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What is furigana and why is it so important?

Furigana refers to the small kana that are printed above or alongside kanji to show their pronunciation. With furigana superscripts, the beginner who is familiar with hiragana and katakana is able to read even the most difficult and obscure kanji at a glance. Other dictionaries either provide little or no guide to kanji readings or romanize some or all of the Japanese words and sentences. In the past, romanized dictionaries were of some value to students using textbooks that contained no Japanese script. Now, however, an increasing number of influential curricula around the world are based on a rationale and methodology that demands the introduction of hiragana and katakana from the earliest stages. Learners and their teachers using such curricula will inevitably feel more comfortable with a dictionary such as Kodansha s Furigana Japanese Dictionary, one that shows the pronunciation of kanji with a familiar and authentic kana script.

Combining Kodansha's Furigana Japanese-English Dictionary (1995) and Kodansha's Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary (1996) in one portable. affordable, and user-friendly volume, this dictionary has the following unique features: A basic vocabulary of 30,000 entries covers the most frequently used English and Japanese words Special treatment has been given to hundreds of words, names, and phrases of special relevance to English-speaking students of Japanese Semantic and usage differences between Japanese words and expressions are explained in clear English Thousands of example sentences and phrases illustrate how Japanese words are used in context Special information is provided on verb conjugations, formality, and other aspects of Japanese grammar and usage

Average Customer Rating:

I wish I had purchaded it sooner	Customer Rating:
This is a very good dictionary. I've tried some others, they were okay, but,this one is the best I've used. I'm in my second semester of Japanese at UH and it's a big help.

Kodansha's Furigana

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Kodansha's Furigana, unlike a dictionary such as Random House's, is ordered by the Japanese characters rather than the Romanized script, which in Japan and elsewhere is called Romanji; because of this there are many classes of readers that stand not to benefit, or even to understand, the very extensive and useful information inside; that is, without Romanji, which presents a Japanese word, e.g. chiku, meaning area, district, or zone, to an English speaker as both heard and visualized, Kodansha's Furigana lists the Japanese character; and the phonetic component, as when the English speaker sees 'ah' and associates it with a universal sound, is absent for all but two people, 1) a Japanese, 2) its experienced student. It can perhaps be hoped that the book's alien name will discourage the ordinary man's mistakenly buying it. Random House's dictionary, called simply Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary, is plain and more practical; whereas Kodansha's strives to be modern and offers no caution of this; its front cover claims, 'The essential dictionary for all students of Japanese.' If Kodansha's Furigana was my Japanese tutor I should still be hopelessly lost because of its advanced method; I could translate spoken Japanese in neither movies nor television, nor even in person. With Random House's dictionary, simply by watching anime, an activity similar to hearing ordinary Japanese speak, I am already understanding words and developing a practical and expedient knowledge. As its own reader Kodansha's Furigana suits only the Japanese student that it has idealized as modern and worldly, i.e.: 'In the past, romanized dictionaries were of some value to students using textbooks that contained no Japanese script. Now, however, an increasing number of influential curricula around the world are based on a rationale and methodolgy that demands the introduction of hiragana and katakana from the earliest stages.' This is a specialized book though, in all cases, I wish not to discredit the content, but merely the method.

Satisfactory Dictionary

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This dictionary was such a helpful companion that I hate to say anything bad about it. However, I must agree with other reviewers: it includes too much grammar, and should have more words. Firstly, I adore the fact that it uses furigana. The size of the furigana has never bothered me, but those with poor eyesight beware: those are some pretty small characters! Secondly, I enjoyed all of the little additions. Included with each verb and article is a sentence in which it is used. There's some helpful grammar in the appendices, too. However, I wish there were more words. I would hate to give up those helpful sentences, but there simply isn't a large enough selection here. Words one thinks should be simple and common are completely omitted, much less complex ones. In the end, I have to say... I do not regret this purchase. I enjoy it, and I continue to use it in tandem with other dictionaries. The furigana is most helpful. So, for a college student, I think it's a pretty useful buy, although I suggest getting it used.

A Complete Furigana Dictionary	Customer Rating:
I recently purchase this dictionary, and to be honest it is a great help, it has the furigana characters and also the kanji version of the same word, plus of course a well detailed meaning in both japanese and english, it is absolutely a wonderful dictionary, I was really pleased with the purchase

Best English-Japanese Dictionary

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Here are the great things about this dictionary: 1. The Japanese words are written and sorted in hiragana, which will help you become familiar with hiragana. 2. The kanji is displayed, WITH yomigana (VERY helpful). 3. Nearly every definition has a useful example sentence, which will help you understand the connotations, not just the denotations, of the word. 4. There is an appendix in the back that contains extremely useful grammatical information.