Yonda vs NihongoShadow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Yonda
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You didn't start learning Japanese to clear flashcards. You started because there's something you want to read. Yonda's Scan & Read turns that something — the manga volume on your shelf, a novel, a menu, a street sign, a newspaper — into your curriculum. Photograph up to five pages. Yonda reads them (vertical text, furigana, real reading order), checks every word against what you already know, and builds a lesson out of only the kanji and vocabulary YOU are missing. You study it with serious spaced repetition, pass a 100% comprehension exam, and then read your own pages — furigana you can toggle, a tap-gloss on every word colored by your mastery, and translations that unlock only after you've proven you don't need them. That last part matters. Translation apps read Japanese FOR you, which is why you can point a camera at manga for years and never learn to read. Yonda refuses to do the reading until you can. HOW IT WORKS 1. Photograph real Japanese — up to 5 pages per scan. 2. Fix any misreads in a 30-second review. The OCR is good; you make it perfect. 3. Yonda diagnoses the gap: exactly which kanji and words you don't know yet, based on your own study history. 4. Study a lesson built from just that gap. Wrong answers get an explanation on the spot, not a red X. 5. Pass a clean-sweep exam. 100%, no partial credit. 6. Read your pages. They join your My Scans shelf — a growing library of real Japanese you've conquered. Words from your scans keep coming back in long-term reviews, so what you read stays read. THE ENGINE UNDERNEATH Yonda is a full Japanese course, not just a scanner. • Kana, kanji, vocabulary, and grammar on a path from zero to N1. N5 is polished today; higher levels are in active development. • FSRS spaced repetition — reviews arrive when you're about to forget, not on a corporate schedule. • Wrong-answer options drawn from real confusability data, never random, so tests actually test. • AI conversation practice for when you want to use what you've learned. WHAT YOU WON'T FIND • No streak guilt. No hearts, no lives, no mascot crying at you. • No ads, anywhere. • No selling or sharing your data. Scan photos live in a private bucket, visible only to you, and are deleted when you delete the scan. Honest limits: scanning needs an internet connection, and you should know kana before your first scan (the free N5 course starts there). Japanese is hard. Yonda doesn't pretend otherwise — it just makes every hour count. Free: the full N5 course plus one trial scan, forever. Pro is coming soon. Questions and bug reports are read by a human — support@irons.la.
NihongoShadow
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NihongoShadow is a shadowing practice app for Japanese learners. Real Japanese teachers—not AI—personally correct your recordings so you can build natural pronunciation and intonation. WHY NIHONGOSHADOW • Corrections by native Japanese teachers Experienced teachers listen to every submission and give you specific, personalized feedback on your pronunciation habits and how to improve—advice tailored to your native language. • Human feedback, not AI Many services rely on automatic AI scoring. We insist on human corrections, so you receive feedback on the subtle nuances and intonation that AI simply cannot judge. • Exclusive original JLPT materials (N5–N1) Study with our own original materials for every JLPT level, developed in-house and optimized for shadowing. Build real skills with content you will not find anywhere else. • 24/7 chat with native teachers Ask about Japanese anytime—grammar, keigo, or “does this expression sound natural?” Casual conversation practice is welcome too. Learn real Japanese you will not find in textbooks. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose a material suited to your level, from N5 to N1. 2. Listen to the native audio and record yourself shadowing. 3. Submit with a single tap. 4. Receive detailed corrections from native Japanese teachers within 24 hours.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Yonda at 13.0 against NihongoShadow's 15.1. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Yonda | NihongoShadow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeremy Irons | MIKIO MOCHIZUKI |
In-app purchases
Yonda
No in-app purchases
NihongoShadow
No in-app purchases









