Comparison

Nihongo vs UDictionary Translator

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

Head to head
About

Nihongo

This app acts as an offline Japanese dictionary, translator, and reading assistant. It helps users learn Japanese by identifying words in daily life, translating text from images or pasted content, and creating flashcards for vocabulary building. Features include a comprehensive dictionary, OCR photo lookup, and a reading assistant with furigana support.

Highlights
  • Offline Japanese dictionary
  • Picture-to-text translation (OCR)
  • Automatic flashcard generation
  • Furigana and romaji support
  • Search by English, Japanese, or romaji
  • Kanji lookup by radicals
  • Safari extension for web pages
Features
Read full description

Nihongo is an offline Japanese dictionary, picture-to-text translator, flashcard app, and reading assistant. Our app helps you learn Japanese naturally, using the words you encounter in daily life—on menus, signs, manga, emails, books, and more. In addition to the dictionary, you can take a picture of Japanese text or paste it from any source. Nihongo will then translate the text, add furigana or romaji, and create flashcards so you can study and steadily build your vocabulary. Here are the complete features of the app: DICTIONARY * Over 200,000 words, 205,000 example sentences, and 6000 kanji entries. * Every word clearly marked as common, uncommon, or rare. * Add your own notes to any dictionary entry. * Quickly identify transitive/intransitive word pairs. * Audio pronunciations of words and example sentences (Requires Nihongo Pro) PHOTO LOOKUP (OCR) [Pro] * Look up words just by taking a picture. * Uses Google Cloud Vision to provide high-quality text recognition. * Just tap on a word to look it up. CLIPPINGS (READING ASSISTANT) [Pro] * Adds furigana or romaji to text pasted into the app. * Tap on any word to see its definition without leaving the clipping. * Flashcard deck automatically created so you can study the new words in a clipping. * Display text horizontally or vertically. * Have Nihongo read any clipping out loud. FLASHCARDS [Pro] * Flashcards automatically generated from words you lookup in the dictionary or paste into the app. * Nihongo learns what words you know, and won't bother you again with words you've mastered. * Built-in kanji flashcard decks up through Middle School. * Intuitive spaced repetition flashcard system for vocabulary and kanji drawing. * Level up flashcards by studying every day. * No penalty for missing a day of study, come back anytime. SEARCH * Search using English, Japanese, or romaji. * Supports searching for conjugated words in both English and Japanese. * Search for kanji using radicals and stroke counts. SAFARI EXTENSION [Pro] * Add furigana or romaji to webpages. * Tap on words to see definition within Safari. Nihongo Pro Terms of Use Read our full Terms of Service at https://nihongo-app.com/terms_of_use.html. This app is only possible because of the JMDict (edrdg.org) and Tatoeba (tatoeba.org) projects. I highly encourage you to support these incredible projects that make apps like Nihongo possible!

About

UDictionary Translator

Translate text, voice, and images across 108 languages. This app offers a comprehensive dictionary with native examples and pronunciation guides. Premium features include camera translation, a translate keyboard, and offline mode for seamless communication.

Highlights
  • Text translation in 108 languages
  • Voice translation with 47 accents
  • Authoritative built-in dictionaries
  • Camera translation via photo
  • Translate Keyboard for in-app use
  • Offline translation mode
Features
Read full description

** 100,000,000 users across 150 countries. ** U-Dictionary is an efficient translation and dictionary app. Effortlessly translate texts, pictures, or conversations in 108 languages. Get translation instantly whether you're learning a new language or traveling abroad. Help remove your language barriers anytime anywhere. U-Dictionary takes in originally developed dictionaries, Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary, WordNet Dictionary, Bilingual Examples, Native Examples, Synonyms, Antonyms, Etymology Dictionary and so on. FEATURES: • Text Translation: Get translation of any pair within 108 languages. • Voice Translation: Translate bilingual conversations in 33 languages, 47 accents. • Authoritative Dictionary: Built-in Concise Dictionary, Collins Advanced Dictionary and WordNet Dictionary. • Perfect English Pronunciation: Native UK (British) and US (American) accent. Listen and Learn. • Native Examples: Authentic sentences collected from famous international news websites. • English Learning: Rich English learning materials • 13 Display Languages: Read in your native language. • Impressive UI: Clear and beautiful interface. Enjoy your journey. Get UDictionary Premium and enjoy: • Camera Translation: Snap to translate without typing by hand. 100 languages are available. • Translate Keyboard: Write and translate instantly within your favorite apps. Chat without borders. • Object Translation: Scan an object and recognize it smartly. Get to know anything around you immediately. • Grammar Check: Enter or paste English text and check it with one click. Enjoy mistake-free writing! • Offline Mode: Free from network limits. Travel abroad without having to pay expensive roaming charges. Desktop/Mobile Web: http://www.u-dictionary.com Articles from Blog: http://udictionaryblog.wordpress.com Contact Us: Connect with us on any of the following Social Media: https://facebook.com/UDictionary/ http://www.youtube.com/c/UDictionary https://plus.google.com/ UDictionary https://twitter.com/Udictionaryforu/ https://instagram.com/udictionaryforu Have queries? Email us at udictionary.help@gmail.com Supported languages for translation: Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cebuano, Chichewa, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Mongolian, Myanmar (Burmese), Nepali, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sesotho, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Sundanese, Swahili, Swedish, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish, Yoruba, Zulu. ----- Auto-Renewable Subscription Terms: * You can cancel the subscription anytime by turning off auto-renewal through your iTunes account settings. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. The cancellation will take effect the day after the last day of the current subscription period, and you will be downgraded to the free service. * Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Privacy Policy: http://inter.youdao.com/cloudfront/vip-pay/privacy.html Terms of Services: http://inter.youdao.com/cloudfront/vip-pay/terms.html

Screenshots

Nihongo4 screens
UDictionary Translator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Nihongo at none against UDictionary Translator's shown. Nihongo also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 59%). UDictionary Translator's advantage is ratings volume (9.3K vs 1.9K) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.6). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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 sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and UDictionary Translator sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nihongo holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.9K and 9.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Nihongo's written reviews are positive against 59% of UDictionary Translator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nihongo ships an update weekly, UDictionary Translator fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nihongo versus UDictionary Translator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNihongoUDictionary Translator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.9K ratings) — better4.6 (9.3K ratings)
Positive reviews91.3% of reviews — better58.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K9.3K — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size528 MB557 MB
Age rating4++12
DeveloperSerpenti Sei JapanYoudao (Hong Kong) Limited

Customer experience

Nihongo

All ratings1,881 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral2.4%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews265 reviews
Positive91.3%
Neutral4.5%
Negative4.2%

UDictionary Translator

All ratings9,261 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews956 reviews
Positive58.8%
Neutral8.4%
Negative32.8%

User reviews

Nihongo

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent dictionary
  • 👍 Comprehensive features
  • 🔒 Offline compatibility
  • 👍 Helpful example sentences
  • 👍 Intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 💰 Subscription model could be expensive
  • 🔍 Difficult to manage flashcards

UDictionary Translator

From 9.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Excellent translation accuracy
  • 🌐 Supports multiple languages
  • 📚 Comprehensive dictionary with examples
  • 🤖 Helpful text-to-speech feature
  • 🔍 Useful scanning and translation capabilities

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessive paywall and in-app purchases
  • 🐛 Occasional translation failures or errors
  • 🔌 Requires internet connection for full functionality
  • 🕰️ Slow performance and lag at times
  • 📱 Limited features in free version

Bugs and requests

Nihongo

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing issues when tapping on kanji
  • Font size problems
  • Inconsistent OCR and translation accuracy

Requested features

5 requests
  • Handwriting input support
  • Customizable flashcard settings
  • Monolingual dictionary feature
  • Improved backup and sync functionality
  • Statistics and progress tracking

UDictionary Translator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Translation unavailable due to 'no internet connection' error when online
  • Scanning feature not working consistently
  • Keyboard translation not functioning properly
  • App crashes or freezes unexpectedly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline mode for all translation features
  • Customizable text-to-speech voice options
  • Ability to save favorite words or translations
  • More language support, especially for less common languages
  • Improved grammar and sentence structure analysis

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Nihongo

Subscriptions5
  • Nihongo Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Nihongo Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Nihongo Pro (3 Months)7 Days trial$11.993 Months
Show 2 more
  • Nihongo Pro (Annual)$49.991 Year
  • Nihongo Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Pitch Accents$9.99
  • Nihongo Pro (Lifetime)2 variants$179.99
9 purchases

UDictionary Translator

Subscriptions9
  • U Dictionary PRO3 Days trial$2.497 Days
  • U Dictionary PRO-1 week3 Days trial2 variants$4.997 Days
  • U Dictionary PRO-1 month$5.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • U Dictionary PRO$9.991 Month
  • U-Dictionary PRO Monthly1 Month trial$16.991 Month
  • U Dictionary PRO-1 month3 Days trial$16.991 Month
  • U Dictionary PRO-1 year3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • U Dictionary PRO-1 year3 Days trial$56.991 Year
  • U Dictionary PRO-1 year3 Days trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Nihongo free?
Nihongo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UDictionary Translator free?
UDictionary Translator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nihongo or UDictionary Translator?
Nihongo is rated higher. Nihongo averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while UDictionary Translator averages 4.6 from 9.3K ratings.
Do Nihongo or UDictionary Translator have ads?
UDictionary Translator shows ads; Nihongo does not.
Which is updated more often, Nihongo or UDictionary Translator?
Nihongo ships an update weekly, and UDictionary Translator fortnightly. Most recently, Nihongo was updated on November 11, 2026 and UDictionary Translator on November 11, 2026.

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