Hey fellow RTKers!

I wanted to show off my iOS study games, KanaSwirl (iTunes) and the brand-spanking-new (released today!) KanjiSwirl (iTunes). The basic idea is that you start as easy as it could possibly get, the intent being that no previous study is required:



Then, after you can distinguish 一 and 二, we throw 三 into the mix. After lots of reviews and new characters, you eventually work up to something like this:



As you can see it scales up and down in difficulty depending on how you're doing. It also shows new characters, and characters you most frequently get wrong, more often to reinforce them better. It also has lots of nice little touches like an optional "Shake to Pause" (which I want more games to add!). For everyone here who is learnèd in the ways of kanji, KanjiSwirl figures out that you know your stuff, so it doesn't wait very long to introduce each new character.

KanjiSwirl teaches the 80 characters that first-graders (update: and the 160 kanji second-graders learn! (another update: and the 200 kanji third-graders learn!)). Here's the list:

一二三四五六七八九十百千上下左右中大小月日年早木林山川土空 田天生花草虫犬人名女男子目耳口手足見音力気円入出立休先夕本文字学校村町森正水火玉王石竹糸貝車金雨赤青白

数多少万半形太細広長点丸交光角計直線矢弱強高同親母父姉兄弟妹自友体毛頭顔首心時曜朝昼夜分週春夏秋冬今新古間方北南東西遠近前後内外場地国園谷野原里市京風雪雲池海岩星室戸家寺通門道話言答声聞語読書記紙画絵図工教晴思考知才理算作元食肉馬牛魚鳥羽鳴麦米茶色黄黒来行帰歩走止活店買売午汽弓回会組船明社切電毎合当台楽公引科歌刀番用何

丁世両主乗予事仕他代住使係倍全具写列助勉動勝化区医去反取受号向君味命和品員商問坂央始委守安定実客宮宿寒対局屋岸島州帳平幸度庫庭式役待急息悪悲想意感所打投拾持指放整旅族昔昭暑暗曲有服期板柱根植業様横橋次歯死氷決油波注泳洋流消深温港湖湯漢炭物球由申界畑病発登皮皿相県真着短研礼神祭福秒究章童笛第筆等箱級終緑練羊美習者育苦荷落葉薬血表詩調談豆負起路身転軽農返追送速進遊運部都配酒重鉄銀開院陽階集面題飲館駅鼻

In the future, I'll be adding more grade levels, but 80 characters is (was!) a good place to start. I wish I could do a Heisig-style mnemonic system, but it's hard to beat the books and this site. Instead I designed KanjiSwirl to supplement them, as well as supplement Anki. Anki is great, I'm one of its most fanatic users, but when you're done with your reviews, you're done with Anki for that day. With KanjiSwirl, the idea is you can spend as much or as little time as you have.

I've been focusing on KanjiSwirl because of this audience, but there's also KanaSwirl. KanaSwirl teaches the hiragana and katakana, including ゐゑヰヱ but only if you're into that sorta thing (and since you're reading this you probably are).

Unfortunately, I can't give a discount to everyone here through iTunes, but I can give a few free promo codes. Here are two for KanjiSwirl:

PLHTWEM3PMAN
NJFA6KERX73F

Please try out KanjiSwirl or KanaSwirl and let me know what you think! I tweet about the projects at @RPGlanguage if you like what you see!

- Shawn

I made a link to it on my internet resource page on my site. It would be interesting to see this expanded for the rest of the list and perhaps beyond.

I plan to do exactly that! But baby steps for now.

I see, but I really think it's a great project, especially for all those students that need something exciting to keep them going with Kanji. It can get very boring for a lot of people and tedious very quickly.

Thanks for your kind words imabi.

Does anyone else have any feedback? What could this game be doing better, is there anything that turned you off, etc.

Does it need more kanji before it'd be useful to this crowd?

Hey sartak,

I have had fun with both KanaSwirl and KanjiSwirl...however, I've really just been using them as a sort of brain trainer to push myself for instant recognition (and appropriate reaction) as I already know all the kana and those particular kanji.

Of course, when it comes to pushing myself for instant recognition, trying to read Japanese subtitles will do this in a more meaningful way but I really enjoy the game-like feel you have created with this. Good work!

As for things I would like to see in KanjiSwirl:

* include all of the new joyo kanji
(with option to use either JLPT levels N5-N1 or RTK order)

* allow users to modify the keyword/prompt (as not everyone uses Heisig keywords).

I like a combo of English keyword and Japanese word in kana (which I might have to pare down for use in this app).

* allow users to add new kanji (and their keywords/prompts) so as to go beyond the new joyo

***

I am also studying Chinese Hanzi and would very much like to see a HanziSwirl.

For HanziSwirl I have many more suggestions:

* option to select traditional or simplified hanzi

* prompt = both keyword + pinyin with tones
(I think the passive exposure to tones in a fun format will be very helpful)

* option to use colors to denote the tones
(probably best to allow user to select the colors, as there are a few color schemes out there)

* all 3000+ hanzi in Remembering the Trad/Simplified Hanzi I and II
(in RTH order), or some other agreed upon list

***

Actually, I think this app could be used for quite a few things that folks want to memorize.

I'm in Acupuncture/Chinese Medicine school and we have a TON of stuff to memorize. I think this would be a fun way to go about some of it.

In this case, perhaps you could offer a WhateverSwirl, that allows the user to upload content they want to review/test themselves on in a fun format.

Good luck with your app(s)!

Chadokoro_K Wrote:* include all of the new joyo kanji (with option to use either JLPT levels N5-N1 or RTK order)

I'm definitely going to include all the joyo kanji somehow. I started with just the grade 1 kanji to hit the ground running.

Choosing the order is a great idea I hadn't considered.

Chadokoro_K Wrote:* allow users to modify the keyword/prompt (as not everyone uses Heisig keywords).

Yeah, that is definitely in the pipeline. I wanted to do that for 1.0 but I didn't want to hold up the release on just that feature.

Chadokoro_K Wrote:* allow users to add new kanji (and their keywords/prompts) so as to go beyond the new joyo

I can sympathize, what with the number of RTK3-and-beyond kanji I have in my Anki deck

Chadokoro_K Wrote:I am also studying Chinese Hanzi and would very much like to see a HanziSwirl.

I've considered doing a HangulSwirl but it's on hold because I don't know anything about Korean. Same with Chinese. For now I'm sticking with what I know!

Chadokoro_K Wrote:I'm in Acupuncture/Chinese Medicine school and we have a TON of stuff to memorize. I think this would be a fun way to go about some of it.

In this case, perhaps you could offer a WhateverSwirl, that allows the user to upload content they want to review/test themselves on in a fun format.

That's a bit off the deep end, haha. I'm glad you like the KanjiSwirl format, but I think studying arbitrary things like that is better served by Anki.

Chadokoro_K Wrote:Good luck with your app(s)!

Thanks very much for your feedback!

I'm excited to announce that KanaSwirl 2.2 is now live on the App Store. Come get it!

The big change for me is the new icon:



I actually didn't like the old icon much. I'm not much of a designer and I think that icon showed it. So this time I went with something simpler that was within my reach. I'm finally happy with this new one.

The other changes are:

★ Selectively study only Hiragana or only Katakana (suggested by Daniel)

★ Tweak accuracy coloring (suggested by Daniel (he's on fire!))

★ KanaSwirl is now 25% smaller. That's almost another photo's worth!

★ Starts up a little bit faster too

★ You now get Katakana as well in the start screen swirl. ナイス！

Please give it a try and let me know what you think! Here are a couple more promo codes for my RTK homies:

RLLJ3WFEYTXH
MMAXT74NE6W4

Just tried out Kana Swirl. It's a great way to learn and maintain kana studies (I've always had trouble with Katakana so Daniel's suggestion of choosing what to study helps). Thanks for a great app

I'm back! This time I'm happy to bring KanjiSwirl 2.0 to you from the App store!

Like the KanaSwirl update last week, I have a slick new icon:



This release also adds the second grade kanji to the mix (using Heisig keywords of course) as a free update:

数多少万半形太細広長点丸交光角計直線矢弱強高同親母父姉兄弟妹自友体毛頭顔首心時曜朝昼夜分週春夏秋冬今新古間方北南東西遠近前後内外場地国園谷野原里市京風雪雲池海岩星室戸家寺通門道話言答声聞語読書記紙画絵図工教晴思考知才理算作元食肉馬牛魚鳥羽鳴麦米茶色黄黒来行帰歩走止活店買売午汽弓回会組船明社切電毎合当台楽公引科歌刀番用何

That makes 240 kanji in the game. I'm on track for adding a grade level every release. All the RTK1 kanji will make it in eventually!

Please give it a try and let me know what you think! Here are some promo codes for two lucky RTKers:

MY93YJNXTLL7
MA74TTTF44PR

Psst, KanaSwirl and KanjiSwirl are on sale.

I've released KanjiSwirl 3.0 today. It adds the 200 kanji from the third-grade list:

丁世両主乗予事仕他代住使係倍全具写列助勉動勝化区医去反取受号向君味命和品員商問坂央始委守安定実客宮宿寒対局屋岸島州帳平幸度庫庭式役待急息悪悲想意感所打投拾持指放整旅族昔昭暑暗曲有服期板柱根植業様横橋次歯死氷決油波注泳洋流消深温港湖湯漢炭物球由申界畑病発登皮皿相県真着短研礼神祭福秒究章童笛第筆等箱級終緑練羊美習者育苦荷落葉薬血表詩調談豆負起路身転軽農返追送速進遊運部都配酒重鉄銀開院陽階集面題飲館駅鼻

That brings the total to 440 characters. It's gettin' there!