Japanese by Nemo vs Cryptomeria
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Japanese by Nemo
Learn Japanese with native speaker audio and a speech studio to perfect your accent. This app focuses on essential words and phrases for everyday conversations, allowing you to learn at your own pace without formal lessons. It tracks your progress and immerses you in the sounds of the language for natural speaking.
- Native speaker audio
- Speech Studio for accent practice
- Offline access to audio
- Customizable learning path
- Progress tracking
- Focus on common words and phrases
- Review mode for memory retention
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Turn your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch into your FAVORITE teacher of Japanese. ◆ The most essential words and phrases of the language, each with native speaker audio. ◆ Master your accent with the Speech Studio. Simply record yourself saying a phrase and then hear your voice next to the teacher’s. You’ll be AMAZED how quickly your foreign accent melts away. ◆ All audio is downloaded to the device and accessible even in airplane mode or without expensive international roaming fees. ◆ Nemo is NOT BUILT AROUND LESSONS at all. It is meant to be picked up and put down throughout the day, whenever you have a few minutes to spare. ◆ Builds a foundation of Japanese empowering you to speak CONFIDENTLY in EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS. ◆ NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of Japanese required. Nemo® is specially DESIGNED to tap the remarkable power of your mobile device, and your brain, to their fullest. PERSONALIZED FOR YOU Nemo is your personal trainer, tracking your PROGRESS across every single word and phrase. ◆ Practice Japanese the way you'll use it. Nemo is fully customizable. ◆ Nemo immerses you in the sounds of Japanese so you naturally speak with ease. ◆ Dive into WHAT YOU WANT to learn at any time. ◆ You control which words to practice – skip words you don’t want to learn or already know. ◆ Turn on Review Mode to study what you practiced earlier in the day to BOOST your memory retention. ◆ Hear English descriptions of all words, in a flashcard format. ◆ Quiz your mastery of the vocabulary. ◆ Nemo introduces words to you progressively to develop familiarity and reviews them at the right moment so they enter your LONG TERM MEMORY. TARGET THE MOST COMMON WORDS Maximize your time investment by targeting the most basic and high frequency words of the language. Upgrade to the complete version to: ◆ Get off the beaten path or find comfort with DIRECTIONS, TRAVEL and HOTEL phrases. ◆ Decode menus with the most common FOOD words. ◆ Shop and find bargains like an insider with must-know SHOPPING phrases. ◆ Learn words useful for your time in japan. ◆ Build your proficiency with the most important verbs and SENTENCE BUILDING BLOCKS in Japanese. ◆ Spark new friendships with COMPLIMENTS and CONVERSATION STARTERS. Use your new skills to make friends, impress old friends, bring smiles to children, get out of jams, experience new things, speak confidently, and make your travel and cultural experience more rich and fulfilling. Download this FREE app now! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Cryptomeria
Master Japanese kana with this fun and intuitive learning tool. Progress through lessons by learning small groups of characters at a time, reinforcing your knowledge with interactive tests. Ideal for beginners starting their Japanese language journey.
- Kana chart with pronunciation
- Interactive testing
- Progressive learning (5 characters at a time)
- Intuitive interface
- Suitable for beginners
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Fun and intuitive way to learn Japanese kana! • Simple and useful kana chart with pronunciation • Test yourself through the intuitive interface • Start with the first 5, and then build 5 at a time Enjoy learning!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cryptomeria at none against Japanese by Nemo's 1. Cryptomeria also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Japanese by Nemo's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 19 months) and ratings volume (1.9K vs 4). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Japanese by Nemo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cryptomeria asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cryptomeria holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Japanese by Nemo has 1.9K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Japanese by Nemo's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cryptomeria's.
Japanese by Nemo ships an update every 2 months, Cryptomeria every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Japanese by Nemo | Cryptomeria |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.9K ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.9K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 19 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nemo Apps LLC | Shan Cao |
Customer experience
Japanese by Nemo
Cryptomeria
Bugs and requests
Japanese by Nemo
Reported bugs
2 issues- Download errors for full version
- Issues with microphone and voice recording
Requested features
4 requests- More vocabulary and phrases
- Ability to customize learning content
- Integration with other language learning resources
- Improved user interface and navigation
Cryptomeria
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Japanese by Nemo
- Nemo Japanese Foundation pack$14.99
Cryptomeria
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Japanese by Nemo free?
Is Cryptomeria free?
Which has better reviews, Japanese by Nemo or Cryptomeria?
Do Japanese by Nemo or Cryptomeria have ads?
Which is updated more often, Japanese by Nemo or Cryptomeria?
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