Denshijisho

Yesterday, I finally bought a denshijisho, an electronic dictionary. For those who don't know what it is (don't worry, I didn't either before I came to Japan), it's "a dictionary whose data exists in digital form and can be accessed through a number of different media" (quoting Wikipedia). lol There are many different kinds of electronic dictionaries, for example the cd-rom versions for your computer, or in my case, a handheld, miniature laptop-like version, with a keyboard and screen.

Almost all my classmates have one. During my first semester, I didn't really need one because most of the words that appeared in the textbook were listed at the back with their translation in English. But now, in class 3, there are so many words I don't know, and it really hinders my learning if I don't understand what the teacher is saying, or don't understand the meaning of the sentence. As soon as I started the second semester, I realized that it would be in my interest to buy one. But until I had the time to go shopping for one (with my busy schedule, the opportunities are scarce), one of my teachers, Nishiyama sensei, was kind enough to lend me her older one.

Finally, yesterday, along with my roommate, we went to Yodobashi Camera, an electronic store in Machida. I'm really glad my roommate Anzu was there to help me because there are so many different kinds with different options that it can be quite confusing (especially for me, who can't read or understand everything yet) to choose the right one. There are some designed for businessmen, high school students, university students, etc. After looking at many different models, I finally opted for the Casio XD-D7200 model. lol. Here are some of its many incredible features:

- It contains French, English and Japanese dictionaries so I can look up virtually any word and obtain its translation in any of these languages. I can look up a word in English, get its equivalent in Japanese and then if I want to, I can look up the definition in French as well. Even though French is my mother tongue, when I'm studying Japanese, I usually think in English (ex. when I want to translate something in Japanese or if I want to figure the equivalent of a Japanese sentence in English). But sometimes, the English word doesn't come to mind but the French one does. So in those instances, the dictionary will be very useful.

- It has a little screen just below the keyboard for handwritten kanji recognition. If I happen to come across a kanji character in my textbook, even without knowing how to read it, if I just draw it into the alloted space (with the aid of a digital stick), it will recognize it and then give me its definition and how to pronounce it.

- There's a pronunciation guide as well that can give me the pronunciation of words in English, Japanese, and French. I don't think I'll be using the English or French pronunciation guide too often... ; )

- There's also a kanji dictionary that lists the different ways to read a certain kanji, along with its stroke order (the stroke order in which a kanji is written is very important).

- And there are multiple other options that I haven't even discovered yet, so I'm sure there are tons more. For example, I think I can create flashcards on it and I think I can also play sudoku on it (I just glanced quickly at the instruction manual, which is unfortunately all written in Japanese...).

This was my most expensive purchase to date... but I think it's also my best investment so far. I can't wait to start using it !

Then of course, when Japanese go out (at least the younger population), they often take pictures at a purikura, so my roommate and I took some lovely pictures together. I don't recall if I introduced my new roommate Anzu Funayama. My previous roommate is still in Canada, studying English. A few facts fabout my new roommate: she's also Japanese, she's 19 years old, her hometown is Yokohama, only about an hour and a bit from Tokai, she loves to sing and loves the television series Glee, and overall we get along pretty well.