Nihongojouzu : JEDict 4.0.5

Sergey Kurkin has revamped his JEDict dictionary and produced version 4.0.5, for people running Mac OS 10.4 and up. The old JEDict 3.8.1 is still available for download and works a treat on Mac OS 8.1 through 10.3.9.

Version 4.0.5 has a number of major changes:

1. It looks different - Version 4.0.5 has the look of a simple web browser. I think 3.8.1 was a better looking interface, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

2. Version 4.0.5 can use a whole plethora of dictionaries including monsters like Eijiro which would have caused Version 3.8.1 to choke to death:

all Japanese-English dictionaries from the Monash University FTP Archive.
Wadoku JT (Japanisch-Deutsches elektronisches Wörterbuch)
.DIC and .DZ dictionaries from BEDIC project.
EIJIRO files (not free)

Importing new dictionaries is a breeze and if you fork out the money for Eijiro you have all the power of the ALC dictionary even when you don't have online access.

3. You can set Vers 4.0.5 to "search on clipboard change" which means that when you select text in a document and then "Copy" it, JEDict 4.0.5 automatically searches for and translates it. (Note - when I tried the right-click function "Search JEDict" it opened version 3.8.1!)

4. A whole new Japanese Language Proficiency Test menu option which allows you to test yourself on vocab from each of the 4 test levels. Nifty.

5. Vers 4.0.5 not only looks like Safari's poor starving cousin, it incorporates a browser function too. Highlighting a kanji while surfing will causes a sidebar menu to appear and display readings, examples etc.

6. The kanji search menu has remained almost the same (ie excellent) except for the fact that the new input space for entering kanji via a touchpad or stylus is not as easy as Vers 3.8.1.

7. Saving search results to the User Dict is now just a matter of a right-click (it used to be Command-click)

8. Allows romaji use. Although some people might like this I find it annoying, and even with the romaji preference turned off, any search for a Japanese word will still produce a romaji reading at the top of the word search screen.

Version 4.0.5 can be downloaded from the JEDict site. The free version comes with the EDICT and KANJIDICT dictionaries - more than enough for most people's needs. The $25 registered version lets you add unlimited numbers of dictionaries and is well worth the investment for anyone doing more than simple searches.

BTW I have referred to version 4.0.5 throughout, but the version listed on the JEDict site is version 4.0.4 - as an owner of the registered version I received the 4.0.5 update direct from Sergey and I imagine it will be on his site in due course.

Overall, not as pretty as 3.8.1, but far more capable.

Tags study Japanese | Japanese dictionary

Comments

Not as pretty? My favorite feature is that it has been rewritten as a Cocoa app. The interface, and japanese fonts especially, look way better now, in my opinion. I think this is a huge advantage over 3.8.

Posted by: radical_tyro | May 24, 2006 at 12:36 PM