My Nihongo vs Kana Pop
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
My Nihongo
This app helps you prepare for Japanese Language Proficiency Tests (JLPT) with personalized quizzes and flexible note-taking. It features a hands-free vocabulary learning mode and natural pronunciation practice.
- JLPT preparation for all levels
- Flexible note-taking for vocabulary and sentences
- Hands-free vocabulary learning mode
- Personalized quiz creation from notes
- Natural pronunciation practice
- Quick note creation from clipboard
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Feature Highlights: - JLPT Preparation Made Easy Includes sample vocabulary and sentences for all JLPT levels (N5–N1). - Flexible Note‑Taking Organize your Japanese study notes as free‑form text or structured vocabulary and sentence lists. - Vocabulary Radio (New!) Hands‑free listening mode that continuously plays the vocabularies you want to learn. - Quick Note Creation Instantly create notes from clipboard text or auto‑extract segments from non‑empty lines in a document. - Personalized Quizzes Turn your notes into quiz questions to practice the exact vocabulary and sentences you want to master. - Natural Pronunciation Practice Hear your notes spoken aloud with Apple’s built‑in text‑to‑speech, now respecting your chosen Japanese voice under Accessibility settings. - Streamlined Study Experience Improved tab arrangement, Study screen layout, and unified quiz design for a smoother, more consistent workflow. - Intuitive Editing Tools Refined workflows for building sentences, vocabularies, and multiple note types with a user‑friendly interface.
Kana Pop
This app transforms learning Japanese kana into an engaging game. Instead of rote memorization, it uses timed challenges and personal bests to improve reading speed and accuracy. It tracks your mistakes to focus your practice on difficult characters.
- Timed kana matching games
- Personal best tracking
- Focus on difficult kana
- Mistake tracking and stats
- Optional pronunciation audio
- All kana available from start
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Kana Pop turns hiragana and katakana practice into a game, not a flashcard deck. No lessons, no memorizing lists. Just a board full of kana and a clock ticking down. Every run is timed and scored against your personal best. You're not studying — you're playing to beat your last run, while getting faster at reading kana on sight. **Four modes. One goal: read the kana before the clock runs out.** **HIRAGANA** Match the romaji prompt to the right hiragana tile. 90 seconds. 3 lives. 1 hint. **KATAKANA** Same game, katakana edition. 90 seconds. 3 lives. 1 hint. **MIXED** No romaji this time. Find the hiragana and katakana that share the same sound. 90 seconds. 3 lives. 1 hint. **CLEAR THE BOARD** 36 tiles. 18 pairs. 60 seconds. 3 lives. 3 hints. Nothing refills. Clear them all to win — the only mode you can actually beat. **WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT** • **Your score is yours to beat.** Every mode tracks a personal best. The clock is the same every run, so there's always a number to chase. • **The wrong answers aren't random.** You'll see kana that are easy to confuse, like シ/ツ, ぬ/め, or か/が. Every board is a reading test, not just a shape-matching exercise. • **No rounds, no memory grid.** The board keeps refilling in every mode except Clear the Board. There's always one more kana to read, and one more chance to beat your score. • **Your mistakes become your practice.** Every kana you miss is tracked. Stats shows your weakest kana first, while Chart shows which kana you've missed most often. The darker the kana, the more you've missed it. • **Pronunciation is built in.** Every correct answer can be spoken aloud in Japanese. Turn it off anytime in Settings. **ALL 102 KANA** Hiragana, katakana, gojūon, dakuten, handakuten, and yōon are all available from the start. No levels to unlock. No cards to collect. Just play. No account required. No analytics. Optional ads can give you an extra hint or a revive when you need one. Available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Kana Pop at Free against My Nihongo's $2.99. Kana Pop also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). My Nihongo's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Kana Pop is free to download; My Nihongo costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for My Nihongo against 5.0 for Kana Pop. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
My Nihongo ships an update every 6 days, Kana Pop every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | My Nihongo | Kana Pop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Fu Keung Kwan | WEIZHE ZHAO |
Customer experience
My Nihongo
Kana Pop
In-app purchases
My Nihongo
No in-app purchases
Kana Pop
No in-app purchases









