The best apps for learning Japanese on Iphone and Android (Part 2)

In my first post I introduced two apps for studying Japanese. I have found two new interesting apps and tested them for a while. I will introducte you to 'I-Sokki' and 'Japanese!!' this time. These are both only compatible with Apple devices. I'm sorry for that! Switched back to iPhone recently so that's why I found these. Next time I promise to introduce some apps which are compatible with multiple devices.

I-Sokki;
Supported on iPhone, iPad 

I-Sokki is a fairly simple app with a subtle sakura style layout. It is a quiz / flashcard kind of app which offers you short quizzes studying Japanese vocab. In the main menu for the quiz there are three options; Japanese Mode, Kanji Mode and Reverse Mode. 

Japanese Mode; has questions in Kanji / Hiragana with English multiple choice.

Kanji Mode; has questions in Kanji / Hiragana with Japanese (kana) multplice choice. This one does not show the meaning of the word though, which is quite weird I think.

Reverse Mode; has English questions with Japanese multiple choice.

The app lets you train the JLPT level 5 for free. You can purchase the other levels for 1,79 per level, or purchase all levels for 4,49. You can also find a vocabulary section where you can check your familiarity with the words of your study level. Of course the app also has an achievement section where you can check your progress. If you want to drill in some vocab without spending too much time, this is an great app for that. If I'm waiting for the bus, for an appointment or something else I just spend my time quizzing away. 

The downside on this app is that there is no focus on grammar. You will not find any explanations or grammar guides.

Overall rating I-Sokki;
Visual / layout; 3/5
Information; 3/5

Pro's;
- Clean layout
- Easy to use

Con's;
- No grammar
- Only the N5 level is for free

Japanese!!;
Supported on iPhone, iPad
This app is great for the people who are just starting with Japanese or planned a trip to Japan. It is a fairly simple app with a clean blue layout. This app divides information into the Japanese cities. You can click a city and read a lot of information about the sights, typical foods and tons of other information. They even have several simple maps! This app also teaches you Hiragana and Katakana together with some basic grammar and phrases. There are eight cities with information in the app and three games. The games focus on Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji and these are just simple matching games.
Overall this is not an app which you can enjoy all year through but is a good source of basic information and will be very helpful during and preparing for your trip to Japan.

Overall rating Japanese!!;
Visual / layout; 2/5
Information; 4/5

Pro's;
- Full version for free
- Easy explained information

Con's;
- No study material
- No long term app

Thank you for reading!
If there is an app which you would like me to review please send me a message~

~Mei mei

Japan, Nihon or Nippon 日本, ?

Japan;

Linguists believe the name Japan derives from the attempts of Marco Polo pronouncing the early Mandarin Chinese word for Japan which is 日本国 pronounced in pinyin as 'Rìběnguó', and literally means 'Country of the Sun origin'. Marco Polo's attempts resulted in 'Jipangu'.  Also many people believe that the word originated from Malaysia. The Malay word for Japan, 'Jepang' also came from the Chinese language. This word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca and it is believed that the traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. 

にほん or にっぽん ?

The Japanese name for Japan can be read as 'nihon' or 'nippon' (onyomi) and are both written with the same kanji;日本 ,日 ‘nichi’ means sun or day and本 ‘hon’ means base or origin. Put them together and you get ‘ base of the sun’ . You might also have read ‘base of the sunrise’  somewhere which comes from the Chinese point of view. From China, the sun rises from the side of Japan. This is also the source of the popular Western term ‘ land of the rising sun’.

When combined, ‘nichi’ often loses the final -chi sound and creates a small pause between the first and second syllable of the compound. When we want to romanize this, the pause is often represented by doubling the first consonant of the second syllable. Compounds with ‘hon’ often change into -bon or -pon. Therefore there are two possible ways to pronounce 日本.  While both are correct (and also frequently used) ‘nippon’ is often preferred for official purposes like money, stamps and international matters. 'nippon' is also used for a longer period of time then 'nihon' which is said to have derived from the Kanto accent.

Although 'nippon' is the more obvious way name to pronounce 日本, a recent survey showed that 61 percent of Japanese people read it as 'nihon', also it is a lot more popular with the younger generation.

 In Japan there is no official document defining the pronunciation of 日本 . An attempt was made by the Ministry of Education in 1934, when they started a major investigation in the national language including their recommendation of  naming the country 'nippon' for once and all. However the government simply ignored their request.

Another move was made more recently in 2009, when a member of the Lower house made a more liberal move and submitted a request asking the government to decide on an unified pronunciation, whether it be 'nippon' or 'nihon'. The government replied that they saw no reason to take official steps, since both terms are in wide usage nowadays. You can either applaud their indecision as a way of saying they had some bigger issues to deal with, or you criticize them for their laid back attitude.

What do you think of the governments decision? Do you use 'nihon' or 'nippon'?

 ~Mei mei