# kotoha: Japanese Word Game — Daily kana puzzle & JLPT vocab

> Daily Japanese word puzzle game with kana hints and vocabulary learning. (iPhone/iPad app by kyle coburn.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kotoha-japanese-word-game/id1604308295 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [kyle coburn](https://appshunter.io/developer/477379233)
- Category: Games, Education, Puzzle, Word
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 20 App Store ratings · 10 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 6 MB
- Languages: American English, Japanese
- Released: 2022-02-15
- Data updated: 2026-11-03
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kotoha-japanese-word-game/id1604308295/reviews.md

## What is kotoha?

Solve the day’s hidden Japanese word in seven tries. ことは (kotoha) is a daily word puzzle made for kana: every answer is three kana long, every guess must be a real word, and everyone at your level gets the same word each day.

HINTS MADE FOR JAPANESE
Each guess colors every kana:
• Right spot: the kana is in the word, exactly there
• Wrong spot: the kana is in the word, somewhere else
• Same row (行): not that kana, but another from its row of the kana chart, like た ち つ て と
• Ruled out: nothing from that row is left in the word

TWO LEVELS
• Learner: common vocabulary up to JLPT N2, perfect for building your Japanese vocabulary
• Advanced: N2, N1 and other common native Japanese words for fluent speakers
Switch any time in Settings.

LEARN AS YOU PLAY
• Type in romaji: T + A makes た
• Tap any guess to look up its meaning, with dictionaries in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Russian, Swedish, Hungarian and Slovenian
• See which words still fit your clues when you’re stuck
• A short tutorial teaches the rules in a minute

EVERY DAY
• A new word daily, numbered from day 1 on January 1, 2022
• Missed a day? Yesterday’s puzzle is free, and supporters can play every past day from the calendar
• Track your stats and streaks, and compare each day’s result with all players
• Share your result card with friends
• Optional settings like filling in correct kana as you find them

Free to play daily, with no ads, on iPhone and iPad.

## Key features

- Daily three-kana word puzzles
- Kana-based hints
- JLPT vocabulary levels
- Romaji input
- Word meaning lookup
- Stats and streaks tracking

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wakaba: spring leaf | $2.99 | one-time |
| Aoba: summer leaf | $5.99 | one-time |
| Momiji: autumn leaf | $11.99 | one-time |


## Is kotoha safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess kotoha.

## Is kotoha legit?

kotoha: Japanese Word Game appears to be a legitimate app. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for kotoha is 90 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

## Recent user reviews (10 of 10)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kotoha-japanese-word-game/id1604308295/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Wonderful for learners and fun

*2026-05-06*

This fun game helps me learn, remember, and exercise vocabulary. Super simple to learn with plenty of challenges.

I imagine it might give away too much information but knowing when more than one mora is in the same column would be useful. Also the share feature crashes on my SE3.

### 3/5 — An interesting concept, but not enough explanations

*2026-04-14, version 1.5*

I like the game. However, there are several things I don’t understand. Like why is there a day number written on top (1560 days) an what does it mean. What kind of words are possible (only nouns, or are there also verbs and adjectives). Lots of stuff you need to somehow figure out yourself. Also, there are only two levels - beginner and advanced, no in-between.

### 4/5 — 過去問に戻りたい！

*2025-05-09, version 1.5*

広告もなく、日々の隙間時間に使いやすいのですが、過去にまだやってない問題にすぐに飛べるとありがたいです。

### 4/5 — 面白い

*2024-07-15, version 1.5*

過去の問題がリストとかで選べるともっといいです！！！

### 5/5 — Better than described, get it even if you’re on the fence. An important feature should be added

*2024-01-06*

I was expecting wordle in Japanese and that’s exactly what it is. For learners it even has a setting to limit the vocab, and the built in dictionary is an excellent implementation. However, I think there should be a better browse feature for past words so you don’t have to click the arrow each time; it has repeatedly crashed if I scroll too fast. Besides that, this is one of the best ways to prove your skills and expand your vocabulary. 

Thank you for the time you’ve put in to making this app.

### 4/5 — Could we get a calendar view?

*2023-12-08*

Pressing an arrow a few hundred times to reach a previous day is a bit too tedious to be worth while.

### 4/5 — Wish I could play again

*2023-05-01*

This app is fun but you can only play a single word every day. Kind of wish there was a infinite mode. 🥲

### 1/5 — レア単語の定義が謎

*2023-02-06, version 1.3*

正解文字「じ」のヒントが「た行」でした。
「じ」は「ざ行」です。
「つくし」と「つらら」がレア単語とされる中、「たくち」は通ったりするので、「レア単語」の定義はもっと一般の感覚に寄せたほうがいい。

### 5/5 — awesome

*2023-02-04, version 1.3*

genius for learning words!

### 5/5 — Pretty interesting

*2022-04-25, version 1.2*

I had to get used to it and lost the first day because I didn’t get it. But now I understand it and it’s a fun way of learning new words. Since I don’t know too many words yet it was a lot of guessing involved.

## Frequently asked questions about kotoha

### What is kotoha?

kotoha is a daily Japanese word puzzle game where players guess a three-kana word within seven attempts. It uses kana-specific hints and offers vocabulary suitable for JLPT levels.

### How does kotoha teach Japanese?

Players can tap on any guessed word to look up its meaning in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French. The game also reinforces vocabulary through daily puzzles.

### What are the different game modes in kotoha?

kotoha offers two levels: 'Learner' for vocabulary up to JLPT N2, and 'Advanced' for N2, N1, and common native Japanese words. Players can switch between these levels in the settings.

### Can I play kotoha offline?

The description states the game is free to play daily with no ads on iPhone and iPad, implying online connectivity for daily puzzles. However, specific offline play capabilities are not detailed.

### Does kotoha have ads?

No, kotoha is free to play daily with no ads.

### What devices does kotoha support?

kotoha is available on iPhone and iPad.

### How often is kotoha updated?

The latest version is 2.1, released on November 2nd, 2026. This indicates a recent update, though the frequency of future updates is not specified.

### What is the age rating for kotoha?

kotoha has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of players.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.1 — 2026-11-02

• Calendar view for exploring past games
• Celebrate streaks and milestones, shown on your share card too
• Compare your stats and each day’s word against all players
• Typing haptics (can disable in account settings)
• Improved performance and fixed many little bugs
• Accessibility improved across the board
• Optional daily reminder banners
• Support kotoha with a spring, summer or autumn leaf to play every past puzzle

And a secret kaizou mode when a word you've solved comes around again!

### 2.0 — 2026-11-01

• Calendar view for exploring past games
• Celebrate streaks and milestones, shown on your share card too
• Compare your stats and each day’s word against all players
• Typing haptics (can disable in account settings)
• Improved performance and fixed many little bugs
• Accessibility improved across the board

And a secret kaizou mode if you complete all the puzzles!

### 1.5 — 2023-11-07

- Enables playing past days
- Fixed a bug where the game would not save when completed

### 1.4 — 2023-10-26

・Improved performance
・Expanded wordlist
・Increased difficulty of unique starting word mode
・Quick input for ん
・Fixed issue where stats calculations could be incorrect due to duplicate day entries

### 1.3 — 2022-05-04

Thanks for playing!
This version updates the game's font, improves hints for repeated guesses, adds haptic feedback, fixes a bug where the first attempt wasn't shown for lost games, and shows the day number and attempts when sharing as an image.

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## More apps by kyle coburn

- [Kanji Garden Japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kanji-garden-japanese/id1338967114)
- [Heart Beats: Music Playlists](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/heart-beats-music-playlists/id1415282075)
- [Photos On This Day: Widget](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photos-on-this-day-widget/id1620659723)

All apps by kyle coburn: https://appshunter.io/developer/477379233

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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 2026-11-03.*