Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids

Brush-style strokes show every stop, hook and sweep. Trace all 1,026 elementary-school kanji in correct stroke order. No ads. Grades 1-2 free forever.

Note: the app's screens are in Japanese — made for children growing up with Japanese, and for learners who can already read it.

Master all 1,026 kanji taught in Japanese elementary school. Trace with a finger — watching the stops, hooks and sweeps — and correct stroke order sticks. No ads. Every stroke is checked as children practise. All 240 kanji for grades 1–2 are free forever.

■ 3 easy steps — even brand-new characters feel doable

1. Watch — an animation shows the correct stroke order
2. Guided — trace from the blue dot, following the stroke numbers
3. Free — write it on your own Finish, and confetti celebrates "You did it!" With auto-advance on (optional), it moves to the next step by itself, so even young children keep a smooth rhythm. Animation speed adjusts from 0.5x to 1.5x.

■ Build correct stroke order For kanji covered by Japan's Ministry of Education stroke-order guide (1958), the stroke order is verified against that guide. Each stroke is checked on four points — start, shape, length, order — and mistakes get concrete hints in words, like "that's stroke 2 — right now it's stroke 1".

■ Stumble, and still keep going alone After two misses in a row, the correct stroke flashes in red. After four, the app gently drops back to Guided mode.

■ See the stops, hooks and sweeps Model strokes are drawn with brush-like ends, so you can see where to stop, hook and sweep as you learn the stroke order. A uniform line is available in Settings.

■ On & kun readings, tuned to the school year Each kanji shows its on reading (katakana) and kun reading (hiragana), with okurigana clearly marked. Readings are colour-coded by school level — elementary, junior high, high school — and you can narrow the display to just what your child needs now.

■ A per-grade list for a sense of achievement Guide-cleared kanji turn green (chick), mastered kanji gold (trophy), and a "just a few more!" bar keeps motivation up. Sort by the official grade-list order or by stroke count, or filter to only the kanji not yet done.

■ Find a kanji Search by reading (hiragana or katakana), or type the kanji itself. Narrow by grade and stroke count; results are grouped by grade.

■ Treasure box Every 10 kanji mastered earns one treasure — 9 series, 104 in all: stationery, sparkles, snacks, animals and more. Each comes with a bit of trivia.

■ Daily goal Choose how many characters to write each day (5-30, or your own number). A ring on the home screen shows how many are left.

■ Great for siblings (up to 4 profiles) Register up to 4 child profiles, each with its own progress and a favourite emoji avatar.

■ Safe by design

• No ads
• Learning works offline (connects only to check purchases)
• No third-party tracking
• Progress is saved only on the device
• Back up / restore learning data to a file
• Sound effects with volume control
• Terms and privacy policy readable in the app

■ Free to start All grade 1–2 kanji stay free forever, with every feature and no ads.

■ Premium (unlocks grades 3–6) From grade 3, the kanji to learn jump from 160 to 200 a year. Premium opens every kanji for grades 3–6, practised the same stroke-by-stroke way. Monthly and yearly plans; first-time subscribers can try the yearly plan free for 2 weeks (prices are shown on the purchase screen). Purchases are made in the app by a parent or guardian (an adult check comes first). Cancel anytime — grades 1–2 and all learning records remain afterwards.

A little every day — let's make friends with kanji.

[About the subscription]

• Kotonoa Kanji Premium (monthly or yearly plan)
• Payment is charged to your Apple ID when the purchase is confirmed. The subscription renews automatically at the same period and price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends.
• Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > (your name) > Subscriptions. No charge if you cancel during the free trial.
• Terms of Use: https://kotonoa.jp/terms-mobile
• Privacy Policy: https://kotonoa.jp/privacy-mobile