As someone who is learning Japanese and knows Hiragana and Katakana this would be a Godsend when I am without electronic means and trying to learn new vocab. via the Switch and visual novels as well as RPG’s. Furigana would be nice but not required and obviously I am not expecting it to be comprehensive.
Does this exist at all? Also is there something of the same for Korean with Hangeul only? For a Pocket Japanese dictionary of this kind even a Portuguese version would be great if no Romanji. I would hate to have to buy a small black marker and blackout all the Romanji…so much time.
For Korean, I would recommend the Little Giant Essence KO-EN-KO dictionary. It is an abridged version of Essence, which is THE ultimate reference in terms of Korean dictionaries. It is a bit pricey though (nearly $40 on Amazon). But at least you’ll have a great pocket dictionary without the horrendous romanisation that plagues the books from Tuttle Publishing.
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To be fair correct Romanization lookswise will be undesirable for Tuttle and the rest for Korean. Because of that I can see Uhm Jung Hwa and note the English romanization is totally WRONG phonetically for the first two parts of her name.
For Japanese I am way past Romanization and think they’re sleeping not offering a pocket omitting it esp. given they will be able to fit extra words getting rid of it. Presuming everyone is buying a Furigana and Hiragana dictionary for a long sit, they’re overlooking the above scenario I mentioned with the Switch.
Oh I will definitely buy that Korean dictionary thanks.
The Dong-As New Little Korean-English Dictionary that I have from years ago has no romanization, and has Hanja after the Korean head words where appropriate.
Drawbacks: it is Korean-to-English only, and the appendices are references for English (e.g., principal parts of English verbs) for Korean speakers.
Why wouldn’t you have your phone with you?
You can download any language on the Google Translate app for offline use. That’s what I do.
Years ago, I also kept my Nokia for a long time instead of going the Apple route because Nokia had worldwide searchable maps and voice directions even in areas I had no cellular service. That was an amazing phone. It got me around France and French areas of Canada effortlessly.
In phones, I ALWAYS opted for the tiniest and lightest ones so I never felt a burden in carrying them around.
Last thing I would want to do is carry around or have my nose in a foreign dictionary or opening maps while standing around in public. Those activities are just saying, Hello, over here, please pickpocket me, please panhandle me or take advantage of me because I have no idea where I am or how to speak the language.
This is more for me to sit down in a library or at a desk while playing a visual novel or RPG on the Switch and easily have it out over a thick tome. Also don’t want to wait for any app. like that plus I generally don’t like to carry a phone around all the time.
Truth be told I also like skimming like that and maybe I’ll find a few extra words I like in the process too.