# imiwa? vs Nihongo

The clearest difference is monetization model: imiwa? at free against Nihongo's freemium. Nihongo's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. imiwa? sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Nihongo sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Nihongo holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nihongo has 1.9K ratings behind it against 261, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 91% and 91% positive.

imiwa? ships an update every 3 weeks, Nihongo weekly. Both last shipped on October 21, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | imiwa? | Nihongo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (261 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imiwa/id288499125/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihongo-japanese-dictionary/id881697245/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 261 | **1.9K** |
| Positive reviews | 90.8% of reviews | **91.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 799 MB | 493 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pierre-Phi di Costanzo](https://appshunter.io/developer/288499128) | [Serpenti Sei Japan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1767544234) |

## 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


### Nihongo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihongo-japanese-dictionary/id881697245)

This app is an offline Japanese study tool that functions as a dictionary, translator, and flashcard creator. It helps users learn Japanese by analyzing text from their surroundings, such as signs and menus, and creating personalized study materials.

**Highlights:** Offline Japanese dictionary, Picture-to-text translation (OCR), Automatic flashcard creation, Reading assistant with furigana/romaji, Spaced repetition flashcards, Search in English, Japanese, or romaji

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nihongo Pro (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Nihongo Pro (3 Months) | $11.99 | per 3 months |
| Nihongo Pro (Annual) | $49.99 | per year |
| Pitch Accents | $9.99 | one-time |
| Nihongo Pro (Lifetime) | $179.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent dictionary
- 👍 Comprehensive features
- 🔒 Offline compatibility
- 👍 Helpful example sentences
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 💰 Subscription model could be expensive
- 🔍 Difficult to manage flashcards

**Reported bugs**

- Freezing issues when tapping on kanji
- Font size problems
- Inconsistent OCR and translation accuracy

**Requested features**

- Handwriting input support
- Customizable flashcard settings
- Monolingual dictionary feature
- Improved backup and sync functionality
- Statistics and progress tracking


## Frequently asked questions

### Is imiwa? free?

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

### Is Nihongo free?

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

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

Nihongo is rated higher. imiwa? averages 4.5 out of 5 from 261 ratings, while Nihongo averages 4.8 from 1.9K ratings.

### Do imiwa? or Nihongo have ads?

Neither imiwa? nor Nihongo shows ads.

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

imiwa? ships an update every 3 weeks, and Nihongo weekly. Most recently, imiwa? was updated on October 21, 2026 and Nihongo on October 21, 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.*