Comparison

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook vs Shinkansen smartEX App

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

Head to head
About

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook

This phrasebook helps English speakers learn essential Japanese for travel. It offers over 1,000 phrases with phonetic translations and native speaker audio. Practice with flashcards and use the built-in translator for quick communication.

Highlights
  • 1,000+ essential travel phrases
  • Phonetic translations and native audio
  • Flashcards for practice
  • Built-in translator
  • Offline functionality
  • Search and favorites
Features
Read full description

SpeakEasy Japanese is an offline Japanese phrasebook for travel, pronunciation, and quick everyday reference. It combines native-speaker audio, phonetic spellings, favorites, flashcards, and a built-in translator for one-off phrases. Designed for English-speakers traveling in Japan, it helps you ask essentials, understand replies, and get around with more confidence without relying on a data connection. Browse by category or search in seconds for restaurants, transportation, shopping, hotels, sightseeing, emergencies, and more. Practice before you go with flashcards, save your most-used phrases as favorites, and keep practical travel Japanese close at hand. FEATURES • Over 1,000 essential travel phrases with both Japanese and phonetic translations plus audio. Some content requires in-app purchase. • Audio clips recorded by a native speaker to help you perfect your pronunciation. • Flashcards with English on one side and Japanese on the other side, that you can use to study and test yourself. • Built-in translator to translate those one-off phrases you need. Unlimited use requires in-app purchase. • Slow-play feature that plays audio at a slow speed to assist learning. • Search facility to instantly find the phrase you’re looking for. • Favorites feature to provide fast access to your favorite phrases. • Supports dark mode and light mode. • Dynamic type (large font) support. • Support for US English, UK English and Canadian English spelling. • No internet connection required. The app will work no matter where you are. INCLUDES PHRASES SUCH AS: • Where is the restroom? • Are you married? • Let’s go to a restaurant • Do you speak Japanese? • I don’t speak Japanese • Do you understand me? • Call a doctor! • I’ve run out of medication • I need the consulate • How do I get to the … ? • How much does a ticket cost? • When is the next museum tour? • Please call a taxi • How much does it cost? • Where is luggage check-in? • Where can I rent a car? • My car has broken down • Can I see the menu? • Do you have a menu in English? • What do you recommend? • For dessert, I’ll have … • That was delicious! • Do you accept credit cards? • A glass of red wine • Where can I buy … ? • How much does this cost? • Can I try this on? • I need a hotel … • I have a reservation • I have lost the room key • What time is check-out? • Where is the nearest bank? • What is the exchange rate? • What time is it? • Can I get a cash advance? • You are very pretty • You are very handsome • What is your telephone number? • I will miss you • Thanks for the evening ---------------- Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Shinkansen smartEX App

Easily reserve Shinkansen seats, hotels, and activities. Enjoy discounts for early bookings and flexible changes. Access station and train service information, and use QR tickets or designated IC cards for seamless travel.

Highlights
  • Reserve Shinkansen seats
  • Book hotels and activities
  • Early booking discounts
  • Free reservation changes
  • Select seats from map
  • QR-Ticket and IC card boarding
  • Fingerprint authentication login
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

▼With the EX app, you can: - Reserve Shinkansen seats through the app easily - Discount for early booking - Reserve Shinkansen seats up to 1 year in advance - You can make as many changes as you need, free of charge, before getting on the train - Reserve a set of Shinkansen seats and hotel rooms! - Reserve activities, hotels and car rentals! - Select any seat from the seat map (*reserved seats only) - Information on services available in stations and trains - You can log in quickly by using fingerprint authentication. (only for compatible models) ▼ Main features - Membership registration - Purchase ticket/Reserve seats (time designation, train name designation, easy free seat reservation)) - Confirm reservation - Change and refund reservation (reducing the number of persons) - Display purchase history and receipt - Check, change member information - Display QR-Ticket for boarding - Designate or register IC card for boarding - Service status information (Link) ▼ Notes - Membership registration is required to use this app. For registration, personal information is required, such as member name, date of birth, and a valid credit card, etc. - Ticket purchase (reservation) payment will be taken from the credit card registered on the account. -- You need to register or designate IC card for public transportation (*) to travel ticketless with IC card. (*) Kitaca, PASMO, Suica, manaca, TOICA, PiTaPa, ICOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca, SUGOCA - You need the pickup code to pick up tickets from ticket vending machines, etc., at main stations of Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu Shinkansen, such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata, Kumamoto etc. - Please do not use this app to make a seat reservation for Japan Rail Pass. - This service is available only in English. - For more details on this service, please see the website. *The email address below is for inquiries about application specifications. Please note that we cannnot answer inquiries about the service.

Screenshots

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook4 screens
Shinkansen smartEX App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook at 69% against Shinkansen smartEX App's 17%. SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook also leads on rating (4.9 vs 1.7). Shinkansen smartEX App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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. SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Shinkansen smartEX App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shinkansen smartEX App has 607 ratings behind it against 60, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook's written reviews are positive against 17% of Shinkansen smartEX App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook ships an update every 3 months, Shinkansen smartEX App monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook versus Shinkansen smartEX App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeakEasy Japanese PhrasebookShinkansen smartEX App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (60 ratings) — better1.7 (607 ratings)
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews — better16.6% of reviews
Number of ratings60607 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#141 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPocketglow LLCCentral Japan Railway Company

Customer experience

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook

All ratings57 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative23.1%

Shinkansen smartEX App

All ratings606 ratings
Positive16.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative81.5%
Written reviews373 reviews
Positive16.6%
Neutral3.5%
Negative79.9%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Annual$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$19.99
None

Shinkansen smartEX App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook free?
SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shinkansen smartEX App free?
Shinkansen smartEX App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook or Shinkansen smartEX App?
SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook is rated higher. SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook averages 4.9 out of 5 from 60 ratings, while Shinkansen smartEX App averages 1.7 from 607 ratings.
Do SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook or Shinkansen smartEX App have ads?
Neither SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook nor Shinkansen smartEX App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook or Shinkansen smartEX App?
SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook ships an update every 3 months, and Shinkansen smartEX App monthly. Most recently, SpeakEasy Japanese Phrasebook was updated on November 6, 2026 and Shinkansen smartEX App on November 2, 2026.

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