iKnow!

This is a simple and effective way to learn new vocabulary... when it works. Unfortunately, the last few versions have introduced features that are of dubious value (e.g. answering using numbers), along with many bugs and annoyances. I used to be able to enter answers using romaji or hiragana, and had always wished I could use kanji too. Now, all answers must be entered using romaji. If I try to enter hiragana, very strange things happen (e.g. typing KA inputs あ, and when i hit 'delete' to correct, I end up with ああ). Also, for no apparent reason, the app will now just crash in the middle of a review. I also wish there were more example sentences to go with each vocabulary word - some have 2 sentences, but most only have 1. Some of the sentences are unique and interesting, while others are quite generic. I feel each word should have at least 5 interesting sentences so that the user can see the word in more contexts, quizzes are more difficult, and learning more active. Having said all this negative stuff, I have to say that this is one of the few apps I find myself using every day, and that's what makes it so effective. The choice of vocabulary is also generally quite good. I find myself running into these words repeatedly in the real world. I also like that there are different types of quizes.

I’ve been using this app daily for almost 7 years, and I’ve never before felt prompted to write a review, despite always loving the app. Thank you SO MUCH for dark mode!! You have made my user experience so much better. I really love this app, it has been such a great vocabulary builder for me for Japanese, and I’d definitely recommend it to others. If there was one thing that concerned me it would be pitch accents though. I’m trying to learn Japanese, and because I don’t know them myself, I can’t really tell if the pitch accents are correct, or there at all. I repeat the sentences to learn them, but if the pitch accents are not correct it means I’ve learned them all incorrectly.

I’m one of those procrastinators who studies for a few months and then stops for...more. During my non-procrastination time, iKnow has always given me the best learning rate of any tool. Everything has sentences, with full audio, Japanese text is always bigger than English text. Premade courses, a mode to study all your courses together, and my favorite thing: a sentence listening mode. Great for people like me who can listen along while working or working out. Passive learning when you are doing something else is better than no learning. It’s too bad the PC version doesn’t have it. The subscription cost keeps me longer before I fall back into bad habits (no app can fix my laziness but this one holds me the longest). It’s just easier to be motivated longer when you have to pay and get your money’s worth ! It’s in big thanks to this app that I can play video games in Japanese. Things I would love to see in the future: for each course to have a “story”, or multiple, that utilizes most of the vocabulary that was in said course. Sentences are great, but having short stories to test my understanding with would be even more awesome. And for the PC version to someday get the sentence listening mode.