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

Learn to write and type Chinese characters with animated stroke order guides. This free version offers 80 basic characters and phrases, with a full version planned for HSK levels 1-6.

Highlights
  • Animated stroke order guides
  • Learn to write basic characters
  • Practice typing Chinese text
  • Includes common phrases
  • Free version with 80 characters
Features
Read full description

Learn Chinese writing from the very beginning, starting with simple but useful characters that later combine to make more complex characters. Just follow the animated stroke order! I wrote this app for my kids to learn how to read, write and type text messages to their grandparents in China. This free version includes 80 characters. After mastering these, you will be able to write phrases like: • "Hello" - 你好 • "I don't understand" - 我不懂 • "I have to go to class!" - 我要去上课了 • "Please give me a cup of water" - 请给我一杯水 • "This is my daughter" - 这是我的女儿 You will need to enable the iPhone Chinese keyboard in the Settings app: General -> Keyboard -> Add New Keyboard ... -> Chinese (Simplified) -> Handwriting While not a pre-requisite for this app, if you are taking a listening and speaking course in Mandarin Chinese, you can also follow the pinyin (pronounciation) shown alongside each character. Stay tuned for the full version with all HSK Levels 1 to 6 characters as well as many more phrases and features.

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

Hanzi3 screens
Han4ABC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Han4ABC at 4.4 against Hanzi's 2.5. Han4ABC also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 67%) and ratings volume (27 vs 2). Hanzi's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months). 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 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Han4ABC has 27 ratings behind it against 2, 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 2 days, Han4ABC every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Hanzi versus Han4ABC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHanziHan4ABC
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (2 ratings)4.4 (27 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings227 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRichard GomesJianfeng Wu

Customer experience

Hanzi

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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 2.5 out of 5 from 2 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 2 days, and Han4ABC every 3 months. Most recently, Hanzi was updated on October 10, 2026 and Han4ABC on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons