JEDict

A few comments. First, this software should be (more) free. It's for the most part merely an interface for the EDICT/KanjiDic volunteer projects. You have to pay more to access other volunteer projects such as the example sentences, and specialty dictionaries such as the one on Buddhism. I can understand that Sergey might want to charge for access to pay dictionaries such as Eijiro. But he should not charge for access to dictionaries that are compiled by volunteer effort. Second, JEDict is updated so rarely (it's been more than a year since the last update), that it desperately needs a dictionary-update feature. New versions of EDICT, the main dictionary that JEDict uses, are made available nightly--often with hundreds of improvements made in a single day. The version of EDICT currently available in JEDict 4.7 is now woefully out-of-date. For instance, it was compiled before the Japanese tsunami on Mar. 11, 2011, after which HUGE efforts were made to improve EDICT's coverage of disaster terminology for tsunamis, nuclear reactors, etc. There needs to be a way to auto-update the dictionaries. Kotoba! for iOS is now a far better (and completely free) alternative than JEDICT.

Still the best Japanese-English dictionary for the Mac…but I'm sad to say this is mostly due to the lack of any viable alternative. While JEDict is packed with useful functionality, the user interface is quite a mess, and it's really starting to look old and broken compared to all the other apps I use on a regular basis. Lately I've taken to simply using the built-in Dictionary app in OS X, which actually has very good Japanese-English dictionary (and an excellent Japanese-only dictionary, if you can read enough Japanese to use it), and I only turn to JEDict when I need some feature other than looking up words (like looking up individual characters, or compiling a list of words via the userdict). I understand this is the work of a single developer who most likely has a day job or some other full-time occupation, and I think he's done us all a great service by at least maintaining it in a mostly-working state through all these years and major OS upgrades. But this app needs a complete teardown and redesign of the entire user interface, and I think it's going to take at least one professional UI/UX designer to pull it off. And unfortunately I also think this is such a niche product that Mr. Kurkin can't really be expected to hire a pro to sort this out properly. What I'd really like to see is a Mac version of the excellent "Japanese" iPhone app (by "codefromtokyo"), which comes awfully close to matching most of JEDict's functionality, and does so with a fantastic, modern UI that is a pleasure to use (something I really can't say about JEDict). For the time being, I'll be sticking with JEDict, since it's still the best tool (despite its many shortcomings). But I really hope to see a better alternative, someday.

Great app and makes searches and cross-references easy. Was a huge aid when doing Japanese in university and it's even better now.

Any Mac user who knows anything about Japanese knows that this is the best Japanese-English dictionary for the Mac, period. I've been using it since 2004; I've tried every other one that has been released since then, and none of them come anywhere close to JEDict. Apple's Dictionary in OS X 10.5 actually has several Japanese-related dictionaries that are also quite excellent, and I recommend using those as well, but anyone who is at all serious about studying the language should really have JEDict too. I use both (and a handheld electronic one too), and they complement each other pretty well. By the way, the browser feature is actually extremely useful if you take the time to learn why it was included in a dictionary. Try loading up any Japanese web page, select some text on the page, and the sidebar pops out with translations and definitions. And it's hardly "bloat"; WebKit views (i.e. the Safari engine) are provided by the OS, and very easily added to any Mac OS X application.

Edict, EIJIRO and EPWING support makes this the best and most useful japanese dictionary around. Sincere thanks to the author. (and registration when I gather some coins!)

Though I'll hardly ever use the browser aspect, This is one of the most used apps on my Mac. When working with and translating minor things, it is totally indispensible The only reason I'm only giving 4 stars in ease of use, is, that with the major upgrade, a few things have become more difficult to use, with the change in interface. I already miss, just from testing out this version, the old 3 interface with regards to Kanji lookup. A nice addition is the switching of kana and romanized output from the dictionary lookup results. I still have problems remembering some of the kana, and this keeps me from having to pull up my kana chart and squinting at it. Though I'm not sure such a system exists, yet, a small step further with this would be cool... The ability to have the Macintalk system read this when double-clicked. (I want to see (hear?) a Japanese version of Macintalk, not just English and Spanish). ^_^

Some of the readers here really don't do translation work or deep study, do they? The browser feature is GREAT. Open a page from your toolbar bookmarks that you JUST had open in Safari in a WebKit browser, click on a word and the drawer comes out with all dict definitions. [set this in prefs]. Then copy, paste and print up what I call 'cluster word lists' and memorize the new term. As the other user said, use the mouse to draw kanji like Windows or a VERY EXPENSIVE pocket dictionary, or third party Mac/Win IME. All that and there's no stylus to lose. Grumbling about such an app that costs the price of dinner in Japan? Hah. If you're a student and this is too expensive for you, then you can always just go out to Rikai.com and use that -other- tool for free. But you'll get the same or more info with JEDict.

Oh my god, why include a browser?? To justify the upgrade fee or what? This is a dictionary. You know.. dictionaries look up words. And things which browse the web are called anything by dictionaries. Talk about absolutely unnecessary bloat :/

Wow, JEDict's 3.x's interface sure wasn't gonna win any beauty pageants, but this "new Cocoa interface" (which doesn't seem to really be Cocoa) could win an ugly dog contest; definitely a turn for the worse. And the integrated web browser is completely unnecessary feature bloat. That being said, the new JLPT feature (which seems to only work after you've copied the app from the disk image to your HD, by the way) is cool, and it's still a great product, and a great value when compared to the cost of full-fledged electronic dictionaries.

People complain about, "why do i have to pay 25 dollars for a reader of someone else's free dictionary?' well.. i can understand you on that one, but most of the other edict readers on this site aren't free either. I think JEDict is definitely the best. Why? you don't have to copy and paste and switch to the dictionary to program to look up a word. Just select the word you're trying to look up, and hit command+' and boom, starts JEDict (if necessary) and looks up the word like that. also, if you come accross a kanji you can't read in print (so you can't copy and paste) then you can use the draw tool just like the IME tool in windows. just write the kanji and it will look it up like that. very cool.. I'll pay 25$ for a reader and then some instead of 10$ for just a reader any day.

Despite the date listed here, this software has not been updated in a looooong time: 3.8.1 was released eons ago.

I have used this program for the past 6 months. This program is the greatest dictionary program I have ever used! If you want dictionary files, you just download them from the monash site. It is easy and it is free (after buying the dictionary) It looks up words forwards and backwords, the middle of the word, etc. in combinations (if you only know the 2nd kanji of a 2-kanji word), examples, and even multiple languages simultaneously. I am currently teach 2 foreign languages in Japan, and this program has been a life-saver for me! Some of my students have $300 (30,000yen) electronic dictionaries, but none of them can touch the simplicity of JEDict. Looking up kanji on JEDict is MUCH easier than online at the monash site. All in all, I don't see how anybody could give this program a bad review unless they either did not read the simple documentation, didn't utilize all of its features, or didn't download enough of the free dictionaries. It is a great program! I give it 4 stars for stability, because sometimes wehen I can look up a kanji by radicals, it cannot find the kanji unless I include all the radicals (although this only happens one out of twenty or so times, it is annoying). Another annoying thing is that the free example dictionary sometimes has strange grammar, but that is also rare. Truly, this program is a gem among gems.

Used to be a good program, but it is now crippled by the lack of support for the edict dictionary. Why would I want to pay $25 for the ability to use a dictionary written by someone else?

For $25 I'll stick with WordLookup, thanks.

CM is rock.

Extremely useful and reliable. I love it! Get it now!

Anonymous, it looks like the only "scam" is yours, by posting multiple low scores to lower this software's rating. This is a well-written, easy-to-use client to freely-available dictionaries. What's wrong with that? What if you wanted to consult a dictionary and didn't have an internet connection (say, on a plane, or traveling in Japan with your iBook)? It also offers a number of features that online dictionaries don't. It's a solid app that's well worth $25 if you have a need for it.

Seems to be a scam. Poor coding, and it provides nothing more than the existing WWW interface. A possible scenario: the person that wrote the 'free' interface wasn't compensated at the time, and is trying to sneak something back now...

I'm afraid I find it difficult to appreciate what this program might offer me over existing web interfaces... and while the Monash site would seem to do well in terms of culling down the possibilities, it tends to score rather badly when it comes to current affairs and the like

Why charge $25 for something that is based on open-source dictionaries?