Your questions,
answered.

MasterKanji teaches Japanese kanji meanings, readings and vocabulary through guided lessons, memory pictures and scheduled reviews. You also unlock illustrated chapters of Kanji the fox’s journey as you progress.

Yes. Start at level one and build up from simple shapes. You can begin learning kanji meanings before you know kana, with English explanations and romaji to help you get started.

Yes—we recommend it. You can start learning kanji meanings now, but kana is essential for reading ordinary Japanese text and understanding readings. Our free hiragana and katakana guides can help you learn alongside the course.

Your first three course levels are free, including their lessons, reviews and story chapters. There’s no time limit and no card required. Paid membership opens the later levels as you progress.

It builds your kanji and vocabulary foundation. You’ll also need kana, grammar and reading practice to understand Japanese text. Use MasterKanji alongside other Japanese study, including listening and conversation.

A guided lesson introduces the material, then a short quiz lets you try recalling it. Your first scheduled review arrives a few hours later. Later review dates depend on your answers.

Spaced repetition means revisiting what you learn over time. Practising recall across separate sessions helps strengthen memory, rather than relying on one long study session.

FSRS stands for Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler. It’s the type of spaced repetition MasterKanji uses to estimate when each item should return, using your review history. This helps focus reviews on what needs attention instead of giving every item the same fixed gaps.

You’ll see the answer and have another chance to learn it. The item returns sooner for review. Mistakes are part of learning—you don’t need to remember everything first time.

Start with due reviews, then add a few new lessons when you’re ready. Set a manageable new-lesson goal and adjust it as your review load grows. There’s no single daily time that suits everyone.

Your progress stays saved and due reviews wait for your return. For a longer break, pause learning in Settings to freeze your study schedule; already-overdue reviews will still be waiting. Study pauses don’t pause or extend a paid membership.

Kanji are characters associated with meanings and readings. Hiragana and katakana are kana: symbols that represent sounds. Ordinary Japanese writing uses all three together.

They’re two types of kanji reading. Onyomi are Chinese-derived pronunciations; kunyomi are readings from Japanese words. We teach readings with vocabulary so you learn which one a word uses.

The pronunciation can change depending on the word. Learn the reading of each whole word rather than trying to use one sound everywhere. Some kanji also have more than one meaning.

Knowing a character’s meaning is only part of reading. Vocabulary shows how characters work in actual words, including their pronunciation and meaning together.

Romaji is Japanese pronunciation written with English letters—for example, yama for やま, meaning mountain. It can help you get started while you learn kana. It’s pronunciation support, not an English translation.