Roadmap

This app is the core of the Kanjiverse ecosystem. Currently in development, it will enter in private beta somewhere in September 2020. More than 150 features are planned for Phases 1 and 2, and will be rolled out gradually over the coming months.

• Modern design. A better looking UI and smoother UX than most of the dictionary apps on the market. Input Japanese faster with auto-suggestions or choose from a hundred filters to create custom lists. Results are presented in the form of clear and customizable cards such as Glyph Graph, Mnemonic Box, or Readings List.
• Multi-platform. Available as a native app on iOS and Android, a web app in your browser or on your desktop. Sync your preferences, custom lists and contributions to the cloud, and access them on all your devices.
• Adapt to your level. The interface is customized to show easier content to beginners (like romaji, stroke orders, and tips to remember kanji) and more details to advanced learners (such as rare readings and kyujitai).
• Real examples. Kanjiverse's very own corpus of sample sentences is compiled from different sources such as Wikipedia, newsgroup, anime and dramas subtitles. You don't have to use textbooks' canned material anymore and can learn with what you care about.

Aside from classic community forums and chat rooms, collaborative features will be integrated into the app once Phase 1 is rolled out.

• Vocab lists. Build your own lists of word/kanji, keep them private or share them with the community. Search lists contributed to the marketplace, such as lesson vocabulary for your textbook or must-know words from your favorite anime.
• Mnemonics and notes. You can write your own mnemonics to remember kanji/words and share them. Lacking inspiration? Use someone else's and upvote it.
• Translations. A sentence is missing a translation in your language? Submit your own translation or check others' contributions, they are ranked according to the author's fluency and votes from other members.
• Third-party integration. Export and import your progress from your favorite app such as Anki or WaniKani. Send your contributions to open projects like Kanjidic and Tatoeba Project without leaving the app.

Bridge the gap between content writers and their audience with tools to help bloggers and teachers write lessons that integrate with the Kanjiverse ecosystem. The development hasn't been scheduled yet but will likely overlap with Phase 2 and the release of the web app.

• Embed Cards. Illustrate your explanations by embedding in your page Kanjiverse's cards such as Word Senses, Glyph Decomposition, or Sample Sentences.
• Share Vocab List. Create a vocab list for your lesson and share its link to let your readers add it to their collection.
• Text Scanner. Color all words by frequency of usage to highlight difficult words. Calculate a difficulty metric to help you assess if a text is appropriate to your audience's level.
• Micro Lessons. Don't have your own blog? Write a micro lesson directly on Kanjiverse's blogging platform. To stay true to Kanjiverse's motto, use real text, like a song's lyrics or a movie scene.

The Learner's Dictionary will remain a standalone app, but will integrate with a separate gamified learning app that provides a guided study path. Its development should start after Phase 3, somewhere in 2021. Its ambition is to overcome the shortcomings of a classic SRS:

• Smarter algorithm. Rather than naively increasing the time between reviews, the algo should learn from your style and habits to optimize the review schedule, for instance by giving a bonus to all words in a sentence that you've just read.
• Better quizzes. Standard recall and recognition flashcards are dull and boring. Instead, there should be a mix of different kinds of quizzes (similar to the JLPT's vocabulary section such as cloze test, synonym, or reading) to help you review one concept from different angles and not get bored in the process.
• Competitive. Keeps you motivated with leaderboards and battle mode to compete against your peers.
• Tailor-made. Builds the content of the learning path to match your level and interests (e.g. anime for beginners, or news for advanced).
• Integrate with the ecosystem. Reflects your progress in the dictionary (in custom vocab lists) and the community forums (with badges).