Hello Everyone. I would like to buy a E-J/J-E electronic dictionary, but I am a foreigner and cannot read Kanji. Does anyone know of an electronic dictionary made for foreigners studying the language, that displays Japanese words in romaji or at least in Hiragana/Katakana? My friend insists that there isn't such a thing, but I think there must be one for foreign students studying Japanese. This is Japan after all...Oh yeah, this IS JAPAN!!!

If you are in Tokyo, go to Laox in Akihabara. They speak English and will be able to help. I think Canon brand is something that would be good for you.

Natalia

Thank you for your response. Yes, I'm in Tokyo, and actually have gone to Laox, and they said there isn't one that displays Japanese words in romaji or Hiragana. However, if anyone knows a specific brand, model, approximate price range, store name and location available, that would really help. Thanks in advance for your help.

The Japanese-English translator that we have is fantastic and I highly recommend it. It can jump between romaji, katakana, hiragana and kanji. It can operate in several languages, including English. It's made for people studying kanji, not for Japanese people. The kanji display is also nice and large, which is very helpful when deciphering all those little strokes.

The one we have is made by Canon. It's called an "Intelligent Dictionary - Wordtank Super". Model number is IDX-9700. It's an older model so it's cheap if you can find them for sale (we paid about 10 000 yen when most are currently sold for 20 000 yen).

We bought it in a store in Akihabara, not LAOX. I think they sell them throughout the area though. If you took the name and model number with you, you'd be sure to find one. They are one of the older models now so I can't see them remaining on the shelves for too much longer though.

Hope this helps,

Karen

Hi, thanks for your help. Actually, a few days ago I did an Internet search and found there were a few electronic dictionaries for foreigners. I found that one of the book-form dictionaries I have also comes in an electronic hand-held form, and I like that dictionary, so I went to check it out. It is called the Kenkushaya's Learner's Pocket Dictionary. The electronic dictionary model number is RM 2000 and is currently priced at 19,900 yen or so at Yodabashi Camera in Shinjuku Nishiguchi Honten. I bought it and it is really good as it is nice and small, and outputs Japanese words in romaji, and of course you can input in romaji as well. It is as good as the real dictionary as it gives sample sentences etc. The only drawback is that it only contains about 20,000 words ( a yen per word?!). The sales guy asked me if I could read hiragana, and I can, as well as about 200 basic kanji, so then he recommended the Canon Word Tank Super, model IDF 3000. He said this model is good for me because you can search by compounds and radicals only, you don't have to know the whole kanji to look it up. For another 10,000 yen or so, I could get another model that had more vocabulary, but it was really intended for very advanced speakers or Japanese people. I guess that was the IDF 4000 he was talking about. At the time I didn't realize there was another model so I didn't check it out. I bought the IDF 3000 as well as it was a suprisingly cheap 11,000 yen or so. I guess the RM 2000 is so expensive because everything, including the box etc. is written in English. It is really for the beginner or a tourist. The Wordtanks come with English manuals, and as for the IDF 3000 you can input in romaji, but the box, etc. is in Japanese. I would highly recommend these models. However, if anyone knows what the difference is between the Canon Wordtank IDF 3000 and the IDF 4000, I would really appreciate it if you could tell me. I tried to find out on the Net, and couldn't find anything. I live a bit far from Shinjuku, so I can't really go back there soon to ask the guy I bought the dictionaries from in the first place, so I would really appreciate any informatin on the difference between the two models (3000 & 4000). I also found out that the IDX models have more entries for Japanese to Japanese. That is, explaining a Japanese word with other Japanese words, but if you are a beginner or intermediate, this is useless for you. So I would recommend the IDF 3000. I would be interested in any other reviews or comments on any of the other Wordtanks etc. as well. Thanks.

try this website

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/wordtankpro/idf3000.html

hello everyone...

anyone can recommend me a e/j electonic dictionary which displays romanji as well? and have sample sentences. im just new in japan and still syudying the language thats why i need this badly hehe, the last post about this was feb of 2004 so i wanna know some latest model or even old ones. thanks in advanced

hello everyone...

anyone can recommend me a e/j electonic dictionary which displays romanji as well? and have sample sentences. im just new in japan and still syudying the language thats why i need this badly hehe, the last post about this was feb of 2004 so i wanna know some latest model or even old ones. thanks in advanced

I'm afraid I can't help with a
recommendation, but you should
know that these electronic
dictionaries all start to go on sale in
about early-/mid-March.

They are often given as a graduation
gift to people heading to senior
high/college, and the newest
versions usually appear in the stores
in early March (because graduation is
in mid-/late March). When the new
ones hit the stores, last year's
models become discounted heavily.

Don't be afraid to buy an older
version-- actually these dictionaries
change very little from year to year.
Some of them have better collections
of technical terms (such as for
chemistry, etc.) or are a few grams
lighter, but the changes are really
very small and most of them don't
matter for beginners anyway. You
can save more than ¥10,000 just by
waiting another 6 weeks.

tara thanks for ure reply

yep sure i dont mind waiting for another 6 weeks hehe,
im just a bit concerned since there are hips of kinds of dictionary
which makes me confuse on what to buy. anyway thanks again