# SimplyKanji Read Japanese — Start reading Japanese today > Start reading Japanese today (iPhone/iPad app by Christian Brodin.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplykanji-read-japanese/id6755498208 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Christian Brodin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1854237574) - Category: Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.6 · 4 MB - Languages: English - Released: 2026-01-06 - Data updated: 2026-07-24 - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplykanji-read-japanese/id6755498208/reviews.md ## What is SimplyKanji Read Japanese? Read Japanese. SimplyKanji teaches you to read Japanese. 2,400+ kanji and 6,000+ vocabulary words, covering every level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), from N5 to N1. No accounts. No login. Tap Start and study. --- "The Simply Kanji app is a lifesaver for students aiming for all levels of the JLPT. Our younger students are completely hooked. They're simple and fun, which makes learning really engaging." -- Akkywish, App Store Review --- THE SCIENCE Most study apps show you a character and ask you to re-read it. Re-reading feels productive, but it creates shallow memory -- you recognize the answer while it's in front of you and forget it an hour later. SimplyKanji works differently in two ways. First, every card is a retrieval attempt. You see a prompt and have to pull the answer from memory before revealing it. That act of retrieving -- even when you get it wrong -- builds stronger, longer-lasting memory than passive review. Cognitive psychologists call this the testing effect. It's one of the most replicated findings in learning science, documented since the 1960s. Second, the app tracks which characters you struggle with and brings them back at calculated intervals. Characters you know well fade into the background. Characters you keep forgetting come back sooner. Your study time goes where it actually matters instead of cycling through things you already know. --- WHY LEARNERS GET STUCK The most common thing people say when they start learning kanji is some version of "I studied for an hour and forgot half of it by morning." They put the time in, feel confident during the session, and find most of it gone the next day. That's usually a format problem, not a memory problem. Passive review -- re-reading, copying, highlighting -- creates short-term recognition without durable recall. Change the method and retention changes with it. SimplyKanji was built for exactly this. --- HOW IT WORKS 1. Open. Tap Start. 2. Choose your JLPT level. Sequential, random, or spaced repetition. 3. Recall. Tap to reveal. Swipe to rate how well you knew it. The app remembers what you struggle with and brings those cards back at the right time. --- WHAT'S INSIDE - 2,400+ kanji across all JLPT levels (N5 through N1) - 6,000+ vocabulary words, each tied to the kanji it uses - Six study modes: Sequential, Random, Category, Weak Points, Review, Learning - Active recall on every card -- you retrieve, not re-read - Spaced repetition that adapts to your memory - Compound words from native Japanese sources - Daily goals and streaks - No tracking. No data collection. Your progress stays on your device. --- JLPT LEVELS N5 - Beginner (100 kanji): basic daily life N4 - Elementary (300 kanji): everyday conversations N3 - Intermediate (650 kanji): written Japanese N2 - Upper Intermediate (1,000 kanji): news and literature N1 - Advanced (2,000+ kanji): native-level texts --- WHY I BUILT THIS Years ago, I was living in Japan and commuting by train. I found a flashcard app -- nothing fancy, just kanji organized by JLPT level -- and started reviewing on the ride to work. Five minutes out, five minutes back. Within a few months, something shifted. Signs I'd walked past for years started making sense. Not all of them. But enough that the city felt different. I was reading it. Then the app disappeared from the App Store. Never updated, just gone. The replacements I tried were either buried in features I didn't need or missing the simplicity that made the original work. So I built SimplyKanji -- the app I wished still existed. --- Now on iPhone and iPad. Five minutes on the train. Start today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | SimplyKanji | $9.99 | per year | ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 9.6 — 2026-07-06 Category study now covers every N5 kanji — dozens that were unreachable are back in. • Swipe ratings now show what each choice means, so you always know how a card was graded. • Daily goals, streaks, and the session-complete screen are more reliable. • A smoother tutorial, plus a long list of fixes and polish across the app. Thanks for studying with SimplyKanji. ### 8 — 2026-06-17 This update makes daily study calmer, adds iPad support, and fixes a few things. • Redesigned home screen with one clear Continue button, so you pick up right where you left off. • New "Known" count: see how many kanji you've actually mastered, not just a score. • A small celebration when you reach your daily goal. • Full iPad support, with a layout built for the bigger screen. • Fixed the streak so your first day counts. • Smaller fixes and polish throughout. ### 7.2 — 2026-05-21 Now optimized for iPad! Enjoy SimplyKanji on the bigger screen with a layout that adapts beautifully to your device. Also includes UI polish and small fixes throughout. ### 7.1 — 2026-05-15 iPad improvements: Kanji characters and study cards are now larger and easier to read on iPad. All supporting text — hints, sample words, and verb forms — scales up to match. Bug fix: Switching between study modes (Sequential, Random, SRS) now correctly refreshes your cards. ### 7 — 2026-04-26 Now on iPad. SimplyKanji runs natively on iPad with layouts designed for the larger screen. Also new in this version: - Redesigned onboarding -- choose your JLPT level and study mode before your first card - New app icon - Improved sample words across all levels - Bug fixes and performance improvements ## More apps by Christian Brodin - [SimplyHiragana Learn Japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplyhiragana-learn-japanese/id6759581789) - [SimplyKatakana Read Japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplykatakana-read-japanese/id6760268482) All apps by Christian Brodin: https://appshunter.io/developer/1854237574 --- *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 2026-07-24.*