Recommended points

This app is designed for people who are learning Japanese for the first time and those intending to study in Japan.You can learn hiragana, how to count Japanese money, simple greetings, and so on.The content is based on the Tobira materials developed by the Japanese language teachers of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific Univiersity (APU) Center for Language Education (CLE).

Can-do

• You can practice reading and writing hiragana.
• Listen to simple greetings and practice using them with the audio recordings by native speakers of Japanese.
• Use the pronunciation analysis function to check to see if your pronunciation is communicable.
• Practice expressions that are useful in daily life when shopping, at the post office, or at school.

How to...

After you install the app and open it up, you will be given a choice of two contents.
・Simple Japanese
・Dialogues for Different Situations

In Simple Japanese, you can practice:
・Japanese Syllables　Reading and writing Japanese Syllables (hiragana)
・Numbers　Reading numbers
・Time Expressions　Telling time (reading minutes and hours)
・Japanese Money　Counting Japanese money by looking at coins and bills
・Calendar　Reading the calendar (days of the week, dates, and months)
・Useful Simple Expressions　Listening to and saying other useful simple expressions

For example, let's look at the exercise where you tap Japanese Money (practice reading amounts by looking at Japanese bills and coins).

Start by listening to the recordings of how the amounts are read, while looking at bills and coins.

Keep scrolling until you have listened to the readings of all of the bills and coins, then tap PRACTICE at the bottom.Now you can start practicing.

Select your answer and tap CHECK.

You will see if you got it correct.Tap CONTINUE to go to the next practice.

Now go back to HOME and take a look at the Useful Simple Expressions, too.

Start by listening to the expressions.
You can check the readings by looking at the romaji.
You can also check the meanings written in English.

Keep scrolling until you have listened to the readings of all of the expressions, then tap READING / SPEAKING PRACTICE at the bottom.
Now you can start practicing.

Tap the mic icon and say the greeting yourself.

Tap the pause button when you're done speaking.
You'll see an evaluation as to whether your pronunciation was communicable.
Tap CONTINUE to go to the next practice.

This app has an android version, too. (Introduction article)