Japanese study apps: what can you take with you?
Before moving apps, separate your word list, card content and review history. This report checks the documented transfer routes for ten Japanese study tools.
Compare the transfer routes
Ten tools, checked against public product pages, manuals and support records. “Not verified” means the checked sources did not establish the feature.
| Resource | Bring material in | Take material out |
|---|---|---|
| InkuPrepared Japanese flashcards and personal decks | Create personal cards and decks; save prepared catalog cards. Anki deck and review-history import are not available. | A general deck or review-history export was not verified in the checked public help pages.Inku source |
| AnkiCustom cards, imported decks and portable collections | Import text and packaged Anki decks. Card templates and field mapping still need attention. | Plain-text notes, .apkg decks and .colpkg collections are documented. Packaged exports can include media and scheduling.Anki source |
| WaniKaniA supplied radical, kanji and vocabulary sequence | The curriculum supplies the items and order. A general custom-deck import was not verified. | The official API exposes account progress and subject data as JSON. This requires a personal API token and a compatible client.WaniKani source |
| BunproGrammar and vocabulary retrieval practice | The official Anki import tutorial uses a plain-text export and vocabulary column to add items to a Bunpro deck. | A current general deck or review-history export was not verified in the checked official pages.Bunpro source |
| MaruMoriA guided course with grammar, vocabulary, kanji and study lists | Text imports match vocabulary and kanji to dictionary entries, as known items or a personal study list. Ambiguous matches need checking. | A general deck or review-history export was not verified in the checked public knowledge-base pages.MaruMori source |
| renshuuConfigurable vocabulary, grammar, kana and kanji practice | List-building is part of the platform. A complete Anki collection and scheduling import was not verified. | Public study-list pages expose export controls. A complete review-history export was not verified.renshuu source |
| jpdbVocabulary and kanji review built around media and text | The official homepage describes partial import of an existing Anki database. | A complete export workflow was not verified from the checked homepage and FAQ.jpdb source |
| Satori ReaderAnnotated reading and listening with contextual review cards | Create contextual flashcards from words in Satori Reader stories. The features page documents compatible kanji-knowledge workflows separately. | A current general card or review-history export was not verified in the checked public features documentation.Satori Reader source |
| LingQReading and listening with saved vocabulary | Official support describes manual vocabulary entry and bulk CSV vocabulary import. | Official support describes selecting saved vocabulary and using Export under More Actions on the web Vocabulary page.LingQ source |
| Kanji StudyAndroid kanji lookup, quizzes and handwriting practice | The public changelog documents restoring app backups. This is different from a general Anki importer. | The public changelog documents backup-related features. Current-version backup contents and cross-app compatibility were not tested.Kanji Study source |
The decision before the download
Choose Inku when you want a fresh Japanese flashcard routine with prepared decks, audio and your own cards on iPhone or the web. Keep Anki when an existing collection, its templates or its review history are the reason you are choosing a tool.
Switching can move three different things:
- A word list: the expressions you want to study. A destination may match them to its own dictionary.
- Card content: fields, meanings, sentences, pictures, audio and card templates.
- Review history: previous answers, intervals, due dates and scheduling settings.
Support for one does not establish support for the other two. Even an app that accepts vocabulary from Anki may rebuild the cards from its own content and start a different schedule.
What the sources establish
Anki documents packaged exports with scheduling and media options. Its plain-text export serves a different purpose. For an existing Anki collection, keep a packaged backup as well as any vocabulary file used by another app. Importing a full collection package replaces the current Anki collection, so read the manual before restoring it.
Bunpro and MaruMori document vocabulary import workflows. Bunpro’s tutorial starts with plain-text Anki output and a vocabulary column. MaruMori matches text to dictionary entries and warns about ambiguous matches. These are useful routes into a new study system; neither cited guide establishes complete transfer of Anki templates, media and scheduling.
WaniKani documents a progress API. An API can expose data for another application to use, but it is not a ready-made deck file or a guarantee that a receiving app can preserve the same learning sequence.
A list export and an app backup answer different needs. renshuu’s public list interface exposes export controls. Kanji Study’s historical changelog documents backup features. Inspect the actual file and receiving app before treating either as a complete cross-app migration route.
Some workflows remain unverified. Inku, Bunpro, MaruMori, jpdb and Satori Reader have useful documented study features. The checked sources did not establish a complete general export workflow for each of them. That is an evidence limit, not proof that an export feature is absent. The CSV records the exact scope for every product.
A safe switching checklist
- Keep the old account and its original backup while evaluating the new app.
- Start with a small set of material you are permitted to export.
- Check readings, meanings, ambiguous dictionary matches, audio and duplicate items.
- Confirm whether due dates and previous answers survived, or a new schedule started.
- Use the new queue for a normal week before moving a larger collection.
The Anki alternatives guide explains which switching problem each option solves. The SRS workload simulator lets you compare lesson pace and time off with a published planning model. Its output does not reproduce any product’s scheduler.
Method and limits
Study Japanese 101 checked public product pages, manuals, knowledge bases and official support records on October 26, 2026. The ten tools were selected from the maintained catalog to cover prepared flashcards, custom SRS, a managed kanji course, grammar practice, reading and handwriting.
Each row separates incoming material, outgoing material, review history, access model and the evidence used. “Not verified” means the reviewed sources did not establish the feature. Historical changelogs and public controls are labeled separately from current manuals. Pricing notes describe access models; they are not region-specific checkout quotes.
This edition is a documentation comparison. It does not report completed account migrations, measured setup times, learning gains or 14-day product tests. Compare products within the same study job, rather than treating the table as a single quality score.
Download, reuse and corrections
Download all ten records as CSV. The file includes source URLs, check dates, the transfer category and the limitations of each observation. You can reuse our original comparison notes with a link to this report. Product names and linked materials remain with their respective owners.
For a correction, open an editorial correction request. Include the product, the affected field and a current official source. Do not include account information, API tokens or private exports.
Evidence and sources
- Anki export manual official docs · Text, packaged deck and collection exports, including optional media and scheduling.
- Inku help center official docs · Prepared content, personal cards and decks, supported platforms and migration limits.
- WaniKani API reference official docs · Authenticated access to subject and account-progress data as JSON.
- Bunpro Anki import tutorial official docs · Importing vocabulary from a plain-text Anki export into a Bunpro deck.
- MaruMori text import guide official docs · Text import into known items or study lists and limits of automatic dictionary matching.
- renshuu public study lists official product · Study-list platform; specific export-control source and verification limits are recorded in the CSV.
- jpdb homepage and Anki import description official product · The product's documented partial import of an existing Anki database.
- Satori Reader features official product · Contextual cards, annotations, native-app audio downloads and supported reading workflows.
- LingQ official vocabulary support official docs · Staff instructions for vocabulary import and export on the web Vocabulary page.
- Kanji Study changelog official changelog · Historical documentation of backup and restore features; no current-version migration claim.