# imiwa? vs Jishokun

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | imiwa? | Jishokun |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (263 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imiwa/id288499125/reviews)** | [4.2 (29 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/jishokun/id671889349/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **263** | 29 |
| Positive reviews | **90.7% of reviews** | 16.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 335 MB | 250 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Pierre-Phi di Costanzo](https://appshunter.io/developer/288499128) | [Penzo](https://appshunter.io/developer/502622543) |

## What reviewers say

### imiwa?

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imiwa/id288499125)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gift a cookie | $1.99 | per month |
| Gift a drink | $4.99 | per month |
| Gift a burger | $9.99 | per month |
| Gift a cocktail | $19.99 | per year |
| Gift a meal | $49.99 | per year |
| Gift a drink | $4.99 | one-time |
| Gift a burger | $9.99 | one-time |
| Gift a cocktail | $19.99 | one-time |
| Gift a meal | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent dictionary with comprehensive features
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Offline functionality is very useful
- 🚀 Fast lookup and analysis of text
- 👍 Detailed kanji information including stroke order

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🔋 App takes up a lot of storage space
- 👎 Some translations and example sentences are unreliable
- 👎 Lack of handwriting input for kanji lookup

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/jishokun/id671889349)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium 1 Month | $2.49 | per month |
| Premium 1 Year | $27.99 | per year |
| Offline Dictionary | $1.99 | one-time |
| Kanji Dictionary | $1.99 | one-time |
| Jishokun Premium | $3.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is imiwa? free?

imiwa? is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Jishokun free?

Jishokun is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, imiwa? or Jishokun?

imiwa? is rated higher. imiwa? averages 4.5 out of 5 from 263 ratings, while Jishokun averages 4.2 from 29 ratings.

### Do imiwa? or Jishokun have ads?

Jishokun shows ads; imiwa? does not.

### Which is updated more often, imiwa? or Jishokun?

imiwa? ships an update every 3 weeks, and Jishokun fortnightly. Most recently, imiwa? was updated on October 26, 2026 and Jishokun on October 26, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*