Kotobade Asobou (言葉で遊ぼう)
Japanese Wordle: find the day's four-kana word in twelve tries, with optional kana-chart hints.
Every day: One four-kana Japanese word of the day, the same for everyone in the same time zone. New puzzle: At midnight in the chosen time zone.
Kotobade Asobou is a Japanese version of Wordle. Each day you have twelve tries to find a hidden word written in four kana, typed in hiragana, katakana or romaji. Coloured tiles show which kana are right, and an optional hint mode uses the kana chart to tell you when you are close.
About Kotobade Asobou (言葉で遊ぼう)
Kotobade Asobou, which means let's play with words, adapts Wordle to Japanese. The answer is a word four kana long, and the word list covers nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs in dictionary form, including foreign loanwords. If the day's word is a katakana word, the game switches to katakana.
The game is maintained by the developer taximanli on GitHub. It began as a fork of an open source Wordle clone and has been reworked to handle features of Japanese, such as voiced and small kana. You can type guesses with the on-screen kana chart or directly in romaji or katakana, and they are converted for you.
You get twelve tries. After each guess the tiles turn green for a kana in the right spot and yellow for a kana in the word but elsewhere. With Hint Mode switched on there are three extra signals: a circle when the right answer is the voiced, semi-voiced or small form of your kana, and arrows when the answer is in the same row or column of the kana chart. Hard Mode makes you reuse the hints you have found.
The word is tied to the date in the time zone you choose, so friends in different countries can set the same zone and play the same word. Past words can be played from the calendar, and results can be shared to several social networks. It suits learners of Japanese and native speakers who want a daily word puzzle in their own script.
How to play Kotobade Asobou (言葉で遊ぼう)
- Type a four-kana word using the kana chart, or in romaji or katakana.
- Press Enter to submit the guess.
- Read the tiles: green is the right kana in the right spot, yellow is in the word but elsewhere.
- Turn on Hint Mode for extra clues about voiced and small kana and kana-chart rows and columns.
- Find the word within twelve tries, then share your result.
Tips
- Hint Mode is very helpful for learners, since it tells you when you are only a dakuten or a small kana away.
- Common endings such as する or verb forms ending in う are worth testing early.
- Pick the same time zone as a friend abroad if you want to compare results on the same word.
Questions
How many tries do I get?
Twelve tries to find a four-kana word.
Do I need a Japanese keyboard?
No. You can use the on-screen kana chart or type in romaji, and it is converted to kana.
Is the word the same for everyone?
Yes for players on the same date in the same time zone; you can set the time zone in the game.
Can I play past words?
Yes, choose a past date from the calendar icon.
Games like Kotobade Asobou (言葉で遊ぼう)
Kotonoha Tango (ことのはたんご)
Another Japanese Wordle with a daily kana word.
Crossword / 無料クロスワード (Puzzlega.me)
A daily Japanese mini crossword in katakana.
Cryptogram / 暗号解読 (Puzzlega.me)
A daily Japanese word puzzle built on kana.
Emoji Shiritori (絵文字しりとり)
A daily Japanese word chain puzzle.
Sortdle
A water sort puzzle where the colours are letters: pour them between tubes until each colour spells a word.
Spellie
Wordle for young spellers: three daily words, from Grade 2 easy to Grade 5 hard.
Collage / コラージュ (Puzzlega.me)
A Japanese crossword where the clues are cut-out photos pinned to a corkboard.
One Hit Wonder (Lex.Games)
A Wordle row is already played and only one word fits it. Name it.