Comparison

Nihongo vs Dictionaries

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

Dictionaries

Access and search multiple dictionaries simultaneously in one app. Purchase various language dictionaries, including English and Japanese, from an in-app store. Features include batch searching, handwriting input, and cross-dictionary navigation.

Highlights
  • Batch search multiple dictionaries
  • Purchase language dictionaries
  • Handwriting input support
  • Trace and Jump between words
  • Bookmark and categorize words
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Multitasking with other apps
Features
Read full description

“Dictionaries” is an electronic dictionary viewer app made to allow users to efficiently use various dictionaries. Our popular standalone apps have been integrated into a single app where users can search multiple dictionaries at once. You can purchase and use a variety of dictionaries, including English, Japanese, French or other language dictionaries, from the “Dictionary Store” which can be accessed from within the app. Searches • Batch Search (Consolidated Search) allows users to search multiple dictionaries at once. • The display order of dictionaries used in the batch search can be customized. • The keyboard language switches automatically depending on dictionary search groups. • Handwriting input is possible for Japanese, Old Japanese, Kanji, Chinese, Korean, and Russian dictionaries. • Using Pattern Search, users can search for words even if a part of the spelling is unknown. Trace and Jump • Users can easily jump to not only other words in the same dictionary but other dictionaries as well simply by tracing words in a definition, allowing users to go on a journey of intellectual curiosity through the dictionary as their hearts desire. Collection • Purchased dictionaries are shown as icons on the Collection screen. • By opening a dictionary from the Collection screen, users can also carefully go through a single dictionary. Even in this case, users can use the “Trace and Jump” function to easily jump to another dictionary. • The display order of dictionary icons on the Collection screen can be changed to the user's preference. Bookmarks • Users can bookmark their favorite words. In addition, users can also efficiently categorize these bookmarks using the Bookmark Folder. • By turning on Quick Bookmark, users can quickly add/remove bookmarks simply by tapping the Bookmark icon. Search History • In History, display frequency is automatically recorded so that users can immediately recognize words they search for repeatedly. iCloud • Users can synchronize Bookmark and History data among all devices by turning on iCloud. Multitasking • Users can display websites, documents, and more alongside their dictionary by using the Multitasking function on the iPad. By turning on Clipboard Search, users simply have to copy the word they wish to look up in order for the app to find that word in multiple dictionaries. Substantial Lineup • The Dictionary Store carries a large number of full-scale dictionaries, and we plan to further improve this selection in the future as well. • The following English dictionaries are available. Check in the Dictionary Store, which can be accessed from within the app, for more information on each of these items. - Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 10th edition (OALD) - Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English - Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus - Oxford Collocations Dictionary - Practical English Usage - Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 10th edition - Collins COBUILD Advanced American English Dictionary 3rd edition - Collins COBUILD Intermediate Learner’s Dictionary 4th edition - Collins English Dictionary with Thesaurus An internet connection is required to purchase content.Usage fees and terms of use may apply.

Screenshots

Nihongo4 screens
Dictionaries4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Nihongo at 4.8 against Dictionaries's 4.1. Nihongo also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 57%) and ratings volume (1.9K vs 85). On price, update cadence, ads 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 Dictionaries sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. 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 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nihongo has 1.9K ratings behind it against 85, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Nihongo's written reviews are positive against 57% of Dictionaries's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Nihongo versus Dictionaries: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNihongoDictionaries
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.9K ratings) — better4.1 (85 ratings)
Positive reviews91.3% of reviews — better56.8% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K — better85
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size528 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerpenti Sei Japan物書堂

Customer experience

Nihongo

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

Dictionaries

All ratings85 ratings
Positive77.6%
Neutral3.5%
Negative18.8%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive56.8%
Neutral16.1%
Negative27.1%

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

Dictionaries

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
10 purchases

Dictionaries

One-time10
  • WISDOM English-Japanese 2Free
  • WISDOM English-JapaneseFree
  • COBUILD American 2nd editionFree
Show 7 more
  • COBUILD Advanced 9th editionFree
  • DAIJIRINFree
  • 柯林斯 COBUILD 高级英汉双解词典Free
  • SHINMEIKAI 8$22.99
  • WISDOM English-Japanese 3$26.99
  • DAIJIRIN 4$28.99
  • NHK Japanese Pronunciation$36.99

Questions

Is Nihongo free?
Nihongo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dictionaries free?
Dictionaries is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nihongo or Dictionaries?
Nihongo is rated higher. Nihongo averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Dictionaries averages 4.1 from 85 ratings.
Do Nihongo or Dictionaries have ads?
Neither Nihongo nor Dictionaries shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nihongo or Dictionaries?
Nihongo ships an update weekly, and Dictionaries weekly. Most recently, Nihongo was updated on November 9, 2026 and Dictionaries on November 6, 2026.

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