Kotoba Web Project

A comprehensive journey through building an interactive Japanese language learning platform that makes mastering Hiragana and Katakana accessible and engaging for learners. This project started as my own study tool and has since grown into a powerful web application.

Background

The inspiration for Kotoba Web is deeply personal: I recently started my own Japanese language course. As a developer, I quickly realized that the best way for me to solidify what I was learning was to build something myself. The idea was to create a digital companion to my studies—a tool that would allow me to practice what I learned in class and track my progress in a structured way.

The name "Kotoba" (ことば) means "words" or "language" in Japanese, perfectly encapsulating my mission to master the fundamental building blocks of the language. This project represents a modern approach to language learning, combining traditional pedagogical methods with interactive web technologies.

Key Motivations:

Personal Learning: I wanted a tool to reinforce my Japanese course lessons.
Incremental Development: I'm building this chapter by chapter, in tandem with my course.
Accessibility: Create a free, web-based platform that works on any device.
Interactive Learning: Implement quiz-based learning with immediate feedback.
Customizable Practice: Offer flexible quizzes to fit different study sessions.

The User Problem (And My Problem)

Traditional Japanese learning methods often present significant barriers that can discourage learners. As a beginner myself, I faced these challenges firsthand:

The Learning Challenge

Japanese is widely considered one of the most challenging languages for English speakers to learn, with three different writing systems. I quickly found myself struggling with:

1. The Sheer Volume

Learning all the Hiragana and Katakana characters and their variants.
Memorizing the Gojūon (the 50-sound table), Dakuten & Handakuten (voiced and semi-voiced marks), and Yōon (contracted sounds).

2. Lack of Structured Practice

Existing tools often feel disjointed or lack a clear progression.
I needed a place to drill the exact characters I was learning in my course, not a random mix.

3. Motivation and Engagement

I needed a tool that was more engaging than flashcards.
I wanted to be able to quiz myself with immediate feedback to see where I needed to improve.

The Solution: A Personalized Tool

I decided to build Kotoba Web to solve these problems for myself, with the hope that it could help other learners too. Instead of a generic app, I'm building a system that allows me to add content as I learn it.

Development Process

Technology Stack Selection

Frontend Framework: React with Tailwind

React: Chosen for its component-based architecture, which is perfect for creating reusable lesson and quiz components.
TypeScript: Ensures type safety and better developer experience, crucial for managing the different character sets and quiz data.
React Router: Enables smooth navigation between lessons and quizzes.

Styling & UI/UX

Tailwind CSS: For rapid prototyping and a clean, consistent design.
Custom CSS: For specific Japanese typography.
Responsive Design: A mobile-first approach ensures I can study on my phone or tablet during commutes.

Architecture Design

Component Structure:

Data Management:

Static Data Files: Lesson content, including all Hiragana and Katakana characters with their variants, is stored in TypeScript modules for easy access and type safety.
Local State: React hooks for managing the quiz flow and user input.

Feature Development Timeline

Phase 1: Core Foundation

Project setup with React, TypeScript, and Vite.
Basic routing and UI.
Implemented the character data for Gojūon, Dakuten & Handakuten, and Yōon.

Phase 2: Interactive Learning System

Created the Hiragana and Katakana charts with interactive features.
Developed the core quiz functionality. This includes a robust system to pull from the available characters.
Implemented a customizable quiz length and three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard).
Added a simple results screen to show what was right and wrong.

Current State & Future Plans Kotoba Web is still a work in progress. It's an ongoing project that I'm building alongside my Japanese course. For now, it only contains the full Hiragana and Katakana sets. The plan is to continue adding content as I learn it in class, including more vocabulary, Kanji, and grammar concepts.

Technical Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Quiz Randomization

Problem: How do you create fair, balanced quizzes from a large character set without repeating questions too often?
Solution: I developed an algorithm that shuffles the available characters and pulls from a limited, non-repeating pool for each quiz session. The difficulty levels adjust this pool:
- Easy: Fewer answer choices per question.
- Medium: More answer choices.
- Hard: More answer choices and more complex questions (e.g., combining characters).

Challenge 2: Japanese Character Rendering

Problem: Ensuring consistent display of Japanese characters across all browsers.
Solution: I implemented CSS font-face declarations with fallback fonts to guarantee readability, no matter the user's device.

Challenge 3: Building an Interactive UI

Problem: Creating a fun, responsive interface for a learning tool.
Solution: Using React's component-based approach and Tailwind CSS, I built a mobile-first design that makes the quizzes feel smooth and intuitive on any device, from a laptop to a phone.

Conclusion

Kotoba Web represents more than just a coding project; it's a personal mission to make my own learning journey more effective and enjoyable. By building a tool that directly addresses my needs as a language student, I've created a platform that I hope other beginners will find useful too.

This project demonstrates how a personal passion can drive technical innovation. As I continue my Japanese language course, I will continue to build on this application, adding new features and content one chapter at a time. The future of Kotoba Web is tied directly to my own learning progress.

Visit Kotoba Web: ことば・WEB
Project Repository: GitHub - rahmat412/kotoba-web

ことばの旅へようこそ！ (Welcome to your language journey!)