# Nihongo vs Dictionaries

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Nihongo | Dictionaries |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihongo-japanese-dictionary/id881697245/reviews)** | [4.1 (85 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionaries/id1380563956/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.9K** | 85 |
| Positive reviews | **91.3% of reviews** | 56.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 528 MB | 65 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serpenti Sei Japan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1767544234) | [物書堂](https://appshunter.io/developer/284350529) |

## What reviewers say

### Nihongo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nihongo-japanese-dictionary/id881697245)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nihongo Pro (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Nihongo Pro (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Nihongo Pro (3 Months) | $11.99 | per 3 months |
| Nihongo Pro (Annual) | $49.99 | per year |
| Nihongo Pro (Annual) | $49.99 | per year |
| Pitch Accents | $9.99 | one-time |
| Nihongo Pro (Lifetime) | $179.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Dictionaries

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictionaries/id1380563956)

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:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WISDOM English-Japanese 2 | Free | one-time |
| WISDOM English-Japanese | Free | one-time |
| COBUILD American 2nd edition | Free | one-time |
| COBUILD Advanced 9th edition | Free | one-time |
| DAIJIRIN | Free | one-time |
| 柯林斯 COBUILD 高级英汉双解词典 | Free | one-time |
| SHINMEIKAI 8 | $22.99 | one-time |
| WISDOM English-Japanese 3 | $26.99 | one-time |
| DAIJIRIN 4 | $28.99 | one-time |
| NHK Japanese Pronunciation | $36.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*