Japanese Studies Resources: Dictionaries [Back to Table of Contents]

Japanese – English / English – Japanese dictionaries

Kenkyūsha's New Japanese- English Dictionary
Kenkyūsha, 1974 and 2003
Call# PL679 K48, East Asia Library Reference; also available in CCL and Starr Reference.
Note that the 4th edition (1974) uses alphabetic ordering, while the 5th edition (2003) follows Japanese gojūon order.

Kenkyūsha English-Japanese Dictionary
Kenkyūsha, 2002
Call# PL679 .K39 2002 East Asia Library Reference; also available in Starr Main Reference and CCL.

Japan Knowledge online also includes Japanese and English dictionaries.

Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC online


Language dictionaries

Kōjien
広辞苑
5th edition.  Iwanami Shoten, 1998
Call# PL675 S54 East Asia Library Reference

Nihon kokugo daijiten
日本国語大辞典
Shōgakkan, 2000-2002.  14 vols.
Call# PL675 N54 2000, East Asia Library Reference

Nihongo daijiten = The Great Japanese Dictionary
日本語大辞典
Kōdansha, 1 vol.
Call# AE35.2 S4, East Asia Library Reference

Gojūonbiki Kōdansha Kan-Wa jiten
五十音引き　講談社　漢和辞典
K¯odansha, 1997.  
Call# PL677.5 G64 1997, East Asia Library Reference


Character dictionaries

The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary
C.E. Tuttle Co., 1997
Call# PL679 .H35 1997, East Asia Library Reference

Japanese Character Dictionary with Compound Lookup via any Kanji
Nichigai Asoshiētsu, 1989 1 vol.
Call# PL679 S63 1989, East Asia Library Reference
This dictionary is particularly useful when you can’t read the first character in a compound.  

NTC’s New Japanese-English Character Dictionary
National Textbook Company, 1993.
Call# PL679 N727 1993, Starr Main Reference Roomand CCL Reference

Dai Kan-Wa jiten
大漢和辞典
Taishūkan Shoten, 1984-1986.  13 vols.
Call# PL681 C5 M675 1984+ Oversize, East Asia Library Reference
The classic Chinese character reference dictionary.