Mora, not mush
Long readings split into real sound units, so でんしゃ becomes で · ん · しゃ instead of a wall of kana.
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Read any word,
English in · Japanese out
Read any word,
mora by mora.
Kanapow turns any English word into Japanese kana with a mora-by-mora breakdown and tap-to-hear pronunciation — wrapped in full manga energy.
Free: 5 lookups a day · iPhone
- 01 Type a word
- 02 Get the kana
- 03 Break the mora
- 04 Hear it out loud
How it works
Type "train" → get でんしゃ, mora by mora.
Every lookup lands as a tiny manga lesson: the kana reading, a clean romaji guide, and each mora broken into its own beat you can tap to hear.
Kanapow!!
Live demo
Type it!
Train
でんしゃ
de · n · sha
Meaning
Train
-
1
Start from English you already know. No decks, no levels to grind — just the word in front of you.
-
2
Kanapow returns the Japanese reading with romaji underneath, so you always know what you're looking at.
-
3
The reading splits into its mora — the real sound beats of Japanese — as comic tiles you can read one punch at a time.
-
4
Play the whole word or any single mora, then echo the rhythm back until it sticks.
The point
Suddenly, the world has furigana.
Menus, signs, lyrics, place names — once you can sound a word out mora by mora, Japanese stops being a wall and starts being something you can actually read.
Free in your browser
Free kana tools, no download needed.
Practice straight from this site: tap-to-hear hiragana and katakana charts, plus a romaji converter. Then take it mobile with the app.
Hiragana Chart
Tap any of the 46 hiragana to hear it, with romaji and a shape-to-sound mnemonic.
Katakana Chart
The full interactive katakana gojūon with audio and a hiragana cross-reference.
Romaji ↔ Kana Converter
Type romaji and watch it turn into hiragana or katakana instantly — or convert back.
Your Name in Japanese
Type your name to see it written in katakana, hear it spoken, and read it back.
Reading Japanese on Your Trip
Read menus, signs, and konbini shelves in Japan — starting with the katakana you already know.
Why it's different
Comic study mode, built for fast reps.
Tap to hear
Hear the full word or a single mora on tap, then repeat the rhythm out loud until it clicks.
Manga energy
Bursts, halftone, and speed lines turn each lookup into a panel you actually want to come back to.
Private by default
No account, no tracking. Your lookup history stays on your device — nothing synced, nothing sold.
Level up
Kanapow Mega
Push past the daily cap and swap in a richer, more natural-sounding voice. Same comic study mode, more power.
Download on the App StoreFree
- 5 lookups every day
- Full mora-by-mora breakdowns
- Built-in tap-to-hear voice
- On-device history
Kanapow Mega
- 100 lookups every day
- Natural-sounding voice
- Everything in Free
- Cancel anytime
Ready when you are
Put a kana power-up in your pocket.
Free to start. Five lookups a day, every day, on your iPhone.