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Turn your Japanese notes into flashcards with pronunciation

Upload a PDF, slide deck, photo of a page or plain notes. DeckOwl builds cards from your material, with the kana reading or romaji included when your source has them, and schedules reviews with spaced repetition.

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How to study Japanese vocabulary with the sound included

Kanji tell you little about how a word sounds, so Japanese flashcards with pronunciation put the kana reading or romaji on the same card as the word. Seeing the reading every time you recall the meaning builds the habit of saying it correctly.

Put the kanji, kana and romaji on one card so the sound is learned with the meaning.
Separate on'yomi and kun'yomi readings into their own cards when a kanji has several.
Mark long vowels and double consonants in your notes, since these change meaning.
Say each reading aloud before you check the answer, then rate how well you recalled it.

Example Japanese pronunciation flashcards

学生 (がくせい)gakusei, meaning student. Both characters use on'yomi, the reading borrowed from Chinese.

What is the difference between on'yomi and kun'yomi?On'yomi is the reading borrowed from Chinese, while kun'yomi is the native Japanese reading. The kanji 生 is sei in on'yomi and ikiru or umu in kun'yomi.

How is the long vowel in とうきょう written in romaji?Tōkyō, with the vowel held for two beats. Romaji often writes it with a macron or as ou.

What does the small つ (sokuon) do in きって?It signals a brief pause and doubles the next consonant, so きって is read kitte, not kite.

How is は read when it marks the topic of a sentence?As wa, even though it is written with the hiragana for ha. Example: わたしは is read watashi wa.

Generate the full set

Readings on the card

Put the kanji on the front and the kana reading or romaji on the back, so the sound is learned with the word.

Spaced repetition

Cards you miss come back sooner, and cards you know fade into longer gaps, so pronunciation sticks over weeks.

Works from your own material

Generate cards from your textbook PDF, class slides or handwritten notes photographed with your phone.

How it works

Upload your material

Add a PDF, DOCX, PPTX, text file or photo of a page. Images are read with text recognition.

Review the generated cards

Check the kanji, kana and romaji on each card against your source and edit anything that looks off.

Study with spaced repetition

Review in the browser on the free plan, or export to Anki and CSV on Plus.

Start with hiragana and katakana, since Japanese readers rely on kana for sound. Keep romaji as a temporary aid, and drop it once you can read kana quickly. Long vowels, the small tsu for double consonants, and particles like wa written as は are common places where pronunciation goes wrong.

Build decks by topic, such as one set of verbs and one set of place names, and add a sample sentence to each card when your notes include one. Reading the sentence aloud before you flip the card turns recognition into speaking practice.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I learn Japanese pronunciation when a kanji has more than one reading?

Learn the most common reading of each kanji inside a word you use often, such as 日本 read as nihon. Adding separate cards for on'yomi and kun'yomi readings helps you recognize which one fits the context.

Should Japanese flashcards show romaji or kana?

Kana is how Japanese is written and read, so it is worth learning early. Romaji can help at the beginning, but many learners drop it once they can read hiragana and katakana quickly.

Can I export Japanese flashcards to Anki?

Yes, export to Anki is included in the Plus plan, which costs $39/year or $7.99/month. The free plan lets you study in the browser with 3 generations per month.

Can DeckOwl make flashcards from photos of textbook pages?

Yes, images are read with text recognition, so a photo of a page can become flashcards. Check the readings against the page, since recognition can miss small kana.

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