Comparison

Chinese Writer by trainchinese vs Learn Characters AD

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

Head to head
About

Chinese Writer by trainchinese

Master Chinese writing through an engaging game where characters fall from the sky. Tap and draw correctly to score points, or lose a life. Review learned characters with stroke order diagrams and personalized testing.

Highlights
  • Interactive character drawing game
  • Stroke order diagrams
  • Personalized review of difficult characters
  • HSK standard character packs
  • Customizable character packs
  • Audio recordings for pronunciation
Features
Read full description

Learn to write thousands of Chinese characters — it's educational, fun, and addictive! The characters fall from the top of the screen — touch them and draw them correctly to score points. But don't let them reach the bottom, or else — boom! Three mistakes and the game is over, but the learning continues: you can review everything you've seen, with stroke order diagrams, and practise at your own pace. The characters you made the most mistakes on are highlighted at the top of the list. » It's much more than a game! - trainchinese Chinese Writer can test you on over 5,000 simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and offers stroke order diagrams, English explanations, and high quality audio recordings for every pronunciation of every character. - The app remembers which characters you struggled to write and prioritises them in following games. » It's for everyone! - Characters are grouped into packs by difficulty level according to the official HSK standard. Hundreds are included in this free download. - Create your own packs by searching for characters by Pinyin. You can even combine Pinyin, English and Chinese characters in a single search to get maximum results, and add them all to your custom pack with a single swipe. - Your children can play. Your grandparents can too. Everyone can now enjoy the fun of learning this beautiful writing system. - Whatever your level, you'll make progress with trainchinese Chinese Writer. Beginners can start with simpler characters at a slower pace, while experienced students will be blazing through HSK 4 characters at full speed! » It's connected! - Create your own character packs and share them with your friends by email. - Proud of your score? Share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. - Already a trainchinese user? Download the characters you're learning in trainchinese Chinese Writer for free! Learn to write Chinese characters with trainchinese Chinese Writer. It's educational, fun — and addictive! » We'd love to hear your feedback about Chinese Writer. Contact us any time at cs@trainchinese.com!

About

Learn Characters AD

This app helps users learn to write letters and display words clearly. It's ideal for teaching children, displaying complex characters, or helping foreigners learn a new language.

Highlights
  • Display favorite letters and words large
  • Teach letter writing with finger tracing
  • Suitable for children's learning
  • Useful for displaying complex characters
  • Aid for learning native language writing
Features
Read full description

You can display favorite letters and words large, easy to see. It has a function to teach how to write letters with your fingers. FEATURES - When you want to show children's favorite words with letters - When you want to display complex letters large - When you want to teach foreigners how to write your native language

Screenshots

Chinese Writer by trainchinese4 screens
Learn Characters AD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chinese Writer by trainchinese at 83% against Learn Characters AD's 33%. Chinese Writer by trainchinese also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (monthly vs every 29 months). Learn Characters AD's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price 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

Both are free to download. Chinese Writer by trainchinese sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Learn Characters AD asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Learn Characters AD holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chinese Writer by trainchinese has 393 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Chinese Writer by trainchinese's written reviews are positive against 33% of Learn Characters AD's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chinese Writer by trainchinese ships an update monthly, Learn Characters AD every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Chinese Writer by trainchinese versus Learn Characters AD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChinese Writer by trainchineseLearn Characters AD
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (393 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.5% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings393 — better2
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 29 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size216 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developertrainchinese B.V.HARASHOW Interactive

Customer experience

Chinese Writer by trainchinese

All ratings392 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral4.3%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews269 reviews
Positive82.5%
Neutral7.1%
Negative10.4%

Learn Characters AD

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

Chinese Writer by trainchinese

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to write certain traditional characters
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Cantonese pronunciation option
  • Allow creating custom character packs
  • Implement a mode for learning words/phrases
  • Improve randomization of character selection
  • Add an option to write full words instead of single characters

Learn Characters AD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Chinese Writer by trainchinese

One-time10
  • Additional Characters: 1B$0.99
  • Additional Characters: 1C$0.99
  • Additional Characters: 1D$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Additional Characters: 1E$0.99
  • Additional Characters: 1F$0.99
  • Additional Characters: 2B$0.99
  • Additional Characters: 2C$0.99
  • Calligraphic font$3.49
  • All Additional Characters$14.99
  • 1 year subscription$37.99
None

Learn Characters AD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chinese Writer by trainchinese free?
Chinese Writer by trainchinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Learn Characters AD free?
Learn Characters AD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chinese Writer by trainchinese or Learn Characters AD?
Learn Characters AD is rated higher. Chinese Writer by trainchinese averages 4.6 out of 5 from 393 ratings, while Learn Characters AD averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Chinese Writer by trainchinese or Learn Characters AD have ads?
Learn Characters AD shows ads; Chinese Writer by trainchinese does not.
Which is updated more often, Chinese Writer by trainchinese or Learn Characters AD?
Chinese Writer by trainchinese ships an update monthly, and Learn Characters AD every 29 months. Most recently, Chinese Writer by trainchinese was updated on November 6, 2026 and Learn Characters AD on November 2, 2026.

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