Practice writing Japanese on the iPhone with iShodo
I have a habit of checking to see if my favorite iPhone apps have been updated just before I head to bed (I so badly want an update to Fieldrunners!). I also take a quick browse of the app store and sometimes I come across a hidden gem. I recently found one by the name of iShodo.
Developed by Tokyo-based Ubiquitous Entertainment, iShodo transforms your iPhone or iPod Touch into a Japanese calligraphy kit.
You can choose between 3 different sizes of brush on the left side and thin or condensed ink on the right side. There are options to save the image to your iPhone and, best of all, you can setup your Twitter account and tweet a link to your image. Tweeting an image also sends it to the user gallery on the iShodo website.
I think it's great for adding a bit of fun into your kanji and kana practice and I'll be tweeting a few images now and again. Here's my poor attempt at writing my name in katakana, クリス "Kurisu".
And finally, a promotional video of iShodo in action.
iShodo is available in the App Store for $0.99 (£0.59). It's a steal!
Developed by Tokyo-based Ubiquitous Entertainment, iShodo transforms your iPhone or iPod Touch into a Japanese calligraphy kit.
I think it's great for adding a bit of fun into your kanji and kana practice and I'll be tweeting a few images now and again. Here's my poor attempt at writing my name in katakana, クリス "Kurisu".
k said on Thu 2009/01/22 17:23 JST:
this looks really fun! does it give lessons for you to follow too?
Chris said on Thu 2009/01/22 17:26 JST:
No lessons unfortunately, but I'm using it alongside "Remembering the Kanji". Saves me using up paper :)
Mike said on Thu 2009/01/22 17:37 JST:
Cool! Is there a special pen that you can buy like the one for the Nintendo DS calligraphy game? Seems a bit pointless practising with your finger, since you'd ll never write with your finger...
Chris said on Thu 2009/01/22 17:52 JST:
I think there are third-party solutions for iPhone pens.
Yeah, it's not a complete replacement for writing but it does seem to help with remembering the kanji and its stroke order.
Ramses said on Thu 2009/01/22 17:54 JST:
@Mike;
There are special pens for the iPhone that create a static field so that they work. Normally only you finger works as a simple plastic object can't break the static field the iPhone works with.
Google it I'd say.
yonasu said on Thu 2009/01/22 20:02 JST:
Yes there are third-party solutions for pens, but the precision still isn't that good. But if one is willing to go that far, it's probably better to get the real stuff instead.
This looks like fun though! :) And nice writing!
Ramses said on Thu 2009/01/22 21:27 JST:
If you think writing with your finger doesn't work; the way many kids learn Hanzi is by "writing" the characters with a finger in the palm of their hand over and over again.
Mike said on Fri 2009/01/23 09:18 JST:
Sure! I think for memorising stroke order and the kanji itself, a finger would definitely do the trick. I was thinking about Japanese writing ability though. Good old pen and paper is probably the best way to do that. ^^
DiscoverySound said on Fri 2009/08/28 22:36 JST:
Hey practice with your finger and after you remember (or think you do) grab a pencil and piece of paper and test yourself. The best of both worlds. Or you could just buy a DS if you really have to have that pen.
