Higaran: Hiragana Katakana Live

Do you read "う" instantly as "u"? Or do you have to run through "a, i, u, e, o…" first? Most Japanese learning apps teach hiragana and katakana in sequence. So you end up memorizing the order—not the characters themselves. Without the sequence, recall breaks down. That's not memory. That's lookup. Higaran is different. From the very first quiz, every character appears at random. You train to recognize each kana the instant you see it— without relying on order, songs, or patterns. ■ Why Random Quizzes? When you learn kana in order, your brain memorizes a pattern. Miss one character, and you restart the whole sequence from あ in your head. That isn't recognition—it's searching. Truly memorized characters come to you instantly, in any context, in any order. Higaran is built to train exactly that speed and accuracy. Random testing also exposes the truth fast: the characters you thought you knew, but can't actually recall out of order. ■ Key Features * Random Quiz — Every question in random order, so you build real recall * Two-way Learning — Character to Sound, and Sound to Character * Smart Review — Retest only the ones you got wrong * Flip Card — Tap to reveal the answer the moment you're stuck * Progress Tracker — See how many characters you've cleared today * Kana Chart — Full hiragana and katakana reference table * Stroke-order Animations — See exactly how each character is written ■ Learning Modes * Hiragana — All 46 basic characters * Katakana — All 46 basic characters * Mixed Mode — Hiragana and katakana together, for a real proficiency check * Japanese Numbers — 1 to 10, including alternate readings like yon and shi * Travel Essentials — Airport, transit, hotels, dining, shopping, emergencies, greetings ■ Traveling to Japan Soon? Higaran includes 50 essential travel words and phrases you can use right away, even before you finish learning the alphabet. Browse them as a phrasebook, then test yourself with flashcards. ■ Built to Stay Out of Your Way * Free — Every feature, no paywalls * Lightweight — Just 4MB, ready the moment it installs * Works Offline — On the subway, on a plane, anywhere * No Sign-up — Open the app and start with your first character ■ 6 Languages Supported Korean, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai. Study Japanese kana in the language you're most comfortable with. ■ Who It's For * Complete beginners starting hiragana and katakana * Self-learners who want fast, efficient daily review * Travelers who need practical Japanese before a trip * Anyone who memorized the "a-i-u-e-o" chart but still freezes on random characters If you can only recall kana in order, you haven't truly memorized them yet. Train for instant recognition, one random card at a time. Start learning Japanese the right way—with Higaran.