Comparison

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP vs WriteChinese

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

Head to head
About

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP

Learn Chinese characters with interactive exercises and spaced repetition. Track your progress with an evolving avatar and master vocabulary through pronunciation and stroke order guidance. Access a comprehensive database of learning materials.

Highlights
  • Write characters directly on screen
  • Spaced repetition system for memorization
  • Evolving avatar for motivation
  • Audio pronunciation of vocabulary
  • HSK, YCT, and other vocabulary lists
  • Stroke order guidance
Features
Read full description

ZIHOP is used by students in top universities and top business schools around the world to learn Chinese characters. WRITE CHINESE CHARACTERS DIRECTLY ON YOUR PHONE 3 to 6 minutes per day and follow the stroke order. STAY MOTIVATED ! Discover your avatar that evolves with your Chinese level. LISTEN TO THE VOCABULARY All words are pronounced to improve your Chinese skills. A COMPLETE DATABASE Choose the vocabulary you need in our book list : HSK, YCT, Integrated Chinese, New practical reader... A METHOD BASED ON THE SPACED REPETITION SYSTEM Review your Chinese characters 1 day after, 10 days after, 30 days after and 60 days after in order to stimulate your long term memory. Memorize Chinese characters with ZIHOP ! -------------------------------------------- After completing 3 missions for free, you will be asked to choose among three plans to keep using ZIHOP memorization algorithm: a) 1 month - full access to the app b) 3 month - full access to the app c) 1 year - full access to the app Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscription can be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by viewing your Apple ID Account Setting after purchase. Privacy policy: https://zihop.fr/legal/ZIHOP-privacy-policy.pdf Terms of use: https://zihop.fr/legal/ZIHOP-Terms-of-use.pdf

About

WriteChinese

Learn the correct stroke order for Chinese characters with animated guides and pronunciation. Supports text recognition, offline lookup, and practice writing with error correction. Ideal for students and learners of Chinese.

Highlights
  • Stroke order lookup and animation
  • Pinyin annotation and voice pronunciation
  • Text recognition for input
  • Offline dictionary
  • Writing practice with error alerts
  • Simplified and traditional Chinese support
Features
Read full description

"WriteChinese" is an app for learning the stroke order of Chinese characters, with stroke order lookup, pinyin annotation, voice playback, flashcards and vocabulary review. It works on iPhone, iPad and Apple Pencil. The app strictly follows the latest standards for Chinese character stroke order and includes tens of thousands of common characters, meeting the lookup needs of teachers, parents and children. Stroke order and radicals are based on the "Elementary School Students' Stroke-Radical-Structure Character-level Stroke Order Dictionary" and the "Modern Chinese Stroke-Radical-Structure Character-level Stroke Order Standard Dictionary." All of the more than 20,000 Chinese characters supported by "WriteChinese" are annotated with pinyin, and users can tap the play button to hear the pronunciation. Features: * Take a photo or choose an image for text recognition to help you input the characters you want to practice. * Handwriting lookup: find the character you want by writing it by hand, even if you can't type Chinese. * New flashcards: turn characters into cards for reviewing and memorizing anytime, anywhere. * New vocabulary book: automatically collect new characters for repeated review. * New word list quiz: test how well you've mastered a list, with your progress at a glance. * After text recognition, automatically translate English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese into Chinese for easy comparison while learning Chinese. * Offline dictionary: look up characters you don't know. * Automatically save your input or text-recognition history for easy practice later. * Supports stroke order practice for almost all Chinese characters. * Play the standard stroke order of characters as an animation. * Practice writing Chinese characters; if there is a mistake, the app alerts you to the incorrect stroke. * Show or hide the stroke order to help with dictation and to strengthen memory. * Automatically annotate pinyin when you input any Chinese characters. * Voice playback of Chinese characters: if you don't know how to read a character, just tap the voice button to hear it. * Share your handwritten characters with friends. * Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and English explanations. Discover more features... Chinese characters have a history of more than six thousand years; they are the world's longest continuously used writing system, with no break in transmission. They are the only surviving ideographic script created by ancient people and an important part of Chinese culture. We sincerely hope "WriteChinese" can help Chinese learners around the world and help billions of Chinese users learn how to write Chinese characters. Unlimited Access Membership Subscription - Use all in-app features without restrictions through this subscription. - Subscriptions are charged weekly, monthly or yearly, depending on the selected plan. - Payment is charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. - You can turn off auto-renewal 24 hours before the current period ends, or it will renew automatically. - Renewal is charged to your account within 24 hours before the current period ends, depending on your plan. - Users can manage subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal in account settings after purchase. - Any unused free subscription time is forfeited after purchasing a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.dazhuogroup.com/writechinese/privacy_statement_en.php Terms of Use: https://www.dazhuogroup.com/writechinese/terms_of_use_en.php

Screenshots

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP3 screens
WriteChinese4 screens

Verdict

The call

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP and WriteChinese both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 73% of Write Chinese characters ZIHOP's written reviews are positive against 25% of WriteChinese's. Write Chinese characters ZIHOP also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). WriteChinese's advantage is ratings volume (21 vs 5). On price, rating, ads 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. Write Chinese characters ZIHOP sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.49 per month and WriteChinese sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Write Chinese characters ZIHOP against 4.5 for WriteChinese. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 21 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Write Chinese characters ZIHOP's written reviews are positive against 25% of WriteChinese's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP ships an update every 2 months, WriteChinese every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Write Chinese characters ZIHOP versus WriteChinese: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWrite Chinese characters ZIHOPWriteChinese
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (5 ratings)4.5 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings521 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB356 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperBALShanghai Dazhuo Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral20.0%
Negative6.7%

WriteChinese

All ratings21 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral9.5%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Write Chinese characters ZIHOP

Subscriptions3
  • 1 Month$9.491 Month
  • 3 Months$23.993 Months
  • 1 Year$56.991 Year
3 purchases

WriteChinese

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Write Chinese characters ZIHOP free?
Write Chinese characters ZIHOP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is WriteChinese free?
WriteChinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Write Chinese characters ZIHOP or WriteChinese?
WriteChinese is rated higher. Write Chinese characters ZIHOP averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while WriteChinese averages 4.5 from 21 ratings.
Do Write Chinese characters ZIHOP or WriteChinese have ads?
Neither Write Chinese characters ZIHOP nor WriteChinese shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Write Chinese characters ZIHOP or WriteChinese?
Write Chinese characters ZIHOP ships an update every 2 months, and WriteChinese every 7 months. Most recently, Write Chinese characters ZIHOP was updated on October 9, 2026 and WriteChinese on October 24, 2026.

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