Learn Japanese — from the first character to the first story
Flashcards for kana and kanji, printable worksheets for writing, and picture books to read them in — ad-free apps for young readers and learners on iOS and Android.
What is koshilab?
koshilab builds educational apps that make learning Japanese fun and effective. We started with flashcards for hiragana, katakana, and kanji, added 漢ドリ, which turns any set of kanji into a worksheet you can print and write on, and are now making おはなし, a library of picture books written only with the kanji a child has learned. Every app is ad-free, privacy-first, and follows the official Japanese school curriculum.
Learn It, Write It, Read It
Recognize characters with flashcards, practice the strokes on printable worksheets, then meet them again in real stories.
iOS & Android
Available on both platforms so you can practice on any device, anywhere.
Privacy First
No ads, no tracking, no social features. Your data stays on your device.
Learn at Your Own Pace
Progress is saved on your device, so you can review and move on at a comfortable speed.
Our Apps
Practice Worksheets
Turn kanji into something you can print, write on, and hand out — for practice away from the screen.
Free printable sheets for every grade →
漢ドリ (Kanji Drill)
Type in any kanji and get a print-ready worksheet — vertical tracing pages drawn from real stroke-order data, plus a fill-in-the-blank test with furigana hints.
Kana Flashcards
Where reading Japanese begins — the two syllabaries, one card at a time.
ひらカタ
Master hiragana and katakana with interactive flashcards. Flip, tap, and learn the 46 basic characters in each writing system — the essential first step in reading Japanese.
Kanji Flashcards
Every kanji taught in Japanese elementary school, in one app — pick a grade and study just that set, or work through all six.
音訓
All 1,026 kanji taught in Japanese elementary school, in one app. Choose a grade — first through sixth — and study just that set. Every card shows the on’yomi and kun’yomi readings with animated stroke order, and you can trace each character stroke by stroke and hear the readings spoken aloud. One purchase covers every grade — no in-app purchases or subscriptions.
Picture Books
Japanese stories read aloud, written only with the kanji a child has learned so far.
おはなし (Ohanashi)
A library of Japanese picture books for children learning to read — especially kids growing up outside Japan. Books are leveled to hiragana, first-grade or second-grade kanji, and a warm voice reads each page while the words light up. Furigana can be turned off when your child is ready, and new stories arrive every month.
What's New
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Coming soon: おはなし, Japanese picture books
Our next app is a library of Japanese picture books for young readers. Every book is written for one level — hiragana only, first-grade kanji, or second-grade kanji — and read aloud with each word lighting up as it’s spoken. The stories are about kids living between two cultures: Tanabata wishes with Grandma over a video call, a first summer festival in Japan, onigiri in an American lunchroom.
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音訓 1.4.0 — every grade in one app
The six per-grade 音訓 apps are now one. Grades 2 through 6 join grade 1, so a single app covers all 1,026 kanji taught in Japanese elementary school. Pick a grade from the start screen and switch any time — each has its own colour and logo, and study, exam and practice modes all work per grade. Existing first-grade users keep their score history, and the five separate grade apps have been retired.
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漢ドリ is on the App Store
Our worksheet app is live. Type in any kanji and 漢ドリ builds a printable practice sheet: a vertically typeset tracing page with five boxes per character, then a fill-in-the-blank test with furigana hints. Made for practice away from the screen — the output is a piece of paper, not another quiz.
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音訓 (一年生) 1.1.0 — animated stroke order
Tap a card in study mode and the character now draws itself one stroke at a time, in the correct order, from real stroke-order data. This update also adds iPad support, a redesigned app icon, and Reduce Motion support — and the readings for all 80 first-grade kanji were reviewed so each card shows the sense taught in first grade.
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漢ドリ (Kanji Drill) — printable kanji worksheets
Our first app that isn't flashcards. Type up to 10 kanji and 漢ドリ builds a practice worksheet you can print: a tracing page with five boxes per character, and a fill-in-the-blank test. Readings come from a bundled dictionary covering all 2,136 jōyō kanji. Coming soon to iOS.
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音訓 (一年生) is on the App Store
All 80 first-grade kanji, each with on'yomi and kun'yomi readings, stroke count, and example words.
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ひらカタ launches on iOS
The app that started koshilab — the 46 basic characters of hiragana and katakana, one card at a time.
How the flashcards work
Each flashcard presents a character with its readings and example vocabulary. Flip the card to test your knowledge, then swipe to move on.
Cards are organized by grade level following the official Japanese school curriculum, so learners build skills in the same order as native speakers.
Get in Touch
Have a question or feedback? We'd love to hear from you.