For JFT-Basic, JLPT N5–N3 and work in Japan
The Japanese app that shows you exactly how many words you know, then makes you hear them, type them and use them. Built for learners heading to Japan for work or study.
Why Nihonian
Streak apps reward you for showing up. You tap the right tiles, keep the flame alive, and still can't say how many words you know, or follow Japanese at normal speed.
Nihonian measures what actually gets you through the exam and the job interview: words you can recall and use, and how close you are to the pass mark.
Picking from a word bank only proves you recognise a word. Nihonian asks you to produce it.
JFT-Basic and real conversations are spoken. Your ears get trained from the first kana.
Your word count only grows when you can actually recall a word on two different days.
How it works
Ten focused minutes a day, planned for you: a kana round, your reviews, and a few new words.
Listen, then pick what you heard. The wrong options are the ones learners really confuse, like ぬ and め or か and が. Slow it down to 0.75× whenever you need.
Hear a word and type it. Plain romaji turns into kana as you type, no Japanese keyboard needed. Miss it, and you see exactly which sound you got wrong.
Every word moves from Seen to Recognised to Recalled to Used. One number, never inflated: words you can type correctly on two different days.
An honest estimate for your target exam, shown as a range, never a made-up score. Plus the one thing to work on next.
Long vowels caused 4 in 10 of your mistakes this week.
A look inside
No cartoons, no confetti, no guilt. Just the practice that moves your score. Product preview; designs may change before launch.
Built around your goal
Tell Nihonian your exam and date. Your daily plan, word targets and readiness follow from it.
For the Specified Skilled Worker visa in nursing care, food service and more. Readiness is shown against the 200 / 250 pass mark, with a caregiving word pack from the start.
Track your words against each level's word list and train the listening section from day one.
Speaking and writing practice with instant correction is next, so you can use your words with your manager, your patients and your neighbours.
Made for how you study
Designed around budget phones, mobile data and study time on the bus.
For institutes and teachers
Your students practise every day between classes. You see who is keeping up and what they're stuck on, before the mock test tells you.
We're looking for a few institutes preparing students for JFT-Basic and JLPT to shape the teacher dashboard with us.
Get early accessQuestions
We're building it now. Join the waitlist and we'll tell you as soon as the Android beta opens. Early members get in first.
Kana practice will always be free. Full vocabulary, reviews and exam readiness will be part of an affordable Pro plan, priced for learners in India.
Yes. You start with hiragana and katakana by sound, and move on to words when you're ready.
JFT-Basic (for the Specified Skilled Worker visa) and JLPT N5, N4 and N3.
No. It's our estimate based on your practice, shown as a range. Only the exam itself gives an official score. Nihonian is not affiliated with the Japan Foundation or the JLPT organisers.
Android comes first because most of our learners use it. iPhone and a web version follow from the same app.
No. It's the daily practice that makes classes work: listening, recall and review, every day, in ten minutes.
You can practise without an account; your progress stays on your phone. If you sign in, we store only what's needed to back up and sync your progress. Read our privacy policy, and you can delete your account at any time.
Waitlist
Leave your WhatsApp number or email. We'll send one message when the beta opens, and nothing else unless you ask.
一緒に頑張りましょう！
Let's do our best, together.
Nihonian ニホニアン
