Comparison

HANZI vs Han4ABC

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HANZI

This app helps users learn Chinese characters by integrating sound, glyphs, and animation. It uses flashcards, sample sentences, images, and games to aid memorization and understanding of radicals, strokes, pronunciation, and meaning.

Highlights
  • Sound, glyph, and animation integration
  • Flashcards for memorization
  • Sample sentences for context
  • Images to aid understanding
  • Learning games
  • Focus on radicals and strokes
Features
Read full description

Most people would think that learning Chinese characters is challenging. Not only because the characters comprise of different radicals, strokes and apply to dynamic writing rules, but also because the pronunciation and meaning of Chinese characters may vary. HANZI is a free and unique mobile application designed by Chinese professionals based at a British university. The app aims to integrate sound, glyph and animation to better demonstrate characters on your smart phone. Unlike other learning software, HANZI not only focuses on the design and development of mobile application technology, but also draws on various academic research in L2 Chinese teaching and learning together with theories of L2 learners’ acquisition. HANZI pays particular attention to the process of using, learning and memorising characters in practice.  This is achieved through a range of functions of HANZI such as flashcards, sample sentences, images and games. This is a light version of HANZI, a collection of the 30 most basically used characters. We will continue to expand HANZI to meet the requirements of the majority of learners. We hope you enjoy using HANZI and make great progress with leaning Chinese characters!

About

Han4ABC

This app acts as a personal tutor to help you learn Chinese characters, pronunciation, and vocabulary. It offers interactive exercises for stroke order, speaking practice, idiom composition, and reading classic poems.

Highlights
  • Practice stroke order
  • Listen to Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations
  • Pronunciation quiz with speech recognition
  • Guess English words from Chinese phrases
  • Compose idioms
  • Read Tang poems with pinyin
Features
Read full description

Han4ABC helps Chinese children growing up outside China learn Chinese like having a personal tutor. - Practice stroke order, Mandarin & Cantonese pronunciation, meanings, and example sentences - Improve speaking with Apple speech-recognition pronunciation quizzes - Learn common Chinese characters by grade level - Build English vocabulary through Chinese phrase games - Compose and read Chinese idioms aloud - Enjoy Three Hundred Tang Poems with pinyin and audio playback Interactive lessons, speaking practice, and classic Chinese culture — all in one app.

Screenshots

HANZI4 screens
Han4ABC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Han4ABC at 4.4 against HANZI's 3.0. Han4ABC also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (27 vs 1). HANZI's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Han4ABC holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Han4ABC has 27 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of HANZI's written reviews are positive against 83% of Han4ABC's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HANZI ships an update every 12 months, Han4ABC every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
HANZI versus Han4ABC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHANZIHan4ABC
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings)4.4 (27 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings127 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXiaolong TangJianfeng Wu

Customer experience

HANZI

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Han4ABC

All ratings27 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral7.4%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

HANZI

No in-app purchases

None

Han4ABC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HANZI free?
HANZI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Han4ABC free?
Han4ABC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HANZI or Han4ABC?
Han4ABC is rated higher. HANZI averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Han4ABC averages 4.4 from 27 ratings.
Do HANZI or Han4ABC have ads?
Han4ABC shows ads; HANZI does not.
Which is updated more often, HANZI or Han4ABC?
HANZI ships an update every 12 months, and Han4ABC every 3 months. Most recently, HANZI was updated on October 24, 2026 and Han4ABC on October 29, 2026.

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