# Wakaru: Understand Japanese

> Wakaru: Understand Japanese (iPhone/iPad app by Benjamin Cohen.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wakaru-understand-japanese/id6783449770 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Benjamin Cohen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1511242496)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 128 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-06-24
- Data updated: 2026-08-04
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wakaru-understand-japanese/id6783449770/reviews.md

## What is Wakaru?

Wakaru helps you read and reply to Japanese without immediately reaching for a full translation. Most tools translate the whole sentence and move on. Wakaru shows the Japanese as plain, tappable text and lets you work out the meaning yourself first, then check your guess word by word. You remember far more from figuring it out than from reading an instant translation.

Two ways to bring Japanese in:
• Conversation: paste a message from a chat or a language-exchange partner.
• Manga: point your camera at a single speech bubble and capture it.

From there, the same simple loop:
• Tap any word for an instant dictionary entry and kanji breakdown.
• Ask for a sentence-level grammar explanation when something will not click.
• Save the words worth keeping with one tap, then send the whole queue to an Anki deck in a single step.

Reply one sentence at a time:
When you are answering a message, Wakaru helps you build your reply sentence by sentence. Draft a line, optionally check it for grammar, naturalness, and politeness, add it to your reply, and move on to the next. Copy the finished response when you are done.

Track your study time:
See how much Japanese you are actually doing, from time in the apps you choose to time in calendar lessons and your own quick timers.

What's free, and what the AI features cost:
The core works offline with no account: Japanese and kanji lookups, the vocabulary queue, and Anki export. Your lookups stay on your device.
The AI features (grammar explanations, reply checks, and manga text recognition) need an internet connection and your own OpenRouter API key. You create an account, add a little credit, and pay only for what you use, usually a fraction of a cent per request. Wakaru adds no subscription or markup on top.

Wakaru (わかる, "to understand") is built for intermediate learners who want to keep reading real Japanese. It keeps the friction out of the way.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.7 — 2026-07-29

- Dark Mode support
- Bug fixes

### 1.0.6 — 2026-07-12

- Improved search matching when looking up words
- Bug fixes

### 1.0.5 — 2026-07-06

- Show the before/after diff for suggestions when checking the grammar of your sentence
- Bug fixes

### 1.0.4 — 2026-07-03

- Badge the Time tab when a timer is running
- Bug fixes and performance improvements

### 1.0.3 — 2026-07-02

- Add stop button for audio playback
- Improved grammar suggestion display
- Bug fixes

## More apps by Benjamin Cohen

- [Scully and Catniss Stickers](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scully-and-catniss-stickers/id1511242497)
- [Benmoji: Private Sticker Packs](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/benmoji-private-sticker-packs/id6762521698)
- [Benmoji Stickers Extension](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/benmoji-stickers-extension/id6764757649)

All apps by Benjamin Cohen: https://appshunter.io/developer/1511242496

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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 2026-08-04.*