[.ca] Kodanshas Furigana Japanese Dictionary (ISBN 4770024800)

Buy this book and things will begin to click.:
I think this handsome volume is ideal for advanced beginner/intermediate Japanese student (I myself am in this category). Others here have complained about limited vocabulary but I've found it to be sufficient. When I'm talking on the phone with Japanese friends, I keep it handy and it has seldom let me down. It also comes in handy when trying to write a letter in Japanese because most entries include multiple example sentences. What's really meaningful about this dictionary is that it can function as a kind of Rosetta Stone for those struggling to connect spoken Japanese, phonetic characters (kana), and the Chinese charaters used by Japanese readers (Kanji). The advanced beginner will have learned the phonetic alphabet and can find Japanese words organized by kana spellings, then be able to look at that word's kanji. For this reason, absolute beginners should only buy this book if they are committed to at least a year of learning (otherwise it will probably end up on a shelf and will go picked over at yard sales). If you are in the absolute beginner category and only need enough Japanese to get along on a short trip to Japan or to decode japanimation films- I'd recommend the Random House paperback dictionary. It's cheap and easy to read. But for those who want to take their Japanese learning to the next level: this stately and stout blue-cloth hardback will no doubt be a good companion. Well worth the money.

Wonderful dictionary for those in the intermediate years:
I have found this dictionary extremely useful as an intermediate Japanese student.

Good for beginners, frustrating for more advanced users.:
This book is no doubt an excellent dictionary for beginning or intermediate students of Japanese; it provides good examples of usage for most entries. BUT BE WARNED: Don't buy it if you're looking for depth or difficult/advanced words. This dictionary is basically a pocket dictionary with frills; in fact, my tiny Random House pocket dictionary has words that this book doesn't. Anyone with a few years of study completed will be far better served by a more comprehensive dictionary that doesn't waste space with examples of usage.

Extremely useful:
I bought this dictionary not knowing what to expect. However, the very first time I used it I knew I had made an excellent buy. Because of the example sentences that come with many of the entries, Kondasha's Furigana Dictionary is invaluable for those who have memorized a lot of vocabulary, but do not know how to use it in context. For those who already have some knowledge of kanji, the dictionary helps retain their pronunciation, since furigana are printed above each character. I am glad I bought this dictionary. I am sure you will enjoy it too.

Don't even begin to learn Japanese without it:
Any learner of Japanese needs a decent furigana dictionary. Kodansha is in the business of publishing the best Japanese learning aids available, and it only makes sense that their furigana dictionary is the one to buy. A student of the Japanese language is wasting time with romaji. The sooner you learn the kana, the better. A good furigana dictionary serves a dual purpose of familiarizing you with the kana, as you need to know it in order to look up words, as well as being a functional dictionary. While too basic for advanced students, the number of words should be sufficient for beginner and intermediate students. Of course, a bound dictionary will never be able to compete with an electronic dictionary for number of words and convenience, but the arduous process of looking up words the old fashioned way seems to help with retention, as well as mastering the kana. Even absolute beginners should walk into their first Japanese class with this dictionary in their pocket.