The boring secret is, just a lot of input.
Apps that promise fluency in 90 days are selling you a feeling. We have six beliefs that shape everything Yomidori does, or doesn't do.
Reading and listening, mostly.
Output (speaking, writing) matters, but it comes from input. Read enough good stuff, and the sentences come out right. We optimise for time spent with the language, not time spent with the app.
Your reading is the curriculum.
No units, no lessons, no quizzes standing between you and the text. You bring the Japanese you actually want to read - a novel, a manga page, the news, a podcast - and what you study comes out of it.
Words stick in sentences.
A word you met in something you chose to read is easier to keep than one from a list. Every word you save keeps the sentence you found it in, and that sentence is the review card.
Kanji follow your reading.
Save a word and its kanji join your deck right away. The ones you've met come first; the most common ones fill in behind. Each gets a story built from its parts, and you learn it by drawing it.
No goal you can fail.
Done means clearing today's review queue. A day with nothing due is a rest day, not a failure. You can set how much new material you take on, or a smaller daily target if you're working through a backlog.
Your data stays yours.
What you import is read on your phone and stays there. Your words export any time. If you stop paying, you keep everything you built and keep reviewing it. No ads, no data sold.
We believe in showing up to read tomorrow, and the day after that. Clear today's queue and you're done.
Further reading
We've written more about how we think: on method, listening, and getting started.