Learn to read Japanese - from zero.
Real stories with training wheels you peel away one layer at a time. Free to start, no account, right in this browser tab.
Watch the training wheels come off
傘をさして歩きました。
kasa o sashite arukimashita.
"I walked along holding an umbrella."
Tap a dot. Every story works like this.
The problem
Drills do not teach you to read.
Streak apps keep you tapping matched sentences for years. Flashcard grinders bury you in reviews before you have read a single page. And the immersion readers that do exist assume you already read kana - the on-ramp is exactly the part everyone skips.
The peel
Read real stories from day one.
Peel Japanese puts a full set of training wheels on real graded stories: furigana, romaji, and a plain-English gloss over the Japanese. You start reading immediately, then peel each layer away as it becomes unnecessary. The goal is not a streak - it is you, reading Japanese, unassisted.
Peelable stories
Toggle furigana, romaji, or literal English per story. Remove the scaffolding as you grow.
From absolute zero
Hiragana, katakana, and numbers with auto-graded practice - the on-ramp other readers skip.
Yours, offline
Installs to your phone, works offline, and stays yours - like a book you own.
Everything serves the reading
Eight pillars, one goal. The free tier is the real on-ramp, not a teaser.
Stories
freeThe core: graded stories with four peelable layers.
Hiragana
freeThe first script, with practice to mastery.
Katakana
freeThe second script, same drill engine.
Numbers
freeCounting, dates, prices - everyday utility.
Particles
freeは, が, を, に, で - taught as they appear in stories.
Kanji
Introduced in service of stories, never in isolation.
Vocabulary
Story-linked word lists that feed your practice.
Grammar
Beginner patterns, taught in context.
Practice & mastery
Every module feeds one drill engine: auto-graded practice, weakest-first ordering, and a mastery ladder from new to mastered. You always know what to review next.
One path, to real confidence
No forks to choose between. You start at hiragana and finish confident with Japanese - reading it unassisted, at least N3 ground under you, and the footing to keep going on your own.
Your first story is closer than you think.
Start with kana right now - free, in this browser tab.