Customer Reviews

NTC's New Japanese-English Character Dictionary

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There are few things I know enough about to justify speaking about them definitively. Learning foreign languages, in fact, is pretty much the only one. Japanese is the fourth non-native tongue I am trying to stuff under my belt so I've been through all the dictionary shopping before. And, I can say, without a doubt, that this is a miracle book. A bible for Japanese learner, it makes looking up characters remarkably easy and quick. I have never spent more than 90 seconds flipping through this mammoth tome before finding what I am looking for. In addition to an intensely comprehensive selection of kanji listed by stroke order, this dictionary also lists by frequency, by radical, by joyo/non-joyo/names AND by on/kun. I was unfortunately not intelligent enough to have purchased this book at this site, so I paid the full $$ for it. Three years later, I can say with 100% that it was well worth the investment. Jack Halpern is a genius for coming up with the SKIP method. If you're serious about becoming fluent in Japanese, buy this dictionary and the Random House English/Japanese dictionary. Both are fantastic investments.

The NTC dictionary is a good resource for beginning students of the Japanese language. Characters are found via a stroke-count lookup system that is (usually) pretty intuitive. Character entries are quite detailed, as well - character variants and handwritten forms are included, along with numerous definitions and usage notes.

Eventually, though, the NTC dictionary will be outstripped by advanced users. Defined characters are half that of other dictionaries (approx. 3000 - compared to the 7000+ of the Nelson's), and the lookup system has no relation to that found in a (Japanese) Japanese character dictionary (i.e., once you advance to the level of using Japanese-language character dictionaries, you will have to re-learn the lookup system - something you won't have to do if you use Nelson's or similar dictionaries).

Until the student reaches the advanced level, however, this is a good, informative and intuitive resource.

I couldn't have learned the Kanji I learned without this book. Not only is it an outstanding dictionary, it's a great learning tool and amazing for reviewing. I think you should also own the Classic Nelson, only because it has far more compounds, but trust me, you'll want this too, as I've used it far more than Nelson. I would recommend this to any student of Japanese.

I have found that NTC's dictionary has about the same compounds, but what makes this stand out, is it's script variations. It you learn how to destinguish the strokes of semi-cursive (gyo-sho) and cursive (so-sho) styles of wrighting making hand-written Japanese and even the butifull shodo legible. A must for those of us who actualy want to read and wright less like a gaijin and more like a Nihonjin. Also a must for gaijin trying to learn shodo.

Look, I know it is a lot of money for some people. You can buy smaller hand held things for $$, or download EDICT for free. But if for no other reason, perhaps exposure to the SKIP system for looking up kanji is worth it. Radical indexes are fine for experienced users and not that hard for beginners either. But this is easier until you have memorized the 217 radicals.
Using this sytem, anyone can recognize the pattern, count the strokes, and find the reference page in this wonderful guide of over 3500 Kanji (with their compounds and common usages). If you aren't sure you can count strokes (?) there is a radical index in the appendix, as well as a "pattern index" sort of like a short version of the whole dictionary that makes finding "hard to count" (usually because the kanji is so small you can't see it) kanji easy to find too.
There are other great Appendices are great too. In addition to radical index, you have: a Synonym group table (useful for discriminating between similar meaning kanji but not really as an English look up); a joyo list (which organizes by which grade the kanji are taught); an On-KUN index (used if you know how to pronounce it but not how to write it); a description of the three principle romanization systems (hepburn, Nippon, and Kunrei) and their differences; and topics that a beginner and expert might find useful or interseting.
This one dictionary has everything I have ever needed except:
1. some indications of the "accent" system in Japanese
2. an English -> Japanese look up system for the compounds listed
3. exactly 1 kanji that I couldn't find in it: "Uso" (Lie)

Finally, this is a dictionary and not a grammar manual. It is definitely not a resource to begin learning the language. But for what ever it is not, it _is_ worth the price.

In addition to its merits as a comprehensive Japanese-English character dictionary, students who are in the process of learning Kanji (like myself) will find the detailed stroke order displays (SODs) to be an invaluable resource. Rather than taking the easy way of just listing a character and embedding microscopic numbers in it to suggest how it is to be written as is most common, the characters are built, stroke by stroke, in a series of frames beneath each main entry. And a very detailed introduction should accustom the relative newbie to habit of parsing new characters into primitives systematically right from the beginning. Plus, definitions of words and phrases are nicely grouped into their own ON- and KUN- (and none of the above) sections on the basis of SENSE and currency which makes learning that much easier. Also, the font sizes and quality are quite good so you shouldn't feel need to resort to a magnifying lens all that often.

This dictionary, for the most part, is good. However, you will most likely come across characters not in the book, some of which are not that uncommon, and which I feel should not have been left out. Only one example is the "sen" in "sencha" and "o-senbe". If you study Japanese literature ( Japanese Majors ), you will definately run across older characters that aren't included. Still, for most purposes, look up is fast. As much as I don't want to though, looks like I'll eventually have to buy a Nelson.

This book uses the same style as the Japanese use to look up unknown kanji. You do not play the matching games like most other Japanese dictionaries. I recommend this book to any who are learning Japanese or anyone who is looking for a more pratical dictionary to place on their shelves

This book is well organized. It not only defines the single kanji but its compound definitions and alternate readings. I have found it to be very comprehensive and have not yet had to go to another dictionary to find the kanji I was looking for. A definite must-have for anyone in a Japanese language program.

This dictionary ranks up there with the White Rabbit Press Kanji flashcards as one of the best Japanese learning tools on the market. Looking up the kanji is remarkably quick, much faster than the Kodansha dictionary I also own. It also goes far beyond the 1945 characters most dictionaries are limited too. Thanks to this, I've finally begun to read manga in the original. This is simply a must-own product for anyone serious about learning to read Japanese.