日本語マスター
A free, 100% offline app for mastering Japanese from N5 to N1. Real AI voices, FSRS spaced repetition, stroke-order animations — all running locally on your device. No account. No subscription. Ever.
NihongoMaster is safe to install. On macOS and iOS you can install directly from the App Store. On Windows and Linux, because the app isn't signed with a paid Microsoft certificate, a security prompt may appear — this is normal for independent software. Follow the steps below for your platform.
Universal binary — runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs
Double-click the downloaded NihongoMaster_*_universal.dmg file in your Downloads folder to mount it.
In the window that opens, drag the NihongoMaster icon into the Applications folder shortcut.
Right-click the mounted disk image on your Desktop and choose Eject. Then open NihongoMaster from Launchpad or Spotlight.
Gatekeeper will show a warning on first launch because the app isn't notarized with Apple yet. See the scenarios below to proceed in 30 seconds.
Option A — Via System Settings (recommended):
Option B — Right-click bypass (faster):
This happens because macOS applied a quarantine flag to the downloaded file. It's a false positive — run this one command in Terminal to remove it:
Open Terminal (Spotlight → type "Terminal"), paste the command, press Return, then try opening the app again.
If the app isn't in /Applications yet, replace the path with wherever NihongoMaster is located.
Permanently adds the app to macOS's allowlist via Terminal:
Windows 10 & 11 (64-bit) · NSIS installer (.exe)
Double-click the downloaded NihongoMaster_*_x64-setup.exe file from your Downloads folder.
Windows Defender SmartScreen will show a blue dialog: "Windows protected your PC." This is expected. Click "More info" in the lower-left area of the dialog — a new button will appear.
After clicking More info, a "Run anyway" button appears at the bottom right. Click it to proceed.
Click through the standard installer. NihongoMaster will appear in your Start Menu and optionally on your Desktop when done.
Some corporate or managed Windows machines have SmartScreen set to block without a bypass option. You have a few alternatives:
Rarely, Defender's heuristics flag unsigned Tauri/Rust installers as suspicious. This is a false positive. To resolve:
You can also temporarily disable real-time protection, install, then re-enable it — though allowing via Protection history is safer.
Removes the NTFS "Zone.Identifier" that SmartScreen uses to flag downloads. Run in PowerShell:
Then run the installer — SmartScreen won't appear.
No system-level security warnings — just needs execute permission
Linux doesn't show security dialogs for unsigned apps. Choose the format that suits your distro:
Option A — GUI (right-click):
NihongoMaster_*.AppImageOption B — Terminal (one command):
The AppImage is fully self-contained — no installation or root access required. Move it anywhere you like.
Option A — GUI: Double-click the .deb file. Your software center (GNOME Software, Discover, or GDebi) will open and handle the install.
Option B — Terminal:
After installing, launch from your application menu or by running nihongo-master in a terminal.
If dpkg reports missing dependencies, run: sudo apt-get install -f
Or use your distro's package manager: sudo dnf install nihongo-master_*.rpm (Fedora) / sudo zypper install nihongo-master_*.rpm (openSUSE)
Install the Flatpak bundle:
Run:
Recommended for Arch Linux and rolling-release distros where AppImage may have compatibility issues. Requires flatpak installed on your system.
To update, download the new .flatpak from the releases page and run the install command again.
Sideload the APK — no Play Store required
Download the APK
Tap the download button above or visit the releases page and download the .apk file.
Allow installation from unknown sources
When you tap the downloaded APK, Android will prompt you to allow installs from your browser or file manager. Tap Settings and enable "Allow from this source", then go back.
Install and open
Tap Install on the confirmation screen. Once installed, tap Open to launch NihongoMaster.
From your first hiragana to advanced N1 grammar — every feature runs completely offline, with no ads, no paywalls, and no tracking.
Guided lessons for all 206 kana with stroke animations, 1,000+ kanji with KanjiVG stroke order, 2,800+ vocabulary words grouped by theme, and 195+ grammar patterns with formation rules.
Six exercise types: drag-and-drop sentence building, fill-in-the-blank particle drills, verb conjugation, error correction, timed matching pairs, and multi-turn dialogue completion across 35+ real-world scenarios.
Mini reading stories using only grammar you know, with furigana toggle and sentence-by-sentence VOICEVOX audio. Romaji speed test and Japanese IME typing practice with custom word lists.
FSRS spaced repetition — the same algorithm as Anki's latest scheduler — implemented natively in Rust. Activity heatmap, XP across 30 levels, 15 unlockable achievements, streak tracking, and daily goals.
NihongoMaster vs the apps you've already heard of.
| Feature | NihongoMaster | Duolingo | WaniKani | Anki |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works 100% offline | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Partial |
| Native AI voices (VOICEVOX) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| FSRS spaced repetition | ✓ | ✗ | Custom SRS | Plugin |
| Kanji stroke-order animation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sentence building exercises | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Japanese IME typing practice | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Reading stories | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No account required | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| No telemetry or tracking | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full data export / import | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Native desktop performance (Rust) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Partial |
| App size | ~30 MB | ~150 MB | Web | ~100 MB |
| Price | Free | $84 / yr | $99 / yr | Free |
Switch themes instantly — backgrounds, text, borders, glows, and scrollbars all change with a 500ms transition.
Click any screenshot to enlarge.
All content is included at install time. No downloads, no DLC, no internet required.