sci.lang.japan FAQ / 16. Other internet resources

16.2. Online dictionaries

This page contains a list of online (web-based) Japanese-language dictionaries. See also 9.9. How can I find the Japanese name of a film, person, plant, etc.? for hints on when you cannot find something in the dictionary. See also 16.3. Online kanji dictionaries for looking up kanji.

Edict / kanjidic based sites

The following sites are all based on the electronic dictionaries compiled by Professor Jim Breen of Monash University in Australia.

WWWJDIC

WWWJDIC is Jim Breen's own interface to his "Edict", "Kanjidic", and "Enamdic" dictionaries. WWWJDIC is an online Japanese dictionary based on Edict and other electronic dictionaries of Jim Breen. The downloadable dictionaries contain around one hundred thousand Japanese to English translations, as well as the readings of several hundred thousand names in Enamdict, many example sentences, and audio versions of the words.

Several mirror sites of WWWJDIC also exist around the world.

Denshi Jisho

Online Japanese dictionary by Kim Ahlstrom, based on Edict and the related dictionaries. Features a word, kanji, multiradical lookup, and example sentence lookup, and has options for romaji input and output.

Tangorin

Online dictionary by Grzegorz Bober. Features Words, Kanji, Multiradical Words, Multiradical Kanji, Example Sentences, Proper Names, Classical Japanese and Specialized Dictionaries.

Jeffrey's online dictionary

Jeffrey Friedl's interface to Jim Breen's dictionaries. The first and the longest-running of any of the online dictionary servers. It features "vague" searching patterns which can match both long and short vowels, and because it can also create Japanese character graphics, it can be used by people without Japanese capable browsers. Which is virtually no use in 2011, but still it is there if you need it. Also features giant ASCII kanji. Also extensively customizable.

popjisyo

This page helps you to read web sites which are written in Japanese. You enter a URL into Popjisyo, and it makes a page which pops up windows in your browser which show the meaning of the words as you move the mouse over them.

Todd David Rudick's Rikai

Popjisyo is a clone of this site. Rikai is just like popjisyo, but much more irritating.

rikaichan

A Firefox extension which adds popups to your browsing experience.

Commercial dictionary based sites

The following sites are based on various commercial Japanese dictionaries.

Goo dictionary: Goo's dictionary contains the EXCEED English to Japanese and Japanese to English dictionaries, as well as the Japanese to Japanese Daijirin and Shingojiten (new word) dictionaries. The interface is in Japanese. See 5.6. What "false friends" are there between Japanese and English? if the name "Goo" seems confusing.
Sanseido's online dictionaries
Biglobe's interface to the Sanseido dictionaries.: In Japanese.
Kenkyusha's Online Dictionary: A very large and authoritative dictionary. Requires payment to access.
bab.la language portal Japanese-English-Japanese dictionary

Non-Edict contribution-based dictionaries

eijiro (英字郎): A user-contributed dictionary which values quantity over quality.
Wiktionary: This is the dictionary associated with Wikipedia, with many similar problems.