Author of dictionary |
# of characters listed |
# of compounds listed |
Indexing system used |
Other indexes provided |
Compound look-up by: |
Stroke order provided? |
Handwritten characters provided? |
Frequency of use of character |
Other Features (see below) |
Nelson
|
5446 |
70,000 |
Radical Priority System |
on-kun |
first character only |
no |
no |
not noted |
2,3 |
Haig
|
7107 |
70,000 |
Universal Radical System |
on-kun |
first character only |
no |
no |
gJoyoh and gGeneral Useh noted |
3,6,7 |
Spahn/ Hadamitzky |
7062 |
48,000 |
79 Radical System |
on-kun |
any known character |
no |
no |
not noted |
1,2,3,7 |
Halpern- |
3587 |
42,200 |
SKIP (by shape patterns) |
on-kun radical |
any known character |
yes, for every character |
yes,two for every character |
noted for 2135 characters |
2,3,4,5,6,7 |
Summary of Features of Japanese-English Character Dictionaries
Other
features:
1- Compound listings include place names (prefectures, large cities, etc.).
2- Characters frequently looked-up incorrectly are cross-referenced.
3- Variant forms of characters are cross-referenced.
4- Standard Chinese form and reading are given for each character.
5- Homophones and synonyms are listed for characters.
6- Japanese Standard Index (JIS) numbers are provided for each character.
7- Abridged version available.
Abstract
For JSL learners who seek to attain literacy in the written Japanese
language, a comprehensive Japanese-English character dictionary is an
indispensable tool for mastering new kanji and vocabulary. There are currently
four such dictionaries in print, and they differ in a number of important
aspects. Each has a unique indexing system which seeks to be more user-friendly
to JSL learners than the traditional radical-based indexing system used in
Japanese character dictionaries. One of the four takes a unique approach to
dealing with the meanings of characters. There are differences in the number of
character and compound word entries provided in each dictionary, as well as in
a variety of other features. This paper provides an in-depth comparison of the
four dictionaries, and discusses how each is appropriate to different types of
kanji learners.
Biographical Information
Mary Sisk Noguchi is an associate professor at Meijo University in Nagoya. She
researches innovative approaches to kanji pedagogy and has presented at JALT
conferences and chapter meetings on this topic. She writes a regular column for
the Japan Times, gKanji Clinic.h