Japanese-Japanese dictionary?

Hello,

Since I started learning Japanese I have used (of course) a Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary. This has worked well but I am reaching the point where I feel like it might be harming my ability to develop a "Japanese brain." I read a book recently, "Study English in Reverse!" (applicable not only to English but to all languages) and the author suggested NOT "translating" from your second language into your first, but instead investing in a dictionary a native speaker would use as soon as you can comfortably do so.

Anyone have any experience with this? I can't shake the feeling that using a J-E dictionary is sort of like "cheating" and is forcing me to think about Japanese in English.

I am somewhere between JLPT 2 and 1 and can read comics and games easily, novels and nonfiction books can give me some trouble based on subject/difficulty.

Finally, if you suggest a J-J dictionary, what is a good one to look for? I am probably leaning towards an electronic dictionary so I can save time looking stuff up, and can carry it easily in my bag.

Thanks in advance!

Japanese - Japanese dictionary (used by Japanese people) might not be the best solution for non-native learners, at least not in their printed format. The reason why I say so is because the definitions given in Japanese come with full kanji (the 1945 "joyo" kanji AND beyond), and the definitions at times are not very specific, even to Japanese readers (including myself). And probably dealing with the normally fine print, and having to possibly go to another kanji dictionary often to look up kanji which you might find difficult to read, might not really be encouraging.

So if you want to try using one, and if you are looking for a new dictionary for yourself anyway, I would recommend getting an electronic dictionary, as you said, which contains all of E - J, J - E, and J - J (such as "Kojien") dictionaries, with the capability to look up entries across all of the various dictionaries contained, meaning, when you look up one Japanese word, it leads you to its entry in J - E dictionary as well as in J - J dictionary so that you can read both results easily.

Personally, I don't consider referring to multi-lingual dictionaries as cheating :) As long as you really understand the meaning or essence of the word, it becomes part of your vocabulary/knowledge base. When it comes to specific fields that relate closely to the local culture/society, of course it helps if you know the concept in the local language, because at times it might not be translatable (there might not be any equivalent) in your language.

Just my two cents - coming from a Japanese with a European spouse studying and working with the Japanese language for maaaaaany years and sees what books/references and tools he's got :)

Thank you for your reply! If I were to go with the electronic dictionary, do you know which dictionaries are considered to be the best? I don't mean model numbers, but the actual dictionaries installed on the devices.

I actually have the dictionary software for the Nintendo DS, but the dictionaries included are somewhat limited. I also don't like to carry around my DS as the temptation to just play games on it is too great! ;)

newtmonkey,

I think all the electronic dictionaries that I've owned so far always had "Kojien" �L���� as the J-J dictionary... you could maybe try playing with those electrinic gadgets at an electronic applicance shop - they do have different combinations/machines with different J-E or E-J dictionaries installed. Common ones are Readers (extensive explanatio on E usage and example sentences) and Genius (plenty of vocab for me) series. Some come with Cobuild or Oxford E-E, and science and technology, medical, and other dictionaries as well.