Comparison

NihongoLearn 日本語 vs NihonGO Dokusho

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

Head to head
About

NihongoLearn 日本語

Features
Read full description

NihongoLearn is a comprehensive Japanese learning app for self-study from beginner (N5) to advanced (N3) levels. KEY FEATURES: — FULL HIRAGANA & KATAKANA TABLE Interactive 五十音 chart with audio for every character. Tap to hear native pronunciation, see example words, and learn writing tips. — 1,700+ JLPT VOCABULARY 749 N5 + 585 N4 + 410 N3 words organized by part of speech and theme. Each word includes furigana, meaning, romaji, and pronunciation playback. — 200+ KANJI WITH READINGS Detailed kanji cards with on-yomi, kun-yomi, stroke count, radicals, meanings, and example compounds. — GRAMMAR PATTERNS Essential JLPT grammar patterns explained with formation rules and example sentences. — SRS FLASHCARD REVIEW Built-in spaced repetition system schedules cards just before you forget them. — MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS Test yourself across kana, vocab, kanji, grammar, or all combined. — PROGRESS TRACKING Daily streak counter, study days, and per-JLPT-level progress dashboard. — MULTI-LANGUAGE INTERFACE Switch the app UI language between English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese anytime. — OFFLINE FIRST All content works completely offline. No account, no login.

About

NihonGO Dokusho

Features
Read full description

Read your way to Japanese fluency. NihonGO Dokusho is a story reader built for intermediate learners: real, natural Japanese — and every word, kanji, or grammar point you don't know is one tap from its card. —— READ —— Original stories in natural Japanese, written for learners who've finished a beginner course. Turn furigana on or off. Turn per-sentence English on or off. Open a word-by-word breakdown behind any sentence. Three text sizes, plus day and night themes. Every chapter and scene is titled in English, so you always know exactly where you are in the story. —— TAP —— Every underlined word is a card, drawn from a library of 7,700 vocabulary words, 2,200 kanji and 600 grammar points. In vocabulary mode, tap a word for its meaning, reading, and example sentences — which link on to their own cards. Switch to kanji mode to open any character with its stroke order, radicals, and a memory hint. Grammar points open from the sentence breakdown. Conjugated words resolve to their dictionary form automatically. —— LISTEN —— Every sentence and every scene is read aloud in a clear, natural-sounding Japanese voice — real recordings that download with each book and play offline, not a robotic device voice. Listening Mode plays hands-free with full controls on your lock screen and Control Center — skip, pause, and play from your headphones like a podcast. —— REMEMBER —— Every vocabulary word you tap is saved to your study notebook — the word, its reading, and its meaning. The notebook shows just the words due for review: clear one you already knew and it spaces out over days; reveal one you'd forgotten and it comes back soon — until it's simply known. —— YOUR LIBRARY —— A complete original novel — 25 chapters across five free parts — plus two companion editions of the same story: a plain Japanese edition with no study aids, and a full English translation. Read the study edition first, graduate to the plain Japanese, or check the English when you must. Each book downloads with a single tap and works fully offline. Your reading position, settings, and notebook sync across your devices through your own iCloud. —— PRIVATE BY DESIGN —— No ads, no accounts, no tracking, no analytics. Nothing leaves your device except the books you choose to download. Part of the NihonGO family, alongside NihonGO Dominos (the vocabulary game) and NihonGO Manabi (the textbook course) — three apps, one shared, frequency-built card library, so what you learn in one is what you meet in the others.

Screenshots

NihongoLearn 日本語4 screens
NihonGO Dokusho4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: NihonGO Dokusho at none against NihongoLearn 日本語's shown. NihonGO Dokusho also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
NihongoLearn 日本語 versus NihonGO Dokusho: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNihongoLearn 日本語NihonGO Dokusho
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Monthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB669 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSui Fai LawJUERGEN WOLFGANG HAMMER

In-app purchases

None

NihongoLearn 日本語

No in-app purchases

None

NihonGO Dokusho

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NihongoLearn 日本語 free?
NihongoLearn 日本語 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NihonGO Dokusho free?
NihonGO Dokusho is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do NihongoLearn 日本語 or NihonGO Dokusho have ads?
NihongoLearn 日本語 shows ads; NihonGO Dokusho does not.

Other comparisons