How to Choose a Dictionary

Many students have asked me to recommend a good dictionary for them. This is hard for me to do because there is no one 'best' dictionary for everyone. Which dictionary is best for you depends on your level of English ability and what you will be using the dictionary for. Will you use your dictionary mainly to look up words in reading assignments? Will you use it when you are watching American movies or listening to the radio? Will you use it to look up word in class? Will you be writing a lot in English? The type of dictionary you choose will depend in part your answers to these questions.

Almost all students, of course, will want to have good Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionaries to use at home. If you will be reading and writing at an advanced level, you will also want one or two English-English dictionaries. For understanding the words in movies or songs, a slang dictionary might be useful.

These days, electronic dictionaries are getting better and better. They are very light and easy-to-carry (so can carry it to class, use it on the train, and take it with you when you travel), and current models often have several different dictionaries and reference books all in one machine. For example, I have been using the e-dictionary by Sharp which includes a Japanese-Japanese dictionary (�L����), an English-Japanese dictionary, a Japanese-English dictionary, an English-English dictionary (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictioanary), a kanji dictionary, and more, all in one small machine.

After you've thought about how you will be using a dictionary you need to start thinking about what kinds of words you usually need to look up. I suggest this technique:

  1. For one or two weeks, keep a list of the English words you encounter that you would like to look up in a dictionary. The list could include new words or words that you know but don't understand well.

  2. Take this list with you to a large bookstore which has foreign books, such as Books Kinokuniya. If you are thinking of an electronic dictionary, go to a store like Bic Camera or Yodobashi Camera, where you can try many different models. Some dictionaries are also available on-line; you can look up definitions from the dictionary web site before going to the store.

  3. Look up the same few words in several different dictionaries and compare what you find. Which dictionaries have the words you want to know? Can you understand the definitions? What kind of additional information (in addition to meanings) are listed in the dictionary? You may need to look at many dictionaries to find the one that is best for you.

HINTS FOR BUYING BILINGUAL DICTIONARIES

When you look at bilingual dictionaries, you should look for one that carefully explains the differences between words that are similar in meaning and words that have many meanings. So a good English-Japanese dictionary should explain the differences between the English words speak, say and tell, and a good Japanese-English dictionary should list several English words that correspond to �u�݂Ƃ߂��vand explain how they are each used. A good dictionary should also have many examples to show you how the word is used and it should include common phrases and idioms, for example "go out with" or �u�C�ɓ���v.

For Japanese speakers, it's important to get a dictionary that tells the pronunciation of the English words, and for an English speaker, it's important to get a dictionary that has the pronunciation of the Japanese words.

It's hard for me to recommend a good bilingual dictionary for Japanese students of English, because I am English speaker learning Japanese. We have different needs. For example, I started out using the New Proceed Japanese-English Dictionary because the Japanese examples were easy for me to understand, but this dictionary does not give the pronunciation of the English words so it might not be good for you. Later I moved to the Wordtank electronic dictionary by Canon; it's very good for looking up kanji based on shape. However, the definitions are aimed at English speakers (that is, it assumes that the user is stronger in English than in Japanese) so it might not be useful for Japanese students.

So to find a good bilingual dictionary, I suggest that you take a look at several dictionaries and see which ones seem best to you. Use the list of words you have made. Can you even find the words you want in the dictionary? Can you understand the definitions? Do the examples show you how to use the words in actual sentences?

HINTS FOR BUYING ENGLISH-ENGLISH DICTIONARIES

As your English ability becomes more advanced, you will want an English-English dictionary. There are two main types: learners' dictionaries and regular dictionaries.

Learners dictionaries explain words in rather easy English and focus on the differences between words that are similar in meaning. They are very useful to people who plan to write a lot in English because they give detailed grammatical information about how the word is used. My favorite learners' dictionary is the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English; I often use it for linguistic research and in preparing for teaching my classes. There are many other learner's dictionaries, including the Collins Cobuild Dictionary for Learners of English and The Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary); look at several and choose the one you like the best.

If you will be doing a lot of reading, you will probably want a regular English dictionary because bilingual dictionaries or learners' dictionaries may not have enough words. These dictionaries usually also have information about famous people and geographical locations, included either in the regaulr listings of in a separate appendix at the back of the book.

I like the various dictionaries published by Webster (for example, Webster's New World Dictionary and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary) because I almost always find the words I want and because they have etymological information (information about the word's history). Another good feature is that they are available in paperback.

Many dictionaries can be accessed through the internet,so you can also check out the definition SPECIALIZED DICTIONARIES

I know that there are many kinds of specialized dictionaries available in Japan: dictionaries of slang, idioms, phrasal verbs, and so on, but I don't know enough about them to recommend any. If you have one that you've found especially useful, please send me e-mail about it.

ON-LINE DICTIONARIES Finally, many dictionaries are available on-line these days. An on-line dictionary can't entirely replace a book dictionary or electronic dictionary because you need to have a computer and be connected to the internet, but when you are doing your homework in a computer lab and don't have a dictionary with you, they can be very useful. LINKS HERE.


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