There have been quite a few memorable moments throughout my time studying Japanese; realizing I had conquered 100 kanji, successfully remembering 200 words in a day on a JLPT study binge, failing the JLPT, passing the JLPT, reading my first novel. These are all notable events. In one moment, however, the Japanese language became significantly less intimidating and I began to study Japanese with much more enthusiasm.

Denki Jisho

The moment I bought a Denki Jisho, or electronic dictionary, I felt like I could read anything. In the few seconds it took to draw a few lines, almost any unfamiliar word would be translated for me. I jumped into novels right away. I looked up characters I saw on the train or on the street. I thought of all kinds of English words I wanted to know how to say in Japanese. I never turned my Denki Jisho off. I felt like my time studying Japanese had been a waste without it.

But if you’re thinking that you can just pick one of these up and benefit from it fresh out of learning kana, you might find yourself wasting a lot of money. Not only are Denki Jisho expensive but they also take a fair amount of knowledge of kanji before you can even start using them efficiently. One way to search for words is typing in the pronunciation. This might work if you hear a word that you don’t understand, but if you see one you don’t understand, it won’t help at all. The better Denki Jishos have a function to compensate for this; a touch pad where you can draw characters. Some of my friends, after a few months of studying Japanese, tried to pick up my electronic dictionary and type in a word but the wrong character would keep popping up. They were ready to dismiss the machine as a piece of garbage when I told them that you need to use the proper stroke order. It takes some time to get used to proper stroke order. You may need to study 300-400 kanji before you get a hang of all the common radicals and how to draw them properly. Until you study Japanese long enough and have a solid background with kanji, a Denki Jisho might end up being less convenient than a simple paper one.

Paper Japanese Dictionary

A paper dictionary also has its merits. During the time it takes you to search a word, you are actively thinking about it throughout the process. When you find it, the sound of the word will echo in your mind much more than if you type in a few unfamiliar sounds. There is also a certain kind of diligence which you will practice and become accustomed to with a paper dictionary. That diligence may also bring you to write down unfamiliar words and study them harder.

For a long time, I found myself relying too much on my Electronic Dictionary. I’d bring it out with me when I hung out with friends and I’d end up pushing pause on the conversation so I could look up a word that I could have easily understood from context. After 3 or 4 novels with a Denki Jisho, I realized that half of my time was spent dissecting the book and I wasn’t really enjoying the story much. It was hard to focus on what was going on and I wasn’t even remembering most of the words I looked up. I understood everything but I was not interested anymore. Once, when I couldn’t find my Denki Jisho, I started reading a book without it. There were a fair amount of words that I didn’t understand, but for the first time, I felt like I was actually reading. I couldn’t put the book down and I finished it in less than a week. While I did look up a few reoccurring words, I was focused on enjoying the story. I realized my Denki Jisho had become a crutch as it does for many people studying Japanese. Denki Jisho can become a powerful tool to aid you as you study Japanese but it’s important to wait until the right time and not become too reliant on it.

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