Japanese Reading Practice.
Furigana on Everything.
Open any article. YoMoo generates furigana above every kanji. Tap any word for the definition, reading, and JLPT level. Save it to your vocabulary list. Keep reading. Real Japanese reading practice, without the dictionary tab-switching.
Built for how reading Japanese actually works
Not a gamified lesson app. A Japanese reading app. The kind you reach for when you want to read actual Japanese, not practice hiragana for the sixth time.
Furigana on Every Word
Morphological analysis runs on every text you open: news articles, imported PDFs, anything you paste. Furigana appears above every kanji compound instantly. Toggle it always-on for beginners, or restrict it to unknown words as your reading improves. JLPT color-coded badges show at a glance whether an unfamiliar word is N5 territory or N1.
Japanese Text-to-Speech News
The TTS engine reads any article aloud with synchronized sentence highlighting so you can follow along as the audio plays. Listen on the train, or use it as a dictation exercise at your desk. On native Android, the Japanese TTS voice quality is noticeably better than browser alternatives. New articles load daily across Politics, Science, International, and Japan-focused categories.
The Same News at N4-N5 Level
Not ready for unedited native Japanese? Every news article comes with a pre-simplified version rewritten at approximately N4-N5 difficulty — simpler vocabulary, shorter sentences, same story. Read the simplified version first. Switch to the original when you are ready. Both versions include full furigana, dictionary lookups, and TTS. No other free reading app offers this.
One-Tap Dictionary
Tap any word for its full entry: reading, all definitions, part of speech, JLPT level, and verb conjugation notes — without leaving the article. The dictionary is cached locally after the first download, so lookups work offline. Save any word to your vocabulary list with one more tap.
Vocabulary Manager with Anki Export
Words saved from reading sessions go into your personal vocabulary list with JLPT level filtering. Review only your N3 unknowns, or check how many N1 words you have collected. Run a multiple-choice quiz, flip through flashcards, or export directly to AnkiDroid — every word with reading, definitions, and part of speech included.
Scan Japanese Text with OCR
Point the camera at a menu, a sign, a textbook page, or a manga panel. On Android, ML Kit extracts text on-device with no internet required. The recognized text loads directly into the analyzer: instant furigana, instant dictionary lookups. Also supports PDF, DOCX upload, SRT subtitle files, and URL import. No other free Japanese reader offers this range of input.
English Translation
Stuck on a passage? One tap reveals the full English translation. Pre-translated articles load instantly. User-imported content is translated on demand and cached locally for 30 days. Translations are saved separately for the original and simplified versions of each article.
Spaced Repetition (SRS)
Words enter a review queue at scientifically optimal intervals — 4h → 8h → 24h → 3 days → 1 week → 1 month. Quiz mode and flashcard mode keep review from feeling mechanical. Export to AnkiDroid or CSV at any time. Most users run both: YoMoo for reading-integrated review, Anki for long-term deck management.
Progress Tracking
Recently Read surfaces your last 20 articles for one-tap resumption. Articles are marked complete with a visual celebration on the final page. Reading time (idle-detected), articles finished, words saved, and daily streaks are all tracked locally — no account required.
Every screen built around reading Japanese
YoMoo v1.2.9 — furigana, TTS, simplified news, and vocabulary in one free Android app.
Furigana Reading Mode
JLPT color-coding on every word — tap any kanji for the definition
One-Tap Dictionary Lookup
Reading, definition, JLPT level — without leaving the article
Article Vocabulary Tab
All words extracted — save or export in bulk, filter by JLPT level
News Article Library
Real Japanese news — browse with English titles to pick your topic
Vocabulary Quiz Mode
Multiple-choice quiz built from words you saved while reading
Flashcard Mode
Flip, self-rate, and let SRS schedule the next review
Personal Vocabulary List
Saved words filtered by JLPT level — export to AnkiDroid any time
English Translation
Full translation on demand — cached for 30 days after first load
OCR & File Import
Scan text from photos, import PDFs, DOCX, or SRT subtitle files
Analyze Your Own Text
Paste from manga, emails, or websites — full furigana and lookups
Browse by Category
Politics, Science, Sports, Society and more — updated daily
JLPT Practice Passages
N5 through N1 — official-style reading comprehension, offline
Watch YoMoo read Japanese news — furigana on every word
See how YoMoo instantly generates furigana above every kanji as you open a real Japanese news article. Tap any word for the dictionary popup. Switch on text-to-speech and follow along with synchronized sentence highlighting.
The entire workflow — open article, read with furigana, look up unknown words, save to vocabulary — takes about 30 seconds to learn. The hard part is the Japanese. YoMoo handles the rest.
YoMoo in action — real Japanese news with furigana & TTS
From JLPT practice to native literature — all in one place.
Six content sources cover every ability level. Every article is pre-processed with curated vocabulary lists, English translations, and simplified versions — so the reading support is already there when you open it.
JLPT Practice Passages
N5N4N3N2N1Official-style reading comprehension passages for all five JLPT levels. Bundled locally — works fully offline. Structured exam prep without leaving the app.
Japanese News Articles
N3–N1Real Japanese news covering politics, business, science, culture, and international affairs — updated regularly. Every article includes a pre-simplified N4-N5 version, full TTS, English translation, and curated vocabulary list.
How-To Articles
N3–N2Practical Japanese guides on daily life, health, technology, and emergency preparedness. Bilingual content — Japanese with English reference alongside. Good for N3 learners building reading stamina on practical topics.
Aozora Bunko — Japanese Literature
N3–N1Japan's public-domain classic literature — Sōseki, Akutagawa, Dazai, and hundreds more. Fiction, poetry, essays, and folklore. If you have tried to read Japanese short stories for beginners and want to go further, start here.
Japanese Wikipedia
N2–N1Live access to Japanese Wikipedia across 9 subject categories — science, history, culture, technology, geography, politics, economy, sports, and society. Unedited native Japanese with full furigana support.
Your Own Content
Any levelCamera OCR, PDF or DOCX upload, SRT subtitle files, or paste any Japanese text. Analyze manga, menus, work documents, or anime subtitles. Everything gets the full furigana engine and dictionary lookups.
Who YoMoo is actually for.
YoMoo works from N5 through N1, but it is most useful for learners who can already read hiragana and katakana — typically N4 through N2. If you are still learning the kana, the JLPT Practice Passages section is the right starting point. If you try to read NHK News on your first day and find it impossible, that is not a bug.
The simplified N4-N5 versions of news articles exist specifically for learners who want to engage with real topics but are not yet comfortable with unedited native Japanese. Read the simplified version first, then try the original.
How to actually get better at reading Japanese
The fastest way to improve is reading more. The problem is that reading Japanese without support is slow enough to feel pointless, and switching between apps to look things up breaks the flow until you give up. YoMoo keeps everything in one place so you can read Japanese without stopping.
Start with Easy Japanese
Every news article has a simplified version rewritten at N4-N5 difficulty. Shorter sentences, common vocabulary, same story. Read the easy Japanese version first, then switch to the original when you feel ready. No other free app does this.
Read Japanese with Furigana
Furigana appears above every kanji automatically — real-time, not pre-annotated. You can read Japanese texts you bring in yourself: paste an article, upload a PDF, scan a menu with the camera. The reading support travels with the content.
JLPT Reading Practice, N5–N1
Dedicated JLPT reading comprehension passages for every level are bundled offline. If your exam is three months out and you need structured Japanese reading practice, start here before moving to live news articles.
The Japanese reading app that does more
Other apps do some of this. None do all of it free, in one place, with real-time furigana on anything you import.
What learners are saying
Great app for reading and learning Japanese
Awesome app for practicing Japanese reading daily
By far the best Japanese reading app on the Play Store. I can actually read Japanese when using YoMoo!
From article to learned vocabulary in four steps
1. Choose an Article
Browse by source and JLPT level, or paste any Japanese text. Filter by category, choose the original or simplified version. Recently Read keeps your place across sessions.
2. Read with Support
Furigana on every kanji. Tap any word for the definition. Let TTS read it aloud while you follow along. Simplify or translate with one tap. No switching apps.
3. Save Vocabulary
Add words individually or in bulk from the article vocabulary tab. Each is saved with reading, definitions, JLPT level, and part of speech. Filter by level to review only what you need.
4. Review & Retain
SRS schedules reviews at the right intervals. Quiz and flashcard modes keep it from becoming passive. Export to AnkiDroid whenever you want to bring words into your existing workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Things people ask before downloading.
Add YoMoo to your iPhone home screen
YoMoo is a fully installable Progressive Web App. No App Store, no sign-up — just three taps in Safari and you're reading Japanese with a home screen icon.
Open YoMoo in Safari
Go to my-senpai.com/analyzer/yomoo/ in Safari on your iPhone or iPad. The app will load — you'll see the YoMoo!（読む） header and the Japanese text input. No account or sign-up is needed. Note: this must be Safari — Chrome and Firefox on iOS don't support home screen installation.
Tap the share icon in the Safari toolbar
Look for the box with an upward arrow — on iPhone it sits in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen; on iPad it's at the top next to the address bar. Tap it to open the Safari share sheet.
Tap "Add to Home Screen"
Scroll through the share sheet and tap Add to Home Screen. The name will default to YoMoo — you can leave it or change it. Tap Add in the top-right corner to confirm. That's it.
Done — YoMoo opens like a native app
Tap the YoMoo icon on your home screen. It opens full-screen with no browser bar or tabs — just the app. The following features all work on iOS:
The offline Japanese dictionary downloads once on first launch and works without a connection after that. No account needed — ever.
Then: share icon → Add to Home Screen → Add