When it comes to learning Japanese or communicating with native speakers, having a reliable and comprehensive dictionary app can make all the difference. With so many options available on the Android platform, it can be challenging to determine which one is the best fit for your needs. In this review, we’ll evaluate the top Japanese dictionary apps for Android and highlight their key features, functionalities, and user experience to help you make an informed decision. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, studying for a test or traveling to Japan, this guide will provide you with all the information you need to choose the best Japanese dictionary app for your Android device.
We have compiled a list of 5 Best Japanese Dictionary App Android for your consideration, which have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation by our team of experts.
Contents
5 Best Japanese Dictionary App Android
1. 三省堂国語辞典 第七版 公式アプリ| 縦書き＆辞書感覚の検索
The Sanseido Kokugo Dictionary 7th Edition Official App is a best-selling Japanese language dictionary app available on Google Play that combines the sensation of a paper dictionary with the functionality of an electronic one. This dictionary has been popularly known as Sankoku for over half a century since 1960 and boasts a circulation of over 10 million copies, making it one of Japan’s representative national language dictionaries.
The app is available for ¥1,720, a 46% discount from the book’s price of ¥3,190. There is also an app available for those who already own the Sanseido Kokugo Dictionary 7th Edition book.
The app has achieved the top spot in the Google Play Books & Literature Sales’ New Arrivals rankings, and is compatible with 130 models, mainly Nexus devices. In the App Store, it ranks 3rd in the Dictionary/Thesaurus Top Sales and 4th in the Dictionary/Thesaurus Top Paid Apps.
The Sanseido Kokugo Dictionary, also known as Sankoku, is known for its clear and simple explanations of everyday language. It was edited with the policy of explaining in simpler terms and making it understandable for junior high school students, making it a usable dictionary for people of all ages, including senior citizens and Japanese language learners.
2. FluentU: Learn Languages with authentic videos
FluentU is a language learning platform that aims to make the process of mastering various languages more engaging and fun. It offers real-world videos as a way to help users understand and learn Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, German, Japanese, English, Italian, Russian, and Korean.
With FluentU, users have access to a diverse range of videos that include music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspiring talks. The platform caters to all skill levels and interests and does not limit users to mundane textbooks.
The videos are transformed into interactive learning experiences that incorporate quizzes, vocabulary lists, and personalized suggestions based on the user’s progress. FluentU’s approach to learning is aimed at making the process more engaging and convenient by bringing language education straight to users’ devices.
3. Jsho – Japanese Dictionary
Jsho is an English-Japanese dictionary designed to provide a simple, lightweight, fast and accurate experience to users. The application offers a range of features to support its functionality while avoiding unnecessary splash screens and the need to download additional files.
One of the main features of Jsho is its 100% offline functionality. It provides flexible input/search methods, including multi-radical kanji search, limited wildcard searching using ‘*’ (JP only and slower than normal searching), and Romaji input that is automatically converted to hiragana. Users can also filter search results by noun, adjective, verb, and other parts of speech.
Jsho offers input analysis to improve its accuracy over time, and it can de-inflect conjugated words while attempting to split sentences into individual words and perform searches on each. The application provides detailed lexical information, including pitch accent and parts of speech info for words, detailed kanji information, stroke order animation (viewable by tapping kanji on Kanji Details page), and verb conjugation tables.
Multiple display options are available, allowing users to toggle between kana/romaji and select between light and dark themes. Jsho also features 3rd party connectivity, enabling users to send words directly to AnkiDroid and share words with Jsho from other apps. Additionally, users can bookmark search results for future reference.
4. Japanese Dictionary Takoboto
Takoboto is a Japanese-English, English-Japanese dictionary and language learning tool that operates offline. It offers translations for certain words in French, German, and Russian, and provides users with example sentences, kanji information, and conjugated forms for each word.
Searches can be done using kanji, kana, romaji, or Latin alphabets. The app also recognizes full sentences and conjugated forms, and kanji can be searched by selecting multiple radicals.
Features include over 200,000 Japanese entries with English translations, search as you type with multiple input methods, example phrases to demonstrate word use, easy kanji search by selecting multiple radicals, conjugated forms that can be searched as well, voice audio using text-to-speech, a dark theme for studying at night, the ability to export to AnkiDroid, favorites, history, and custom lists of words for review, flashcards, the ability to add custom translations and contribute new words, ready-made study lists, kana tables, links to external Japanese grammar sites, and pitch accent display.
The app uses data from the JMdict project made by the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, with credit given to Jim Breen and others.
The app requires permission to access USB storage/photos/media/files to enable users to export and import word lists. None of the user’s other files or photos are accessed. Network connection permission is used to send contributions to takoboto.
5. JED – Japanese Dictionary
The development of an app has been put on hold and users are encouraged to try an alternative if JED is not working. A few frequently asked questions have been addressed to guide users in resolving issues. If the app stops working, deleting the JED folder on the SD card and re-installing the app from scratch is suggested. Users are also advised to be patient and retry downloading if the server is under heavy load.
The app is designed to work offline once the dictionary files are downloaded, but it sends analytics data only if wifi is available. It should also be noted that user data, such as tags, is deleted when updated. The current features of the app include the ability to search and view results as you type, multiple dictionaries, and the ability to search in readings, meanings, and Japanese characters. Additionally, search results can contain words, expressions, kanji, and inflected forms for adjectives and verbs. The app also includes filters based on content type, radicals lookup, tags, animated stroke order diagrams for kanji, copy-paste for most fields, and a notepad to gather information.
The app developers would like to acknowledge the Electronic Dictionaries Research Groups, KanjiVG, Tatoeba, and KanjiCafe for their contributions to the app.