Normally when I want to look up a new word, my go-to resource is the imiwa? app for iOS. But sometimes it doesn't have everything. For example, I was trying to find the meaning of 覚悟の上 (to be well-prepared in mind), and it didn't have it. Fortunately I could find it on google (was in a preview for a 和英辞典)

Anyways, this is all to ask - what's a good all-around Japanse-English dictionary that will likely have uncommon words or phrases like this? Might be better if it's not all romaji, so the way the words are actually written is easy to figure out.

What do you usually use? Please share your thoughts...

Generally I use J-J dictionaries more (all EPWING files, so I can use them on my phone and computer), but 研究社's 和英辞典 is good. Weblio has the 中 version online for free, which is good, although the 大 version is more in depth. Two things about J-E dictionaries meant for Japanese people though: No furigana, and usually no info on what type of word it is (noun, na-adjective, etc).
You might want to use Rikai or something on a J-J dictionary for things you can't find in imiwa. E.g. Here's 覚悟の上:
http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E8%A6%9A%E...E%E4%B8%8A

EDIT: I forgot to mention Eijiro. Eijiro (http://www.alc.co.jp) is very good for figuring out phrases. It's a database of English sentences translated into Japanese. They changed it so you need to make a free account in order to see more than a few sentences per search now, but it's a very useful tool.

Thanks for your feedback!

Unfortunately, my Japanese isn't at a level where I can read J-J dictionaries though...sorry.

The best bilingual dictonaries are the Kenkyusha Shin Eiwa Daijiten and the Kenkyusha Shin Waei Daijiten[It's split into two volumes]. The are both extremely expensive, however.

RandomQuotes Wrote:The best bilingual dictonaries are the Kenkyusha Shin Eiwa Daijiten and the Kenkyusha Shin Waei Daijiten[It's split into two volumes]. The are both extremely expensive, however.

Over $400... 残念

Kenji86 Wrote:

RandomQuotes Wrote:The best bilingual dictonaries are the Kenkyusha Shin Eiwa Daijiten and the Kenkyusha Shin Waei Daijiten[It's split into two volumes]. The are both extremely expensive, however.

Over $400... 残念

They're currently 50% off on LogoVista, 7,344円 each ($61.34 at the current exchange rate). Until the end of the month!
https://www.logovista.co.jp/LVERP/shop/I...LVDKQ06010
https://www.logovista.co.jp/LVERP/shop/I...LVDKQ10010

(LogoVista format dictionaries can supposedly be converted to EPWING)

Bokusenou Wrote:Two things about J-E dictionaries meant for Japanese people though: No furigana, and usually no info on what type of word it is (noun, na-adjective, etc).

The 和英大辞典 does have the latter, to an extent. Kind of a weird thing to omit from the 中 version (guess they wanted to save paper):

たんのう2【堪能】tannou
1 〔熟達していること〕
〜な proficient; skillful; skilled; accomplished; expert.
▶堪能である　be proficient 《in…》; be ¬skillful [skilled] 《in [at]…》; be expert 《in [at]…》; be good 《at…》; be well versed 《in…》; be at home 《in [on]…》
英語に堪能である　be proficient in English; have a good command of English
語学に堪能な人　a good linguist.
2 〔満喫すること〕 full satisfaction.
〜する be fully satisfied 《with…》; have [take] one's fill 《of…》; enjoy [savor] to one's heart's content; enjoy ¬…to the full [every bit of…].
▶堪能するまで　to one's heart's content; to full satisfaction
見物人を堪能させる　entertain spectators in a way that makes them totally enjoy a performance
名演奏を心ゆくまで堪能した.　We ¬enjoyed [savored] every bit of the excellent performance.
ごちそうを心ゆくまで堪能させていただきました.　I have enjoyed every bit of this lovely meal you have provided me.

Contrast http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/堪能

As for the specific expression, there's no entry for it (nor does it appear in the 覚悟 entry), but full-text search found the following:

▶一浪は覚悟の上だ.　I know I won't get in the first time (and will have to spend a year preparing to retake the exam). | I'm resigned to having to retake the entrance exam after a year.
リスクは覚悟の上だ.　I'm fully aware of the risk.

If you're going to spend $60+ for one of them, might as well spend $250 and get an electronic dictionary. Then you'll get a full set of dictionaries that cover just about everything.

I love my Casio ExWord. I had to buy the Kenkyusha separately when I got mine, but now you can find it in a lot of their models. I don't just use the Kenkyusha, I use a lot of the various dictionaries in there. (Okay, I don't use the lifestyle-oriented ones. Those are kind of useless.) But I'd take a look over on Amazon.co.jp.

For people who worry about pronunciation, the NHK dictionary is in a lot of their models, too, and that's also really useful, because you can hear the word pronounced with the correct pitch accent.

Another useful website:
https://kotobank.jp

This is the old Yahoo dictionary search, and it uses a few different dictionaries. It's pretty good.

Also, ALC started charging for full Eijiro access a while back, so you're not going to get full Eijiro from their site anymore. You still get a lot with the free version-- you just miss out on some of the more obscure stuff.

rich_f Wrote:If you're going to spend $60+ for one of them, might as well spend $250 and get an electronic dictionary. Then you'll get a full set of dictionaries that cover just about everything.

I love my Casio ExWord. I had to buy the Kenkyusha separately when I got mine, but now you can find it in a lot of their models. I don't just use the Kenkyusha, I use a lot of the various dictionaries in there. (Okay, I don't use the lifestyle-oriented ones. Those are kind of useless.) But I'd take a look over on Amazon.co.jp.

For people who worry about pronunciation, the NHK dictionary is in a lot of their models, too,

This is helpful advice. The "green goddess" pair are only included with (a few of) the top-of-the-line ExWords. And only some of the ExWords have the NHK dictionary with pronunciation. The less expensive ExWords have a similar case but fewer dictionaries. So be careful which model you select. Remember these are designed for the JDM.

I have read that if one purchases a separate ExWord dictionary, the search function for that new dictionary is not as slick as it is with the installed package, but I have never tried it. Also, the extra dictionaries are expensive. I believe only dictionaries purchased from Casio will work on the ExWord, but am not sure. So unless you can find ExWord formatted dictionaries on sale, I think it makes sense to buy the unit with all the features you want from the beginning.

The input function (via stylus and screen) on the ExWord is fantastic and they are fast. They are very cool. And the units are well-built. They also have a lot of software loaded, although much of that will be useless. But the ExWords are not too small so that is one more thing to carry around.

At last, the Japanese Kanji input on android and iOS have gotten better in the last year so your phone can be a great tool. There are some excellent internet dictionaries noted above. The "Japanese for iOS" app is quite useful as is the free "Imiwa;" each has its own strong points, although the dictionary databases are just OK. Currently, I mainly use EPWING dictionaries (via EBPocket) which are helpful as I have the same dictionary set running on my laptop, phone, and old PDA. And I don't need to jump among programs/websites!

Below is a link for a guy offers a good package of free EPWING dictionaries (I have no relation to this business). I purchased his upgraded package for a few dollars and am very happy. Check around his website for advice on all things dictionary; there is a lot of stuff in that site and the news updates. He also summarizes how he transforms the Logovista dictionaries to EPWING format using a program called DESSED as follows:

http://www.japaneselanguagetools.com/doc...#otherdics

I am tempted to jump on the logovista deal; and I am always tempted to purchase an ExWord. I will probably just go back to studying Kanji, however.

Anyways, good luck.

Yeah, you have to look carefully at the Casios to make SURE they have the dictionaries you want, because some of them are useless. But if you can find a unit with all the stuff on it you want, that's pretty awesome. I got rid of about 5-6 dictionaries with mine. Mine even has a stroke order dictionary that I use when I do calligraphy. It saves a ton of shelf space, and it's easier to carry around. Again, YMMV.

The Casio version of the Kenkyusha was around 10,000 yen when I bought mine (in addition to the 25,000 for the unit), and the disc was a PITA to find in Japan 4 years ago. It was also a PITA to install, too, but I only had to do it once. (Windows 7 wouldn't support the Casio for some reason. It took some digging to find a tool that would let the two talk long enough for me to install the files.) If you can find it already on the unit, then you saved yourself some trouble. The 10k yen extra is probably factored into the price of some of them, so that's why you only find it on the more expensive units.

Is it better than a phone? I dunno, I like it more than using my phone for looking up stuff, probably because I'm used to it. You can get a lot of the same functions out of a phone with EBPocket, as long as you can find the dictionaries for it. (Which can cost anywhere from free to a few hundred dollars, depending on your ethics.)