# How to move from beginner apps to intermediate Japanese > Leave beginner Japanese apps without quitting. Keep one review loop, add real input, and pick a course you can finish. Canonical: https://studyjapanese101.com/guides/how-to-move-from-beginner-apps-to-intermediate-japanese Last updated: 2026-08-30 Intermediate Japanese starts when apps stop being the whole method. Keep the review habit that still fits. Replace extra beginner products with pages and audio you finish. Published: 2026-08-14 8 min read intermediate ## How to follow this guide 1. Keep one review tool if it already fits an ordinary day. 2. Stop adding new beginner apps that reteach kana. 3. Put a finishable reading or listening source on the calendar. 4. Choose one next course or accept that reading is the course. 5. Add grammar retrieval only after input is happening. Beginner apps are good at the first month and quiet at the tenth. They keep offering another streak, another tree, another “new” lesson that looks like the last one. Moving on is not a personality upgrade. It is a change of job: from collecting introductions to finishing Japanese that was not written as a tutorial. If you still need a first path, start on [Japanese resources for beginners](https://studyjapanese101.com/levels/beginner). This guide assumes kana is readable and a beginner course has at least been sampled. ## Keep one loop. Retire the rest If [Duolingo](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/duolingo) is the only Japanese you still do, keep it as a five-minute warmup or drop it. Do not keep it as the plan. The dedicated exit is [What to use after Duolingo](https://studyjapanese101.com/guides/what-to-use-after-duolingo). If the home screen is already a pile, use [Too many Japanese apps](https://studyjapanese101.com/guides/too-many-japanese-apps). If you already review with Anki, WaniKani, or a course SRS, keep **one** queue that fits a weekday. Pause new lessons on the others for two weeks. The burnout rules in [How to use SRS without burning out](https://studyjapanese101.com/guides/how-to-use-srs-without-burning-out) still apply. ## Make input the main event Intermediate learners stall on speed and volume, not on missing a fourth flashcard app. Pick one finishable source and put it on three weekdays: - [NHK News Web Easy](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/nhk-news-web-easy) if a short article is realistic. - [Satori Reader](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/satori-reader) if you want notes and audio on a story. - [Tadoku](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/tadoku) if you will finish easy books. The [reading shortlist](https://studyjapanese101.com/best/japanese-reading-resources-for-beginners) explains the jobs. Do not subscribe to three libraries this week. [Yomitan](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/yomitan) can sit on the page once lookups are a rule, not a rabbit hole. The argument for starting before you feel ready is in [How to read Japanese before you feel ready](https://studyjapanese101.com/blog/read-japanese-before-you-feel-ready). ## A next course is optional [Tobira](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/tobira) is a common textbook after [Genki](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/genki) or Minna. It works if you will do chapters. It fails as a purchase that represents the person you meant to become. Details are in [What to use after Genki](https://studyjapanese101.com/guides/what-to-use-after-genki). If the last textbook died at chapter four, do not buy a thicker one. Use annotated reading as the sentence source until a book habit exists. When you do want a book-versus-book decision at beginner level, use [Genki vs Minna no Nihongo](https://studyjapanese101.com/compare/genki-vs-minna-no-nihongo). ## Grammar as retrieval, not as a new app identity [Bunpro](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/bunpro) helps when you recognize a pattern in a lesson and still cannot produce it. Add it after reading is already happening. Bunpro without input is another closed game. A reference such as [A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/dictionary-of-japanese-grammar) is for looking up a pattern you met. It is not a reason to stop reading. ## A two-week exit **Week 1.** No new beginner apps. One review queue at maintenance or modest new cards. Three finished articles, episodes, or graded chapters. **Week 2.** Same review cap. Same input habit. Only then decide whether Tobira, Bunpro, or a video subtitle tool deserves a slot. If week 1 already collapses, you do not need a more ambitious stack. You need the [combine-your-tools guide](https://studyjapanese101.com/guides/how-to-combine-a-textbook-srs-reading-and-listening) and a smaller week. The intermediate hub keeps the shortlist: [Japanese resources for intermediate learners](https://studyjapanese101.com/levels/intermediate). ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I get past beginner Japanese apps? Stop treating a new app as progress. Keep one review loop, finish graded reading or listening several days a week, and use a textbook or annotated reader for sentences longer than a prompt. ### When should I start Tobira? After you finish a beginner series you actually completed. If a heavy textbook would sit closed, build reading volume first. ## Evidence and sources Product details can change. Evidence pages and their individual check dates appear below. Page updated 2026-08-30. - [Tobira web](https://tobiraweb.9640.jp/) - official product · checked 2026-08-14 · Official intermediate textbook support site referenced in the transition path. - [Satori Reader](https://www.satorireader.com/) - official product · checked 2026-08-13 · Official supported-reading library and contextual note offering. - [NHK News Web Easy](https://news.web.nhk/news/easy/) - official product · checked 2026-08-28 · Official easy-news reading and audio source. ## Related - [Bunpro](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/bunpro) - Typed grammar and vocabulary reviews inside changing sentence prompts. - [Duolingo](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/duolingo) - A free habit app that can introduce Japanese, but not a complete course. - [Genki](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/genki) - A beginner textbook series covering the four skills, with audio and a workbook. - [Satori Reader](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/satori-reader) - Annotated Japanese articles and dialogues with audio and inline notes. - [Tobira](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/tobira) - An intermediate Japanese textbook often used after Genki or Minna no Nihongo. - [Yomitan](https://studyjapanese101.com/resources/yomitan) - A browser popup dictionary for looking up Japanese while you read.