After reading The AJATT Method thread I decided to try out the online Sanseido dictionary (http://www.sanseido.net) but it lists various abbreviations in parentheses/brackets that I am having some difficulty understanding with certainty.


Is there a website or resource that explains standard/common J-J dictionary terminology and abbreviations so I don't have to spend so much time trying to figure them out?



This is what I have been trying to figure out:

〈五〉
Example 1:
おそ・う ［襲う］
〈五〉 （１） 不意に攻める． （２） 受け継ぐ． ▼地位を～

Example 2:
き・る ［切る］
〈五〉 （１） （刃物で）断ち分ける． ▼野菜を～

〈五〉 seems to be an abbreviation of 五段動詞 to indicate a "u-verb" (consonant-stem verb).

But surprisingly 〈一〉, for 一段動詞, isn't used to indicate a "-ru verb" (vowel-stem verb). Instead it seems that 〈上〉 and 〈下〉 are used.

〈上〉 and 〈下〉
Example 1:
きる ［着る］ ｛△著る｝
〈上〉 （１） （衣服を）身に着ける． （２） 身に受ける． ▼罪を～

Example 2:
攻める
〈下〉 攻撃する． (対)守る

(対) is obviously "antonym".

Are 〈上〉 and 〈下〉 abbreviations for 上一段活用 and 下一段活用? And if so, are they simply sub-divisions of 一段活用 ("-ru verbs", vowel-stem verbs) into "-iru verbs" (上一段活用) and "-eru verbs" (下一段活用)?

But there is a lot of info written on this at
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8A%E...B%E7%94%A8,
so perhaps there is more to 上一段活用 and 下一段活用 than merely "-iru verbs" and "-eru verbs".

Does anyone here know if my understanding is correct, way off-base, or if there is still more meaning behind the above terms?

Thanks!

Edit: Yikes, the Yahoo dictionary (http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/) gives even more abbreviations...
襲う　　　［動ワ五（ハ四）］
切る　　　［動ワ五（ハ四）］
着る　　　［動カ上一］(文)［カ上一］
攻める　　　［動マ下一］(文)［マ下二］
I get the 動ワ, 動カ, 動マ, but what does the （ハ四）, (文)［カ上一］, (文)［マ下二］mean?

My eyes are going blurry from sitting at my PC so long. I haven't properly worked out what it all means, but have a look at this page http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/guide/jj/jj8_4.html if you haven't found it already.