Best Kanji Mnemonics Apps (2026): An Honest Comparison

Short answer: There is no single best kanji mnemonics app. WaniKani is the most complete ready-made course, with a mnemonic for every item, but it is a subscription after level 3. Remembering the Kanji with Kanji Koohii is the classic free route if you like writing your own stories. Moji suits iPhone users who want mnemonics inside vocabulary. Kanji Study and Anki are strong tools that are not built around mnemonics. Kanji Guide gives every kanji a short picture story in a free web app, and its iPhone version is Kanji Mnemonics: JLPT N5-N1.

We make Kanji Guide and Kanji Mnemonics, so we have a stake in this. Every price and platform below comes from the official site or store listing, checked on 10 November 2026 (US prices; other countries differ). Where we could not confirm something, we left it out.

Comparison table

App	How it uses mnemonics	Platforms	Price (US, Nov 2026)	Best for
WaniKani	Written mnemonics for every radical, kanji and vocabulary word, meaning and reading	Web	Levels 1–3 free; $9/month, $89/year or $299 lifetime	A full guided course in a fixed order
Remembering the Kanji + Kanji Koohii	One keyword per kanji; you build a story from its parts, or pick a community story on Koohii	Book; Koohii is a website	Koohii is free; the book is sold separately	Learners who like making their own stories
Moji: Learn Japanese Daily	A mnemonic built from the kanji’s parts, attached to each vocabulary word	iPhone, iPad	Free tier; Premium $8.99/month or $49.99/year	Vocabulary-first study on iPhone
Kanji Study	Not mnemonic-based: vocabulary-first lessons, writing practice with stroke detection	iPhone, iPad, Android	Free download; one-time levels from $9.99, all levels $29.99 (iOS)	Writing practice and one-time purchase
Anki	Only if your deck includes mnemonics or you add them	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone	Free on computers and Android; AnkiMobile $24.99 on iPhone	Full control over cards and scheduling
Kanji Guide (web)	A short picture story for each kanji, with the parts named	Any browser (phone or computer)	Free in the browser	A calm, meaning-first start, on any phone
Kanji Mnemonics: JLPT N5-N1	One keyword, one story, one picture per kanji	iPhone, iPad	Free download, first 10 kanji free; Pro $5.99/week, $9.99/month, $49.99/year or $99.99 lifetime	Picture mnemonics on iPhone, with a Home Screen widget

WaniKani

WaniKani is a web course from Tofugu. It teaches its own set of radicals, then kanji built from them, then vocabulary using those kanji, with a mnemonic for every item and a spaced repetition system for reviews. It covers over 2,000 kanji and over 6,000 vocabulary words. You cannot skip ahead: each level unlocks when you have learned enough of the last one.

Price: levels 1–3 are free with no time limit. After that it is $9 a month, $89 a year or $299 once (USD, tax may be added).

Trade-offs: the order and the pace are decided for you, which many learners like and some find slow. Reviews can pile up if you take many lessons at once.

Remembering the Kanji and Kanji Koohii

Remembering the Kanji by James W. Heisig is a book method. Each kanji gets one English keyword, and you remember its shape with a story made from smaller parts (“primitives”). Volume 1 focuses on meaning and writing; readings come later, in a separate volume. Our guide to Remembering the Kanji goes into the method.

Kanji Koohii is a free website built for the book. You can write your own stories or pick from stories shared by other members, and review with built-in flashcards and spaced repetition. The publisher offers a free sample of the first 294 kanji in 12 lessons.

Trade-offs: you do the creative work, which makes stories stick but takes time. You learn meanings and shapes before readings and words, so reading real Japanese comes later than with vocabulary-first apps.

Moji: Learn Japanese Daily

Moji (moji.study, not to be confused with other apps called Moji) is an iPhone app by an independent developer. It teaches 8,000+ words across the JLPT levels, and kanji words carry a mnemonic built from the kanji’s parts, with FSRS spaced repetition.

Price: the free tier includes every word, level and mnemonic, plus the full review schedule. Premium is an optional subscription with extra features, at $8.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day trial.

Trade-offs: iPhone and iPad only. Kanji are learned inside words rather than one by one, which helps reading sooner but is less suited to studying single characters by level.

Kanji Study

Kanji Study by Luli Languages teaches kanji through 5,000+ JLPT vocabulary words from N5 to N1, with writing lessons that check your strokes, spaced reviews, audio and offline use. It is on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Price: free to download. On iOS, levels are one-time purchases: $9.99 for level 1, $12.99 for level 2, $14.99 each for levels 3 to 5, or $29.99 for all levels.

Trade-offs: it is not built around mnemonic stories. If handwriting matters to you, it is one of the stronger options; if you want a story for each kanji, pair it with another tool.

Anki

Anki is a free, open-source flashcard program with a strong spaced repetition scheduler. It is free on Windows, Mac and Linux, AnkiDroid is free on Android, and AnkiMobile costs $24.99 on iPhone.

Trade-offs: Anki has no kanji course of its own. Mnemonics appear only if your deck includes them or you add your own. It rewards setup and tinkering; some learners spend more time on decks than on kanji.

Kanji Guide and Kanji Mnemonics

Kanji Guide is our free web app. It covers 2,131 kanji from JLPT N5 to N1. Each kanji has a short story that names its parts, an illustration where available, animated stroke order, on and kun readings with example words, and spaced review. It runs in any phone browser and can be added to your home screen. See how the picture-story method works or open the study app.

Kanji Mnemonics: JLPT N5-N1 is the iPhone version of the same idea: one keyword, one story and one picture per kanji, from N5 to N1, with a flashcard quiz, readings and example words, offline study, and a Today’s Kanji widget for the Home Screen and Lock Screen. It is free to download and the first 10 kanji are free; Pro unlocks the rest (weekly, monthly, yearly or lifetime).

Trade-offs: neither is a full Japanese course. There is no handwriting input, only stroke order to watch. There is no Android app; on Android, use the web app in the browser. And as the makers, we are not neutral.

How to choose

1. Do you want someone else to write the mnemonics? WaniKani, Moji, Kanji Guide or Kanji Mnemonics. If you prefer writing your own, Remembering the Kanji with Koohii, or Anki.
2. Kanji one by one, or inside words? One by one: WaniKani, RTK, Kanji Guide. Inside words: Moji or Kanji Study.
3. Which phone? Android: Kanji Study, AnkiDroid, or a web app (WaniKani, Koohii, Kanji Guide). iPhone: any of them.
4. Budget? Free options cover a lot: Kanji Guide in the browser, Kanji Koohii, Anki on desktop and Android, Moji’s free tier, and WaniKani’s first three levels.

Whatever you pick, try it for a week before paying. A mnemonic system only works if you open it every day. If you are unsure what makes a mnemonic good, start with how kanji mnemonics work.

Sources

• WaniKani: wanikani.com, help center
• Kanji Koohii: kanji.koohii.com, learn more
• Moji: moji.study, pricing, App Store listing
• Kanji Study: App Store listing, Google Play
• Anki: apps.ankiweb.net, AnkiMobile on the App Store, AnkiDroid on Google Play
• Kanji Mnemonics: App Store listing