Comparison

Nihongo Lessons vs NihonDojo.ai

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Nihongo Lessons

This app helps learners of all levels achieve Japanese fluency. It uses a flashcard format to teach vocabulary, grammar, and writing systems, with advanced spaced repetition for effective retention. Content is sourced from real manga for advanced learners.

Highlights
  • Learn Hiragana and Katakana
  • 7000+ handcrafted sentences
  • Professional voice actor audio
  • Advanced Spaced Repetition System (SRS)
  • Vocabulary and grammar from manga
  • Flashcard learning format
Features
Read full description

A new app for people serious about becoming fluent in Japanese, from the maker of Nihongo: a modern Japanese dictionary. Nihongo Lessons is based off the excellent Japanese Level Up (Jalup) series, and is made to help all levels of learners. * If you're a complete beginner, the app starts you off by teaching you to write the Japanese alphabets hiragana and katakana, and then quickly starts building your vocabulary and grammar fundamentals. * If you're at an intermediate level, you can jump into content that will help you grow your Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and listening skills more efficiently than ever before. * If you're an advanced learner diving into the world of native content or studying for JLPT N1, Nihongo Lessons can help fill in the gaps in your knowledge with vocabulary and grammar pulled directly from real manga. Instead of a traditional textbook, everything in Nihongo Lessons is in a flashcard format. Flashcards are easier to take in, easier to know how much to learn and how often to review, and simplify the mountain of information you need to absorb. Each flashcard introduces one new sentence for you to understand, and every new sentence introduces exactly one new word, grammar point, or concept. This keeps you constantly moving forward in your learning journey - never bored, never overwhelmed. * Learn to write hiragana and katakana, the main alphabets of the Japanese language. * Progress from beginner to fluent across 7000 handcrafted sentences, each introducing a single new word or concept. * Listen to sentences spoken out loud by a professional voice actor. * Advanced Spaced Repetition (SRS) to help you retain everything you've learned for the long-term. * Nihongo Lessons doesn’t just plop a fun game on top of the language. It engages the brain’s natural urge to solve problems by making learning the language itself the game.

About

NihonDojo.ai

This app focuses on efficient Japanese language acquisition through rigorous spaced repetition and context-based learning. It prioritizes fluency over gamified engagement, offering structured grammar, cultural insights, and kana practice to prepare users for real-world conversations.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition system (FSRS)
  • Contextual sentence generation
  • Formality switching
  • Guided writing practice
  • Structured grammar lessons
  • Cultural context integration
  • Kana practice minigame
Features
Read full description

Stop wasting time on apps that treat you like a child. While other Japanese learning apps busy themselves with cartoon mascots and meaningless streaks, we built something that actually works. Nihon Dojo doesn't care about making you feel good about yourself. We care about making you fluent in one of the hardest possible languages imaginable in two years or LESS! Most Japanese learning apps are designed to keep you subscribed, not to make you fluent. They feed you bite-sized "lessons" that feel productive but teach you nothing useful. They celebrate your "progress" when you've learned to say "I like apples" for the 47th time. We're different. And you'll probably hate us for it. REAL SPACED REPETITION THAT HURTS Through our use of the tried-and-true FSRS algorithm, we will make you review words until you hate them, even if you do learn them a week later. No participation trophies. Here is the twist: we generate sentences using only words you've already learned (revolutionary concept, we know). No more example sentences filled with 20 different N1 words you've never seen before. By giving you context clues that are targeted in real-time at your knowledge, we not only reinforce language in a natural way, we allow you to learn the meanings of new words even when you are seeing them for the first time. Not only that, but our built in formality switching teaches you how Japanese people ACTUALLY talk— learn to be "hip" OR turn so textbook you be start saying させていただきます in your sleep. For the cherry on top, every time you review a word, we will guide you how to write it. If you can call that chicken scratch of yours "writing," that is. Don't worry, we smooth it out for you. GRAMMAR AND CULTURAL THAT MAKES SENSE In addition to shoving words down your throat until you are begging us to stop, we provide structured grammar and culture lessons that build on each other. We're not just here to teach you how to conjugate. We also teach you why Japanese people say what they say. We cover the social rules other apps pretend don't exist, and prepare you for real conversations. You can't learn a language without learning the culture, they are one and the same. KANA PRACTICE FOR VETERANS AND BEGINNERS ALIKE If you're new, there is no easy way to learn and memorize Japanese kana, nor is there a shortcut (except our app, hah). At the very least, we make it sort of less painful to do. With both a rapid-fire minigame and our guided writing practice, you could get kana down in a week or two if you're serious! It's not hard (just tedious), and it works. THE GUARANTEE THAT'LL SCARE YOU Use this app every day for two years. Follow the system. Do the reviews. If you're not (almost) fluent, we'll refund every penny. Most apps won't make this promise because they know their cute gamification doesn't work. We will, because we built tools that do. WHO THIS IS FOR You should use NihonDojo if you want to actually speak & read Japanese. If you're tired of apps that waste your time with pointless games. If you can handle being challenged instead of constantly praised. If you want personalized training that adapts to your actual progress. If you're willing to do work that might not be "fun" but gets results. Don't download this if you want an app that makes you feel good about doing nothing. If you think learning a language should be "effortless." If you need constant validation and cartoon characters cheering you on. If you're looking for a magic bullet that requires zero effort. FREE FIRST Believe it or not, making an app like this is a ton of work, and it only exists due to many long nights, fueled solely by a hate for Anki. While this app is free first (with no ads EVER because I HATE THEM), it costs money to generate sentences and continue to develop new features. Your support is everything to me! HERE'S THE DEAL No BS. Just the tools you need to actually learn Japanese. Download if you're serious. Skip if you want to play games.

Screenshots

Nihongo Lessons4 screens
NihonDojo.ai4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Nihongo Lessons at 4.8 against NihonDojo.ai's 4.1. Nihongo Lessons also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 67%) and ratings volume (126 vs 9). NihonDojo.ai's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Nihongo Lessons sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and NihonDojo.ai sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nihongo Lessons holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nihongo Lessons has 126 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Nihongo Lessons's written reviews are positive against 67% of NihonDojo.ai's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nihongo Lessons ships an update every 3 weeks, NihonDojo.ai every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nihongo Lessons versus NihonDojo.ai: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNihongo LessonsNihonDojo.ai
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (126 ratings) — better4.1 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews84.8% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings126 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS1716.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size258 MB298 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerpenti Sei JapanD Everett Hinton

Customer experience

Nihongo Lessons

All ratings126 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral6.1%
Negative9.1%

NihonDojo.ai

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Nihongo Lessons

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Explanation modal flashed and cannot be brought back
  • Unclear how to interact with cards (swiping direction)

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add notifications
  • Add a way to add own notecards for review
  • Add meaning and context for some words in dictionary
  • Add monthly subscriptions or lower prices
  • Add Kanji section
Show 6 more
  • Add Kanji decks
  • Add dark mode
  • Automatically play audio when flipping card
  • Teach word in context, then quiz for understanding using only the Japanese word
  • Surface Japanese definition and make user remember the word
  • Optimize for iPad

NihonDojo.ai

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Nihongo Lessons

Subscriptions2
  • All Access Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • All Access Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time11
  • Beginner Deck (Discounted)$59.99
  • Champion Deck (Discounted)$59.99
  • Expert Deck (Discounted)$59.99
Show 8 more
  • Master Deck (Discounted)$59.99
  • Intermediate Deck (Discounted)$83.99
  • Beginner Deck (Discounted)$101.99
  • Beginner Deck$119.99
  • All Decks (Discounted)$149.99
  • All Decks (Discounted)$254.99
  • All Decks$299.99
  • All Decks (Discounted)$299.99
4 purchases

NihonDojo.ai

Subscriptions4
  • NihonDojo Pro Monthly$6.491 Month
  • NihonDojo Expert Monthly$12.951 Month
  • NihonDojo Pro Annual$64.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • NihonDojo Expert Annual$129.991 Year

Questions

Is Nihongo Lessons free?
Nihongo Lessons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NihonDojo.ai free?
NihonDojo.ai is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nihongo Lessons or NihonDojo.ai?
Nihongo Lessons is rated higher. Nihongo Lessons averages 4.8 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while NihonDojo.ai averages 4.1 from 9 ratings.
Do Nihongo Lessons or NihonDojo.ai have ads?
Neither Nihongo Lessons nor NihonDojo.ai shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nihongo Lessons or NihonDojo.ai?
Nihongo Lessons ships an update every 3 weeks, and NihonDojo.ai every 6 days. Most recently, Nihongo Lessons was updated on October 17, 2026 and NihonDojo.ai on October 3, 2026.

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