Now that I've used it for a few days, I'm REALLY glad I sent the money for Japanese by CodeFromTokyo. It's exactly what I needed to make my (admittedly idiosyncratic) method of RTK study really work for me, and I can tell it's going to be the perfect on-the-fly dictionary the next time I'm in Japan. Many thanks to whoever recommended it upthread.

kapalama wrote:

Any feedback on Kanji in Context?

I bought it. I went through the books a while back, but couldn't resist the touch-and-hear function.

Most of the information in the three books is also in the app, along with sound files for the words and sentences. The sound files vary in quality; many are hissy or distorted, and the iPod touch's built-in speaker accentuates that.

You can try out the "Lite" version (lesson 79 only) for free, and that is quite representative of the complete package. The full version costs 2,900 yen: 1,700 for the basic version plus an in-App purchase for another 1,200 yen.
iKIC Lite
iKIC

Katsuo wrote:

kapalama wrote:

Any feedback on Kanji in Context?

I bought it. I went through the books a while back, but couldn't resist the touch-and-hear function.

Most of the information in the three books is also in the app, along with sound files for the words and sentences. The sound files vary in quality; many are hissy or distorted, and the iPod touch's built-in speaker accentuates that.

You can try out the "Lite" version (lesson 79 only) for free, and that is quite representative of the complete package. The full version costs 2,900 yen: 1,700 for the basic version plus an in-App purchase for another 1,200 yen.
iKIC Lite
iKIC

Thanks for the info. I tried to try out the KIC Lite version but it does not work, as in in it starts but has no lesson in it.

Do you have the iPod Touch or the iPhone? Which version do you have? I have the second gen iPod Touch, and it is not working for me.

Thanks for the tips. I was apparently not being patient enough. What I saw I liked. I assume you recommend the full package? It looks like you can buy it all at once.

Here are the ones I have had recommended to me:
iKIC
Japanese

Human Japanese
Japanese Phrases and Lessons
KanjiBox

One that has not been mentioned but looks interesting is this one

Kanji LS Touch which is a handwriting parctice app that at least apparentky can import a Heisig list.

Adding three more rather promising looking ones:
Genki 1 Study helper
Genki 2 Study helper
Integrated Approach toIntermediate Japanese Study Helper (Genki III, kind of

Adding others:
ShinKanji
Free KanaQuiz
Kana Stokes (Japanese Hiragana + Katakana)





outside of the AppStore(and for me not going to happen because I cannot stand fiddling with stuff like this):

KanjiDic
iAnki

Last edited by kapalama (2010 January 22, 8:43 am)

The codefromtokyo app sounds great but what I noticed was that  there was no audio pronunciation for the vocabulary inside the app.

I was wondering if anyone knew of a similar app that has a lot of vocabulary (from JLPT etc) AND has audio pronunciations of all the vocabulary???

I think learning the words from writing and reading is good, but I think hearing the word spoken by a native speakers without looking at the reading (i.e Kanji) is also a good way to further your skills.

The WWWJDIC has sound clips for most of the words on there. This is a great feature they added. But I was looking for an App that has a flash card type format, with a feature where you only hear the word not see it , and have to guess the meaning....

Last edited by mygbmygb (2010 January 14, 6:24 pm)

Hashiriya wrote:

there is an excellent app out for watching anime now from crunchyroll.com: http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-6 … app-alpha/

you guys might want to check it out... also, on the crunchyroll website now, if you right-click the video, you can disable the english subtitles...

EDIT: wow! you can even disable the subtitles inside the app too... this also has Drama btw

What is Crucnchyroll? Is it on site watching only? (Unfortunately I am not connnected to the internet full time so online is no good for me.)

mygbmygb wrote:

The codefromtokyo app sounds great but what I noticed was that  there was no audio pronunciation for the vocabulary inside the app.

I really don't see why you need audio files for each vocab word. Firstly, japanese pronunciation is very uniform. Once you know the basic japanese sounds, that you can learn from probably a 59p iphone app, you won't EVER 'need' to listen to native pronuniciation of a word again. The furigana gives you the pronunciation. Sound wise, there isn't really an awful lot ot learn. Japanese isn't like English where the same combination of letters can have totally different sounds... the same combination of letters = the same sound.
Secondly, there are a million and one better ways to train your ear to words and phrases, including watching J-Drama. On the, very rare, occassion that you need an audio file for a word then just head out to jim breens WWWJDIC page and check it out there.
If CodeFromTokyo included example Audio for every word then either A) the app would be wayyyyyy too big, and no doubt slow as hell, or B) they'd have to make it online which slows things down and is pretty much useless when you don't have an internet connection.

The CFT app really is great, and for functionality there isn't a dictionary that even comes close.

Another, seperate, yet related, rant I have: I hear a lot about Kotoba, and tons of people slate CFT because Kotoba is free. But here's the deal; if they made CFT free i seriously doubt there'd be many people who'd prefer kotoba over CFT; it's like comparing a Fiesta with a Porsche (the porshce costs more for a good reason - it's a faster car). CFT IS in a different league entirely, but then it does come with a price tag that unfortunately many aren't prepared to pay; yet its still cheaper than many paperback dictionaries.

Codexus wrote:

squarezebra wrote:

Firstly, japanese pronunciation is very uniform. Once you know the basic japanese sounds, that you can learn from probably a 59p iphone app, you won't EVER 'need' to listen to native pronuniciation of a word again. The furigana gives you the pronunciation.

That's ignoring pitch accent. And that can be really important as it can change the meaning of some words. But a sound file for every word may not be the best way to learn it as it can also change the pronunciation of what comes after (as in 花 vs 鼻).

Yes, it is ignoring pitch accent, which can be crucial in understanding the difference between one word and the other. But then there are also homophones that have identical pitch accents. Pronunciation guides are useful sometimes, but I think it would do more harm than good by cramming them into a portable application- how big a file would that be?. You can access them online at Jim Breen's WWWJDIC anyway.

When you are an absolute beginner and learning vocabulary, I think it's good and useful to hear the words/phrases being pronounced.  With me, it helps to make them stick in my head.  Very often I hear the words in my head as I come across them later, maybe in a book or in class and when I have to say them I try to mimic the sound files that I've heard.  Maybe when you get more advanced this is not necessary, as you know how words should be pronounced, and probably not necessary in a reference dictionary. But in vocabulary learning then sound files are most useful.

IMHO
CJ

can't wait till i get an ipod touch. I'll be able to do all my anki reviews before i even get home!!!

Can't believe that this thread lacks the Kenkyuusha Dictionary app. Yes, it does cost money. (Horrors!) But it's been worth it for me.

And I love the Daijirin app. It's fun just to search around for random words sometimes in that weird interface it has.

My only problem is that my iPhone bogs down when I try to switch keyboards.

Neither "Daijirin" nor "Kenkyuusha" show up in an iTunes search. It would probably be useful to include links especially since for instance iAnki is actually an App on iTunes which has nothing to do with the Anki app itself.

You can't find the Daijirin or Kenkyuusha dictionaries with romaaji. You need to search for them using kanji. If you're not used to it, it will take some practice, but they kanji you're trying to enter are 大辞林 (I have better luck typing だいじ, finding those two kanji then りん and finding the third.) Kenkyuusha is: 研究社 (same process works here-- けんきゅう, then しゃ.) For both dictionaries, when you search for them, they'll be the first ones you find. Daijirin runs $22 US, Kenkyuusha runs $31 US. A bit on the pricey side, I guess.

I'm doing all of this straight from the phone, too. I don't even bother with iTunes.