I should say, this is by no means an exhaustive list of the best Japanese dictionaries ever, but rather these are the ones I find myself reaching for most often (or simply ones that are the most fun). You need to know which ones are best for what uses. But you don't want to just add random Japanese dictionaries to your Amazon cart.
You can also use this method, even if you only have a few dictionaries on-hand to compare and contrast your amassed vocabulary list.
Then I look up each word in different dictionaries to get a wider sense of the meanings. I read and listen to things that interest me, writing down words and grammar I want to study later. This makes dictionaries a fun way to gaze into the Japanese language from different perspectives.ĭictionaries are also an important part of my study routine. Each one has its own personality, built by different editorial processes and individual writers. I like to see how different dictionaries approach different things: design, words included, explanations, and target audience, to name a few. Take it away, Kim!Ĭollecting Japanese dictionaries has become, in my wife's words, an obsession. We wanted to know about the best Japanese dictionaries for study, and Kim Ahlstrom did not disappoint (I did say Kim was a Japanese dictionary maniac, right?). Through maintaining Jisho, Kim has naturally become a Japanese dictionary nerd, and thus one of the best people to talk to about the subject. Kim Ahlstrom is a good friend of Tofugu and the creator of the esteemed online Japanese dictionary.