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Got my Dictionary! The Casio XD-GW9600

November 21, 2007 on 11:05 am | In Gadgets, Language | | Email This Post

Back in October I broke down and picked up what has become essential in my Japanese study and translation work. The Casio GW9600 electronic dictionary!

(Also available on TheJapanShop at 10% off until the end of Dec 2007!)

Little coffee shop, 50 yen Botchan, monster dictionary, gotta love it.

The sheer volume of information available in this dictionary is incredible. It has Kenkyusha’s New Japanese English Dictionary (the Green Goddess), and the Oxford Dictionary of English. Enough said about that.

It has great functionally as well. If you can’t read a Kanji, you can write it into the dictionary by hand using the pen and search that way. Even if you mess up the stroke order (which I often do) it will manage to find what you’re looking for.

It also has a “super jump” feature that lets you use any word mentioned in a definition or encyclopedia entry as a link, and search for that same term in any of the other dictionaries available.

Also, you can search through all of the dictionaries and encyclopedias on the device at the same time using the multi-dictionary search feature. This means you can see the English translation of what you’re looking for, as well as an explanation of the term in Japanese. I often use the encylopedias in a Wikipedia fashion when I’m listening to lectures and need to get background information about a particular topic. For example I was at an ACLU talk about the new requirement for foreigners to be photographed and finger printed upon entering Japan (Japan-VISIT) a few weeks ago and I was able to look up the history of the Foreigner Registration Card that we all carry around here.

I have recently been studying Korean, so I got the add-on Korean-Japanese dictionary as well. Now when I search for things in Japanese in the multi-dictionary search, I can also glance at what the term is in Korean. I’m still not used to Korean keyboard input, but that doesn’t matter much because I can use the pen to write the Korean characters into the dictionary!

This dictionary also talks! The target market for this device is mainly a Japanese audience, so most of the speech is for English words, but it also speaks the Korean as well so I’m good to go. Frankly, any non-native Japanese speaker using this dictionary probably would have no need to have the Japanese spoken anyway.

Did I mention it has a technical terms dictionary for IT and business?

Of course, the instruction manual is all in Japanese… But you can get a concise Casio GW9600 manual in English as well over on White Rabbit Press.

The only negative to this dictionary would have to be it’s price and it’s size. It is one of the most expensive dictionaries out there, but that’s because it’s one of the best. It is a little large. Bigger than a Palm Pilot or iPod or digital camera. It has a great form factor though, it’s wide, but thin. Lots of screen space to make it easy to read large encyclopedia entries and what not.

If you purchase the GW9600, and are unsure how to take it out of the box… You can follow this GW9600 unboxing gallery. (Seriously though, have you guys noticed this “unboxing” trend? You can find step by step unboxing guides for all kinds of gear on the web now! It’s crazy!)

Anyway, that’s my new baby.

- Harvey

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That was weird. I had that smoking post marked for Nov 28th and some how it got published! Sorry. Pushed it back into the future. It will be coming back later. Haha.

Comment by harvey — November 21, 2007 #
Hehe, we actually saw your dictionary before:
http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/10/10/read-big-issue-japan-study-japanese/

Comment by Tadashi — November 21, 2007 #
OMG I WANT IT! 0_0

and the black coffee and the interesting-looking book too.

i have a thing against electronic dictionaries that are ‘too compact’. it seems quite fragile >_o

Comment by Zaty — November 21, 2007 #
The interesting looking book is Bocchan.
Infos about it and links to translations are available at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botchan

Comment by Tadashi — November 22, 2007 #
I’m planning on buying this for myself for christams.

Comment by Carlie — November 22, 2007 #
Ooooh… The Green Goddess!

Comment by claytonian — November 22, 2007 #
Hmmm, is this dictionary better than this one - http://www.japaneselanguagetools.com/

Comment by Atreya — November 22, 2007 #
Atreya: Much much better. Of course, you need to be at a decent level of Japanese to use an electronic dictionary like this effectively.

If you’re just tourist-ing around it’s way over kill, and some software like that for a PDA would probably be plenty.

If you’re really studying Japanese though, this dictionary cannot be beat.

Comment by Harvey — November 22, 2007 #
Can I ask what case you have? I got the same dictionary (it’s awesome!), but the suggested DICT. case is a bit too big and just makes the thing big and bulky.

Comment by Vvn — November 22, 2007 #
Hey Vvn, actually I have a DICT case as well. It was a hand-me down that used to cover my wifes Canon. It -barely- fits the GW9600. I haven’t really looked at sizes and everything, are these DICTs one-size fits all?

Anyway, it is bulky. I like the hardshell though… But yeah. It’s big. I don’t mind it too much though. It does the job and keeps my dictionary safe even at the bottom of my bag!

And yeah, this dictionary is ridiculous isn’t it!

Comment by harvey — November 22, 2007 #
Nice. The Casio XD-GW9600 is definitely my favorite model right now. The huge Kenkyusha J-E and backlighting are for me absolutely necessary.

Have you played with adding text files via a SD card? You can plop any plain Japanese txt file on any generic SD card and use the Casio’s jump feature to do lookups. The only downside is if you have a large ebook, it doesn’t show your progress or how many pages are left.

I have several mini reviews on my blog mostly about this model. Simply put, it is awesome!

Comment by Clay — November 22, 2007 #
Harvey: Hmmm, currently studying lvl 4 now, do you think its better if I buy it just now instead of investing the same amount a PDA device with a dictionary?

Comment by Atreya — November 23, 2007 #
Atreya, I don’t want to sound like I’m pushing a product here… But, YES.

I also have a dictionary on my PDA, it’s useful when I don’t have my GW9600 with me… But otherwise that’s about it.

If you’re studying for level 4, but have the determination and patience that would be required to use a dictionary like this one that has a Japanese interface, then I think you should get this one.

The major advantage you’ll have with this one is the sheer number of example sentences. With a lot of the PDA dictionaries, the number of example sentences you get with the vocabulary you look up are rather pitiful. With this dictionary, most words you look up will have… For example I just looked up 苦悩する, not an easy or even overly common word. You probably wouldn’t need it until you’re JLPT level 2-ish at least. Anyway, it has like 10 different English translations for it… and 6 different example sentences with English translations. And this is all in the Kenkyusya 5th edition shinwaei daijiten. I didn’t even check the other dictionaries.

With all those example sentences available I think you’ll learn Japanese much faster than you would with a less complete dictionary.

That’s just my opinion though!

What does everyone else think?

If you think your Japanese study isn’t just a hobby and is something you’re going to be doing for a long long time, I think this dictionary is a good investment!

Comment by harvey — November 23, 2007 #
Clay: I haven’t tried adding regular text files yet! Though it sounds really interesting. Great for making study lists and such aye?

Clay I’ll update the post with a link to your site reviews. Also, I gotta add a link to your blog here! My blogroll is totally unmanaged… Geesh.

Comment by harvey — November 23, 2007 #
looks really good, that’d be the perfect thing to help me with my Japanese, too bad I can’t afford one right now

Comment by Jamaipanese — November 24, 2007 #
Harvey: Thanks for the clarification! I guess I will buy both the dictionaries then! The PDA one first and then the Casio one once I reach an advanced level. Guess I need to start saving up now…

Comment by Atreya — November 24, 2007 #
I think the Casio is a good investment, but I also think a PDA has a lot of advantages. First of all, you can always buy the Kenkyusha or another commercial dictionary in electronic format & load it up on the PDA if you want. But between the free dictionaries (WWWJDIC and the example sentences database, which are, granted, not up to the quality of the kenkyusha, but pretty good for most of my needs) and the Y2000 eijiro, which is claimed to have more entries than the Kenkyusha, you’re not wanting much.
But anyway, the main advantage of a PDA is the smaller size and the ability to run other software (like flashcard programs). The main disadvantage is it takes some setting up.
If you’re thinking of buying a PDA for Japanese study, here are two things I think are a MUST:
1) built-in Japanese input support — it’s possible to add Japanese support to some English PDAs through 3rd-party software, but the functionality isn’t the same — for example, you won’t be able to see dictionary entries pop up as-you-type. Basically, this means you should buy a Japanese PDA.
2) a keyboard. the touch screen / character recognition generally works OK but you’ll go nuts if you have to use it every time you consult your dictionary. I have a Clie, which fortunately both keyboard and touch screen so I can do things like write an unknown kanji, but the keyboard is a must.

Comment by bingobangoboy — November 25, 2007 #
>>Great for making study lists and such aye?

I guess it is possible. It is more of a simple ebook reader than anything else. It doesn’t show your progress in the book unfortunately, but it is still pretty nice. I’ve added a few out of copyright books from aozora.gr.jp and it works fine.

>>First of all, you can always buy the Kenkyusha or another commercial dictionary in electronic format & load it up on the PDA if you want.

Yes, but isn’t the Kenkyusha J-E a couple of hundred dollars? If it is, it seems better to buy a PDA for organizing schedules and such and a stand alone denshi jisho for studying?

Comment by Clay — November 25, 2007 #
Thanks for posting those links. Very helpful in figuring out how to use it!

Comment by michael — November 27, 2007 #
Is there any new Casio dictionary coming out soon to replace the Casio XD-GW9600?

Comment by Anthony — December 4, 2007 #
Not that I have heard of. I’m sure someday there will be one, but not for a while. The GW9600 just came out this year, in Feb.

Comment by Harvey — December 4, 2007 #
Just got mine in a brown little package from Japan today, and I’m delighted with it. This is going to speed up translating a great deal for me.
Just two things I’m currently wondering about;

1) Do I have to install anything on my cpu (windows xp) before connecting the usb to power the dictionary? It seems to say so on the package of the cable, although in that case I must have misplaced the cd-rom from the start, cause I sure can’t find any software in the box.

2) Could someone maybe elaborate a little on how the Britannica Encyclopaedia works?

I’d be very appreciative of any answers.

Comment by Earnest Anyway — December 8, 2007 #
Brown packages from Japan rule!

To answer your questions…

1) You don’t need to connect the USB to power the dictionary. You do use it to add on additional software to your dictionary though. And no, it doesn’t come with a CD. So you’ll first need to use the USB when you have bought an add-on CD-ROM. I have heard of people adding regular text files and things to their dictionary though… I’m not sure how that works.

2) The Britannica works just like a dictionary really. Access the ブリタニカ百科 with the hardware button. And you can search in Japanese or English, or by keyword (which I never really use). For example if you enter “Cambodia” by English you get a long description of the country カンボジア in Japanese. Unfortunately, the information in the Britannica is 100% Japanese only. Zannen.

Comment by harvey — December 8, 2007 #
Really, soon I’ll have to start ordering more things from Japan just for that moment of receiving the package.
In reply to your answers (and because neatly structured texts are great):
1)Oh ok. I had read about another wordtank which wouldn’t use batteries when connected to the computer via usb, and I just assumed this one could as well.
2)Zannen desu nee. But thanks a lot for confirming what I was already slightly afraid of.
I have to mention what a joy it is to work with the kenkyuusha, work..or just play around.
Finally a big thanks for your answers. It is indeed very nice to receive complete, clear answers so quickly. Thanks!

Comment by Earnest Anyway — December 9, 2007 #
TheJapanShop will give you 10% off or $15.00 max on the order. So there is no 10% off the Casio XD-GW9600 dictionary, only $15 off.

Comment by Anthony — December 13, 2007 #
To BingobangoBoy and Atreya: first, the article on how much better are PDAs than DenshiJisho the one Atreya linked) is outdated and was probably never up to date (48.000 words??? even a 1993 IDX-9500 had 89.000 words for crying out loud! No input through hand-writing???).

Second:if you are a total beginner maybe you should spend less and get a Casio XD-470 or nintendo DS (with the kanji Sono mama dictionary) that cost much less than a loaded PDA or the GW-9600 and will help you through the initial times (otherwise invest in a single top quality machine and use it happily ever-after).

Third:I own a J-windows mobile machine (Toshiba Genio e830)and I have the kenkyusha Dai-5th ed. and Eijiro installed (I also have kanjiGen and Edict) still the 9600 is way better.
Edict is useless once you get ahold of the Kenkyusha,I prefer the kanji learner’s expansion card/file to Kanjigen any time of the day, Eijiro was great to search for “rare” words but many terms I didn’t find there I happened to find in the 9600’s 1.000.000 entries tech/specialty terms dictionary (plus the possibility to search the Genius in Japanese thanks to the dedicated DaiWaEi Index section is a great plus too).
I’m using the new Energizer Lithium AAA as of late and they just eternal on this thing (the PDA was giving me a nervous break down with the low battery life, that and the numerous crashes).

GW-9600 for the world…

Comment by Simon — December 29, 2007 #
25th response! A new record! Congratulations Harvey!

Comment by Joe — February 29, 2008 #

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Got my Dictionary! The Casio XD-GW9600

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