Read The Kanji – a JLPT Kanji study app

Posted on 28. Mar, 2009 @ 11:30 am by in Gadgets, Language Views: 1,487

I just found out about Read The Kanji this morning. Guess how I found out about it? Via Twitter! Twitter is awesome, I’m telling you…

But, this post is about Read The Kanji (which is also awesome), not Twitter.

Learn JLPT 1 Kanji, or Start With Hiragana
In Read The Kanji you select what you want to learn, hiragana, katakana, or different sets of kanji from JLPT4 to JLPT1, and then jump right in and start reviewing.

Clean Interface
The fonts are big and beautiful and the interface is clean and easy to use. I got registered and was reviewing kanji in less than a couple of minutes.

(Note: the green below about 終日 is showing that I go the previous question correct.)

The first thing that I noticed about Read The kanji was that you can actually type the readings for the kanji in hiragana (as opposed to romaji, but it will also take the romaji if that’s what you prefer) and then click the “check” button to see if you were right.

The application doesn’t simply show you the answer and let you judge your correctness for yourself, but it actually checks what you input and keeps score for you. That’s a seemingly obvious but nice touch.

Learn the Kanji in Context
You get an example sentence and translation when the kanji is displayed, and if you click on the kanji compound in question it pops up a window that gives you details about the readings of each kanji, and better yet, examples of other kanji compounds that those kanji are used in. Good stuff.

I think that taking the time to read the example sentences is key to getting the most out of Reading the kanji. If you just fly through making sure you know how to read each kanji, without really understanding how the vocabulary is used, you’re doing yourself a disservice. The context is king!

Customizable
You can also adjust all the settings to determine what is displayed while you are reviewing. You can turn romaji on or off, for example.

Stats
The application also keeps a tons of stats on your review. More than I’ll ever need I’m sure… After a lot of review it would be fun to check out what your “worst word” is… Right now my worst word is 「真っ二つ」. Argh! Who needs 真っ二つ anyway.

This is a nice clean and free app. Give Read The Kanji a look!

Update: Another Read The Kanji Review on Quirky Japan

- Harvey

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  • Bri

    Thanks for all these cool resources! These are really great.

  • Kamilek

    Just checked that site and it rocks! Thanks a lot!

  • http://gjwilliams.wordpress.com/ Gaz

    Wow! thanks for sharing this, I have got to get my twitter on and crack on with the sharing.

  • http://sweetsweetmocha.blogspot.com Vickii

    hmmmmm….
    I don’t understand what kanji is…I am naming the obvious here but Japanese is so much like Chinese.
    I could read like the whole sentence…without understanding a word of japanese.
    Because I could read the chinese characters.
    hmmmm…how magnificent~
    well,i will learn Japanese when I go to high school.
    Your blog is funny~
    was it bitter when you went to japan without knowing a word??
    i feel ya.
    =D

  • Harold

    this is the stupidest program I have ever seen in my entire life. It does not indicate whatsoever is expected of the user to put in the box. It basically shows you some words that you don’t understand in japanese, with an english translation, then a box where you are expected to put something in. WTF.

    • http://www.japannewbie.com Harvey

      Funniest comment ever. Harold, it’s not for absolute beginners. Those who have studied Japanese will know what to put in the box.

      • Michaelsammler

        Actually it is for beginners. You can start with Hiragana or Katakana. You input the reading of the words highlighted in red. Then you can start the easiest JLPT kanji. The sentances are for hints to help identify the highlighted word. The program works great for me and my reading is improving with my Kanji comprehension.

  • http://divita.eu Philip Seyfi

    You may also want to check out the kanji quiz http://nihongoup.com/ It’s similar to readthekanji but free and integrated into the site’s kanji lessons. There’s also a Google Chrome extension at https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/mbpjeflofinhpknfpfoaofpfmhekgjcj

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