JiShop is a powerful electronic dictionary designed to provide
comprehensive information about the Chinese characters used in Japanese, known as kanji.
In continuous development since 1995, JiShop is available
for download at
www.jishop.com.
JiShop differs from other electronic kanji dictionaries by its original look-up
system, which fully employs the advantages of a computer. There are no key elements
in JiShop; all radicals (634 versus traditional 214)
are treated equally. Instead of the laborious counting of strokes inevitable
in all paper dictionaries, a multi-radical search is provided. The options of
highlighting and compression
make navigation through the table of radicals simple and quick.
Search by traditional key radicals is also provided as an extra option.
From version 7.0, JiShop contains JiPad written input tool
as an alternative to the search by radicals.
JiShop also contains a phonetic dictionary. It stores
jukugo (compound words) used in kanji dictionary entries to illustrate
the usage of characters. The phonetic dictionary can be also used independently
to find Japanese words by their kanji writing, reading, or meaning.
The JiShop database is accurately and thoroughly compiled, amalgamating
the best of Japanese-English lexicography. Numerous paper sources
and resources from the Internet were researched to compile it. The main
emphasis of dictionary entries is on the actual practical usage
of kanji in modern Japanese.
Read "Why JiShop is the best" compared to other dictionaries.
The database is under continuous development. At the present moment,
it contains 6200 edited dictionary entries. The ultimate goal is to provide
entries for all 6355 characters from the computer set JIS X 0208 and for
some characters outside it. Filling up the database is now the first priority
in the further development of the project (see Plans).
JiShop 8.3 for Windows can function at three different levels: Concise, Plus, and Advanced.
| Concise level | 1006 characters from the primary school list |
| Plus level | 2136 characters from the "Kanji for daily use" list |
| Advanced level | All kanji (6200 characters in version 8.3; more to be added) |
When you use JiShop as freeware (JiShop Concise), it functions at one of these levels depending on the current day of the week, as follows:
| Monday — Thursday: | Concise level |
| Friday: | Plus level |
| Saturday & Sunday: | Advanced level |
If you upgrade your copy to JiShop Plus, it will function as follows:
| Monday — Friday: | Plus level |
| Saturday & Sunday: | Advanced level |
If you upgrade your copy to JiShop Advanced, it will always function at the Advanced level.
A Plus or Advanced license will cover all the future versions of JiShop.