KanaDojo
Learning and science
language learning
SHOW HN2025
288points
88comments
#194of 3,837 in 2025
Top 6%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
11 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 10 critical, out of 35 comments about the project. Thread score 0.00.
Design: 7 for, 6 againstIdea: 2 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 2 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, nice UI and aesthetics, good fonts and themes
From 4 comments
It's pretty good straight out of the gate. I think giving customization of fonts is an excellent idea. There's huge variation in this area and font-switching is a definite…
anigbrowl on HNIt looks and feels amazing and peaceful! For the kind of people who like studying without music.
camdroidw on HNthe UI is very good. Especially on my touchscreen laptop.
asimovfan on HNthe website looks really nice and clean. props op
4u00u on HN
Good to have a free, open-source option for learning Japanese
From 2 comments
Congrats on the launch, this looks great. More languages should have a free first class experience to learn them. If you ever have a making of blog post would love to read and…
j45 on HNThis is super cool! Thank you so much for creating this and sharing it with the community. I'll definitely be trying it out.
andygogogo on HN
Objections
Feels like a practice app with word lists rather than a full curriculum
From 2 comments
It looks good, but it doesn't seem like a learning app and more like a practice app with just a big list of words. I was presented with multiple choices for things I wasn't…
famahar on HNI'm afraid I found selecting sets to be very unclear, and I only figured it out by poking around the interface until it let me press the button Edit: I didn't realise there were…
1317 on HN
Apps don't teach the language well; immersion is needed
From 1 comment
Apps/platforms don't work for learning Japanese. You just need to memorize the hell out of the vocabulary, spend some time learning the grammar, and most importantly IMMERSE.…
coldblues on HN
Vocabulary quiz design confuses learners
From 1 comment
Some constructive criticism: 1. For picking the kana answers, using the keyboard key is better than numbers. When you actually type an え, you type 'e', so it's a useful mapping…
TheDong on HN
Sends user data to Google Analytics
From 1 comment
Looks neat but wish it wasn't sending user data to Google Analytics of all places.
3np on HN
Requests
Option to turn off romaji completely
From 3 comments
A suggestion: give me a way to disable all romaji in the app. I find it distracting and problematic for learning: my lazy mind will always read romaji if it can find it. When…
jwr on HNI want the ability to turn off romaji completely.
stuartcw on HNSome constructive criticism: 1. For picking the kana answers, using the keyboard key is better than numbers. When you actually type an え, you type 'e', so it's a useful mapping…
TheDong on HN
Select all sets or filter by JLPT level
From 2 comments
Looks great and I thinks it’s a nice way to review vocab I learned some years ago now that I will be in Japan for vacation. Thanks! However, it would be great if it was easier to…
Koaisu on HNIt's pretty good straight out of the gate. I think giving customization of fonts is an excellent idea. There's huge variation in this area and font-switching is a definite…
anigbrowl on HN
Show furigana or pronunciation in vocab tests
From 1 comment
Looks great and I thinks it’s a nice way to review vocab I learned some years ago now that I will be in Japan for vacation. Thanks! However, it would be great if it was easier to…
Koaisu on HN
Fix bugs: total time stat shows zero, status bar scroll-to-top
From 2 comments
I think there is something wrong with the total time for round stat. It only told me 0 minutes 0 seconds. The other time related stats were fine
gazook89 on HNI'm not sure what you're using for the UI exactly, but on a typical app or web page in iOS, I can tap the top "status bar" on my phone (where the clock and battery/wifi…
bschwindHN on HN
Questions
How will enough learning content be produced?
From 1 comment
> Unfortunately, pretty much all language learning apps are closed-sourced Mainly because of the content. Designing a beautiful UI and framework is one thing, but what is your…
agnishom on HN
Is there something similar for Mandarin?
From 1 comment
Anybody aware of anything like this for mandarin ?
redmalang on HN
Alternatives named
Anki
From 2 comments
Anki definitely works for memorizing the hell out of vocabulary and I also don't regret completing WaniKani, although I would probably choose an Anki only approach if I had to…
zaik on HNSome constructive criticism: 1. For picking the kana answers, using the keyboard key is better than numbers. When you actually type an え, you type 'e', so it's a useful mapping…
TheDong on HN
WaniKani
From 1 comment
I also got a lot of value out of wanikani even without completing it. I tried and failed several times to get started with Anki before having success with Wanikani. The key…
awirth on HN
Bunpro
From 1 comment
I really like the UI’s use of screen real estate on mobile! For studying N5 and N4, I’ve found Bunpro’s lesson grouping by JLPT levels a really nice format. It’s been encouraging…
danbolt on HN
AJATT immersion method
From 1 comment
What's ridiculous about it? Long before AJATT was a site, I think most people would've told you that immersion is a good way to learn a second language. You mention "result to…
jaredklewis on HN