Dondonkoto teaches you to decode Japanese — not just memorize it. Start with one character. Build to full sentences. Spaced repetition keeps your knowledge growing, steadily.
猫が窓から外を見ています。
"The cat is looking outside through the window."
毎日少しずつ勉強する
Tap any word in a real Japanese sentence to reveal its reading, meaning, and grammatical role. Add it to your deck instantly. Learn vocabulary in context — the way your brain is wired to remember.
む
mu
12 cards due today · Next review in 3 days
A scientifically-tuned SRS algorithm schedules every card at the exact moment before you'd forget it. Five minutes a day compounds into fluency. Every word you've ever learned stays fresh.
Your hiragana map
See every hiragana and katakana character at a glance. Unlock rows as you master each column. Audio for every character, stroke-order guides, confusable pair drills — the complete kana curriculum.
私は毎日日本語を勉強します。
Every sentence is color-coded by grammatical role. Tap a particle to understand its function. Tap a verb to see its conjugation tree. Grammar stops being abstract and starts being visible.
Learn all 46 hiragana in your first week. Audio, mnemonics, stroke guides, and spaced repetition drills until they're automatic.
Start reading actual Japanese — graded to your level. Every word tappable, every grammar point explained in context.
Your SRS deck grows as you read. Five minutes of daily review keeps everything fresh. The algorithm does the scheduling — you just show up.
¥0/ forever
Everything you need to start your Japanese journey.
All 46 hiragana & katakana
Reading mode — Chapters 1–3
Spaced repetition (up to 200 cards)
Audio for every character
¥980/ month
The complete Dondonkoto experience for serious learners.
Everything in Free
Full chapter library (10+ chapters)
Grammar breakdown system
Unlimited SRS cards
Vocabulary & sentence decks
Offline access
Progress analytics
Can't find your answer? Email us at hello@dondonkoto.com.
None at all. Dondonkoto starts from the very first character of the Japanese alphabet. If you can read this sentence, you can start learning Japanese today.
Duolingo gamifies learning at the cost of depth. Anki is powerful but has no curriculum. Dondonkoto gives you a structured reading-first curriculum with built-in SRS — the best of both.
Five minutes of SRS review keeps your existing knowledge fresh. A 20-minute session lets you advance through new content. Consistency matters more than duration.
Yes. The free plan is not a trial — it's a complete kana curriculum with reading mode for the first three chapters. We want everyone to be able to start learning Japanese.
I tried three other apps before Dondonkoto. This is the first one where I actually feel like I'm reading Japanese, not just matching tiles.
Sarah K.
3 months in · 200+ cards mastered
The grammar breakdown feature is genuinely unlike anything I've seen. I went from 'these particles are magic spells' to actually understanding how sentences work.
Marcus T.
6 months in · JLPT N4 prep
I learned hiragana in a week. A week. I'd spent a month on it with other methods and it never stuck. The mnemonics and spaced repetition combo just works.
Anika L.
Complete beginner · Week 3
Free forever. No credit card. No gamified streaks. Just you and Japanese, learning steadily — どんどん.