What are some good Japanese paper dictionaries?

7 comments

1. I’m also interested in this as a lot of online dictionaries I’ve found have been the wrong words or the wrong usage of the words.

2. The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary has versions in romaji & kana. We have an older version which is romaji (I would avoid romaji). IMHO you don’t need many dictionaries at this stage.

   A smartphone app would allow you to write in the kanji for very fast look up. There are some pretty good free options. I would highly recommend this. You could use an old smartphone or tablet (or just disconnect from the internet).

   For grammar get a beginner textbook like Genki. There are a few great internet grammar resources for beginners (e.g. Tae Kim free, BunPro, etc.); search the Reddit for recommendations and see the Starter’s guide.

3. **Japanese to English Dictionary:** I very much like my Randomhouse Japanese to English dictionary.

   **Japanese Grammar**: I’m also quite partial to my copy of Barron’s Pocket Grammar Guide.

   Though I hear good things about Genki and Japanese from Zero too.

4. This may not be the sort of thing you’re looking for, but I have the elementary school dictionary [新レインボー小学国語辞典](https://gakken-ep.jp/extra/jiten/rainbow/) (which I ordered from [amazon.co.jp](https://amazon.co.jp)) and I enjoy it a lot. Compared to a dictionary for adults, you get furigana and (I assume that) the definitions are easier to understand.

   I don’t really use it that often though since using Yomichan is so much faster. If there were an elementary school dictionary available in electronic pop-over format, I’d use it a lot, but I don’t know of any.

   The main way I use this dictionary is, unlike with Yomichan, to look up words I already know and try to understand the definition and example. So I use it more like reading immersion than as a dictionary.

5. I learned with this one [http://www.kanji.org/dictionaries/njecd/njecd.htm](http://www.kanji.org/dictionaries/njecd/njecd.htm)

   It’s a great kanji dictionary.

6. There are two good J-E dictionaries: 1. Kenkyuusha, which is overall the best and used by most translators. Exists in paper and digital form. 2. JMDict, made by volunteers, definitions aren’t the best, but it has BY FAR the most words of any dictionary so it can fill a lot of gaps.

   I don’t think you need any other dictionaries until much later.

   For Kanji I’d strongly suggest using an app, otherwise you need to spend a bunch of time just to learn how to even look them up. With a lot of the newer iPhone/Android apps you can just draw them with your finger and even if you don’t do a great job it usually guesses what you’re looking for.

7. Ah, finally, questions I can answer. I love paper dictionaries!

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   >What are some good dictionaries for looking up Kanji meanings? I know that there are some dictionaries for experts and some for beginners, I would like to know about both.

   [*The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568366256/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_XJYGA4E1R5G94PFJMQ6F). Make sure you get the second edition and not the first. Don’t worry about expert kanji dictionaries until you’re actually an expert, because the best ones are JP only.

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   >What are some good Japanese to English dictionaries?

   * [*Kodansha’s Furigana Japanese-English Dictionary*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568364229/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_A1C2ZHDWREV3R2H919J8). Great for beginners, highly portable, has complete furigana and no romaji.
   * [*Kenkyusha’s New Collegiate Japanese-English Dictionary*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WE0BI0/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_G7ZBH1DGVEJNNHTNJ9W3). Has many more headwords than the dictionary above, but still very portable. However, it does not have furigana or romaji, so *not* recommended for a beginner. The fact that it’s “old” (1989) shouldn’t bother you, every word I’ve needed to look up was in there.
   * *Kenkyusha’s New College Japanese-English Dictionary*. This book is quite chonky, but it has example sentences for almost every single definition for every single headword; like the one above, it has no furigana or romaji. I couldn’t find an Amazon link for this one; I got mine (5th edition 2002) used off Ebay. This is the book I use the most.
   * [Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary](https://united-states.kinokuniya.com/bw/9784767420264)*.* Considered the best J-E dictionary, but this is very expensive. I don’t have this one and haven’t ever needed it.

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   >Is a Japanese to Japanese or English to Japanese dictionary necessary?

   No, but a children’s kokugo dictionary is a great way to transition to monolingual definitions when you’re intermediate. I have this one: [三省堂 例解小学国語辞典 第七版](https://www.amazon.com/dp/4385138362/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MBDHG97QMJ6SSFT91JE4)

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   >Should I buy a separate colloquial Japanese dictionary?

   No. Japanese slang changes so rapidly any dictionary would be out of date before it’s even off the presses.

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   >Or a dictionary about the etymology of kanji?

   No. I’d recommend the Outlier add-on for the [Kanji Study app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindtwisted.kanjistudy&hl=en_US&gl=US) instead, if you’re super curious about etymology.

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   >What are some great books to learn about Japanese grammar, both in English and Japanese.

   * [*A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/4789004546/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5FBZTVE9S2D909NWCT8J) (essential)
   * [*A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/4789007758/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_YNCS6Q6CYWWQ68DQ7D19?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) (essential)
   * [*A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/4789012956/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_WK09VEQ8HFXB2MV1VV7G?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) (not essential but nice to have)
   * [*Making Sense of Japanese* by Jay Rubin](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q84BHBX/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_A18DG1VW46FCK018AM1J) (buy it now, but don’t read it ’til you’re intermediate, it won’t make sense until then)

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   >While searching on the web, several people recommended Kodansha’s Communicative English – Japanese Dictionary. Is it good?

   It’s probably the most practical English to Japanese dictionary on the market, but it can be hard to find and during back-to-school season I’ve seen the price skyrocket to $500; it absolutely is not worth that much.

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   >And is The Kodansha’s Kanji Learner’s Course a good book to learn kanji?

   Yes. In my opinion it’s the best book available for learning kanji as a beginner. It works very well and cross-references the *Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary* (second edition only).

   ​

   Since you seem to be fishing around for books to blow money on, I can make a couple more suggestions:

   * [*Common Japanese Collocations*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568365578/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_SDRZSATGXZG1YEBR0TZ2) – Using practical example sentences, this book shows you how to use specific Japanese words in a natural way by pairing them with the words they most often “collocate” with. For example, in Japanese you don’t “take a shower” シャワーを取る, you “bathe in a shower” シャワーを浴びる.
   * [*Effective Japanese Usage Guide*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/4061232827/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_V5Y4H01R7CPMWSQJEWGE) – Compares Japanese words that are similar in meaning and explains the differences between them, like 家 and うち. This book is sometimes hard to find but worth the money.