When a dictionary lists multiple readings for something, how do you figure out which one is right? Is this just a matter of experience?

For example:

右腕

Is this みぎうで or うわん?

Taken from: [このごろ右腕が駄目になった]

Anyway, I've found lang-8 to be a godsend for getting quick answers to these, but if anyone has a better idea I'm all ears.

Thanks!

zer0range Wrote:When a dictionary lists multiple readings for something, how do you figure out which one is right? Is this just a matter of experience?

Just compare the entries.

う‐わん【右腕】
右の腕。特に野球で、右手投げの投手。

みぎ‐うで【右腕】
1. 右の腕。
2. 一番信頼する有力な部下。

So, according to Koujien, うわん: right arm; right-handed pitcher (in baseball). みぎうで: right arm; one's right-hand man.

Yes, but they both are listed as right arm, no? Sorry if I'm missing something.

I usually do two google searches, each with the kanji and one reading.
So your example would end up with:

右腕 みぎうで: 14400 results
右腕 うわん: 1280 results

Of course I don't know if it's right but I would go with みぎうで ;-)

Edit: Or try wikipedia.co.jp: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B3%E8%85%95

I guess going with iSorons suggestion is the best solution, you have to decide by the context of your sentence which reading to choose.

If you just want to refer to your right hand, I guess 右の腕 would be the right choice. Both versions of 右腕 seem to have a special meaning.

zer0range Wrote:Yes, but they both are listed as right arm, no? Sorry if I'm missing something.

Clearly one is referring to the right arm literally and the other is referring to "right arm" in the sense of an assistant or, as the entry itself says, a "right hand man".

Surely you've heard the phrase "he's my right arm"?

This is one of the parts of the language that I find most difficult.
Anyway, I usually check the WWWJDIC entry. It lists whether a word is common or not. I find this site pretty handy and fast: http://www.jisho.org/. In this case (http://www.jisho.org/words?jap=右腕&eng=&dict=edict) みぎうで is the common one.

The smartest solution is to use japanese dictionaries. A word being more common doesn't mean it means anything different, but a japanese dictionary will always give you a good definition which will let you know when to use what. If you're not good enough to read the dictionary yet, going for common words at jisho.org is the second best thing though.

Words with more than one reading are what I find hardest about reading Japanese... Sometimes the Japanese definitions don't really clarify（when I remember to look it up).　Or else I don't fully understand the Japanese definition.

Guys, listen to iSoron and Toberoth here.
Use good dictionaries. Don't go for Edict. It, erm, sux.

I sugest the many dictionaries available at yahoo, each of them with their specific usage.
There are too Japanese -> English dictionaries. The progressive and the new century.
The progressive has more entries and shows sentences with a "dificulty" suitable to the entry. The new century has only the most common entries, so it is good to know if you should pay much attention to a word or not.

The japanese<->japanese dicts are also great. Daijisen shows the results in order from the oldest to the newest, daijirin show them from the more frequently used to the less frequently used.

Now answering the first question:

http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8...x=04191800

Both readings are fine. うわん is more formal, みぎうで is less formal.

Edict does suck, but to me it's proven to be good for this kind of purpose.
I fail to see a clear indication like that in the normal dictionaries (even in mentat's link).

Sorry, the indication is not clear. You have to conclude it by the examples.

The information that うわん is more formal comes from me. It happens with many more words.

The classic example is 明日: あす、あした、みょうにち