Rikaichan is a pop-up Japanese dictionary add-on that can really turbo charge your online Japanese reading practice. If I had to give up all but one of my printed and online Japanese language learning resources, rikaichan would be the keeper. And it happens to be free! You can download it and get more info here.
Rikaichan is a Firefox add-on that lets you hover over Japanese words to see the definition. Some of you might have heard, that the upcoming Firefox release will only support WebExtensions and legacy add-ons such as Rikaichan will stop working. As the Firefox users among you know, a new and improved version called Firefox Quantum was released not long ago. It's faster than the old Firefox, but unfortunately it has blown many extensions I've been using daily for years straight to hell. One of them was Rikaichan.
One of the joys of living in Kyoto is that I get to indulge my love of kanji learning all the time, by just looking at the signs that surround me in my daily life. I’d like to give you a sense of that feeling, that satisfaction that comes from reading authentic Japanese, in fun, short bursts.
The photo below is of a used bicycle shop’s sign in my neighborhood. An obvious and understandable limitation of rikaichan is that you can’t simply hover your browser on kanji in a photo, because it’s not directly transmitted text on your screen, and can’t be recognized. In the same way, rikaichan won’t be of use with scanned documents.
Drivers all industrial laptops & desktops. With this in mind, I transcribe what’s written on signs, etc, so that you can use rikaichan at your own discretion. And while you don’t need to enable rikaichan to enjoy and learn from my posts, using it with the characters I transcribe just below photos as I have below will allow you to actively interact with the topics, which in itself is a key to retention and motivation.
Try to read the signs in the photos in this blog without any help, and see how far you get with that. Use your rikaichan on the text I transcribe below the photos to help with unfamiliar readings and meanings.
- Nazeka is a rikai replacement with many interesting features and options, which are listed in the readme of the repository. It also works in Firefox on Android. Rikaichamp is a port of rikaikun, which is a port of rikaichan, which is a port of rikaiXUL.
- Firefox Rikaichan 3.0x This release focuses mainly on making Rikaichan more compatible with Firefox's multiprocess mode (Electrolysis/e10s).
In the photo just below, I hovered over the second part of the sign that’s visible in this pic, and rikaichan has identified the word and given the details. If you want to see more detail about the individual characters, just gradually move your mouse to the right.
I see the same characters and appeals again and again, and this varied repetition of dynamic content makes for natural, engaging reinforcement. It can also be more than a little overwhelming at times!
From the countless messages that surround me, I’ll choose subjects that offer the chance to see common characters and words in succinct, visually appealing ways, and you’ll find yourself relying less on rikaichan and more on your own ability as you go along. Give it a try!
Rikaichan has changed the way I study Japanese, in that it enables me to read articles and other authentic Japanese text online that otherwise would be over my head. It’s a kanji translator that makes kanji lookup incredibly efficient and productive.
I’ve been able to develop my own study routine, using it only when I am really stuck, and focusing on retaining the information it gives me about definitions and kanji readings.
In addition to writing the characters that appear in signs in photos, I will sometimes include Japanese words in my posts without adding hiragana after the kanji, to allow you to decode them for yourself or with the help of rikaichan or your favorite reference tool as you see fit.
As I got into the habit of using rikaichan to help me decipher things online, I started going to my tool bar to enable it as a matter of routine whenever I turn on my computer. It’s invaluable for a variety of text from emails from Japanese friends, to online articles.
The photo just below is typical of how I use it most of the time, to help me read newspaper articles online. Click on the photo to see an enlarged version and to view the characters clearly.
In this case, I couldn’t read a word in the headline, ふくさよう that I use in conversation. I hadn’t seen it written before, and I was surprised to realize that what seemed at first glance to be a totally unfamiliar word is actually one that I know the meaning of and recognize when I hear it.
I also know the readings of the three kanji that comprise it, so as it turns out, a quick rikaichan check is enough for me to recognize it on my own in the future, and efficiently build on my knowledge base.
Once you install rikaichan, all you have to do is enable it when you turn on your computer and hover your mouse over the characters you want readings and/or definitions for.
If you hover over the first character of a word, you’ll get the reading and definition for the word, not just the reading for the individual character. This is really a big part of what makes it so valuable for me.
In certain situations you might not be especially focused on retaining what rikai chan shows you, such as when you get an email in Japanese and need to fill in some gaps in your knowledge and understand it.
Rikaichan Dictionary
In a case like this you can use it without much thought, and let it help you to rapidly understand the material in the moment.
But when improving your Japanese reading skills is your main goal, it’s worth developing a learning strategy as you go along that caters to your level and learning style.
This will help you to improve more quickly, and it will also keep you motivated by giving you a real feeling of satisfaction that comes from stretching yourself and seeing noticeable improvement in your ability to read and understand more and more Japanese characters, and do it with greater speed as you go along.
Drivers displaylink sound cards & media devices. Rikai chan also has an optional toolbar that lets you manually type in a word you want to look up, as you’ll see in the screenshot below. Click on it to see it in detail. Here I entered the Japanese term for ‘cold war’ in kanji to get a deeper understanding of the characters’ components.
Rikaichan
I use this as a handy online Japanese dictionary when I want to clarify the meaning of a word I recently heard in conversation, etc. I also use it along with the popup kanji lookup feature as an occasional supplement when I want to get more detailed info on the kanji that make up a word.
Rikaichan Firefox Mobile
It also has the number of the character given in various dictionaries and kanji learning systems, so you can easily use online readings to reinforce what you’ve been exposed to in those texts.
It really helps to bring Japanese language learning to life. Japanese reading practice becomes much more interactive and dynamic, which makes it all the more likely that you’ll stay engaged and will remember more of what you learned.
I used to study kanji using James Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji I and II and I bought a set of compatible flash cards that I used a lot. You can buy a set like I did, but if you have a printer, rikaichan can be of service there as well, as it offers printable cards on PDF. If you’re studying kana, you’re also in luck because there’s a downloadable set of kana cards, too.
Rikaichan Firefox
I’ve donated to the rikaichan project through the handy button on their site because I’ve gotten so much benefit from it, and I’m betting that if you add this great resource to your arsenal of study aids and take the time to try it out with different texts in various ways, you’ll quickly discover how to adapt it to your level and learning style.
Rikai Chan Firefox
Let me know if you have any suggestions for written content that you’d like to see here with transcriptions, and please pass along your own tips on how to get the most out of rikaichan!