Nihongo - Japanese Dictionary Reviews

by Thisprogramsucks

I purchased Nihongo for 3 months and as a dictionary if you know Hiragana works fine. However it’s use of romanji sometimes is off (eg du for zu) I will probably end up buying Nihongo permanent more for it flash cards to review words that I have looked up (a nice feature) however it has some irritating problems and mistakes. 1) the Kanji at times when it gives examples in its usage is outright wrong. You click the Kanji word and a different Kanji appears. 2) Also the example sentences they give with certain word seems to be computer generated so that even more complex words are added to the sample sentence making the sample sentence incomprehensible at times. It seems that a sentence would be generated to use as much complex words as possible so it can be reused for other examples. 3) The sample sentence does not include the the translated word, making me wonder whether the meaning given by the dictionary is correct. eg try look up Osameru/ Osamaru. Has potential to be a five star application but would try the application for a few months and make sure you can tolerate the mistakes.

by Atraver

Love the links to other words in example sentences, “elements” that make up kanji, and the new search-as-you-type functionality.

Subscriptions and a lofty lifetime purchase are a bit of a miss, for me, but I suppose that’s where everyone is headed. For the type of functionality a dictionary provides, it’s a tough sell, but to each their own.

Would love to see an “identify the kanji by drawing” feature like Shirabe offers, and explanations/links for the various verb conjugation forms.

by 12manycookies

This is a neat app with lots of features like flashcards, example sentences, and stroke order. However, it's very pricey and there are many other apps with almost the same features that are free. Shirabe Jisho, for example, is almost the same app and it even uses the same example sentences. Shirabe Jisho has added flashcards for different JLPT and grade level kanji. For now, I will save my $50 for the lifetime subscription.

by Reachfh99

I am using this to read manga for learning Japanese.
I do a screen capture and load it into Nihongo , which recognizes text. I can then look up words.

On the whole, it works quite well, and is the best I have found. It ends up getting about 80% of the text recognized by OCR, particularly good for kanji. The dictionary is good as well.

Things that are not working as well as I would like:
* It tends to translate word by word (or short phrase), which makes it miss some phrases
* The missing 20% of the text that it can’t recognize for OCR, sometimes inexplicably, which exacerbates the problem above of not correctly translating a phrase.
* The number of clicks required to read page after page is high. It would be nice if this use case was streamlined.

I generally pair it with DeepL for whole sentence translation. That is pretty amazing, but doesn’t do OCR. It would be great to be able to make it easier to e.g. copy all the text found, or do some deeper integration.

by Japan2022bound

I’m still in the basics but this dictionary is very helpful. I’m learning more vocabulary and kanji every day as well as grammar. Soon I will find Japanese friends on a app so I can help them with English and they can help me with Japanese. There must always be a balance in any relationship where the other person has something just as valuable to offer that way there is always harmony. I’m not a English professor and my English grammar isn’t the strongest but my goal is to help someone become fluent in English while I become fluent in Japanese.

by Emperor Pants

I’ve been waiting a very long time for Nihongo to have handwriting included. There are so many times when I’m in a situation and I love using Nihongo, but using the radical look up just takes too much time, and I have to use another app. Now I can read magazines and play video games without having to separate my flashcards from my look up app!

by Toastersocks

I've been happily using Imiwa? for nearly 10 years, but this app really takes the cake. It's obvious a lot of thought was put into the design. Not only is it beautiful, but packs an incredible number of features into a simple and intuitive design. The ability to add furigana or romaji to any webpage is fantastic. Being able to see example sentences and tapping through to the entries for words you don't know is awesome. This is my new go-to Japanese dictionary.

by ChaunceyO

I almost never write reviews. I am so satisfied with Nihongo that I just had to though. I have been studying Japanese on and off for approximately 6 months and I got Nihongo 2 weeks ago. Nihongo has been a Segway for consistent study time for me. I recommend making the lifetime purchase of Nihongo if you are serious about learning Japanese.

by TheSleah

One of its key strengths is the UI. Example sentences are plentiful. You can even upload pictures to words! I’ve been studying Japanese for 3 years now and Nihongo never leaves me.

There’s one thing that is missing: desktop support. A MAC app or browser support would complete the package.

One feature I’d like to see is keyboard support for inputting answers for flash cards. I find it more effective than simply flipping the flash cards over. Also be sure to backup your data. I had to re-download Nihongo once and lost all my data! iCloud did not save me.

by AlexDFox.

An excellent free dictionary, but the upgrades are totally worth the price to jump into. I love taking pictures and adding to a deck. I’ve been using pics to create my own flash cards. The testing is fun too. It’s also nice having a backup, in case you don’t have asset to the internet.

by AppleConvertee

I use google translate as well, but Nihongo seems to find the correct meaning better than even google translate. I like that I can search either English or romaji terms in the same search box.
My only regret is that I did not buy Nihongo when it was less expensive. I have the lite version and find the pricing to be too expensive for pro.

by IffyxrsrsyvobpjpvjxuseExyboj

I really like using Nihongo. It has great organized flashcards as well as a dictionary all in one and I find all its features to be super useful.
I think the flashcards are great because they include writing flashcards also, which is super helpful.
The only thing I wish Nihongo had was notifications or something because I always forget until nighttime to do them.

by Xiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Loved the option to upgrade for pronunciations, sentence examples are very helpful to figure out how one might actually use a word instead of just associating it with its “direct” English translation, but my favorite part is seeing how common a word is.

by Erizabesu

Works in a snappy manner, intuitive to use. Responsive developer. The Safari furigana feature blew my mind, though it can’t always nab every kanji.

I have an idea to make this app even more “THE” Japanese dictionary app, unless it is there already and I don’t see it. A conjugation list (present, negative, past, negative past, te, masu, potential passive, causative, conditional, volitional, imperative).

I may return to this review and add more when I use Nihongo even more.

by SuttonLover

Essential for any Japanese language learner! You can literally screenshot a page of Japanese text, and every single kanji or word will be highlighted that leads you to a definition of that word, automatic stroke order animation, and a hundred other things I haven’t even begun to explore yet. Best part? The Lifetime Pro membership is $50 FOR LIFE. Thank you to whoever made Nihongo. I want to be you when I grow up.

by SV-001

I love being able to study kanji by school grade and JLPT level. I really like that Nihongo tests you on stroke order as well. Also, being able to add furigana and word definitions to web pages is such a great experience. Nihongo is hands down the best Japanese learning tool that I have and I highly recommend it to all learners.

Nihongo is always getting updates/upgrades and is well worth the money spent!

by Ywang29

This is the best Japanese learning tool I know of. The dictionary is great. But if you only use it as a dictionary, then you’re badly underestimating the power of this tool. With the clipping analysis and safari extension, this is a self contained learning platform, where you can read, learn new words, and review them by flash cards later on. It’s worth upgrading to pro version.

One thing needs to be improved is to add a sync feature. It would be good to be able to sync clippings and word decks across iPhone and iPad.

by Jfotheringham

I have tested out dozens of Japanese dictionaries over the years (I write about independent language learning) and this app is by far the best option for iOS yet. The developer has really thought things through and has integrated so many thoughtful features sorely lacking in competing apps. I especially like the ability to add photos to definitions/flashcards, the prominent display of “common”/“rare” next to terms, the furigana extension for webpages, and the auto-creation of flashcards based on words you’ve looked up.

by Lunayyzzz

I like Nihongo very much, which can well collect my own Japanese learning materials.

However, the backup function seems to have some problems. Why I cannot backup my data to iCloud or Google drive? Everytime I tried, it finally failed.

Also, hope developers can develop Mac version. I prefer to use my laptop to import studying materials, and computer keyboard typing would be more efficient and convenient than keyboard on phones...

by Yogary9

Hands down the best tool I have found for use as a companion to my Japanese studies. I’ve been able to increase vocabulary and improve my reading skills tremendously through daily use of Nihongo. Taking a photo of Japanese text, using Google translate to turn image into text, then importing that text into a clipping is a very powerful way to improve reading and vocabulary. The words in the clipping are also then automatically compiled into flash cards for study. Wow, easily worth the cost given the increased productivity in learning this app!!!

by Confused About Jisho!

Can anyone PLEASE help me to understand how to use the ‘camera’ function within Nihongo. My understanding is that you take a picture of a small portion of text, Nihongo analyzes it and translates it for you...What am I getting instead? A blue line that bounces from left to right continually with NO END OR TRANSLATION in sight! Am I misunderstanding this function?!?!

by Cjksdcijbsdv73847

Nihongo is a nice wrapper for Jim Breen’s JE dictionary. Has better hyperlinking between relevant definitions than most dictionaries. The “Contained Words” are wrong sometimes, but for the most part are pretty useful when looking up words contained in things like compound verbs. Could use some stroke order diagrams.

by CR7-Ronaldo

Very clean and easy to use with plenty of sentence examples. I like how it also tells you if a word is common, uncommon, etc. helps me focus on the words I'll encounter more often. One thing I wish to see is the conjugations of verbs, plain, te form, masu, imperative, potential, causative, etc.

by Val1317

I have tried all Japanese-English dictionaries and this one is stellar, dazzling, clearly the best. The examples it provides are numerous and useful, with wonderfully clear voices that pronounce every word. The flash cards are a blessing, great to review. I am in awe of Nihongo and most grateful to its creators.

by Motuoatlufan1111111

Nihongo is amazing, it is a life saver and it alone has skyrocket my learning. It is the one greatest tool in my learning that I have used and will continue to use.

by Infomagick

For the serious student of Japanese, Nihongo would be good at almost any price. Far more than a dictionary, it deserves the highest recommendation. Many thanks to the developer.

by Hamid Alghurabi

Nihongo is excellent, I think a stroke order diagram during the writing practice will be helpful.

by Amyhearts

Offline dictionary worked great in Japan! Came home to discover flash cards and clippings, too. Definitely a great app!