Comparison

Kana Pop vs TypeLearn

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Timed kana matching games
  • Personal best tracking
  • Focus on difficult kana
  • Mistake tracking and stats
  • Optional pronunciation audio
  • All kana available from start
Features
Read full description

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.

About

TypeLearn

Learn languages by typing. Get instant translations and save them as flashcards to review later. Supports multiple languages and integrates with your everyday writing.

Highlights
  • Bilingual keyboard with meaning lookup
  • Save translations as flashcards
  • Offline speech transcription
  • Next-word predictions
  • Vocabulary collection and review
  • Supports multiple learning languages
Features
Read full description

TypeLearn is a bilingual keyboard for learning from the words you actually write. Check candidate meanings while typing, request an Apple translation when you need one, and save the source text and translated expression as a flashcard to hear and review later. Learn in everyday writing Chats, notes and email contain expressions worth remembering. Select the text that matters, view an available translation, and choose whether to insert it, hear it or save it. Your input language and learning target are separate settings; changing your target does not replace your draft. Chinese and English typing tools • Bilingual candidates show local dictionary meanings for supported directions, with horizontal scrolling for longer definitions. • Chinese and English next-word predictions suggest what to type next. Manage available models in input settings. • English spelling correction offers suggestions while leaving the choice to you. • Offline Chinese and English speech transcription runs in the main app after you download the corresponding speech model. Save a transcript to the keyboard and confirm before inserting it. This is not direct voice dictation inside the third-party keyboard. Build your own vocabulary collection A successful translation creates a preview card with the source text and target expression. Only cards you explicitly save enter My Cards. Search your collection, listen to available pronunciation and use lightweight reviews to revisit expressions from conversations, study and work. Cards and progress stay separate by language direction. Choose English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, German, Italian, French or Chinese as a learning target. A selectable target does not mean every translation pair is supported. Apple translation availability depends on your OS, device, region and prepared language models. Compatibility and access • Supports iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 17 or later. Apple system translation requires iOS or iPadOS 18 or later and a supported language pair. • Local translation and target-language speech do not require Full Access. Sharing saved cards from the keyboard extension with the main app may require Full Access under iOS keyboard rules. • Secure fields and apps that block third-party keyboards use the system keyboard. • New cards come from your actual text and successful translations. Previewing a card does not save it. Type as usual. Keep an expression when it is something you want to learn.

Screenshots

Kana Pop4 screens
TypeLearn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: TypeLearn at none against Kana Pop's shown. TypeLearn also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Kana Pop's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kana Pop holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kana Pop ships an update every 4 days, TypeLearn weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Kana Pop versus TypeLearn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKana PopTypeLearn
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.8 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings44
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB379 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWEIZHE ZHAOZeroEra Tech

Customer experience

Kana Pop

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

TypeLearn

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Kana Pop

No in-app purchases

None

TypeLearn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kana Pop free?
Kana Pop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TypeLearn free?
TypeLearn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Kana Pop or TypeLearn?
Kana Pop is rated higher. Kana Pop averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while TypeLearn averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.
Do Kana Pop or TypeLearn have ads?
Kana Pop shows ads; TypeLearn does not.
Which is updated more often, Kana Pop or TypeLearn?
Kana Pop ships an update every 4 days, and TypeLearn weekly. Most recently, Kana Pop was updated on October 31, 2026 and TypeLearn on November 6, 2026.

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