New Japanese-English Character Dictionary

Overview of Principal Features Numerous features distinguish the New Japanese-English Japanese Character Dictionary, along with its various spinoff products, as the most authoritative and easy-to-use kanji learning tool available today. Below is an overview of these features. A detailed description is also available.The most important spinoffs are the long-awaited Learner's Edition and Electronic Book edition. Core Meaning A concise keyword that defines the most dominant sense of each character to provide an instant grasp of its fundamental concept serves as a powerful learning aid. Psychologistic Ordering Character meanings are clustered around the core meaning in a manner that allows them to be conceived as a logically-structured integrated unit. In-depth Meanings Complete and accurate character meanings clearly show how a few thousand building blocks are combined to generate countless compound words. Numerous Compounds Numerous high-frequency compounds and examples provide maximally useful examples of each character sense and clearly show how these contribute to the meaning of each compound. Compound Formation Compound formation articles describe the etymology of compounds and explain how their constituent characters contribute to their meanings. Kanji Synonyms Kanji synonym articles provide full guidance on the differences and similarities between closely related characters, serving as the world's first kanji thesaurus. Usage Notes Detailed usage notes help you understand the fine distinctions between kun homophones -- for the first time in English. Instant Access The System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns, or SKIP, provides a totally new method for looking up characters as quickly as in alphabetical dictionaries. Six Lookup Methods Six lookup methods and three indexes allow even a complete beginner to locate entries with great speed and little effort. System of Labels A system of labels provides useful information on the temporal status, etymology, orthography, style, function, level of formality, etc., of character senses. Degree of importance The degree of importance of each character sense is indicated for four levels of study. Reference Data Quick access to a valuable source of supplementary reference data, such as the principles of stroke order, frequency lists, historical tables, rules for okurigana, kana charts, a list of kanji synonyms. Friendly Design A user-friendly format ensures a visually attractive layout and maximum ease of use.