My Senpai Crossword

How the daily Japanese crossword works

My Senpai Crossword is a daily Japanese crossword for learners. Every clue is an English meaning, every answer is a JLPT word, and you type the reading in romaji while the grid fills in hiragana. This page explains the clues, the input, the levels and the ways to play.

Last reviewed 1 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team

Reading a clue and typing romaji

The clue is the meaning of the answer, for example "next week". You type the reading in romaji and each sound becomes a kana square. The cursor moves on to the next word by itself.

• No Japanese keyboard is needed. In the app you can switch to your phone's own keyboard, including a Japanese IME, in Settings; the romaji keyboard stays the default.
• Stuck? Each word has 2 one-letter hints and a full reveal. Revealed letters lock in place, so you can keep solving the crossing words.
• A romaji chart is one tap away, so you can play before you know every kana.

Choosing a JLPT level

Pick N5 to N1 and a fresh 20×20 grid is built on your phone from the words tagged for that level, so an N4 puzzle only asks for N4 words. Answers are written in kana, which means even N1 puzzles test whether you can produce the reading, not just recognise the kanji.

That makes 7,753 words in all. About 340 words that sat at the wrong level were moved in October 2026; see the crossword updates.

The daily puzzle and the 3 practice puzzles

• The daily puzzle: one new 20×20 grid every day, free in the browser and in the app. It never counts against a limit.
• Practice puzzles: the app adds 3 free practice puzzles a day, at any level you choose. With today's puzzle that is 4 free puzzles a day.
• Puzzles with someone: 1 free puzzle together each day.

The app also keeps streaks, stats and the words you have seen per level, and has six colour themes, each named with a Japanese word, plus dark mode.

Together mode

Tap Play with someone on the home screen to see every way to play together: join someone waiting at your level, open your own puzzle for anyone for 30 minutes, invite a friend with a link or a 6-character code, or enter a code.

• You both fill in the same grid at the same time, each on your own phone; letters and hints show up on both phones within about a second.
• Each player has a colour, and your partner's current word is outlined in theirs.
• If nobody joins within 2 minutes, a practice partner joins, marked PRACTICE. It knows about 60% of the words and leaves the last letter to you.
• Quick messages instead of chat: Nice!, Stuck on 5 Down, Be right back. The grid stays saved for 7 days after the last move.

The full walkthrough is on the two-player Japanese crossword page.

Playing in the browser

The free daily Japanese crossword in your browser gives you the daily 20×20 puzzle with no download and no account. The app adds the rest:

Ad-Free and Unlimited

• Ad-Free removes the ads and lets you play fully offline.
• Unlimited removes the daily limits on practice puzzles and puzzles with someone.
• Bundle has Ad-Free and Unlimited together.

All three are one-time purchases, not subscriptions; the store shows the price in your currency before you buy. The free tier needs a brief connection at the start of each puzzle.

What players have said

The crossword has only a few store reviews so far, so there is no separate reviews page yet. Two App Store reviews, one happy and one not:

What changed after the second review: version 1.0.34 (App Store, 17 August 2026) let the puzzle use the phone's own keyboard. The romaji keyboard is still the default, and Settings switches between the two.