Dictionary overview

The purpose of the dictionary tool dialog is to list the words of the EDICT dictionary that match a search criteria. This is useful in many situations, e.g. when translating a word from English to Japanese or vice versa, list all the kanji combinations that contain a given kanji, and translate an entire text (e.g. a page from the web).

The dictionary tool window can be opened manually and used for manual queries. The dictionary tool window is also opened for automatic queries from several other points in the software.

The search results, which can be filtered in many ways, are a starting point for automatic queries in the tool dialogs KanjiInfo and KanjiSelect, and also new Dictionary queries.

Automatic sorting of the entries

Clicking on the header of a column sorts the list in alphabetic ascending order, in respect to the clicked attribute. Additional clicks on the same header re-sort the list according to other criteria. The table below shows the 4 sorting states that are possible. With the fifth click the system starts from start.

Click No. Icon Sorting
#1
Alphabetic, ascending
#2
Alphabetic, descending
#3
Length, shortest first
#4
Length, longest first

Basic dictionary elements

Click the element of interest in the picture below for explanations.

Query text field Start query button Analyze query text Dictionaries list Query result list Filter Run new query Analyze query text Show kanji info Select kanji Add to textpad Entries marked as common (EDICT 2001 and later) Entries not marked as common Add to selected stack Copy Print AutoPaste Show only kanji Show all attributes Kana input mode Roomaji input mode Stay on top    

 

Number Function Shortcut Explanation
Query text field   Field to enter the query text in any of the dictionary languages. Multiple words must be separated by linefeed (ctrl+Return). See also entering text and translation procedures.
Go! Enter Starts a query with the text in the query text field.
Analyze query text   If checked, the query returns all kanji combinations included in the query text. Also, inflected verbs and adjectives in the query text are detected and the corresponding dictionary forms are searched in the dictioary.

If unchecked, only the entries which contain the raw query text are listed.
Filter Ctrl+F Toggle the filter pane for restricting the query results.
Dictionaries list   All installed dictionaries assigned to the current language are listed here. The query (2) consults all selected dictionaries. Multiple dictionaries can be selected by ctrl + left mouse click.
Query results   A right mouse button click opens the context menu.
A click on a column header sorts the query result list. 4 states are alternating as follows:
  1. ascending length
  2. descending length
  3. ascending character order
  4. descnding character ordering

 

Toolbar and context menu Function Shortcut Explanation
Query F6 Starts a new query with the text of the selected cell, with the Analyze checkbox (3) unchecked.
Analyze Compounds   Starts a new query with the text of the selected cell, with the Analyze checkbox (3) checked.
Kanji info F8 Opens the KanjiInfo dialog with all kanji included in the highlighted lines of the query result.
Select kanji F7 Opens the KanjiSelect dialog and runs a query with the text of the selected cell.
Add to textpad   Adds all selected entries to the textpad.
Common entries   If checked, the entries marked as common (EDICT 2001 and later) are displayed.
Uncommon entries   If checked, the entries not marked as common are displayed.
Add to selected stack INS Copies the selected kanji to the selected stack.
Copy Ctrl+C Copies the text of the selected cell to the clipboard.
Print   Print the selected lines as list or as flashcards.
AutoPaste   When AutoPaste is on, a query is automatically performed whenever some text is pasted into the clipboard. This is useful when some text of a different application (internet browser, e-mail, etc) must be translated –simply copy the text to be translated into the clipboard after switching on AutoPaste in the dictionary tool window of KanjiBrowze.
Show only kanji   Switch to kanji overview mode
Show all attributes   Switch to detail mode
Rooma-ji entry mode Ctrl+space or F2 Toggle input-mode to rooma-ji mode to enter english text.
Kana entry mode Ctrl+space or F2 Toggle input-mode to kana entry mode to enter kana. Use CapsLock to switch from hiragana to katakana.
Direct link to Options Dialog   Open the Dictionary setup dialog.
Always on top   When switched on, the window stays on top of other windows.

 

See also:

Advanced dictionary dialog elements: filters
Translate a word from English to Japanese or vice versa
Explore query result