electronic dictionaries

[Ulver_684]

First off, I'm about JLPT 3級, if that helps at all...

I bought the CD version (The XS-KD01) from Amazon.co.jp since I live in Japan and it's pretty amazing. First of all, it has the STEP method for finding kanji which takes about 2 seconds to do (though, to be honest, I'm not sure why you would since you can just write it...).

Second, it lists every single bit of information you could want-- I mean, even down to the radical it's listed under, the grade level, and the frequency (Looks like 人 is the 2nd most common... what's the first?). I HIGHLY recommend it, but I would say that you should get the CD version since it's cheaper and with it and a cheap SD card (or onboard memory), you can add more dictionaries or text files (like the great 'counters' text file on whiterabbitpress.com's download section).

Anyways, I'd be happy to fill anybody in on any other questions about-- I really don't know how I lived without it before.

Nhonko-san!

What you said sounds very interesting, I'm going to try that too.

[Fatson]

Hello,
I'm thinking about getting some sort of denki jisho but I want to get one that will recognize handwritten kanji compounds (even "easy" ones). Does the Casio do this? I was looking into the Canon V80 and also this...

http://www.japaneselanguagetools.com/complete.html

...but I have yet to confirm any of these devices ability to do this.

[Jason]

and also this...

http://www.japaneselanguagetools.com/complete.html

...but I have yet to confirm any of these devices ability to do this.

I actually just bought one of those and got it last week. I can't speak for the V80, but it beats the ever loving pants off the Wordtank G80 in just about every aspect but price. The handwriting recognition of the MS IME is excellent in WM2003 as it is in the desktop versions. I really think this is the way to go for English speaking Japanese learners. i was very, very unimpressed with the G80.

The guy who sells them is also very nice.

[Fatson]

Thanks for the reply Jason. It sounds like an amazing device but the price is a bit prohibitive. Still, I may have to go ahead and get it. I did borrow someone's G70 for a few days and found it very hard to navigate. Maybe I just needed more time to get used to the interface though. As for MS IME, I'd love to try it out but for some reason my IME Pad doesn't work. I can toggle the button but I don't get a menu. Any ideas?

[NickT]

Yes, you can search for compounds in the Casio. Just write them one at a time, using the stylus.

Which compounds you will find depends on which dictionary you are searching in (you can also do a plural search, which searches all available dictionaries).

The J-J dictionary has the most compounds, but of course the definitions are only in Japanese. The J-E has less compounds, and tends to only list the "simplest" compound as a headword, and then lists further compounds underneath. For example, 日本人 does not have an independent entry, but is listed under 日本.

I have not had any trouble finding "simple" compounds, it is only longer 4-5 character compounds I sometimes have trouble with.

[Fatson]

Being able to read the definitions isn't such a concern, I mainly want to know how to read it. With some characters having 6 or 8 readings, it's really impossible for me to tell what it should be much of the time.

[Fedgrub]

Some really good ideas and points are in this thread. I understand most of you have the Casio SW6500. I am looking at getting this, although I have a few questions:

1. Do you think its worth the extra money to get the GW9600? It seems to have a much larger entry volume. But do you feel limited by what the SW6500 has at all?

2. Do the dictionaries come preloaded with the dictionaries on the SD card/onboard memory? Or do you have to install that onto the dictionary when it arrives?

3. I understand you can add more to the SD card as your vocabluary grows, however where do you get the new dictionaries from? Do you download them off a certain website or do you write the dictionary yourself?

Thanks