Comparison

zzHanzi vs Nomnom Study

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

Head to head
About

zzHanzi

Learn Chinese through engaging games and comprehensive courses. Master characters, vocabulary, and pronunciation with structured lessons and abundant resources. Practice reading and writing with built-in materials and personalized review options.

Highlights
  • Game-based learning experience
  • Extensive textbook and HSK vocabulary lists
  • Character learning from scratch
  • Chinese reading materials with translations
  • Step-by-step character writing instruction
  • Flexible review options
  • Targeted pronunciation exercises
Features
Read full description

zzHanzi is a learning app that makes learning Chinese fun through games. 1. A joyful experience like playing games. While learning Chinese, you can continuously earn coins. Multiple game types provide a rich learning experience. The courses are carefully designed, clear and rigorous, making the learning process both enjoyable and simple. 2. Abundant teaching resources. It includes almost all major Chinese textbooks available on the market, complete with full vocabulary lists. You can not only study independently but also follow the Chinese textbooks used in schools. HSK word lists for all levels and categorized Chinese word lists are all available. Whether you are studying at a Confucius Institute or preparing for the HSK exam, it is convenient to use. Vocabulary lists from mainstream Chinese learning apps are also included. 3. Original Chinese courses. Our character courses allow every single character to be learned from scratch. The lessons are easy to understand yet broad and profound in content. Each character lesson enables students to progress from beginner level to native-level comprehension. We delve deeply into each character and the Chinese culture it embodies, helping you build a Chinese way of thinking. Characters are the foundation of Chinese. From HSK Level 1 to HSK Level 6, you will master all knowledge related to each character in a systematic and comprehensive manner. 4. High-quality Chinese reading materials. A large number of classic Chinese reading materials are built-in. Every character can be looked up in a dictionary, and pinyin can be displayed. All reading content comes with translations. The app also supports looping playback of articles. These classic Chinese stories are well-known to Chinese people. While reading, you can also establish cultural connections with Chinese people and better learn Chinese wisdom. The wisdom passed down over five thousand years becomes easily accessible. 5. Detailed and patient character teaching. Writing Chinese characters becomes very easy here. The strokes, pronunciation, and components of each character are broken down and demonstrated step by step. You will progress from tracing each stroke to writing characters freely and quickly. Memorizing character writing is also a gradual process. Learning Chinese writing becomes simple. No longer will you only be able to speak Chinese without being able to write it. 6. Flexible and convenient review. We offer two review arrangements. You can freely choose what to study, or simply follow our arranged review without any extra thought. Everything is clear and organized. You can also add unfamiliar words to your own custom vocabulary notebook. 7. Focus on pronunciation difficulties. We have compiled a large number of Chinese pronunciation exercises specifically targeting the common difficulties faced by foreigners, accompanied by specialized pronunciation training. Targeted practice makes speaking accurate Chinese much easier. 8. Flexible content creation. Even if your course materials are not included in our collection, you can easily create flashcards to assist your Chinese learning. You can also share them with your teacher or students so they can learn together. This app fully supports offline learning — no internet connection required.

About

Nomnom Study

This app helps teens and college students build a daily study habit by gamifying the experience. Study with friends in virtual rooms, complete challenges, and earn coins to grow and customize a virtual pet. It offers focus modes, study sounds, and progress tracking to enhance productivity.

Highlights
  • Study timer with virtual pet growth
  • Study with friends in virtual rooms
  • Collaborative study challenges
  • Customizable pet and virtual house
  • Earn coins by studying
  • Study sounds and focus mode
  • Progress tracking and streaks
Features
Read full description

Your study time feeds your pet. A study timer for teens and college students building a daily study habit. ■ Study with friends Make a room with a 6-character invite code. See who's studying right now and cheer them on with emoji. Today, this week and this month rankings show how many minutes until you pass the friend above you, so you always go one more round. ■ Study challenges together Start a 25, 50 or 90-minute challenge in your room. Finish together for bonus coins. If anyone stops early, everyone fails! ■ Open study rooms Study with others in rooms by school, region or age group. You show up as a seat number, not your name. Profanity and contact info are filtered automatically, and you can report or block anyone right away. ■ Your own pet Pick a bookworm, hamster, rabbit, cat or duck, then give it a name. It grows as you study. Feed it and it munches away; pat it and it beams; tuck it in and it dozes off. ■ Study to earn coins 1 minute of study = 1 coin. Feed your pet and dress it up with hats, bows and glasses. Coins are never sold for money. The only way to earn them is to study. Stop anytime and every minute you studied still counts. No time limit on the timer. Leave the app or turn off the screen, and your study time keeps counting accurately. ■ Your pet's house Decorate the living room, kitchen and bedroom with wallpaper and floors. While you study, the room dims into focus mode. ■ Study sounds Play brown noise, pink noise or white noise while you study. Free. ■ Today's study card Share one card with your pet and today's study time. Made for your studygram. ■ Stats and streaks Daily bars, average per study day, your best day and your streak at a glance. Skipped a day or two? Rest days keep your streak going (hold up to 2, earn 1 every 7-day streak). ■ Reminders without nagging Only if you turn them on. They stop by themselves if you don't come back for 3 days. ■ No sign-up Start your first session within 30 seconds of installing. Sign in with Google or Apple to back up your pet (optional). ■ Nomnom Plus (optional) Double the coins you earn by studying, plus your last 30 days of history. The subscription renews automatically at the same price unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Cancel anytime in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://nomnom-study.wondi81.workers.dev/terms Privacy Policy: https://nomnom-study.wondi81.workers.dev/privacy

Screenshots

zzHanzi4 screens
Nomnom Study4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: zzHanzi at none against Nomnom Study's shown. Nomnom Study's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. zzHanzi sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Nomnom Study sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

zzHanzi ships an update weekly, Nomnom Study every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
zzHanzi versus Nomnom Study: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterzzHanziNomnom Study
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size366 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDalian Xuewujing Software Co., LtdDOIL WON

Customer experience

zzHanzi

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%

Nomnom Study

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

zzHanzi

One-time9
  • 168 coins$0.99
  • 568 coins$1.99
  • 1688 coins$3.99
Show 6 more
  • 5888 coins$6.99
  • pay 1 month fee$9.99
  • pay 3 month fee$14.99
  • pay 1 year fee$19.99
  • Fee for 3 years$34.99
  • Russian Lesson for HSK 1$39.99
2 purchases

Nomnom Study

Subscriptions2
  • Nomnom Plus Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Nomnom Plus Yearly$17.991 Year

Questions

Is zzHanzi free?
zzHanzi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nomnom Study free?
Nomnom Study is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do zzHanzi or Nomnom Study have ads?
Nomnom Study shows ads; zzHanzi does not.
Which is updated more often, zzHanzi or Nomnom Study?
zzHanzi ships an update weekly, and Nomnom Study every 3 days. Most recently, zzHanzi was updated on November 3, 2026 and Nomnom Study on November 6, 2026.

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