List of Japanese dictionaries


The following is a list of notable print, electronic, and online Japanese dictionaries.
TitleYear Notes
Dai Kan-Wa Jiten1955-1960, 1990, 2000Tetsuji Morohashi's Chinese-Japanese character dictionary, 13 volumes, 2 supplements, over 50,000 entries
Daijirin1988, 1995, 2006comprehensive single-volume Japanese dictionary, 3 editions
Daijisen1995, 1998general-purpose Japanese dictionary, 2 editions
Dictionary of Sources of Classical Japan2006-presentEnglish, French, and Japanese dictionary of classical Japanese literature
Diego Collado's Grammar of the Japanese Language1632 grammatical description of Japanese in framework of Latin grammar
EDICT1991-presentJim Breen's machine-readable multilingual Japanese dictionary, KANJIDIC for kanji, more than 180,000 entries
Eijirō2002-2014large English-Japanese translation database, 8 revisions
Gjiten1999-2006free software using GNOME development libraries, allows searching dictionaries like EDICT
Iroha Jiruishō1165 first kanji dictionary to collate characters by pronunciation rather than logographic radical, several revisions and expansions
Jikyōshū1245 Kanji dictionary with Chinese rime and Japanese pronunciations, 3 editions
Kagakushū1444 first semantically collated dictionary of Chinese characters, designed for average users rather than scholars, 3000 entries
Kenkyūsha's New Japanese-English Dictionary1918 … 2003largest and most authoritative Japanese-English dictionary, 5 editions,
Kiten2001-2006KDE Software Compilation's program for learning kanji
Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary2002Jack Halpern's Kanji-English dictionary, collated by SKIP system, also pronunciations and radical indexes
Kōjien1955… 2008Shinmura Izuru's bestselling authoritative single-volume dictionary, 6 editions, 240,000 entries
Kokushi Daijiten1927, 1979-1997general-purpose dictionary of Japanese history, 15 volumes
The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary1962, 1974Andrew Nelson's kanji dictionary, 5,446 entries
Moji2011open source, cross-platform extension for using Japanese and Chinese dictionaries
The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary1997John H. Haig's revised edition of The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary, 7,000 entries including variants
Nichi-Ran jiten1934Peter Adriaan van de Stadt's Japanese–Dutch dictionary, 33,800 entries
Nihon Kingendaishi Jiten1978dictionary of modern Japanese history from 1848 to 1975, 12,000 entries
Nihon Kokugo Daijiten1972-1976, 2000-2002largest Japanese language dictionary, 20-volume and 14-volume editions, 503,000 entries
Nihongo Daijiten1989, 1995Tadao Umesao's popular color-illustrated Japanese dictionary, 2 editions
Nippo Jisho1603 Japanese-Portuguese dictionary, first European language dictionary of Japanese, 32,293 entries, later translations in Spanish, French, and Japanese editions
Onkochishinsho1484 first Japanese dictionary collated in the now standard gojūon system, 13,000 entries
Rakuyōshū1598 first dictionary to separate kanji pronunciation between Sino-Japanese on'yomi and native kun-yomi readings
Ruiju Myōgishō1100 usage examples from over 130 Chinese classics and Japanese literature, collated by 120-radical system, 32,000 entries
Sanseido Kokugo Jiten1960 … 2014general-purpose dictionary, quotes contemporary usage examples, 7 editions, 82,000 entries
Setsuyōshū1496 popular early dictionary collated in iroha order, contemporaneous usage examples, many later editions
Shin Meikai kokugo jiten1972 … 2012a best-selling Japanese dictionary, 7 editions
Shinsen Jikyō0901 first dictionary to include Japanese kun'yomi readings and kokuji characters, 21,300 entries
Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary1986 … 2012medium-sized learners' dictionary, 5 editions, 13,800 entries
Tenrei Banshō Meigi0835 Kūkai's classic dictionary adapted from the Chinese Yupian, 1,000 character entries, 534-radical system collation
Wagokuhen1489 Japanized version of the Chinese Yupian dictionary, katakana annotations for on'yomi and kun'yomi pronunciations
Wamyō Ruijushō0938 first Japanese dictionary collated by semantic fields, gives Chinese pronunciations, Japanese readings in ancient Man'yōgana transcription, and definitions
Wordtank1989early Japanese electronic dictionary for learners of kanji
Wordtank G502004updated export version Wordtank with Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionaries, superseded by G70
WWWJDIC1998-presentJim Breen's searchable online EDICT Japanese-English dictionary server, additional versions in German, French, Russian, Hungarian, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch