Launching today

YABAI

Launching today

Real Japanese slang, one giant word at a time

5 followers

Real Japanese slang, one giant word at a time

5 followers

Visit website

Language Learning

Textbooks teach Japanese that stops at the classroom door. YABAI is the other half: 308 real slang, internet and fandom words, each on a card built around giant Japanese typography. Every word has a meaning, a real example, a vibe check (safe to use? friends only? careful?) and a story — and when the origin is uncertain, it says so instead of inventing one. Built end to end with AI agents in Claude Code. 13 languages, works offline. No streaks, no tests, no XP.

Payment Required

Launch tags:Android•Education•Languages

Launch Team / Built With

LM-Kit OneThe Private AI Application Server

Promoted

YABAI

Maker

📌

Hi Product Hunt! Solo developer from Japan here. I kept meeting people who had studied Japanese for years and still couldn't follow a group chat. The vocabulary that actually carries everyday conversation — slang, internet speak, fandom words — is exactly what textbooks leave out. But I didn't want to build another study app. No streaks, no tests, nothing that guilt-trips you for missing a day. YABAI is built like a snack: giant Japanese typography, one word per card, swipe to discover, save the ones you love. The part I spent the most time on is honesty. Every word is researched and written in Japanese first, then translated into 13 languages — not machine-translated out of English. And where a word's origin is genuinely disputed (yabai itself is a good example), the app says "nobody agrees" instead of picking a tidy story. Invented etymology is everywhere in slang content and I didn't want to add to it. 308 words so far, and it all works offline. I'd love feedback — especially from Japanese learners: which words surprised you, and what's missing?

Report

9d ago

Forum Threads

p/yabai

•

3d ago

What's a word in your language that English just can't carry?

I spent months writing definitions for Japanese words that don't survive translation.

(komorebi) sunlight filtering through leaves.

(goiryoku) literally "vocabulary power", but online it only ever shows up in the negative: what you post when something is so good the adjectives have all deserted you.

(niowase) posting a photo with one detail left in the frame so people work out you're seeing someone, without ever claiming it.

View all