So, another (possibly dumb) question about ipod dictionaries - can anyone help? I've flogged my denshi jisho to someone because I've just bought an iPod and find it easier to carry around, so i'd like to get the 広辞苑 (which I used a lot on my denshi jisho) for it, *but* it only seems to be available in the Japan store. If I set up an account for the Japanese store using a friend's credit card, can I still sync that purchase to my computer when I go back to my UK account? I'm just a bit worried about splashing out Y8,500 on a dictionary that I then can't use...!
Ta muchly!

Your ipod can be authorized to multiple accounts. I have both Canadian and Japanese on mine.

Thanks very much indeed.
Now... to 広辞苑 (8500Y), or to 大辞林 (2500Y). That is the question. Hmmm... *cogs turning*...

So many choices for iPhone dictionaries. Anyone compared some of these? I don't mind paying more if it has really useful features or a lot more entries.

研究社新英和・和英・中辞典　￥3600 (Can you look up within an entry?)
iEijiro ¥1000 (Can you look within an entry?)
WISDOM ¥2800
大辞典 J-J Only ¥2500 (You can look up within an entry, but all J-J)
LogoVista 和英　or 英和 verisons (What does this offer that the others don't?)

Also, being able to bookmark entries for later would be nice.

coverup Wrote:I really recommend a separate Denshi Jisho in combination with software/internet ones. I would recommend the Casio EX-WORD XD-SF4800. I got mine at an electronics store in Japan for about 28,000円. I think I just got lucky when I bought it, because I have not regretted it since.

The model is intended for high school students in Japan. Usually when you use a Japanese-made electronic dictionary, you feel the pain of all these great features designed for Japanese people learning English, with very little thought put into usability for JSL learners. That is not the case with this dictionary.

Aside from the TWO J-J dictionaries (Meikyo,　Koujien), a kanji dictionary that has pronunciation guides for names, there are a couple of killer features that make this dictionary really JSL friendly.

One is the NHK pronunciation dictionary, which I have yet to find online. This combined with the fact that the Meikyo also speaks the pronunciation for many of the entries. Usually you only see this for English.

However, the single most useful thing for me has been the way you can use the Progressive J-E dictionary. Every entry has tons of example sentences (check Yahoo's J-E dict for a taste, it's the same), whereas if you use the more common Genius J-E , you often get single words with little or no clues on what kind of situations the word is used in. I mine sentences from it all the time, as they are virtually all accurate, natural Japanese - no twisting grammar or obscure words.

However, the KILLER feature that I have only seen on this dictionary (correct me if there are others) is that they have cross-referenced it so you can use the J-E dictionary BACKWARDS as an E-J dictionary. You can search the example sentences for the English word you're looking for, find a sentence that has the intended usage/meaning in English, and then see how the meaning is expressed in natural Japanese. I really can't stress to you how useful/killer this is compared to other dictionaries - I don't even use the Genius E-J dictionary (even though it's there too) at all because of this.

Another great feature is that it has dual touchscreens, so when you want to jump between dictionaries to look up words in a definition, you just tap the word on the upper screen with the stylus and then tap the dictionary you want to see it in. Man that is so much better than rewriting/retyping/scrolling around with an arrow key. Then just press the back key and you're back in the original definition.

Everyone will tell you that what you buy depends on your needs. If you are serious about using an electronic dictionary, I think you need one with a full physical keyboard and touch screens. "Touch screen only" (a la DS) created problems for me, and I found myself avoiding the dictionary because of how slow it was to look things up. Anything less than a full keyboard, no matter how accurate, is going to be slower, and this was eventually my frustration with the DS dictionary, and is likely to be similar on the iPod. The EX-WORD handwriting recognition for kanji is excellent, and you decide when you're done writing the character instead of an arbitrary time limit - perfect for when you need to double-check what you're writing. This is one of the best dictionaries out there right now for JSL learners, and I will very arrogantly suggest that it would be almost impossible for you to go wrong with it.

I feel really out of character (and slightly inappropriate?) recommending a specific product like this - it's not like I get paid to write this, but I have been 110% thrilled with it. Very well thought-out and designed for non-Japanese users, something rare in my experience when it comes to electronic dictionaries.

Does anyone know where I could buy this dictionary, or if an updated model exists?

Check out any of the new series of Casio Ex-words. The current Casio range is the D series (Dxxxxx / d9800/d10000 etc) I know for SURE that all the 9800 or 10000 units over the past few years (A, B and D series) in the casio range have all these features (but they are the most expensive models).

squarezebra Wrote:Check out any of the new series of Casio Ex-words. The current Casio range is the D series (Dxxxxx / d9800/d10000 etc) I know for SURE that all the 9800 or 10000 units over the past few years (A, B and D series) in the casio range have all these features (but they are the most expensive models).

Thank you very much for your helpful reply.

I've been looking 'round amazon.co.jp and I'm looking to spend around 250,000 yen - I've been looking at the following models - would you know if they contain the features mentioned earlier? I'm not sure if it is better to buy a model designed for Japanese learning English, or just a 生活 version...

http://www.amazon.co.jp/Ex-word-150%E3%8...39&sr=1-23

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%AB%E3%82%...849&sr=8-2

fishhead Wrote:

squarezebra Wrote:Check out any of the new series of Casio Ex-words. The current Casio range is the D series (Dxxxxx / d9800/d10000 etc) I know for SURE that all the 9800 or 10000 units over the past few years (A, B and D series) in the casio range have all these features (but they are the most expensive models).

Thank you very much for your helpful reply.

I've been looking 'round amazon.co.jp and I'm looking to spend around 250,000 yen - I've been looking at the following models - would you know if they contain the features mentioned earlier? I'm not sure if it is better to buy a model designed for Japanese learning English, or just a 生活 version...

The features you want are standard across the whole range of Ex-words. The difference between each model is the quality of the dictionaries, and how useful they are for specific purposes.

the D9800WE in your first link is a SUPERB dictionary, second only to the D10000. I have the old XD-A9800 (and a D10000), and the D9800 is an updated version of that. The main plus of the 9800 model is that it is only 1 of 2 models to get the superb Green Goddess which is great for English learners of Japanese. I know for sure it has the NHK pronunication guide I think you wanted, and the Kangorin kanji dictionary, koujien, meikyou, progressive... basically, this dictionary has everything!

The D4850 is definitely an inferior model. The only J-Es installed are the Progressive and OLEX dics. It does have the koujien and Meikyou J-Js mentioned in the above thread, and *probably has the NHK pronunciation dic too.

Again though, neither dictionary is built for English people, and there are no English manuals etc....

squarezebra Wrote:The features you want are standard across the whole range of Ex-words. The difference between each model is the quality of the dictionaries, and how useful they are for specific purposes.

the D9800WE in your first link is a SUPERB dictionary, second only to the D10000. I have the old XD-A9800 (and a D10000), and the D9800 is an updated version of that. The main plus of the 9800 model is that it is only 1 of 2 models to get the superb Green Goddess which is great for English learners of Japanese. I know for sure it has the NHK pronunication guide I think you wanted, and the Kangorin kanji dictionary, koujien, meikyou, progressive... basically, this dictionary has everything!

The D4850 is definitely an inferior model. The only J-Es installed are the Progressive and OLEX dics. It does have the koujien and Meikyou J-Js mentioned in the above thread, and *probably has the NHK pronunciation dic too.

Again though, neither dictionary is built for English people, and there are no English manuals etc....

Thank you so much for your helpful reply. The D9800WE sounds very tempting! However, at almost 300,000 yen I am worried that I will be paying for a lot of features that I don't actually need. I am a university student who will be studying in Japan for one year next year. Up 'til now I have been using 漢字そのまま for the D.S., but as I progress in my studies I find that is is not sufficient, especially when translating newspaper articles. What I am mainly looking for is a dictionary featuring J-E and E-J progressive dictionaries, and preferably Kenkyuusya.

I am just wondering if I will need to replace the dictionary in a few years time? If so, perhaps it is not worth investing so much money in it.

fishhead Wrote:The D9800WE sounds very tempting! However, at almost 300,000 yen I am worried that I will be paying for a lot of features that I don't actually need.

I think you added one "0" too much, almost gave me a heart attack there.

I'm actually thinking about buying one myself since it appears there are no good J-J dictionaries for Android (iOS fares a little better) except for those based on 大辞林. But these apps usually handle only 1 dictionary with limited functionality, eat your smartphones battery, have UI issues and cost 1/10th of the price of a good 電子辞書.

I recently got back into using my PS3 for study and it is extremely awkward to stop every now and then to pick up my laptop and do a web search for unknown word/kanji. Same with stopping drama/anime and switching context constantly (I get distracted really fast).

Granted my only experience with 電子辞書 was in Japan when my teacher was using hers to outright translate to English some term I couldn't grasp in Japanese. It wasn't a top model but it was fast, had multiple dictionaries (J-E, J-J) with example sentences and overall was really impressive.

http://girlinjapan.wordpress.com/tag/casio-ex-word/ for a very useful English tutorial on using these devices.

fishhead Wrote:Thank you so much for your helpful reply. The D9800WE sounds very tempting! However, at almost 300,000 yen I am worried that I will be paying for a lot of features that I don't actually need.

You mean 30,000 yen, right?

Any ex-word you buy is gonna have tons of stuff you won't ever use. Most of the stuff inside these things are only useful for Japanese learners of English. They are not built for students studying Japanese.
The kenkyusha you mentioned is only in the 9800/10000 models. You could always buy a cheaper ex-word and add this dic as an sd-card add on. These 2 models are incredibly expensive, and it may be one of those times when you want to get a future-proof device. There's tons of stuff in my docs I don't use. I fact, I can tell you the only dics I use 95% of the time are the shougakukan, kangorin, and kenkyusha GG... But the fact that 2 of these dics aren't available on most other devices justifies the price I paid

That said, if price is an issue, I don't see why an iPhone/ipod touch with a few good dictionaries isn't the better option for you. I'm sure there are lots of people that can give you advice on good iOS dictionaries.
Also, have you looked at any other brands like Sharp or Seiko? I can't comment on these, but I'd be wary of assuming that Casio are necessarily the best value for your money and situation.

Ps, I paid 45,000 yen for mine ><

A smartphone/tablet/mp3player with an epwing reader is usually enough. You'll have a much, much larger selection of high-quality dictionaries than any electronic dictionary.

You can also throw in some apps for looking up kanji and you should be set.

The difference in price is about 5,000 yen, and you get the Green Goddess. If you want to get the add-on version of the GG, you have to pay at least 10,000 yen, so relatively speaking, it's a steal.

I have the XD-B8600, which didn't come with GG, which I rectified by paying 10,000 yen, and TBH, I use the GG more than any of the business dictionaries I thought I would use. Best 10,000 yen I've spent on software in a while... So, in your case, I would echo squarezebra's D9800 endorsement. Yes, you pay more, but in this case, you get an awesome dictionary in return for less than the cost of upgrading a cheaper model. (And installing GG on one of these from CD-ROM is a pain in the butt.)

Generally, for speed and ease of use, I prefer the 電子辞書 over the my smartphone/tablet, but that's because I like the keyboard on mine, and I've been using them for about 8-9 years. When I need to look something up, that's what I grab, even though all devices have similar dictionaries on them.

If you do go smartphone/tablet, then definitely go the EPWING reader route. Individual apps are too slow and inefficient. The 電子辞書 and EPWING readers can search across a bunch of dictionaries all at the same time. There's just no comparison for efficiency.

I have the XD-D10000, having previously used an iPod/iPad with epwing, and I definitely think there is no comparing the two - I find the 電子辞書 far more useful. But I suppose it depends how thorough dictionaries you need etc. (Personally I wanted the classical dictionaries since I also study classical Japanese). A lot of my friends are totally satisfied with an iPhone and just edict. Although it was expensive I haven't regretted buying it for a moment.

onafarm's tutorial link is really good. It even works for my XD-B8600.

I never bothered to look at the other options for jump-- now I can jump straight to GG when I want to look something up. When I got it, I spent some time figuring it out, but never bothered to go too in-depth. This tutorial pointed out a few things I never knew.

Also, the kanji dictionary has a 3-style 書道 dictionary, with formal, cursive, and grass styles, including stroke order, which is *really* handy for me, because I do a lot of 書道, but it would be handy for anyone who needs to know stroke order.

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses.

I am thinking I will get the D9800WE. General consensus seems to be it is best to get a dictionary designed for Japanese people learning English as opposed to just a Japanese Japanese dictionary?

Can anyone recommend a good place online to buy one? I need shipping to Europe.

partner55083777 Wrote:A smartphone/tablet/mp3player with an epwing reader is usually enough. You'll have a much, much larger selection of high-quality dictionaries than any electronic dictionary.

You can also throw in some apps for looking up kanji and you should be set.

Sorry to be ignorant, but can I ask what epwing is? How do I get dictionaries for it?

Also, does anyone know how long the content of a 電子辞書 would last before becoming outdated? Are we talking 10-15 years, or more like 5?

A good denshi will set you pretty much up for life. You can always add additional content via SD cards if you please, but I really doubt you'd ever need to if you get a decent model.

Epwing is a format for reading dictionaries on PCs or handhelds, with the advantage for many people that many of the commercial dics are relatively easy to pirate if that be your thing (and that be not cool ><). You can install an epwing reader on your iphone or android devices if you have them. Epwing on your phone is great in that you always have a dictionary to hand as long as your phone is at hand, whereas you might not always want to carry a 電子 with you. Epwing software itself is cheap (assuming you have a device to run them on), but a good set of dictionaries is expensive. Advantage with epwing though is that you get what you pay for, and what you'll actually use; a 電子 might have a 100 contents that you've paid for, but you'll probably only use about 10 of them.

I have an epwing reader and a few free dics, but I never use it. My casio is just a million times better. End of.

fishhead Wrote:Can anyone recommend a good place online to buy one? I need shipping to Europe.

I would sugggest this site should be your first port of call.

I generally recommend people just use an epwing reader over buying an electronic dictionary, so I was pretty surprised when so many people were in support of electronic dictionaries over epwing readers.

What are your reasons for preferring an electronic dictionary? I can understand things like specialized 書道 dictionaries or classical japanese dictionaries, but for casual use I feel like epwing wins hands down, especially in regards to price and amount of content.

partner55083777 Wrote:I generally recommend people just use an epwing reader over buying an electronic dictionary, so I was pretty surprised when so many people were in support of electronic dictionaries over epwing readers.

What are your reasons for preferring an electronic dictionary? I can understand things like specialized 書道 dictionaries or classical japanese dictionaries, but for casual use I feel like epwing wins hands down, especially in regards to price and amount of content.

I tried numerous dictionaries for Android (none paid though) and found each and every one of them unsatisfactory. It's always sort of a middle ground between depth and functionality which feels downright amateurish at times.
I don't have an electronic yet but I'm looking for a complete and ultimate solution to my dictionary needs. Vast & specialized dictionaries with UI that was developed and perfected over a long period of time.

It's the same with phone cameras, you have a readily available camera that shoots decent enough pictures but nothing beats a DSLR. Most of the time and for most people phone camera (or dictionary) should be enough but there are times when the hassle of using/carrying a dedicated gadget is worth it.

Thanks again everyone for all the helpful and informative responses.
So, if I go with EPWING, will I be able to get Kenkyuusha and progressive J-E and E-J dictionaries?

And, if you don't mind my asking, what advantages does the CASIO EX-word XD-D10000 have over the 9800? There is not such a huge difference in the price, and if it will basically last a lifetime I suppose it is worth investing in a good model.