Too many Japanese apps. What to drop
Name the job each app claims. Keep one owner per job. Drop the rest for two weeks before you buy a replacement.
How to follow this guide
- List every Japanese app and name the single job it is allowed to own.
- Keep one course, one review loop, one dictionary, and one input source.
- Pause new lessons on every extra SRS for two weeks.
- Delete or hide anything that reteaches kana or duplicates the course.
- Add a tool only when you can name the job it replaces.
Too many Japanese apps is almost never a storage problem. It is several products claiming the same job, plus a few jobs with no owner.
Write the list. Then keep one name per row.
One owner per job
| Job | Keep one | Extra copies to drop |
|---|---|---|
| What to study this week | One course: Genki, Irodori, LingoDeer, or similar | Duolingo plus LingoDeer plus a second textbook |
| Remembering chosen items | One review loop: Anki, Inku, or a course SRS | Anki plus WaniKani plus Bunpro, all adding lessons |
| Looking up a blocker | Jisho | Three dictionaries “just in case” |
| Japanese you did not schedule | One reading or listening source you finish | Three libraries you only open |
| Kana if it is still blocking | The kana shortlist | A fourth chart that reteaches hiragana |
Inku is a prepared iPhone review library. Keep it only if prepared iPhone cards are the review job. It does not replace a course.
A two-week cut
Day 1. Pause new lessons everywhere except one course. Hide the extra app icons.
Days 2 to 14. Finish due reviews on the one queue you kept, then do the course, then one short input item. No new downloads.
At the end of two weeks, restore an app only if you can name the job it owns and the app it replaces. “It looked complete” is not a job.
The decision method is in How to choose a Japanese resource. The wiring is in How to combine a textbook, SRS, reading, and listening.
Common piles
- Habit plus course plus course. Duolingo and a textbook cannot both be the syllabus. See What to use after Duolingo.
- Three SRS products. WaniKani for kanji, Bunpro for grammar, and Anki for sentences can be a later system. Starting all three aggressively is how queues explode. Is WaniKani enough? bounds the kanji one.
- Zero input. Five study apps and no finished page. Add NHK News Web Easy or Nihongo con Teppei before another subscription.
If the remaining week still does not fit, shorten it with Japanese study plans for 15, 30, and 60 minutes. If you need names for the jobs you kept, use the study stack builder. Do not solve a time problem with a sixth app.
Frequently asked questions
How many Japanese apps should I use?
One course, one review loop, one dictionary, and one reading or listening source. A fifth tool needs a named job the first four cannot do.
Should I delete Duolingo if I have a textbook?
Keep it only as a five-minute warmup. If it is competing with the textbook for the week, it is the extra course. Drop it.
Evidence and sources
Product details can change. Evidence pages and their individual check dates appear below. Page updated Sep 1, 2026.
- Duolingo learning page official product · checked Aug 30, 2026 · Official habit-app role used as an example of a course duplicate.
- Genki official site official publisher · checked Sep 1, 2026 · Official beginner textbook used as the example course owner.
- Anki official site official product · checked Aug 13, 2026 · Official custom-review engine used as the example of one review loop.