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辞典 (じてん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N4 Freq. Frequency Top 10,000 Meanings 1
noun
dictionary ; lexicon
General term for a reference book listing words with their meanings, pronunciations, or translations. Often used in compound titles like 国語辞典 (Japanese-language dictionary) or 英和辞典 (English-Japanese dictionary).
文ぶん
が
豊ほう
富ふ
で
使つか
い
やすい
。
This dictionary has plenty of example sentences and is easy to use.
Written forms 辞じ 典てん Usage 99%
Standard kanji spelling for 'dictionary' or 'lexicon'.
辭じ 典てん Usage 1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kyūjitai form; not used in modern writing.
Kanji 辭 words, speech, expression Similar words 辞じ 書しょ 辞書 is a more common, everyday word for 'dictionary'. 辞典 often implies a more comprehensive or specialized reference work, and is frequently used in formal titles.
事じ 典てん 事典 is an encyclopedia (encyclopedia), focusing on factual knowledge rather than word definitions. The kanji 事 (thing/matter) distinguishes it from 辞典 (word dictionary).
字じ 典てん 字典 is a character dictionary, specifically for kanji, giving readings, meanings, and stroke order. 辞典 covers words, while 字典 covers individual characters.
Etymology Compound of 辞 (ji, 'word; expression') and 典 (ten, 'reference work; code'). The kanji 辞 relates to language and phrasing, while 典 denotes a standard reference or canon. The word follows the pattern of other -典 compounds such as 事典 and 字典.
