Information
English (United States)
Description
~ LEARN to read Japanese the fun and easy way with this collection of traditional Japanese stories. ~ ** For Beginners (with hiragana knowledge) up. ** With this app, you can read real Japanese, listen to the story, and tap any word to get an instant definition. Read Japanese is your ticket to the world of Japanese Literature! Enjoy reading classic tales such as Momotaro, Hikoichi, Aesop’s fables, Inch-high Samurai, Princess Kaguya, modern short stories, and more (with much more to come)! Each story includes two audio recordings by a native Japanese speaker—one at normal speed and one at slow speed so even beginners can understand.
The stories are presented in full hiragana and kanji (with optional furigana), so you can read along at your own pace. The best way to increase your vocabulary and remember Japanese is to read the stories and learn the words and phrases in context. This app will let you do that. In addition, you can listen to the story while you read, adding yet another sense to your language learning arsenal. Tap on any word/phrase and see the translation and grammar notes instantly.
BEST of all… two full stories are completely FREE, including all audio files and grammar notes!! (Note: the 2nd story must be unlocked and downloaded). Try it out and learn from Hikoichi, the wise and yet mischievous young man, as he finds a way to enjoy hanami—cherry blossom viewing. Other stories are inexpensive and available for instant download. Yes, you can read real Japanese—even if you are just starting out in Japanese! While new-to-Japanese beginners can get a lot from this, hiragana knowledge is highly recommended.
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Reviews
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Not what I expected. by Unknown
Being surprised is not a bad thing. However, I was anticipating that this app would teach me to read Japanese, rather than read Japanese to me. It would be improved by a toggle option to have an English version of the story be highlighted as it is read, which could be turned off if someone fluent in Japanese didn't want the distraction. Other than that, great app and interesting stories.
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Needs Highlighting by Jo Ellen
It's difficult for a beginner to keep up. If you can highlight each word as it is said, it would be more helpful.
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Awesome by Judit
Great application for learning to read Japanese. Increases vocabulary and is easy to use and follow along. Love it!
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Coersive by David
I think it's basically dishonest for an app to require a review to use the content.
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Fun listening by Ann
I like the ability to start with a slower speed and graduate to normal speed. I like the ability to get translations of words to the right. I would like to be able to hear a repeat a particular sentence. Fun listening.
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Nice study app with room to grow by Stuart
The way the app lets you explore and study Japanese reading material is really good: touch words for their pronunciation, translation and explanatory notes, and toggle on or off the full English translation and furigana. Hopefully a richer library of reading material will become available over time. It would also be great if there was a way to build and review study lists or flashcard sets from words and phrases in the stories - especially if the vocabulary and grammar points could be easily tied to proficiency test levels or other study systems.
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gooodgood by Kevin
I like it but not well translated or explained
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Complete by David
It gives you all you need to build your reading skills: the kanji, the hiragana, the meanings, and the content read clearly