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Recall before you reveal
Active Recall keeps the meaning and readings hidden until you hover. The kanji, example and furigana stay perfectly still, so your attention remains on the answer.
Hover to reveal
Japanese, always within sight
Learn kanji without opening another app.
A quiet Windows widget keeps a few cards on your desktop. Look when you want, recall before revealing, and run a focused review when you are ready.
Windows 10/11 · Free forever · No account
Free & open source
Works offline
No ads or subscriptions
No telemetry
Less friction, more contact
Your study material stops disappearing after a session.
KanjiWidget does not ask you to build a new habit before it can help. It turns unused desktop space into gentle, repeated exposure — without notifications, streaks or guilt.
Review when you choose
A familiar reveal-and-rate flow schedules each card with FSRS: Again, Hard, Good or Easy. The session uses a fixed pool, so new cards never jump in halfway through.
Bring your Anki deck
Import text cards directly from an .apkg file. Images and other media are skipped, while imported cards stay in their own editable deck.
Built around your rhythm
Small enough to ignore. Useful whenever you look.
- Built-in JLPT N5 and N4 decks
- Examples with furigana and translations
- Create, search, edit and delete cards
- Dark, light and system themes
- Optional autostart and system tray
- English and Russian interface
Local by design
Your cards stay on your computer.
Normal study activity uses no network connection. Settings, decks and review history live in a local SQLite database. There is no account, analytics or telemetry.
A different kind of repetition
A gentler alternative to opening Anki.
Anki is a powerful flashcard system. KanjiWidget solves a narrower problem: keeping Japanese close enough that studying does not always have to begin with a deliberate session.
Japanese stays on your desktop
- Passive exposure throughout the day
- Active Recall answers appear on hover
- Focused reviews use FSRS scheduling
- Imports text from Anki .apkg decks
A complete flashcard toolbox
- Best for deliberate study sessions
- Rich media, add-ons, and synchronization
- Supports subjects far beyond Japanese
- Can remain your source deck
Good to know
Questions before downloading.
Is it an Anki replacement?
It can be, if you mainly study kanji and want less friction. It also works well beside Anki: import a text-only .apkg deck and let the widget keep a small pool visible.
Does it need the internet?
No. Normal study is completely local. Cards, settings, and review history stay in a SQLite database on your computer.
Why might SmartScreen warn me?
The current build is not code-signed yet. The source and SHA-256 checksums are public, and open-source code signing is being prepared.
Start with one glance
Keep Japanese on your desktop.
Version 1.4.1 for 64-bit Windows 10 and 11.
Current builds are not yet code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn about an unknown publisher. Source code and SHA-256 checksums are public.