Comparison

JiShop Advanced vs The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide

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

Head to head
About

JiShop Advanced

This app serves as a comprehensive Japanese language reference tool. It offers extensive kanji and word dictionaries with advanced search capabilities, interactive learning features, and detailed information for both beginners and professionals.

Highlights
  • Extensive kanji and word dictionaries
  • Advanced element-based kanji search
  • Compound word search by kanji, reading, or meaning
  • Interactive kanji decomposition and stroke order diagrams
  • Customizable study groups and favorites
  • Internal hyperlinks for cross-referencing
Features
Read full description

JiShop is your portable Japanese tutor. Great for pros or students of the language, this powerful tool contains accurate Japanese-English kanji and word dictionaries, incredible search capabilities and an easy to use interface. Click “...More” to learn why you should download this App. Learning Japanese can be a complicated yet exciting course of study. That’s why it’s so important to have access to accurate, reliable help. You need a source of extensive kanji information and definition, including structure and meaning. A table of radicals is essential and you could use as many clarifying cross-references as you can get your hands on. JiShop can provide you with all the resources you need for learning, researching or translating Japanese kanji. With 6000+ kanji listings, you’ll find what you’re looking for and fast, thanks to the app’s awesome search capabilities. Lookups are element based, using the original system of 632 basic visual elements. No need to count strokes, JiShop’s radical-based dictionary does the work for you. The table of radicals allows you to fully specify any kanji. There’s lots of dictionary help in JiShop. In fact the whole app is one enormous, thorough and accurately compiled dictionary. It amalgamates the best of Japanese-English lexicography and introduces unique features found in no other dictionary of its kind. For example, JiShop does double duty with characters and phonics. It only takes seconds to find compound words by their kanji structure, reading or meaning. Each kanji in every window is a clickable link to its dictionary entry, where you’ll find lots of cross-references for kanji forms, variants and synonyms. JiShop Features: * Suitable for beginners or professionals * Fast kanji search: - by elements (up to 4) - by reading (optionally with wildcards) - by meaning (optionally with wildcards) - by stroke count Compound word search: - by kanji (up to 4) - by reading - by meaning * Internal hyperlinks * Kanji, kana, and word drill * Store custom groups of favorite kanji or words * Download preset study groups * Interactive kanji decomposition * Individual radical information * Animated stroke order diagrams * 6355 kanji listed * Easy to use interface offers full flexibility JiShop is perfect for both the beginner and the professional. It’s multifunctional and universal, ideal for learning, quick reference, translation or research. If you’re involved with the beautiful Chinese characters used in Japanese, known as kanji, you are not going to want to wait one more second before downloading this comprehensive app. It’s the only one you’ll ever need or want. Free Concise edition (1006 kanji) and discounted Plus edition (2136 kanji) are also available.

About

The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide

This reference app helps intermediate Japanese learners understand and differentiate between kun homophones, words with the same kun reading but different kanji and meanings. It provides detailed usage articles, examples, and indexes for over 1,600 kanji.

Highlights
  • Detailed usage articles for kun homophones
  • Thousands of compound words and examples
  • Indexes for On-Kun reading and English meaning
  • Offline access
  • History and bookmarks
  • Jump to related dictionary app
Features
Read full description

The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide is the first Japanese-English resource devoted exclusively to kun homophones—words that share the same kun reading but are written with different kanji, and often differ in meaning. Kun homophones are one of the major stumbling blocks faced by intermediate level students as they try to make sense of written Japanese. Words like /noboru/ (登る, 上る,昇る) or /kaeru/ (変える替える換える代える), for example, can be written with several different kanji, each contributing a distinct shade of meaning. The often-subtle nuances conveyed by kanji confuse even Japanese people, and very few dictionaries provide good guidance on kanji usage. The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide is a new type of reference work that enables learners to deepen their understanding of how kun homophones are used in contemporary Japanese. The first Japanese-English resource devoted exclusively to kun homophones, the book presents detailed usage articles that show the differences and similarities for some 670 homophone groups, or approximately 1,600 kanji headings—the vast majority of single character kun homophones in current use. KEY FEATURES * Examples show how the words are used, either by themselves or in combination with other words or word elements * Over 675 usage articles bring together etymologically kun homophones under a single entry. * Thousands of compound words and examples illustrate how each homophone is used in context * Ability to jump from entry to the corresponding entry in The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary: Revised and Expanded app, if installed * Covers the Jōyō Kanji, Jinmei Kanji and common non-Jōyō Kanji character sets * Indexes for quickly locating entries by On-Kun reading and by English meaning * no Internet connection required * History and bookmarks With headwords arranged in Japanese a-i-u-e-o order and thousands of illustrative examples of kanji in context, the Usage Guide is at once a dictionary and a manual—an all-around resource for clarity on kanji used in native-Japanese words. Armed with this unique text, learners will discover in kanji new meanings they never knew existed, and learn to write Japanese more articulately than ever before. ABOUT CJKI The CJK Dictionary Institute is directed by Jack Halpern, editor of the New Japanese-English Character Dictionary and The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, now standard reference works. Be sure to check out our other dictionary apps available for iOS (search for "cjki").

Screenshots

JiShop Advanced4 screens
The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide at none against JiShop Advanced's 1. The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide also leads on price ($9.99 vs $16.99) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). JiShop Advanced's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 24 months). On ratings volume, ads, 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

JiShop Advanced costs $16.99 and The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide $9.99 up front. JiShop Advanced sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

JiShop Advanced holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of JiShop Advanced's written reviews are positive against 67% of The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

JiShop Advanced ships an update every 2 weeks, The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide every 24 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
JiShop Advanced versus The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJiShop AdvancedThe Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide
Price$16.99$9.99 — better
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 24 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJISHOP SoftwareCJKI

Customer experience

JiShop Advanced

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

JiShop Advanced

One-time1
  • License Transfer$6.99
None

The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is JiShop Advanced free?
JiShop Advanced costs $16.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide free?
The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, JiShop Advanced or The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide?
JiShop Advanced is rated higher. JiShop Advanced averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do JiShop Advanced or The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide have ads?
Neither JiShop Advanced nor The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, JiShop Advanced or The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide?
JiShop Advanced ships an update every 2 weeks, and The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide every 24 months. Most recently, JiShop Advanced was updated on November 6, 2026 and The Kodansha Kanji Usage Guide on November 6, 2026.

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