Kanshudo contains the most extensive Japanese dictionaries available online.
Quick Search searches all available dictionaries, as well as the Kanshudo site, to find the best matches. Use Quick Search any time by clicking the icon in the top right of the screen. Use Quick Search to find features on Kanshudo quickly if you are not sure where they are in the menus.
Use the category searches by choosing the appropriate option below, or the search switcher in the navigation bar. The search switcher appears whenever you run a search, and enables you to run the same search in a different category. Category searches provide results specific to the category and show more results (and sometimes more information) than Quick Search.
For more information see our quick start guide to Kanshudo Search:
QUICK START: SEARCH
Quick Search
Quick Search is the best place to start searching Kanshudo, and can be reached from anywhere in the system by clicking on the search icon on the top right of the page.
Quick Search enables you to look for kanji, words, names, example sentences, grammar points as well as
pages or features on Kanshudo in a single place.
Kanji
Enter a phrase containing kanji, a reading in hiragana, or an English meaning.
Kanshudo will search for kanji contained in your search, or with matching readings or meanings.
Kanshudo will display each kanji
together with its mnemonic,
readings, meanings, and associated information. Each component part of the kanji will be displayed below in
'cascading kanji' format.
Click any kanji's blue box for more details. Click the star next to the kanji
to add it to your Favorites.
Kanji by Mnemonic
Enter an English word, and all kanji which use that word in their mnemonic
will be displayed.
Example:
test
Kanji by Component
Search for all kanji which include a specific radical or other component
using the Component Builder. Access the Component Builder wherever you see the
部
icon - for example, open Quick Search by clicking the search icon on the top right of the page then look to the left of the search bar.
Kanji by Reference
Search for kanji which refer to the specified kanji (ie, include it in their
'see also' section). 'See also' kanji are often included because they are similar or easily confused.
Words
Word Search
Enter a Japanese or English word (or words)
in whatever form you encounter it. Kanshudo
will try several
different searches, including exact
matches (as displayed in Kanji search above), words beginning with your search, and words contained within
your search.
Kanshudo will also determine if the word is a conjugated form of a word, and will display matches in their dictionary forms.
You can also use various special keywords in Word Search. For a list and explanation of all the keywords, click the Word Search button above. For example:
Multi-word Search
Kanshudo can automatically look up multiple words at once, enabling you to quickly import word lists to add to your favorites, create flashcards, or for quick study.
Example:
これ|は|日本語|です|。
Sentence Translate
Kanshudo can translate and analyze entire Japanese sentences and word lists.
You'll get an English translation, along with
detailed word-by-word analysis, and information on the kanji
Example:
これは日本語です。
Grammar / Points of Interest
Search Kanshudo's library of 988 articles on Japanese grammar and
grammatical constructions, as well as on Japanese language and culture generally.
You can use English or Japanese words or phrases. Type any word that
forms part of a construction or describes the type of construction. For example:
Example sentences
Enter Japanese or English words to find example sentences that contain them.
Separate words with spaces to find sentences that contain all the words in any order.
Names
Enter Japanese or English to search for matching Japanese names. Kanshudo includes about 600,000 names,
together with frequency rankings for the 10,000
most common Japanese surnames, and the 2000 most common male and female given names. Most common readings
of each name are displayed first where data is available.
Kanshudo site search
You can search the whole Kanshudo site for features or content. Site search results are included in Quick Search, but you can also use this category search to restrict results to site searches.
Examples:
blog
Search history
If you are logged in to Kanshudo, each search you perform is stored in your
history, and you can access it and repeat the search. You can use this as a simple way to make flashcards for memorization.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language.
To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard.
You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly.
For an overview, take the tour.