Love it
Excellent app. Hard to believe it's free. The latest kanji update is great.
Undefeated
I have used all JP<->EN dictionaries available for the iPhone to date, none of them are as useful as this application. While some dictionaries may have features like speech(for anyone at a higher level than fundamental basic, the phonetic nature of Japanese makes this a trivial feature), they do not get you from the home screen to the input field fast enough. This will consistently be a problem for you, if you are looking for the correct term while mid-sentence. Example sentences have progressively improved and the addition of extended support for kanji has further exceeded my expectations. Remember to thank the author for maintaining the zero-dollar cost of this application and extending a helping hand out to all Japanese learners, beginner through advanced.
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Best app at any price
I have the Oxford jisho, Shinkanji-lite (earlier version with direct input enabled), and various other Japanese language apps but I rarely need them because Kotoba! almost always fills all my needs. I thought the earlier versions of this app were great, but it keeps getting better! The interface design and functionality are both superb.
Bottom line: If an iPod touch could run no other app, this app alone would justify the purchase. The author deserves to be nominated for a Japan culture award for making the Japanese language more accessible than it ever has been.
Having said that, there are still some opportunities for improvement. The experimental romanization in the example sentences tends to blur words together. (The author does warn about this issue.) It would be nice to have the ability break the kanji down into their constituent parts; that is, more that just the radical. Given that my guesses as to spelling often are wrong (especially when it comes to γ€ and γ), alternative suggestions (like google or Yahoo searches) would be helpful.
Bottom line: If an iPod touch could run no other app, this app alone would justify the purchase. The author deserves to be nominated for a Japan culture award for making the Japanese language more accessible than it ever has been.
Having said that, there are still some opportunities for improvement. The experimental romanization in the example sentences tends to blur words together. (The author does warn about this issue.) It would be nice to have the ability break the kanji down into their constituent parts; that is, more that just the radical. Given that my guesses as to spelling often are wrong (especially when it comes to γ€ and γ), alternative suggestions (like google or Yahoo searches) would be helpful.
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Amazing!! But...
This is so much better than many paid dictionaries out there! I use it all the time.
But, the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because in the app store, there are a few features advertised that I dont have.
For instance, the whole example sentences section would be perfect! I don't know why mine doesn't show up.
I'm using an iPod touch, is it only available for the iPhone? If so, it would be greatly appreciated!! And this would definitely be a 5 star application, maybe even higher! :)
But, the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because in the app store, there are a few features advertised that I dont have.
For instance, the whole example sentences section would be perfect! I don't know why mine doesn't show up.
I'm using an iPod touch, is it only available for the iPhone? If so, it would be greatly appreciated!! And this would definitely be a 5 star application, maybe even higher! :)
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Most useful jisho app, and free! ... continued...
For those who don't know how to get the Japanese characters and handwritten Chinese character keyboards (the one where you trace the character with your finger on the screen and it works out which kanji you are trying to draw) this is how you do it:
Go to the Settings menu, then the General menu, then International, then Keyboards. Select the keyboards that you want to use - my current selections are Chinese Traditional Handwriting and Japanese Qwerty and English of course - and away you go. Totally enhanced this app from fairly interesting to utterly indispensible.
The Chinese character recognition screen is not infallible, but seems to work better when I have turned my phone off for a few seconds then back on again.
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Wonderful product - be amazed it is free.
This is one of the nicest surprises I've come across on the App store yet. This is an absolutely awesome Japanese dictionary, with a depth of presentation I've yet to see in printed materials. Searching by romanji text, you are presented with exact matches, and any other results that involve your search word which is really quite nice for the Japanese language learner given the array of readings available for most Japanese writing. Kanji/kana are clearly presented, with breakdowns of the individual Kanji including all reading options, and an animated stroke order for the character in the top right corner which is pretty bloody nice for a no charge, mobile app which does not rely on a network connection.
Keep in mind that this is a Japanese dictionary, not an English-Japanese dictionary. This product will not help you look up Japanese translations of english words, but assuming you have some knowledge of Japanese words (which you will before long if you are trying to learn the language in any case), this reference is indispensable and illuminating.
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Awesome!
Great app that is really helping me to keep up my Japanese. Easy to use and holds so much info - virtually no need for other dictionaries anymore. Impressed to that kanji have the reference numbers for Spahn as well as Nelson. Thanks a lot guys - keep up the great work!
Subarashii!!
I live in Japan, and use this program every day.
With the latest update I have no reason to use my $200 Canon Wordtank electronic dictionary.
This program does everything my electronic dictionary does and two very important things that it can't:
1) Search through the entire database to find words containing a given kanji or combination of characters.
2) Automatically identify the kanji in a given word, and provide a link to a concise description of that kanji (in English!), with on/kun readings.
It is often the case that the first time you see a word that you don't recognize, it is in a conjugated form, which makes it difficult to look up (as words are listed in "dictionary form"). This is a real pain with a regular dictionary, but with Kotoba!, you can type the conjugated form in with the standard iPhone Japanese keyboard, select the appropriate kanji from the suggested list, then erase the rest of the word (leaving only the unknown kanji/root of the verb) in the search field. One search, and you'll not only have the verb you're looking for, but dozens of other example words containing that kanji. Subarashii!
Finally, a fully featured electronic dictionary that is made for foreigners!
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Excellent
I frequently use this and now it has on-yomi and kun-yomi readings too!
Highly Recommendable!
Awesome and very handy if you are travelling Japan or studying the Japanese language. Definately comparable to, if not better than many of the commercial offerings in the App store! Have used this dictionary with much of my Japanese related school work without a hitch; particularly useful is the kanji input sytem which allows you to easily find the meanings of unknown Kanji simply by tracing them with your finger! Also very handy is the fact that it doesnt use the internet, everything is installed on to your iPod Touch/iPhone so you can use it anywhere you need to! To the developers, great work! And I look forward to what you bring to the application in the future via updates!
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