Hikaku Dictionary

Hikaku is a Kanji/Hanzi dictionary that draws connections between Japanese and Chinese in ways standard dictionaries can't.
Have you ever noticed that many words sound similar in Japanese and Mandarin, like "library" (toshokan vs. túshūguǎn)? Is there a strong connection between "to" and "tu" or between "sho" and "shu"?
Hikaku helps answer these questions with Reading Mapping Tables, which take in pairs of Japanese/Mandarin readings and display all characters that share that reading pair. These tables help you quickly understand the ways readings map to others most frequently.
Reading Mapping Tables are used in various contexts within Hikaku beyond single characters:
- Custom Mapping Tables for building your own reading pair searches with wildcards (Hikaku Pro Feature). For example, what are all the ways Japanese readings starting with "m" map to Mandarin?
- For any Japanese or Mandarin reading, see all corresponding readings in the other language.
- Generate mapping tables for reference lists such as character radicals, which often represent phonetic components.
Outside of the mapping tables, Hikaku serves as a general dictionary for looking up over 5,000 characters and 333,000 compounds. Some additional features include:
- Support for displaying readings in rōmaji or kana (Japanese) and pinyin or Zhuyin/bopomofo (Mandarin)
- Quickly browsing compounds for all of a character's readings
- Sorting and filtering on characters' frequencies, number of readings, etc.
- Built-in reference lists, character radical sets, and Mandarin/On'yomi reading lists
- Bookmarks system for characters, readings, and compounds
- Customizable external dictionary link buttons for easy cross-referencing
Hikaku is an invaluable tool for both language learners and linguistic enthusiasts, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced speaker looking to deepen your understanding of these phonetic connections.

In-App Purchases Disclaimer: Monthly, quarterly, and yearly subscriptions for Hikaku Pro will automatically renew unless canceled within 24 hours before the end of the subscription period. You can cancel anytime in your Apple account settings.
By using this app, you agree to the Terms of Use (https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/) and Privacy Policy (https://ivanlions.github.io/hikakuDictionary/privacy-policy.html)