Hiragana & katakana
Learn to read Japanese, one step at a time.
Read a real word, type how it sounds, see the correction. Ōkini takes you from your first vowel to full sentences, five calm minutes at a time.
Ōkini is being tested right now.
Read this word
ねこ · neko · cat
No guessing. Reading.
A word or a sentence in kana, and you type how it reads. You can't guess your way through: you have to actually read it.
Real words, from day one
Each step brings a few new characters and puts them straight into everyday words: sky, cat, station, tomorrow. The vocabulary sinks in while you learn to read.
Help is there, memory is the goal
The kana chart is one tap away whenever you're stuck. The characters that still trip you up keep coming back until they don't.
Five minutes, twice a day
A series is about twelve questions. Two a day is the rhythm; each one ends with what you learned and what comes next.
One path, seven chapters
Strictly in order: each step only uses what you've already met. Spaces between words fade out along the way, until you read Japanese as it's really written.
- あ
Hiragana
The 46 basic hiragana, row by row, through everyday words.
- が
Dakuten
Two little strokes or a circle change the sound: か ka, が ga.
- きゃ
Special readings
Long vowels, the small っ, and the small ゃゅょ combinations.
- は
Particles & endings
は, を, の, です: your first sentences.
- ね
Hiragana sentences
Longer everyday sentences, then written like real Japanese: no spaces.
- ア
Katakana
The second syllabary, for foreign words and names: コーヒー, タクシー.
- 文
Mixed sentences
Hiragana and katakana together, the way you'll meet them in Japan.
About two weeks, at a couple of series a day.
What you won't find
Reading Japanese is a serious skill. Ōkini treats it like one.
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Questions
Do I need to know any Japanese?
No. Ōkini starts from the very first vowel, あ.
Why type the answer instead of choosing it?
With four choices you can guess, or recognise without reading. Typing what you see means you actually read it, and you'll know exactly which character tripped you up.
Which languages does the app speak?
English and French.
And after the kana?
Kanji and grammar come in the next levels, built the same way.
What happens to my data?
Ōkini keeps your email and your progress, hosted in the European Union, and nothing else. Read the privacy policy.
Your first word is five minutes away.
Ōkini arrives on the App Store soon.