo. Turn the Japanese words in it into flashcards.

Menus, street signs, packaging, a page of a novel — whenever you run into
Japanese you don't know, just photograph it. Kotoba Snap recognizes the text,
splits it into words, and lets you pick the ones worth learning.

Interface languages: English and Simplified Chinese. The app starts in
Simplified Chinese — switch to English under Settings → Language. Japanese
interface is not available yet.

· Photo to text — handles vertical Japanese, recognized on your device
· Instant lookup — offline dictionary with readings, part of speech, JLPT level
· Read it again — recognized text is kept with the photo, readable with furigana
  any time, and still selectable while furigana is on
· Build cards by hand — written form, reading, meaning, part of speech and JLPT
  level, with dictionary lookup while you edit
· Verb conjugation — expand any verb into its full set of forms and usages,
  with transitive and intransitive marked
· Spaced review — scheduling handled for you, no deciding when to revisit
· Source photos — browse cards grouped by the picture you found them in
· Reference translation — Japanese sentences translated into Simplified Chinese
  on your device. Requires iOS 18 or later and the Simplified Chinese interface;
  one language pack is downloaded the first time, offline after that. A
  Japanese-to-English path is not available yet.
· AI translation — optional, off by default. Enter your own API key and the
  recognized text can be translated by Claude, ChatGPT or DeepSeek. Photos are
  never sent, and the key stays on this device.

Note: definitions are provided in Simplified Chinese and English.

No account. No sign-up. The dictionary ships with the app: capture, recognition,
lookup and review all run on your device and need no network. The
reference-translation language pack is downloaded once on first use, and works
offline after that. AI translation is optional and off by default; once you
enable it and enter your own API key, translating sends the recognized text to
the provider you chose.

## Is Kotoba Snap safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Kotoba Snap.

## Is Kotoba Snap legit?

Kotoba Snap has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Kotoba Snap is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 4 releases)

### 1.2.1 — 2026-08-16

The launch animation is a little slower
It used to end before you could see it.

The full dictionary now starts loading the moment you open the app
It used to wait until after your first photo lookup, so if you only made cards by hand it never loaded at all. Now it prepares in the background at launch, takes a few seconds, and blocks nothing while it does.

Fixed: while the dictionary was still loading, making a card by hand said "not in the dictionary"
That was untrue — the word was there, that half of the dictionary just was not ready yet. It now says the full dictionary is still loading and to try again shortly.

### 1.2.0 — 2026-08-14

New: AI translation (optional, off by default)
Alongside the on-device reference translation, you can now use AI translation.
It needs an API key that you obtain yourself from a provider and enter in Settings.
Once enabled, translating sends the recognized text to the provider you chose
(Claude, ChatGPT or DeepSeek). Photos are never sent, and the key stays on this
device. The provider bills you directly; this app takes no part in it. You are
asked for consent before the first send to each provider, and again if you switch.

Translate a whole page at once
Every untranslated sentence on the page can be translated in one go, and you can
stop it at any time.

Furigana per line
Readings and translations can now be shown at the same time.

Settings rebuilt
One row per item; the current value is shown on the right.

Other
Fixed the settings page not refreshing after switching provider, among other things.

### 1.1.0 — 2026-08-08

New: Reference translation
Recognized Japanese text can now be translated sentence by sentence into
Simplified Chinese, so you can check what a whole sentence means.
Translation runs on your device — your text and photos never leave the phone.
A one-time language pack download is needed the first time; after that it works
offline.
Requires iOS 18 or later, and the app interface set to Simplified Chinese.
A Japanese-to-English path is not available in this version.

Read the recognized text again later
The recognized text is now kept with the photo, so you can read it again with
furigana at any time. Text stays selectable and copyable with furigana on.

Build cards by hand
Fill in the written form, reading, meaning, part of speech and JLPT level
yourself, with dictionary lookup while you edit.

Verb conjugation now shows two systems side by side, and marks transitive and
intransitive verbs.

Also: clearer first-run guidance and small fixes.

### 1.0 — 2026-08-05

No release notes.

## Apps similar to Kotoba Snap

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [seeKanji](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seekanji/id6472878856) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Education |
| [Kotoba - Translate & Learn](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kotoba-translate-and-learn/id6761883207) | — | Free | Education |
| [天才小兔ABC](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/abc/id6759966373) | — | Free | Education |
| [Nihongozy](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihongozy/id6502602464) | — | Free | Education |
| [Japanese Online](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-online/id6471897085) | — | Free | Education |
| [Wasabi JLPT (Vocabulary)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wasabi-jlpt-vocabulary/id6756490372) | — | Free | Education |

---

*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 2026-10-04.*