Customer Reviews

Random House Webster's Pocket Japanese Dictionary

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary that I used religiously while living in Japan for a few years. In fact, I never left home without it, always carrying it in my purse.

I had another Japanese pocket dictionary, but did not like it because 1) there was no kanji but only romaji, and 2) I found some definitions to be incorrect while conversing with natives. I wanted to buy another dictionary that was more useful and wanted to upgrade, so I bought this one.

This one is great for it's small size. I agree that the plastic cover makes it excellent to carry while protecting it. I even put note papers in the inside pockets to take notes and aid in my learning. Kanji translations are included, making it especially useful for advanced users or while traveling. Has over 20,000 entries, so most words that I needed to look up were often found in this pocket dictionary.

If you are looking for a useful pocket dictionary, I highly recommend this one. Hardly a day went by where I didn't refer to this dictionary.

I took this compact (4"x6") dictionary with me everywhere outside my home while living in rural Japan for two years. The plastic cover ensures its durability, and the inside cover can double as a gallery for my students' print club stickers or a file for business cards. Such portability really helped me to learn the language by having instant access to the right word at the right time. Most people were very patient, even delighted, when I used this during our conversation. Sometimes, it was the topic of conversation. In addition to it's size and sufficient word pool, each English or romanized entry also includes the Japanese written form (kana or kanji), which other dictionaries often neglect. The kana or kanji is beneficial for studying, figuring out which bathroom to enter, or, in the event that you can't pronounce the word correctly, showing the entry to someone. Translations are also concise. After a couple years of daily use, however, it might be time to get a new copy. I recommend this dictionary to anyone traveling to Japan.

When shopping for my first Japanese-English dictionary I was amazed that many give only romanji and/or are extremely expensive. This dictionary gives romanji along with kanji and/or katakana and/or hiragana for all entries. Both romanizations and Japanese entries are printed in very readable fonts (Japanese nano-fonts can be very problematic for kanji neophytes...). The book is also very light and so can be carried along easily whereover you go. Being a beginner, I cannot really make any comments as to its accuracy, but I have found this dictionary very helpful in my learning process. It is certainly nice to be able to see immediately what the kanji/katakana are for a word. This feature allows for both learning and review in a dictionary that is small, user-friendly and reasonably priced.

I bought this dictionary because I needed a dictionary fast and cheap, and it was the only Japanese-English dictionary carried at the bookstore I was visiting. It was an amazing find! Tiny enough that I can slip it into my purse, and yet powerful enough to have most of the words I want to look up as I study beginning Japanese. The Japanese words are in romaji, but the romaji is in English alphabetical order (disregarding vowel length), making it easy for someone still learning kana to look up a word after hearing it. But the words are also written out in kanji and kana, so that you can learn how to properly write them. Many of the more detailed kanji are too small for me to count strokes, but you can't have everything.

I bought this dictionary at B&N instead of Amazon, but I figure another review would be helpful nonetheless.
This dictionary is GREAT for the price and the size, but it's important to point out a few things about it.

* This dictionary does NOT have furigana above the kanji; However both kanji with hiragana and romaji are offered for English to Japanese translation purposes.
* Because it's so small and inexpensive, it won't have all the words you need. Curse words and a lot of your "SAT Vocabulary" words won't be in here.
* The font is small in this dictionary. If you intend on copying down kanji [that you don't know yet] from definitions, get a different dictionary, or go online.

This dictionary is about 1/6 the price of the big Kodansha Furigana dictionary, and is great for those times where you forget the spelling of a very generic word, and want to double-check yourself. It makes a great dictionary for beginners of Japanese, when you don't have to worry about using very much kanji in your writing. By your second or third year of learning Japanese, you WILL want something bigger and more comprehensive, but this is a great entry-level dictionary to have at your disposal when you're just starting out, or you need something that is very portable.

The one pictured is not the one I received. The one I got is quite a bit smaller (about 3"x4") and has a green and yellow vinyl cover. It's still a great dictionary (which is why I gave it 3 stars), but it's got that tiny print that is kinda hard to read. I am going to keep it, because it will be good to keep in a pocket while out and about, but I am still gonna try to find the one I really wanted elsewhere.

This product is great! I speak some Japenese, but when I forget a word or two, the book has it. I can't think of a word that is not in this dictionary. It is Japenese-English and English-Japenese. It has the word in English,Japenese, and Japenese with English pronunciation. It has a section where it shows how to pronounce Japenese characters. It also has a section of Japenese grammer. The book is small, but not too small. I can just quickly and easily stick it in my pocket if I were to go to Japan. I am glad I bought this product.

It was not an expensive dictionary, so naturally it does not have every imaginable word, but it's a good pocket dictionary. It is in English alphabetical order, not "juon" order.