Understanding piece by piece
Learn the Japanese you want to understand
This tool helps you progressively understand specific Japanese content through targeted vocabulary stories.
No magic shortcuts, just structured, context-specific learning.
Currently in Development
I'm launching a limited beta later this month. Join the waitlist to get early access or help improve Katarineko by joining the community.
Why I built this tool for Japanese
I built this tool because I wanted a way to bridge the gap between my current Japanese understanding and the Japanese content I actually cared about. This system breaks down the vocabulary in your chosen content and creates a structured path to comprehension through short stories. It won't make you fluent overnight, but it will help you efficiently learn the words you need to understand the content that matters to you.
How it works
Choose your target content
Select from curated anime/drama subtitles, or upload your own SRT file. This becomes your learning goal.
Quick knowledge assessment
We show you ~15 words to gauge your current level. Takes about 2 minutes.
Get your personalized plan
See exactly how many weeks it'll take to understand your content, with vocabulary broken down week by week.
Learn through weekly stories
Read short stories that introduce vocabulary from your target content. Review with spaced repetition.
What Stories Look Like
Here's an extract from an example story that teaches vocabulary progressively. Words from the vocabulary list are highlighted:
不思議な湯屋の一日（A Day at the Mysterious Bathhouse）
美咲は山の上にある古い湯屋の前に立っていました。大きな木の看板に「山の湯屋」と書いてありました。今日は彼女の初めての仕事の日です。
Misaki was standing in front of an old bathhouse on top of the mountain. A large wooden sign read "Mountain Bathhouse." Today was her first day of work.
美咲は中に入りました。番台に年配の女性が座っていました。「こんにちは。私は田中です。この湯屋の管理人です」と言いました。美咲は番台の前でお辞儀をしました。
Misaki went inside. An elderly woman was sitting at the reception desk. "Hello. I am Tanaka. I'm the manager of this bathhouse," she said. Misaki bowed in front of the reception desk.
田中さんは番台から立ち上がりました。「あなたは客を手伝う仕事をします」と説明しました。「客が来たら、私を手伝ってください」
Ms. Tanaka stood up from the reception desk. "Your job is to help customers," she explained. "When customers come, please help me."
Vocabulary in this section
Note: Stories introduce vocabulary from your target content gradually. Each word appears multiple times in different contexts. The full story would continue with more vocabulary like 掃除（そうじ）- cleaning, 従業員（じゅうぎょういん）- employee, and others, building your understanding step by step.
Impatient? While we get the rest ready, try our sentence analyzer – break down Japanese sentences and discover grammar patterns.
Try Sentence AnalyzerCommon Questions
Will this make me fluent in Japanese?
No. This tool specifically helps with vocabulary acquisition for content comprehension. You'll still need to study grammar, practice speaking, and immerse yourself in the language through other means.
How many words will I learn per week?
It depends on you, when we generate the learning plan you can select the words to introduce per story and the target understanding you want to have (measured as a percentage). We recommend 10-15 new words per week, but you can decide to go all the way to 40 new words per week.
Will it be available in other languages?
At some point, maybe. Since I'm learning Japanese I know what I want for Japanese and I can review that the stories are helping me. If someone was interested in expanding it to other languages I can help them.
How long until I can watch anime without subtitles?
It depends entirely on your starting point and the complexity of your target content. Most anime has 1500-3000 unique words. If you're starting from zero, expect 6-12 months of consistent study. If you already know 1000+ words, maybe 2-4 months for simpler shows.
What level do I need to be?
You should know hiragana/katakana and basic grammar (at least N5 level). This tool focuses on vocabulary, not teaching you how Japanese works from scratch.
About / Philosophy
This project started as a personal tool I built to solve my own frustrations as a Japanese learner. I'm sharing it because I believe others might find it useful too. It's not a complete language learning solution – you'll still need grammar resources and practice speaking. What it does is solve one specific problem: building the vocabulary you need for content you care about.