# renshuu - Japanese learning — Pick up words, kanji, and more

> Comprehensive Japanese language learning app with personalized paths and engaging study tools. (iPhone/iPad app by Michael Hominick.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/renshuu-japanese-learning/id1542730063 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Michael Hominick](https://appshunter.io/developer/1539315949)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.90/5 from 1,346 App Store ratings · 1,006 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 64 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2021-01-28
- Data updated: 2026-08-28
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/renshuu-japanese-learning/id1542730063/reviews.md

## What is renshuu?

A cute, ad-free, and enjoyable learning experience is waiting for you in the Renshuu community! The free version is unlimited: there’s no timer before you are forced to pay!

- A path for every learning style and every goal -
Whether you are getting started with the alphabets or have been studying for years, jump in exactly where you belong! Don’t waste time going through what you already know. 

Renshuu maintains learning paths for most textbooks, the JLPT, Kanji Kentei, and for those who just want to learn. You can also carve out your own path! Our community has over 10,000 user-made lessons for even more focused learning.

- Cute, relaxing, and fun -
Our mascot Kao-chan is here to let you enjoy learning Japanese, whether it’s through collectible coins every time you quiz, a character that evolves as you learn, manga pages that you unlock, or hundreds of hand-made illustrations.  

Additionally, we have both single and multiplayer games to help you keep your learning and reviewing fresh! 

- Personal service - 
We are just a two-person company - and we don’t use chat bots. That means that every question you have gets an answer directly from us.  

- Rich, in-depth materials -
> Vocabulary: over 15,000 native-recorded audio files, 17,000 hand-picked images, and 160,000 example sentences make understanding vocabulary a breeze. Our growing library of accent/pitch data can even help you with accent reduction.
> Kanji: 12,000+ kanji, with no limits on what you can study! Over 2,000 colorful mnemonics help you to understand and retain the meanings.
> Grammar: Over 800 different expressions, each complete with native-written model sentences, construction diagrams, audio, and over 7,500 hand-made quiz questions. 
> Sentences: Thousands of sentences complete with audio, divided by theme and difficulty levels.

- A superior quiz system designed around Japanese -
Our SRS-for-Japanese system doesn’t treat Japanese materials like flashcards to be memorized, and breaks every item down into individual components so you can understand, and not just memorize. Mastery schedules keep you studying only what you need to, pushing weaker materials to the front for you to focus on.

Dozens of different question styles keep things fresh, while a flexible input system (multiple choice, typing, or writing) lets you answer the way that you want to.

- Customizable down to the last character - 
Renshuu doesn’t believe that there is a single way of studying that everyone should adhere to. Our expansive settings and customizations let you adjust the learning environment to what works best for you.



End user license agreement can be viewed here: https://www.renshuu.org/eula

## Key features

- Personalized learning paths
- Extensive vocabulary and kanji database
- Grammar explanations and quizzes
- Native-recorded audio and images
- Engaging quiz system
- User-made lessons
- Multiplayer games

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| renshuu pro subscription | $3.99 | per month |
| renshuu pro subscription | $6.99 | per month |
| renshuu pro subscription | $6.99 | per month |
| Kao Club - Level 5 | $5.00 | per month |
| Kao Club - Level 30 | $30.00 | per month |
| Kao Club - Level 10 | $10.00 | per month |
| Kao Club - Level 15 | $15.00 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime renshuu pro | $109.99 | one-time |
| 1 year access to renshuu pro | $49.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime renshuu pro - gift code | $129.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime renshuu pro - gift code | $109.99 | one-time |
| 12 month gift code to renshuu pro | $49.99 | one-time |
| 1 year access to renshuu pro | $59.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime renshuu pro | $129.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of renshuu?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 👍 Helpful for learning Japanese
- 🎨 Cute and engaging design
- 🔓 Extensive free features
- 🤝 Responsive and caring developers
- 📚 Comprehensive learning resources
- 🎮 Fun and interactive games
- 🌱 Evolving character motivates learning
- 🧠 Effective for memorization and retention
- 🗣️ Useful for practicing speaking and writing
- 🌐 Supportive and active community

**Cons**

- 🤯 Overwhelming UI for some users
- 🕰️ Occasional performance issues
- 🔒 Certain features locked behind paywall

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Occasional freezing or crashes
- Inconsistent responsiveness of writing/drawing input

**Most requested features**

- Offline mode
- More advanced grammar and kanji lessons
- Verb conjugation practice
- Ability to type answers instead of selecting
- Integration with other language learning resources

## Recent user reviews (10 of 1,006)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/renshuu-japanese-learning/id1542730063/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Great learning experience

*2026-08-24, version 1.15.22*

As a beginner to learning Japanese this has been a great help. It’s allowed me to already understand multiple of the hiragana in only a few days and I can make out the words in all hiragana without the romaji. The art is a bonus and it adds a game like aspect to it making it more enjoyable.

### 5/5 — Great for a starter

*2026-08-23, version 1.15.22*

I am starting from the abc. Looks like a great app for any beginner.

### 5/5 — No subscription needed

*2026-08-23, version 1.15.22*

This is definitely the best app for learning Japanese because there is no subscription. Its honestly rare to find a laugange learning app that doesn't have a subscription. Can you please make a Chinese and Korean Laugange learning app? I'm trying to find a subscription free Korean and Chinese app.

### 5/5 — Clean, NO AI Learning

*2026-08-22, version 1.15.22*

Absolutely loving renshuu so far— the mnemonics are an especially helpful tool. This is my first time learning Japanese, and I wanted an app committed to being NO AI! Renshuu goes above and beyond.

### 5/5 — Super duper ultra sonically awesome

*2026-08-20, version 1.15.22*

Renshuu will always prevent you from overloading yourself with more new characters than you can handle a day and switching to review mode after is a W system, also has many tools that are only there when you need it so everything you need if you’re only trying to learn kana/kanji and vocab words its there, combine it with an app like Teuida to translate your knowledge from Renshuu to Teuida since Teuida teaches you how to use vocab in real life, I mastered all of Hiragana in 2 days (with breaks)

### 4/5 — Great app, highly recommend

*2026-08-19, version 1.15.22*

I’m enlisted into the United States Air Force, and I got stationed in Okinawa. This app is extremely helpful, I’m on the nerdier side of things so learning a new language was also a bucket goal of mine! I gave this app a 4/5 (I wish I could do 4.5) because this app is very well versed with their voice actors being native speakers as-well as having many fun games to keep you busy and learn, there is a ton of little gizmos on the app that I haven’t even touched yet. I’m not too interested in them myself but they are cool concepts. The reason they lose one star (half star) is because the UI and interface were a little confusing at first, I’m sure they are working on something better and I can’t wait to see that! But for now it can be a little confusing and kinda looks like it’s on a budget, though that does not take away from the learning aspect!

### 5/5 — Really great!

*2026-08-17, version 1.15.22*

I went from knowing absolutely nothing to mastering the hirigana alphabet and starting katakana in only a few months! App design is great and very easy to use!

### 5/5 — literally the best app for learning japanese

*2026-08-15, version 1.15.22*

loved it sm as ut had mneomics to learn from and a structured system with focused reviews and quizzes after evry session !!   <3

### 5/5 — 👍

*2026-08-13, version 1.15.22*

👍👍👍

### 5/5 — Love the community notes for each vocab!

*2026-08-13, version 1.15.22*

Community is active on Discord as well

## Frequently asked questions about renshuu

### What does the Renshuu app do?

Renshuu is a comprehensive Japanese language learning application. It helps users learn vocabulary, kanji, and grammar through a variety of engaging methods, including quizzes, games, and personalized learning paths. The app aims to make the learning process enjoyable and effective for users of all levels.

### What are the key features of Renshuu?

Key features include personalized learning paths tailored to individual goals and levels, an extensive database of vocabulary with native audio, kanji with mnemonics, and grammar explanations. It also boasts a superior quiz system designed specifically for Japanese, user-made lessons, and fun elements like collectible coins and character evolution.

### Is Renshuu free to use?

The free version of Renshuu is unlimited and does not impose timers that force payment. However, the app does offer in-app purchases, suggesting that some premium features or content may be available for an additional cost.

### What kind of learning materials does Renshuu offer?

Renshuu provides rich, in-depth materials including over 15,000 vocabulary items with native audio, 17,000 images, and 160,000 example sentences. For kanji, it offers 12,000+ kanji with mnemonics, and for grammar, over 800 expressions with model sentences, diagrams, and audio.

### Who is the target audience for Renshuu?

This app is designed for anyone looking to learn Japanese, regardless of their current proficiency. It caters to beginners starting with alphabets, long-term students, and those specifically preparing for exams like the JLPT or Kanji Kentei. It also supports users who wish to create their own learning paths.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.15.22 — 2026-02-17

Fixes the page going to the previous page when opening the menu.
Unfortunately, the tap-through issue (when tapping an item in the menu) is still present, and I am waiting for a fix from a library that renshuu uses. This only affects iOS 26.x users.

### 1.15.21 — 2026-01-28

New features:
(in the menu)
Community > Study Groups
support renshuu > Kao Club

Also, various internals updated, including newer version of software keyboard.

### 1.15.20 — 2026-01-26

Internal changes to support more features being added to the menu!

### 1.15.19 — 2025-08-21

Minor internal changes and fixes.

### 1.15.17 — 2025-04-29

Better handling of the "grey screen" issue when returning to renshuu after using other apps, and new code to handle regional servers that are coming later this year!

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## More apps by Michael Hominick

- [J-crosswords](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/j-crosswords/id1539315947)

All apps by Michael Hominick: https://appshunter.io/developer/1539315949

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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 2026-08-28.*