ブックマーク

This is the dictionary I use. I bought it three years ago and it hasn't left my side since. Before I had this invaluable tool I used to laboriously search for words using dictionaries of the old-fashioned paper variety. Now I use this all the time, to speedily find words I hear on TV or when watching Japanese movies, to help me during particularly difficult conversations... and of course when I am studying.

One function I find useful is the bookmark button. When you hear a new word, you can look it up and bookmark it so you can review it later. Well, it's time for me to clear out my bookmarks as they are filled to capacity so here are the most recent words:

几帳面　－　きちょうめん - to be precise, methodical or punctilious. Another word for anal perhaps?
臨終　－　りんじゅう - one's death. For the life of me I can't remember why I bookmarked this...
馴れ初め　－　なれそめ - the first stirrings of love. Romantic, eh?
言わば　－　いわば - in a manner of speaking or so to speak. One of those words I hear a lot, but have never gotten into the habit of using myself.
しっくり - exactly, precisely...
しらふ - sober. Funny that I've known how to say "drunk" and "hungover" since the first day I got here but only learnt this word recently.
接待　－　せったい - entertainment or reception. I asked my salarymen students what their special talents were and Mr. Ohta said 接待, i.e. entertaining clients. He seems to know a lot of good night spots and restaurants in the entertainment areas of Osaka...

I could go on, but I think that's enough for tonight. If you are interested in investing in the dictionary, it's a Canon G55 and you can get it from White Rabbit press by clicking on the picture above. Or if you are resident in Japan, you can get it from amazon by clicking on the link below: