Inku

What you can study

The current Inku library includes:

Material	What you can study
Hiragana and katakana	Core sounds, voiced sounds and combinations
Vocabulary	JLPT N5 to N1 and everyday topics such as food and travel
Kanji	Meanings, readings and example words
Phrases	Casual, polite and travel Japanese

Pronunciation audio accompanies the main library. Inku’s help center identifies the bundled recordings as synthesized speech. Some smaller parts of the app use the device’s Japanese voice when a recording is unavailable.

The JLPT does not publish official vocabulary lists. Inku’s level labels help you choose material; they do not promise complete exam coverage.

Lessons teach new cards; reviews bring them back

A lesson introduces new material. Review brings back cards that are due, using FSRS to schedule them from your answers and review history.

Try to remember the meaning before you reveal it. On the web, choose Again when you need more practice and Got it when you remembered. Too easy is a separate choice for material you already know.

You can review without taking a new lesson. This is useful on a busy day: finish the cards already due, then decide whether to learn more. The SRS workload simulator can help you understand how new cards add later reviews. Its calculations are a general model, not a prediction of your Inku schedule.

Make the library your own

You can save useful catalog cards, group them into personal decks, and create original cards for Japanese you meet outside the app. A deck can hold vocabulary from a class, phrases for a trip, or words from a book.

Prepared and personal cards have different starting points. The prepared library supplies the Japanese, reading, meaning and audio. For an original card, check the word and meaning before you add it. An inaccurate card becomes a repeated mistake.

The custom-card guide walks through choosing useful material and keeping a personal deck small.

Study on iPhone or in a browser

Inku has an iPhone app and a browser learner. The iPhone app requires iOS 18 or later. You can try an introductory lesson before creating an account. After it, studying in the app needs Inku Pro.

One Inku account and one Inku Pro work on iPhone and the web. See the current help center for progress and sync details.

A native Android app is not available yet. Android users can study in a browser or join the waitlist.

Pricing and trying Inku

In the US, the App Store lists iPhone Inku Pro at $3.99 per week or $49.99 per year. The app is free to download, and Pro unlocks the full study library and other features.

In the US, Web Pro costs $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Any available trial is shown at checkout. Subscriptions renew until canceled. Check your own checkout for local prices, tax and trial eligibility. See Inku pricing for current plans and the help center for billing and cancellation.

Manage an iPhone purchase through Apple and a web purchase through the web subscription settings.

Where Anki is stronger

Anki has note types, custom fields, card templates, shared decks, imports and add-ons. It remains a strong choice for a large collection, sentence mining, or several card directions generated from one note.

Inku supports personal cards and decks, but it does not reproduce that authoring system. It also cannot import an existing Anki collection or preserve its review history. Read Inku vs Anki before switching.

What to study alongside Inku

Use flashcards to recall words you want to understand in real Japanese. Keep a grammar resource, a source of readable Japanese and some listening practice beside them.

For a dedicated radical-to-kanji sequence, compare Inku and WaniKani. Inku combines kanji practice with vocabulary and phrases; WaniKani focuses on a structured kanji course.

A useful first week

Start with kana if the scripts are unfamiliar, or choose one deck that matches your level. Listen to each new item, recall it before flipping, and return for due reviews. Add a personal card when you find a word you expect to meet again.

At the end of the week, check whether you completed your reviews and used any of the Japanese outside the app. Reduce new lessons if the queue is growing faster than your study time.

Visit Inku to check the current subscription and trial terms. For the recent changes, read what is new in Inku.

Before moving an existing collection

Check the documented import and export routes for ten study tools. A vocabulary list, complete card content and review history may transfer differently. Keep your original backup while trying the new study routine.

Explore the free Japanese learning tools on Inku, our sister site.