# MARU: Learn Japanese Hiragana — Free Beginner Kana Practices > Learn Japanese Hiragana and Katakana with authentic audio and varied practice. (iPhone/iPad app by Overdreamer, LLC.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maru-learn-japanese-hiragana/id1208009110 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Overdreamer, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1208009109) - Category: Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.90/5 from 17,885 App Store ratings · 1,212 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.0 · 36 MB - Languages: American English, Czech, Dutch, French (France), German (Germany), Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese and 9 more - Released: 2017-02-24 - Data updated: 2026-08-28 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maru-learn-japanese-hiragana/id1208009110/reviews.md ## What is MARU? Hey there! (•u•) Interested in learning Japanese but don't know where to start? You've come to the right place! MARU Japanese Kana, loved by over a million learners worldwide with an average rating of 4.9 (thank you so much!), is just what you need. As a lifelong learner of Japanese myself, I created this app to make Japanese alphabets less intimidating and more enjoyable. It's a simple app that focuses on one thing but does it very well: helping you start learning Japanese. I wish MARU had been around when I started learning Japanese. Lucky you! Stop learning with those robotic voices and non-native pronunciations. That will impede your learning effectiveness. Dive in and experience authentic Japanese through exercises voiced by a professional voice actress. With 14 different practice varieties, learning Hiragana and Katakana becomes a breeze. Reading, writing, listening, typing, and even building your vocabulary – it's all here, making it the perfect start to your Japanese journey! What's the catch? You’ll see an ad after every five mistakes. Since MARU's launch in 2017, it’s been downloaded over a million times, yet ad revenue has been modest. But that’s okay! My goal is to spread the joy of learning Japanese. To fulfill that goal, I try to provide tremendous value for everyone and keep as little as possible behind the Pro Version. Here’s what you’ll find in the default Free Version: • All 105 Hiragana and Katakana characters, not just the basic ones. • A short ad after 5 mistakes. No mistakes = No ads. • Over 300 everyday words for practice, like "hello" and "thank you." • Clear voice recordings for all words and characters. • MARU-kun, our adorable mascot, greets and motivates you each time you practice. • Date and Time that changes every minute to teach you Japanese words for numbers and calendar. • A smart feature that identifies your weak spots and helps you improve. • A fun way to practice Katakana using familiar Hiragana words. My app is completely free with minimal ads, but if you choose to upgrade to the Pro Version (one-time purchase), you’ll enjoy: • An ad-free experience. • Offline practice, anytime, anywhere. • Writing and typing exercises. • Timed challenges to test yourself. • Access to more words for time, date, and Katakana. Don't just take my word for it. Here’s one of my favorite reviews: "This is MY #1 app for learning Japanese. I downloaded EVERY Japanese app I could find without paying a single dime. The app does exactly what it promises - nice graphics, great voice acting, and awesome practice methods. I'm in love with this awesome app!" - A happy user Thanks for reading! If you're interested, just download and start your Japanese learning adventure with MARU! (•u•) ## Key features - Learn all Hiragana and Katakana characters - Authentic Japanese voice recordings - 14 practice varieties - Vocabulary building exercises - Smart weak spot identification - Practice with numbers and calendar words ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Pro Upgrade (Lifetime) | $19.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of MARU? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Fun way to learn Japanese - 👍 Great for memorizing hiragana and katakana - 👍 User-friendly and simple - 👍 Convenient and easy to use - 👍 Helpful for reinforcing learning - 👍 Affordable lifetime subscription - 👍 Modular and customizable - 👍 Cute and motivating - 👍 Effective for beginners - 👍 Smooth and clean interface - 👍 Helpful for dyslexic learners - 👍 Excellent for daily practice **Cons** - 🐛 Issues with distinguishing similar sounds - 🐛 Lack of writing practice - 🐛 Limited vocabulary - 🐛 Ads can be disruptive for some users **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes or freezes on some devices - Issues with text size and formatting on certain devices **Most requested features** - Add support for dakuten and handakuten characters - Incorporate kanji learning - Allow selecting specific characters to practice - Add timed mode for quicker recognition - Provide stroke order demonstrations - Include more advanced vocabulary - Add ability to export learned content ## Recent user reviews (10 of 1,212) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maru-learn-japanese-hiragana/id1208009110/reviews.md ### 5/5 — шик обязательно для изучения японского *2026-08-26, version 2.15* Очень быстро выучил хирогану благодаря этому приложению, минусов вообще нет вск можно настроить есть карточки хорошее аудиосопровождение спасибо разработчику это большой вклад в изучение японского. ### 5/5 — 👍 *2026-08-26, version 2.15* 👍 ### 5/5 — Love it so much! *2026-08-25, version 2.15* This app is perfect for Japanese beginners! With memorable exercises and fun activities. I definitely recommend this to all children learning! ### 5/5 — 很棒 *2026-08-25, version 2.15* 太棒了 很實用 ### 5/5 — Best app for learning kana! *2026-08-24, version 2.15* Just started my Japanese journey and I’m about a week in with the hiragana section almost complete. This app has been amazing for helping me remember the kana as well as practicing the sounds since I always repeat it out loud. And it’s all free!! You only have to deal with ads every 5 times you get something wrong. Definitely the best app for learning kana!! ### 5/5 — Very helpful *2026-08-22, version 2.15* It’s super good to use for practicing characters w app use it ### 5/5 — Best beginner app for learning kana *2026-08-21, version 2.15* The UI is clean and modern with no ads. Realistic voices, not AI or TTS, grace your ears. You can add how many questions you want, you can choose specifically which characters you want to review (which is my fav feature) and can choose reading or listening questions and more. This app builds a great foundation for your Japanese learning journey. ### 4/5 — I love it but!!!! *2026-08-20, version 2.15* The look the lessons everything is great just missing across device syncing. Pain to have to manually do across devices. I purchased it hoping that would be a PRO feature or something. Either way thank you! for the hard work keep it up. I will change to FIVE stars once we can get Across device syncing. ### 5/5 — ÇOK GÜZEL BİR UYGULAMA *2026-08-19, version 2.15* Ben bu uygulamaya ilk başladığımda ilk önce zorlandım ama sonra bir defter kullanmaya başladım ve işler daha kolay gitti artık hafif bir cümleler kurabiliyorum ve bence bu uygulama mükemmel ve herkese tavsiye ederim 🍥🍡🍙 ### 5/5 — Hiragana Practice *2026-08-16, version 2.15* This app was recommended by my teacher to practice the Japanese alphabet. It’s fun & engaging. I’m able to remember the right hiragana thanks to this app! ## Frequently asked questions about MARU ### What does MARU: Learn Japanese Hiragana do? This app helps beginners learn Japanese Hiragana and Katakana. It focuses on making the learning process enjoyable and effective through various practice methods, authentic audio, and vocabulary building exercises. ### What are the key features of the free version? The free version includes all 105 Hiragana and Katakana characters, clear voice recordings by a professional voice actress, over 300 everyday words for practice, and a smart feature that identifies your weak spots. You'll also encounter minimal ads after every five mistakes. ### How does the app make money? The app is free to use with minimal ads. Users can choose to upgrade to a Pro Version through a one-time purchase for an ad-free experience, offline practice, writing and typing exercises, and access to more vocabulary words. ### What kind of practice methods are available? The app offers 14 different practice varieties, covering reading, writing, listening, and typing. It also includes vocabulary building, practicing Katakana with familiar Hiragana words, and learning Japanese words for numbers and calendar items. ### Who is this app best suited for? This app is ideal for individuals who are new to learning Japanese and want a structured and engaging way to master the fundamental Japanese writing systems, Hiragana and Katakana. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.15 — 2024-08-02 やっほー！ Your favorite Hiragana learning app just got an update (•u•): • New MARU(•u•) Design! I’ve given MARU a new app icon, brighter colors, and some new expressions. MARU’s lip-syncing is smoother now too. Let me know if you liked it! Thank you for your support! Keep learning with MARU! ### 2.14 — 2024-07-28 やっほー！It's August (はちがつ) and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got an update (•u•): • Kanji: By popular request, I finally added some Kanji, starting from the Words screen. More coming soon, so stay tuned! • Emojis: Added some emojis where meanings are clear. More to come. • MARU Speech Optimizations: Adjusted the duration of MARU's speaking time to be more accurate. • Daily Words Notification: Changed the default from 3 to 1 to reduce spam. Adjust it back if you miss the frequent reminders. • Crash Fix: Fixed the crash when setting Daily Words Notification to 1. Apologies for the inconvenience! If you're still having issues, please email nolan@overdreamer.com. Worst case, use this quick fix: delete and reinstall the app. Use "Progress Settings" in Settings to restore progress. Thank you for your support! Keep learning with MARU! ### 2.13.2 — 2024-07-07 やっほー！July しちがつ is here, and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got a big update (•u•): • Hiragana/Katakana Switcher: Quickly switch between Hiragana and Katakana charts to see the difference. • Notification Redesign: Daily notifications have been the same every day and that can be dull. Added a variety of Daily Reminders and Daily Words to help you study better. • FAQ Screen: Added a FAQ screen to answer the many email questions I have compiled over the past year. Other Updates: • Long Press to quickly select the whole row of Kana to study. • A lot of translations fixes based on your feedback. • Removed Malay, Hindi, Romanian, Hungarian localizations due to very low usage and high maintenance cost. • MARU's mouth now moves when Date and Time are tapped. • Word to Meaning question now plays audio automatically. • Added retry and no internet connection warning when there's a purchase error. • 2.13.1: Fixed a crash that only affects users who installed the app more than a year ago. • 2.13.2: Fixed button not updated after toggle selection mode Thank you for your continuous support and feedback! Keep enjoying your journey to mastering beginner Japanese with MARU! (•u•) ### 2.13.1 — 2024-07-01 やっほー！July しちがつ is here, and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got a big update (•u•): • Hiragana/Katakana Switcher: Quickly switch between Hiragana and Katakana charts to see the difference. • Notification Redesign: Daily notifications have been the same every day and that can be dull. Added a variety of Daily Reminders and Daily Words to help you study better. • FAQ Screen: Added a FAQ screen to answer the many email questions I have compiled over the past year. Other Updates: • Long Press to quickly select the whole row of Kana to study. • A lot of translations fixes based on your feedback. • Removed Malay, Hindi, Romanian, Hungarian localizations due to very low usage and high maintenance cost. • MARU's mouth now moves when Date and Time are tapped. • Word to Meaning question now plays audio automatically. • Added retry and no internet connection warning when there's a purchase error. • 2.13.1: Fixed a crash that only affects users who installed the app more than a year ago. Thank you for your continuous support and feedback! Keep enjoying your journey to mastering beginner Japanese with MARU! (•u•) ### 2.13 — 2024-06-29 やっほー！July しちがつ is here, and your favorite Hiragana learning app just got a big update (•u•): • Hiragana/Katakana Switcher: Quickly switch between Hiragana and Katakana charts to see the difference. • Notification Redesign: Daily notifications have been the same every day and that can be dull. Added a variety of Daily Reminders and Daily Words to help you study better. • FAQ Screen: Added a FAQ screen to answer the many email questions I have compiled over the past year. Other Updates: • Long Press to quickly select the whole row of Kana to study. • A lot of translations fixes based on your feedback. • Removed Malay, Hindi, Romanian, Hungarian localizations due to very low usage and high maintenance cost. • MARU's mouth now moves when Date and Time are tapped. • Word to Meaning question now plays audio automatically. • Added retry and no internet connection warning when there's a purchase error. Thank you for your continuous support and feedback! Keep enjoying your journey to mastering beginner Japanese with MARU! (•u•) ## Apps similar to MARU | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Bunpo: Language Learning](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bunpo-language-learning/id1279720052) | 4.9 (17,909) | Free | Education | | [Japanese!! 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User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*