iWrite Wenzi vs WriteChinese
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iWrite Wenzi
Master Chinese writing with an interactive iPad app. This method uses etymology, graphemes, and real-time feedback to ensure correct stroke order and retention. Learn the cultural context behind characters through ancient script analysis.
- Etymology-based methodology
- Stroke-checking writing pad
- Real-time feedback and reinforcement
- Ancient bone script (jiagu) analysis
- Grapheme-based comprehension
- Pinyin and Mandarin pronunciation
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iWrite Wenzi, the iPad App for Chinese Writing Get ready to learn writing Chinese like never before! This professor-developed method for learning to write Chinese is now available for the first time in an interactive touch application on the iPad. A GROUND-BREAKING METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY Proven learning and memory retention techniques are combined with our unique etymology-based methodology for teaching Chinese writing, developed by a life-long educator and scholar who has devoted his life to creating effective learning systems in fields ranging from medicine, to mathematics, computer science, and more. He is symbolized by our icon and mascot, Professor Panda™. A NEW ALGORITHM THAT WON’T LET YOU FAIL In addition to the animated master character that can show you how a character is correctly written anytime and every time you need guidance our stroke-checking writing pad guarantees you will write each and every character correctly every single time. Soon you will be writing characters with confidence, knowing the correct stroke direction, order and number of strokes. The built-in realtime feedback, positive reinforcement and compelling user experience will help you retain what you acquired and keep you going to achieve your writing goals. EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH AND JIAGU IMAGES You will learn the fascinating way in which Chinese characters were constructed thousands of years ago. The notes for each character is based on our original research and authentic roots of the earliest Chinese bone scripts, or “jiagus”. You will discover how meaning was originally constructed in Chinese character, and be able to "see" the cultural context embedded in the modern characters used today. You get to know Chinese culture first hand at once when you study with this app. USING “GRAPHEMES” TO BOOST COMPREHENSION Delight in learning how to decipher the meaning of more complex Chinese Characters as you learn to recognize the most basic graphical units of meaning, which we call “graphemes.” The manner and use of graphemes is unique to the model of Chinese Writing Systems invented by our founder to make understanding Chinese characters both more logical and more intuitive. LEARN FROM A RESEARCH TEAM DEDICATED TO CHINESE WRITING While there are many useful products and methods for learning to speak Chinese, few if any compelling products exist for learning writing Chinese characters, mainly because both teaching and learning to write Chinese has typically been considered too challenging. As our enterprise name, Chinese Writing Systems™ indicates, our focus is Chinese writing. We specialize on providing content, methods, tools and other materials to help people effectively learn to recognize and produce Chinese characters through understanding the true nature of the writing system. But don’t worry, the spoken Mandarin and written pronunciation in pinyin are provided for every character as part of the total character-learning experience in the app. A ROADMAP FOR BUILDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE In each lesson the ten characters presented have been carefully selected and grouped to demonstrate the underlying principles how characters are constructed. Going beyond learning those characters you will appreciate the inner workings of Chinese writing as a logical system that will facilitate and speed up the learning process. You will find learning to become easier and faster as each lesson builds upon the previous one to increase your skills and improve your performance. MORE THAN JUST CHARACTERS As you progress through the lessons, you will come to understand the logic and techniques used to construct graphical meaning in Chinese characters. You will also make discoveries about the culture, values, beliefs and practices of the ancient Chinese people in the notes about the origin of the characters. Start writing and learning Chinese characters now with iWrite Wenzi!
WriteChinese
Learn the correct stroke order for Chinese characters with animated guides and pronunciation. Supports text recognition, offline lookup, and practice writing with error correction. Ideal for students and learners of Chinese.
- Stroke order lookup and animation
- Pinyin annotation and voice pronunciation
- Text recognition for input
- Offline dictionary
- Writing practice with error alerts
- Simplified and traditional Chinese support
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"WriteChinese" is an app for learning the stroke order of Chinese characters, with stroke order lookup, pinyin annotation, voice playback, flashcards and vocabulary review. It works on iPhone, iPad and Apple Pencil. The app strictly follows the latest standards for Chinese character stroke order and includes tens of thousands of common characters, meeting the lookup needs of teachers, parents and children. Stroke order and radicals are based on the "Elementary School Students' Stroke-Radical-Structure Character-level Stroke Order Dictionary" and the "Modern Chinese Stroke-Radical-Structure Character-level Stroke Order Standard Dictionary." All of the more than 20,000 Chinese characters supported by "WriteChinese" are annotated with pinyin, and users can tap the play button to hear the pronunciation. Features: * Take a photo or choose an image for text recognition to help you input the characters you want to practice. * Handwriting lookup: find the character you want by writing it by hand, even if you can't type Chinese. * New flashcards: turn characters into cards for reviewing and memorizing anytime, anywhere. * New vocabulary book: automatically collect new characters for repeated review. * New word list quiz: test how well you've mastered a list, with your progress at a glance. * After text recognition, automatically translate English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese into Chinese for easy comparison while learning Chinese. * Offline dictionary: look up characters you don't know. * Automatically save your input or text-recognition history for easy practice later. * Supports stroke order practice for almost all Chinese characters. * Play the standard stroke order of characters as an animation. * Practice writing Chinese characters; if there is a mistake, the app alerts you to the incorrect stroke. * Show or hide the stroke order to help with dictation and to strengthen memory. * Automatically annotate pinyin when you input any Chinese characters. * Voice playback of Chinese characters: if you don't know how to read a character, just tap the voice button to hear it. * Share your handwritten characters with friends. * Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and English explanations. Discover more features... Chinese characters have a history of more than six thousand years; they are the world's longest continuously used writing system, with no break in transmission. They are the only surviving ideographic script created by ancient people and an important part of Chinese culture. We sincerely hope "WriteChinese" can help Chinese learners around the world and help billions of Chinese users learn how to write Chinese characters. Unlimited Access Membership Subscription - Use all in-app features without restrictions through this subscription. - Subscriptions are charged weekly, monthly or yearly, depending on the selected plan. - Payment is charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. - You can turn off auto-renewal 24 hours before the current period ends, or it will renew automatically. - Renewal is charged to your account within 24 hours before the current period ends, depending on your plan. - Users can manage subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal in account settings after purchase. - Any unused free subscription time is forfeited after purchasing a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.dazhuogroup.com/writechinese/privacy_statement_en.php Terms of Use: https://www.dazhuogroup.com/writechinese/terms_of_use_en.php
Screenshots
Verdict
iWrite Wenzi and WriteChinese both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of iWrite Wenzi's written reviews are positive against 25% of WriteChinese's. iWrite Wenzi also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). WriteChinese's advantage is update cadence (every 7 months vs every 42 months) and ratings volume (21 vs 2). On price, rating and ads 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
Both are free to download. WriteChinese sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. iWrite Wenzi asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for iWrite Wenzi against 4.5 for WriteChinese. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WriteChinese has 21 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of iWrite Wenzi's written reviews are positive against 25% of WriteChinese's.
iWrite Wenzi ships an update every 42 months, WriteChinese every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iWrite Wenzi | WriteChinese |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 4.5 (21 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 21 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 42 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 356 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Chinese Writing Systems, Inc. | Shanghai Dazhuo Information Technology Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
iWrite Wenzi
WriteChinese
In-app purchases
iWrite Wenzi
No in-app purchases
WriteChinese
- Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$1.997 Days
- Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Annual Subscription3 Days trial$19.991 Year
Questions
Is iWrite Wenzi free?
Is WriteChinese free?
Which has better reviews, iWrite Wenzi or WriteChinese?
Do iWrite Wenzi or WriteChinese have ads?
Which is updated more often, iWrite Wenzi or WriteChinese?
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