# Yokoso: Learn Japanese — For real life in Japan > Adaptive Japanese learning for daily life in Japan, no tests required. (iPhone/iPad app by James Ketola.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yokoso-learn-japanese/id6789856724 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [James Ketola](https://appshunter.io/developer/6789856726) - Category: Education, Travel - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 2 App Store ratings · 1 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.0 · 4 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-07-23 - Data updated: 2026-08-25 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yokoso-learn-japanese/id6789856724/reviews.md ## What is Yokoso? Yokoso teaches the Japanese you are about to need: the sign on the door, the number the register says, the sentence that gets the package delivered. Vocabulary and kanji for every JLPT level are included — N5 through N1, over 8,900 items in all. Everything is free, works offline, and needs no account. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT No placement test. The app gives you a few short probes and skips whatever you already know, in both directions, before it will call something known. Real material. Actual signs you will stand in front of (営業中, 準備中, 非常口), prices the way a register actually says them, the counter phrases that come back at you, and reading passages built from the words you have. Spaced repetition tuned to a measured target. Yokoso watches how you do the first time an item asks for something harder, and adjusts so you land near 85 percent correct — challenged, not drowned. Focused sessions. Pick Signs & stations, Restaurants & bars, Shopping & the register, Prices, or Errands & paperwork, and review exactly that, from the same queue and the same schedule. Listening practice using your device's own Japanese voices, with a voice picker that tells you honestly which of them are good. Pattern Found. The app names the grammar you have been using without knowing its name, then tests it on sentences you have never seen. Honest progress. Coverage and exam-readiness are shown as two different numbers, because they are two different things. Milestones map to ILR and CEFR scales, not to a streak. The Atlas: every kana, kanji, word, sign, sentence, and pattern in the app on one screen, lighting up as it moves toward mastery. ALREADY STUDYING SOMEWHERE ELSE Already using WaniKani? Yokoso imports your progress so you keep the work you have already done. Your API token stays on this device unless you turn on sync; with sync on it travels inside your sync data so your other devices can import too. Either way it goes nowhere but WaniKani and your own sync row. YOUR DATA Everything lives on your device by default. No account is required. No ads, no data sales, no third-party trackers. Sync across devices is optional and off until you turn it on. When you do, your progress is stored under a sync code you generate — or, on the web, under a Google sign-in if you would rather tap once. Synced learning activity also helps us understand how Yokoso is used, in aggregate, so we can improve it. You can export everything as a file, or erase all of it, at any time. NO DARK PATTERNS No streaks to break. No notifications guilting you back. No countdown timers, no fake urgency, no leaderboards. You can set any item aside and it stays aside. SUPPORTING YOKOSO Everything that teaches you Japanese is free and always will be: every level, every review, no ads, no caps. Supporting is optional and funds development. Supporters get Glass, an optional theme — the only thing it changes is how the app looks. Yokoso Supporter is an optional auto-renewing monthly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews monthly unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://yokosoapp.com/privacy.html Built by one person living in northern Japan. ## Key features - Personalized learning without placement tests - Contextual vocabulary and grammar for daily life - Spaced repetition with mnemonic hooks - Mistake-based learning and user correction - Grammar discovery and transfer - Progress tracking against ILR, CEFR, and JLPT - Offline functionality and cross-device sync ## Recent user reviews (1 of 1) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yokoso-learn-japanese/id6789856724/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Ultra useful *2026-08-06* Easy to get into and the lack of streak or anything else really makes it feel super relaxed. Love the simplicity that makes it so I can do some reviews throughout the day without any friction. ## Frequently asked questions about Yokoso ### Does Yokoso have ads? No, Yokoso is completely free with no ads, streaks, or paywalls. The app is designed to be ad-free for an uninterrupted learning experience. ### How does Yokoso determine my learning level? Yokoso does not use a placement quiz. Instead, it intelligently assesses what you already know as you learn, skipping confirmed knowledge and reinforcing what you partially know. ### Can I use Yokoso offline? Yes, Yokoso works fully offline. You can learn and sync your progress across devices without needing an internet connection. ### Does Yokoso offer certifications? Yokoso tracks your progress against established scales like ILR, CEFR, and JLPT (N5 and up) as factual data, providing coverage and readiness metrics rather than formal certifications. ### Can Yokoso import my existing Japanese learning progress? Yes, Yokoso can import progress from WaniKani and recent Bunpro grammar. Your known kanji will remain known, and recently studied grammar will be confirmed rather than re-taught. ### What devices does Yokoso support? Yokoso is available on iPhone and iPod. It offers cross-device sync without requiring an account. ### How often is Yokoso updated? The latest version, 1.2.0, was released on July 27, 2026, indicating a recent update. The app is actively developed, with supporter contributions available to ensure continued development. ### Is Yokoso suitable for young children? Yokoso has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. Its focus on practical, real-life Japanese is beneficial for learners of all ages. ## Version history (last 4 releases) ### 1.5.0 — 2026-08-17 Every JLPT level is in. Vocabulary and kanji for N5 through N1 — over 8,900 items, all offline, all free. Focused sessions: pick Signs & stations, Restaurants & bars, Shopping & the register, Prices, or Errands & paperwork and review exactly that, from the same queue. Listening practice got a voice picker that tells you honestly which of your device's Japanese voices are worth using. You can now set an item aside from inside a review, and bring every one of them back later from Settings. The review queue explains itself: what it served you and why that item rather than another. Settings leads with the accountless sync option, and the sync, import, and supporter rows now fit properly on small phones. Supporters get Glass, an optional look, as a thank-you. Every learning feature stays free. If you support Yokoso, thank you. You are the reason it stays free for everyone who cannot pay. ### 1.3.0 — 2026-08-08 The update between exams and errands. NEW: The Atlas. Every kana, kanji, word, sign, sentence, and grammar pattern in the app on one screen, lighting up as it moves toward mastery. Tap anything to see its readings, its depth on the recognize-read-recall-production ladder, and when it comes back. NEW: A complete JLPT N5 vocabulary, and the road onward. Over 1,300 items now: the full practical N5 corpus, a complete N4 tranche, and the first N3 wave. A new Settings toggle adds the official list's dated tail for full exam coverage - off by default, honestly labeled. NEW: Difficulty that finds your learning zone. The app watches how you do the first time each item asks for something deeper and tunes promotion so you land near 85 percent - challenged, not drowned. Your dashboard tiles now open their own detail: a day-by-day study breakdown, missed reviews, a review schedule with next-due times, and the week's words with honest labels - words you learned vs. progress credited from imports. Errand Runs became a proper day: an itinerary card, scene-setting stops in your own Japanese, and a per-stop recap that names tomorrow's route. Also: WaniKani imports now shelve invisibly into their JLPT levels and credit matching items across types, phone text is bigger and pinch-zoom works properly, sync protects your API keys across devices, and the Bunpro import now says plainly that Bunpro removed their public API - imports resume if they restore it. Yokoso is complete and free for everyone, always: no ads, no streaks, nothing locked. It stays that way because of our supporters - if that's you, thank you. You're not buying features; you're keeping this open for every learner who couldn't afford it otherwise. ### 1.2.0 — 2026-07-27 This is the biggest update Yokoso will probably ever get. If you tried version 1.0, most of what frustrated you is gone and most of what you asked for is here. NEW: Errand Runs. A daily session shaped like an actual day in Japan: konbini, station, work, lunch counter, izakaya. Three rotating day templates, built entirely from words you already know. Reviews that are due get done inside the story instead of a stack of cards. NEW: N4 content. About 230 words, kanji, signs, sentences, and reading passages past the beginner set: the office, the clinic, the ticket machine, the izakaya chalkboard, the notice taped to your building door. Ten new grammar patterns, each proven the honest way, on a sentence you have never seen. LEARNING, REBUILT. Every item now climbs a real ladder: recognize it, read it, recall it, produce it. Nothing asks you to type a word you have only just met. Hints come in two steps and never hand you the answer. When a sentence beats you, it breaks into its pieces, teaches the ones you are missing, and comes back when you are ready. Young words show furigana until you have earned their kanji. PROGRESS YOU CAN INTERROGATE. Mastery bins show every word as Learning, Rising, Solid, or Mastered, and every number is tappable down to the individual word and its review interval. See how much everyday speech you can cover, and how far you are from manga, anime without subtitles, and games. THE FLUENCY TAB. Each JLPT level tracked separately and honestly: an N2 word never pads your N5 number. Grammar counts only when demonstrated. Conversational readiness is measured from what you can actually produce, not promised for later. IMPORTS THAT ADD UP. WaniKani and Bunpro re-sync daily, and the counts now match what those apps show you: radicals, kanji, and vocabulary tallied the way they tally them. SCHEDULING TUNED TO RESEARCH. Intervals target real retention, a lapse no longer resets a word to zero, and the same question will not stalk you twice in a row. Optional supporter subscriptions now exist because people asked. They fund development, they unlock nothing, and every learning feature stays free for everyone, permanently. ### 1.0.1 — 2026-07-23 No release notes. --- *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 2026-08-25.*