Kototap vs Japanese graded readers
October 10, 2026
A graded reader is Japanese you can actually read: a short book written to a level, so you understand most of it without a dictionary. It is also written for everyone at that level, so the new words on the page are whichever ones the author chose. Kototap writes each story around the words you are learning, so the new words are yours, and the ones you tap come back in the next story.
The short version:
- Graded readers are high-quality content handcrafted by native speakers, consistent at each level, and Tadoku’s are free. They are written for everyone at the level, so much of your reading time goes to words you already know.
- Kototap is written for one reader. Each story puts your time on the words you still need to learn, with more interesting stories, visible progress, and the efficiency of spaced repetition.
What a graded reader gives you
In Japanese, “graded readers” usually means one of two things:
- Japanese Graded Readers from Ask Publishing: 86 short books across Levels 0 to 4, sold in packs of five to eight at ¥2,300 a pack before tax. Furigana on the kanji, audio on CD or MP3.
- The free library at tadoku.org: Level Start to Level 5, read online, printed from a PDF, or watched on YouTube with a narration.
Both grade the same way. Each level fixes a vocabulary and a set of grammar: about 350 words and JLPT N5 at Tadoku Level 0, about 800 words and N3 to N2 at Level 3. You pick the level you can read without stopping, and the author has done the rest.
That is also the trade. A Level 3 book is written for every Level 3 reader, so it cannot know which of its 800 words you learned last year and which you met yesterday. The words you have down get the same page time as the words you need, and the ones you are trying to learn come up only when the author happens to use them.
What Kototap does instead
Kototap writes for one reader, so the words a story stretches you on are the ones you are learning, not the ones the author had in mind for everyone.
- Pick your level, N5 to N1. Add the words you are learning, or import them from WaniKani, Renshuu, Bunpro, Genki or Anki.
- Read a story written around those words, pitched so you understand most of it. Tap a word for its meaning and reading; tap the speaker to hear the sentence.
- The words come back. A tapped word is written into a later story. A word you read past counts as a review. There is no card queue.
Side by side
| Compared on | Graded readers | Kototap |
|---|---|---|
| The stories | Written by people, a fixed set per level. The Ask series is 86 books across Levels 0–4; Tadoku’s free library runs from Start to Level 5. | Generated around your deck. Each story is new, so there is no shelf to finish. |
| Level | Set by the publisher. Each level fixes a vocabulary: about 350 words at Tadoku Level 0, 800 at Level 3. | Set by you, N5 to N1, when you set up, and adjusted as you read. |
| Vocabulary | Chosen by the author for the level and the same for every reader, so the new words on the page are whichever the author picked. | Your own: the words you tap, save, or import from WaniKani, Renshuu, Bunpro, Genki or Anki, so the new words are the ones you need. |
| When a word comes back | When an author happens to use it again, or when you reread. | On a schedule. A tapped word is written into a later story, and a word you read past counts as a review. |
| Price | ¥2,300 before tax for an Ask pack of five to eight books. Tadoku’s own readers are free. | Free during early access, which ends November 1, 2026. Then $9.99 a month, or $6.99 if you subscribe before then. |
Graded-reader figures are the publishers’, as published in October 2026.
Which should you read?
A graded reader is high-quality content handcrafted by a native speaker: consistent at its level, finished, and often free. If that is what you want to read, read it.
Kototap is for when you want your reading time spent on what you still need to learn. More interesting stories, because each one is built around your own words and steered by your choices. Visible progress, because every word you read past is a review you can see. And the efficiency of spaced repetition, because the words you miss are scheduled to return instead of left to chance.
Questions
Does Kototap have furigana?
Yes. Kanji carry furigana, and you can turn it off in Settings. Tapping a word shows its reading and meaning either way.
Are the stories written by people?
No. Graded readers are written by people; Kototap’s stories are generated around your deck. They are practice for the stretch before native material is readable, not a replacement for it.
Which levels does Kototap cover?
N5 to N1. You pick a level when you set up and the stories are pitched to it: short and plain at N5, longer and wider in vocabulary by N1. From there the difficulty follows how you read. If you read Tadoku Level 2 or 3 comfortably, you are in the middle of the range.
Does Kototap use spaced repetition?
Yes, but there is no card queue. Every word and grammar point in your deck has a schedule, and the reviews happen inside stories: a word that is due is written into your next story. Tap it and it counts as a miss, so it comes back soon. Read past it and it counts as a successful review, so it comes back later.
How much does Kototap cost?
Nothing during early access, which ends November 1, 2026. After that it is $9.99 a month. Subscribe before then and you keep $6.99 a month for as long as you stay subscribed.
Read stories built from your words.
Pick your level, or import what you already study. Free during early access, on iOS and Android.
