Android<\/a> | iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Beloved and frequently downloaded in Japan, this is a modernclassic because it was designed for adults willing to take the Japan Kanji Aptitude Test.<\/p>\n This test is administrated by the \u65e5\u672c\u6f22\u5b57\u80fd\u529b\u691c\u5b9a\u5354\u4f1a\u00a0(\u306b\u307b\u3093 \u304b\u3093\u3058\u306e\u3046\u308a\u3087\u304f \u3051\u3093\u3066\u3044 \u304d\u3087\u3046\u304b\u3044)\u00a0<\/i>or\u00a0Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Public Interest Foundation.<\/p>\n There are 12\u00a0levels, with level 1 being the hardest. Adults typically take tests ranging from levels 3 to 1, although level 1 is extremely difficult to pass. Level 2 can be an advantage when applying to jobs, and can even be required by your employer.<\/p>\n Passing level 1 is rare among native speakers, and as a consequence, it’s exceptional among foreigners. Make sure to pick a level that matches your current knowledge of kanji and build your way up progressively.<\/p>\n (\u3088\u3081\u306a\u3044\u3068 \u306f\u305a\u304b\u3057\u3044 \u304a\u3068\u306a\u306e \u3058\u3087\u3046\u3057\u304d \u304b\u3093\u3058 \u2014\u00a0Usual Kanji That Adults Would Be Embarrassed Not to Know)<\/strong><\/p>\n Android<\/a> | iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Here we’ve got another option for native adults with a funkier\u00a0vibe than the previous one.<\/p>\n It’s divided between beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, with subdivisions that form little chapters. Like the previous app, it’s free, and you can pretend you’re a virtual ninja.<\/p>\n Plus, being a kanji ninja will earn you more respect than being a fruit ninja.<\/p>\n (\u304b\u3093\u3058\u3051\u3093\u3066\u3044\u30fb\u304b\u3093\u3051\u3093 \u304b\u3093\u3058 \u3061\u3083\u308c\u3093\u3058 \u2014 Kanji Aptitude Test Challenge)<\/strong><\/p>\n Android<\/a> |\u00a0iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This one also is another favorite in Japan, with a different spin on the learning process. This one is more about rapid-fire recognition and reproduction than any other.<\/p>\n Warning:<\/strong> It’s designed to enhance speed and can be pretty addictive.<\/p>\n (\u3057\u3087\u3046\u304c\u304f\u305b\u3044 \u3066\u304c\u304d \u304b\u3093\u3058 \u3069\u308a\u308b1006 – \u306f\u3093\u3077\u304f \u304c\u304f\u3057\u3085\u3046 \u3057\u308a\u30fc\u305a \u2014\u00a0Handwritten Kanji Drills for Primary-schoolers – Repetition Drill Series)<\/strong><\/p>\n Android<\/a> |\u00a0iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This app is designed for primary schoolers and reviews the first official list mentioned above.<\/p>\n It’s a playful app, and very user-friendly. I recommend you start from the very first level and move upwards upon completing each one.<\/p>\n It may seem easy to\u00a0intermediate learners\u00a0at first, but keep moving and\u00a0continue your way up until you reach the top of the ladder.<\/p>\n (\u3061\u3085\u3046\u304c\u304f\u305b\u3044 \u304b\u3093\u3058 [\u3066\u304c\u304d \u3042\u3093\u3069 \u3088\u307f\u304b\u305f] \u2014\u00a0Kanji for Junior High-schoolers [Handwriting and Reading])<\/strong><\/p>\n Android<\/a>\u00a0| iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Developed by the same company as \u5c0f\u5b66\u751f\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u6f22\u5b57\u30c9\u30ea\u30eb1006 – \u306f\u3093\u3077\u304f\u5b66\u7fd2\u30b7\u30ea\u30fc\u30ba, this\u00a0belongs to the same series and is designed for the junior high school level.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you’re an upper-intermediate or advanced learner, download this app\u00a0and enjoy.<\/p>\n iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n KanjiQ is a simple, straightforward app that\u00a0shows you the stroke order and you follow it, tracing the lines by number.<\/p>\n It shows the character at the top of the screen but you can challenge yourself by clicking on the character and making it disappear.<\/p>\n For characters you already know, you can skip ahead. If you want to know more about the character, you can click on a book icon and it tells you the meaning, all of its readings in Japanese, its reading in Chinese and Korean, what JLPT level it is and in which grade kids learn it.<\/p>\n This app is good for all levels because you can choose which JLPT level or school grade\u00a0kanji<\/em>\u00a0you want to learn, making it a personalized experience.<\/p>\n iOS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In Kanji Star, in addition to choosing characters based on school grade and JLPT category, you can also choose a thematic category.<\/p>\n It also offers a challenging twist \u2014 you don\u2019t just trace the character. You have to actually remember it.<\/p>\n At first, it shows you how to write the character. Once you start the lines disappear, leaving you with only a tiny circle that shows where to start. It also provides readings and meanings.\u00a0<\/p>\n JPLT levels two to four and school grades one to four are free, but you have to purchase more if you want to advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Japanese Ministry of Education developed and issued\u00a0a list called \u5b66\u5e74\u5225\u6f22\u5b57\u914d\u5f53\u8868<\/strong> (\u304c\u304f\u306d\u3093\u3079\u3064 \u304b\u3093\u3058 \u306f\u3044\u3068\u3046 \u3072\u3087\u3046)\u00a0or “list of Kanji divided per school year,” which is comprised of 1,006 characters and their associated readings.<\/p>\n This list prescribes the kanji and the readings that should be taught, as well as when they should be taught to Japanese schoolchildren over the course of primary school.<\/p>\n I can already hear you freaking out, muttering, “More than a thousand kanji by the end of primary school, are you serious<\/a>?”<\/p>\n Well, yes, and Japanese kids and their parents also think it’s a lot, actually.\u00a0<\/p>\n This list is a subdivision of a more global list that encompasses kanji requirements for the whole secondary education system. If you’ve heard about any of this, that’s probably the one you know: \u5e38\u7528\u6f22\u5b57<\/strong> (\u3058\u3087\u3046\u3088\u3046 \u304b\u3093\u3058)\u00a0or “regular-use characters”.<\/p>\n This table was issued in 1981 and updated in 2010 and is actually a revised version of a list drafted after the Second World War to foster and provide a framework to literacy development.<\/p>\n The initial list\u2014entitled\u00a0\u5f53\u7528\u6f22\u5b57\u8868<\/strong> (\u3068\u3046\u3088\u3046 \u304b\u3093\u3058)\u00a0<\/em>or “list of characters for general use”\u2014was one of the cornerstones of the reform of the national writing system that took place in the 1940s.<\/p>\n I’m not going to delve deeper into details because this topic could easily fill up a dozen posts, but my point was to insist on how key kanji are in the Japanese educational system, and more generally in Japan at large.<\/p>\n Of course, there are many ways to practice Japanese reading<\/a>\u00a0but, surprisingly, you can also get better at kanji while having fun on your smartphone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n You may have heard teachers saying that you need to see a kanji three times<\/strong> before remembering it.<\/p>\n No matter whether this statement is backed by science or not, your own experience has probably already confirmed that the more kanji you see, and the more frequently you see the same ones repeated, the easier it is to learn and recall them.<\/p>\n That’s why progress can be so significant when you’re staying in Japan<\/a>, since you’re bathing in kanji all day, every day, without even noticing it. That’s also one of the reasons why newcomers often say they get the feeling that their brains are going to blow up.<\/p>\n However, even if you stare at\u00a0kanji from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed, it’s very unlikely you’ll improve your reading skills significantly. What’s more, your writing skills won’t get any better.<\/p>\n Students often argue that nobody uses their hands to write anymore, that cell phones and laptops have taken over handwriting and that\u00a0the internet offers never-ending resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n That’s true, and it’s true that if you live in Japan, even as an exchange student, you’re likely to type most of the Japanese you have to write. But that doesn’t change the fact that you must pile up many, many lines of handwritten kanji to really, truly carve them in your brain for the long term.<\/p>\n No Repetition, No Kanji<\/strong><\/p>\n This is also a reality for the Japanese themselves, and that’s precisely how they learn them. I remember being fairly surprised when I stepped into a Japanese friend’s bathroom and found\u00a0myself surrounded by\u00a0posters with lists of kanji. Kanji all over the walls! That friend of mine had one kid in\u00a0second grade and another one in fifth grade.<\/p>\n Yet the reason why they had to get those characters stuck in their heads\u2014besides the fact that their parents hoped they’d be able to read newspapers<\/a> as grown-ups\u2014was that they had to pass tomorrow’s kanji quizzes.\u00a0As well as the next quiz and the one after and so on.<\/p>\n Japanese students repeat practicing the same kanji for days. <\/strong>They repeat kanji for years. They repeat kanji until they graduate from high school, and even beyond that sometimes. They repeat this list until they know it\u00a0inside out. And when I say “repeat,” I mean to say that their hands<\/strong> repeat it.<\/p>\n When I started studying Japanese, one of our lecturers told us we’d never be bored again. You can always check out a few more kanji, right? So you’d better find a fun way to do it.<\/p>\n Of course, there are many ways to brush up on your Japanese reading and writing skills, and there are just as many apps.<\/p>\n I love apps when it comes to kanji training because almost all of them are designed to allow you to trace characters with your finger, so all you need is your smartphone and your hand. And, as it turns out, native Japanese feel the same way about this useful technology.<\/p>\n Never Stop Practicing<\/strong><\/p>\n If you stop using it, you’ll lose it. Same goes for native speakers, and that’s exactly why all these app options exist.<\/p>\n As far as I’m concerned, I was relieved to find out that even the Japanese need to “train” themselves to maintain their reading and writing skill levels.<\/p>\n You could see that as the most discouraging point ever, but we already said that Japanese isn’t a language you can even just be done<\/em> with. Is there any language, including your own, that you can assert you know perfectly, anyway?<\/p>\n You may be wondering about the next step: After you\u2019ve used these apps to learn kanji, how can you keep practicing?<\/p>\n Reading and writing are great for keeping your memory fresh. A program like FluentU<\/a> can also help you to practice your reading and writing skills through videos with transcripts, subtitles and quizzes. FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n 2. \u8aad\u3081\u306a\u3044\u3068\u6065\u305a\u304b\u3057\u3044\u5927\u4eba\u306e\u5e38\u8b58\u6f22\u5b57<\/h2>\n
3. \u6f22\u5b57\u691c\u5b9a\u30fb\u6f22\u691c\u6f22\u5b57\u30c1\u30e3\u30ec\u30f3\u30b8<\/h2>\n
4. \u5c0f\u5b66\u751f\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u6f22\u5b57\u30c9\u30ea\u30eb1006 – \u306f\u3093\u3077\u304f\u5b66\u7fd2\u30b7\u30ea\u30fc\u30ba<\/h2>\n
5. \u4e2d\u5b66\u751f\u6f22\u5b57 (\u624b\u66f8\u304d\uff06\u8aad\u307f\u65b9)<\/h2>\n
6. KanjiQ by Aribada Inc.
![](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/6\/6-free-iphone-apps-to-help-you-learn-kanji1.jpg\")
<\/h2>\n7. Kanji Star by Aidan Povedano
![\"6](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/6\/6-free-iphone-apps-to-help-you-learn-kanji3.png\" "\\"6")
<\/a><\/h2>\nWhy Kanji Is Important for Japanese Learners<\/h2>\n
How to Practice Kanji and Make It Stick<\/h2>\n
How to Get the\u00a0Best Results from Your Kanji Apps<\/h2>\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/6\/NativeAd-Japanese.jpg\")
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