Awesome!  
By: Tokyofrank - Nov 5, 2009
Version: 2.0
This is far the best Japanese dictionary I have ever had my hands on. This tiny app equals a ton of books. Most of the times it finds everything I am searching for. There is even a clipboard, which is very practical. The results of a search include meaning, reading, kanji decomposition and examples you could use with the search term.
And best of all: It now shows all kinds of verb forms, i.e. 行く，行かないで，行きます，行って，行かなかったら etc.
If you use this along with with Shinkanji and Kanji, you're all set for improving your Japanese!
すごい電子辞書だと思います！

AMAZING  
By: Haakai - Nov 2, 2009
Version: 2.0
They didn't have to update. They had a five star app already. I thought they knew this and thus weren't updating.But instead they had something brewing. One of the best updates ever.The verb conjugation isn't useful for me (a Japanese major), but for many I'm sure it's indispensable.BUT. They also added examples. That is amazing. Lets you see how many words are conceptually handled by Japanese minds. Just the definition can be misleading. But with examples you can understand how they conceptually understand and treat words. Also shows you how to treat certain words and concepts in term of particles (for example some words tend to take で rather than に). And, equally important to me, it gives me an easy way to read a bunch of sentences and learn new vocab at the same time.If you honestly felt like updating again, this is what I'd do. But honestly, this is so incredible you don't have to if you dont want to. I suspect you might since this appears to be your passion. And we truly appreciate it.Random example sentences. Pick a random example sentence from the database. Could also implement a random vocab function that'd inherently kinda do the same thing. That'd be great for me. Grammar lists with basic examples Could use some of the jlpt grammar lists online. Nothing too advanced. I don't need it, but I imagine lots would. It would be a fairly easy addition I think.Jlpt separated lists. Not entirely necessary as this is a dictionary and not a study guide, but it'd be nice.Also you have kanji search by radical queued so that's awesome.

Epic update!  
By: Frozen North - Oct 31, 2009
Version: 2.0
v1.x REVIEW: I love this app and it was absolutely indispensable while I was in Japan. That being said, it would benefit greatly from a couple minor feature updates. • Copy-support for the kanji and kana (heck, even romaji) search results. I know this app was released before 3.0 but it's time to get up to date!• At least a history if not a last-state-save on exit.v2.0 REVIEW:すごい! It's as though the developers of this app read the reviews and feature requests then actually implemented what the users wanted! If all iPhone/iTouch app devs were this smart, I'd never have to give an unfavorable review!

My dream come true!  
By: oneipodtouchfan - Oct 31, 2009
Version: 2.0
I have it since day one I got my iTouch 2 years ago. After the update, it's even better. Almost everything you need to learn Japanese is in this single amazing FREE app, animated strokes, verb conjugation and examples. It at least costs $15 if you need get all the individual apps to perform what Kotoba does. There is one thing I think good to have is to add some kind of indication as where the emphasis for each word.THANK YOU!

Haha, I love you!  
By: BboyDubC - Dec 28, 2008
Version: 1.2
I am going to japan this Friday (today is Wednesday), and already have kanji soho mama for DS, but wanted something quick for my iPhone so I'm not popping the ds out as much. I was holdin out to the last minute to buy jenesis or that other 20 dollar dictionary in hopes of a pricecut. Then seconds tom purchasing jenesis today I was wondering what this new one was... Perfect! What a life saver (only slight exaggeration since I already am pretty fluent - still ton of words I don't know)! Edit: it's sad but i think you have sabateurs from other companies who have downloaded and deleted the app just to rate it poorly since it is the best out there AND is free. What a shame. :(

:) awesome, even better now  
By: taylert123 - Oct 30, 2009
Version: 2.0
I really like the updated version!!! It's very amazing. I especially like how we can turn off that extra stuff under the prefernces page. Only complaint is the "location" thing that pops up. It doesn't work in any of my other apps so I don't even want it asking if that's possible. Thanks for not putting ads in this too!!! I really hate that about other free things, and it's a great feature that you're giving us :)

Best Free App!  
By: RunningSwimmingMan - Oct 7, 2009
Version: 1.2
This has got to be the best free app, and would give any pay app a run for it's money. one of the best app's in the app store!I think the only two things it could possibly use, but not really needed, would be audio and the ability to search by characters, which would mean, being able to write characters into the search dialog, which it currently does not support.But probably the best app for Japanese language study!

Great app  
By: romeErome - Dec 3, 2008
Version: 1.2
This dictionary is extremly useful if you need to find out the translation or spelling (in ひらがな) of most Japanese words. I like the feature where you can check out the kanji individually and see stroke order (although some don't show stroke order most do). One problem I had was sensitivity. Sometimes when I would tap something it wouldn't respond! But overall this is an awesome app. 5 stars!

Subarashii!!  
By: frankie gee - Nov 28, 2008
Version: 1.2
I live in Japan, and use this program every day.
With the latest update I have no reason to use my $200 Canon Wordtank electronic dictionary.
This program does everything my electronic dictionary does and two very important things that it can't:
1) Search through the entire database to find words containing a given kanji or combination of characters.
2) Automatically identify the kanji in a given word, and provide a link to a concise description of that kanji (in English!), with on/kun readings.
It is often the case that the first time you see a word that you don't recognize, it is in a conjugated form, which makes it difficult to look up (as words are listed in "dictionary form"). This is a real pain with a regular dictionary, but with Kotoba!, you can type the conjugated form in with the standard iPhone Japanese keyboard, select the appropriate kanji from the suggested list, then erase the rest of the word (leaving only the unknown kanji/root of the verb) in the search field. One search, and you'll not only have the verb you're looking for, but dozens of other example words containing that kanji. Subarashii!
Finally, a fully featured electronic dictionary that is made for foreigners!

The best Japanese-to-English dictionary for the iPhone!  
By: Velimere - Nov 25, 2008
Version: 1.2
This application is simply fantastic! It will tell you what type of word whatever you've looked up is, and if it's a verb, what type of verb it is and whether it's transitive or intransitive! It will also give you the ro and kana readings, different readings (if they exist), context-specific definitions (if applicable), and even example sentences! My top-of-the-line Seiko that costed me more than a release-day-priced PS3 doesn't even do all of that! An entirely FREE must-have!

My pitch: Web services from custom sites to startups.  
By: benfoden.com - Sep 17, 2009
Version: 1.2
I love this app. You can't beat free for a resource like this... That being said, a premium version would get my upgrade ca$h if only there was some new dev. I would love to see scribble kanji recognition. Other nice features could be flashcards, audio, and possibly image recognition translation a la the target box that lets you snap and translate on modern Japanese cell phones.Stamp out evil.

Best language dictionary avaliable  
By: Southstarr - Aug 2, 2009
Version: 1.2
Kotoba is truly essential for those who are learning Japanese. I have been using it since I bought the the fone in march and the ease in which I can look up words is truly remarkable. Also for us taking jlpt tests the first 200+ have stroke order so we can attempt to write them properly. The only thing missing is sentences for words but that seems like quite an incredible task considering how thorough and how many words and phrases are in this dictionary already. No handbook dictionary compares either. It's worth more than the other dictionarys In the app store but it's free... So enjoy!!

Fantastic offline Japanese word/phrase/kanji dictionary  
By: chrismear - 02-Nov-2009
Version: 2.0
With version 2, the best Japanese dictionary on the store just got even better. It provides a easy-to-use interface to several popular free sources of data (e.g. JMDict, KANJIDIC, the tanaka and tatoeba corpuses), making them available offline and integrating them together to combine dictionary look-up, kanji reference, usage examples, verb conjugation and more in one package. It's so good I often use it even when I'm sitting at a net-connected computer with my reference books handy! Highly recommended.

Outstanding application  
By: unixwzrd - Nov 1, 2008
Version: 1.1
When the iphone was introduced this was an application I was hoping for. When the 3G phone was released in Japan I waited a while to get one. When I did, I would search the app store looking for a Japanese-English dictionary, ask friends if they found any dictionaries or translation tools for Japanese, and no one knew of any good applications. This application is just what I've been looking for. I see room for improevments, but the application is everything I have wanted up to now. I have even recommended it to some of my Japanese friends who are equally impressed. The ability to turn on the Simplified Chinese handwriting input method is a life saver for entering kanji. Too bad it's only kanji and does not do katakana or hiragana, but that's an iPhone issue for now. This is so much more useful to me than a portable electronic dictionary which are primarily for Japanese natives to translate to English and are difficult for a non-native Japanese to use. The fact that it is self-contained and does not rely on an Internet connection is also another major benefit.

Most useful jisho app, and free! ... continued...  
By: bobbyminou - 25-Aug-2009
Version: 1.2
For those who don't know how to get the Japanese characters and handwritten Chinese character keyboards (the one where you trace the character with your finger on the screen and it works out which kanji you are trying to draw) this is how you do it:
Go to the Settings menu, then the General menu, then International, then Keyboards. Select the keyboards that you want to use - my current selections are Chinese Traditional Handwriting and Japanese Qwerty and English of course - and away you go. Totally enhanced this app from fairly interesting to utterly indispensible.
The Chinese character recognition screen is not infallible, but seems to work better when I have turned my phone off for a few seconds then back on again.

Life saver  
By: stubles81 - Oct 28, 2008
Version: 1.1
As a American loving in japan and about to marry a Japanese wife this program has been a life saver when communicating with her family. Also when travelling around the country I often find myself in a tight spot trying to order food or understand what they are trying to say to me. The ability to write in English, hiragana and romanji is excellent. Thank you so much for a rockin program that has a clean and easy to use interface.

Living in Japan NOW  
By: AussieinJapan - Oct 24, 2008
Version: 1.1
I've been living in Japan for 9 years now and I have to say that the handwriting recognition keyboard has saved my life !! A lot of my friends bought expensive Japanese electronic dictionaries but they cost over $250. This app just kills the competition - For a JPT level 2 person, just using it to look up words when you are reading comics and/or documents is a time saver ! I wish I had this when I first came to Japan - its especially useful for beginners when you are walking around reading signs and or menus. I highly recommend kotoba !

Simply Amazing  
By: working middle class man in japan - Oct 21, 2008
Version: 1.1
I use this so much... it is so useful. I teach people how to use computers and I always refer to this when words pop up I don't understand. Its quick and simple and to the point. I was also at the dentist and used this to translate some of the complex words she used. This is like my second brain for japanese vocabulary and with the new update it is even more powerful. Thank you so much for this. Thank you.

Incredible Dictionary.  
By: Andre Khromov - Oct 12, 2008
Version: 1.0
This is the author of Kanji Flip, and when I saw this I had to get it.
UPDATE: I have been using this dictionary on a daily basis for a while now. All I have to add is WOW.
I really like the simplicity of it, and the search options being in the search. And the standard search is FAST.
What is also very nice is the ability to search by a single kanji and get all the compounds with that kanji.
This app replaces anything but the thickest of dictionaries. Love it.
Excellent job.

The best Japanese dictionary app, bar none  
By: CompGuy2 - Oct 5, 2008
Version: 1.0
This app is what I should have gotten when I bought another "Japanese dictionary" for $20 a week ago. I was so happy to find this app after the disappointment that comes with spending 20 dollars for an app that wasn't as good as expected. The fact that this is free is amazing. As a student of intermediate Japanese, most of the expensive dictionary apps on the App Store required too much knowledge of kanji to use. This app is what I dreamed of having when I bought my iPhone. I can only think of one thing that would make it better--adding in some sort of jump feature--but other than that, I love it. Thank you so much.