Comparison

Mandaboo vs Learn Japanese +

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

Head to head
About

Mandaboo

A fun, improv-style game designed to improve Mandarin speaking and listening skills. Players guess Mandarin words by following clues, avoiding specific taboo words to enhance comprehension and vocabulary. Play solo or with friends for an engaging learning experience.

Highlights
  • Guess Mandarin words with clues
  • Avoid taboo words
  • Improve listening comprehension
  • Enhance speaking skills
  • Play solo or with friends
  • Create custom word lists
Features
Read full description

Start playing Mandaboo today—a game of unspeakable Mandarin fun. Follow clues to guess the Mandarin word in this Mandarin game of improv, learning and laughs. Some clues are taboo to challenge your Mandarin listening comprehension and get your mind’s gears turning in Mandarin to guess the word in question. WHAT’S A MANDABOO? It’s a guessing challenge where the speaker gives you clues but they are not allowed to say certain taboo words to keep you guessing longer. You’ll hang on every clue until you make a Mandarin breakthrough…or bust! Will you be stumped? Only one way to know! ARE YOU UP FOR THE GUESSING CHALLENGE? Play on your own with the built-in Mandaboos or play with friends by creating your own Mandaboos for friends to guess, or try your guessing prowess with your friends’ Mandaboos and keep the learning going. Terms Of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Learn Japanese +

This app offers a fun and engaging way to learn Japanese with AI-powered conversational practice and real-life scenario lessons. It features advanced speech recognition for pronunciation practice and allows flexible learning paths.

Highlights
  • AI Virtual Tutor for conversation practice
  • Real-life scenario lessons
  • Advanced speech recognition for pronunciation
  • 101 lessons and 1,190 phrases
  • Interactive vocabulary and comprehension exercises
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Do you want to learn Japanese quickly and have fun doing it? Learn Japanese + by Vidalingua is the first language app of its kind with a Virtual Tutor you can chat with on any topic, using advanced AI with ChatGPT. The New York Times says "Apps from Vidalingua are hugely popular... they're free and they work offline, handy when you're actually abroad." Immerse yourself in real-life situations that you can use in the classroom or on a trip. Learn Japanese + includes 101 lessons, 1,190 phrases and 4,027 exercises to help you become proficient in Japanese in record time. Vidalingua is a leading developer of language apps with over 15 million users. See what others have to say. "Great for students! I teach at a bilingual school and it’s challenging to keep the students' attention. Apps are the best way to go and this offline app is one of my favorites." "I downloaded several free apps. Some are like games but I’m not sure I’m learning things I can use. This app has lessons that are immediately useful for talking to real people in real situations.” "Lingidy is a super fun way to learn Japanese. It steps you through lessons you will need for a trip then throws in a few unexpected ones. Fun app. Bravo!" The Vidalingua Method Real-life Learning Other apps waste time on vocabulary and grammar you’ll rarely ever use. Learn Japanese + jumps right to lessons that you can use immediately. Start by learning Greetings, Essentials and Questions to get a conversation started. Progress to helpful lessons such as Airports, Hotels and Directions. Make the most of your travels with lessons such as Museums, Movies and Making Friends. Understanding & Speaking Understanding Japanese is a good start but speaking is critical. Learn Japanese + provides advanced speech recognition to help you master pronunciation. Practice speaking at your own pace until you build the confidence to talk to others. Engaging Experience Some of the lessons in Learn Japanese + teach the basics such as telling Time, using the Subway or Eating Out. Others are unique and amusing such as Limousines, Hot Tubs, Pick-up Lines and Rejections. Interactive exercises keep your attention and improve retention. Meerling the meerkat provides help and encouragement. Learn as you Like Other apps force you to learn in a specific order. Lingidy allows you to move through lessons, phrases and exercises freely. Features • 101 lessons for real-life situations like taking Taxis, arriving at a Hostel or asking about the Weather. Fun lessons such as Flirting and Swearing. • 1,190 useful phrases such as “Can you speak slowly?” and “Where is the closest cash machine?”. • 5,277 exercises to master vocabulary, pronunciation and comprehension. • Vocabulary exercises to help you master Numbers, Menus, even Cocktails. • Audio pronunciations. Choose accents and speed. • Select favorites to create your own study list. • Word Jumble Exercises challenges you to order words in a phrase correctly. • Pronunciation Exercises with advanced speech recognition to know if you say a phrase correctly. • Picture Exercises to choose the image that matches a word. • Write Exercises teaches you to understand spoken words & write them correctly. • Multiple Choice Exercises to recognize the correct translations of a phrase. • Set goals for yourself and track your learning progress. Learn Japanese fast and have fun doing it. Download Learn Japanese + today! Terms & Conditions • Learn Japanese + includes 12 free lessons and 101 lessons with a subscription. • Payment charged to iTunes Account at the end of the trial period. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off 24-hours before expiring. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Terms of Service https://vidalingua.com/terms-of-service

Screenshots

Mandaboo3 screens
Learn Japanese +4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Learn Japanese + at none against Mandaboo's shown. Mandaboo's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Mandaboo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Learn Japanese + sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. 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 — 5.0 for Mandaboo against 4.9 for Learn Japanese +. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 17 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mandaboo ships an update weekly, Learn Japanese + every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Mandaboo versus Learn Japanese +: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMandabooLearn Japanese +
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better4.9 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings617 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB72 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperMandarin Monkey LtdAscendo Inc.

Customer experience

Mandaboo

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Learn Japanese +

All ratings17 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Mandaboo

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Six Month Subscription3 Days trial$54.996 Months
  • Annual Subscription$99.991 Year
2 purchases

Learn Japanese +

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Lessons (1 month)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Premium Lessons (1 year)7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Mandaboo free?
Mandaboo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Learn Japanese + free?
Learn Japanese + is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mandaboo or Learn Japanese +?
Mandaboo is rated higher. Mandaboo averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Learn Japanese + averages 4.9 from 17 ratings.
Do Mandaboo or Learn Japanese + have ads?
Mandaboo shows ads; Learn Japanese + does not.
Which is updated more often, Mandaboo or Learn Japanese +?
Mandaboo ships an update weekly, and Learn Japanese + every 6 weeks. Most recently, Mandaboo was updated on October 24, 2026 and Learn Japanese + on October 24, 2026.

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