Building Kotomora: a Japanese dictionary that explains words in context
Hi Indie Hackers! I’m building Kotomora, a comprehensive Japanese dictionary for English speakers.
The idea came from my own frustration with existing Japanese dictionaries. If you search for an English word, you might get dozens of possible Japanese translations of that word, but no explanation of which one is the right one to use in a given situation. Kotomora solves this by providing detailed translation guides for over 20,000 English words, as well as nuance notes, synonyms, etymology, example sentences, etc. for every Japanese word.
Kotomora combines dictionary lookup, kanji pages, sentence analysis, examples, handwriting input, pitch accent, and learner-friendly explanations across web and mobile apps.
Right now I’m focused on getting the first real users, improving SEO, and learning what makes people actually come back to a dictionary app.
I’d love feedback from Japanese learners, language app builders, or anyone who has grown a niche learning tool.
I think context is what separates a reference tool from a learning tool. Knowing that a word exists is one thing—knowing when and why a native speaker would choose it is what actually helps people become fluent. That's a much more valuable direction than simply adding more vocabulary.