Japanese LS Touch app for iPhone and iPad
Developer: Jan Bogner
First release : 29 Jan 2010
App size: 171.11 Mb
Japanese LS Touch is a program for learning japanese vocables. It combines a comprehensive japanese dictionary with a topnotch vocable trainer. The vocable trainer utilizes the unique touch interface to intuitively teach you how to draw the Kanji/Kana of the japanese words by displaying strokeorder guidelines. But thats just one of the many features helping you in learning japanese vocables.
FEATURES
- 145.000 japanese vocables
- all vocables have readings (if word contains kanji) and english translations
- 75.000 vocables have german translations and 14.800 vocables have french translations
- possibilty to import your own translations for the vocables
- default vocabulary sets (JLPT Level 1 - 5 and all level in one set)
- possibilty to create custom vocabulary sets within the program
- possiblity to import your own custom vocabulary sets (of vocables in the programs database)
- sample sentences availabe for 27.800 vocables (90% of the JLPT Level 1-5 set‘s vocables have sample sentences)
- Strokeorder guidelines for all kanji used in all the program‘s vocables
- numerous ways to select the vocables you want to train:
- All vocables of the current set
- custom selection (vocables selected via browser)
- Range of vocables (e.g. vocable 40 till vocable 60)
- Vocable Reader reads vocable and translation
TEST
- 7 Testtypes:
- Vocable --> Translation
- Translation --> Vocable
- Vocable --> Reading
- Reading --> Vocable
- Word --> missing Character
- Sentence --> missing Word
- Audio -> Meaning
- 2 Testmodes:
- Direct Input (drawing or keyboard)
- Multiple Choice
VOCABLE BROWSER
- list of all vocables in the current vocabulary set or all vocables of the program‘s database
- search for a specific vocably by translation, reading or the japanese word itself
- display details of a specific vocable
- select specific vocables for a custom selection you want to train
MISC
- Import your own custom vocabulary set (e.g. if you want to train only the vocables of lesson x of your textbook)
- Import your own translations for the vocables (e.g. if you learn by certain translation that differs from the default translation in the program or if the translation for your language is missing)
- Backup & Sync between devices via iCloud
- Learning with the Leitner system (SRS)
- Practice mode (for learning how to draw the japanese characters of the vocable)
- User Interface fully localized in English, French and German
for more information/videos/screenshots/handbook:
www.asia-ls.com/ios/japanese.html
If you like this application check out:
KANA LS TOUCH
KANJI LS TOUCH
If you find a bug in the software please send me an email [jan(a)asia-ls.com] with as many information as possible so I can try to reproduce and fix it:
- device & firmware
- what did you do step by step
- settings (current set, test mode, Leitner actice...)
- does it happen always/sometime/once
Japanese LS Touch uses the KANJIDIC & JMDICT dictionary files. These files are the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, and are used in conformance with the Groups licence. (www.edrdg.org)
The sample sentences in this application are form the Tanaka Corpus. (www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/tanakacorpus.html)
The french & german translations of the sample sentences are from the Tatoeba Project (tatoeba.org)
This app uses Icons form icon8 (https://icons8.com/license/)
Latest reviews of Japanese LS Touch app for iPhone and iPad
I just wasted a lot of money on this app, because the screenshots looked good and the description appeared to promise that the app actually tries to teach you something. However, that is not the case. There is no real learning mode. There is a "practice mode" (which does not deserve the name) where you can go through thousands of vocables and draw the corresponding kanji/kana. But thats it. The words are not packaged into lessons (only into the JLPT categories, which does not help a lot), so you literally feel as if you are learning all the words in the database at the same time. You can choose some "range" yourself, but that leaves you with an arbitrary set of words. There is practically no learning support coming from the app, and it is obvious that the developer has no idea how someone actually has to study vocables to make them stick in the brain. The developer obviously just fed the huge public domain database into his app and did not make any effort whatsoever to package the vocables in some way to make the whole thing somehow digestible to a learner. As a sidenote, the developer apparently never checked the database. The first word in the database is "yes", and the software claims that the japanese translation is "イェス". However, that is simply the japanese spelling of "yes". Weird.
Dictionary is full of obscure words and mistakes so program is useless. For example 具 in the test tsuma 妻 as the answer. So this program will teach wrong meaning and pronounciation of kanji
Not too sure about Ryuu from Tokyo but I love this application. Vocab is divided by JLPT level and are learning how to write compound kanji. I recommend this application to all of my friends. Only suggestion is to have readings of unknown words in sentence test mode and to be able to write the kanji there instead of type it! 5 stars!!!
I would return it if I could. I was really surprised and disappointed that the entries do not include verbs! I need to study verbs just as badly as I need to study nouns and adjectives so leaving them out is a huge omission. Conjugated forms would not be necessary, but please at least add the dictionary forms. Had I known verbs were not included I definitely wouldve purchased the cheaper Kanji LS instead... I am still considering purchasing it, but Im put-off after spending so much on this program. The best aspect of this program is definitely the writing input that enables you to check your handwriting and stroke count. I will continue to use it for studying vocabulary (which is misspelled as "vocablulary" on the menu, by the way...) and practicing kanji. The user interface is simple but effective. The option to upload your own vocabulary lists is extremely convenient and should be implemented in all the Japanese language programs! Hopefully the creator will update soon so that it is more practical for studying. Until then I cannot recommend purchasing it.
Doofus, this does have verbs. Ive been playing this application for a couple of hours and it definitely does test both verbs and compound (multiple character) words. Having bought Kanji LS previously and liked it for its direct input of Kanji characters (as Jan Bogners Japanese Apps are the only full featured Apps I know that provide this), I bought Japanese LS just for its inclusion of example sentences tests. It also includes the advantage of testing multiple character words, wheras Kanji LS tests only single Kanji elements of words. Japanese LS succeeds greatly at this second point. Unfortunately for the testing of example sentences, you cant easily extract the full meaning of the sentences tested because the phonetic reading is not given for all elements in the sentences (which would aid in looking up unknown words). Other problems for this key testing mode include that the English meaning of sentences disappears after you enter your answer and the number of characters for each answer is not listed clearly (such as would be in the game of hangman, wheras there would be a blank for each syllable. Example: kanarazu would be ka na ra zu, there are four blanks to fill in). On the positive side, the testing of multiple Kanji and compound words in Japanese LS is a big improvement over the single Kanji input limitation of Kanji LS. It would also help if the learning sets were divided into more reasonably sized sets, such as 10 to 30 words at a time, instead of the formidably sized JLPT sets (The smallest of which is JLPT 3 - 664 words). If this application is polished a bit more, especially given the advantages of its direct input, which no other Japanese learning App does, it could easily become one of the greatest written Japanese learning Apps out there. For spoken Japanese, Japanese Sensei definitely wins out for now, but still, Japanese LS is uniquely instructive for its direct input testing and will definitely be worth its pricetag if these couple of small hiccups are remedied. A strong Application nonetheless.