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掲示板 Forums - [Nintendo DS / Dictionary / ★★★★☆] - Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten
Top > 日本語を勉強しましょう / Let's study Japanese! > Anything About Japanese
マイコー
Level: 301
[url=http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-4ece-71-9g-49-en-84-j-70-198v.html]Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten[/url]
This is the only (that I know of) piece of dictionary software available for the DS, and it's really something wonderful.
[b]Notice[/b]: As much as I love this software, it is not a replacement for a true electronic dictionary. If you can afford something like an EX-Word, by all means get that. For those that cannot get one of those dictionaries or will not be able to for some time, this software is a great middle-ground between huge, obnoxious paper dictionaries and the electronic ones.
Ok, so this is dictionary software based off of the rather well-known Genius (ジーニアス) line of dictionaries that are available in Japan. It is the second 'version' of this software, with the first being called 'DS Rakuhiki Jiten' (comes in a darkish brown case, while the newer one is closer to black).
[b]Input system[/b]
Although it is entirely in Japanese and clearly made for Japanese for would like a Japanese<>Japanese and Japanese<>English dictionary, it is still rather easy to use once you figure out what most of the buttons do. The bottom screen is generally utilized as the user interface, while the top screen contains the results of your searches. You have several modes for entering in terms to be searched:
[list]
[li]Keyboard mode - a small keyboard appears, and you can enter in both English or Japanese characters in this manner. Kanji cannot be entered in this mode. [/li]
[li]Handwriting mode - this is what makes the software AWESOME. You can use the stylus to enter in numbers, English letters, and Japanese hiragana/katakana/kanji. The handwriting recognition is really top notch, and your kanji can look like spaghetti and the software will still pick them up. General stroke order is important, although I believe it allows for some fluctuation if you don't remember exactly how to write something. There are settings for how much time it'll give you for writing each character, so you needed rush it (although there's little bonus for writing it really clearly). I can often look at a kanji I don't know and write it onto the ds screen without ever looking at the screen. After I finish, even though the kanji is messy, the software still picks it up.
Although I can't confirm this, the software determines what you are writing based on the shape, location, and order of strokes. So, if you're second downward stroke is a bit too far to the right, that's ok; it'll still see that stroke in relation to the first stroke, and correctly decipher it. If it reads the kanji incorrectly, you have a chance to choose from 8 or 9 similiar looking kanji; I would say it properly reads my kanji bout 90% of the time, and the correct kanji is located in the alternative terms the rest of the time.[/li]
[/list]
[b]Searching[/b]
Just above the 'paper' that you write the terms onto/type on the keyboard, there's a mini 'book' that is your dictionary. You can choose to filter the entries to only show English > Japanese, Japanese > English, or Japanese > Japanese. As you enter in each character, the book will flip to the page that contain what you've written, you can then tap a term to pull up the information on the top screen. The bottom screen never changes, so even if you click on a term, the book still remains open below so you can quickly choose another term on the same page.
[b]Dictionary contents[/b]
[u]English > Japanese[/u]
The E>J entrees will show the term followed by it's Japanese equivalent as well as part-of-speech information (in Japanese). It'll *often* have one or multiple example sentences or phrases that use that term; I often find this more useful than a defintion. The dictionary will usually also give colloquial usages of the term as well. I'm looking at the entry for 'cat' right now, and it gives English sentences (with Japanese translations) for phrases such as 'He is a cat person' and 'When the cat's away, the mice will play.'
[u]Japanese > English[/u]
The J > E is extremely similiar to the J > E. A large number of definitons and uses are given, often with example sentences in both languages.
[u]Japanese > Japanese[/u]
This honestly isn't going to be much use unless you are rather proficient in Japanese. It's simply a Japanese dictionary in the way we have English dictionaries.
[b]Assorted other features/settings[/b]
There is a very easy to use history feature that can let you jump back and forth between things you've already looked up (this is not saved when you turn off the DS).
There are a number of quizzes in the software as well, although I found them to be not especially useful to those studying Japanese; there's plenty of software much better suited to quizzing (cough) renshuu.org (cough).
There is a jump feature which allows you to scan through a definition page and load up information on terms contained within that page. Howeve, it only lets you choose English words.
[b]Pros[/b]
[list]
[li]The handwriting input system is extremely flexible. I'm amazed at how terribly I can write a kanji and still have it be recognized. Even if it's a kanji I've never written before, I can still usually get it accepted.[/li]
[li]Often extensive usage and examples for terms in both the J>E and E>J dictionaries, always given in both languages.[/li]
[li]Really straightforward interface; although some of the buttons might not be clear to lower-level users, you only use a half dozen or so regularly, so once you know those, you're set.[/li]
[li]Cheap, relatively speaking. As I noted that this is not a great replacement for true electronic dictionaries, while you may pay 30,000 yen for a good electronic dictionary, you're getting a LOT for only 1/6th the price with this software.
[/list]
[b]Cons[/b]
[list]
[li]The Japanese > English lookup is less than ideal; if a term can be written in kanji, it will show up as kanji in the small 'dictionary' on the bottom panel. For example, if you type in ねこ to look up 'cat', the entry it'll line up on is 猫. Now, once you click on that, the top screen will show the full entry which contains both the kanji and kana versions on the first line.[/li]
[li]There is no raw kanji information. If you want to know the meaning/readings/radical of a single kanji, this is not going to help you out. However, entering in a single kanji will give you a bunch of words that begin with that character, so you can often derive the general meaning from that.[/li]
[li]While this is probably obvious, this software is going to be useless if you are busy playing other DS games.[/li]
[/list]
In short, this is an awesome, awesome piece of software for those who cannot or do not want to purchase an electronic dictionary at 6-10 times the price.
This is the only (that I know of) piece of dictionary software available for the DS, and it's really something wonderful.
[b]Notice[/b]: As much as I love this software, it is not a replacement for a true electronic dictionary. If you can afford something like an EX-Word, by all means get that. For those that cannot get one of those dictionaries or will not be able to for some time, this software is a great middle-ground between huge, obnoxious paper dictionaries and the electronic ones.
Ok, so this is dictionary software based off of the rather well-known Genius (ジーニアス) line of dictionaries that are available in Japan. It is the second 'version' of this software, with the first being called 'DS Rakuhiki Jiten' (comes in a darkish brown case, while the newer one is closer to black).
[b]Input system[/b]
Although it is entirely in Japanese and clearly made for Japanese for would like a Japanese<>Japanese and Japanese<>English dictionary, it is still rather easy to use once you figure out what most of the buttons do. The bottom screen is generally utilized as the user interface, while the top screen contains the results of your searches. You have several modes for entering in terms to be searched:
[list]
[li]Keyboard mode - a small keyboard appears, and you can enter in both English or Japanese characters in this manner. Kanji cannot be entered in this mode. [/li]
[li]Handwriting mode - this is what makes the software AWESOME. You can use the stylus to enter in numbers, English letters, and Japanese hiragana/katakana/kanji. The handwriting recognition is really top notch, and your kanji can look like spaghetti and the software will still pick them up. General stroke order is important, although I believe it allows for some fluctuation if you don't remember exactly how to write something. There are settings for how much time it'll give you for writing each character, so you needed rush it (although there's little bonus for writing it really clearly). I can often look at a kanji I don't know and write it onto the ds screen without ever looking at the screen. After I finish, even though the kanji is messy, the software still picks it up.
Although I can't confirm this, the software determines what you are writing based on the shape, location, and order of strokes. So, if you're second downward stroke is a bit too far to the right, that's ok; it'll still see that stroke in relation to the first stroke, and correctly decipher it. If it reads the kanji incorrectly, you have a chance to choose from 8 or 9 similiar looking kanji; I would say it properly reads my kanji bout 90% of the time, and the correct kanji is located in the alternative terms the rest of the time.[/li]
[/list]
[b]Searching[/b]
Just above the 'paper' that you write the terms onto/type on the keyboard, there's a mini 'book' that is your dictionary. You can choose to filter the entries to only show English > Japanese, Japanese > English, or Japanese > Japanese. As you enter in each character, the book will flip to the page that contain what you've written, you can then tap a term to pull up the information on the top screen. The bottom screen never changes, so even if you click on a term, the book still remains open below so you can quickly choose another term on the same page.
[b]Dictionary contents[/b]
[u]English > Japanese[/u]
The E>J entrees will show the term followed by it's Japanese equivalent as well as part-of-speech information (in Japanese). It'll *often* have one or multiple example sentences or phrases that use that term; I often find this more useful than a defintion. The dictionary will usually also give colloquial usages of the term as well. I'm looking at the entry for 'cat' right now, and it gives English sentences (with Japanese translations) for phrases such as 'He is a cat person' and 'When the cat's away, the mice will play.'
[u]Japanese > English[/u]
The J > E is extremely similiar to the J > E. A large number of definitons and uses are given, often with example sentences in both languages.
[u]Japanese > Japanese[/u]
This honestly isn't going to be much use unless you are rather proficient in Japanese. It's simply a Japanese dictionary in the way we have English dictionaries.
[b]Assorted other features/settings[/b]
There is a very easy to use history feature that can let you jump back and forth between things you've already looked up (this is not saved when you turn off the DS).
There are a number of quizzes in the software as well, although I found them to be not especially useful to those studying Japanese; there's plenty of software much better suited to quizzing (cough) renshuu.org (cough).
There is a jump feature which allows you to scan through a definition page and load up information on terms contained within that page. Howeve, it only lets you choose English words.
[b]Pros[/b]
[list]
[li]The handwriting input system is extremely flexible. I'm amazed at how terribly I can write a kanji and still have it be recognized. Even if it's a kanji I've never written before, I can still usually get it accepted.[/li]
[li]Often extensive usage and examples for terms in both the J>E and E>J dictionaries, always given in both languages.[/li]
[li]Really straightforward interface; although some of the buttons might not be clear to lower-level users, you only use a half dozen or so regularly, so once you know those, you're set.[/li]
[li]Cheap, relatively speaking. As I noted that this is not a great replacement for true electronic dictionaries, while you may pay 30,000 yen for a good electronic dictionary, you're getting a LOT for only 1/6th the price with this software.
[/list]
[b]Cons[/b]
[list]
[li]The Japanese > English lookup is less than ideal; if a term can be written in kanji, it will show up as kanji in the small 'dictionary' on the bottom panel. For example, if you type in ねこ to look up 'cat', the entry it'll line up on is 猫. Now, once you click on that, the top screen will show the full entry which contains both the kanji and kana versions on the first line.[/li]
[li]There is no raw kanji information. If you want to know the meaning/readings/radical of a single kanji, this is not going to help you out. However, entering in a single kanji will give you a bunch of words that begin with that character, so you can often derive the general meaning from that.[/li]
[li]While this is probably obvious, this software is going to be useless if you are busy playing other DS games.[/li]
[/list]
In short, this is an awesome, awesome piece of software for those who cannot or do not want to purchase an electronic dictionary at 6-10 times the price.
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Top > 日本語を勉強しましょう / Let's study Japanese! > Anything About Japanese