Comparison

Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary vs Nihongo Leap

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

Head to head
About

Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary

Features
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Tomoshi is a Japanese-English dictionary built for producing Japanese, not just decoding it. It helps you say it and write it right. ■ Lookup · Type Japanese, kana, romaji or English; candidates appear as you type · 210,000+ entries, with English-to-Japanese reverse lookup for when you know the word in English and need the Japanese · Results follow the spelling you searched, so 「明」 does not surface entries that look unrelated ■ Definitions you can use · English definitions and part-of-speech tags · Reading, pitch accent and a pitch-accent curve · Conjugation table at a glance · Example sentences with furigana that follows the entry you are reading ■ Help with producing Japanese · Transitive / intransitive pairs: 「開く/開ける」-style verb pairs shown side by side with matching example sentences · Near-synonym notes: how similar words differ and which one fits which situation · Kanji spelling notes: what each spelling of the same word is used for ■ Remember it · Save any entry to the wordbook and review it on an FSRS spaced-repetition schedule · Listen-only drills: hear the word without seeing it and train your ear to react · A small red dot appears when words are due; after a session you see your review streak · One-tap export to Anki: card backs carry full definitions, furigana on examples and a pitch-accent curve; open the file in AnkiMobile via the Files app, and re-exporting updates the same notes · Export and import the whole wordbook, or back it up daily to your own iCloud Drive · Sign in and your wordbook and review progress sync between your phone and desktop, merging changes from each device instead of overwriting them ■ AI explanations · Paste a whole sentence for a grammar breakdown with furigana; every word in the reading is tappable · Expressions the dictionary does not cover are handed to AI, so you are never stuck at "no results" · When the model is not sure, it says so instead of inventing a plausible-sounding explanation ■ Reading · Public-domain classics from Aozora Bunko, graded by difficulty, with a furigana toggle — tap any word to look it up ■ Audio · Entries, example sentences and whole sentences can be read aloud with cloud-synthesised voices ■ Privacy · No account needed for anything; sign in with an email code (no password) only if you want the wordbook to sync across devices — no name or phone number collected · Lookup history stays on your device — I cannot see it; the wordbook, review progress and reading position stay local too (with your own iCloud backup) until you sign in, and deleting your account removes the cloud copy · No ads, no third-party analytics · Crash reports are sent by default, can be turned off in Settings, and never include what you searched · Full policy: tomoshi.app/privacy/en ■ Connectivity · The first launch downloads the dictionary data once; after that, core lookup works offline · AI explanations and speech are the two features that need a connection ■ Free Looking words up is free forever: the complete dictionary data, offline lookup and the error-reporting feature are free now and will stay free. Cloud features such as AI explanations and cloud speech are free to use today, within a daily quota. Every call to them has a real server cost behind it, which I cover myself for now; if a growing user base pushes server and AI costs beyond what I can carry, they may become paid to balance them. I would rather state the rule from day one. ■ Where the data comes from · Entries are based on JMdict / EDRDG and other open dictionary projects; example sentences partly from Tatoeba · Verb pairs, nuance notes and reverse lookup are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models · Pronunciation and pitch accent are human-verified · Full attribution in the app under Me → Settings → Open-source licences ■ Other platforms Desktop versions for Windows and macOS are at tomoshi.app, with a select-to-look-up browser extension. Independent developer · Free · No ads

About

Nihongo Leap

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Take a small leap in Japanese every day. Nihongo Leap combines vocabulary, listening, sentence building, shadowing and bookmarks in an app with a Traditional Chinese interface. No account is required. OFFLINE VOCABULARY Explore 19,657 unique entries: 7,726 entries grouped by reference JLPT levels N5–N1 and 11,931 additional entries. Search by Japanese spelling, kana or Chinese meaning. JLPT groups are reference classifications, not an official examination vocabulary list. Examples are available for selected entries. SWIPE TO REMEMBER Swipe left to mark a word remembered, or right if unclear. Undo the last swipe. Cards read the word first, then its example, in separate panels. Target words in examples are highlighted red. Swipe labels do not change quiz mastery. REMEMBER AND LISTEN Practice with multiple choice, flashcards and listening. Kanji show Japanese readings above them, and kana choices include Chinese meanings. Questions play Japanese audio automatically. Correct vocabulary answers advance immediately. New practice batches rearrange words and prioritize reviews that are due. BUILD SENTENCES Drag phrase blocks between the available choices and your answer, or reorder your selected blocks. After submitting, compare your answer with the correct answer and see the result on the same page before continuing. SAVE AND SHADOW Bookmark words and sentences for dedicated practice. Listen to Japanese demonstrations, record yourself and replay the recording. Recordings stay on your device and can be deleted in the app. ON-DEVICE AI WHEN AVAILABLE On compatible devices with Apple Intelligence enabled and ready, Apple’s on-device model can generate everyday examples, support role-play, review difficult vocabulary and explain answers. It also offers text-based shadowing suggestions. AI requires iOS/iPadOS 26 or later, eligible hardware and supported system/model language settings. If unavailable, AI features are skipped while offline learning, bookmarks and recording remain available. No API key is required, and the app does not send learning content or recordings to an external AI service. AI examples also offer sentence puzzles with optional correct-answer reveal while retaining your draft. Card illustrations are generated only on iOS/iPadOS 18.4–26 when the local image model is available. New image generation is skipped on iOS/iPadOS 27 or later. Illustrations are memory aids; no particular anime style is guaranteed. Shadowing scores compare locally recognized text with the target reading. They are not acoustic pronunciation, phoneme or pitch-accent scores. Generated content and recognition may be inaccurate. The first dictionary comparison pass covered the vocabulary; 96 Chinese meanings and four example translations received editorial corrections. Most remaining definitions and examples are machine translated and have not been individually reviewed. MANAGE YOUR DATA Progress and bookmarks are saved locally. Export or restore your own backup, clear AI history, delete recordings or reset learning data. No ads or account login. Basic features require iOS/iPadOS 17 or later. The interface and learning explanations are in Traditional Chinese; this listing does not imply an English interface. OPTIONAL TIPS All learning features are free. Support development with optional one-time consumable in-app purchases. Tips can be repeated, are not subscriptions, and do not unlock features. Prices follow your App Store storefront. The general-learning edition excludes 343 entries and 173 examples. Local AI includes everyday-topic instructions and text screening, not a complete human review or output guarantee.

Screenshots

Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary4 screens
Nihongo Leap4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary at none against Nihongo Leap's 3. Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary also leads on iOS requirement (15.4 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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. Nihongo Leap sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary versus Nihongo Leap: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTomoshi Japanese DictionaryNihongo Leap
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB15 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperYuanyi Zhangchen chun chieh

In-app purchases

None

Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Nihongo Leap

One-time3
  • A Little Encouragement$0.99
  • A Boost of Support$2.99
  • Continued Support$4.99

Questions

Is Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary free?
Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nihongo Leap free?
Nihongo Leap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary or Nihongo Leap have ads?
Neither Tomoshi Japanese Dictionary nor Nihongo Leap shows ads.

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