Best Japanese Dictionary

[Dark Ariel7]

I just hit the level of having usable grammar. My vocab is lacking. I am about to enter into translating for fun. To start I need the best possible dictionary.

What is the best Japanese Dictionary that I can get for under 100 and the best I can get for under 50 dollars. The name Kodansha seems to come up a lot on my search. Dictionaries have very similar names from the same publisher so please be as clear as possible about the best one. I want as many entries and examples as possible. Japanese to English needed English to Japanese optional.

 

Need one Dictionary under $100 and one under 50$. Please either post the ISBN or a link to the book.

[Dargoth]

Why buy a book when using dictionaries on the Internet is a million times better and easier? If you're looking to translate away from an Internet connection, I'd suggest getting an electronic dictionary, but finding one under $100 might be tough.

[Dark Ariel7]

I want paper only. I prefer the feel and enjoy looking through the pages for the answer. I also want it to copy it several times. Plus while I study I need the dictionary but I get distracted if I am hooked up to the internet.

[garejei]

Well, kanji lookup is a million times faster with digital dictionaries, but I do have a physical one myself (that I don't use anymore, but still). It's the Kodansha furigana dictionary, got it from Amazon. It's mostly for beginners, and it's useful if you know how something is pronounced and want to look up how it's written (hence the furigana). One minor dissatisfaction I had with the furigana one is that it uses not an alphabetical order for its entires, but the Japanese K-S-T-N-H-M-Y-R-W-N order of kana.

 

They have other dictionaries, apparently the kanji one is also decent (or so a friend tells me), look around Amazon and read some customer reviews before you make a decision though.

[zoom909]

Here's the one I have

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/476742058X/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP

It has been a fine dictionary for reading manga.

However, I have it in the electronic form, not book form.  I will assume that since the title and the edition number are exactly the same, then the content is also the same

Here in the USA, the Japanese dictionaries they carry in bookstores seem to suck, so we have to import a good dictionary.

Note:  This link is for hardcover; surely this book is also available in paperback somewhere...

[Dark Ariel7]

Hardcover is fine. I will buy that one most likely but reading off the Amazon website is hard due to the many kanji and lack of context. Looks to be better than the Kodansha stuff.