Hey all! I am looking into getting an electronic dictionary and I wanted to know if anyone could recommend a good model. The more user-friendly, the better
( Read more... )
First off: Yes. Get one. Without a doubt. While you can probably can get by without one, they are highly convenient and you will likely get tons of use out of it.
As for model...that's largely a matter of preference. I would suggest taking a trip to your nearest mid-sized city and finding an largish electronics store such once you get to Japan. Play around with the test models until you find one that you like. I do recommend the Canon ExWord family, though. They're tough and can stand a bit of bumping around.
Thank you for the feedback! My main concern is that if I buy one over there, will I able to decipher how to use it? I am brushing up on my Japanese, but it's been over three years since I studied it seriously. I remember the kana, but aside from that, my language skills are pretty much non existent.
If you think you'll want a DS -and- an ED eventually (I have both, but I might be crazy), it might be better to get the rakubiki jiten for DS first. I'm at the upper-intermediate/lower-advanced level of Japanese, and there are some things on my ED that I don't really use or see the point to, but most of the DS functions are pretty useful... But the ED is easier to use once you get used to it, IMHO. The keyboard is a LOT easier to type with than the poking around with the DS stylus on the inscreen keyboard, but that doesn't bother a lot of people as it does me
( ... )
This helps a lot! My friend also mentioned the DS program. It sounds like that might be a little better for me to use, at least to start off with. I don't speak much Japanese, so I'm afraid that I won't be able to use an ED very effectively to start.
If you are a JET, there is a chance you can buy an electronic dictionary for a discount through your school. I know at my school a normally 500 dollar dictionary was 250 for students and a shocking 150 for teachers.
Canon Wordtanks (And I think other canons too?) have an English menu and are also really good. I have the Canon Wordtank G70 and when I bought it about a year ago it had the most comprehensive Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionaries of any electronic dict on the market by far... the only problem is that it's a bit large, and for a beginner it's probably overkill. There are cheaper, smaller models available.
I originally had just the DS 漢字そのまま one and while it is great for writing kanji in, it often comes up with definitions in Japanese only and it's a pain to look stuff up in kana or English... plus it looks kind of weird and unprofessional to be whipping a DS out all the time.
I would suggest buying online at amazon.co.jp or http://www.whiterabbitpress.com/ because at least in my area, prices online are MUCH better than in the local stores.
Comments 10
As for model...that's largely a matter of preference. I would suggest taking a trip to your nearest mid-sized city and finding an largish electronics store such once you get to Japan. Play around with the test models until you find one that you like. I do recommend the Canon ExWord family, though. They're tough and can stand a bit of bumping around.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
Reply
I originally had just the DS 漢字そのまま one and while it is great for writing kanji in, it often comes up with definitions in Japanese only and it's a pain to look stuff up in kana or English... plus it looks kind of weird and unprofessional to be whipping a DS out all the time.
I would suggest buying online at amazon.co.jp or http://www.whiterabbitpress.com/ because at least in my area, prices online are MUCH better than in the local stores.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment