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    Getting the most from Kumi

    How to Use Kumi

    A high-level walkthrough of how to use Kumi day to day: the daily fold, lessons, the dictionary, and concept lists.

    5 min read·By Kumi Team·Updated July 1, 2026

    The daily fold#

    Each day, Kumi builds you a "daily fold": a short set of missions for the day. That is one review mission for what is due, plus a lesson mission for each domain you are studying, and you can finish them in any order. Reviews and lessons stay separate sessions, so you are never purely cramming new material or purely grinding old reviews. The fold just decides what is worth your time today.

    Interactive widget: Daily fold visualizer (coming soon)

    Lessons#

    Lessons are where new material is introduced, covering kana, radicals, kanji, vocabulary, and grammar. Once you've learned something in a lesson, it doesn't just disappear. It feeds into Kumi Lattice, Kumi's review system, so what you've learned keeps coming back until it sticks.

    The dictionary#

    The built-in dictionary lets you look up any word, kana, radical, kanji, or grammar point at any time. Studying something specific, or just curious about a word you saw somewhere? The dictionary is always one tap away outside of lessons and reviews. Dictionary entries also connect to related concepts, so you can explore contextually, following a word to the kanji inside it, or a grammar point to related vocabulary, rather than looking things up one at a time in isolation.

    Concept lists#

    Beyond the daily fold, learners can build their own concept lists: custom collections of words, kanji, or grammar points to focus on specific topics or interests. Lists can be studied directly, letting you concentrate on exactly what you've chosen, and they can also be shared with others.

    A simple daily flow#

    A simple way to start your day

    1. 1

      Check your daily fold

      See what is due for you today.

    2. 2

      Work through your reviews first

      Reviews keep what you already know fresh, so it makes sense to clear them early.

    3. 3

      Move on to new lesson material

      Work through any new lesson material queued up for you.

    4. 4

      Browse or explore, if you have time

      If you have extra time or curiosity, browse the dictionary or work on a personal concept list.

    Keep it consistent, not exhaustive

    Showing up regularly for your daily fold matters more than marathon study sessions. Kumi is built to fit into a sustainable daily habit rather than demanding hours at a time.

    Ready to start your daily fold?

    Go to your dashboard

    Frequently asked questions

    Do I have to do lessons and reviews every day?
    There's no strict requirement, but consistency helps. Reviews are more effective when done regularly, since they're timed around when you're likely to forget something.
    What if I miss a day?
    Honestly, your reviews will simply be waiting whenever you come back. There's no punishment mechanic, just pick back up where you left off.
    Can I focus on just one domain, like only kanji?
    Yes. Lessons and concept lists can be focused on specific domains or topics if that's what you want to prioritize.

    Related guides

    Self-report & Anki import

    Start Where You Are

    Kumi does not make you start over. Self-report or import from Anki, and its trust-based system lets you skip what you already know instead of starting from zero.

    Mastery explained

    What is Mastery?

    In Kumi, mastery is a 0 to 100 score for a single concept, built from every way you can know it. It grows when you truly recall something, and it fades when you stop reviewing, the way real memory does.

    KMT explained

    What is KMT?

    KMT (Kumi Mastery Tiers) is a 1 to 10 mastery scale Kumi tracks separately for each domain. Unlike JLPT levels, which have no official study list, it reflects what you have actually mastered and decides what to study next.