Three categories of kanji app already exist. The first is generic SRS tools — Anki and friends — that treat kanji like any other flashcard. The second is web-based learning platforms like WaniKani that produce excellent results but don't respect the iPhone as a first-class surface. The third is reference apps that document every kanji beautifully but don't teach a curriculum.
KanjiKanji Modern is none of those. It's an iOS-native, JLPT-aligned kanji-learning app with adaptive spaced repetition, animated stroke order, and on-device handwriting practice — built for the iPhone the learner is already holding.
The free tier is a real product
We've all installed a "free" app that turned out to be a 7-day trial with the meaningful features locked. The KanjiKanji Modern free tier is the actual product, scoped: JLPT N5 and N4 content, unlimited reviews on what you've learned, stroke-order animations, and full progress tracking. You can complete N5 without spending a cent.
Premium unlocks the upper JLPT levels (N3, N2, N1), handwriting recognition, audio pronunciations by native speakers, custom study sets, and advanced analytics. It exists because deeper features cost more to build and maintain — not because we want to dangle a carrot.
Why JLPT-aligned, not WaniKani-aligned
WaniKani's 60-level system is genuinely good pedagogy. It's also a proprietary order that doesn't map directly to the JLPT — meaning if you're studying for the exam, you have to layer a separate vocabulary tool on top. KanjiKanji Modern orders the entire curriculum by JLPT level, then by practical frequency within each level. The same study loop that gets you reading signs in Tokyo also gets you ready to sit the test.
Why on-device for handwriting
Handwriting practice runs on the phone via Apple's PencilKit and Google's ML Kit Digital Ink. There are two reasons. First: latency. Round-tripping stroke data to a server adds a beat that breaks the focus loop. Second: privacy. Stroke data is biometric-adjacent — it encodes how you write, not just what. Keeping it on-device is the respectful default.
Why iPhone-first
Daily kanji practice is a phone activity for almost every learner. Two minutes in line, five minutes on the train, a longer session at the kitchen table — these are iPhone moments. A great mobile-web experience is still not as good as a native one for daily tactile practice. So we built native first.
Android and other platforms may come. For now: iPhone, done well.
What we're not
We're not a community platform — that's WaniKani's strength. We're not a generic flashcard tool — that's Anki. We're not a reference encyclopedia — that's Kanji Study. We do one thing: get you to fluent kanji reading by sitting with you for a few minutes every day, for as long as it takes.
That's the whole pitch.
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