Customer Reviews

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary

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I have to admit that the primary reason I bought the Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary was because it was cheap and I had just dropped a lot of money (for a college student at least) on a copy of the Shogakukan Progressive Dictionary. Now, as my Shogakukan Dictionary rests on the bookshelf under a thick film of dust, I could not possibly be any happier with this book. To begin with, it contains enough information to be useful to an advanced student of Japanese such as myself, but is still easy enough for a beginner to use. The text is all in romaji and English, making it remarkably easy to find what you're looking for. The definitions contain verb conjugations and references to both synonyms and antonyms, making it easy for a beginner to compensate for a limited vocabulary base. Additionally, the book contains appendices which cover basic concepts of Japanese grammar and culture. From Kana charts to verb conjugations to a list of festivals, these reference sections give you convenient access to information that can be a pain to find when deeply entrenched in your work. They are unbelievably useful for solving the problems that arise in completing such difficult tasks as writing compositions and doing lengthy translations. They also prove useful to the beginner who is struggling with conjugating verbs and/or modifying adjectives. The extras don't stop there, however. The back of the book contains a small English-Japanese Dictionary that is so incredibly efficient that a separate English-Japanese Dictionary is often not necessary. As a result, the stack of Japanese dictionaries that I used to find it necessary to use on difficult projects has been replaced by this book alone. In fact, couple the Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary with a decent kanji dictionary and you're set! If you are a student of the Japanese Language or are looking for a quick reference guide for translating to and from Japanese, then this is the one book you simply cannot work without.

I've been studying the Japanese language on my own for six years now. Of all the Japanese-English dictionaries I laid my hands on, this one has been the most helpful and the one I take anywhere.

This compact version of my favorite M/W Japanese Learner's Dictionary has every word listed explained sufficiently, and differences in usage are shown in the examples. As certain English words have different meanings depending on context, that context is also mentioned here as not to confuse with others. Words with same kana writing but different kanji are written in separate entries as well.

A quick reference for translating from English to Japanese is also included in the back, but since it's only the dictionary form, you'll have to conjugate it before using it.

Grammar notes, counting suffixes, era tables in Japanese history are also included.

You'll need a separate reference for kanji, by the way.

Like many students of Japanese I have several dictionaries, but this is the one I keep coming back to. It has numerous examples, usage notes, and cross references to synonyms and antonyms. Of all my dictionaries it has the highest hit rate when trying to find an unfamiliar word. It has good explainations of each particle, too. Just like it says on the cover, this is a Japanese to English dictionary with a short English to Japanese glossary in an appendix. Although the main entries are in roomaji, the main entries are also in kana/kanji and the examples are both in roomaji and kana/kanji. $6.95 well spent.

You have to be careful before buying this book. It only includes Japanese to English translation. If you are an novice English Speaking student trying to learn Japanese, this book is definitely not for you! If you are an Advanced student and only need an occasional glance you might think about it.