The best hiragana and katakana resources for a two-week start

The best kana setup is one recognition drill and one review loop. It fits beginners who need hiragana and katakana out of the way before a real course. The limit is narrow by design: these resources do not teach the language. Learn hiragana first, then katakana, and move into a course when both scripts are readable.

This is not a ranking. Each row below owns a different format.

Short answer by job

Kana job	Start here	Important limit
Prepared cards with audio and spaced review	Inku	iPhone-first, no custom card authoring
Typed recall from a character prompt	Real Kana	A drill, not a Japanese course
Textbook writing-system path	Genki	Paid book; kana is Lessons 1 and 2, not the whole series
Free course that teaches kana first	Irodori	Starter Lessons 1 and 2; workbook-like, not a streak app
Free explanation and handwriting notes	Tae Kim	No built-in review queue

If you already sit in Duolingo, keep its character tab as extra practice only. Do not add Duolingo as a second kana syllabus.

Two weeks, one workflow

Use the full day-by-day version in Learn kana in two weeks. The short version is:

1. Days 1 to 7: hiragana only. Add a few rows a day. Review yesterday’s rows before new ones.
2. Days 8 to 14: katakana on the same schedule, plus a mixed hiragana check.
3. Every session: one drill, then one review loop. The kana quiz is the on-site practice step. Stop when the time box ends.
4. Day 14: read a short Japanese string without flipping to romaji. If you cannot, keep the same tools for another week. Do not add a kanji course yet.

Two weeks is a schedule cap so kana does not become an open-ended hobby. It is not a pass-rate claim.

Prepared review: Inku, listed first for this job

Inku official site describes ready-made hiragana and katakana cards, pronunciation audio, and spaced review, with core progress stored on the device and no account required.

That is the right format when you want kana to come back tomorrow without building a deck.

Limits stay in force: the shipping client is iPhone, and you cannot author custom cards. If you need Android, desktop, or cards from your own textbook, use Real Kana for the drill and wait on custom SRS until you have words worth keeping. See the Inku profile before you subscribe.

Typed drill: Real Kana

Real Kana is the narrow recall tool. You choose hiragana or katakana rows, then type the romaji. The current iOS app is listed as free and iPhone-only. The website is labeled free for now.

Use it to test whether you can produce the reading, not to collect every kanji deck the product also offers. It does not replace a course.

Course-shaped kana: Genki or Irodori

If you already bought Genki, do not add a second kana app as the main path. The official introduction tells you to master hiragana in Lesson 1 and katakana in Lesson 2, with official charts, workbook writing practice, and a target of reading both scripts by the end of Lesson 2.

If you want a free course instead, Irodori Starter studies hiragana in Lesson 1 and katakana in Lesson 2. Use that sequence. Do not run Genki and Irodori together as two kana courses.

Free explanation: Tae Kim

Tae Kim explains the writing system before grammar. Use it when you want to understand hiragana and katakana, including handwriting notes. Pair it with a drill. The guide is not a review system.

What not to buy this fortnight

• A kanji SRS. Kana is still the bottleneck.
• Anki as your first Japanese app. You do not yet have a deck worth maintaining.
• A second habit app that reteaches the same characters.

When the characters are readable, go to the beginner hub and pick one course. Kana was the on-ramp, not the destination.