NihonMaster vs PrépaGo Japanese

I'm Joppe. I built Nihon Master because I was learning Japanese and the apps I was using were not doing it for me. Duolingo got me started but I was not really learning past hiragana. Anki is great if you build your own deck. Wanikani is great for kanji. I wanted one place that actually teaches the language. So I built it for myself. A few friends started using it. Then strangers. Now it's here. This is not a flashcard deck, and it is not a gamified drill machine. It is a real curriculum backed by real tools, built specifically for Japanese, where kana and kanji are first-class instead of a language pack bolted on the side. What's inside. A guided journey from absolute beginner through JLPT N1. Hiragana, katakana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar, reading practice. Every lesson has a clear point and you finish it knowing something you did not know an hour ago. Around 2,000 kanji with stroke animations, writing practice, and readings ordered by what you actually need first. Spaced repetition built on FSRS (the same algorithm Anki adopted in 2024) instead of the 1987 SM-2 formula most apps still ship. Twelve sub-skills tracked separately, so you can see whether your particles are fine and your kanji readings are the problem, instead of one meaningless overall number. Mock JLPT tests for every level, in the same shape as the real exam. Useful for the test itself and for figuring out where you actually stand. Native-quality Japanese audio on every vocabulary item, generated by VOICEVOX, an open-source Japanese TTS that does not sound like a robot. A sentence generator that builds sentences only from words and grammar you have already learned, so you never get jumped by kanji you have never seen. What's not inside. Streaks engineered to guilt you into opening the app at 11:59 PM. A heart system that locks you out until you wait or pay. A subscription that holds half the content behind a paywall. Ads of any kind. Everything works offline. No sign-in. No account. Your progress lives on your device. There are no servers, and that is intentional. I am one person making this in my spare time. If you have an idea, a feature request, a bug to report, or you just want to tell me which kanji is annoying you this week, please do. There is a Discord linked inside the app and an Instagram at @nihonmaster.official. I read everything. If Duolingo is working for you, honestly that is great, keep doing that. This app is for the people who tried Duolingo, kept the streak alive for six months, and realised they still could not read anything. Have fun with it. Let me know what you think. nihonmaster.com

Master Japanese with PrépaGo JP — your all-in-one study companion for kanji, vocabulary, and grammar. **KANJI** Learn over 2,200 kanji characters covering elementary school Grade 1 through junior high school — organized into bite-sized groups of 10 for focused study. Four distinct learning modes help you master each character: • Practice — Watch animated stroke-by-stroke demonstrations, then trace each kanji on a guided canvas. Instant feedback tells you if your stroke order is correct. • Writing — Draw kanji from memory using handwriting recognition powered by Google ML Kit. The app recognizes what you wrote and checks it against the correct answer. • Reading — Given a kanji in context, choose the correct reading from four options. Build your ability to read Japanese text naturally. • Meaning — See a kanji and pick its English meaning from four choices. Strengthen your character recognition and comprehension. **VOCABULARY** Study over 2,200 words across multiple levels, from core daily vocabulary to advanced expressions. • Meaning Quiz — Choose the correct definition from multiple choices. • Typing Quiz — Type the answer yourself for deeper retention. • Words include readings, meanings, parts of speech, and example sentences in both Japanese and English. • Special categories: counters, colors, country names, months, katakana loanwords, and casual slang. **GRAMMAR** 36 structured grammar lessons aligned with JLPT levels N5, N4, and N3. • N5 (Beginner): Noun and adjective forms, verb conjugations, particles, te-form • N4 (Intermediate): Verb transformations, conditionals, giving/receiving, expressions • N3 (Upper-Intermediate): Advanced verb forms, conjecture, complex sentence structures Each lesson includes clear grammar patterns, example sentences, and interactive fill-in-the-blank quizzes to test your understanding. **CONVERSATION** Practice real-world Japanese through 8 interactive scenarios: Café, Restaurant, Airport, Hotel, Shopping, Train Station, Directions, and Doctor's Office. Choose from multiple responses in a chat-style interface. Learn practical phrases you'll actually use in Japan. **SMART REVIEW** Never forget what you've learned. Our spaced repetition system (SM-2 algorithm) schedules reviews at the optimal time for long-term retention. • Combines kanji, vocabulary, and grammar into one unified review queue • Adapts to your performance — items you struggle with appear more often • Set a daily review goal (10, 20, 30, or 50 items) to build a consistent habit **PROGRESS TRACKING** Stay motivated with detailed statistics: • Total characters learned across all modes • Study streak counter for consecutive days • Weekly activity chart showing daily learning volume • Breakdown by mode: Practice, Writing, Reading, Meaning • Grade-by-grade progress bars **DESIGNED FOR YOU** • 5 beautiful themes: Cyberpunk, Vermillion, Mono, Indigo, and Black • English and Japanese interface • Text-to-speech audio for natural pronunciation • Portrait-optimized for comfortable one-handed study Start your Japanese journey today — one kanji at a time. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/