Reviews of Shinobi: Read & Learn Japanese

By: Jeremy Pitault App

List of user reviews and ratings for Shinobi: Read & Learn Japanese

Total ratings

4.90 (Rating count: 815)

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Review summary

Users broadly praise Shinobi for improving reading, vocabulary, and kanji through contextual stories, with handy word lookups, furigana controls, and structured progression. Many appreciate the listening support and built-in quizzes. Common requests focus on adding in-app kanji writing practice and some concern about premium pricing.

Pros

Helps you read Japanese with contextual stories that build vocabulary and kanji recognition.
Word lookup and translations for individual words and verbs bolster comprehension.
Furigana toggle (on/off) and features like hover translations, slow playback, and example sentences aid reading and listening.
Engaging, varied stories with a clear difficulty progression that covers beginner to advanced levels.
Built-in tests after each story and steady daily practice reinforce learning and confidence.

Cons

Pricing for the premium subscription can be a concern for some users.
Requests for in-app kanji writing practice (stroke order and writing) show a missing feature that multiple users want.

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User Reviews

Recent rating average: 4.60

All time rating average: 4.90

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3% (2)

Date	Author	Comment
2026-07-12	Ja*****	This game is fun and easy for bigginers
This game is fun and easy for bigginers
2026-07-12	i-*****	I haven't gotten to use much of this app, but the stories are great for beginners. I like how you can tap each word to find out the meaning. The comprehension questions afterward really helps lock it in. I already knew a bit of Japanese beforehand, so I don't know how much you need to know for this app. That was written by a bot, but genuinely this app is helpful to me. I like how it's still useful even if you don't have premium. I used this app the most before i kinda gave up on Japanese (but this is really good at helping me get back into it). There's also a version of this app for Chinese. Definitely underrated. These apps by this developer deserve more attention. The AI pictures are kinda off-putting, though
I haven't gotten to use much of this app, but the stories are great for beginners. I like how you can tap each word to find out the meaning. The comprehension questions afterward really helps lock it in. I already knew a bit of Japanese beforehand, so I don't know how much you need to know for this app. That was written by a bot, but genuinely this app is helpful to me. I like how it's still useful even if you don't have premium. I used this app the most before i kinda gave up on Japanese (but this is really good at helping me get back into it). There's also a version of this app for Chinese. Definitely underrated. These apps by this developer deserve more attention. The AI pictures are kinda off-putting, though
2026-07-02	Ar*****	I’ve found Shinobi to be one of the most helpful tools in my acquisition of Japanese. It’s pretty challenging in the more advanced levels, but it’s worth the effort. I spend a lot of time shadowing each page so it would be nice if there was a repeat button for looping the automated voice that reads each page, without having to press the play button each time I want to hear it again. One slight quibble: I found that I raced through the beginner levels pretty quickly because there weren’t enough stories to keep me occupied until I had improved enough for the advanced levels. I probably would have repeated a lot of the stories I had already read, but because I didn’t want to break my daily streak, I had to keep going - and pretty quickly I was on the upper levels which take a lot longer to read through. So more stories in the beginner levels would have better. Fortunately, new stories are being added all the time. Overall. Highly Recommended.
I’ve found Shinobi to be one of the most helpful tools in my acquisition of Japanese. It’s pretty challenging in the more advanced levels, but it’s worth the effort. I spend a lot of time shadowing each page so it would be nice if there was a repeat button for looping the automated voice that reads each page, without having to press the play button each time I want to hear it again. One slight quibble: I found that I raced through the beginner levels pretty quickly because there weren’t enough stories to keep me occupied until I had improved enough for the advanced levels. I probably would have repeated a lot of the stories I had already read, but because I didn’t want to break my daily streak, I had to keep going - and pretty quickly I was on the upper levels which take a lot longer to read through. So more stories in the beginner levels would have better. Fortunately, new stories are being added all the time. Overall. Highly Recommended.
2026-07-01	nc*****	Please never completely paywall this app, it has been a complete savior for my Japanese learning. The stories introduce new grammar and vocabulary slowly, and the queues at the end make you think about what you read. Without Shinobi I wouldn't have come as far as I have. I really love this app!
Please never completely paywall this app, it has been a complete savior for my Japanese learning. The stories introduce new grammar and vocabulary slowly, and the queues at the end make you think about what you read. Without Shinobi I wouldn't have come as far as I have. I really love this app!
2026-06-27	TL*****	I use a lot of different Japanese apps and this is a great new, unique app that builds on what I already know and really helps with practicing comprehension, recall, and kanji recognition. I’m going to enjoy adding this to my daily study routine.
I use a lot of different Japanese apps and this is a great new, unique app that builds on what I already know and really helps with practicing comprehension, recall, and kanji recognition. I’m going to enjoy adding this to my daily study routine.
2026-06-18	Ub*****	It’s a good app for reading japanese from beginning
It’s a good app for reading japanese from beginning
2026-06-18	mm*****	This has been great so far! Reading with option to turn off/on furigana and to listen to native audio at regular or slow speed. And then a quiz to check for understanding! You can also click on any word to see what it means. Simple enough for me to read but stretching my abilities!
This has been great so far! Reading with option to turn off/on furigana and to listen to native audio at regular or slow speed. And then a quiz to check for understanding! You can also click on any word to see what it means. Simple enough for me to read but stretching my abilities!
2026-06-16	Ea*****	Really helpful that you can practice with real scenarios and is told like a story for you to learn much efficientfly
Really helpful that you can practice with real scenarios and is told like a story for you to learn much efficientfly
2026-06-14	Je*****	Pictures haven’t loaded for days now. It’s just text at this point. This app also seems like everything is AI generated. My apologies if that is not the case and this is original work. When pictures load, it’s a handy app that works well for low level content that can be hard to find before you hit N3 or upper N4.
Pictures haven’t loaded for days now. It’s just text at this point. This app also seems like everything is AI generated. My apologies if that is not the case and this is original work. When pictures load, it’s a handy app that works well for low level content that can be hard to find before you hit N3 or upper N4.
2026-06-05	Ch*****	Shinobi is an excellent app to accompany you on your Japanese learning journey! I hope to see more improvements in the future for I have a lot of ideas for future features I hope they can implement in the future!
Shinobi is an excellent app to accompany you on your Japanese learning journey! I hope to see more improvements in the future for I have a lot of ideas for future features I hope they can implement in the future!