(2016-02-19, 5:06 pm)PotbellyPig Wrote:(2016-02-18, 11:18 pm)rich_f Wrote: Also good for disambiguation, Nihongo no Mori!
https://www.youtube.com/user/freejapanes.../playlists
I like どんなとき as a quick n' dirty reference, but I have to admit that when I'm totally lost, I go to 日本語文型辞典 for help. Also, くらべてわかる日本語表現文型辞典 is pretty useful, too.
I already bought どんなとき as a ebook. I like that so I can cut and paste into a spreadsheet. For purpose of nuances between similar forms, which of the other books would you recommend? Also do any of them have the description in English? I'm at the point that I don't usually use translations but for things like nuances which are tricky, it can help. It seems like you like 日本語文型辞典.
Edit: there seems to be a just published English edition of the above mentioned dictionary. If you think it will help with the problems I am having, I'll buy it.
I'd say both どんなとき and 日本語文型辞典 tend to run short on definitions (どんなとき's definitions tend to run a tad shorter IMO, and the EN version isn't always that useful for disambiguating things.)
日本語文型辞典's strong point is it's breadth of coverage. It covers darn near everything. It has a similar structure to どんなとき-- 4 example sentences and an explanation-- but it just seems to have more "stuff" in it, even if the discussions aren't very long. I'd be curious to see how the EN version of 日本語文型辞典 looks. If you don't pick up a copy, I might the next time I order some paperbacks.
くらべてわかる日本語表現文型辞典 follows a similar format, but it gives me another source to go to when I can't get enough clarity on something.
But renshuu.org is a heck of a lot cheaper than all three. If renshuu explains it well enough, then that's good enough IMO.
That probably just muddies the waters, huh? Well, I'd use what you've got unless it doesn't help, then try renshuu or Nihongo no Mori, and if that doesn't help, try 日本語文型辞典.