Learning a different language is a tough challenge for adults and that includes me. So many factors that can influence or hinder us from not learning as fast as we used to be when we were still young. As the saying goes, “Never stop learning because life never stops teaching!”.
Of course, proper learning requires unimaginable help from reliable sources such as books, apps, sites, and mentors so as success can be achieved in no time. I’ve listed some of the best Japanese online dictionaries that will eventually become your best buddy as you continue your journey in learning the Japanese language.
Contents
【1】Jisho
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Jisho |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | jisho.org |
Jisho is a top-rated Japanese-English dictionary online that is absolutely free! It lets you search using words, voice, phrases, sentences, kanji characters, hiragana, romaji or even in English and it will automatically translate whatever you are looking for into a bunch of useful and accurate information for better understanding. How cool is that?!
The result is written in both English and Japanese languages so you can be more familiar with the characters and on how to properly use each. Also, you can see sentence examples on how to properly construct sentences in Japanese!
The interface is really user-friendly because of the simpler outline compared to the others! No wonder this site becomes the most recommended online dictionary by users.
【2】Japanese Learner’s Dictionary
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Japanese Learner’s Dictionary |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | dictionary.j-cat.org |
Here’s another highly recommended online dictionary that costs nothing! If you are looking for a higher accuracy in terms of vocabulary, then this site will serve as your bestfriend! The user interface is also simple so it is really easy to use!
It contains about 230,000 words on its database so you can search and get a bunch of results after. JLPT Learners, this site will help you gather more vocabs and translations that are so much easier to understand.
【3】Tangorin
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Tangorin |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | tangorin.com |
Tangorin specializes not only with dictionary functions but also highly known for its more reliable modification of words, phrases, or sentences in different aspects. As we all are aware of how complex Japanese language is, learning not only the strokes, the meaning, but also how to properly deliver the words so as not to give the wrong impression towards the other person you are talking to.
There’s no better site than Tangorin in terms of inflection. It will make your learning style even more productive. Of course, it is definitely free of charge so it is accessible at any time of the day.
The interface is just like the others, simple and easy to use. In fact, you’ll see some tabs or general labels such as words, names, kanji, and sentences that give you a more suitable way of searching.
【4】Nihongodict
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Nihongodict |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | nihongodict.com |
Nihongodict is another free online dictionary that has the simplest interface among all others. The search result is written in both English and Japanese languages so you can be more familiar with the characters and on how to properly use each of them.
This site is one of my top favorites because it is really less complicated. While typing the keyword in the search tab, it will give you a bunch of predictions of the word that you might probably be searching. Sound really easy, don’t you think?!
【5】WWWJDIC
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | www.edrdg.org |
This online dictionary service is not only available thru web but you can also download the its app from your playstore. The site has many tabs to select which give the users more options to narrowed down every search for a more accurate result. Sounds good!
The interface is not as brilliant as the others and it looks quite confusing to me, however, the search tab can easily be seen on the top part of the page so I guess it’s still a good service to use.
【6】Weblio
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Weblio |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | translate.weblio.jp |
Weblio is another tool for translation and it is in fact very popular among Japanese people. I have some friends who recommended this site for a better translation than the other translation services.
The interface is a bit challenging to explore especially for beginners as it has a lot of options or categories to choose from. For advanced users, this minor issue will never be a problem though.
【7】Google Translate
Website Information & Features
| Dictionary Name | Google Translate |
|---|---|
| Price | Free Online Dictionary |
| Website | translate.google.com |
Google translate is very famous not only in Japanese-English translation but of all other languages around the world. I am also a user of google translate almost every single day and I intended to use it either for personal or for work related searches. It’s also a helpful tool to find the answers to what you’re looking for.
The Japanese-English translation is becoming better as compared to before. Putting the right words, or characters can give you accurate responses like 90% of the time. It is just my personal opinion though because I use it more often than the other sites mentioned here. Perhaps it is because Google Inc. is the creator of this web translator so that makes it more accessible to me than the others. I mean, C’mon! Always on the top search results, right?lol!
I think it still needs a lot of changes to be more credible and useful for everyone!
