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← Selected workHajime / Concept appiOS · 2026

Overview / Hajime

Hajime: Japanese from scratch to conversation.

A concept iOS app that gets beginners talking: every lesson is a short conversation, kana are written by hand, and an AI tutor explains any sentence. I designed it end to end, from the first version to the motion.

At a glance Bruno Delorence designed Hajime, a concept iOS app for learning Japanese, in 2026: the learning model, two versions of the interface, its motion and an interactive prototype. Lessons are short conversations; kana are spelled with tiles and traced stroke by stroke; an AI tutor explains any sentence; live classes let a teacher correct handwriting; a daily path and spaced-repetition reviews bring learners back. It is designed so that a complete beginner reads a real conversation in their first lesson.

Explore the chapters
Lesson 1

A first conversation, read and spelled in kana

Every lesson opens with a chat
92 kana

Spelled and traced, never typed in romaji

Hiragana and katakana
5 min

A day’s review, scheduled by spaced repetition

About two dozen cards

What the concept is designed to do.

The case in 49 seconds: from three walls to a first conversation, written once and kept.

00 / The problem

Three walls before a first sentence.

Japanese asks a lot before a beginner can read or say a sentence: two syllabaries of 46 characters each, then the kanji, then speaking. Most courses teach them in that order, one wall after another, and the reason to keep going is a long way off.

Before a first sentence

Three walls

  1. 92The kana wall · charactersHiragana and katakana, 46 each, usually memorised from charts before a single sentence.
  2. 2,136The kanji wall · jōyō kanjiThe kanji of everyday writing, most with more than one reading.
  3. 3The speaking wall · levels of politenessCasual, polite and honorific: knowing a sentence is not yet saying it.

  • When will I read a real sentence?

    In the first lesson: every lesson is a conversation.

  • Which characters come first?

    The ones in the sentence you are reading, written right after.

  • How do I say it out loud?

    Line by line in the lesson’s chat, then with a teacher in a live class.

The usual order

Characters without a reason to read them.

Kana are memorised from charts and flashcards, and the first real sentence comes weeks later. By then, the reason to keep going is a long way back.

What Hajime does

A conversation first, characters as you need them.

Every lesson opens with a short chat. Each kana, word and grammar point arrives inside it, and is written and reviewed right after.

01 / The first version

The first version was a course. The second is a conversation.

What I drew first. A list of lessons, translation drills answered in romaji, a stroke chart to copy, a video call for classes and one deck of flashcards: the shape of most course apps, in the platform’s default style.

Why it changed. Held against the three walls, it taught in a textbook’s order. Nothing asked the learner to read a sentence, write a character from memory or say anything back. The second version keeps the content and changes the order: a conversation first, each character when it is needed, and a review that schedules itself.

How might a beginner have a first conversation in their first lesson?

v1, marked up

  1. Forty-six lessons, and no next step.

    Every lesson is a row of the same list, so the learner has to choose one every day.

  2. Progress, hidden in each row.

    A percentage per lesson, and nothing about the course or what comes next.

  3. Romaji under every kana.

    With the sound always written out, the kana never have to be read.

  4. Nowhere to speak.

    Lessons, progress and a profile: nothing asks the learner to say anything back.

v2 · Hajime
v1 · First version
First minutes · v1 opened on a level form and a list of 46 lessons. v2 opens on its promise, and the home shows four courses, each with one button.
v2 · Hajime
v1 · First version
A sentence · v1 asked for answers typed in romaji, and its help was an empty chat. v2 is a conversation spelled in kana, and Sensei offers the questions to ask.
v2 · Hajime
v1 · First version
Writing by hand · v1 showed a stroke chart to copy, and its live class was a video call with a chat. v2 traces one stroke at a time, and the teacher stamps the board.
v2 · Hajime
v1 · First version
Coming back · v1 counted finished lessons and kept every word in one deck that only grew. v2 shows the next step on a path, and schedules each word: about two dozen cards a day.

02 / Onboarding

Promise a conversation, not a course.

The first screen says what you will get — from scratch to conversation — and asks for your level, so nobody starts over. Premium is on the first page, and says its price plainly.

Premium Access

$14 per month

FromScratch toConversation

Choose your current level, we will suggest the best lesson for you

A · Campus

Premium Access

$19 per month

FromQuestion toRevelations

Choose your current level, we will suggest the best lesson for you

B · Dragon house
Tap Next on either phone to turn both pages.Page 1 of 3

Two directions

A campus, or a dragon at the door.

Direction A, a calm campus, reads as study; direction B, a dragon house, reads as Japan. B is the more memorable of the two, and the closer to a game.

Level first

Start where you are.

Choosing a level skips what you already know: someone who reads hiragana starts with their first conversation, not with あ.

03 / Conversations

Every lesson is a conversation.

A lesson is a short chat with the teacher, in Japanese with its translation underneath. The exercise then asks for the words just read: tap the kana in order to write them.

In short

  • Read a real exchange, with the translation under every line.
  • New words in red, with their sound and meaning below.
  • Spell the answer with kana tiles, never in romaji.

Learn from Scratch

    こんにちは、お元気ですか？

    Kon’nichiwa

    “Hello! How are you?”

    Tap the kana in order to spell こんにちは (kon’nichiwa).Spelled: nothing yet

    New words in red

    You see what is new before you are asked.

    Words the learner has not met yet are red in the sentence, with their romaji and meaning right below.

    Mistakes where they happen

    A wrong tile shakes; the sentence waits.

    A wrong tap is marked on the tile itself, with no penalty screen. The word fills in as it is spelled and turns green when it is right.

    04 / Writing

    Write it once, keep it.

    Each kana is traced over a guide, stroke by stroke and in its order. The start and end of every stroke are marked, and the next one pulses.

    In short

    • Trace one stroke at a time, from its pulsing start dot.
    • A missed stroke simply starts over. No penalty.
    • A stroke counts once it follows its guide most of the way.

    Try by yourself

    NEW
    A
    Trace the next stroke from its pulsing dot, or .あ: stroke 1 of 3

    Stroke order

    The order is part of the character.

    Written in order, a kana is easier to read in handwriting and to look up later. A stroke counts once it follows its guide most of the way.

    Why trace

    Writing helps reading.

    Japanese schoolchildren learn every kana and kanji by writing it, and a character you have written is easier to recognise. So each new kana is traced as soon as it appears.

    05 / Lessons

    Situations, not chapters.

    The home lists courses as real situations — basic grammar, fishing talk, food — with the progress toward the first conversation on top.

    Search your lesson

    Your Japanese Study

    60% of your first course

    スタート

    Basic Grammar

    01/30

    フィッシング

    Fishing Talk

    0/30

    たべもの

    Food Talk

    12/30

    カタカナ

    Katakana

    0/30

    Basic Grammar

    1. Hi, how are you?

    2. I’m fine, and you?

    3. I’m well! Now, let’s spell it.

    こんにちは、お元気ですか？

    Kon’nichiwa

    “Hello! How are you?”

    んこはちに
    Open a course with its button; the arrow brings you back.Your Japanese Study

    One action per course

    Continue is always there.

    Each course has a single button: Continue where you left off, or Start.

    Progress

    Measured in conversations.

    The bar fills toward the course’s first full conversation, not toward a count of exercises.

    06 / AI tutor

    A teacher for every sentence.

    Hajime Sensei, the app’s AI tutor, explains any sentence from the lesson. It offers the questions beginners ask most, shows that it is working, and answers with the lesson’s own words.

    In short

    • Three questions about the sentence, ready to tap.
    • It shows its work while it thinks, instead of a spinner.
    • Answers use the lesson’s own words.

    Hajime Sensei

    From your lesson

    こんにちは、お元気ですか？

    Kon’nichiwa, o-genki desu ka?

    Ask me anything about this sentence. I’ll explain it with your own lesson.

    Ask Sensei one of the three questions about the sentence.Choose a question

    Grounded in the lesson

    Answers start from what you just read.

    Sensei works from the lesson’s sentence and the learner’s level, so its explanations stay short and use words they know.

    Visible work

    It shows what it is doing.

    A two-line checklist and a progress bar replace the spinner: the learner sees the answer being prepared, and the wait feels shorter.

    07 / Live class

    Write on the board, get a hanamaru.

    In a live class the teacher asks for a word, everyone writes it on their own board, and the teacher answers with a hanamaru — the flower circle Japanese teachers draw on good work — and a note in red.

    Live class

    LIVE14

    ねこ を かいて くださいPlease write ねこ (cat)

    Aiko 先生

    Write ねこ · neko · cat

    Beautiful ね! Make こ’s 2nd line a bit longer →

    Aiko is checking

    Write ねこ in the squares, then send it to Aiko.Aiko asks for ねこ (cat)

    Small groups

    Fourteen learners, one teacher.

    Classes are small enough for every board to get a look. Classmates react to each other’s work, which turns practice into a moment together.

    Checked by a person

    What a stroke detector cannot see.

    A teacher sees balance and proportion, and the small habits that make handwriting look Japanese.

    08 / Daily path

    A streak worth keeping.

    Each day has a short path of lessons, with a streak, gems and hearts. It borrows what works in games: one clear next step, and a reason to come back tomorrow.

    124505

    Unit 2 · Section 1

    Greet people

    Lesson
    complete!

    Total XP

    +0

    Streak

    12

    Accuracy

    94%
    Continue
    Press START to finish a lesson and keep the streak.Streak: 12 days

    One next step

    START is one tap away.

    The path shows the next lesson and nothing else to decide. Finished lessons turn lime; chests hold the rewards.

    Celebrated

    Every lesson ends on a high.

    XP, the streak and accuracy appear together at the end, then the path moves on to the next node.

    09 / Review

    Remember it right before you forget.

    Every kana, word and phrase comes back in a daily review, timed by spaced repetition: right before it would be forgotten. The learner turns the card and says how well they knew it, which sets when it returns.

    In short

    • Turn the card, then say how well you knew it.
    • Each choice shows when the card comes back.
    • About two dozen cards a day, never a pile.

    Daily review

    8/24
    Turn the card, then say how well you knew it.Card 9: ねこ

    v1 · one deck: cards due after each lesson

    1. 24lesson 1
    2. 48lesson 2
    3. 72lesson 3
    4. 96lesson 4
    5. 120lesson 5

    v2 · spaced repetition: when ねこ comes back

    1. ねこlearned
    2. 1 dayreview
    3. 4 daysreview
    4. 2 weeksreview
    5. 2 monthskept
    In the first version every lesson added its words to one deck, so the reviews only grew. Now each word comes back right before it would be forgotten, and a little later every time it is remembered.

    Why it is essential

    Japanese is a memory marathon.

    Two kana sets, then thousands of kanji and their readings: no beginner keeps them without review. Spaced repetition is how learners using Anki or WaniKani get there, so here it is part of every lesson.

    Clear choices

    Again, Hard, Good, Easy.

    Each button shows when the card will come back: forgot it, in a minute; knew it easily, in four days.

    10 / Design system

    Bold lines, soft colours.

    The style comes from the reference shot: black strokes and short hard shadows, a purple for actions, lime for highlights and cyan for replies, with a heavy grotesque for headlines and the system’s Japanese font for kana and kanji.

    Ink#000000Strokes and shadows
    Purple#6F66FFActions, picked tiles
    Lime#D6ED59Highlights, Premium
    Cyan#1FE8E8Replies, direction B
    Red#EE3135New words, mistakes
    Cloud#EEF2FFBackgrounds
    Display · Archivo Black

    From Scratch to Conversation

    Interface · Circular Std

    Learn from Scratch

    Japanese · Hiragino Sans
    Next Next NEW
    んこはちidle · picked · wrong · used

    こんにちは、お元気ですか？Hi, how are you?

    私は元気です、あなたは？I’m fine, and you?

    What success looks like

    Lesson 1
    A first conversation, read and spelled in kana
    2 weeks
    To read all 46 hiragana
    0
    Answers typed in romaji
    5 min
    A day’s review, about two dozen cards

    The targets the concept is designed for, to measure in its first usability tests.

    What comes next

    Speaking, with pitch accent.
    Kanji, built from their parts.

    The next chapters of the concept: speaking practice that hears pitch accent, and kanji taught through the parts they are made of.

    Next project · Meli+ ↗︎

    Start a conversation

    Let’s talk about your product, your team, and where design can create the most value.

    Call duration
    20-30 minutes
    Topic
    Design engineering
    Price
    Free
    Contact Bruno