Unveiling Aiko
Hey, Japanese learners! I’ve been tinkering with something special for Japanese Complete, and it’s time to let you in on it: meet Aiko, my AI-powered Japanese tutor. She’s here to make practicing Japanese feel less like a chore and more like a chat with a patient, fluent friend. After a bumpy Show HN attempt (Mondays, am I right?), I’m thrilled to unveil her right here on the blog.
How Aiko Works
Aiko’s a conversational powerhouse. Pick a topic—greetings, ordering food, or travel questions—and she kicks off in natural Japanese. Say you choose “Greetings”: she’ll chirp, “こんにちは！はじめましてね。Aikoです。” (Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Aiko.) Her voice, powered by AWS Polly’s “Mizuki,” plays automatically, so you can nail the pronunciation.
Got a microphone? Hit record and reply in Japanese. Aiko listens, processes your input, and responds with a tailored reply—all in Japanese. Visual sound bars bounce as you speak, giving you a cool little feedback loop. She’s built with xAI’s Grok for smarts and React for a slick interface, so it’s smooth and intuitive. Want to order ramen? She’ll ask, “レストランで何を注文したい？” (What do you want to order?) and wait for your “ラーメン、お願いします” (Ramen, please!).
Pro Tip: For the best microphone experience, we recommend using Google Chrome. It handles mic access like a champ, ensuring Aiko hears you loud and clear. Other browsers work, but Chrome’s the gold standard here.
Why Aiko Matters
Textbooks are great (you’ve seen ours) but they don’t talk back. Aiko bridges that gap, letting you practice real-world Japanese on your terms. She’s the first step toward something bigger: fully integrating her into our data-driven Japanese Complete course. Picture this: Aiko guiding you through 777 core kanji, 235 essential particles, and 555 must-know verbs—the combo that covers 90% of Japanese “in the wild” (based on frequency data from the Balanced Corpus and beyond). She’ll be your personal tutor, adapting to your pace and reinforcing what matters most.
Try Her Out
Aiko’s live on Japanese Complete— https://japanesecomplete.com/aiko.html
She’s not flawless yet—speech recognition can stumble if your accent’s off—but she’s already a blast to practice with. Give her a whirl and let me know what you think! More topics like “weather” or “daily routines” are on the horizon, and eventually, she’ll be woven into every lesson of our course.
Drop by, say こんにちは [konnichiwa] to Aiko, and let’s master Japanese together.