Recommendations for iTouch/iPhone Apps

[mrsspooky5154]

I've seen Kotoba! listed. I use this a LOT when I want to look up a word or figure out a new kanji (you can search by radicals). It's an excellent dictionary.

I haven't scanned all the suggestions, but Human Japanese is very good and I love it a lot! http://humanjapanese.com. Right now they have a beginning Japanese application, but they are working on an intermediate level app. This runs on Windows, Macintosh and iPod/iPhone. I use this a lot too, has audio for the conversations and vocabulary words with quizzes and culture notes as you move through the chapters.

And of course there are ikana and kanji also.

I have apps that teach kanji also, either by grade level or JLPT level. I've learned the kanji for JLPT5, but using them in sentences is challenging - need work on that, big time!

[ivoplsek1676]

Hello,
Can anybody recommend a good application for reviewing Kanji + vocab (this is for advanced level)?

I am using flash Japanese flash: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id367216357?mt=8
It is not bad but the trouble is that it tends to repeat a lot of the words that I already know (i.e. after 4 years of study, you don't want to be tested on 帰る、戻る、受ける　etc.). I think that there general testing algorithm is not really smart and i don't like the fact that I can't break the whole vocab files (say words for JLPT N2 etc.) into smaller batches etc. All that said it's still the best software I have found: provides sentence examples, allows you to look up words, add words, create your own cards....etc. I have looked at http://itunes.apple.com/app/ikic-kanji- ... 79593?mt=8 by ICU Yokohama - this might be a good app. (given ICU's reputation) but the price is rather steep (if you add all the money you'd have to pay for the whole package...45$).

what other software would you recommend for advanced learners:
I use Kotoba on a daily basis and 大辞林 - the two probably best applications I have come across.
I also use Kanjipop (always before I go to bed I review about 5-6 sets); and I just bought KanjiBox - supposedly a good software.

What else? Any suggestions? Before i go to bed, when I wait at a bus stop, take a .........i like to use my iphone to study new words, review them, do drills etc. Is there any software or games that would be good for advanced learners as well? (there's a ton for beginners).

btw. I tried to play "as you like" but I am really not sure how it works...any pointers in this regard?
sorry and thank you all.

[onceuponatokyo]

What about a kanji recognizing app? Let's say I can recognize all the radicals but I can't type the word to search for it, though, because I don't know the onyomi or kunyomi. Is there something that I can draw the kanji and it will look it up for me? So this is not a flashcard kind of app but a dictionary one.

[mrsspooky5154]

What about a kanji recognizing app? Let's say I can recognize all the radicals but I can't type the word to search for it, though, because I don't know the onyomi or kunyomi. Is there something that I can draw the kanji and it will look it up for me? So this is not a flashcard kind of app but a dictionary one.

Kotoba! on the iPhone has a dictionary where you can select radicals and it will display a list of kanji that contain them. JDdict will also do that. I have JEDict on my Mac, but I'm pretty sure there's a windows version as well.

I'm pretty crazed. This is what I do:

I scan a page with the kanji I want to translate to an image then run the image through an OCR program called ReadIris Pro with Asian Language support. That creates a text file with the kanji and okurigana in it. Then I highlight and copy the kanji, which puts it in the search field for JEDict. Then I search the kanji.

That's ONE way of doing it. But if you don't have access to a scanner and OCR with Asian language support, try the JEDict. I personally think Kotoba! is easier to use, but the App Store doesn't have a version for the Mac - iPhone/iPod (maybe iPad) only.

Even better. Try this: http://jisho.org/kanji/radicals/

[Javizy]

What about a kanji recognizing app? Let's say I can recognize all the radicals but I can't type the word to search for it, though, because I don't know the onyomi or kunyomi. Is there something that I can draw the kanji and it will look it up for me? So this is not a flashcard kind of app but a dictionary one.

The easiest way is with a J-J dictionary. 大辞林 has its own Japanese input system, which is 100 times more reliable than the Chinese handwriting one. If you don't want to buy a dictionary, you could just try turning the Chinese handwriting on and using it in Kotoba or whatever J-E dictionary you're using. It's a lot less forgiving, and there are stroke order differences, so don't expect it to work every time though.

[mrsspooky5154]

What about a kanji recognizing app? Let's say I can recognize all the radicals but I can't type the word to search for it, though, because I don't know the onyomi or kunyomi. Is there something that I can draw the kanji and it will look it up for me? So this is not a flashcard kind of app but a dictionary one.

Someone told me about 'Kanji Recognizer' on the Android that lets you draw the kanji and I think it looks it up for you.

[marshusensei8544]

Wow, this list is such a great resource! Thanks so Much everyone.

[jebjobs5972]

What about a kanji recognizing app? Let's say I can recognize all the radicals but I can't type the word to search for it, though, because I don't know the onyomi or kunyomi. Is there something that I can draw the kanji and it will look it up for me? So this is not a flashcard kind of app but a dictionary one.

THE best Japanese app in the app store is Midori. I usually use it on an iPad because of the extra real estate, but there's a version for the iTouch/iPhone as well. It has built in kanji character recognition that works quite well. It also has a "translate" feature, wherein you cut and paste Japanese (say from a webpage), and it will parse what you've pasted, try to pick out words, and provide a vocabulary list for you, complete with pronunciation and definition. Just start to read what you've pasted, and if you come across a word you don't know or can't say, just tap the word, and Midori will take you to the vocab list entry WITHOUT leaving the page. It's amazing. It also has a "Bookmark" feature, where you can add words you look up to bookmark folders for study later as flashcards. It also has several standard built-in Kanji flashcard lists, such as JLPT level lists, frequency lists, etc...

For the very few kanji that Midori doesn't recognize, there's a program called "FreeWriter" which does an absolutely fantastic job of recognizing just about any kanji you throw at it. Once you've found what you want, one click copies everything to the clipboard to easily past into Midori or any other Japanese app. It's about $5, which is a little steep, so unless you study kanji all the time, Midori is probably good enough.

[honeyclover]

For those looking for a kanji recognition app, I recently discovered World Dictionary app on my iPhone 5 (I think they only have iOS support now) - i was skeptical at first but it actually works pretty well. It can scan and translate on the go, for both vertical and horizontal text. I've tested it on books, manga, homework (lol), mock exams, ebooks on my ipad, even on my monitor screen and it's been able to pick up words 90% of the time.Translations can be a bit off but you can at least grab the scanned kanji and paste it into another dictionary app.

One downside is that it only shows the translation and not the kana reading, until you click in to see more info (pulled from google/wiki) and that can take some time. Sometimes I just want to look up/confirm the kanji reading...

[sasakihideyuki1154]

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[community.japanese]

Hello, everyone!!
Thank you very much for sharing

> sasakihideyuki1154-san,
uh.....I think it's......quite much a joke.
It shows the examples of usage (of the word ラッシュ), but there're some jokes too.
I don't think you need to worry about this page.

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[Tracel]

My i-phone is my best friend when it comes to anything Japanese. For kanji, hiragana, and katakana practice, I have been using an App called "KanjiBox". The interface is amazing, and it allows you to learn in all the different ways: reading comprehension, missing kanji, kanji recognition. It even has a "writing" function to test your kanji and kana writing ability. You can also input any words that you are currently studying into the database. I am impressed.

As for dictionaries, I use the "Japanese" dictionary app by renzo Inc. because it has a better interface. It gives you the ability to "write" the kanji in with a stylus so that if you cannot "read" it to look it up, you may be able to write it on the screen and the interface looks it up for you. Really cool. It was quite expensive but it completely takes over for ten heavy Japanese dictionaries and fits in my pocket.

I also use "Imiwa" but not as much.

Cheers, Tracel

[interninnovative]

Hi Tracel,

Thank you a lot for sharing these apps names!
I checked the dedicated websites and these ones are interesting.
Thanks again!

Mélanie
Team JapanesePod101.com

[videovillain]

I highly suggest Japanese ($10-20) and Kanji Box ($5-10).
I have about 20 other apps but I always end up coming back to these.
Japanese is definitly the best all around app for Japanese. It has a massive offline dictionary, example sentences, kanji anatomy, conjigations, stroke number and order animations, kanji lookups by handwriting, components, SKIP, search in English, romaji, kana, or kanji, search by ending, middle, or beginning of words, study options for JLPT, custom decks that can include kanji, vocab, conjugation, or sentences, and your progress is color coded, and, my personal favorite, it has the Discovery Screen, where you can watch vocab float by and try to read it, just touch the ones you don't know to learn more, add them to a deck or something.

Found a word you don't know, look it up. In the answer, maybe you see a kanji you don't recognize, tap it to learn more, select an example sentence from that to help you with usage. By then you see a new kanji, tap it to learn more, then select a component of that kanji to learn more, is that component a verb? then select a conjugation you don't know, ad infinitum!

It's really a lot of fun!

Kanji Box is just the best kanji app out there even though there are a few good ones, this one takes the cake. Upgrade to get the kanji writing option. You can study by meaning, vocab, reading, or writing. I prefer the "missing kanji" drills because they help you learn compounds that are often used in spoken and written kanji.

[community.japanese]

videovillain-san,
just a quick note to say thank you very much for sharing the detailed information

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com