TenguGo Kanji app good for
This app removed the intimidation I had always felt with learning Kanji, and made it a much easier process. Ive finished all the quizzes at 100% and am proceeding to the on-yomi groups, but wish there were more chapters for more advanced Kanji - even if it is in another app from the same people, I would buy it in a heartbeat,
As for the dictionary, WOW. Ive found myself able to read and translate with little trouble, thanks to the included Kanji dictionary. It is easy to use and searchable with several possible inputs.
If the developers read this - and Im betting they will - PLEASE create an app for more advanced (intermediate) Kanji usage! I want to know more about creating words with the Kanji Ive learned here... Thank you!!
Ive tried several and this one is the best by far. My only criticism is that the font size is too small on the iPhone. I dont see any reason why the kanji, kana and romaji fonts cant be bumped up a couple of points to be easier to read.
Im just a beginner at Kanji and found this to be a really helpful app. It gives a good explanation of the basics and organizes the kanji in logical, bite-sized blocks. Its helped me a lot with learning Kun- and On-Yomi.
This app is so great, download it if you are beginner or advanced - its still great for you.
Some bad moments
This app hits a sweet spot between the Heisig method and rote memorization. The Heisig method starts by teaching meanings for all the 2000 common kanji, only later teaching the readings. Learning meanings provides a good backbone upon which to hook readings, with the drawback being that you remain completely illiterate while learning the meanings. Trying to learn readings without first learning meanings means forgetting things as soon as you learn them. This app takes a middle path, teaching you meanings in chunks, then teaching associated readings and words, before moving on to the next chunk of meanings. A nice balance.
The app is laid out intuitively, with a small bit of instruction followed by several quiz sections to drive the material home. A solid textbook approach surprisingly lacking in most Japanese study apps.
The only minor frustrations Ive found so far are some basic English grammar errors in some of the lessons, and a quiz scoring mistake (detailed below*). Fix these, and this is a 5-star app.
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* If I select "言" when asked for the kanji with kun-yomi "い.う", the app shows green (indicating I got it right), but then scores me as missing the question, saying I should have selected "言う", which was not even offered as a choice.
Ive been studying Kanji for about 13 years now and Im past most of the stuff in here but this makes me realize I was doing things the hard way. There is some really good information here that I wish I had known when I was just starting that would have made things much easier. Its not a fancy looking app but I strongly recommend this to anyone studying Kanji and especially beginners.
This thing covers kanji, but the real fact is kanji is not easy to learn, this app has properly arranged chapters, notes & quiz. If you want to know about kanji, this is the only accurate app so far that explains kanji correctly.
Ive made it most of the way through the beginning kanji (which is only a small way through all the content - I looked ahead and saw an impressive number of quizzes), and Im enjoying learning with this app. It gives you the meaning as well as the kun- and on- yomi readings for each character, then tests you on them. I think its helpful in memorizing anything to write it down, so I would suggest practicing each kanji (with proper stroke order, which you can see in the review before quizzes). Im a fan of Tengugos language apps and this one is no exception. I recommend it. 頑張れ! お疲れ様!
To put it short, this app is the best $1 kanji learning app youll find. Its a great way to learn tons of kanji in a way that helps your remember and understand them.
Great app, looking forward to spending tons of time on it.
This really helps you grasp the roots of how to begin to learn kanji. I went on a research spree after to expand upon the many topics they bring to light.
What really prompted me to even write this review is their nifty dictionary. Pretty extensive and they have the animation so you know the proper stroke order. I was completely sold after that! Im still trucking through the lessons, so I dont have a complete assessment of the effectiveness of the app. But so far, Im in love!