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Buying a Japanese to English translator 2009/8/24 15:39
Hi everyone,
I'm looking at buying an electronic dictionary for my trip to Japan and I have no idea what I should look for. If anyone has a suggestion that would be great.
Thanks alot!
-Alanna
by Lanna6210  

Buy in Japan for sure 2009/8/24 16:35
The best is to purchase it in Japan. There is much more wider choice here and cheaper prices. kakaku.com (it`s all in Japanese,but I guess you will have someone from Japanese traveling with you together, is the best site where you can buy any dictionary/ other electronic devices online).
Particularly I advice you to get Sharp Brain (with colored display), MP3 one. I recently got it and it is AWESOME!
by Mila (guest) rate this post as useful

. 2009/8/24 21:24
The vast majority of electronic translators on the market are Japanese made ones with Japanese buttons, and functions. While the cannon wordtank series allows you to switch the menus to English, the actual hardfunction buttons are still in Japanese. So it takes a bit of working Japanese to figure certain things out.

Though I would certainly work with the Canon Word Tank series because of the menu change.

Actually they aren't translators persay (eg you can't translate a whole paragraph or sentence), as they are Electronic Dictionaries thus require at least a bit of working japanese to put the words together to form what you want to say.
by ExpressTrain (guest) rate this post as useful

... 2009/8/24 22:30
I think if you're interested in Japanese and have a decent understanding of the language Japanese buttons or menues won't pose that much of a problem. (You may have some problems initially before you learn how to navigate your dictionary. You'll sort it out in an hour or two just using trial and error.)

If you're not into Japanese and don't plan on using it for an extended period of time, I do not think it is very good value to buy one. I.e. I wouldn't recommend one if you'll only be sightseeing for a few weeks. I'm assuming you'll be staying for a longer period of time in which case I recommend buying one, and if you're studying Japanese it's an invaluable resource.

I would personally look for one that you can write kanji on, as it helps a lot when you don't know the correct reading. They are a little bit more expensive but worth it.
by kurisu81 (guest) rate this post as useful

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