MARU: Learn Japanese Hiragana

I’ve been trying to learn the two Japanese alphabets: hiragana, and katana. My goal is to get to N5 proficiency at some point. At first, I was using Duolingo to practice my hiragana. It went well, but by the time I was getting started with my katana, they implemented this stupid feature, or rather, removed a vital one—the ability to practice to earn back hearts. Seeing this, I knew I’d need a different place to learn my katana, and then I came upon this app. And let me tell you, I’m glad I left Duolingo. This app is everything. The layout is very user-friendly. Notifications are fun, and motivating. I like the voice they chose for the characters and the fact that it plays for every kana character. Being an auditory and visual learner, this app is great. The choice to only have ads play after every five mistakes is SUPERIOR to the five strikes and your out feature I’m used to. It encourages you to do well, but the punishment isn’t severe in the slightest. I’ve been improving well with my katana and, for that I’m grateful this app exists. I only wish it was available for kanji as well! Ah well, maybe in the future.

I have been intimidated by the Japanese written language for many years. I have learned the spoken language on and off several times in my life and always lost steam because I figured, well, I will never learn to read or write Japanese anyway so what is the point. At age 43, and with a renewed interest in Karate, I am tackling the language once again. This time I intend to become fluent in the spoken language, and master both Hiragana and Katakana. I will worry about Kanji later, but am positive I can learn a few hundred...I mean, Japanese elementary school kids do right? So why not me? Anyway, this app is FANTASTIC for drilling the kana. I was AMAZED at how quickly I learned them all. I started this app yesterday and have already unlocked every row (you will see what I mean when you start using this app). And YES, it is true that this app is free and you only see ads if you make 5 mistakes. Then the mistake count is reset to zero. I have only seen like 3 ads so far, but now I know all of the Hiragana so probably will not see anymore ads while doing those drills. FINALLY AND PLEASE READ THIS: The drills build in complexity and soon you are recognizing words like Yakitori...I LOVE THIS APP!!!

I don’t write app reviews. Over the years I’ve maybe written 5 at most. This one deserves a review. It simple, it’s perfect for what it is. You aren’t bogged down with ads because the developer is an amazing and generous person. Seriously, I appreciate you and your way of developing this app. You only get “punishment ads” if you get five questions wrong you get an ad. There are no time limits which the other similar apps tend to have. That is a huge turn off for me. I have dyslexia, it takes me a second to take everything in. Not having a time limit helps a lot. I also enjoy the use of basic words. It would be nice for beginners if their translation was on there maybe even just in small font. Most of the words I already know but occasionally I forget and it would be nice to have a simple reminder. That honestly isn’t a big deal my one and only suggestion really is that it would be amazing if when given a word if in the answer section you had to pick each hiragana/katakan. Some what like a fill in the blank of that makes sense. Instead of just selecting the completed translation already spelled out in the answer box. Seriously though, this app is amazing and I really appreciate you for making it as clean and simple as possible.