# imiwa? — Japanese dictionary ++ > Offline Japanese dictionary with kanji, examples, and conjugations. (iPhone/iPad app by Pierre-Phi di Costanzo.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imiwa/id288499125 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Pierre-Phi di Costanzo](https://appshunter.io/developer/288499128) - Category: Reference, Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.60/5 from 255 App Store ratings · 967 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 26.0 · 736 MB - Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Korean, European Portuguese, Russian, European Spanish - Released: 2019-02-12 - Data updated: 2026-08-27 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imiwa/id288499125/reviews.md ## What is imiwa?? This application is a multilingual Japanese dictionary that does not require an internet connection. Imiwa? was created using the amazing JMdict files from the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group based on the work of Jim Breen on the EDICT project. While some definitions are available in 4 languages (English, French, Russian and German), only the English translation is guaranteed for all entries in the JMDict dictionary. Initiate a search in any of those 4 languages, in Japanese or in romaji and imiwa? will do the rest. imiwa? Also includes a rich database of kanji (KanjiDic), examples (from tatoeba.org) and conjugations as well as tools suitable for beginners. You may use the Traditional Chinese character recognition keyboard included in the iOS system for drawing kanji on screen or the new built in keyboard. If your device supports Apple Intelligence, imiwa? will leverage it to fill the gaps for your language. Always verify content generated by AI. imiwa? is and will always remain free and fully functional. This version introduces optional in-app purchases to let you express your support — no features are ever locked behind a paywall. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ## Key features - Offline Japanese dictionary - Multilingual definitions - Kanji database - Example sentences - Conjugation tools - Romaji search ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Gift a cookie | $1.99 | per month | | Gift a drink | $4.99 | per month | | Gift a burger | $9.99 | per month | | Gift a burger | $9.99 | per year | | Gift a cocktail | $19.99 | per year | | Gift a meal | $49.99 | per year | **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Gift a drink | $4.99 | one-time | | Gift a burger | $9.99 | one-time | | Gift a cocktail | $19.99 | one-time | | Gift a meal | $49.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of imiwa?? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Excellent dictionary with comprehensive features - 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface - 💡 Offline functionality is very useful - 🚀 Fast lookup and analysis of text - 👍 Detailed kanji information including stroke order **Cons** - 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues - 🔋 App takes up a lot of storage space - 👎 Some translations and example sentences are unreliable - 👎 Lack of handwriting input for kanji lookup **Commonly reported bugs** - Search function sometimes becomes unresponsive - Settings menu not fully accessible on some devices - Clipboard auto-paste feature can be distracting **Most requested features** - Add option to change app theme/color scheme - Improve export/sharing capabilities for vocab lists - Implement handwriting recognition for kanji lookup - Expand example sentences and improve their translations ## Recent user reviews (10 of 967) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imiwa/id288499125/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Very good but a suggestion *2026-08-11* Hey, this is very awesome, could be the best in the category, all for free! How generous but I have one suggestion since the search is running for lots of things, the result comes a little delayed. Other app would instantly shows the result on character input I wonder if we can have a settings to narrow the search I don’t need it to search example text, most of the time I just want to search for the vocab and will see the example text within the word card Regards ### 5/5 — Best Japanese dictionary app ever since iphone was a thing *2026-08-08, version 5.3.0* Super stoked the app is getting an update, been using it since maybe 15 years ago. I don’t need to look up Japanese as often now as I’m better with the language but I will forever keep this amazing app ### 2/5 — The new UI *2026-08-07, version 5.2.0* This was my fav app but I’m sorry the new UI is so annoying. Before it would automatically copy and paste into the app and literally show you the whole translation word for word and you click on the words you want to dissect. Now you gotta slap it into the tiny search bar and go to a tab to do it. It’s a small thing but the previous one was so perfect now I’m salty. ### 3/5 — Superbe mise à jour, mais… *2026-08-02* Bonjour. Une excellente appli depuis des années déjà, de très bonnes mises à jour, cependant, je trouve l’ordre des kanjis (trait par trait) beaucoup trop lent… Etant en boucle, il ne serait pas gênant que ce soit un peu plus rapide, voire comme c’était avant. ### 1/5 — How to ruin an app *2026-08-01* This is amazing example how to ruin something that didnt need an update. Kanji search is mow terrible, radical search is unintiutive and silly, handdrawing getting it wrong every single time. Verb conjugation lookup is just gone, i repeat, VERB CONJUGATION IS GONE! What the hell?! Not going back to this app ever, this is beyond saving, looking for alternatives now, thanks developers! ### 3/5 — What happened? *2026-07-29* Someone thought it would be a good idea to update the UX. Big mistake. It was perfect as it was. I’ve used this app for over 15 years now. I used it for 13 years living in Japan. It helped me out and I’ll be forever grateful but it’s ruined now. Not intuitive, hardly any information on a page and just clunkier. Please go back to the old interface! ### 1/5 — Great app turned bad *2026-07-27, version 5.2.0* I hate writing this as this used to be such a great app. But with the recent revamp there are so many bugs it’s not worth trying to use the new features. I like the flash cards but the constant issues with pasting from other apps makes it not worth it. I adjusted the settings as suggested to make paste automatic as it used to be. It worked for a while. But now it doesn’t actually look up the words until I hit search. Then sometime it brings up the word but won’t actually show the definition. Just too many bugs now for prime time unfortunately. I’m happy to donate to these guys and have in the past as it’s my go to app for Japanese but please fix these bugs. ### 4/5 — Dev is Listening *2026-07-25, version 5.2.0* I’ve written 2 reviews post big update July 2026 before this and at first the dev added the auto paste feature but it was bugged but after a recent update they fixed it. So it’s clear they are paying attention to all of the recent bad reviews based on the big update. I can’t give it 5 stars again yet because of the overall performance downgrade of the new version but at least I can now use imiwa how I used to. Hopefully there’s minor performance improvements over time. Also I do appreciate some of the features like pitch accent that were added. I do think there’s like a strong politically motivated anti ai bias at play that goes past the functional downgrades leading to a lot of the strongly negative reviews, that said there is still a noticeable performance downgrade compared to the previous version which is why I’m still only giving 4 stars for now even though it seems like the dev is trying. ### 1/5 — 更新してすごく遅くなった！ *2026-07-24* 本当に遅くなって全然無駄となった！:’( ### 4/5 — Analysator: Furigana and Romaji way too small *2026-07-22* It‘s great that you keep updating the app! First and foremost though:the furigana and also the romaji in the Analysator and example sentences are almost impossible to read - the letters are tiny. Please make them bigger! ## Frequently asked questions about imiwa? ### What does imiwa? do? imiwa? is a comprehensive offline Japanese dictionary. It allows users to search for words in Japanese, romaji, or English, French, Russian, and German. It also provides access to a kanji database, example sentences, and conjugation tools. ### Is imiwa? free to use? Yes, imiwa? is a free application. It does not require any payment to download or use its core features, and it does not display advertisements or have in-app purchases. ### Can I use imiwa? without an internet connection? Absolutely. A key feature of imiwa? is that it does not require an internet connection to function. All dictionary data, kanji information, and example sentences are stored locally on your device. ### What languages are supported for definitions? While the primary focus is on English definitions, imiwa? offers definitions in English, French, Russian, and German for some entries. The English translation is guaranteed for all entries from the JMDict dictionary. ### Who is the target audience for imiwa? This app is designed for anyone studying the Japanese language, including beginners who can utilize the conjugation tools and example sentences, as well as more advanced learners who need a robust offline dictionary and kanji reference. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.3.0 — 2026-08-07 Learn Japanese grammar with Tae Kim's classic guide, browse full Hiragana and Katakana reference charts, navigate the new Counters reference plus a handful of accuracy fixes. A GRAMMAR GUIDE, BUILT IN The Learn tab now includes Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar, from Hiragana basics through advanced constructs. Every lesson links to the words and kanji it covers, and the Analyser now points out which grammar lessons apply to whatever you just looked up. This grammar guide is only available in English. HIRAGANA & KATAKANA, AT A GLANCE Browse full Hiragana and Katakana charts from the Learn tab and tap any character for its own detail page — stroke order, calligraphic styles, example words, and its counterpart in the other script, all in one place. A REAL COUNTERS REFERENCE The Counters screen offers a searchable interface, with real example sentences for each counter, and a quick link back from any word that is referenced as a counter. EXPORT YOUR SEARCH HISTORY History can now be exported alongside your vocabulary lists. AND SEVERAL FIXES We listen to your feedback and have fixed a number of problems in this release too, including flashcards showing obscure kanji for kana-only words, JLPT vocabulary decks occasionally picking up an unrelated homonym for a shared reading and missing pitch accent data for thousands of kana-only words. ### 5.2.0 — 2026-07-21 Notes join Search, color-coded lists, uncapped search results, faster ways to import your existing dictionary, and a more capable Kanji stroke order viewer. FASTER NAVIGATION Double-tap or tap again on a tab to jump right into action — start a search (2x Search), cycle through Kanji's lookup modes, or open your Vocabulary Lists (2x Learn) — from anywhere in the app. SEARCH YOUR OWN NOTES, TOO Your personal notes are now part of Search, right alongside Dictionary, Kanji, and Examples — write a note on a word and it'll surface again whenever you look that word up. Notes on example sentences now show a readable preview too. Typing in romaji is also more reliable everywhere, including the Analyser and Example sentences. COLOR-CODE YOUR LISTS Give your vocabulary lists a color of your choice, then spot at a glance which lists a word or kanji belongs to — right from search results, example sentences, and Kanji cards, no need to open the list to check. SEE MORE SEARCH RESULTS Dictionary and Example searches used to quietly stop at 50 results with no way to see more. Scroll past the last entry now and imiwa? keeps loading. Recently Visited entries also get the same quick swipe-to-favorite search results already have. BRING YOUR OLD DICTIONARY WITH YOU Switching from another Japanese dictionary app? imiwa? can now import a few backup formats. STROKE ORDER, LEVELED UP The Stroke Order sheet is now resizable and plays through every stroke automatically, so you can watch a character being written without tapping through it one stroke at a time. FLASHCARDS Jump straight from a flashcard's back to its full Word or Kanji entry, and enjoy a fairer shuffle of new cards each day so similar-sounding words in JLPT and other decks stop showing up back to back. AND SEVERAL FIXES We listen to your feedback and have fixed a number of problems in this release too, including long proverb headwords no longer clipping off their romaji, the camera now showing clear loading feedback (instead of looking stuck) while fetching an iCloud photo, and more reliable list sorting and drag-to-reorder. ### 5.1.0 — 2026-07-11 New ways to study, find kanji, and copy what you need — plus a cleaner interface throughout. KANJI KENTEI (KANKEN), BUILT IN Study for the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test with dedicated Kanken level lists and flashcard decks for all twelve levels — plus a new Kanken widget so today's character is always one glance away. YOJI JUKUGO Explore Japan's very cool four-character idioms (七顛八起、一石二鳥...) with a new browsable Yoji Jukugo collection and a matching flashcard deck, right alongside your other Learn tab tools. FOUR CORNER CODE SEARCH Look up kanji the traditional way. A new Four Corner search adds an intuitive quadrant-assembly picker, so you can find the character you're after by shape alone. LOOKUP AS YOU COPY (old feature reintegrated by popular demand) Turn on auto-lookup in Settings and imiwa? will look up Japanese text the moment you copy it in any other app on your device — no need to switch apps or paste it in yourself. COPY, SPEAK, SHARE Every piece of dictionary text now has its own Copy, Copy and Add, Speak, and Share menu, so you can act on exactly the word or meaning you tapped — nothing else. FLASHCARDS See the reading right on the front of the card, and grade cards from the front side with a swipe without flipping first. Watch the details appear as you swipe the card away KANJI Choose which foreign readings are displayed. AND SEVERAL FIXES We listen to your feedback: corrected verb search matching, restored proper romaji and furigana behavior for alternate spellings, darkened handwriting guide lines for better visibility, and a few adjustments for large accessibility fonts. ### 5.0.1 — 2026-07-05 This update improves accessibility and Dynamic Type support across the app, including a new simplified layout option for iPad and Mac. Kanji search now finds fragments appearing anywhere in a word, not just at the start. Rare and alternate kanji spellings are easier to find again in search and word details, with a new advanced setting to always show them. Fixed several romaji search and furigana display issues for words with alternate spellings. ### 5.0.0 — 2026-07-01 imiwa? has been rebuilt from the ground up for iOS 26. Every screen, every interaction — reimagined. This isn't an update. It's a new beginning. UNIFIED SEARCH One search. Dictionary results, kanji matches, and example sentences — all at once, all in parallel. Switch between them with a tap. KANJI, DEEPER THAN EVER Stroke order animation, decomposition view, font variants, multi-radical visual search, SKIP lookup — every tool you need to truly understand a character. EXPLORE THE ROOTS OF EVERY RADICAL The Bushu radical browser has been rebuilt with animated stroke-order diagrams that cycle through every variant form of a radical. Tap any radical to read about its etymology — where it came from, what it originally depicted, and how it evolved. THE ANALYSER Paste any Japanese sentence and the Analyser breaks it down word by word: morphology, dictionary entries, example sentences, AI translations. Everything in one place. POINT YOUR CAMERA, READ THE WORLD (beta version) Hold your phone up to any Japanese text — a sign, a menu, a page — and imiwa? reads it for you. Live text recognition overlays translations directly in your viewfinder. Tap any word to look it up instantly. Or import a PDF — a textbook, a manga chapter, an article — and bring the same analysis to any page. SIRI, SHORTCUTS, AND QUICK ACTIONS Ask Siri to search imiwa? without opening the app. Add home-screen quick actions for your most-used features. imiwa? is now a first-class citizen of the iOS shortcut ecosystem. DRAW WHAT YOU CAN'T TYPE Can't find the kanji you're looking for? Draw it with your finger. imiwa?'s on-device handwriting recognition matches your strokes to the right character — no internet required. PITCH ACCENT, FINALLY See exactly how words rise and fall with pitch accent diagrams in word detail view. Essential for natural-sounding Japanese. AI-POWERED TRANSLATIONS imiwa? now uses Apple Intelligence to translate dictionary glosses on-device — privately and instantly — in Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, and more. No subscription. No server. Just your device. FLASHCARDS WITH SPACED REPETITION Study smarter. Build custom decks or study by JLPT level. imiwa? schedules your reviews automatically so you remember more with less effort. WIDGETS A Kanji of the Day and a Word of the Day, right on your lock screen or home screen. Learn something every time you pick up your phone. BUILT FOR EVERY SCREEN Full sidebar and column-browser layout on iPad. Dual-pane word and kanji details. imiwa? feels at home whether you're on iPhone or iPad. AND MUCH MORE iCloud sync, vocabulary lists with smart merge suggestions, conjugation tables with furigana and romaji, Markdown personal notes, Backup & Restore, dark mode — and full localization in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Russian. — A NOTE ON AI imiwa? uses Apple Intelligence to provide on-device translations for select languages. AI-generated content can make mistakes. Always verify AI translations before relying on them for important, professional, or formal purposes. ## Apps similar to imiwa? | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Japanese Dictionary - Nihongo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-dictionary-nihongo/id881697245) | 4.8 (1,829) | Free | Reference | | [Yomiwa - Japanese Dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yomiwa-japanese-dictionary/id670931120) | 4.7 (1,127) | Free | Reference | | [Mazii: Japanese Dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mazii-japanese-dictionary/id933081417) | 4.6 (353) | Free | Reference | | [Shirabe Jisho](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shirabe-jisho/id1005203380) | 4.9 (8,714) | Free | Reference | | [MOJisho: Japanese Dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mojisho-japanese-dictionary/id1021094295) | 4.8 (1,433) | Free | Reference | | [Japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese/id290664053) | 4.8 (3,572) | Free | Reference | ## Related topics [chinese dictionary japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chinese-dictionary-japanese) · [dizionario giapponese hoepli](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dizionario-giapponese-hoepli) · [dakanji](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dakanji) · [sakura kanji dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sakura-kanji-dictionary) · [gegolite](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/gegolite) · [excuse me japanese](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/excuse-me-japanese) · [pocketbook appendix lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pocketbook-appendix-lite) · [subarashii](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/subarashii) · [keita ito](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/keita-ito) · [nibbana field](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nibbana-field) · [kanji lookup pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/kanji-lookup-pro) · [nihongo master dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nihongo-master-dictionary) · [kodansha kanji synonyms guide](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/kodansha-kanji-synonyms-guide) · [yomiwa](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/yomiwa) · [japanese english dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/japanese-english-dictionary) · [japanese dictionary kanji](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/japanese-dictionary-kanji) · [japan kanji dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/japan-kanji-dictionary) · [onoma step](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/onoma-step) · [miwa](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/miwa) --- *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.*