Comparison

Hanly vs Hanzijo

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

Head to head
About

Hanly

Learn thousands of Chinese characters efficiently by understanding their structure and origin. This app uses visual breakdowns, engaging stories, and interactive elements to build an intuitive grasp of characters and aid memorization. It focuses on frequently used vocabulary and offers a structured learning progression.

Highlights
  • Character etymology and mnemonics
  • Interactive component exploration
  • Structured learning progression
  • Spaced repetition system
  • Extensive character dictionary
  • Stroke order animations
Features
Read full description

Chinese characters are not just random shapes - learn 1000 characters in months by understanding their structure and origin! Through visual breakdowns and engaging stories, Hanly helps you develop an intuitive grasp of Chinese characters and to efficiently remember them. Hanly starts with simple components and quickly builds up to complex characters, while focusing on the most frequently used vocabulary. CARDS THAT MAKE CHARACTERS COME ALIVE Etymology, memorable illustrations, mnemonics: we will provide the most helpful information to get a character to come alive in your imagination and stick in your memory for good. INTUITIVE INTERACTIVE UI Play with characters like they’re Lego blocks! Explore radicals, components, compound words, and character relationships - all just one click away! CAREFULLY OPTIMIZED LEARNING PROGRESSION Start with simple building blocks and naturally progress to complex characters. Our carefully designed levels introduce the most frequent characters early while maintaining coherent, meaningful themes. EXTENSIVE CHARACTER DICTIONARY & SEARCH Search by character, pinyin or meaning to find: - Character meanings and pronunciations - Usage in compound words and characters - Frequency and HSK level - Radical forms - Stroke order animations - Character evolution history SPACED REPETITION ENGINE INTEGRATED WITH THE UI Built-in spaced repetition helps you review characters at the perfect time, with review schedule optimized for how well you know a given character. Character progress is deeply integrated with the UI, so that you can spot the characters you are learning on any page. AND MANY MORE FEATURES! - Detailed learning statistics - Character etymology stories & fun facts - Explore characters & radicals sorted by their frequency - Personal note-taking system - Easily mark characters you already know Terms of use: https://www.hanlyapp.com/terms-of-use Privacy policy: https://www.hanlyapp.com/privacy-policy Contact us: We’d love to hear from your feedback about Hanly! Please send us an email with your thoughts and suggestions at tutu@hanlyapp.com

About

Hanzijo

Read full description

Learn Chinese step by step, from pinyin and tones to HSK 9 (HSK 3.0): characters, words and grammar points arranged along the nine HSK levels. Every character comes with pinyin, radicals, stroke order and a memory story, and spaced-repetition review brings each word back when it is due. Practice with dictation lessons from real videos and with conversations, scan Chinese text with your camera, and review from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. Hanzijo is free to start: you can begin one new lesson every day. A CLEAR HSK PATH • Nine levels that follow the HSK 3.0 framework, from your first characters to HSK 9. • A Foundation course before HSK 1 teaches pinyin, the four tones, tone changes and the basic strokes. • Each lesson teaches its new characters and words, adds grammar points in most lessons, and ends with a short quiz. CHARACTERS THAT STICK • Every character comes with pinyin, tone, stroke count, radicals, meaning and a memory story. • Watch the stroke order, trace it, or write the character from memory and let the app check it. • Switch between Simplified and Traditional characters in Settings at any time. GRAMMAR AND WORDS IN CONTEXT • Grammar points at every level, each with a clear pattern, example sentences with pinyin and translation, and common mistakes to avoid. • Tap a word in a grammar example to see its meaning. • Every word comes with example sentences and audio. LISTEN AND SPEAK • Dictation lessons built from real Chinese videos: listen to a line, then put its phrases back in order. • Conversations at every level: follow each line as it is read aloud, then say it yourself to practice your pronunciation. • Paste the link of a YouTube video with Chinese subtitles and study the words and grammar of each line. REVIEW EVERY DAY • Spaced-repetition review schedules every character, word and grammar point you learn. • Once it has enough of your review history, the app's AI model lists the items you are most likely to forget, so you can review them in time. • Home Screen, Lock Screen and quiz widgets keep a word in front of you all day. • In Search, write a character, a word or a whole sentence by hand, or scan a sign, a menu or a page to see the words, characters and grammar points it contains. • Stats show your streak, an activity calendar and your progress along the HSK path. FREE AND PREMIUM • Free: one new lesson a day. From the second lesson of each level, a short ad opens each next part of the lesson. • Premium removes all ads and unlocks every Premium feature. • One Premium plan works in all three of our apps: Hanzijo (Chinese), Kanjijo (Japanese) and Hanguljo (Korean). SUBSCRIPTION AND PURCHASE INFORMATION • Premium Monthly and Premium Yearly are auto-renewable subscriptions. Premium Lifetime is a one-time purchase and does not renew. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. • A subscription renews automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the current period ends. • You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://hanzijo.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://hanzijo.com/privacy

Screenshots

Hanly4 screens
Hanzijo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Hanzijo at every 5 days against Hanly's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Hanly sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month and Hanzijo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hanly ships an update every 2 weeks, Hanzijo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Hanly versus Hanzijo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHanlyHanzijo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (409 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews99.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings409 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size241 MB156 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperArtur GorokhVy Vo

Bugs and requests

Hanly

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • No known major bugs reported

Requested features

3 requests
  • Addition of writing practice for characters
  • Inclusion of example sentences for each character
  • Expansion of content to cover more advanced vocabulary

Hanzijo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Hanly

Subscriptions1
  • Hanly Premium$5.991 Month
3 purchases

Hanzijo

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$5.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$149.99

Questions

Is Hanly free?
Hanly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hanzijo free?
Hanzijo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hanly or Hanzijo have ads?
Neither Hanly nor Hanzijo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hanly or Hanzijo?
Hanly ships an update every 2 weeks, and Hanzijo every 5 days. Most recently, Hanly was updated on October 30, 2026 and Hanzijo on October 28, 2026.

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