Japanese, one card at a time
Watch it write itself. Turn the card. Tap a reading. Hear it in a real sentence. Learn all 2,136 Jōyō kanji with readings, stroke order, real words, example sentences and audio — offline, with no account.
Kanji Bento is the next update to Sumi. Version 1.3 is coming next; the App Store currently offers Sumi.
Try it here
Try 大 with readings and examples from Kanji Bento. Turn the card, then choose an On or Kun reading to see a word that uses it.
Readings & words
Example
This house is big.
Example
My older brother goes to university.
Example
This is a precious photograph.
Example
There is heavy rain today.
Words, readings and sentences come straight from the app. In Kanji Bento, every word and sentence can also be played aloud.
Stroke order
Every kanji and kana in Kanji Bento shows its stroke order. Watch it draw itself, then step through it one stroke at a time. Try it here with characters from the free lessons.
Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel and contributors (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Writing practice
Tap Practice writing and write the character with your finger or Apple Pencil. Each stroke is checked for direction, position and order, and a hint shows the next stroke when you need one.
Example sentences
Each word comes with an example sentence in Japanese, hiragana and romaji, plus a translation. Tap Listen and the highlight follows the voice, word by word.
Hiragana & katakana
Start with the 46 basic hiragana and 46 basic katakana. Continue with voiced sounds, combinations, small kana, long vowels and loanword sounds, with pronunciation tips and audio throughout.
Memory
Memory brings your study history together. Darker ink indicates stronger estimated recall; lighter characters are worth revisiting. It is an estimate based on your reviews, not a test score.
Quizzes
Reading quizzes ask you to type the whole word in kana. Meaning quizzes give you four choices. Anything you miss goes straight to your practice list.
Spaced reviews
Your ratings schedule each word’s next review. Today shows your next chapter and what’s due, and Practice collects the words that need more work. A daily goal, streaks, optional reminders and widgets help you keep going.
Make it yours
Choose Mincho or Gothic lettering and light or dark appearance. Cards turn through 180°. Your progress, saved characters and notes follow you through your private iCloud on iPhone and iPad.
N5 → N1
Kanji Bento follows the JLPT levels from beginner to advanced, in chapters of up to ten kanji. Each level also has a free kanji list here, with meanings and readings.
Privacy
No sign-up and no password. Kanji Bento syncs through the Apple Account already on your device.
That’s Kanji Bento’s App Store privacy label. No ads, no analytics and no tracking in the app.
Every kanji, word and kana is inside the app. Study on a plane, on the train, anywhere.
Access in version 1.3
Version 1.3 includes N5 Chapter 1 and the complete Hiragana and Katakana courses. A one-time purchase of Kanji Bento Plus unlocks the remaining N5 chapters and every chapter from N4 to N1.
US$0
US$14.99 one-time
On every iPhone and iPad that uses your Apple Account.
U.S. price. Apple shows your local price and any taxes before you buy. It’s a single payment: no subscription, nothing to renew or cancel, and Kanji Bento Plus stays unlocked for good. Purchase terms
Version 1.3 includes N5 Chapter 1 and the complete Hiragana and Katakana courses. A one-time purchase of Kanji Bento Plus unlocks the remaining N5 chapters and every chapter from N4 to N1.
No. Kanji Bento Plus is a one-time purchase: you pay once, and it stays unlocked for good, with nothing to renew or cancel. It works on every iPhone and iPad that uses your Apple Account; on a new device, open Settings › Kanji Bento Plus and tap Restore Purchases. If you subscribed before version 1.2, Kanji Bento Plus is already yours for life at no extra cost.
The JLPT hasn’t published an official kanji list since the test was revised in 2010, so counts vary by course. Kanji Bento teaches 80 kanji for N5, 170 more for N4, 370 for N3, 380 for N2 and 1,136 for N1. That’s 250 by N4, 620 by N3, 1,000 by N2 and 2,136 in total. See the JLPT kanji lists.
Yes. Kanji Bento’s 2,136 kanji are the complete Jōyō list (常用漢字), the official set of kanji for everyday use in Japan, arranged by JLPT level from N5 to N1. Two characters use their common alternate forms: 剥 and 叱.
Most kanji have more than one reading. On’yomi (音読み) came from Chinese and often appear in compound words, like だい in 大学 (university). Kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, often used when the kanji stands alone or with kana endings, like おお in 大きい (big).
On a Kanji Bento card you can tap any On or Kun reading to see a real word that uses it, with its own example sentence.
Kana is a useful starting point: dictionaries, kanji readings and furigana use it. Kanji Bento teaches the basic characters, voiced sounds, combinations and timing. Both complete courses are included in version 1.3. See the hiragana chart.
Kanji Bento takes a different approach: it's a ready-made course in JLPT order, from N5 to N1 in chapters of up to ten kanji, with vocabulary, example sentences and audio on iPhone and iPad, so there are no decks to set up. It uses spaced reviews too, and it works offline without an account.
It works offline and needs no account. All kanji, words, sentences and kana are inside the app. When iCloud is available, your progress, bookmarks and notes sync through your own private iCloud. There are no ads, and the App Store privacy label is “Data Not Collected”.
Yes. Every kanji and kana has its stroke order, which you can watch or step through stroke by stroke. Tap Practice writing to write the character with your finger or Apple Pencil. With Check strokes on, Kanji Bento checks each stroke’s direction, position and order; after two misses, or when you tap Hint, it shows you the next stroke. The Writing quiz in Practice asks you to write kanji from memory. See the 10 rules of kanji stroke order.
No. Kanji Bento is made for iPhone and iPad (iOS and iPadOS 17 or later) and is available on the App Store. The hiragana and katakana charts, the JLPT kanji lists and the guides on this website work in any browser.
The app and its explanations are available in English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and German. Japanese always stays Japanese, with hiragana and romaji alongside.
No. Kanji Bento is an independent app and isn’t affiliated with the JLPT. N5–N1 labels organize the study material; they don’t guarantee an exam result.
Kanji Bento is made by Ohm Software, an independent app studio that publishes focused apps for iPhone and iPad. The kanji, readings and example sentences in the app were checked against standard references, the stroke data comes from the open KanjiVG project, and the free kanji lists and charts on this site are the same data the app uses. Questions and corrections are welcome at contact@ohm.software.
Download Kanji Bento and start with a single kanji — or with あ.
Kanji Bento