Press kit
Everything on this page may be quoted or reprinted. For anything else - an interview, a promo code at launch, a different asset - write to hello@kaitaku.app. One person builds Kaitaku, and that person answers.
The story, in one paragraph
Kaitaku (開拓, "breaking new ground") is an iPhone app for learning Japanese from zero to JLPT N5, built by one developer who got overwhelmed juggling five different study apps and decided the fix was a single path with an end you can reach. Kana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar, phrases and handwriting are each taught in a short lesson, then drilled with FSRS spaced repetition, entirely on the phone: no ads, no account, no subscription, and no data collected. The complete N5 beginner course is free forever; one optional one-time purchase unlocks the N4 course that follows it - and every level after that as it ships, all the way to N1.
Fast facts
| Name | Kaitaku (開拓, kai-ta-ku - Japanese for opening new land, pioneering) |
|---|---|
| What it is | A structured daily path from zero Japanese to JLPT N5, with an optional path beyond it (N4 today, ongoing development toward N1) |
| Platform | iPhone, iOS 17 or later. No Android or web version. |
| Price | The complete N5 course is free forever, with no ads and no trial clock. Everything past N5 is a one-time purchase ($9.99 launch special, $15 after launch, Family Sharing enabled) - the N4 course today, and every future level on the road to N1 as it ships. There is no subscription. |
| Privacy | App Store privacy label "Data Not Collected". The app contains no networking code and works fully offline. |
| Status | In beta - coming to the App Store |
| Made by | One independent developer |
| Contact | hello@kaitaku.app |
Quotable lines
Each of these is checkable in the app.
"Beginner Japanese, N5, is free forever. No ads, no account, no subscription - ever."
"A beginner path you can actually finish."
"The spaced-repetition power of Anki with the ease of Duolingo - on decks that come already built."
"Grace days are free and automatic, and streak repair is never sold."
"Nothing is collected because there is nothing to collect: the app has no networking code at all."
"The vocabulary comes from JMdict, the stroke order from KanjiVG, the sentences from Tatoeba."
By the numbers
- 26 steps in the free N5 path - kana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar and phrases woven in teaching order.
- 927 glyphs with stroke-by-stroke handwriting practice: every kana (142), plus all 785 kanji that appear in N5 and N4 vocabulary. Kana and the N5 path's kanji are free; the N4 kanji are part of the unlock.
- 152 phrases across 13 real-life situation packs.
- The N4 course behind the one-time unlock: 16 path steps, 62 grammar points, 195 kanji, 668 words.
- Zero ads, trackers, third-party SDKs and lines of networking code.
A comparison with Duolingo, Anki and WaniKani - including what each of them does better - is on the home page.
Assets
Free to use in coverage of Kaitaku.
The full App Store screenshot set and the App Store link will be added here at release. If you need something specific before then, email and it will be made for you.
Boilerplate
Kaitaku is a free, ad-free iPhone app that teaches Japanese from zero to JLPT N5 on one structured daily path: kana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar and real handwriting practice, scheduled by FSRS spaced repetition and running entirely offline with no account and no data collection. Built by one independent developer, N5 is free forever and a single one-time purchase unlocks the N4 course and ongoing development all the way to N1. kaitaku.app