Comparison

NihonGo! vs Glosaire

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

Head to head
About

NihonGo!

Features
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Learn Japanese the natural way β€” through real conversations and practical phrases. This app guides you with short dialogues, key vocabulary (like η₯­γ‚Š/matsuri and ζ–‡εŒ–/bunka), and clear practice prompts so you can speak with confidence in everyday situations. β€’ Real-life scenarios: Practice speaking in contexts like attending festivals and exploring culture. β€’ Essential vocabulary: Learn meanings, pronunciation, and usage with helpful examples. β€’ Smart exercises: Mix of multiple-choice and natural sentence building to reinforce learning. β€’ Friendly guidance: Tutor-style feedback to keep you calm, focused, and improving. β€’ Bite-sized lessons: Short, effective sessions that fit your day. Perfect for beginners and travelers who want to sound natural β€” not textbook. Start learning today and speak Japanese with confidence. Highlights β€’ Short, conversation-first lessons β€’ Natural sentence practice with immediate feedback β€’ Vocabulary with readings and meanings β€’ Clear prompts in simple language β€’ Designed for daily progress Ready for your first β€œη₯­γ‚Š (matsuri)”? Learn culture, not just words β€” and speak naturally, faster.

About

Glosaire

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Build the Japanese foundation that makes immersion work. Glosaire gives you a structured Beginner Path, level-matched short stories, and tools for learning from real Japanese video. Start with practical lessons, then move into the content you want to understandβ€”with support when you need it and less dependence on translation over time. FOLLOW A PATH INTO REAL JAPANESE Work through practical lessons that build toward reading, listening, and producing Japanese. The Beginner Path includes kana checkpoints and optional stories, so structured study leads naturally into immersion. The first three Beginner Path lessons are available free. Basic unlocks one new lesson each day. Premium opens the full path immediately, including later production and speaking exercises. Current access and payment terms are always shown before enrollment. READ SHORT STORIES AT YOUR LEVEL Explore short Japanese stories recommended for your level. Tap words to look them up, reveal sentence meaning and explanation when needed, and track your reading progress. Selected stories also appear as optional steps within the Beginner Path. LEARN FROM REAL JAPANESE VIDEO Watch Japanese YouTube videos with interactive, color-coded subtitles. Tap a word without leaving the video to see its reading, meaning in context, and an explanation of the sentence. SAVE THE MOMENT, NOT JUST THE WORD Track vocabulary from the scene where you found it. Glosaire keeps the sentence and source context attached, then lets that vocabulary resurface across new videos as Encounters. PRACTICE WHAT YOU LEARNED Review with flashcards, cloze, pair matching, listening, kanji and kana recognition, sentence building, and speaking. Production exercises ask you to write Japanese from memory and can return a grade, corrections, and focused guidance. Some practice modes and feedback require Premium and an internet connection. CHOOSE INPUT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND Browse a curated Japanese video library organized by level, topic, and pace. Per-video comprehension scores and vocabulary coverage help you choose what to watch next. SEE YOUR JAPANESE GROW Follow words from new to mastered, track activity, and see your vocabulary grow across lessons, stories, videos, and review. Glosaire is for learners who want both direction and immersion: a clear place to start, real Japanese to grow into, and a retention loop that keeps new language from disappearing. Learn. Read. Watch. Understand. Save. Practice. Re-encounter. On desktop, the Glosaire browser extension brings interactive learning tools to supported video sites. The iOS app focuses on the Beginner Path, stories, Japanese YouTube videos, and mobile practice. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://www.glosaire.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.glosaire.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

NihonGo!4 screens
Glosaire4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NihonGo! at none against Glosaire's 3. Glosaire's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Glosaire sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. NihonGo! asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NihonGo! ships an update every 11 months, Glosaire every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Β· 2 level
NihonGo! versus Glosaire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNihonGo!Glosaire
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 10 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” better
Requires iOS17.615.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size59 MB149 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSurya ArifARCANA GROUP

In-app purchases

None

NihonGo!

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Glosaire

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Glosaire Premium Annual$89.991 Year
  • Glosaire Premium Annual7 Days trial$89.991 Year

Questions

Is NihonGo! free?
NihonGo! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Glosaire free?
Glosaire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NihonGo! or Glosaire have ads?
Neither NihonGo! nor Glosaire shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NihonGo! or Glosaire?
NihonGo! ships an update every 11 months, and Glosaire every 10 days. Most recently, NihonGo! was updated on October 30, 2026 and Glosaire on October 31, 2026.

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