Comparison

Chinese vs Sinograms

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

Head to head
About

Chinese

This app offers a comprehensive English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionary for Mandarin Chinese. It includes features like audio pronunciation, stroke animations, and example sentences to aid vocabulary expansion and exam preparation. Supports multiple languages for a broader learning experience.

Highlights
  • English-Chinese dictionary
  • Chinese-English dictionary
  • Audio pronunciation
  • Stroke animations
  • HSK exam preparation
  • Vocabulary expansion
Features
Read full description

Chinese IQ - is a free English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionary of Mandarin Chinese language (Putonghua). Learn Chinese, expand your vocabulary, use this dictionary as a Chinese phrasebook. The dictionary supports multiple languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Finnish, Swedish, Vietnamese, Thai and other languages. Chinese dictionary flash cards may contain audio pronunciation, stroke animations, measure words (classifiers) and example sentences. The pronunciation of Chinese words and characters is shown with pinyin and bopomofo (zhuyin fuhao). This dictionary will help you: - expand your vocabulary - prepare to HSK, HSKK, TOCFL, IGCSE exams - study Chinese using learning apps and social networks The learning apps can help you master the grammar, memorize new words and characters, identify character radicals, break characters into components and write them. Learning Chinese apps are suitable for the following levels: HSK1, HSK2, HSK3, HSK4, HSK5.

About

Sinograms

Explore over 10,300 Chinese characters with detailed information, including stroke order, pronunciation, and usage examples. Practice writing characters and learn about the fundamentals of Chinese writing.

Highlights
  • 10,300+ simplified and traditional characters
  • Customizable character grid browsing
  • Search and filter functionality
  • Favorites list
  • Stroke order decomposition
  • Detailed character information
  • Writing practice module
Features
Read full description

● More than 10.300 characters, in their simplified and traditional forms ● Browse the characters in a customisable grid (groups, order, levels) ● Search and filter ● Favorites list ● Usage frequency, HSK and Table of General Standard Chinese Characters (通用 规范 汉字 表) level ● Strokes order - stroke by stroke decomposition ● Detailed information for each character (pronunciation, translation, decomposition, etymology and usage examples) ● Writing practice to master every character ● General information about Chinese writing - basic strokes, order and difficult characters English, Français, Español, Italiano, Deutsch, Русский язык, ภาษาไทย, Tiếng Việt, 한국어, हिन्दी, 汉语, 日本語, العربية

Screenshots

Chinese4 screens
Sinograms4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chinese at Free against Sinograms's $3.99. Chinese also leads on ratings volume (537 vs 3) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). Sinograms's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 68%). On in-app purchases and device support 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

Chinese is free to download; Sinograms costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sinograms holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chinese has 537 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Chinese's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sinograms's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chinese ships an update fortnightly, Sinograms monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Chinese versus Sinograms: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChineseSinograms
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.5 (537 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings537 — better3
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size156 MB222 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDmitry ZaikaSamuel REAUD

Customer experience

Chinese

All ratings537 ratings
Positive87.3%
Neutral5.2%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral14.8%
Negative17.2%

Sinograms

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Chinese

No in-app purchases

None

Sinograms

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chinese free?
Chinese is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sinograms free?
Sinograms costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chinese or Sinograms?
Sinograms is rated higher. Chinese averages 4.5 out of 5 from 537 ratings, while Sinograms averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Chinese or Sinograms have ads?
Chinese shows ads; Sinograms does not.
Which is updated more often, Chinese or Sinograms?
Chinese ships an update fortnightly, and Sinograms monthly. Most recently, Chinese was updated on September 21, 2026 and Sinograms on August 30, 2026.

Other comparisons