# Dictionaries

> Electronic dictionary viewer with consolidated search and in-app dictionary purchases. (iPhone/iPad app by 物書堂.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionaries/id1380563956 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [物書堂](https://appshunter.io/developer/284350529)
- Category: Reference, Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 84 App Store ratings · 155 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.4 · 60 MB
- Languages: American English, Japanese
- Released: 2019-03-04
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionaries/id1380563956/reviews.md

## What is Dictionaries?

“Dictionaries” is an electronic dictionary viewer app made to allow users to efficiently use various dictionaries. Our popular standalone apps have been integrated into a single app where users can search multiple dictionaries at once.

You can purchase and use a variety of dictionaries, including English, Japanese, French or other language dictionaries, from the “Dictionary Store” which can be accessed from within the app.

Searches
• Batch Search (Consolidated Search) allows users to search multiple dictionaries at once.
• The display order of dictionaries used in the batch search can be customized.
• The keyboard language switches automatically depending on dictionary search groups.
• Handwriting input is possible for Japanese, Old Japanese, Kanji, Chinese, Korean, and Russian dictionaries.
• Using Pattern Search, users can search for words even if a part of the spelling is unknown.

Trace and Jump
• Users can easily jump to not only other words in the same dictionary but other dictionaries as well simply by tracing words in a definition, allowing users to go on a journey of intellectual curiosity through the dictionary as their hearts desire.

Collection
• Purchased dictionaries are shown as icons on the Collection screen.
• By opening a dictionary from the Collection screen, users can also carefully go through a single dictionary. Even in this case, users can use the “Trace and Jump” function to easily jump to another dictionary.
• The display order of dictionary icons on the Collection screen can be changed to the user's preference.

Bookmarks
• Users can bookmark their favorite words. In addition, users can also efficiently categorize these bookmarks using the Bookmark Folder.
• By turning on Quick Bookmark, users can quickly add/remove bookmarks simply by tapping the Bookmark icon.

Search History
• In History, display frequency is automatically recorded so that users can immediately recognize words they search for repeatedly.

iCloud
• Users can synchronize Bookmark and History data among all devices by turning on iCloud.

Multitasking
• Users can display websites, documents, and more alongside their dictionary by using the Multitasking function on the iPad. By turning on Clipboard Search, users simply have to copy the word they wish to look up in order for the app to find that word in multiple dictionaries.

Substantial Lineup
• The Dictionary Store carries a large number of full-scale dictionaries, and we plan to further improve this selection in the future as well.
• The following English dictionaries are available. Check in the Dictionary Store, which can be accessed from within the app, for more information on each of these items.

- Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 10th edition (OALD)
- Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English
- Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus
- Oxford Collocations Dictionary
- Practical English Usage
- Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 10th edition
- Collins COBUILD Advanced American English Dictionary 3rd edition
- Collins COBUILD Intermediate Learner’s Dictionary 4th edition
- Collins English Dictionary with Thesaurus

An internet connection is required to purchase content.Usage fees and terms of use may apply.

## Key features

- Batch search multiple dictionaries
- Purchase language dictionaries
- Handwriting input support
- Trace and Jump between words
- Bookmark and categorize words
- iCloud synchronization
- Multitasking with other apps

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WISDOM English-Japanese 2 | Free | one-time |
| WISDOM English-Japanese | Free | one-time |
| COBUILD American 2nd edition | Free | one-time |
| COBUILD Advanced 9th edition | Free | one-time |
| DAIJIRIN | Free | one-time |
| 柯林斯 COBUILD 高级英汉双解词典 | Free | one-time |
| REIKAI GAKUSHU KOKUGO 11th | $15.99 | one-time |
| REIKAI GAKUSYU KANJI 9th | $15.99 | one-time |
| Japanese Colloquial Expressions | $25.99 | one-time |
| Nihongo Bunkei Ziten: English | $19.99 | one-time |
| Meikyo Japanese Dictionary | $22.99 | one-time |
| DAIJISEN | $22.99 | one-time |
| OALD 10 | $32.99 | one-time |
| WISDOM English-Japanese 3 | $26.99 | one-time |
| NHK Japanese Pronunciation | $36.99 | one-time |
| DAIJIRIN 4 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Basic Japanese Grammar | $20.99 | one-time |
| RGKO12 Upgrade | Free | one-time |
| SHINMEIKAI 8 | $20.99 | one-time |
| Japanese Collocations | $33.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 155)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionaries/id1380563956/reviews.md

### 1/5 — What a con

*2026-07-16, version 1.4.6*

The description implies that the app is free, with paid-for extras, but it is impossible to do anything with the app without spending several tens of pounds. App deleted.

### 1/5 — Buggy

*2026-07-16, version 1.4.6*

Don’t bother enabling the copy from clipboard feature. It doesn’t even work.

### 5/5 — My default dictionary app 👌🏼love love love it heart

*2026-07-02, version 1.4.6*

It’s a must have for ESL students! I hope they continue to update and keep this app because it’s fantastic  and a game changer for me personally.

### 5/5 — Very good application

*2026-04-02*

I have been using this app (German vocabulary book) for 18 months. I like it because it is easy to use and also useful. It is also good, that I can mark some words and change size or color of words .

### 4/5 — Love the content, wish the search was better

*2026-03-29, version 1.4*

I use this app a ton.

I especially like using it to search multiple dictionaries for example sentences. Sometimes when I’m working on understanding not just a word but a phrase or piece of grammar, it is really useful to punch in a short part of the phrase and use the example search mode so I can see how it is used in sentences. I’ve bought way more dictionaries than I would need for just looking up words, so that I have lots of example sentences to look at. 

The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is sometimes the search is difficult to use and the latest app update made it even harder. In a game I am playing I encountered the phrase 私としたことが…とんだ失態だ… I wasn’t familiar with 私としたことが　so I tried searching examples for としたことが. Only one result came up, and I checked all 3 types (starts with, ends with, equals) to be sure. This is cumbersome, by the way! I used to check all three by mashing the button, but now I have to tap into the menu and then select the search mode one at a time. Then, I changed my search to 私としたことが. Suddenly, there were lots of example results! Why did I have to type something more specific to get more results? I am sure it is something to do with the way the sentences are tokenized but as a user it is very unpredictable. 

Similarly I often do not know if searching “starts with” or “ends with” is more likely to turn up results for the phrase I am searching, so I just want to search all at once but can’t, and now those options are buried in a menu making it even more difficult to quickly check. Please improve the search feature, I have spent a lot on dictionaries and I don’t regret it but I truly wish it was easier to use the search function. お願いします🙏

### 5/5 — My favourite app on the app store

*2026-03-27*

I am learning Japanese and all the dictionaries are beautiful, functional and performance is excellent. The developer is also very responsive on twitter

### 5/5 — High quality app - a feature suggestion

*2026-02-18, version 1.3.16*

Love this app and the fact that I can use it on both MacOS and iOS - game changer.  Developers, I have two requests for you: 1.  As part of your URL scheme support, can you please consider expanding the query string support to include being able to specify the “Starts with”, “Equals”, “Ends with”, “Contains”, and “Pattern”?  Without this control, the application forces “Equals” every time I trigger an OS-level lookup that is sent to the Dictionaries app.  2.  Can you leave the current search dropdown settings exactly as they are in the app so that if a user has it set to “Starts with” and “Example”, should they trigger a search via Cmd+Shift+D, it leaves those settings as they were?  Much appreciated!

### 4/5 — 感謝とフィードバック

*2026-01-05, version 1.3.15*

毎日使い倒している。名だたる複数の辞書を一瞬で引き比べることができ、最高。とくに日本語シソーラスを入手すると世界が変わるぞ。ただ横断検索機能について、二点不満がある。

①オプションで「見出し」を選んでいるのに、検索すると「用例」のほうが山と出てくることが稀によくある。たとえば「消防車」と検索するとそれが顕著。「見出し」を選んでいるときは見出しだけを出すわけにはいかないか。

②普段スマホの言語設定が英語なのだけど、辞書のカテゴリを切り替えると検索オプションが保存されないのが、ちょっと嫌。具体的には、カテゴリ：Japanese（国語）でオプション：Word（見出し）の状態から、カテゴリをKanji（漢和／漢字）に移すとオプションも勝手にKanji（親字）に移る。ここまではいいのだが、そこからカテゴリをJapanese（国語）に戻すとオプションはKanji（漢字）のまま。この現象はスマホの言語設定が日本語だと起こらない。おそらく「親字」と「漢字」が等しく“Kanji” と訳されているから起こるバグだと思うの。「漢字」は“Kanji” でいいから、むしろ「見出し」と「親字」を等しく“Entry”と訳してはどうか。

なにはともあれ、辞書という存在を日常の一部にまで引っ張り上げてくれたこのアプリには感謝してもしきれない。ありがとうございます。

### 4/5 — 「常に最前面に表示」のオン／オフ希望

*2025-12-14*

Macで、毎日のように使わせてもらってます。
他のアプリと同時使用中に、他のウィンドウに隠れてしまうことが多いので、
計算機アプリのように、「常に最前面に表示」のオン／オフができれば便利だなと思いました。
（私はシステム設定で、計算機のその表示にショートカットキーを割り当てて使用しています。）
アップデートの際、ご検討いただければ幸いです。

以前のレビュー
------------------------------
検索結果リストへのショートカット希望

追記２：検索窓でEnterを押して複数の検索結果が出た後に、「↓」で検索結果の欄へ移動し、「↓」・「↑」で検索結果を選べるようになっていました。とても使いやすいです。

Macで、毎日のように使わせてもらってます。
検索後に左側に表示される単語リストですが、その単語を切り替えるのに、必ずマウスを使用しなければならないようです（公式サイトも調べましたが、方法がわかりませんでした）。
リストに直接フォーカスが移動するショートカットキーがあれば、とても助かります。
文章を手書きしながらキーボードで文字を調べることが多いので、ペンとキーボードだけで作業を完結したいのです。
現在は、タブを８回打ち、リストにフォーカスを移動させ、↓ + Enterで移動、Spaceで決定、で切り替えています。
ご検討くだされば、幸いです。

追記：レビューで「新規検索でカーソルがどこかへ行ってしまう」いう方がいましたが、ショートカット「⌘+Shift+F」で、前の単語が消え、検索窓にカーソルが行きます。

### 1/5 — 最悪なUI変更

*2025-11-17, version 1.3.14*

どうしてUIを変えたのか。
他のアプリにも言えることだが、ユーザーの目線など何も考えていないのかと思わせるようなUIの改悪が目立つ。
このアプリもそうだ。辞書アプリは日常的に使われるものだからユーザー側は以前と違うデザインへの変更など望んでいないはずだが、無駄に変更する。「見出し」「成句」「例文」のUIをわざわざ変える必要があったか。
無課金のアプリならただ削除して他の優良アプリを探すだけだが、辞書の購入のために課金しているからそうはいかない。こういったユーザーの目線に立とうとしないから、不必要なところに手を加えようとする。
新しいUIを取り入れようとするなら、UIの選択をユーザー側ができるようにしてほしい。それができないなら、このアプリ内での返金手続きをできるようにするべきだ。
そもそも辞書そのものに価値があるだけで、物書堂、それにアクセスするためのいわゆるプラットフォーム側の個性の反映など望んでいない。
早急に改善することを求める。

## Frequently asked questions about Dictionaries

### What does the Dictionaries app do?

This app acts as an electronic dictionary viewer, allowing you to efficiently use various dictionaries. It integrates popular standalone dictionary apps into a single interface where you can search multiple dictionaries at once. You can purchase and use dictionaries for languages like English, Japanese, French, and more from the in-app Dictionary Store.

### What are the key features of the Dictionaries app?

Key features include batch searching to query multiple dictionaries simultaneously, customizable display order for search results, automatic keyboard language switching, and handwriting input for several languages. The 'Trace and Jump' function lets you easily navigate between words within and across dictionaries, and you can bookmark favorite words with categorization.

### How does the app make money?

The app itself is free to download and use, but it operates on a freemium model. Users can purchase a wide variety of language dictionaries from the "Dictionary Store" within the app. These in-app purchases are how the app generates revenue.

### Is this app compatible with my device?

The description mentions Multitasking features for iPad, suggesting compatibility with Apple devices. It also supports iCloud synchronization, which is an Apple service. For specific iOS version requirements, it's best to check the app store listing.

### What are some common use cases for this app?

Common use cases include language learning, where users can look up definitions and translations across multiple dictionaries. Researchers can use it for in-depth word analysis and etymology. Students can benefit from its efficient search capabilities for academic work, and travelers can use it to understand foreign languages.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.6 — 2026-06-02

Fixed minor bugs.

### 1.4.5 — 2026-05-20

Fixed minor bugs.

### 1.4.4 — 2026-04-20

• Added support for upcoming dictionary content.

### 1.4.3 — 2026-04-13

Fixed minor bugs.

### 1.4.2 — 2026-04-02

• Fixed a potential crash when tapping the Bookmark button after searching for examples.
• Fixed an issue where Dark Mode settings were occasionally not applied correctly at launch.

## Apps similar to Dictionaries

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oxford-dictionary-and-thesaurus/id978674211) | 4.6 (28,630) | Free | Reference |
| [Dictionary.com: English Words](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionarycom-english-words/id308750436) | 4.8 (327,803) | Free | Reference |
| [Merriam-Webster Dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merriam-webster-dictionary/id399452287) | 4.8 (323,824) | Free | Reference |
| [Terminology](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/terminology/id687798859) | 4.7 (1,080) | Free | Reference |
| [Dictionary Offline - Dict Box](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionary-offline-dict-box/id587444069) | 4.6 (11,601) | Free | Reference |
| [Dictionary Linguee](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionary-linguee/id338225335) | 4.8 (11,093) | Free | Reference |

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*