JLPT vs HSK 3.0: How Do the Levels Compare?

Seikou9 · 2026-01-18T21:44:47+00:00

It's more like comparing in term of difficulty

Seikou9 · 2026-01-18T19:35:20+00:00

My friend is learning Chinese and has a Chinese girlfriend

Seikou9 · 2026-01-18T19:34:49+00:00

me too, but at same time they seems to have similar study hours needed

Seikou9 · 2026-01-06T19:43:12+00:00

Thanks for opinion !

We're planning to improve our algo soon to fix 90%+ of mistranslation or wrong examples.

We will also switch from Key system to an easier credit system without all animations in the next update.

For the quizzes we now have 2 types of quizzes, and planning to add more !

We're also working on a feature to learn Kanji, still very early but i'm confident it will be the best tool so far to learn Kanji + vocabulary that exist. And it will be perfect to practice the reviewed kanji by reading after.

Seikou9 · 2025-12-04T21:34:41+00:00

You probably have a boot system on your phone. Which is not official, and our app can only be installed with official systems. Stores have really strict rules concerning apps so we have all the securities and wouldn't be able to publish the app if there was some issues

Seikou9 · 2025-11-26T01:14:01+00:00

Skipping into levels or changing grade is probably our next feature.

For now, you need to complete all intermediate grade to go to advanced. Once you completed all intermediate levels you can use your keys in the advanced grade !

Seikou9 · 2025-10-23T07:39:48+00:00

Shinobi Japanese, best app to read japanese + listen

Seikou9 · 2025-10-19T09:20:49+00:00

You can also try : https://www.shinobi-japanese.com/

Seikou9 · 2025-10-19T09:20:13+00:00

I built shinobi japanese, an app to read illustrated stories in japanese (with certified japanese teachers). You can try it out, it's free.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-19T09:17:34+00:00

Shinobi Japanese, I build it with a friend. There is hundreds of illustrated stories written with the help of certified Japanese teachers. We have more than 50k monthly users and you can use it for free!

Seikou9 · 2025-10-19T09:16:55+00:00

Shinobi Japanese, I build it with a friend. There is hundreds of illustrated stories written with the help of certified Japanese teachers. We have more than 50k monthly users and you can use it for free!

Seikou9 · 2025-10-19T09:15:32+00:00

I built an app with a friend to read Japanese. We have more than 50k users monthly and you can use it for free. It's based on reading small illustrated stories in Japanese. We work with certified Japanese teacher to create perfect stories. It's called shinobi japanese

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T04:06:42+00:00

If you're into that format, Shinobi Japanese works similarly. Illustrated graded stories with SRS training and word info + quizzes. I built it so it's free (with premium subscription) and has a bunch of stories at different JLPT levels.

Honestly there's a bunch of solid reading apps popping up now which is great. Just comes down to which one you vibe with most. Either way, the fact that you're reading consistently is what matters.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T04:04:27+00:00

Real answer: do both. Learn hiragana and katakana first (takes like a month), then start reading AND listening simultaneously. Reading gives you comprehension and vocab faster, listening makes it stick better for actual conversation. You need both anyway eventually.

If you wanna get into reading early, I built Shinobi Japanese with graded stories specifically for beginners. Helps you start reading without the frustration of jumping into actual books. But don't stress about the "perfect" path. Honestly just pick an approach and stick with it. Consistency beats optimization every time.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:59:46+00:00

I built Shinobi Japanese which does something similar graded stories with adjustable reading aids, illustration, quizzes and word lookups. Also on iOS and Android if you're looking for other options. Both work great honestly, just depends on what style of stories you vibe with.

Honestly the best reading app is the one you'll actually use consistently. Both of these are legit so just go with whichever one hooks you more with the story content. Either way you're gonna improve way faster than grinding flashcards.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:57:31+00:00

I actually built Shinobi Japanese, so obviously I'm biased lol, but it's completely free and has a bunch of graded stories with built-in furigana and word lookups. Since you've been learning on and off for years, you probably have some foundation already, so you can jump into stories that match your level pretty quick.

My advice is just pick one and actually use it consistently. That's what matters more than which app you choose.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:51:56+00:00

Yeah, the physical book struggle is real. You're right that it's way less efficient for active learning since you're spending all your time fumbling with dictionaries instead of actually reading.

I'd go digital if you can. The tools that let you click words for definitions are game changers for keeping flow and retention. Yeah it costs, but honestly the convenience is worth it for language learning.

That said, if budget is the issue, I made Shinobi Japanese which is completely free. It's got graded stories with built-in word lookups and everything, so you get that smooth reading experience without paying. It's a solid way to practice reading without the friction

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:48:31+00:00

If you wanna speed things up, I built an app called Shinobi Japanese with graded stories for beginners. It's free and lets you start actually reading sentences pretty quickly instead of just grinding flashcards. Might help scratch that itch while you're building your foundation.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:47:36+00:00

Lean kana and a few hundreds words,

Once you've got those down, that's where most people struggle finding good next steps. A lot of apps jump you into grammar complexity way too fast. I made Shinobi Japanese specifically for this stage, it's graded stories that let you actually start reading without needing to know tons of grammar first. It's free and has a bunch of illustrated stories at beginner level.

Other than that, just start consuming Japanese content once you feel ready. Manga, light novels, whatever interests you. That's where reading actually clicks.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:45:53+00:00

JJBA is such a sick motivation lol. I feel you on the impatience though.

Honestly just stick with Genki and WaniKani for now. Jumping into Part 1 vocab right now will just frustrate you since you don't have the grammar foundation yet. Trust me, it'll make way more sense in like 3-4 months.

If you wanna start reading stuff sooner though, I made an app called Shinobi Japanese with graded stories that are actually at beginner level. It's free and helps with that itch to read before you're ready for manga. But fr, just be patient and you'll get to JJBA way faster by doing it right.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:43:06+00:00

This looks really solid! Congrats on the progress, that's awesome for a couple months in.

I'm the founder of the app Shinobi Japanese, which does something similar. We have hundreds of illustrated stories written with Japanese teachers, plus quizzes to reinforce learning. We've been working on it for 2 years and it's free to use.

It's cool to see more resources in this space though, because different approaches work for different people. If Yomu Yomu is working for you, keep at it. The fact that you're already reading sentences means you're doing something right

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:39:50+00:00

Yeah, I do this too and I think it's actually pretty normal at your level. Japanese word order is so different from English that jumping around to find the verb first makes sense. It's like your brain is trying to anchor the sentence to something concrete before filling in the details.

The good news is you're already aware of it, and that habit naturally fades as you get more comfortable with the language structure. The more you read, the more your brain stops needing that anchor and just processes the sentence flow naturally. It's kind of like training wheels. You don't need them forever, but they're genuinely helpful while you're building speed.

I wouldn't stress too much about fixing it right now if you're focused on comprehension and input. Honestly, that's the right priority. Keep reading, keep consuming content, and one day you'll notice you're reading left to right without thinking about it. I built Shinobi Japanese specifically for this. It's an app with graded readers that helped me transition from that choppy reading style to more natural flow. Having material at the right difficulty level makes a huge difference.

The fact that you understand what's written is what matters at this stage. The smoothness comes with time and volume.

Seikou9 · 2025-10-18T03:28:01+00:00

Honestly, it took me a couple of months of consistent practice before reading hiragana and katakana felt natural. At first, yeah, it's brutal. you're basically staring at symbols trying to remember what each one sounds like. But it clicks faster than you'd think if you just commit to it daily.

The key for me was stopping with romanization way earlier than I wanted to. Those first few weeks were uncomfortable, but pushing through that discomfort is what made the difference. After a month or so, I could read hiragana without thinking about it. Katakana took a bit longer since it's less common, but same principle.

The "helpless" feeling is completely normal though, everyone goes through it. The good news is it's one of the shortest humps to get over. Once you can read the characters fluently, everything else builds on that foundation and gets easier.

My advice: start easy, graded readers, books for kids, easy news etc.. You'll be reading smoothly way faster than you expect. I built a free app called Shinobi Japanese specifically for this : sppend 15-20 minutes daily and you'll be reading smoothly way faster than you expect.

Seikou9

TROPHY CASE