imiwa? vs Jishokun
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Offline Japanese dictionary
- Multilingual definitions
- Kanji database
- Example sentences
- Conjugation tools
- Romaji search
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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/
Jishokun
This app provides comprehensive Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary functions. It includes features for kanji lookup, pronunciation, text translation, and stroke order visualization. Users can also save frequently used words and customize settings like text size.
- Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary
- Kanji search with handwriting and radicals
- English word pronunciation and text translation
- Stroke order visualization
- Save frequently used words
- Adjustable text size
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Jishokun brings Japanese and English dictionaries, kanji tools, and vocabulary practice together in one app. Look up unfamiliar words, explore their meanings, and turn what you discover into your next study session. • JAPANESE & ENGLISH DICTIONARIES Search Japanese–English, English–Japanese, Japanese–Japanese, and English–English dictionaries. Explore example sentences, synonyms, and antonyms, or translate between Japanese and English. • KANJI MADE EASIER Draw an unfamiliar kanji to search for it, check stroke order, and display furigana to help you read Japanese text. Explore Japanese names and proverbs with dedicated lookup tools. • YOUR PERSONAL WORD BOOK Save words and their definitions for later. Search your saved vocabulary and revisit previous lookups through your search history. • FLASHCARDS & SPACED REPETITION Turn saved words into flashcards and review them with a schedule that adjusts to your answers. Practice from word to meaning or meaning to word, edit your cards, and listen to pronunciation as you study. • LISTEN & PRACTICE Hear words spoken aloud with adjustable playback speed. Use speech practice to compare recognized speech with the phrase you want to say. • LEARN FROM YOUR HOME SCREEN Discover a Word of the Day, review flashcards, check how many cards are due, and open your preferred dictionary with Home Screen widgets. • APPLE WATCH COMPANION Look up words through your paired iPhone and review synced flashcards from your wrist. • MAKE IT YOURS Adjust text size, enable furigana, and sync your Word Book and flashcards with iCloud. Optional purchases unlock offline dictionaries and an expanded kanji dictionary. An optional subscription includes both dictionaries and removes ads. Whether you’re studying Japanese, reading, or looking up a word on the go, Jishokun helps you keep learning.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: imiwa? at 91% against Jishokun's 16%. imiwa? also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Jishokun's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. imiwa? sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Jishokun sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
imiwa? holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: imiwa? has 263 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of imiwa?'s written reviews are positive against 16% of Jishokun's.
imiwa? ships an update every 3 weeks, Jishokun fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | imiwa? | Jishokun |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (263 ratings) — better | 4.2 (29 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.7% of reviews — better | 16.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 263 — better | 29 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 335 MB | 250 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Pierre-Phi di Costanzo | Penzo |
Customer experience
imiwa?
Jishokun
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
Jishokun
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
imiwa?
- Gift a cookie$1.991 Month
- Gift a drink$4.991 Month
- Gift a burger2 variants$9.991 Month
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Gift a cocktail$19.991 Year
- Gift a meal$49.991 Year
- Gift a drink$4.99
- Gift a burger$9.99
- Gift a cocktail$19.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Gift a meal$49.99
Jishokun
- Premium 1 Month$2.491 Month
- Premium 1 Year$27.991 Year
- Offline Dictionary$1.99
- Kanji Dictionary$1.99
- Jishokun Premium$3.99









