Language Academy

Mandarin (HSK) & Japanese (Nihongo) Learning Apps

Project Overview

Two free, open-source language learning web apps built on one shared codebase: HSK Academy for Mandarin Chinese and Nihongo Learning for Japanese. They tackle the most common pain point for beginners, knowing how a word actually sounds, by showing every word with its reading (tone-colored Pinyin or Kana and Romaji), English and Bahasa Indonesia translations, example sentences, and native audio. Each app runs on its own subdomain of cristanto.com, so both languages live under one personal domain while being built and deployed independently.

Key Features

• Own subdomain per language

  hsk.cristanto.com and nihongo.cristanto.com, built from one shared codebase.

• Smart flashcards

  Hanzi with tone-colored Pinyin, or Kanji with Kana and Romaji.

• EN & ID translations

  English and Bahasa Indonesia, with up to 5 example sentences per word.

• Native audio

  Words and sentences read aloud, with adjustable voice and speed.

• Daily word limit

  5 new words a day by default, with streaks and easier levels first.

• Learn through songs

  Kids songs, Tang poems, classics, and J-Pop with word hovercards.

• Everyday phrases

  300 Mandarin and 71 Japanese phrases, grouped by real-life topic.

• Searchable dictionary

  Audio, card preview, level filter, and Pinyin search with or without tones.

• Phone friendly

  Tap to flip, swipe to move, and shuffle every deck.

• Dark mode & password

  Light and dark themes, plus an optional password lock.

• CSV-powered content

  All content in CSV files, built to scale past 5,000 words.

• AI-assisted Studio

  Add words, songs, and phrases, with Claude auto-filling readings and translations.