Comparison

Luminous E vs Shirabe Jisho

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Luminous E

This comprehensive English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionary app offers extensive vocabulary and grammar explanations. It includes audio pronunciations, search functionalities, and export options, making it a powerful tool for all English learners.

Highlights
  • Extensive vocabulary (approx. 100,000 entries each)
  • Audio pronunciations for words
  • Incremental search and spelling suggestions
  • Bookmark with notes
  • Export definitions and bookmarks
  • Daily vocabulary notifications
  • iPad multitasking and Drag & Drop support
Features
Read full description

ルミナス英和・和英辞典 (InApp購入版) This app is not free! For new users, an InApp purchase is required to activate the dictionary. Japanese language ability required. 英和・和英それぞれ約10万の豊富な収録語句に加え、アプリ独自に単語の英米音声ファイルを収録。もちろんiPhone・iPad両対応。大学入試からTOEIC®受験まで、全ての英語学習者にお薦めする学習用英和・和英辞典の「最強ツール」です。 【全体】 総収録語数は英和・和英各10万,用例は各 5 万以上。豊富な語彙だけでなく、文法や語法、ライティングのための解説も充実させた、英語学習辞典の定番。大学受験生から社会人まで全ての英語学習者・使用者にお勧めの最強ツール。 【英和】 日常用語はもちろん、時事用語、科学用語を豊富に収録し、成句や句動詞も充実。語彙だけでなく、詳細な文法・語法解説に加え、ライティングにも使える「コロケーション」や「言い換え」、語彙増強のための「単語の記憶」や「語源」など、学習・実用に役立つ情報が満載。英和辞典として初めてTOEIC®頻出2千語句を表示。 【和英】 「振り込め詐欺」「ニート」「認知症」から「源義経」「額紫陽花」「丑の時参り」まで広範な分野の語彙・慣用句・成句を採録。日本固有の風物・文化・固有名などには簡潔な英語の説明も施した。日本語的発想を自然な英語にするために不可欠な「発想指示」や学習者の間違えやすい点を分かりやすく解説した「語法」「日英比較」も充実。 ■ アプリケーションの特徴: * ロングマンシリーズの約90,000点の英米音声ファイルを収録 * 単語タップで表示される、便利なリンクメニュー * インクリメンタル検索(逐次検索)機能 * スペリングのサジェスト機能 * ワイルドカード検索機能 * 収録画像の拡大・縮小機能 * メモ付きブックマーク機能 * 語義やブックマークをメールやFacebook, Twitterなどに出力可能 * 自動履歴機能 * 書籍の付録部分を収録 * AI強化アナグラム生成機能 * "今日"とロックスクリーンのウィジェット * iCloudを利用したブックマーク機能 * 日替わり英単語の通知機能。(TOEIC®やTOEFL®の単語リスト付き) * 3D Touch 対応 * DarkMode 対応 * iPadのマルチスクリーンとDrag & Drop 対応 * iPhone 17 対応 * iOS12〜iOS26 完全対応 * iPhoneとiPodとiPadとmacOS 対応 ■ 外部辞書ハイパーリンク機能 * 「ロングマン現代英英辞典」や「アメリカンヘリテージ® 」など英英辞典へのリンク * 「Roget's II: 新類語辞典」へのリンク * 「ロングマン英和辞典」へのアプリケーションリンク * 「大辞林」「大辞泉」へのアプリケーションリンク (外部辞書は別途インストールが必要です) コピーライト: ルミナス英和辞典 (第2版)/ルミナス和英辞典 (第2版) © 2005, 2012 株式会社研究社

About

Shirabe Jisho

This app provides a comprehensive offline Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary. It includes extensive entries, kanji details with stroke order, name databases, and example sentences. Features handwriting recognition and advanced search options for efficient language learning.

Highlights
  • Offline Japanese-English dictionary
  • Kanji with stroke order
  • Japanese names database
  • Example sentences with translation
  • Handwriting recognition
  • Advanced search (wildcard, radicals)
  • Kanji lists by JLPT level
Features
Read full description

Simple but powerful Japanese-English, English-Japanese dictionary app. The app's features include: ● Over 170.000 dictionary entries with readings and english meaning ● Over 6.500 kanji characters with stroke order ● Over 730.000 Japanese names, place names and institution names ● Over 147.000 example sentences with translation ● Instantaneous search results ● Character input by kanji and kana handwriting recognition. Recognition algorithm can handle wrong stroke order and small mistakes. ● When multiple similar characters are found, you don't need to redo drawing after each character - just long press to see a preview ● Search by kanji radicals (for example 日 and 月 will find 明) ● Wildcard search - "*" can replace any number of characters and "?" can replace any single character. Works both with English and Japanese words. ● Search by kanji, kana and romaji - "じしょ", "じsho" and "jisho" will give the same search results ● Kanji lists by JLPT level and school grade (1 - 6) ● Multiple word lists divided by subject, grammatical function, JLPT level and more App contains an in-app purchase that allows you to: ● Screen customization – reorder word and kanji sections to keep the information you care about immediately visible ● Extended flashcard content – choose what appears on flashcards, including conjugations, examples, related kanji, and readings after the flip ● Custom theming – personalize the app’s color theme more freely

Screenshots

Luminous E4 screens
Shirabe Jisho4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shirabe Jisho at 99% against Luminous E's 24%. Shirabe Jisho also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Luminous E's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). 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. Luminous E sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Shirabe Jisho sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shirabe Jisho holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shirabe Jisho has 8.8K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Luminous E's written reviews are positive against 99% of Shirabe Jisho's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Luminous E ships an update every 5 weeks, Shirabe Jisho every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Luminous E versus Shirabe Jisho: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuminous EShirabe Jisho
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (6 ratings)4.9 (8.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.5% of reviews98.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size1021 MB184 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperEnglish Channel, Inc.Blazej Stanek

Customer experience

Luminous E

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive23.5%
Neutral23.5%
Negative52.9%

Shirabe Jisho

All ratings8,775 ratings
Positive97.9%
Neutral1.1%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews1,551 reviews
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.6%

Bugs and requests

Luminous E

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Shirabe Jisho

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional crashes or freezes
  • Inconsistent font sizing in search results

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to sync bookmarks/lists across devices
  • More customization options for flashcards
  • Integration with spaced repetition apps like Anki
  • Addition of pitch accent information
  • Improved search history management

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Luminous E

One-time1
  • Luminous activation$14.99
1 purchases

Shirabe Jisho

One-time1
  • Shirabe Extras$9.99

Questions

Is Luminous E free?
Luminous E is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shirabe Jisho free?
Shirabe Jisho is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Luminous E or Shirabe Jisho?
Shirabe Jisho is rated higher. Luminous E averages 4.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Shirabe Jisho averages 4.9 from 8.8K ratings.
Do Luminous E or Shirabe Jisho have ads?
Neither Luminous E nor Shirabe Jisho shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Luminous E or Shirabe Jisho?
Luminous E ships an update every 5 weeks, and Shirabe Jisho every 3 weeks. Most recently, Luminous E was updated on September 21, 2026 and Shirabe Jisho on September 29, 2026.

Other comparisons