Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids
HATSUMI HARA Education iPhoneiPadiPod touch
Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids is a free Education app for iPhone and iPad by HATSUMI HARA. Requires iOS 15.0. Updated October 17, 2026.
- Price
- Free
- on the App Store
- Size
- 37 MB
- Age 4+
- Updated
- Oct 17
- 2026 · v0.13.1
Screenshots
About Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids
All 1,026 kanji of Japanese elementary school (grades 1–6). A tracing app for kids that shows every stop, hook and sweep as they practise, so correct stroke order sticks. Grades 1–2 free. No ads. Works offline. Every stroke is checked, and the app says what to fix in words — so children can keep going on their own. Note: this app's screens are in Japanese. It is made for children growing up with Japanese, and for learners who can already read Japanese. ■ 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. Animation speed adjusts from 0.5x to 1.5x. Learned kanji open in Guided mode; a setting lets them always start from the animation. ■ Build correct stroke order Stroke order is verified against Japan's Ministry of Education guide (1958) for every kanji it covers. 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 the correct stroke flashes in red; after four, the app gently drops back to Guided mode. ■ See the stops, hooks and sweeps Model strokes have brush-like ends, so you see where to stop, hook and sweep while learning the order. ■ On & kun readings, tuned to the school year Each kanji shows its on reading (katakana) and kun reading (hiragana), with okurigana 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 grade-list order or stroke count, or show only 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. Or paste a word or sentence into the Sentence tab: each kanji shows the grade it is taught in, and children can trace them one after another in the order they appear. ■ Treasure box Every 10 kanji mastered earns one treasure — 9 series, 104 in all. ■ Daily goal Choose how many characters to write each day. A ring on the home screen shows how many are left. ■ Great for siblings (up to 4 profiles) Up to 4 child profiles, each with its own progress and 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 - 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. 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 — and kanji become friends. [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
What’s new
Version 0.13.1 · Updated October 17, 2026
- [NEW] Special Readings: Added a "Special" section to the reading area on the kanji tracing screen. You can now see words with special readings, such as 今日 (kyō) and 一日 (tsuitachi), on the screens for their corresponding kanji.
App privacy
The developer, HATSUMI HARA, reported these privacy practices to Apple.
Data Not Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected but is not linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
- Location: Coarse Location
- Purchases: Purchase History
- Identifiers: User ID
Used for: Analytics, App Functionality
Alternatives to Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids
Looking for apps like Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids? Here are 6 similar apps on the App Store. The highest rated is Kanji Stroke Order Master (4.0/5), and all 6 are free to download.
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KanjiN - Learn Japanese Kanji
| App | Rating | Price | Last updated | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotonoa: Japanese Kanji Kids | – | Free | October 17, 2026 | |
| Kanji Drills - Worksheet Maker | – | Free | Jul 30, 2026 | Compare |
| あいうえおのしま ひらがな練習 | – | Free | Oct 20, 2026 | Compare |
| 漢字ステップ | – | Free | Sep 29, 2026 | Compare |
| 手書きで漢字脳トレ | – | Free | Sep 21, 2026 | Compare |
| Kanji Stroke Order Master | 4.0 / 5 (1) | Free | Oct 19, 2026 | Compare |
| KanjiN - Learn Japanese Kanji | – | Free | Oct 12, 2026 | Compare |