Re: [tlug] [OT/long] Yet another JMdict front-end

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

>>>>> "Jim" == Jim Breen <Jim.Breen@example.com> writes:

    >>> Second, I have been taught (for both Chinese and Japanese)
    >>> that the radical is the "meaning" component, and that in
    >>> general a character has exactly one radical. At any rate, I
    >>> believe the radical has etymological significance, and that
    >>> understanding which part of the Kanji is the radical can
    >>> contribute to an overall mastery of the language.

Agree.

    >>> And a single-radical dictionary index reinforces that
    >>> understanding.

Not in my personal experience.  I used a standard high school kanwa
dictionary, and found that once I'd found the character, it was pretty
obvious which radical I was dealing with. :-)

Just call it "multicomponent" and you'll be fine.  (Does 部品 include 
部首, or are they conceptually separate in Japanese nomenclature?  My
Zaurus's dictionary thought they were different, at least in the sense
that you had to enter the部首, and it had to be "the" 部首, to do a 部
首／部品 search.)

As a UI refinement, how about adding a line of the "nearby" (in
radical/stroke count metric) characters, with the current one
highlighted, as part of the entry?  You can cop it from the order you
use for your "temporary" radical/stroke count lookup. 

    >>> of course. Does anyone know of another database somewhere that
    >>> list each kanji by (single) radical and stroke count?

    Jim> Why do you need another?  8-)}

    Jim> Seriously, there are a few others around, but they are
    Jim> (almost) all derived from KANJIDIC.

If you're willing to go for go-JU-manji, there's always CHISE.
http://kanji.jibun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ IIRC.



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