Shinobi: Read & Learn Japanese

Name: Shinobi: Read & Learn Japanese
Rating: 4.9 (835 reviews)
Author: Jeremy Pitault

Japanese Story Reader

Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.

835 Ratings
Age Rating

4+
Years
Category

Education
Developer

Jeremy Pitault
Language

EN
English
Size

109.5
MB

Learn Japanese by reading stories you'll actually want to finish. Illustrated, JLPT-aligned stories with native audio take you from your first hiragana all the way to N2. Downloaded more than 400,000 times by learners who stopped memorizing word lists and started reading real Japanese. WHY SHINOBI WORKS Most apps teach Japanese in isolated pieces. Shinobi teaches it the way it sticks: in context. Every kanji, word, and grammar point appears inside a story, with images, audio, and a reason to remember it. READ REAL JAPANESE FROM DAY ONE - 91 levels of graded stories covering JLPT N5 to N2 - Curriculum reviewed by native Japanese teachers - Tap any word for its reading, meaning, and examples - Grammar explanations built right into the text - Furigana toggle to raise the challenge as you improve - Full-page translation whenever you need it LISTEN AND SPEAK - Native Japanese audio for every story - Slow mode for tricky passages - Shadowing practice to improve pronunciation and rhythm MAKE KANJI AND VOCABULARY STICK - Save words as you read - Review them with smart spaced-repetition flashcards - Quizzes after every story to lock in what you learned A NEW STORY EVERY DAY - A daily Japanese news story, with double XP for 24 hours - Download stories for offline reading TRAIN LIKE A NINJA - Climb the ninja ranks as you progress - Streaks, badges, and rewards to keep you consistent - Live Activities on your lock screen so you never lose your streak Whether you're a total beginner or preparing for the JLPT, Shinobi turns daily reading into real fluency. Download Shinobi Japanese and read your first story today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Ratings & Reviews

4.9

out of 5

835 Ratings

Highly Recommended
Jul 2
Artfultoad
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.
Highly Recommended
Jul 2
Artfultoad

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.
Very helpful
Jan 29
Bass-trom-ben
I had been learning Japanese on my own for several years. This app has been very helpful in allowing me to actually read along and try to decipher the conversation as it goes. I listen once, and try to pick out what I recognize, then I read along and see what else I can figure out. The ability to click on words that I haven’t learned yet, allows me to figure out the rest, based on context. I really enjoy this app, and the test at the end gives me confidence that I have actually understood what I read. Great, simple stories at the beginning? And they appear to get more difficult as you progress, which is great. I also like that you can slow it down, to try to catch more of the listening, before needing to move on to the reading and vocab discovery. This is a great tool for any level. Reading and listening are super important, and the furigana above the Kanji allows you to familiarize yourself with those characters as well great app!
Very helpful
Jan 29
Bass-trom-ben

I had been learning Japanese on my own for several years. This app has been very helpful in allowing me to actually read along and try to decipher the conversation as it goes. I listen once, and try to pick out what I recognize, then I read along and see what else I can figure out. The ability to click on words that I haven’t learned yet, allows me to figure out the rest, based on context. I really enjoy this app, and the test at the end gives me confidence that I have actually understood what I read. Great, simple stories at the beginning? And they appear to get more difficult as you progress, which is great. I also like that you can slow it down, to try to catch more of the listening, before needing to move on to the reading and vocab discovery. This is a great tool for any level. Reading and listening are super important, and the furigana above the Kanji allows you to familiarize yourself with those characters as well great app!
Comprehensive and engaging!
07/10/2025
mamotes
I don’t write reviews. This may be my first ever. This app is perfect for me so far. It’s bite sized and great for personalized, controlled, and engaging learning. You can work on reading and listening at your own learning pace! There’s also kanji and vocab learning tools. It pretty much works on everything except writing and speaking. But input (as opposed to output) is most important for learning, especially early on. I know n5 grammar and vocab, and can read and write hiragana/katakana, so it’s a perfect next step for me. Best part of all is that all of the learning is actually in context (in this case, situated in stories with visuals) and teaches culture at the same time. Learning is often out of context (flash cards, textbooks, route memory work, classroom, etc). Culture and context are two of the most important ingredients for learning language correctly and it actually sticking in your memory. In summary, this app is great for input (listening/reading) and learning in context!!
Comprehensive and engaging!
07/10/2025
mamotes

I don’t write reviews. This may be my first ever. This app is perfect for me so far. It’s bite sized and great for personalized, controlled, and engaging learning. You can work on reading and listening at your own learning pace! There’s also kanji and vocab learning tools. It pretty much works on everything except writing and speaking. But input (as opposed to output) is most important for learning, especially early on. I know n5 grammar and vocab, and can read and write hiragana/katakana, so it’s a perfect next step for me. Best part of all is that all of the learning is actually in context (in this case, situated in stories with visuals) and teaches culture at the same time. Learning is often out of context (flash cards, textbooks, route memory work, classroom, etc). Culture and context are two of the most important ingredients for learning language correctly and it actually sticking in your memory. In summary, this app is great for input (listening/reading) and learning in context!!
Very helpful
08/09/2025
Cal1-__-
Yesterday I started actually using this app and I feel like it’s really going to help improve my reading skills when it comes to Japanese. It’s very helpful in the sense that it explains every word in the story if you tap on them, and there’s a feature to bookmark the words you don’t know. From what I see, there are no adds but you do have to wait 12 hours to unlock a key which are used to unlock new stories. It’ll definitely improve your reading skills. Its good for anyone just starting out, however Im sure it can also be great for more advanced learners, seeing as they have levels all the way from: starter to expert. Overall, this is a very good app for anyone just starting Japanese, or anyone who just wants to get some reading practice in.
Very helpful
08/09/2025
Cal1-__-

Yesterday I started actually using this app and I feel like it’s really going to help improve my reading skills when it comes to Japanese. It’s very helpful in the sense that it explains every word in the story if you tap on them, and there’s a feature to bookmark the words you don’t know. From what I see, there are no adds but you do have to wait 12 hours to unlock a key which are used to unlock new stories. It’ll definitely improve your reading skills. Its good for anyone just starting out, however Im sure it can also be great for more advanced learners, seeing as they have levels all the way from: starter to expert. Overall, this is a very good app for anyone just starting Japanese, or anyone who just wants to get some reading practice in.

• Stories no longer get stuck loading, and reconnect instantly when your network comes back. • Audio reloads on its own instead of staying silent. • Flashcard decks always open, and review intervals now follow your latest answer. • Locked stories now explain why, and that the quiz completes the story. • Story images retry instead of staying blank. Stability improvements and bug fixes.

Version 1.5.1 19h ago

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Information

Seller: Shinobi LLC
Size: 109.5 MB
Category: Education
Compatibility: Requires iOS 15.1 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 15.1 or later.

iPad
Requires iPadOS 15.1 or later.

iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.1 or later.

Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Languages: English
Age Rating: 4+

4+

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In-App Purchases: Yes

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Shinobi: Read & Learn Japanese

Ratings & Reviews

Highly Recommended

Very helpful

Comprehensive and engaging!

Very helpful

What’s New

App Privacy

Data Used to Track You

Data Linked to You

Data Not Linked to You

Accessibility

Supported Features

Larger Text

Dark Interface

Information

More by Jeremy Pitault

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