Japanese Kana vs Japanese Basic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Japanese Kana
Learn Japanese hiragana and katakana with pronunciation, stroke order, and writing practice. Features high-quality audio, smooth animations, and an intuitive interface. Supports a wide range of Apple devices.
- Kana pronunciation
- Stroke order guidance
- Writing practice
- High-quality audio
- Smooth animations
- Multi-device support
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"Japanese Kana" is a life-wide learning Japanese kana syllabaries software.It allows you to quickly keep in mind the voiceless, voiced / half voiced, bend sound of hiragana & katakana pronunciation and stroke order. 1 User-friendly interface and operating 2 High-quality male / female voice pronunciation 3 Clear and smooth animation 4 True and intuitive writing experience 5 Apple Watch,iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch support. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I believe this software will help you to overcome the Japanese learning disabilities, and leading to Quick Start. Start your Japanese learning journey from here!
Japanese Basic
Learn basic Japanese vocabulary, characters, and phrases with this beginner-friendly app. It offers offline access, customizable pronunciation, and a red sheet function for effective memorization. Expand your learning with in-app purchases for additional words.
- Basic Japanese vocabulary and phrases
- Hiragana and Katakana study
- Offline access
- Customizable pronunciation and audio speed
- Red sheet memorization function
- Verb conjugation guide
- User vocabulary book
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This app is for learning Japanese in English. For beginners. The main content is vocabulary and characters, and small quizzes to test your skills are available. Three major features ■Simple and easy to use It is designed to be simple, with no unnecessary content or story elements. This makes it intuitive to use and allows you to quickly find the information you want. ■Available offline This app can be used even without an internet connection. For example, you can use it even if you have just arrived in Japan and do not have an internet connection yet. You can also check the pronunciation. ■Customizable You can choose from two voices for pronunciation: "female" (automatic) and "male" (local native speaker), and you can also change the audio playback speed. In the vocabulary book, you can adjust the display of Japanese to your liking, such as "kanji only," "hiragana only," or "both kanji and hiragana." It also has a red sheet function that is convenient for memorization. [Content details] * 488 basic Japanese vocabulary words Each word includes two example sentences. * 75 phrases From greetings to basic phrases such as "thank you" and "I'm sorry" * Japanese characters You can study "hiragana" and "katakana", as well as pronunciation and stroke order. * Random quiz You can check your vocabulary with multiple choice quizzes. * Verb conjugation This section helps you understand the conjugation of Japanese verbs, which can be particularly confusing. * Search function You can easily find words from the words in the app. Search results are available in both Japanese and English. * Favorites function You can save words you don't remember or are curious about in your favorites list. By compiling them in a list, you can help you overcome words you are weak at. You can also change the order or take multiple choice quizzes only from your favorites list. * User vocabulary book You can make notes of your own unique words in the app. Make notes of words you learn in your daily life. [Upgrade] Many more words can be added by in-app purchases. The added words can also be used in other functions such as multiple choice quizzes and favorites lists. Whether you're planning a trip to Japan, already live there, are studying abroad, or are just interested in Japanese, this app is easy for anyone to use. We hope it will be useful in your Japanese studies. Thank you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Japanese Kana at 4.5 against Japanese Basic's 3.5. Japanese Kana also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Japanese Kana sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Japanese Basic sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Japanese Kana holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively.
Japanese Kana ships an update every 5 months, Japanese Basic every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Japanese Kana | Japanese Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (6 ratings) — better | 3.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 74 MB | 117 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 世木 林 | SHINGO MATSUO |
Customer experience
Japanese Kana
Japanese Basic
In-app purchases
Japanese Kana
- Remove Ads$1.99
Japanese Basic
- Japanese Basic -Full Version-$3.99
Questions
Is Japanese Kana free?
Is Japanese Basic free?
Which has better reviews, Japanese Kana or Japanese Basic?
Do Japanese Kana or Japanese Basic have ads?
Which is updated more often, Japanese Kana or Japanese Basic?
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