Torii - SRS learning application for vocabulary

Please check out the Public Features and Public Bugs boards before you request a feature or report an issue, thanks a lot! :slight_smile:

TL;DR Download link at the bottom of this post.


Hi there!

Over the last few months I’ve been working on a new SRS-based application for learning Japanese vocabulary, closer to the style of WaniKani. This is as a personal project I created for my own needs, I don’t intend to compete with any of the other vocab learning tools out there. Though, I decided to put in some extra effort and make my project public as some folks showed their potential interest in an app like this (see here).


How does Torii work?

Step 1: Select a Study Mode

  • 10k Mode
    Default Mode. Learn the complete Core 10k vocab.

  • JLPT Mode
    Learn only vocabulary words of a certain JLPT level, e.g. N5.
    It’s possible to combine levels.

  • WaniKani Mode
    Exclude vocabulary taught by WK. A good way to supplement your WK study.
    New vocab is ordered by the WK level of the Kanji.

  • Kana-Only Mode
    No Kanji allowed.

Step 2: Study

Haven’t learned Kana yet? I recommend checking out Tofugus Hiragana and Katakana Guides.

Step 3: Review

Basically works like reviewing on WK.
You’re either asked to type in the Japanese reading (in Kana) or the English meaning. There’s audio reviews, too.

What else should you know?

Account creation

Done via the app.
Just download the application from the website (link below) and launch it.

Availability

  • Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux)
  • Android (4.4+)

Syncing

Your user data is synced automatically across all your devices.

Pricing

It’s free.
Donations are very much appreciated and help cover the server costs :heart:


Should you come across any bugs or other technical issues, please let me know asap. I’d love to hear your constructive feedback, feature wishes and general ideas to improve Torii! Just drop me a message. You can

Get Torii

IMPORTANT: Make sure you’re running the latest version of Java (pre-installed on many devices).
You can get it from here: https://java.com/download

> Download Torii from the website <

208 Likes

Changelog

Version 1.4.7 (May 3 2020)

New features and improvements

  • Added a timezone feature (Dashboard > Settings > Lessons)
  • Added a couple of settings to have the audio autoplay in different ways when reviewing (at start; after responding; if the answer was wrong)
  • Furigana will now auto-show after every answer
  • Desktop: Added various hotkeys for smoother navigation. The keybinding manager can now be accessed in lessons
  • Desktop: Added a keyboard shortcut for archiving items and the possibility to restore the item for a few seconds after it has been archived

Bugfixes

  • Text and icons should no longer be blurry on HDPI monitors (especially Macs)
  • Custom notes and synonyms added in practice mode are now saved to the server as expected
  • The placeholder setting will no longer reset to its default setting after restarting the app
  • The vocab progression window (Dashboard > Browse) will no longer stay on the screen after returning to the main menu
  • Fixed a bug that caused the app to freeze when clicking on ‘Search by
’ (Dashboard > Browse) before the practice lists loaded up
  • Minor bug fixing and code optimisation

Version 1.4.5 (December 13 2019)

New features and improvements

  • The top right corner of the review interface now shows the total number of available reviews and completed items per session (a session ends when one goes back to the dashboard)
  • Removed the Furigana textfield for kana-only words
  • Added a Knowledge Base / FAQ section (can be accessed from the dashboard)
  • Added a function to get in touch with the dev via the app (can be accessed from the FAQ section)
  • It is now possible to easily report individual items if a mistake is suspected (e.g. wrong JLPT level). To do so, click on the ‘Report a problem’ link that is located at the bottom of the lesson interface
  • Added a Light theme
  • Desktop: Added tooltips for most image buttons and some links
  • Android: The phone’s back button is now actually functional within the app
  • Added some minor features and improvements not worth mentioning in detail

Bugfixes

  • The endless practice settings will no longer reset after finishing the first session
  • Fixed quite a few visual bugs, mostly in the Android version

Version 1.4.1 (September 10 2019)

Bugfixes

  • Fixed some audio related bugs that caused the app to freeze on Windows and macOS systems
  • Fixed a bug in the font randomizer that caused the app to crash on Windows and macOS systems

Version 1.4.0 (September 9 2019)

New features and improvements

  • Load time in between reviews have been shortened significantly
  • Desktop: Added full-screen support to reduce the potential for distractions during lessons and reviews
  • When selecting another Study Mode it is now possible to decide whether you want to get all or just study mode specific reviews in the future
  • It is now possible to archive vocabulary during reviews
  • Numbers can now be typed in as digits (eg ‘3 things’ for â€˜äž‰ă€â€™)
  • In both study and review sessions there are some new icons in the top bar providing a visual indication of when temporary audio files are being downloaded and played
  • Made scrollbars in menus always visible by default
  • Added some more minor features not worth mentioning in detail

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bunch of audio related issues (audio being played back in the wrong order; audio lagging behind; etc)
  • Got rid of that annoying static noise at the end of some audio files
  • Words with many meanings/translations won’t cause bugs in the UI any longer
  • Typing in a mix of Hiragana and Katakana for a single word won’t cause the answer to be wrong any more
  • Some more minor bug fixing and code optimization

Version 1.3.5 (April 26 2019)

New features

  • Font randomization is now available
  • It’s now easier to test one’s Kanji knowledge: Just check ‘Hide Furigana’ in Settings → Reviews. When doing reviews, press Tab to make it visible again.
  • Desktop: Added various keyboard shortcuts. For details, press the keyboard-shaped button in the top bar when doing reviews.
  • When searching for items via Browse, unlearned words can now be moved to the front of the lessons queue. This allows you to prioritize items or learn words that are not part of your currently selected Study mode. Use wisely.
    Unlearned words are now visually marked with gray font color.
  • A auto-submit feature has been added, no need to press Enter anymore. Use wisely.
  • In EN->JP mode, only basic PoS will be displayed from now on (eg: ‘Verb’ instead of ‘Godan verb with su-ending’)
  • Added a setting to auto-play sentence audio in reviews
  • Added some more minor features not worth mentioning in detail

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a couple performance issues that could lead to overheating on some devices
  • Fixed an endless loading loop bug caused by the dashboard incorrectly showing ‘1 review left’
  • The confirm-button didn’t convert n to ん if it’s the last character of a word
  • Some more minor bug fixing and code optimisation

Version 1.3.0 (March 18 2019)

New features

  • Vacation Mode has been implemented
  • An audio review mode has been implemented: You’ll hear the vocab in Japanese and are asked to enter its meaning (activate in Settings → Reviews)
  • The Endless Practice feature has been improved and now lets you choose the way you want to practice (JP to EN, EN to JP, Audio to EN, Audio to JP) and which SRS levels shall be included
  • The information that appears when an item has just been answered (shortcut = space bar) was extended by the words PoS, JLPT level, the context sentence with audio and links to Jisho & Tatoeba
  • Selecting any vocab in the ‘Browse’ interface will now display some valuable infos such as its SRS level and how many times it has been answered (correct)
  • Part of speech is now displayed in review sessions
  • The current selected Study Mode now appears in Settings → Lessons
  • The Kana converter will now convert n’ to ん
  • On the login screen there’s now a ‘Secure Connection’ checkbox (enabled by default)
  • Added some more minor features not worth mentioning in detail

Bugfixes

  • Trying to playback audio of custom vocab or other vocab without an audio file won’t crash the app anymore
  • Adding custom vocab: Fixed a bug that prevented Kanji from being pasted into the corresponding textfield
  • Some more minor bug fixing and code optimisation

Version 1.2.6 (January 23 2019)

  • Lightning Mode can now be activated/deactivated on the fly while reviewing
  • The Progress interface now shows the time left until the next daily reset
  • Fixed a login interface bug that could lead to crashes on Android devices and changed it’s look a bit
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the user from logging in in some cases
  • Some more minor bug fixing and code optimisation

Version 1.2.5 (December 22 2018)

New features

  • It is now possible to browse/view/edit all unlocked vocabulary
  • The JLPT level of each word is now being displayed in study sessions
  • In Endless practice mode, it is now possible to practice items by their levels (Rookie, Amateur, etc)
  • The ‘Critical Condition Items’ list is now automated. A word is added to the list when it has just been reviewed and the average percentage of correct answers is <75%, and removed if it’s >75%
  • Each practice list now shows the number of items it contains
  • Added some more minor features not worth mentioning in detail

Bugfixes

  • After changing the login password on one device, signing in on other devices wasn’t possible (unless manually deleting the cache folder)
  • Adding/editing custom vocab crashed the app in some cases
  • Some more minor fixes not worth mentioning in detail

Version 1.2.0 (October 18 2018)

New features

  • It’s now possible to add, edit and delete your own vocabulary
  • Added a practice mode that allows vocabulary to be reviewed anytime without restrictions. Practicing doesn’t change a words mastery level or its next due review time
  • It’s now possible to browse, search and view vocabulary
  • Vocabulary can now also be edited and archived outside of study/review sessions
  • Archived vocabulary can now be restored
  • It’s now possible to add alternative readings to vocab items (=like synonyms but for Japanese readings)
  • Added part of speech to most words
  • Synonyms are now displayed in review sessions
  • Various usage hints have been added
  • The review session input field now shows different default texts depending on whether the English meaning or Japanese reading has to be entered
  • Latin characters w/ common diacritics are now supported in synonyms (and pretty much everywhere else)
  • Android: Pasting from and copying to the clipboard is now supported
  • Added in-app donations. Donating grants ‘Prime’ status as a thank you. While the core features and most of the additional features are free to use forever, some of the features added in this patch require Prime status to be fully functional
  • Added some more minor features not worth mentioning in detail

Bugfixes

  • Getting the last review item of a study session wrong shouldn’t crash the app anymore
  • Losing internet connection shouldn’t crash the app anymore
  • When there’s no internet connection on startup, it’s no longer required to quit and restart the app
  • Double-clicking the ‘Study Now’ or ‘Review Now’ button shouldn’t crash the app anymore
  • Android: Notifications should now work on Android 8+
  • Android: Re-opening the app right after closing it shouldn’t crash the app anymore
  • Android: Increased the size of the ‘add synonym’ textfield
  • Fixed the layout of popup windows
  • Some more minor fixes not worth mentioning in detail

Version 1.1.1 (June 24 2018)

A critical bug that led to frequent crashes in review sessions has been fixed.


Version 1.1.0 (June 23 2018)

New features

  • It’s now possible to only review JA->EN or EN->JP at one time
  • Study Modes can be switched anytime without losing progress (Settings → Lessons)
  • A kana-only Study Mode has been added
  • WK vocabulary can be excluded from all Study Modes
  • Kana-only vocabulary can be excluded from all Study Modes
  • Improved typos tolerance for english words (similar to what WK does)
  • New lessons appear more randomly in order to avoid too many similar words in a row
  • Reviews appear more randomly in order to avoid always the same items being reviewed at the same time
  • Audio auto-play is now also available in review-sessions (Settings → Reviews)
  • Android: Study reminders (=push notifications) have been added
  • Kana-characters are now supported in notes
  • A character limit counter for notes has been added
  • You can now type Hiragana for Katakana-words
  • Settings now have descriptions
  • The changelog will now be displayed on the ‘Update available’ mask
  • Accounts can be (permanently) deleted
  • Added a simple Resource Monitor to keep track of RAM usage etc (press F12 to open)

Bugfixes

  • [Experimental] Desktop: Audio related errors led to frequent crashes
  • Android: The keyboard no longer obscures the email/password fields
  • editing in the middle of a note returned the cursor to the text end with every keystroke
  • marking text in a note crashed the application if that note started with a line break
  • The application showed a higher amount of available lessons than there were left to learn
  • Japanese words that contain a lot of characters shouldn’t exceed the screen width anymore
  • The ‘I made my choice’ button on the Study Mode selection mask could be clicked even though there was no Study Mode selected
  • Not closing Torii could lead to excessive RAM usage over time in some cases

Version 1.0.1 (June 10 2018)

New features

  • Option to “ignore” words you already know in depth to permanently keep them from appearing in the reviews
  • Reset your progress (Settings → General Settings)
  • Improved the Kana converter (now ぀ can be typed as ‘tu’, づ as ‘ti’ and many more)

Bugfixes

  • Synonyms that contain whitespaces were falsely taken as wrong answer
  • entering the meaning of 䜕 - ăȘん and a few other words won’t crash the application anymore
  • certain characters in custom notes caused the application to crash
  • notes are now visible when reviewing
  • when adding notes while reviewing, the space-key doesn’t collapse the info pane anymore
  • macOS: the heavy flickering of the app at startup is gone
  • some more minor fixes
7 Likes

Looks great! But do you have to download it? I use a Chromebook and know nothing about computers. One of the many great things about WK is that there is nothing to download.

4 Likes

Just a hint for Linux users behind proxy: execute with -Dhttp.proxyHost and -Dhttp.proxyPort options:

$ java -jar -Dhttp.proxyHost=proxy.example.com -Dhttp.proxyPort=8080 Torii.jar
3 Likes

Looks very interesting, I look forward to giving it a try

1 Like

I have to disagree that “Funday” is an acceptable synonym for “Sunday” since it is already the 8th day of the week, created by Quailman, in season 2, episode 7A of Doug, “Doug Battles the Rulemeister.”

42 Likes

Where did you get the 10k from? I’m guessing the Anki deck?

1 Like

Wow, it looks amazing from the screenshots! I look forward to trying it out! :clap:

So, WaniKani mode only includes vocabulary not on WaniKani? But this vocab does include words with kanji then? It would be interesting to have a mode with kana only words to supplement WaniKani ^^

4 Likes

Tested on macOS High Sierra. No issues so far.

Great job, @Rakantor. It’s honestly perfect as it is. I was doing Core 10k on Anki, but I’m moving to Torii to study this from now on. :+1:

7 Likes

There we go :smiley: Good to see you finally release it! I’ll take a look at it later but the screenshots look great :slight_smile:

1 Like

I gave it a quick try and it works well! The one issue I had was that when signing up on my phone, my keyboard popup completely obscured the e-mail/password fields so I had to just be extra sure what I was typing. I was looking for something WK-like to tackle the 10k deck with, thank you for making this!

1 Like

Do you have access to the Google Play Store on your Chromebook? If so, you should be able to try the Android version.

4 Likes

@marcusp Yes you have to download the application. I did a quick Google search and it appears that the Chrome operating system is not capable of running Java applications by default. There are some workarounds, but those are rather complicated and require a certain level of computing skills :worried:
As @GabCM mentioned, some Chromebooks support the installation of Android Apps from Google Play. You could try that.

@seanblue Yup, I use the data from the 10k Anki deck.

@Futoi Exactly, WaniKani Mode includes words with Kanji that don’t appear on WK. Kana-only words are currently not included. That’s a nice idea btw, I’ll think about that!

@mztik I’m glad to hear that! :slight_smile: Could you run the app without problems or was it blocked by Apple’s Security Policy at first?

@soltris Yeah that’s a design issue with mobile devices. I guess it would be best to temporarily relocate the textfields to the upper half of the screen when the keyboard is visible. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to type in your credentials every time - after the first successful login Torii should log you in automatically :slight_smile:

2 Likes

The screens look very promising, this could be a great alternative to HouHou (which I currently use) once it has a feature of adding own vocab.

Is the download link for the Windows version broken though? It downloads a ~14Mb .rar file which is not a rar archive, doesn’t look like an executable either


Any plans of open sourcing this like HouHou?

1 Like

I’ll definitely be giving this a go. I’ve been hoping to get back to studying 10K minus the wanikani vocab, but haven’t wanted to get back on anki.

Your app looks really cool so far. However, I’ve picked the normal mode (all of core 10k) but, if I understand correctly, the WaniKani mode is literally the core 10k thing, while skipping the WK vocab? If so, is there a way to reset my progress to start over with this mode? Thank you!

What do you mean with “it’s not a rar archive” - I guess you’re unable to extract it? Which file archiver software are you using? The link is not broken, I’ve just downloaded the file and had no problems extracting it (using winrar). The EXE is packaged within the RAR archive. It’s correct that the file size is about 14MB.
I actually don’t have any plans of open sourcing this project ^^

Be careful. You could get into trouble with iknow.jp since much of the Core 6k was stolen from them.

3 Likes

Almost right - WK Mode also doesn’t include Kana-only words. There’s currently no way to reset one’s progress manually. You can send me a short pm (see 1st post), tell me the email address you used for signing up and I can reset your account, tho :slight_smile:

1 Like

Alright, thanks! I think I’ll stick to the normal core10k mode for the kana-only words.

1 Like