Customer Reviews

Kodansha's Pocket Kanji Guide (A Kodansha Dictionary)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For a pocket dictionary it is a very nice compromise between size and content. It is small (31.6 cubic inches vs 59.7 cubic inches for the larger Kodansha's Compact Kanji Guide), yet it contains almost all the kanji and a great number of the compounds I run into while getting around Japan. It contains only the 1006 Shinkyoiku Kanji, which it claims covers 90% of the Kanji in the daily newspaper, and I've had a MUCH higher success rate than that reading signs around Tokyo - which is where I primarily use this dictionary. I've looked at a fair number of "pocket" kanji dictionaries at bookstores here in Japan and choose this one. Pro's:1) Good number of nice practical compounds, esp. considering size. 2) VERY Nice radical index at end for scanning kanji which contain a given radical - including kanji where radical is not the primary radical. 3) ON/KUN reading index 4) Complete Stroke Count index --VERY NICE for those kanji with hard-to-find radicals.

Con's: 1) Uses the historical radicals (like Nelson's dictionary) - some people might find this a pro, but my personal preference is for Spahn's radicals. 2) The readings are not in romanji - I overcame this by sticking a Hiragana/Katakana chart in as a bookmark. -- Once again you might consider this a pro - in that it is forcing me to practice Hiragana & Katakana. In summary...to carry with you as you travel, this is the one I recommend. If you want a complete Kanji dictionary, I recommend Mark Spahn's Kanji Dictionary.

When I started studying Japanese I was really confused and unsure how I would ever be able to look up kanji characters and make sense of them. This book, which I bought without knowing how I would conquer it, has proved to be the answer. Looking back it now seems simple, but I learnt it all from reading the introduction to this dictionary, many times, and then lots of trying to find kanji characters. And you know, it feels really great when you can master the technique of rapidly and almost automatically looking up kanji characters. I love my little dictionary and use it often. OK why? - well the Introduction and "Users Manual" are well written, and explain things like on-reading, kun-reading, and compound combinations. The kanji entries show the stroke order, which is essential learning. The indices are the key to rapid usage and are easy to follow. It is small enough to carry when you travel and to study on the plane. By the way you have to know the Japanese writing system and the hiragana and katagana tables are provided in the Users Manual. In fact it is a very practical way to reinforce your knowledge of hiragana and katakana. Indispensable.

I had this book when I went to language school in Japan for three months and it served me very well. Although it didn't have all of the Kanji I needed to look up, it contained most of them. I didn't do so well at school, but I was able to learn a lot from the book. The best features of the book are it's size, and ease of use. It doesn't take long to look up characters, and the compounds and readings are all written in Kana. It only contains 1006 characters, and when you can't find a character it is disappointing, but otherwise great for something you can slip in a backpack and doesn't weigh a ton. Eventually you'll outgrow the book, but you'll be proud of yourself when you do.

Apparently this is reprinted as the (larger) <ASIN: 4770027524>. I prefer this version, as it's smaller. I agree it could use more entries, but hey, it's a pocket guide, ya know? I like it a lot.

When I acquired this little book, I was hoping to have something that I could carry around in my briefcase and would help me with newspaper articles and such. It doesn't; it has far too few entries. It never fails to amaze me how there can exist Chinese-English dictionaries the same physical size as this one that contain ten times as many entries as this one does for Japanese. Can't anybody make a good compact Japanese-English Kanji dictionary?

An excellent little dictionary. First a warning: this is a *pocket* dictionary. It only has 1006 kanji, so you aren't going to be able to find a lot of the less common kanji.

So why did I give it 5 stars? It isn't meant to be a comprehensive dictionary. The small size enforces limits. What it does do is provide very clear readings and meanings for the kanji it contains, and numerous compounds. The readings are all in kana, which I like (if you don't know kana, you will obviously find it difficult to use). Finally, it is small enough to conveniently carry around. I keep mine in my backpack and take it to work with me every day. I can use it to translate most of the memos that show up on my desk! I find this little book extremely useful living in Japan.

It's an excellent kanji book for what it is; I was just looking for something a little more. This was as close as I could come. First, the good news. For each kanji, every possible kanji compund is listed. Stroke order is clear. The guide to looking up kanji from the indexes is pretty reasonable. There's no romanji, only kana. And, it distinguishes between the Japanese and Chinese pronounciation. The bad news is, it stops after 1006 kanji, leaving much more to be desired. I was looking for at least 2000. I'm also looking for a kanji guide that has everything I listed above, but also describes the meanings of the radicals and origin of the kanji. I would have been a bit happier with better quality paper and a bigger font, but this is a pocket book after all. I can find books that individually have all these, but none so far combine them into one. Bottom line, this book is good for beginners, which I am. It just may not last me too long.

I have noticed that a number of the purchasers of this book made the same mistake I did when I purchased it. This pocket guide covers the shinkyouiku kanji only. That is, the 1006 kanji that all Japanese are expected to be able to read and write. For students of Japanese then, this is a very handy reference during the learning process. It is NOT a sufficient reference for general use when reading written material - Kodansha's Compact Guide, which covers the 1945 jouyou kanji all Japanese are expected to be able to read and that make up the majority of written Japanese, would be a better reference.

Sorry to sound churlish.

I got very excited by the idea of a "Pocket" Kanji Guide and was a bit dissapointed by what I got.

Why?

Size: The guide does fit in a pocket but it has to be a pretty big pocket - 500+pages. If you're going to use at at a desk or carry in bag then Kodansha's "Compact" Kanji Guide is a lot better albeit a little larger (800 pages)

Production quality: The paper quality is poor, rough paper, this compares to the "Compact" Guide which is much nice on the hand and eye.

Content: The "Compact" Guide uses exactly the same format as the pocket guide, indices etc but covers all 1945 Joyo Kanji vs the more limited 1006 Kyoiku Kanji in the Pocket Guide.

Legibility The font size is extremely small in the Pocket guide (much smaller than the compact) - it makes it hard to read (both the Japanese characters and translation). Again, the compact is much easier on the eye.

A lot of these problems good have been solved in a agenuine pocket format by reducing the number of compounds to 2-3 per kanji and having larger, easier to read characters.

All seems like a bit of a compromise.

I own this dictionary. I've opened it a few times, but never found occasion to use it, because it's not very good, and I will explain.

For someone who wants to learn kanji one at a time, it isn't much use because the characters are ordered by radical, which is a completely ineffective order for learning the kanji. Instead, I would recommend Essential Kanji by P.G. O'Neill, which has the kanji arranged in order of usefulness, or Remembering the Kanji, Volume I, by James Heisig which is a complete course in learning all 1945 Jouyou Kanji that a diligent student can complete in 3 months or less.

For someone who wants a kanji reference, this book is also fairly useless. It has 1006 kanji, which just isn't enough. Only elementary school texts constrain them to the set of educational kanji, so if you try to read anything real, you'll find that every other character you try to look up won't be in this dictionary. Essential Kanji (see above) has 2000 kanji, which will encompass most of what you need to look up, and it's about the same size, and costs less.

The two good points about this book is its extensive lists of compounds, and that its organization by radical makes it quick and easy to look up kanji, but if it doesn't have the one you're looking for, what good is it? The good does not outweigh the bad.