Learn to write Japanese kanji by hand, stroke by stroke, in a world painted in ink.
Free on iPhone and Android · English · Français · Español · Português · 日本語
Yukae Kanji is a free app for iPhone and Android that teaches you to write Japanese by hand. You write hiragana, katakana and kanji with your finger, stroke by stroke, first over a guide and then from memory, from your very first character to 5,672 kanji.
Every stroke you write carries you further through a hand-painted world, and every kanji you finish opens more of it.
Write
Trace each kanji with a guide, in the right order and the right direction, then write it again from memory. Your magic circle answers every stroke you put down.
Come back every day
Start a session from the circle at the heart of the app. Keep your streak, ride the frenzies and rise through the levels.
Discover
Unseal scrolls along the way. Some hold more than they seem: rare Knowledge, waiting to be found.
Grow
Awaken Knowledge on a painted tree, and shape the way your writing is rewarded. Every Knowledge works its own way, and grows stronger as you find it again.
Test yourself
Endurance, a race against the clock, and the Seasons.
Always something to chase
Fresh missions are waiting each time you come back. Objectives mark the milestones of your journey, from your very first day on, and some of them stay secret until you find them.
New
A rhythm game where every kanji is taken apart into its strokes. Tap and slide along them to the music, and watch the kanji come together on the beat.
Beyond the kanji
Your own words
Point your camera at a menu, a sign or a page of manga, or pick a photo from your gallery: Yukae Kanji reads the Japanese in it and gives you its words and kanji.
Make it yours
Choose your magic circle, a brush named after a precious stone, and the painted world you write in.
Free to play
Yukae Kanji is free. The optional Yukae Pass opens every level and every feature, removes the ads, and brings rewards every month.
| What it is | An app for learning to write Japanese by hand |
|---|---|
| Phones | iPhone (App Store) and Android (Google Play) |
| Price | Free, with ads · optional Yukae Pass subscription |
| Characters | Hiragana, katakana and 5,672 kanji, from the simplest to the rarest (every JLPT level, N5 to N1, and beyond) |
| Also inside | Vocabulary, four-character idioms, radicals, a dictionary with example sentences, handwriting and romaji search, photo scan, flashcards, custom lists, a rhythm game |
| Languages | English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese |
| Account | None needed; your progress stays on your phone |
| Made by | Kaetano (idea, design and code) and Yuyu (all the art), Yukae Development |
Yukae Kanji is a free iPhone and Android app that teaches you to write Japanese by hand. You write hiragana, katakana and kanji stroke by stroke, first with a guide and then from memory, inside a hand-painted game world.
Yes. The app is free to download and play, with ads. The optional Yukae Pass subscription opens every level and feature, removes the ads and brings rewards every month.
No. You can start from hiragana and katakana and the simplest kanji, and go on at your own pace to thousands of kanji.
5,672 kanji, in order from the simplest to the rarest. That covers the kanji of every JLPT level, from N5 to N1, and far beyond.
Yes. Every kanji and kana is written stroke by stroke in the correct order and direction: first by tracing a guide, then from memory.
Yes. Take a photo or pick one from your gallery and the app reads the Japanese text in it, right on your phone, then lets you keep its words and kanji in a custom list to study with flashcards or by writing them.
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. Kanji meanings are shown in the language you choose.
Free play needs an internet connection. With the Yukae Pass you can play offline.
Flashcard apps ask you to recognise a kanji. Yukae Kanji asks you to write it, stroke by stroke, with your finger, which trains both your memory and your handwriting. It also wraps the practice in a game: a magic circle, scrolls, a tree of Knowledge, challenges and a rhythm game.
There is no account and no sign-in, and your progress stays on your phone. Ads are provided by Google AdMob. Read the full privacy policy.
Kaetano, who imagined, designed and programmed it, and Yuyu, who painted all of its art. They publish as Yukae Development.
Write your way from your very first kanji to thousands of them.