Comparison

imiwa? vs JapanDict2

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

Head to head
About

imiwa?

A comprehensive offline Japanese dictionary supporting multiple languages for definitions. It includes kanji information, example sentences, and conjugation tools, making it suitable for learners of all levels.

Highlights
  • Offline Japanese dictionary
  • Multilingual definitions
  • Kanji database
  • Example sentences
  • Conjugation tools
  • Romaji search
Features
Read full description

A complete Japanese dictionary that lives entirely on your device. No internet connection, no subscription, no ads — just fast, powerful lookup whenever you need it. SEARCH ANY WAY YOU THINK Type in kanji, kana, or romaji for Japanese, or search directly in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or Russian — imiwa? finds the word you mean. Only English is guaranteed for every entry, but on supported devices, imiwa? uses Apple Intelligence, entirely on-device, to translate the rest into your language. MASTER KANJI YOUR WAY Don't know the reading? Draw it by hand, search by radical, or use SKIP and Four Corner codes. Every kanji page shows correct stroke order, calligraphic styles, JLPT level, school grade, and every word that uses it. POINT YOUR CAMERA AT ANY TEXT Scan a menu, a sign, or a page of a book and look up any word instantly. Live text recognition finds Japanese as you point, and document scanning corrects the perspective on photographed pages. UNDERSTAND WHOLE SENTENCES Paste or type any Japanese sentence into the Analyser and watch it break down into dictionary-linked words, with every conjugation explained and traced back to its base form. A built-in copy of Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar links directly from the words and grammar points you look up. LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE Study with flashcards built on a proven spaced-repetition algorithm — from your own vocabulary lists, JLPT levels, school grades, or favorites. Browse full Hiragana and Katakana charts, a searchable counters reference, real example sentences for nearly every word, and keep personal notes, saved vocabulary lists, and a full search history, all exportable. AT A GLANCE Add a Word of the Day or Kanji of the Day widget to your Home Screen, and use Siri Shortcuts to jump straight to the app's tools. On Apple Watch, put today's kanji and word right on your watch face. imiwa? was built on the JMDict and KanjiDic dictionary files from the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, continuing the work of Jim Breen's EDICT project, with example sentences from tatoeba.org. imiwa? is and will always remain free and fully functional. Optional in-app purchases let you support its development — no feature is ever locked behind a paywall. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

JapanDict2

This offline dictionary app offers extensive multilingual support for Japanese learners and native speakers. It includes numerous word pairs with example sentences and provides convenient search features like instant results and clipboard lookup.

Highlights
  • Offline multilingual dictionary
  • English, French, German, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Dutch, Russian support
  • Example sentences included
  • Instant search while typing
  • Shake to search new words
  • Clipboard text lookup
Features
Read full description

JapanDict2 (日本辞書2) はオフラインの豊富な多言語辞書で、日本人および日本語を勉強している方に対応するものです。 JapanDict2 is an offline multi-languagese dictionary dedicated to Japanese persons or who studying Japanese. + 辞書データ・機能: 日本語のポケット辞書は簡単・効果的に設計され、下記の辞書データベースを含めます: - 英語・日本語(例文を含めて9万単語) - 日本語・英語(例文を含めて10万単語) - フランス語・日本語(8万単語) - 日本語・フランス語(16万単語) - ドイツ語・日本語(12万5296単語) - 日本語・ドイツ語(20万単語) - 韓国語・日本語(9万単語) - 日本語・韓国語(16万単語) - イタリア語・日本語(7万単語) - スペイン語・日本語(8万単語) - 日本語・スペイン語(16万単語) - ポルトガル語・日本語(6万単語) - 日本語・ポルトガル語(16万単語) - ベトナム語・日本語(5万単語) - 日本語・ベトナム語(40万単語) - オランダ語・日本語(7万単語) - ロシア語・日本語(9万単語) - English - Japanese (90,000 words include samples) - Japanese - English (100,000 words include samples) - French - Japanese (80,000 words) - Japanese - French (160,000 words) - German - Japanese (125,296 words) - Japanese - German (200,000 words) - Korean - Japanese (90,000 words) - Japanese - Korean (160,000 words) - Italian - Japanese (70,000 words) - Spanish - Japanese (80,000 words) - Japanese - Spanish (160,000 words) - Portuguese - Japanese (60,000 words) - Japanese - Portuguese (160,000 words) - Vietnamese - Japanese (50,000 words) - Japanese - Vietnamese (400,000 words) - Dutch - Japanese (70,000 words) - Russian - Japanese (90,000 words) 機能: - 履歴サポート - タイプ同時に検索結果を表示 - 英和英辞書の例文を搭載される - シェイクで新言葉を検索 - 結果画面から、コピーされるテキストを自動的に検査可能 - 起動のとき、Clipboardから、コピーされたテキストを自動的に検査 Features: - History support - Instant search while typing - Shake to start looking for new word - Cross lookup in detail view - Auto lookup text in clipboard

Screenshots

imiwa?4 screens
JapanDict24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: JapanDict2 at 5.0 against imiwa?'s 4.5. JapanDict2 also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). imiwa?'s advantage is ratings volume (263 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. imiwa? sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and JapanDict2 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

JapanDict2 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: imiwa? has 263 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
imiwa? versus JapanDict2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterimiwa?JapanDict2
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (263 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings263 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size335 MB135 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPierre-Phi di CostanzoTien Thinh Vu

Customer experience

imiwa?

All ratings263 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral1.1%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews983 reviews
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.2%

JapanDict2

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

imiwa?

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Search function sometimes becomes unresponsive
  • Settings menu not fully accessible on some devices
  • Clipboard auto-paste feature can be distracting

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to change app theme/color scheme
  • Improve export/sharing capabilities for vocab lists
  • Implement handwriting recognition for kanji lookup
  • Expand example sentences and improve their translations

JapanDict2

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

imiwa?

Subscriptions5
  • Gift a cookie$1.991 Month
  • Gift a drink$4.991 Month
  • Gift a burger2 variants$9.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Gift a cocktail$19.991 Year
  • Gift a meal$49.991 Year
One-time4
  • Gift a drink$4.99
  • Gift a burger$9.99
  • Gift a cocktail$19.99
Show 1 more
  • Gift a meal$49.99
1 purchases

JapanDict2

One-time1
  • Unlock Standard Features$2.99

Questions

Is imiwa? free?
imiwa? is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is JapanDict2 free?
JapanDict2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, imiwa? or JapanDict2?
JapanDict2 is rated higher. imiwa? averages 4.5 out of 5 from 263 ratings, while JapanDict2 averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do imiwa? or JapanDict2 have ads?
Neither imiwa? nor JapanDict2 shows ads.

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