What started as a favor for a friend learning Japanese turned into a fully offline kanji app — built, shipped, and completely free:

Most kanji apps make you tap or swipe. Kanjiru makes you write — stroke by stroke, on a real drawing canvas, just like you would with pen and paper. All 2,136 Jōyō Kanji, sorted by JLPT level from N5 to N1, are ready for you to practice. Whether you're starting with your first N5 characters or already working through N1 — Kanjiru has you covered.

DRAW, NOT TYPE

Practice each kanji on a drawing canvas with a stroke counter. Each card works like a flashcard — except you draw the kanji yourself. For new kanji, you start with a study phase: memorize the character first, then draw it from memory. Made a mistake? Undo your last stroke and try again. You can skip or repeat characters at any time without affecting your progress. Learn at your own pace, no pressure.

ALL 2,136 JŌYŌ KANJI

Kanjiru covers every official everyday kanji — sorted by JLPT N5, N4, N3, N2, and N1. For each kanji you'll find a detail view with readings, meanings in both English and German, stroke count, and your own rating. From the first 79 N5 characters to the 985 N1 kanji — everything in one app.

CATEGORIES

Rate each kanji you've practiced as Good, Medium, or Weak. The app sorts them accordingly so you can focus your review where it matters most. In Mixed mode, you can review a random selection from all previously practiced characters.

MNEMONICS

Save your own memory aids right on the flashcard. Got a trick that helps you remember 感? No problem — next time the card comes up, you can easily pull up your saved note.

STREAKS, REMINDERS & MOTIVATION

A daily streak helps you stay on track. Finish at least one card deck each day to keep your streak going — don't worry though, one rest day is always forgiven. To make sure you don't forget, you can set daily reminders. Plus, every day starts with one of 120 Japanese motivational quotes you can test your skills on.

SEARCH

Racking your brain over a specific kanji or just curious? Find any kanji by character, meaning, or reading — in English or German. Filters for JLPT level and category help you search with precision.

STATISTICS

Progress bars, JLPT progress per level, study calendar, and daily average show you how far you've come and keep you motivated. The app also estimates when you'll have learned every kanji at your current pace.

COLOR THEMES & DARK MODE

Make Kanjiru feel like yours: choose from six Japanese-inspired color themes — Ruri, Sakura, Matcha, Kohaku, Asagi, and Fuji — and switch between dark and light mode anytime.

ENGLISH & GERMAN

The app is fully available in English and German — including German kanji meanings. You can switch anytime in the settings.

SORTED BY JLPT LEVEL

Every kanji is sorted by JLPT level from N5 to N1 — so you're always practicing the right characters for where you are. Pick your level when you start, and the app skips everything below.

YOUR DATA BELONGS TO YOU

Kanjiru is 100% offline and doesn't collect any data about you — and that's not going to change. No tracking, no sign-up, no cloud. Your learning progress is encrypted and stored on your device. You can export it as a backup at any time and import it again on a new device.

All current features are free and ad-free — and will stay that way. I built this app as a passion project for a close friend who's learning kanji herself and half-jokingly wished for exactly this kind of 'tool'. She's been loving it — I hope you will too!

Got feedback, ideas, or feature requests? I'd love to hear from you. There's a real chance your ideas end up in the next update.