Comparison

Chinese Dictionary++ vs 古文观止

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

Head to head
About

Chinese Dictionary++

This comprehensive Chinese dictionary app offers offline access to over 20,000 traditional and simplified characters. Easily search by Pinyin or Wubi, bookmark favorites, and track your learning history. It's designed for anyone looking to learn or reference Chinese.

Highlights
  • Offline access
  • 20,000+ traditional & simplified characters
  • Search by Pinyin or Wubi
  • Bookmark and history functions
  • Search by radical or stroke index
  • Incremental search
Features
Read full description

If you want to look up Chinese character or learn Chinese, this is a must-have application in your device. This is a powerful and smart Chinese Dictionary that collected 20818 (traditional & simplified)Chinese characters. You can not find another same application that collects so many Chinese characters in App store at present. Features: 1, Easy to use and offline. Just input Pinyin or Wubi in the searching field and the searching results will be displayed, the searching mode can be set to prefix or partial. Stroke, hanzi, pinyin, wubi information will be displayed in the result list. 2, Bookmark & history function. You can put the important word to bookmark by touching the bookmark button on screen. Every word you referenced will be add to history automatically if the history function is ON. 3, You can search every Chinese character by touching radical or stroke index tab. Because the radicals are grouped by stroke information, it is easy to find the radical to you. 4, On User settings screen, you can choose the display style, font size and option of history function. 5, Every Chinese character has the basic meanings, you can touch 'detail' link to reference more information about it. Both simplified Chinese: 简体字 and traditional Chinese:繁體字 can be found in this dictionary. 6, Incremental search function: On the basic or detail meanings screen, you can reference the meanings for any Chinese character displayed on the screen by touching and selecting this Chinese character, the first selected Chinese character will be displayed on the next screen. the Incremental search can be continued until the memory of your device is exhausted. Supported language(UI): English, Japanese, Chinese Notice: 1, This application can only be used as reference. 2, Only the first Chinese character among selected can be displayed on the next screen , if you want use "Incremental search function".

About

古文观止

Master classical Chinese prose with daily 5-minute study sessions. This app offers 222 essential essays with professional audio, detailed explanations, and contextual notes. Track your progress and analyze writing patterns to build a strong literary foundation.

Highlights
  • Daily study units with audio
  • Character-by-character explanations
  • Contextual notes
  • Progress tracking
  • Classical Chinese comprehension exercises
  • Writing pattern analysis
  • Offline content access
Features
Read full description

5 minutes a day. 222 masterworks of classical Chinese prose. Build your literary foundation systematically. Guwen Guanzhi is the definitive collection of classical Chinese writing, spanning 2,500 years from Pre-Qin to Ming Dynasty. Each of the 222 essays comes with professional audio narration, character-by-character explanations, and contextual notes — turning classical Chinese into a learnable, measurable skill. Core features: • Daily study units with audio playback and explanations • Progress tracking across all 222 essays • Classical Chinese comprehension exercises • Writing pattern analysis for essay composition • Offline access for all content Whether you're preparing for university entrance exams, studying classical literature, or building cultural knowledge, this app gives you a structured, daily practice system for mastering classical Chinese prose.

Screenshots

Chinese Dictionary++4 screens
古文观止4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 古文观止 at Free against Chinese Dictionary++'s $2.99. 古文观止 also leads on rating (4.0 vs 2.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Chinese Dictionary++'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On ratings volume 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

古文观止 is free to download; Chinese Dictionary++ costs $2.99 up front. 古文观止 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chinese Dictionary++ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

古文观止 holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chinese Dictionary++ ships an update every 5 months, 古文观止 weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Chinese Dictionary++ versus 古文观止: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChinese Dictionary++古文观止
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating2.0 (2 ratings)4.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB274 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAOBO Co.,Ltdzhenyu song

Customer experience

Chinese Dictionary++

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral14.3%
Negative35.7%

古文观止

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Chinese Dictionary++

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

古文观止

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Chinese Dictionary++ free?
Chinese Dictionary++ costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 古文观止 free?
古文观止 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chinese Dictionary++ or 古文观止?
古文观止 is rated higher. Chinese Dictionary++ averages 2.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while 古文观止 averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Chinese Dictionary++ or 古文观止 have ads?
古文观止 shows ads; Chinese Dictionary++ does not.
Which is updated more often, Chinese Dictionary++ or 古文观止?
Chinese Dictionary++ ships an update every 5 months, and 古文观止 weekly. Most recently, Chinese Dictionary++ was updated on November 6, 2026 and 古文观止 on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons