FAQ

Android only for now.

No. You can use the app without entering your name or email address.

It is free to start, and you can do up to 10 pronunciation practices a day. For 7 days from the day you first use the app, you can practice without a limit, with no sign-up.

A paid plan removes the limit. Prices (tax included, paid through Google Play): Monthly 980 yen and Annual 6,800 yen (both auto-renewing), or a one-time purchase of 9,800 yen (a single payment, with no extra charge for as long as the app is provided).

First, check that you have allowed the app to use the microphone. If permission is blocked, an "Open settings" button appears on the practice screen. Tap it to open Pochiren's settings and allow the microphone (you can also change it in the phone's Settings > "Apps" > "Pochiren" > "Permissions"; names vary slightly by model).

If the surroundings are loud (for example, cars passing nearby or noisy appliances close by), the app may not pick up your voice and recording may not start. Please try in a quiet place, holding the phone not too close to your mouth. If no voice is heard for 8 seconds after recording starts, "No speech was detected. Please try again" appears and recording stops.

You cannot record during a phone call or while another app is using the microphone.

If you still cannot record, please tell us your phone model and the message you saw through the Contact page.

It stops automatically when you finish reading and stay silent for a moment (about 1 second). One recording lasts up to 15 seconds.

Loud background noise can make it hard for the app to hear you. Please use a quiet place and hold the phone not too close to your mouth.

To record your voice and compare it with the model.

No scores or percentages. The app shows ○ × △ for each phrase. ○ means correct, × means different, and △ means the movement of your pitch was unclear, so the app could not clearly tell whether it was correct.

○ means correct, × means different, and △ means the movement of your pitch was unclear, so the app could not clearly tell whether it was correct. "Not scored" marks a part that was not judged because your pitch could not be picked up. Neither △ nor "Not scored" means you made a mistake.

Instead of raising your voice, try to keep your breath going until the end of the sentence.

Sounds made with breath only, such as 「す」 and 「し」, have no voice pitch. It is not a pronunciation mistake.

The dashed band shows where your pitch could not be picked up, at the start or the end of your speech. It does not necessarily mean a pronunciation mistake.

Saying the beginning clearly and finishing the sentence without running out of breath may make the dashed band shorter. It also makes your speech easier to understand when talking with people, so please try to keep it in mind.

The standard is the accent of standard Japanese (Tokyo pronunciation).

Go to Settings > "Practice history" > "Delete all practice history".

In Settings, use "表示言語 / Language" to switch between Japanese and English.

In Settings, use "[Next] button position" to choose left or right.

In Settings > "Volume", use "Voice" (the model voice), "Sound effects", and "BGM". Changes take effect right away, and moving a slider all the way to the left turns that sound off.

If the whole app is too quiet, raise the media volume with your phone's volume buttons.

While "Power saving mode" is on, all three sounds are off. Turning it off restores the previous volumes.

You can see it under "Rule details" in the practice menu.

It is a synthetic voice: the operator's standard-Japanese readings converted into another voice with voice conversion (RVC). The pitch accent (the rise and fall of the voice) is kept from the original reading. We use an RVC model from Amitaro's Voice Material Studio (https://amitaro.net/).

Please tell us what happened through the Contact page.

Nowhere. Your recording is used only while it is being scored on your phone. It is not saved on your phone and not sent anywhere.

Yes. The app runs entirely on your phone and does not use the network.

Information on your phone, such as your practice history, may be included in your Google account backup or in data transfer when you switch phones, through Android's backup feature. How it is handled depends on Google's policy. The operator does not receive it.