Recently, I haven't kept up with RtK reviews - probably a sign of burnout.

So I went to the bookstore and spent about an hour pouring over ~40 dictionaries. I found this one that I like:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/グランドセンチュリー和英辞典-小...4385107386

It is a 和英辞書 with many Japanese sentences and English translations (I feel safer "confirming my guesses"): learning in context is more fun than learning in isolation.

Rather than mining for sentences or vocabulary, I like to pick up the dictionary and just browse entries for fun. If the sentence/entry is too hard, I skip it, but most sentences are i+1 or i+2, so it's a good break from SRS.

So have I certifiably gone mad, or are there other students out there who "browse dictionaries for fun"?!?

Well I read textbooks for fun :p I just ordered this from Yesasia. Sounds good.

I browse my electronic dictionary on the bus when I go to work and back. I also like browsing the paper dictionaries in the bookstores thinking "Print is too small", "I like spacing in dictionaries" and what not.

Yeah, I browse kenkyuusha 新和英大辞典 from time to time.

I have a dictionary I highly recommend. It's the Kodansha's Communicative English Japanese Dictionary(日本語学習英和辞典）. I pretty much just use Japanese-Japanese dictionaries(for learning) but I use this once in awhile when I need to say something that people actually say in Japan and my lack of 日本語 is a hindrance.

For example, when I need help...

すみませんが、ちょっとお願いあるんですが・・・

"Excuse me, but can I ask you a small favor"

Of course direct translation "Excuse me, but there's a small request I have" but that something you might get from Yahoo Babel Fish.

Anyway, if you look at the word "have" it has about 10 different uses in the English language. The general pattern is [English](Japanese). This dictionary shows:

have (verb)

1 have done(Japanese equivalent), have been doing(Japanese equivalent), have been to(Japanese equivalent), have done before(Japanese equivalent), had done(Japanese equivalent), had sb do sth(Japanese equivalent), will have done/been(Japanese equivalent),

2 POSSESS(Japanese equivalent),

3 MUST: have to do(Japanese equivalent), have to be(Japanese equivalent), (expressing conviction)(Japanese equivalent),....


It goes on with specific cases like "have food,drink, cigarette" and then there are 53 example sentences for just "have" and EVERY kanji has furigana. Not bad.

Tobberoth Wrote:Yeah, I browse kenkyuusha 新和英大辞典 from time to time.

I do this pretty often too.

I don't just open a dictionary and start browsing it, but I do find myself getting sucked into a dictionary when I go to look up one word, and then there are two words that definition I don't understand, and in those two words there is a word I don't understand, etc.

It's kind of like browsing Wikipedia

OK so I'm not as nutty as I thought. Looks like lots of people like browsing dictionaries and the like...

I don't own any dead tree dictionaries anymore (other than the grammar dictionary trilogy) and 電子辞書/EPWING aren't that conducive to browsing...

samesong Wrote:It's kind of like browsing Wikipedia

My personal vice is tvtropes. I have to intentionally avoid it at all times, because I will literally lose around four hours every time. I'm such an entertainment whore.
Wikipedia does the same thing, but it's not as bad. It is relatively 'safe'.

I know what you mean, QuackingShoe. I used to be that way with Wikipedia, and some time after I was finally "cured", I discovered TVTropes...