I have heard that a Japanese Pocket PC model is the best thing to use as an electronic Japanese dictionary. Many companies make Pocket PCs. They come with the Microsoft Windows CE operating system — the Japanese version of this apparently has built-in Japanese handwriting recognition.
I played with a Casio EX-word XD-470 for a little while in a shop. I was very tempted to buy it. The big selling point was handwriting recognition. You can handwrite kanji and kana on the screen using a stylus, and look up words that way. This is definitely better than trying to figure out the radical on some unusual kanji.
The Canon Wordtank IDF-3000 seems to be the updated version of the IDX-9700. It looks much better, with a bigger, clearer screen and much faster lookup. However, the functions don’t seem to work quite as well as the older models.
The Canon Wordtank IDX-9700 electronic dictionary does everything the smaller IDC-310 does, and more. Of course, you can translate English to Japanese and vice versa. You can also look up kanji based on reading, radical or stroke count, and look up words based on any component kanji.
The Canon Wordtank IDC-310 is a brilliant little electronic dictionary. The main function is to translate English to Japanese and vice versa. You can also look up kanji based on reading, radical or stroke count, and look up words based on any component kanji.
Most Japanese electronic dictionaries are generally available only in Japan. There are some companies that sell them overseas. If you are learning Japanese, especially if you live in Japan, I highly recommend carrying one with you all the time. They range from simple word-lookup dictionaries to full language translation units with kanji lookup and handwriting recognition. They are all more or less useful, but make sure you get one that’s right for your level.
I think this is the best method available for learning kanji, but it’s not for everyone.
This first volume teaches you how to recognize, write and understand the meanings of over 2000 kanji. It seems to be succeeding so far for me, though I am only up to about 400 or so. The idea is that you learn all the characters using this book, and then Volume II helps you learn readings (pronunciations) and some words containing the characters.
If you are learning kanji using James Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji books, these study cards are invaluable. Heisig recommends a specific method of studying and reviewing the kanji. The method uses cards to allow you to quickly review the meanings and readings of each kanji. He has created a set of pre-printed kanji cards to save you having to write out all 2000 cards yourself.
I have found these a great help in my kanji study; when I am learning new kanji I carry around a hundred of the cards with me. This way I can review a few kanji during any spare moments.
This book is a really interesting exploration into the origins of the 2000 most common kanji in Japanese. It gives a lot of information about where each kanji comes from — like most writing systems, the characters were once pictures, and this book shows where they came from and how they came to be as they are now.
Continue reading “Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters” »
These books are simple and logical, with good English explanations of the points covered in each lesson. The language used is appropriate for business people, so may be less appropriate for you, depending on what you want to learn Japanese for. The kana versions are far superior to the romaji versions. You have to learn kana anyway, and it’s not hard, so why not start from the beginning? Volume 1 uses hardly any kanji, but volume II introduces a dozen or so with each lesson. Useful for recognition, but you’ll need a proper kanji book to learn them properly.
Continue reading “Japanese for Busy People (kana version)” »