Help centre
- Getting startedYour first program, the placement test, answering in kana or romaji8 answers
- Smart ReviewHow reviews are timed, the daily cap, holiday mode4 answers
- Streaks, XP and leaguesFreezes, levels, the daily challenge, the weekly league7 answers
- QuizzesBuilding, sharing, the library, duels4 answers
- Membership and billingThe trial, plans, cancelling, refunds, students6 answers
- Account and privacySign-in, two-factor, email, notifications, your data7 answers
MOST READ
How do streaks and streak freezes work?What's free?I already know some of this. Do I have to start at the beginning?Can I get a refund?Still stuck?
Write to us: a person answers. Found a wrong reading? Use “Report a problem” under the question.
Contact usGetting started
- What is KanaMastery?KanaMastery is a gym for Japanese practice: short, scored sessions from hiragana and katakana to JLPT N1, with a scheduler that brings back what you are about to forget.
- I'm new to Japanese. Where do I start?Start with hiragana: the Kana program teaches all of it, then katakana, and it is free from start to finish.
- I already know some of this. Do I have to start at the beginning?No. Take the placement test on the program's page: four items from each chapter, typed.
- How do programs work?A program takes you through a set of items (kana, N5 words and kanji, numbers, verb forms, listening) a few at a time, in a sensible order. Each chapter opens when you've learned 80% of the one before it.
- Can I answer in kana instead of romaji?Yes. In the game settings (and in Smart Review), choose Kana: type romaji and it turns into kana as you go, or use a Japanese keyboard.
- Can I look something up while I play?Yes: the Reference button under the question (or R on a keyboard; Alt+R, Option+R on a Mac, while typing an answer) opens what we have on the item without leaving the game: its readings and meaning, the audio, stroke order, the kanji in it, words and an example sentence, and a link to its full page in a new tab.
- Can I turn sound effects on or off?Yes: Settings › Learning › Sound effects. You hear a chime for a right answer, a buzz for a miss, a fanfare at 3, 5 and 10 in a row, at the end of a set and when you reach a new level. They start on, quietly: set their volume there, or turn them off there or with the Effects button at the top of a quiz.
- What do the question directions mean?Japanese to reading is the default; reverse asks for the Japanese from the meaning; listening plays the word and you type what you hear.
Smart Review
- What is Smart Review?Every answer you give, in any game or program, is scheduled with FSRS, a spaced-repetition method: things you are about to forget come back first.
- How many reviews do I get a day?20 a day on the free plan, and up to 100 for KanaMembers; you can set your own cap lower, down to 5.
- What is holiday mode?Holiday mode pauses Smart Review while you are away.
- When is an item "learned", and when is it "known"?An item is learned when your latest answer to it was right; getting it wrong later marks it as not learned again, and Smart Review brings it back.
Streaks, XP and leagues
- How do friends work?Open Friends from your picture’s menu. Share your invite link or code: anyone who opens the link or enters the code becomes your friend straight away. After a duel, you can also ask the other player, and they accept.
- What do I get for inviting a friend?Your friend gets 21 days of everything, free. Once they’ve practised on 3 days (20 answers a day) within 14 days, you get a streak freeze on the free plan, in your trial or as a lifetime member, or your next charge pushed back 14 days as a monthly or annual member. If they become a member, you get one more.
- How do streaks and streak freezes work?Your streak counts the days in a row you finish at least one session, by your own clock; every 7th day of a streak earns a freeze, and so do completing a program and winning a league week. You can hold three.
- What is the daily challenge?10 items a day, the same for everyone on a level: kana and N5 for everyone, N4 to N1 for KanaMembers.
- How do the weekly leagues work?Each week you play in a league with learners at your stage: levels 1 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 19, or 20 and up, set by your level at your first game of the week.
- How do XP and levels work?You earn XP for answers right on the first try (fewer with a hint), with bonuses for accuracy and for a perfect session without hints; practice mode earns none.
- What are combos?A combo is a run of right answers in a row; a wrong answer ends it, and skipping a question leaves it alone.
Quizzes
- What are community quizzes?Quizzes made by other learners and teachers, listed in the community library.
- How do I build and share a quiz?Open Build a quiz, add items from our lists or write your own questions, and publish it.
- How does "Beat my score" work?After a quiz, send a "Beat my score" link: it keeps your result and your question order, so your friend plays the same quiz.
- Something is wrong with a quiz. What do I do?Use "Report this quiz" on its page; for a single question, use "Report a problem" under it.
Membership and billing
- What's free?Everything you can read or play for fun, for good: all kana, the kana words and loanwords, the whole Kana program, every Japan quiz, the first chapter and the placement test of every program, and the first 7 chapters of JLPT N5 (100 words and 20 kanji).
- How does the free trial work?Every new account starts with 14 days of everything KanaMember has; no card is needed.
- What does KanaMember add, and how much is it?The full training: every chapter of every program from N5 to N1, every list and drill in Free play, Smart Review up to 100 a day, the N4 to N1 daily challenges and bigger limits for building quizzes.
- How do I cancel?In Settings › Membership, any time: you keep KanaMember until the end of the period you paid for, and nothing more is charged.
- Can I get a refund?Yes. You can get a full refund on any plan (monthly, yearly or lifetime) until 30 days after its first payment, and never less than 14 days after you buy it, for any reason, even if you used it. Bought during your free trial? You can ask before the first charge too (nothing is charged).
- Is there a student discount?Yes: 25% off the monthly and yearly plans for a year, proved with a school email or a photo of your student card.
Account and privacy
- How do I sign in?With your email and password, or with Google.
- How do I turn on two-factor authentication?In Settings › Account: scan the code with an authenticator app, then type the 6-digit code it shows.
- How do I change my email address?In Settings › Account: type the new address and your password, and we send a link to the new address.
- Can I get reminders?Yes, if you want them: study emails (a review reminder, only on days you have reviews due, or the kanji of the day) at the hour you choose, in Settings › Emails.
- Who can see my name?Only people on the boards and leagues, and only if your profile is public; otherwise you are shown as "Private learner".
- How do I download or delete my data?In Settings › Privacy: "Download my data" gives one JSON file with your profile, progress, history, quizzes and tags, and "Delete account" removes your account and everything in it.
- Where do the readings and meanings come from?From JMdict and KANJIDIC2 (Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0); nothing is typed from memory.