Mastermind
Japanese

Recent Updates

  1. Version 0.9.94Jul 27, 2026

    Your Voice Stays on Your Device — and a Fairer Mock Exam

    Speaking practice now recognizes your voice entirely on your own device, with no exceptions — nothing you say is ever sent anywhere. It also works on far more computers than before, because we now check what the recognizer actually needs instead of guessing from your graphics hardware. The mock exam has moved to its own set of hand-checked questions, so your score reflects what you really know.

    What Changed

    • Speaking practice is now 100% on-device, with zero exceptions: your voice never leaves your phone or computer. Until now, some devices could quietly fall back to a cloud-based recognizer built into the browser — that path is gone for good.
    • And it reaches more devices, not fewer. Eligibility is now decided by what the recognizer genuinely needs — modern browser capabilities — rather than a graphics-hardware check that wrongly ruled out many perfectly capable laptops and desktops. If your device really can't run it (very little memory, or the model fails to download), the app now says so plainly and offers a retry. It will never silently switch to a less private method.
    • The mock exam is fairer now. Grammar and vocabulary sections draw from a dedicated pool of hand-checked, exam-only questions, kept separate from your daily study items — so your score reflects what you actually know, not sentences you have already drilled.
    • New: furigana that fades as you learn. Once you've answered a word correctly several times and your memory of it is strong, the reading help above its kanji steps aside on regular question cards — a gentle nudge to read real Japanese on your own. Tap "show reading" any time to bring it back (the app honestly counts that as a hint), every answer still reveals readings afterwards, and an "Always show readings" option in Settings keeps furigana permanent if you prefer.
    • Polish from daily study: answer feedback now stays in view with the next action right below it, resumed sessions refresh questions that expired while you were away, quiet-session settings are respected consistently, listening playback problems now show an honest error instead of failing in silence, and signing in from an external provider closes cleanly and returns you to study.
    • Plus small fixes found in real sessions: cleaner page titles, better spacing on phones, and a vocabulary correction so 起きる is consistently taught in its "wake up" sense.
    • Under the hood, the whole platform moved to the newest long-term foundation (.NET 10). You won't see anything different today — that's the point. It is the maintenance that keeps Mastermind fast, secure and dependable for many years, so this tool can stay with you for the long haul.
  2. Version 0.9.93Jul 13, 2026

    Study Offline, and See Exactly Where You're Weak

    Your daily plan now works with no connection at all — study on the train and everything syncs when you're back. A new Error Atlas shows exactly where your effort pays off next, and the mock exam now shows how well the app predicted you.

    What Changed

    • Study offline: open Study while online and your daily pack quietly saves itself (on wi-fi). Lose the connection — on the train, on a plane — and a "Study offline" card appears. Questions, flashcards and listening with audio all work; your answers count as soon as you're back online, and the app tells you honestly if any couldn't be counted.
    • New: the Error Atlas on your study page. One honest map of the pairs you keep mixing up, the words that were strong but are fading right now, and places where one skill lags the others on the same material — built only from your real answers, shown only when there's real evidence.
    • After a mock exam, a new card answers a fair question: how well did the brain actually know you? "Before you started, we expected about 10 of 21 correct — you got 12," section by section, including where we overestimated you. The predictions are locked in before your first answer, so the exam can't influence them.
    • A new "How the Brain Works" page explains, in plain language, what the app records, how it chooses each card, how it grades its own predictions — and what it deliberately doesn't do. Find it in the footer. (For those who like to keep their own records: Settings also gained a quiet "Your data" section that exports your learning history as a JSON archive.)
    • Listening practice is easier to review: transcripts and explanations now show furigana, and speaking practice is more forgiving about long vowels and kanji variants when it checks your pronunciation.
    • Plus steady polish from daily use: new example sentences so every word on the map has at least two, smoother Mind Map connections, and dozens of small fixes from real study sessions.
    • Personal decks have been retired during beta so Mastermind can stay focused on the simple adaptive study loop. Bookmarks remain available for saving useful study items, and a new Study Guide explains Adaptive Study, progress, verbs, and kanji.
  3. Version 0.9.92Jul 7, 2026

    The Complete N5 Map, a Mock Exam, and Your Daily Plan

    The Mind Map reaches all 500 N5 words. A 15-minute mock exam shows how ready you really are, a Today card gives each day a clear finish line, and a Four Skills view shows where you stand. Wrong answers now teach you more, and true beginners get a kinder start.

    What Changed

    • The Mind Map is complete: 163 new words bring it to all 500 N5 words — every one with example sentences, connections, and audio, ready to study.
    • New: the N5 Mock Exam. Fifteen minutes, four sections just like the real test — vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening — with a hard time limit. Your score appears next to what we predicted, so you can see how well the app really knows you.
    • Your study page now shows two bars: overall progress and a slim "Today" bar with a real daily finish line. Tap it to see exactly what is left — reviews, new words, listening and minutes. You can set your daily goal (5, 10 or 20 minutes) in Settings; on light days the app honestly says the goal is small instead of inventing more work.
    • A Four Skills view shows your reading, listening, speaking and writing side by side, and a weak-point cloud highlights the words that need you most. Small coach lines in your session summary point out what genuinely changed.
    • Wrong answers teach more now. The explanation opens automatically when you miss, and if you keep mixing up the same two answers, the app tells you directly: "You often pick this one when the answer is that one."
    • Completely new to Japanese? Before the placement test we now ask one question: can you read kana? If not yet, you get a warm explanation of why kana comes first, a quick kana check for when you are ready, and a one-tap way to have us check in with you.
    • Lots of polish from real study sessions: answering feels faster, only one loading indicator between cards, the Four Skills labels no longer get cut off, mock-exam questions always have exactly one right answer, the microphone choice moved to Settings where it has room, and a small ⓘ next to your progress explains what "studied" and "mastered" actually mean.
  4. Version 0.9.91Jul 4, 2026

    Ninety New Words and an Honest Way to Rate Your Recall

    The Mind Map grows from 247 to 337 words — family, weather, clothing, places, transport and more, each with its own example sentences. Cards now ask how confident you felt instead of just right or wrong, and the map can show you which words naturally appear together.

    What Changed

    • Ninety new N5 words joined your study: family (家族・父・母), weather and seasons (天気・雪・春), clothing with its wear-verbs (着る・はく・かぶる), body parts, places around town (銀行・病院・駅前), transport, and everyday verbs like lend, borrow and return — every one ready to study with its own sentences.
    • After you flip a word or kanji card, three buttons — Not yet, Getting there, Confident — replace the old two. Rating your recall honestly helps your study plan match how well you really know each word.
    • The session summary is honest too: a word you recalled only shakily is not celebrated as "saved" — it will simply come back soon, no fanfare, no guilt.
    • On the Mind Map, tap a word twice to light up the words that naturally appear together with it — rain lights up umbrella and fall. A small button in the word panel switches between related words and word family.
    • After answering a listening question, a small thumbs up / thumbs down lets you tell us whether that conversation was good — one tap, and it directly shapes which content we improve next.
    • Listening-first cards now appear even for words you already know well, keeping your study varied instead of settling into one pattern.
  5. Version 0.9.90Jun 24, 2026

    Speaking Practice on iPhone and Computer

    This beta update makes speaking practice more dependable across devices, including iPhone in Safari and computers. Your voice is checked privately on your own device, small slips are handled more gently, and speaking now fits into your everyday study.

    What Changed

    • Speaking practice now works on iPhone in Safari as well as on computers, with the voice check running privately on your own device.
    • The speaking check is more forgiving of small slips — it is checking whether the word was understood, not grading perfect pronunciation.
    • A new Speaking practice switch lets you turn speaking off when you cannot talk out loud — on a train or in a library — and turn it back on when you can.
    • Speaking now appears in your everyday study, and saying words out loud contributes to your strength, with a short speaking summary at the end of a session.
    • Pitch-accent marks now appear only on single words, where they are dependable.
    • Speaking has a few smoother details: a reminder that it works best somewhere quiet, a clear button to stop recording when you are done, steadier recording, and a voice to listen to even for words that do not have their own recording yet.
    • Sign-in and study screens feel steadier on iPhone and computers, with smoother sign-in recovery, steadier answer cards, smoother scrolling, and a faster Mind Map.
  6. Version 0.9.89Jun 18, 2026

    Speaking Practice and Smoother Study

    This beta update adds early speaking practice in supported browsers, makes confidence ratings clearer, and improves study loading and recovery — with a smoother experience on smartphone screens — as Mastermind keeps moving toward a steadier release.

    What Changed

    • In supported browsers, some words, phrases, and short sentences now have a beta speaking check — hear the model, say it out loud, and see whether your browser understood you.
    • Speaking practice is intentionally low-pressure: it is a browser-understanding check, not a full pronunciation grade, and it lets you keep studying if the microphone, network, or browser support gets in the way.
    • After a study item, you can now rate your confidence with clearer choices — Not yet, Getting there, and Confident — so your progress better reflects what you know.
    • Study sessions feel steadier, with smoother loading, fewer interruptions, and better recovery. Listening study items now wait for the audio to finish before showing the answer choices.
    • Audio, bookmarks, and optional speaking practice now appear in more study areas — including vocabulary examples and kanji example words — so useful study moments are easier to revisit.
    • The study experience on smartphone screens was improved.
  7. Version 0.9.88May 30, 2026

    A Richer Mind Map and More to Study

    This beta update expands the Mind Map with new concept groups and a brighter, easier-to-read look, grows the N5 study material with many new examples and audio, cleans up support, legal, and browser-requirements pages, and smooths a number of study details.

    What Changed

    • The Mind Map covers more of N5: the World & Objects group is now active, a new Food & Drink group joins it, and dozens of concepts were recategorized and spaced out so crowded areas read more clearly.
    • The Mind Map looks brighter and reads more clearly, with a vivid learning-colour ramp, mastered concepts that sparkle, clearer selected nodes, and a gentle idle drift while you are away.
    • Map navigation is smoother: after you zoom in, rotating now stays centered on the spot you zoomed into instead of swinging back to the far center.
    • There is more to study: many new N5 example sentences with natural audio, plus refilled examples for topics that were thin. Vocab cards can also show an optional stretch example, kept around N4, for an extra challenge.
    • Support and feedback are now signed-in features. The support form is available from the account menu, the public footer stays focused on static information, and support confirmations appear beside the form action instead of jumping to the top of the page.
    • Public help pages are cleaner: the legal card points to the main Legal page, and Supported Devices is now Browser Requirements with a new /browser-requirements URL.
    • Studying feels tidier: interrupted sessions can finish through the session recap, summaries show clearer concept details, and bookmarks plus free-tier limits are easier to understand.
  8. Version 0.9.87May 27, 2026

    Clearer Pages, Safer Sign-In, and a Steadier Brain

    This beta update makes Mastermind easier to understand before you sign up, tightens sign-in and account protections behind the scenes, smooths a few study details, and adds clearer legal, privacy, and support information.

    What Changed

    • The home page now explains the Brain and Mind Map in simpler terms: the Mind Map shows the N5 concepts, and the Brain uses your practice history to choose what to study next.
    • The public pages now set clearer beta expectations: the N5 Mind Map is live, study material is growing, and Mastermind will keep improving.
    • Study should feel steadier, with more reliable audio, cleaner loading transitions, and vocab review that can practice in either direction when useful.
    • Your account is better protected behind the scenes, with stricter sign-in/session behavior and extra safeguards around sensitive account actions.
    • Legal and support information is easier to find, including the current commercial disclosure, support email, business address, and message-forwarding phone line.
    • Recent Updates, Browser Requirements, Feedback, footer links, and other public copy received consistency and capitalization polish.
  9. Version 0.9.86May 24, 2026

    Smarter Adaptation, Clearer Onboarding, and More Polished Study

    This beta update improves how Mastermind reacts to your answers, makes placement onboarding easier to pause and resume, and polishes sign-in, reading support, Study navigation, and the public landing page.

    What Changed

    • Mastermind is more careful about what your answers mean: uncertain strengths get checked sooner, weak areas get better repair, and one odd response time matters less.
    • Placement onboarding is smoother: you can pause and return to the same question, the next question is prepared sooner, and placement appears on the Study page without taking over the screen.
    • Google sign-in is less confusing when the Google service fails to initialize, with clearer retry behavior instead of a stuck or ambiguous sign-in state.
    • Japanese reading support improved with larger study text, cleaner ruby variants, better reading alternatives, and more natural answer labels for location で examples.
    • The public home page now explains Mastermind more clearly as an adaptive Japanese-learning system and shows a real Mind Map preview that matches the current theme.
    • Home, header, logo, favicon, Recent Updates, and Study page secondary links received visual polish without changing the core study flow.
  10. Version 0.9.85May 19, 2026

    Smoother Practice, Clearer Weak-Spot Review, and Calmer Screens

    This beta update focuses on everyday study quality: tap-to-build and kanji practice are more stable, review choices are smarter after mistakes, and the app has a calmer card style across light and dark mode.

    What Changed

    • Tap-to-build sentence practice and furigana alignment are more reliable, so staged answers and Japanese reading support should feel less jumpy.
    • Kanji practice received polish around writing, stroke playback, example audio, and recovery when a study session is interrupted.
    • After weak answers, Mastermind does a better job deciding when to slow down, when to review, and when not to over-repeat the same shaky item.
    • Study sessions, saved items, feedback, settings, and home cards now share a quieter flat-card style across light and dark mode.
    • Sign-in, profile display, and session recovery received small reliability fixes that should make the beta feel less fragile.
  11. Version 0.9.8May 14, 2026

    More Focused Study, Cleaner Cards, and Kanji Writing Practice

    This beta update tightens the core study experience with Drill Down sessions, more reliable sentence selection, kanji handwriting practice with saved progress, and broad UI polish across mobile and desktop.

    What Changed

    • Drill Down sessions let you focus on one practice type when you want a narrower study session, while Adaptive Session remains available for recommended adaptive practice.
    • Kanji Foundations now supports writing practice for supported N5 kanji, checks drawings locally in the browser, and saves lifetime success counts.
    • Study cards, buttons, pitch displays, summaries, bookmarks, and navigation received layout polish for phones, tablets, and desktop screens.
    • Sentence and vocabulary quality improved with better translations, smarter example selection, more audio/pitch coverage, and new Mind Map relationship data.
    • Early writing and pronunciation experiments started behind the scenes for future practice options.
  12. Version 0.9.7May 1, 2026

    More Ways to Practice, Clearer Review After Study

    This beta update adds placement onboarding plus more variety in study sessions, including fill-in-the-blank practice, listening-first cards, tap-to-build sentences, better session summaries, and clearer weak-spot feedback after you study.

    What Changed

    • New learners can run a short adaptive placement check so Mastermind starts from a more realistic concept map instead of assuming everyone begins from zero.
    • Study sessions gained more variety, including contextual fill-in-the-blank practice, listening-first cards, and tap-to-build sentence practice.
    • Missed or shaky items are easier to revisit across sessions, helping weak concepts come back at a useful time instead of disappearing.
    • Session summaries now better show what went well, what was difficult, and which weak spots deserve attention next.
    • Audio, optional pitch hints, vocabulary examples, kanji screens, bookmarks, and the header received polish for smoother everyday study.
  13. Version 0.9.6Apr 17, 2026

    Mastermind Goes Live — Bookmarks, a Lighter Look, and Small Fixes

    Mastermind is now online for real learners for the first time. You can also save items to a Bookmarks list, the default look is lighter, and clicking a node on the Mind Map is easier.

    What Changed

    • Mastermind opened for real beta use: you can sign in, study, and send feedback.
    • Bookmarks let you save sentences, words, and kanji, then practice them on your own time.
    • The Legal page now explains the beta, terms of use, and privacy before you sign up.
    • The default theme is now light. If you picked dark before, your choice is kept.
    • On the Mind Map, clicking the node itself now selects it, not only the text label.
  14. Version 0.9.0Apr 1, 2026

    Mind Map Upgrade and Better Examples

    The Mind Map is easier to read. Example sentences load faster and feel more consistent. Study sessions recover better after problems.

    What Changed

    • The Mind Map is cleaner and easier to read, with clearer concept spots and relationship lines.
    • Example sentences are faster and come from one larger source with wider N5 coverage.
    • Study sessions recover better if your login expires or the app is interrupted.
    • Magic-link sign-in became safer and more reliable.
    • Home, navigation, and Recent Updates received beta-launch polish.
  15. Version 0.8.0Mar 12, 2026

    New Study Modes and Mobile Polish

    Two new study modes — Verb Focus and Kanji Foundations — and a smoother experience on mobile.

    What Changed

    • Verb Focus mode lets you study verbs on their own.
    • Kanji Foundations mode lets you study kanji on their own.
    • The mobile header and menus are simpler and faster to use.
    • Cloze-style question timing and small study interactions received polish.
  16. Version 0.7.0Feb 28, 2026

    Smarter Pacing During Study

    When your accuracy drops, study sessions slow down automatically so new concepts do not pile up.

    What Changed

    • If you get many answers wrong, Mastermind pauses new concepts for a while so you can catch up.
    • Hard sessions should feel less like concepts are piling up faster than you can handle them.
  17. Version 0.6.0Feb 27, 2026

    Easier Feedback

    Sending feedback is faster and clearer. You can now attach a screenshot.

    What Changed

    • You can attach one screenshot when you send feedback.
    • The feedback form now gives clearer rules, limits, and validation messages.
  18. Version 0.5.0Dec 21, 2025

    Adaptive Study Loop — the Brain Begins

    A big step for Mastermind. The app now uses a learning model — we call it the Brain — to choose what you should study next.

    What Changed

    • The Brain now chooses study questions based on what you already know and what you need next.
    • Mastermind remembers how you did and adjusts over time.
    • The first N5 knowledge graph and curated Japanese study loop are in place.
    • Major internal groundwork prepared the app for adaptive learning.
  19. Version 0.4.0Oct 5, 2025

    First Japanese Lessons

    The first Japanese lesson content arrives. Early practice modes let you try out the basic idea of the app.

    What Changed

    • You can try an early N5 practice mode with real Japanese questions.
    • The first N5 dataset and basic question styles are in place.
    • Internal tooling was added so the Japanese content can keep growing over time.
  20. Version 0.3.0Sep 15, 2025

    Site Made Safer and More Stable

    Behind-the-scenes work to make the site safer and more stable. No new learner features in this version.

    What Changed

    • The site became safer and more stable behind the scenes.
    • Monitoring and site tooling became more reliable.
  21. Version 0.2.0May 15, 2025

    Email Sign-In and the First Pages

    You can now sign in by email — no password needed. The first landing page and basic site layout are in place.

    What Changed

    • You can sign in by clicking a link sent to your email.
    • The first landing page and basic site layout are in place.
    • The early sign-in foundation was added behind the scenes.
  22. Version 0.1.0Apr 20, 2025

    Project Start

    The first working version of the project. This was an early foundation, not Mastermind yet, and the site was not open to learners at this point.

    What Changed

    • The groundwork for what would later become Mastermind was created.
    • The first API, database, logging, and hosting setup were put in place.