ReadNihon: Japanese Reading Tool + SRS + Wanikani

WaniKani API And Third-Party Apps
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Hello all,

I would like to introduce ReadNihon and some of its features.

ReadNihon is an assisted Japanese reading tool with a few advanced features, that I think makes it very useful for us learners.

i + 1 Reading

You can import your known words via the Wanikani API, Genki or add them in manually.
When you read Japanese content online you will see Furigana or English popovers only for unknown words. Or you can directly choose your JLPT level equivalent.

You can also add known words from your readings. They will be added as either, grammar, Kanji, or Vocabulary to your ‘known word list’.

The tool works via a browser plugin, like “Rikaikun or Yomichan”, or on the app’s simplifier page.
This page can take Japanese Youtube URLs (captions), URLs, or text as an input.

SRS from reading

You can automatically generate SRS flashcards for the words that you do not know,
in your reading or click words into your vocabulary lists. After that you can export these with the relevant sentences, meanings, and readings, to Anki.

The ReadNihon flashcards have an SRS system. It will generate Kanji flashcards automatically from words in your list. It has voice recognition based checks for reading the word, plus much more.

A lot of people like Anki, so we also added features to make it as easy as possible to get
words from reading into an Anki deck.

Grammar

ReadNihon parses the grammar points from your readings. If you already know the grammar point, it will be ignored; much like vocabulary above. If you do not know it, it will have a mouseover explaining what the grammar means.

There is a quick grammar review section that is meant to be a reference. More will be added into that, with third party links that more fully explain the grammar points. It contains simple sentences created in house, that become more difficult as you advance through levels. The idea is, reading + kanji + grammar review.

Suggested Readings

None of the above will help you much unless you have good online Japanese reading resources. So I have added a reading suggestion tool. :slight_smile:

It searches for readings from the internet based on your Japanese level and interests.

Things people ask

How accurate is the Furigana generation?
Very accurate, and gets better every time someone points out extreme edge cases.

Why is a known word list important?
To become near native at Japanese the lexicon (Vocab, Kanji, Grammar) that you will need to know is finite, even though it does not feel that way while learning it :wink:

Pulling in known words from Wanikani and other resources lets you know, how you are progressing,
and gives an idea of what to focus on next. (i.e. do you have good Kanji knowledge but weak lexicon)(i.e. strong lexicon but weak grammar)

Without creating a list, there is no objective way to know this. Other than that magic mind reading machine


Creating lists is tedious, I don’t want to

This is why I made it one click to generate a vocabulary list of unknown words from readings.
As you progress there will be less and less unknown words, Kanji, and grammar. The SRS system automatically adds words to ‘known’ after it is selected as ‘easy’ consecutively.

As a new tool, all feedback, suggestions, or reviews are greatly appreciated.

http://www.readnihon.com

A little bit about me
I graduated highschool at 16. Came to Yamagata for one year on Rotary foreign exchange, with no Japanese skills. Tested out of Japanese at my university, and then came to Kansaigaidai.
After university bought a ticket to Japan with then only $300 to my name. I have been living in Japan happily ever since, now with a 1 year old:) True story. JLPT N1 + Kanken 2 based on just cheap books and expensive handheld dictionaries. Looking forward to making it easier for learners via tech, experience and community.

Third party reviews:
Tofugu
Self Taught Japanese

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I don’t think advertising is allowed, but I like it.
Where do I put my WK API key?

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Thanks. I saw similar introductory posts for Bunpro and other tools. I think it is ok under resources.
In the Home tab there is add Japanese, you can place your v2 wanikani key there.

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Very happy for this kind of advertising though! Thanks for the heads up for this tool

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I think officially, advertising isn’t allowed, but Tofugu Crew tends to look the other way if the person is part of the community. Although at level 2
 Tough call. Could be a fly by night, could be a true member that’s really eager to share.
Think its more of a “Hey we’re all here to help each other, check this out too” is cool. But a “Hey guys check this out. Ok peace, I’m outta here to never return.” Not so much.

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That sounds fair. I have contacted the Tofugu team and they have reviewed ReadNihon in the past. So they know who I am. When I have specific API questions I have posted here in the past.

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Wanted to look for reading material and entered the first Japanese thing I could think of
 すし

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Some of the translations are funny
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:joy: Ha!
This is what I saw.
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The suggested readings is the only place I use auto-translate for
that reason. It is mostly just for beginner learners to have an idea of what the article is about.

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https://www.wanikani.com/terms#h-advertising-on-wanikani
Wow, I should rethink my hobbies. My first thought after reading this URL that I just copied was that I must have picked the wrong paragraph of the ToS, because “h-advertising” is definitely about advertising h-games. :man_facepalming:

Anyways, this tool seems great! Will it cost something once the beta is over?

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There’s already a subscription model implemented

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I am glad you asked this.

Here is how many people seem to go about this.
→ Make it free open beta and then suddenly change to paid after it gets traction.
This gets them free beta testers and lots of good reviews to start. But they realize it is not practically possible to maintain in most circumstances completely free.

I do not plan on doing this.

The core features will remain free. It is a tool and I am not trying to teach users Japanese.
Users will be assisted in self learning by using it.

Premium features will be under the subscription. These are custom made lessons, or features that cost money to run.

Since I plan on keeping the core features free, premium subscribers will be dedicated self-learners who find some value out of the advanced features, not only the core ones.

I think this will make an ideal situation where people can use it, it can be maintained properly, and I am incentivized to think of awesome advanced features that are worth paying for (that may cost me extra money to offer).

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Have you already decided which features are considered “core features” that will stay free? Anki export, keeping track of known kanji/grammar/vocabulary, built-in SRS, grammar point mouseover?

Is our data stored on your server, so that we can use ReadNihon on different devices, or is our data stored locally, so that we can do the SRS even without internet connection?

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Your data is stored in our database. ReadNihon can be used on different devices.
You cannot do SRS without an internet connection, but that is a good suggestion.
Plus mobile apps are something we will consider after the main app is mostly done with beta.

These are core and there are a bunch more. Most things are free.

  • All mouseovers
  • Browser plugin, most of the read tab
  • Keeping track of known kanji/grammar/vocabulary
  • SRS is free on ReadNihon

Definitely will stay as paid.

  • Lessons. (We plan on building these out a lot more)
  • Japanese support
  • Advanced charts and suggested next steps (Analytics)
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Here is an example.

I saw that some users were creating lists and then translating them into their native language, by hand.
This seems so time consuming


You can now convert the ‘Meanings’ into over 30 different languages with one select, and then save. The meanings that you saved will come up in the SRS review, in your native tongue.

This cannot be free, because the translation API costs money. However, I think that many people will find it very useful.

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Definitely looks quite useful so far. Is there a reason the Kana is all Katakana? Can you toggle which writing system you want to display?

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The default right now is Katakana. However, it can be converted into either. I guess Hiragana might be easier for new learners. Thanks!

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Thanks! I guess it doesn’t matter so much since it can be changed, just that usually it’s the other way around and most people do learn Hiragana first.

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I switched it to Hiragana. Thanks again!