Friday, July 13, 2012

Japanese Android Smart Phone Apps

Since we covered iPhone Japanese study and reference apps in our last post, fairness demands that we give equal treatment to all those Android aficionados out there. If you are one of those 50 percent or so of mobile users with the audacity to defy Apple, then you are in luck! There are still plenty of study and reference tools to choose from.

Note: I am not an Android user myself so this list is mainly based on info from friends. Recommendations and critiques are more than welcome!
  • JED- A very popular dictionary app that can work off line. In addition it has kanji search by radicals, tagging, multiple language support, and so on. 
  • English-Japanese Dictionary (Naver)- Pretty much a carbon copy of the iPhone app of the same name. Produced by the Korean publish Naver, it requires an internet connection for most functions.
  • English-Japanese Dictionary (Hironori)- A similar in both name and functionality to the Naver app listed above. I have heard that it does not play well with some Android devices, but if you are looking for a good free dictionary it is a good app to look into.
  • Conjugation Japanese- An interesting app that is great for those who are still shaky on conjugating verbs, adjectives, etc. It includes dictionary files as well as drilling at various difficulty levels and even unlockable achievements.
  • JA Sensei- A fairly comprehensive study app that includes everything from particles to counters to a full fledged phrase book. And its free to boot!
  • JLPT Master- As the name would imply, this app will turn you into a mean, lean studying machine with drills and vocab galore. There are also paid versions tailored to each Japanese level.
  • Obenkyo- Recommended by one avid reader below, this app features everything from hiragana study to JLPT-level specific kanji study as well extras such as grammar guides. It comes in both a free add-supported flavor and a paid add-free flavor.
There are a bunch more apps out there for all your Japanese learning needs. So make sure to tell us about what ones you think our best either on this page or via the links below!

2 comments:

  1. I think Obenkyo Android apps is a fairly comprehensive one, it includes hiragana, katakana, kanji, vocab, grammar, and book for learning categorized as JLPT level and School level. I prefer it rather than JLPT Master or JA Sensei. It's free and always full version with option to hide ads after all.

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  2. Thanks for the suggestion, albadrln! I will make sure to add your suggestion to the list. If you have any other recommendations, pass them right along!

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