Can I practice speaking?

Yes. The voice tutor lets you speak Japanese out loud, practice introductions and short conversations, and switch between polite and casual speech.

Do I need to learn hiragana first?

It helps a lot. Kuest can start you with hiragana and katakana, quiz you with flashcards, and use romaji only as a short-term bridge until you can read kana.

How does it help with kanji?

It breaks kanji into components, explains common readings in real words, and turns your class lists into flashcards and quizzes that bring back the ones you miss.

Can it help me prepare for the JLPT or AP Japanese?

Yes. It can drill grammar and vocabulary by JLPT level and help you practice AP tasks like email replies and spoken presentations, with feedback on each answer.

How is Kuest different from Duolingo for Japanese?

Duolingo is good for a short daily habit, with game-style lessons that keep vocabulary and basic phrases coming back. Kuest works more like a tutor: it explains the grammar behind your mistakes, works from your class material and homework, and lets you speak about whatever you're studying. Many learners use both.

How is Kuest different from ChatGPT?

ChatGPT answers. Kuest teaches: it asks what you think first, checks every step, turns what you learned into quizzes and flashcards, and remembers what you got wrong so it comes back to it. It also grades your answers on our servers, so it never shows you the answer before you try.

Does one plan cover every subject?

Yes. Free and paid plans include every subject, exam and skill on this site. Switch subjects any time and each one keeps its own history.

Is Kuest safe for students under 18?

It's built for them. There are no ad trackers in the app, we keep personal details out of logs and AI traces, and parents can link their account to follow progress without reading every chat.

Can Kuest replace a tutor or teacher?

It's there for the hours a tutor or teacher can't be: late-night homework, the week before a test, the question you didn't want to ask in class. Many students use it alongside their teacher, not instead of them.

Learn Japanese 10x faster with AI

From hiragana to keigo, Kuest explains particles, verb forms and kanji step by step, and the voice tutor lets you practice speaking from day one.

Start free See how it teaches

4.87on iOS13,917,000+students already study with Kuest

topics: 10
Scripts: Hiragana, katakana and kanji
Hiragana: 46 basic characters
Proficiency test: JLPT, N5 to N1

See how Kuest teaches it

It asks before it tells, so you do the thinking and it sticks.

How do I say “I study at the library”?

The pieces are 図書館 (library) and 勉強します (study). What's the action here, and which particle marks the place it happens?

The action is studying, and places use に, so 図書館に勉強します.

Good instinct, since に does go with places, but only for destinations or where something exists. For the place where an action happens, Japanese uses a different particle. Which one?

で. So 図書館で勉強します.

That's it. Now say “I go to the library.” Are you doing something there, or heading there?

Heading there, so に: 図書館に行きます.

Use で for where an action happens (図書館で勉強します) and に for a destination (図書館に行きます).

Students who lock in with Kuest

students: 13,917,000+
App Store rating: 4.87
countries: 100+

From a C to an A in chem
“I stopped copying answers and started actually getting it. My chem grade went from a C to an A in one semester.”
Junior, Texas
3 hours → 40 minutes
“My notes turn into a quiz in seconds. What used to take me all night now takes one episode of a show.”
Sophomore, California
Finally ready for the SAT
“The plan told me exactly what to do each day. I walked in calm for the first time ever.”
Senior, New York
It never lets me skip a step
“Annoying at first, lifesaver on test day. I could do every problem without it.”
Freshman, Ohio
Better than my tutor
“It's there at midnight, it's patient, and it costs less than one session with my old tutor.”
College freshman, Florida
My streak is at 94 days
“The quests are ten minutes. I do them on the bus. Somehow I'm now the one explaining bio to my friends.”
Junior, Illinois
Spanish finally clicked
“Talking out loud with the tutor fixed my pronunciation faster than a whole year of class.”
Sophomore, Arizona
Found my gaps in one night
“The gap check showed me I'd never understood moles. Fixed it in 15 minutes.”
Junior, Georgia
Parent here: no more 9pm meltdowns
“My son gets real help without me pretending I remember calculus, and I can see his progress every week.”
Parent, Washington

From a C to an A in chem
“I stopped copying answers and started actually getting it. My chem grade went from a C to an A in one semester.”
Junior, Texas
3 hours → 40 minutes
“My notes turn into a quiz in seconds. What used to take me all night now takes one episode of a show.”
Sophomore, California
Finally ready for the SAT
“The plan told me exactly what to do each day. I walked in calm for the first time ever.”
Senior, New York
It never lets me skip a step
“Annoying at first, lifesaver on test day. I could do every problem without it.”
Freshman, Ohio
Better than my tutor
“It's there at midnight, it's patient, and it costs less than one session with my old tutor.”
College freshman, Florida
My streak is at 94 days
“The quests are ten minutes. I do them on the bus. Somehow I'm now the one explaining bio to my friends.”
Junior, Illinois
Spanish finally clicked
“Talking out loud with the tutor fixed my pronunciation faster than a whole year of class.”
Sophomore, Arizona
Found my gaps in one night
“The gap check showed me I'd never understood moles. Fixed it in 15 minutes.”
Junior, Georgia
Parent here: no more 9pm meltdowns
“My son gets real help without me pretending I remember calculus, and I can see his progress every week.”
Parent, Washington

From a C to an A in chem
“I stopped copying answers and started actually getting it. My chem grade went from a C to an A in one semester.”
Junior, Texas
Finally ready for the SAT
“The plan told me exactly what to do each day. I walked in calm for the first time ever.”
Senior, New York
Better than my tutor
“It's there at midnight, it's patient, and it costs less than one session with my old tutor.”
College freshman, Florida
Spanish finally clicked
“Talking out loud with the tutor fixed my pronunciation faster than a whole year of class.”
Sophomore, Arizona
Parent here: no more 9pm meltdowns
“My son gets real help without me pretending I remember calculus, and I can see his progress every week.”
Parent, Washington

From a C to an A in chem
“I stopped copying answers and started actually getting it. My chem grade went from a C to an A in one semester.”
Junior, Texas
Finally ready for the SAT
“The plan told me exactly what to do each day. I walked in calm for the first time ever.”
Senior, New York
Better than my tutor
“It's there at midnight, it's patient, and it costs less than one session with my old tutor.”
College freshman, Florida
Spanish finally clicked
“Talking out loud with the tutor fixed my pronunciation faster than a whole year of class.”
Sophomore, Arizona
Parent here: no more 9pm meltdowns
“My son gets real help without me pretending I remember calculus, and I can see his progress every week.”
Parent, Washington

3 hours → 40 minutes
“My notes turn into a quiz in seconds. What used to take me all night now takes one episode of a show.”
Sophomore, California
It never lets me skip a step
“Annoying at first, lifesaver on test day. I could do every problem without it.”
Freshman, Ohio
My streak is at 94 days
“The quests are ten minutes. I do them on the bus. Somehow I'm now the one explaining bio to my friends.”
Junior, Illinois
Found my gaps in one night
“The gap check showed me I'd never understood moles. Fixed it in 15 minutes.”
Junior, Georgia

3 hours → 40 minutes
“My notes turn into a quiz in seconds. What used to take me all night now takes one episode of a show.”
Sophomore, California
It never lets me skip a step
“Annoying at first, lifesaver on test day. I could do every problem without it.”
Freshman, Ohio
My streak is at 94 days
“The quests are ten minutes. I do them on the bus. Somehow I'm now the one explaining bio to my friends.”
Junior, Illinois
Found my gaps in one night
“The gap check showed me I'd never understood moles. Fixed it in 15 minutes.”
Junior, Georgia

From a C to an A in chem
“I stopped copying answers and started actually getting it. My chem grade went from a C to an A in one semester.”
Junior, Texas
It never lets me skip a step
“Annoying at first, lifesaver on test day. I could do every problem without it.”
Freshman, Ohio
Spanish finally clicked
“Talking out loud with the tutor fixed my pronunciation faster than a whole year of class.”
Sophomore, Arizona

From a C to an A in chem
“I stopped copying answers and started actually getting it. My chem grade went from a C to an A in one semester.”
Junior, Texas
It never lets me skip a step
“Annoying at first, lifesaver on test day. I could do every problem without it.”
Freshman, Ohio
Spanish finally clicked
“Talking out loud with the tutor fixed my pronunciation faster than a whole year of class.”
Sophomore, Arizona

3 hours → 40 minutes
“My notes turn into a quiz in seconds. What used to take me all night now takes one episode of a show.”
Sophomore, California
Better than my tutor
“It's there at midnight, it's patient, and it costs less than one session with my old tutor.”
College freshman, Florida
Found my gaps in one night
“The gap check showed me I'd never understood moles. Fixed it in 15 minutes.”
Junior, Georgia

3 hours → 40 minutes
“My notes turn into a quiz in seconds. What used to take me all night now takes one episode of a show.”
Sophomore, California
Better than my tutor
“It's there at midnight, it's patient, and it costs less than one session with my old tutor.”
College freshman, Florida
Found my gaps in one night
“The gap check showed me I'd never understood moles. Fixed it in 15 minutes.”
Junior, Georgia

Finally ready for the SAT
“The plan told me exactly what to do each day. I walked in calm for the first time ever.”
Senior, New York
My streak is at 94 days
“The quests are ten minutes. I do them on the bus. Somehow I'm now the one explaining bio to my friends.”
Junior, Illinois
Parent here: no more 9pm meltdowns
“My son gets real help without me pretending I remember calculus, and I can see his progress every week.”
Parent, Washington

Finally ready for the SAT
“The plan told me exactly what to do each day. I walked in calm for the first time ever.”
Senior, New York
My streak is at 94 days
“The quests are ten minutes. I do them on the bus. Somehow I'm now the one explaining bio to my friends.”
Junior, Illinois
Parent here: no more 9pm meltdowns
“My son gets real help without me pretending I remember calculus, and I can see his progress every week.”
Parent, Washington

The method

How to study Japanese with Kuest

Japanese starts with reading kana, then grows through particles, verb forms and kanji learned a little at a time. Spaced review keeps characters from slipping, and saying sentences out loud makes polite and casual forms feel natural.

Learn kana and kanji with spaced reviewFlashcards
Start with hiragana and katakana flashcards, then add kanji with readings and example words as you meet them.
Learn grammar step by stepTutor chat
Ask about は vs が, に vs で or the te-form and Kuest explains it with sentences you complete yourself.
Check reading and writingSnap a photo
Snap a worksheet or your written sentences and Kuest checks particles, verb forms and kanji.
Listen with podcastsPodcasts
Make a short podcast from your lesson to hear vocabulary and grammar in natural sentences.
Speak with the voice tutorVoice tutor
Practice introductions, conversations and speaking drills out loud, in polite and casual speech.
Take mock and oral examsMock exams
Rehearse your final, JLPT level or AP Japanese with mock exams and oral exams, then review weak spots.

What you'll cover

Tap a topic to learn it now.

Try asking

Tap a question and Kuest starts teaching it, step by step.

Helps you prepare for

AP Japanese Language and Culture
JLPT N5–N3
Japanese finals
Seal of Biliteracy

A month of Kuest costs less than one hour with a tutor

Same patience, any hour, every subject. Or stay on the free plan for good.

Private tutor

$40–80for one hour

Booked days in advance
One subject per session
Stops when the hour ends

Kuest Plus

$10a month, billed yearly

Every subject and exam on this site
Any hour, as long as you need
Quizzes, flashcards, podcasts and mock exams

Study on any device

Phone, tablet or laptop. Your chats, plans and flashcards come with you.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Questions, answered

Keep going

Your next study session starts here

Free forever plan. No card needed.

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