Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader

The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary

by
Jack Halpern (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Jack Halpern Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Jack Halpern (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 94 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-4770028556
ISBN-10: 4770028555
Why is ISBN important?
ISBN
This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The 13-digit and 10-digit formats both work.
Scan an ISBN with your phone
Use the Amazon App to scan ISBNs and compare prices.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Rent On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
$16.93 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
Buy used On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
$17.84 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open
More Buying Choices
16 New from $30.00 38 Used from $1.00
54 used & new from $1.00
See All Buying Options

There is a newer edition of this item:

The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary: Revised and Expanded
The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary: Revised and Expanded
$26.96
(30)
In Stock.
Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Prime Student Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Author interviews, book reviews, editors picks, and more. Read it now
click to open popover

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links

  (What's this?)
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
New York Times best sellers
Browse this week’s New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Children’s Books and more. See more

Product Details

  • Paperback: 1008 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha USA (February 1, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 4770028555
  • ISBN-13: 978-4770028556
  • Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1.7 x 5.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #644,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links

  (What's this?)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsIrreplaceable- for beginners and non-beginners alike
By C. E. Stevens VINE VOICE on November 15, 2001
Format: Hardcover
I'm not sure why I took so long to write a review for this dictionary ... I've been using the Kanji Learner's Dictionary for almost three years now and have nothing but good things to say about it. The best thing about this dictionary is its size. All of the commonly used kanji and kanji compounds are included in a compact volume. When you're reading a newspaper article and come across an unfamiliar kanji/compound, or when you're writing a letter (or homework, etc.) and you can visualize a character but can't quite remember how it's written, who wants to lug out some 100 pound (slight exaggeration) kanji dictionary when you can quickly leaf through this one?
Granted, once you get out of the beginning stages, you will need a more thorough dictionary. But I have found myself going back to this one every single time, unless there's a character or compound that doesn't appear in it (but honestly, I would say that happens only 1-5% of the time). It's that convenient.
If you are looking for your first kanji dictionary, definitely buy this one- you'll find yourself going back to it again and again. If you only have a huge kanji dictionary, buy this one too- you'll love the size, and be surprised by the fact that this dictionary actually has the vast majority of kanji/compounds that you're looking for ...
4 Comments 79 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsThe _BEST_ Kanji dictionary for beginning to low advanced
By A Customer on May 8, 2003
Format: Hardcover
I cannot recommend this dictionary highly enough. There is simply no better dictionary for beginning and intermediate students, and it can be used even into advanced studies. I will be taking the Japanese Proficiency test for 2 kyu soon, which requires reading over 1,200 kanji, and I still use this dictionary. If it had been published when I first began my Japanese study, I might be making plans to take the 1 kyu test instead of 2 kyu. It's that good.
When I came to Japan, I inherited three kanji dictionaries from various sources, and they were all basically useless, even though I had already studied Japanese off and on for a total of about a year's worth of university-level coursework. I went shopping for a new dictionary a few months after getting here, and thankfully I found the Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, which had just been published a short time before.
The SKIP lookup system makes so much sense that I wonder why no one had ever thought of it before. While it does take a small amount of practice to become completely proficient in using SKIP, the traditional indexing by radical is so cumbersome that you often have to fall back on the possible readings (on-yomi or kun-yomi) for a character to find the right entry. If you are trying to find a totally unfamiliar kanji, whose reading you don't know, this is completely hopeless.
The Kanji Learner's dictionary also includes a radical index for those who learned the traditional system, or for the very few cases where looking things up by radical is faster or easier. In other dictionaries, main indexing is _only_ by radical. This is a problem since many modern kanji have been simplified so much that the original radical it is traditionally indexed under has been simplified out of existence.Read more ›
Comment 92 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsPerfectly balanced
By Larry West on February 5, 2001
Format: Hardcover
This is so well-designed, it is a joy to use.
(I'm in my second year of learning Japanese [Japanese for Busy People series], first term of real attention to Kanji.)
The SKIP system is just one of five ways of looking up kanji; I've used them all now (even the frequency-ranking one). It's nice but just one facet of the dictionary.
"Little things" like the layout, the indices, the introductory explanations, the paper, the font, the size are all so good that one doesn't even really notice them, they just seem natural, like a good tool should be. Now other dictionaries (like the complete Nelson which I have and respect and still use when necessary) seem awkward, if not ugly.
The keywords in red and the organization of the definitions really do help give (to this novice anyway) a feel for the core meanings.
Plus, for computer use, the Unicode numbers are given which is a big time-saver (for me anyway).
It's hard to imagine a more perfectly balanced kanji dictionary for the beginner.
1 Comment 28 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsDon't be afraid of Kanji anymore!
By Carlos Rodriguez on June 28, 2000
Format: Hardcover
This book is nearly perfect. It's very complete and comes in a very handy presentation. You can quickly find the 2000 most used kanjis and learn how to write them correctly. Besides a kanji's core meaning, you learn frequent combinations with other kanjis, which helps a lot for context interpretation. The layout invites you to read on, even after you found what you wanted, it's beautiful! My fear to kanjis is gone. I learnt to break them down in pieces and now I remember them easier. I just wish that this dictionary had kana instead of romaji in the meanings part. There's also a lot of "wrongly-counted" kanjis (for those of us who still don't master the SKIP system) that somehow ruin the layout, although is very considerate and helpful from the editor to give us a shorcut instead of going like "you have to learn how to count strokes first before using this dictionary"! For those of you who find this book incomplete, I tell you, you can always go to its daddy, Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Character Dictionary. Let's learn kanji!
Comment 21 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsbut it's the best resource I've ever found for the purpose

This is absolutely necessary if you want to learn how to read Kanji. I would have been lost without it. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsLighting fast translation

This is an amazing system. It takes a commitment to learn how to use it but it is incredible. After an hour you will be able to find any Kanji in seconds when you learnt the... Read more

Published 17 months ago by chris butler
5.0 out of 5 starsGood for those who struggle with kanji

My sensei used this book in class and it was so helpful! It gives me plenty of options when looking for certain kanji, whether I'm looking for radicals, strokes, or how to read it. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Miho Sempai
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A great tool to have. Love it. Thanks :)

Published 21 months ago by lain
5.0 out of 5 starsit becomes relatively easy to find what you're looking for in the book

Incredible. Incredible. Incredible.

This dictionary is everything I wanted as an intermediate-level Japanese student in college. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Tyler Richardson
5.0 out of 5 starsgreat resource even when compared to native sources

Since buying this book several years ago, I have obtained a much fancier electronic dictionary from Japan. Read more

Published on June 22, 2014 by Joe N
5.0 out of 5 starsThe SKIP Method is invaluable for finding the meaning of a Kanji

If you don't know the reading of a kanji, the SKIP method is a breakthrough. You just have to learn the basic guidelines to how to separate the kanji into the various groups... Read more

Published on June 15, 2014 by arleas
4.0 out of 5 starsVery Useful for People Learning Japanese

A great help with it's layout and related words with examples plus sections that assist in finding answers, all slated toward teaching Japanese characters and use. Read more

Published on May 19, 2014 by Dave English
5.0 out of 5 starsIt will grow with you.....

This dictionary is in my opinion a must for anyone serious about learning Japanese. As you learn about how Kanji are construction you'll better understand how to look up a... Read more

Published on July 30, 2013 by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsjapanese dictionary

I love it. I've had it 3 days and it's great. Kanjis are really easy to find, there are 5 differents ways to find any given kanji, you can't miss it.

Published on July 13, 2013 by Adriana Salazar

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: armenian language