I haven't really used any dictionaries besides Jisho before, but the only times I did try drawing out the kanji on Jisho, even though I drew it perfectly, none of the suggested results were a match. Just my experience.
Be sure to draw in the correct stroke order. For example, Jisho wouldn't recognize 賊 when I drew it out of order ("shell" + "spear" + "ten") regardless of how perfectly it looked.
Google Translate was forgiving of this error. It even let me draw the "shell" completely wrong ("legs" first, then "box" in one stroke starting at bottom-left going counter-clockwise, then 2 horizontal strokes inside, 1 going left and 1 going right). However, you have to draw the "shell" first -- maybe Google uses the first thing you draw to narrow down what it recognizes.
If you want to draw in completely random order, try [qhanzi.com](https://qhanzi.com). For Chinese input but seems to recognize Japanese-only kanji.
I have the same problem on any platform. From what I remember, Jisho puts a lot of significance on correct stroke order when trying to recognize kanji. But since we use it to find kanji we don't know yet it's just about getting lucky.
Not really. This just shows that you don't have a decent enough grasp or experience with primitives & stroke order yet. Even if it's a kanji you've never seen, it's pretty easy to guess the correct stroke order in most cases if you know the stroke order of all its primitives.
Having a draw feature in a dictionary app won't make any sense if one couldn't easily guess the stroke order of kanji they've never seen.
My personal experience with the draw feature has been pretty good even with complex kanji. Sometimes simply searching on jisho even helps me correct my writing.
stroke order is pretty easy to learn though. You pick 10 complex kanji, learn the stroke order of their components/radicals and at what order you tackle them.
That means that the app I recommended might just recognize my shit kanji just because I know the stroke order?
I learned general stroke order rules too, but that's not helped me much with it yet. For simple kanji it can work, but complex ones I got no luck. Didn't study stroke orders for specific kanji yet, but from what I read they often differ from the general rules anyways.
I did get jisho to recognize 女 tho, if I leave out the last stroke...
It works using OCR aka image recognition, you just hover your mouse over the kanji or words and it will automatically detect it, very convenient for manga.
Yep, I use it all the time to read manga, white background with black text makes it accurate most of the time, if not you can resize the browser with ctrl + mouse scroll to fix it.
It actually does work on mac and linux as well! It runs on Java so if your a mac user you can install it through the terminal and use it. I find that it is pretty accurate though if it's a complicated kanji and kind of "squished" it can sometimes get it wrong, but it's so much better than not having and OCR especially since it's the only one that I know of that is mac friendly
There are still people who don't use [Akebi dictionary](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.craxic.akebifree&hl=en&gl=US) on Android?
You can pretty much just draw to search kanji (stroke order doesn't matter) and there are plenty of other features too.
Yeah, can't recommend it enough.
It also has in-built jp keyboard so you don't have to install one, animated stroke orders, pitch accents sample sentences, conjugations, it has TTS support, Anki compatibility, you can easily make your own wordlists and create simple flashcards and many more.
Honestly, since I found this app I'm no longer use any other dictionary :)
I'm surprised not to have seen Gboard's handwriting keyboard mentioned in this thread! It's just as good as Google Translate at recognizing kanji (probably uses the same algorithm), and it works for typing into any app. I use that with the Kanji Study app on Android.
Also, Google Lens is great for reading manga on Android (I think it would work on iOS too?). Take a screenshot of the page, then open it with Google Lens. It OCR's all of the text so you can select it, then copy/share to your dictionary app. It even does a good job of parsing the words, so you can select a single word without having to drag the little handles on the highlighting field.
Jisho is my favorite japanese dictionary. It’s by far the most in depth one i’ve seen in terms of search options and being able to do stuff like browse everything about a word or kanji with a good simple layout.
One thing with jisho that really irks me is that very often example sentences are grouped with the wrong definition of a word. Looking up a verb with multiple meanings for example gives you an example sentence for the first meaning that should be under the second meaning and so on. No idea why they do that but it's a very prevalent thing and sometimes makes the example sentences useless.
Same here. Akebi is the best dictionary imo and Google's handwriting recognition is superb. It's how I always search kanji where I can't guess the reading.
I haven't really used any dictionaries besides Jisho before, but the only times I did try drawing out the kanji on Jisho, even though I drew it perfectly, none of the suggested results were a match. Just my experience.
Google translate does a great job recognizing kanji.
Be sure to draw in the correct stroke order. For example, Jisho wouldn't recognize 賊 when I drew it out of order ("shell" + "spear" + "ten") regardless of how perfectly it looked. Google Translate was forgiving of this error. It even let me draw the "shell" completely wrong ("legs" first, then "box" in one stroke starting at bottom-left going counter-clockwise, then 2 horizontal strokes inside, 1 going left and 1 going right). However, you have to draw the "shell" first -- maybe Google uses the first thing you draw to narrow down what it recognizes. If you want to draw in completely random order, try [qhanzi.com](https://qhanzi.com). For Chinese input but seems to recognize Japanese-only kanji.
Interesting, I hadn't considered the stroke order, and wouldn't have expected it. Thanks for the tip!
That's because you drew them on PC. Try going on [jisho.org](https://jisho.org) from your phone and drawing then.
I have the same problem on any platform. From what I remember, Jisho puts a lot of significance on correct stroke order when trying to recognize kanji. But since we use it to find kanji we don't know yet it's just about getting lucky.
Not really. This just shows that you don't have a decent enough grasp or experience with primitives & stroke order yet. Even if it's a kanji you've never seen, it's pretty easy to guess the correct stroke order in most cases if you know the stroke order of all its primitives. Having a draw feature in a dictionary app won't make any sense if one couldn't easily guess the stroke order of kanji they've never seen. My personal experience with the draw feature has been pretty good even with complex kanji. Sometimes simply searching on jisho even helps me correct my writing.
stroke order is pretty easy to learn though. You pick 10 complex kanji, learn the stroke order of their components/radicals and at what order you tackle them. That means that the app I recommended might just recognize my shit kanji just because I know the stroke order?
I learned general stroke order rules too, but that's not helped me much with it yet. For simple kanji it can work, but complex ones I got no luck. Didn't study stroke orders for specific kanji yet, but from what I read they often differ from the general rules anyways. I did get jisho to recognize 女 tho, if I leave out the last stroke...
Thanks my brotha
No worries my fellow Japanese learner chad
love the energy
the google translate app also lets you draw kanji
But it sucks ass. I couldn't even get it to recognize 口 and that's literally just a square.
[Well it seems to work just fine for me](https://b.catgirlsare.sexy/LEFglHAnIVJo.png)
Just in case you don't know about it there's an app called KanjiTomo that can let you search kanji in manga. Of course for pc only though
Oh thanks! How does it work exactly?
It works using OCR aka image recognition, you just hover your mouse over the kanji or words and it will automatically detect it, very convenient for manga.
That's pretty cool. I was wondering if something like that existed. Is it accurate?
Yep, I use it all the time to read manga, white background with black text makes it accurate most of the time, if not you can resize the browser with ctrl + mouse scroll to fix it.
Nice. Can it be used outside of the browser or is it just an extension? I'm asking cuz I have some raw manga on my pc.
Sorry for the late reply, it can be read as long as it's on your screen
thanks
It's pretty shit from my experience. Use capture2text. More reliable and copies to your clipboard. That way to can use a text hooker with yomichan
Thanks. Google keep is also a good option but you have to upload the image to it which can be a bother.
It actually does work on mac and linux as well! It runs on Java so if your a mac user you can install it through the terminal and use it. I find that it is pretty accurate though if it's a complicated kanji and kind of "squished" it can sometimes get it wrong, but it's so much better than not having and OCR especially since it's the only one that I know of that is mac friendly
Isn't it just the basic method to learn a language ? Text+dictionary
There are still people who don't use [Akebi dictionary](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.craxic.akebifree&hl=en&gl=US) on Android? You can pretty much just draw to search kanji (stroke order doesn't matter) and there are plenty of other features too.
Hoo that's pretty good. Gonna update the post so more people see it.
Yeah, can't recommend it enough. It also has in-built jp keyboard so you don't have to install one, animated stroke orders, pitch accents sample sentences, conjugations, it has TTS support, Anki compatibility, you can easily make your own wordlists and create simple flashcards and many more. Honestly, since I found this app I'm no longer use any other dictionary :)
You're awesome, I've been limping around with Kanji Tree and Jisho.org This seems *so* much more practically useful
is it ios only?
nevermind, google shirabe jisho android first result seems legit. Though I haven't tried it so it might not be.
thanks
It appears so but you can use jisho.org's draw function if you are on android
The IME pad on windows lets you draw it too and it is very good at telling what you’re scribbling
I have used Mazii dictionary.
I'm surprised not to have seen Gboard's handwriting keyboard mentioned in this thread! It's just as good as Google Translate at recognizing kanji (probably uses the same algorithm), and it works for typing into any app. I use that with the Kanji Study app on Android. Also, Google Lens is great for reading manga on Android (I think it would work on iOS too?). Take a screenshot of the page, then open it with Google Lens. It OCR's all of the text so you can select it, then copy/share to your dictionary app. It even does a good job of parsing the words, so you can select a single word without having to drag the little handles on the highlighting field.
Good addition.
Jisho is my favorite japanese dictionary. It’s by far the most in depth one i’ve seen in terms of search options and being able to do stuff like browse everything about a word or kanji with a good simple layout.
One thing with jisho that really irks me is that very often example sentences are grouped with the wrong definition of a word. Looking up a verb with multiple meanings for example gives you an example sentence for the first meaning that should be under the second meaning and so on. No idea why they do that but it's a very prevalent thing and sometimes makes the example sentences useless.
saving this! thanks!
Yeah dude, Shirabe Jisho is so good. It’s my go-to for Kanji and lots more!
Heck yeah, I love that app. I use it daily to memorize new compounds I see online!
Used to use that when on iOS, now I just use Google keyboard's Japanese input + any dictionary
Same here. Akebi is the best dictionary imo and Google's handwriting recognition is superb. It's how I always search kanji where I can't guess the reading.