Using the Dictionary
Kanji Sonomana DS has 4 basic lookup modes. From the main screen, these are selected on the left edge of the screen. When you select a dictionary, the name will light up a different color for each (blue, yellow, red, and green in that order). Simply touch the screen in the appropriate place to switch to a different dictionary.
- The first (blue) is for looking up English words. This does not really give a clear Japanese translation, so I recommend using a different dictionary if you are looking to convert English to Japanese. I never use this mode.
- The second (yellow) is the most useful, this is for looking up Japanese words and getting an English translation. It contains kanji, hiragana, and katakana words, so it is fairly extensive.
- The third (red) is also not very useful if you are a native English speaker or rather don't know much Japanese (yet). This dictionary is for looking up definitions of Japanese words, in Japanese. Remember, this dictionary was primarily for Japanese speakers to learn English, not the other way around. This actually can provide some help in learning how to pronounce kanji that is not in the yellow dictionary.
- The fourth (green) is all of the other three combined. I usually have it in this mode as I can see the words with English translations and can find the kanji even if it is only the reading of it from the red dictionary.
Options Menu
Here we have a chart of the options menu.
| GENIUS/TOEIC Flashcards | Flashcard Transfer Mode | World Clock |
| Bookmarks and Flashcards | Pictochat Search Mode | Alarm |
| Quiz Games | System Options | Calculatore |
| Legend Index? | Search Result Text Size | Calendar |
GENIUS/TOEIC Flashcards
These are a set of flashcards for Japanese people learning English. I believe these tests are language skills tests similar to the levels of the Japanese literacy tests.
Bookmarks and Flashcards
This section is by far one of my favorites, this is where you access your 3 sets of bookmarks and can select to review them as flash cards. Each set can contain up to 100 entries.
Quiz Games
Insanely difficult for people who don't know Japanese. These are a large set of quiz games in which you have so much time to respond, etc.
Legend Index?
I'm not really sure about this option. The first two kanji translate to legend, and the last two are the first to kanji of bibliography. From what I have looked at in there it looks like a legend for the notes on the translations. Also, the last page in this section appears to have some credits.
Flashcard Transfer Mode
Want to pass a set of your bookmarks/flashcards to a friend in your class? This mode lets you do just that. The only problem is, they only appear as a 4th set of bookmarks. You can't view them as flashcards. But if you want to, the first option is to send, and the second is to receive. Selecting send will give you another pop-up asking which bookmark set (A, B, or C) you want to send.
Pictochat Search Mode
Have the dictionary also join you in a pictochat room. This one can get interesting in classrooms, as clearly, you are just using your DS as a dictionary. Some of the nice features of this are that it allows you to grab screens from the dictionary and paste them into pictochat. Also, you can draw kanji and have them put into pictochat as well.
System Options
| Power Off Timer
Off . 5 minutes . 30 minutes |
Sound
On . Off |
| Kanji Draw Time
Short . Medium . Long |
Touch Voice
On . Off |
Power Off Timer (Off, 5 Minutes, 30 Minutes)
This lets you set the dictionary to shut off if it has been inactive for a certain amount of time. This only effects when inactive an the system is open. If you close the lid, the DS suspends the dictionary and the timer for the auto power off.
Sound (On, Off)
Obvious
Kanji Draw Time (Short, Medium, Long)
This sets the amount of time after you have drawn a kanji before it assumes you are done. If you find that the system keeps looking up kanji before you have finished drawing the kanji, you man want to set this to long.
Touch Voice (On, Off)
If you look up a word in the English to Japanese dictionary, some words have an audio recording of the word. If this is on, the voice will automatically play. If it is off, you simply have to hit the sound icon to play the clip.
Search Result Text Size
Just keep touching this option to change between small or large for the search result size. It shows you an example when you select it.
World Clock
View the current time throughout the world. This assumes that your system is set to Japanese time.
Alarm
Set an alarm. Not quite sure how to use this, never really needed it.
Calculator
I think you can figure out how to use this.
Calendar
Just display a calandar of a specific month.
Extras
Game and Watch Games
(search all dictionaries for these)
Ball Flagman Judge Manhole
Nintendo Special Entries
(search all dictionaries for these)
DS "rakubiki jiten" Donkey Kong GAME BOY GAME BOY ADVANCE GAME & WATCH SUPER FAMICOM Mario Nintendo (in romaji or in kanji) NINTENDO 64 NINTENDO DS NINTENDO GAMECUBE