A Comprehensive App Review: Hiragana Memory Hint from the Japan Foundation

Hi, I am Shingo SATO, a native speaker with more than 10 years of experience teaching Japanese.

If you are a beginner in learning the Japanese language, the Hiragana Memory Hint app from the Japan Foundation can be a great way to start. It is a free app that is designed to help learners of all levels of Japanese to learn the basic building blocks of the language. In this post, I will take a close look at the app, its features, and how it compares to other similar apps.

Introduction to the Hiragana Memory Hint App

The Hiragana Memory Hint app is a free mobile application developed by the Japan Foundation. It is designed to help learners of all levels of Japanese to learn Hiragana, the basic building blocks of the language. The app features a number of games and activities that are designed to help users learn and retain Hiragana characters.

The app is available on the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store. It is a free app, and does not require any subscription or in-app purchases.

Advantages of the Hiragana Memory Hint App

The Hiragana Memory Hint app is designed to be a fun and interactive way to learn Hiragana. 

The key features are as follows.

1. Visual cues to help users remember the Hiragana characters
2. Interactive quizzes 
3. Audio pronunciations of the Hiragana characters

The “visual cues” feature provides users with hints by associating the Hiragana characters with something familiar. For example, as you can see in the app icon below, you can memorize the Hiragana “へ（he）” by associating it with the illustration of “HEad”. This can be very helpful for those who are just starting out with learning Hiragana.

This feature is what makes this application unique.

The app includes a variety of games that are designed to help users learn and retain Hiragana characters. 

The app also features an audio feature, which allows users to listen to the pronunciation of Hiragana characters. This is a great way to practice pronunciation and get familiar with the sound of the language.

Disadvantages of the Hiragana Memory Hint App

The Hiragana Memory Hint App is a great resource for learning Hiragana characters, but it does have some drawbacks.

For example, the app does not include any practice exercises for writing Hiragana characters. 

And the Quiz is not so flexible, as you cannot choose each Hiragana in the quiz one by one. As shown in the following image, for example, the columns of “a” （a, i, u, e and o）and “ka”（ka, ki, ku, ke and ko） are in one set. You can choose two or more sets. 

How to Use the Hiragana Memory Hint App

Using the Hiragana Memory Hint app is fairly straightforward. When you first launch the app, you will be presented with the main menu.

From here, you can access “Memory Hint” for visual cues, and “Quiz” for interactive Quiz.

Conclusion

The Hiragana Memory Hint app from the Japan Foundation is a great choice for beginners who are just starting out with learning Hiragana. It is a free app, and it is designed to be user-friendly and straightforward. The app includes a range of games that are designed to help users learn and retain Hiragana characters. Additionally, the app includes an audio feature, which allows users to listen to the pronunciation of Hiragana characters.

Overall, the app is a great way to start learning Hiragana. If you are looking for an app to help you learn Hiragana, the Hiragana Memory Hint app from the Japan Foundation is a great choice.

For other recommended apps, please read the following post.

5 Japanese Learning Apps Recommended by a Native Speaker