need a good dictionary

[DanielJ]

i'm trying to find me a good japanese-english dictionary (not an electronic one, i want one made of paper). i've seen some that look good but they don't apear to be two-way (i want to be able to look up a word i japanese and in engish). i would also like something with both roman and japanese script.

if anyone knows of a book that comes close to these requirments please tell me the name of it. :]

[hungryhotei]

Some more information might help you get a better answer.

For example, your current level, budget, for how long you hope to use this dictionary (ie would a 'beginners dictionary' be fine?), for what purpose you want to use this dictionary (eg learning, translation or just as a supplement for when you aren't at a computer) and whether portability is an issue.

[DanielJ]

i am begining level. i would like it kinda small but it doesn't have to fit in my pocket. i would use it mostly for translating (most likely from jap to eng). as for price, something less than about $25 would be preferable.

[Gundaetiapo]

You'd be better off without roomaji. Kodansha furigana dictionary is the best paper dictionary I've encountered. It has separate books for J-E and E-J. Oxford Beginner Dictionary is another one worth looking at, which has J-E and E-J in the same binding.

[skrhgh3b]

I agree with recommending the Kodansha Furigana Dictionary as the best beginner's paper dictionary. It's on the expensive side, but you can get a good discount at amazon.com, and the example sentences make it well worth the buy. It also has some excellent appendices.

[Wakannai]

I believe the Pocket Kenykuusha dictionary pulls a bit ahead of the furigana dictionary, due to the pitch accent marks and larger lexicon. There are more example sentences too. Even though the word headers are in roumaji, the example sentences are in standard Japanese writing. On the other hand, it is thicker since it was printed on a lower grade paper and isn't bound as well either.

[DanielJ]

this might be a stupid question but do these dictionaries include kanji in some translations or is it strictly katakana and hiragana? because if there is kanji that's the only reason i would want roumaji translations.

[Wakannai]

The Japanese example sentences are written in standard Japanese in both dictionaries.

[DanielJ]

what does standard japanese mean?

[Wakannai]

mixed kanji and kana.

[skrhgh3b]

you might have used "standard japanese" to refer to the native orthography, but usually it refers to the tokyo dialect of japanese, which is considered the standard dialect of the language. i just mention it in case someone comes across the phrase in another context.

by the way, i saw the kenkyusha dictionary in the bookstore today. it's example sentences aren't as good as the kodansha furigana dictionary and it relies too much on romaji, but it gets high marks for being the only j-e/e-j dictionary i've ever seen that includes pitch accent in its lexical entries.

[DanielJ]

Thanks guys for your help. I decided to go with the oxford beginners dictionary because it's much cheaper and more beginner friendly than the furigana.
:]