Electronic Dictionary recommendations?

[mowgwie]

Can anyone suggest a good electronic dictionary - one that works for learning Japanese, rather than for learning English? I've noticed that most of the electronic dictionaries I've seen are more for someone who speack Japanese and is trying to learn English. Is there somewhere to see a comparison of different models?

Thanks.

[sashimidimsum7250]

Unfortunately, no. Most are made for people trying to learn English. But the good news is the good ones have pretty decent Japanese to English dictonaries, which is what you will end up using most of the time anyhow.

In this thread there was one suggested by cliang78 that you might want to look into. It seems more English friendly:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2802&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

[Jason]

It's a bit on the expensive side, but I got one of these:

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

[Javizy]

Aren't there any with Flashcard systems built in? I'll definitely be interested in getting one at some point, but being able to review kanji and vocabulary on the go would be an extra bonus.

[sashimidimsum7250]

Aren't there any with Flashcard systems built in? I'll definitely be interested in getting one at some point, but being able to review kanji and vocabulary on the go would be an extra bonus.

Apparently, there is one: the casio XD-GP9700. According to this link:
https://www.whiterabbitpress.com/produc ... 262&page=1

- Create your own custom flashcards: you can use the pen to write anything you'd like with the flexible custom flashcards features.

I'm going to be in Japan next week, and I most certainly plan on getting this dictionary.

[sashimidimsum7250]

I did get the XD-GP9700. I love it, but the flash card feature is not what I expected. Yes, you can create your own flash cards, but unfortunately, you cannot copy and paste info from a dictionary entry to make them, which is what I was expecting.

Still a great dictionary though. I fully recommend it. It hasn't left my side since I got it.

[aehlke]

The Canon electronic dictionaries have a "flashcard"-like system (though it's not called it). I have a G90 I think from a couple years ago, and I can add any dictionary entries I look up to one of four flashcard lists. You can mark the cards to filter out known ones once you've learned them too.

Also it has handwriting recognition so you can draw kanji to look them up. You have to have decent stroke order knowledge for this though.

[privard]

Disclaimer: I'm the maker of the JLT system Jason mentioned above. You can add a flashcard program to it. There are free ones, but I like KingKanji. Main reason is that it has premade card sets for all the major texts and texts--if you're studying for nikkyu you don't have to make thousands of cards on your own for it. KingKanji includes its own handwriting system, which is not only a bit strict but actually grades and guides you stroke by stroke as you write--it's great for learning. (I don't sell KingKanji or benefit from its sale). However, when you're using the dictionary, the handwriting recognition built into the OS is quite forgiving, making it easy to enter the character you want, even if you flub the stroke order and miss or misplace a few strokes (the more complicated the kanji, the more you can mess up and still find it).

[squirrelscuba]

i've just received the JLT pda from the above poster, and while initially i was hesitant about buying this DICT from japan and having it sent to australia, the whole transaction was very smooth. peter offers a secure way of paying, and answers all questions promptly, and the item can be tracked by EMS while in transit..

as for the JLT itself, to review the product online before purchase is probly easier than many others as the website is comprehensive...

i also have been using an casioEXWORD, and while it is a great dict at first i did need the help of a native japanese speaker before it was of any use for my study. the JLT however, is very easy to navigate.

the kanji recognition (as has been mentioned before about the JLT) is fantastic after using the EXWORD.....even a sloppy kanji inputted into the JLT will find the correct one most of the time...in the EXWORD the kanji input is more difficult, and a lot of the time i gave up trying and looked online...

and of course, find the correct kanji and jump to kanjidict for stroke orders...

すごい！

[Javizy]

I did get the XD-GP9700. I love it, but the flash card feature is not what I expected. Yes, you can create your own flash cards, but unfortunately, you cannot copy and paste info from a dictionary entry to make them, which is what I was expecting.

Still a great dictionary though. I fully recommend it. It hasn't left my side since I got it.

Can't you make any lists at all? Ideally, what I'd like to be able to do is add words to a named vocabulary list when I look them up, like Wakan allows you to. That way, I can have the vocabulary list open next time I read the text the words originated from. Being able to review the lists with an Anki style flashcard system on top of that would be perfect.

It seems these dictionaries have the resources for such convenience, but don't make use of them. It's really disappointing. The way I go about it now is so inefficient it's probably detrimental to the learning process, since it wastes so much time