Sumi: Learn Japanese

Kanji, kana and real reading

Only for iPhone

Free · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.

iPhone

Nearly every kanji and word in the deck now has a recorded reading, not a synthetic voice. Tap Listen anywhere and hear it said properly. Sumi teaches Japanese the way a good textbook does, then gets out of the way. Every character is shown before it is asked about: the strokes in order, the sound, the meaning, and where the shape came from. Then, and only then, the question. No streaks to protect. No leagues. Miss a week and nothing is taken away: the queue waits, and the characters you were shakiest on come back first. かな · KANA, TAUGHT PROPERLY Twenty guided lessons across hiragana and katakana, five characters at a time. Animated stroke order, the sound, then a gentle check. What you learn returns on a spaced schedule. 漢字 · A KANJI LIBRARY YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ 2,384 characters, searchable and filterable by JLPT level, each with animated stroke order, readings and meanings. Every one of them now has a recorded reading you can play. 解字 · KANJI X-RAY Pull a character apart and see why it looks the way it does. 時 is 日 (day, sun) beside 寺, and 寺 is only there for its sound, じ. It lends that same sound to 持 and 侍. Once you can see which half means and which half sounds, you stop memorising and start reading. 文庫 · THE REFERENCE SHELF Kana charts with stroke order for every glyph. Radicals. Particles, phrases and counters. 5,686 words, many shown inside real sentences. Word families. A grammar reference. And a number reader that answers the question the textbooks skip: how do you actually say ¥3,600, or 4:30, or 九月八日? 文机 · THE DESK Build your own collections out of anything in the app, then study them. SOMETHING QUIETER Nine paper-and-ink themes. A seasonal wash that follows the twenty-four Japanese sekki, so the app looks slightly different in autumn than it did in spring. Japanese set in Zen Old Mincho, because the characters are worth typesetting properly. WORKS OFFLINE Lessons, reviews, the whole library and the audio all work with no connection. Progress is saved on your device, and you can start without making an account at all. Add an email only if you want your progress to follow you to another device. A NOTE ON ACCURACY Sumi's kana, kanji and stroke-order data come from open reference sources (KanjiVG and KANJIDIC2). The grammar explanations, reading passages, conversations and idioms have been through a native-speaker review. The generated example sentences have not been yet, and we would rather tell you that than imply otherwise.

Ratings & Reviews

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Sound Nearly every kanji and word in the deck now has a recorded reading. Tap Listen anywhere and hear it instead of guessing at it. Readings Hundreds of characters now lead with the reading a beginner actually meets first. Each one was checked by hand against the words Sumi ships, not generated. Getting around Swipe from the left edge to go back. Screens arrive instead of jumping. The Back button travels with you down a long page. Speed The Kanji Library and Vocabulary in Context open straight away now. They used to build every card before showing you anything. Fixes Resetting your progress clears everything it says it does, including on your other devices. A listening question can no longer offer two answers that sound identical. Three number cards were showing a reading they no longer use. Writing a loanword in romaji is marked correctly now. Everything still works with no connection.

Version 1.0.2

The developer, Abdullah Bavana, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Linked to You

    The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

    • Contact Info
    • Identifiers
    • Usage Data

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

Information

Seller
  • Abdullah Bavana
Size
  • 76.7 MB
Category
  • Education
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPhone
    Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPod touch
    Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • Mac
    Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Languages
  • English
Age Rating
4+
Copyright
  • © 2026 Study Sumi
  • Developer Website
  • Privacy Policy