Introduction to Yomitan

About Japanese

Recently I often consume Japanese related content, and I always struggle recognizing some Kanji that I'm not familiar with. Another major problem is, our browser doesn't support furigana! I often have to open a new tab and search for the kanji meaning, which is tiring especially if I'm on a japanese forum, I have to copy and paste every replies, every discussion.

The Solution

I thought it would be nice if there is an extension that allow me to just hover over the kanji and see the meaning. And one day, I came upon to this amazing video

How to Set Up and Use Yomichan with Anki (and SUPERCHARGE your Japanese reading)

by ToKiniAndy

He introduces me to a browser extension called Yomitan, which is a browser extension that allows you to hover over kanji, press shift and Viola! It shows a popout showing how to read that Kanji and its meaning. It works Flawlessly on my chromium based browser! It also supports Firefox and even Microsoft Edge.

Setting Up Yomitan

Yomitan is a Powerful and versatile pop-up dictionary for language learning used by 100,000+ language learners. And setting it up is super easy, just follow these steps:

1. Install Yomitan from the Chrome Web Store or
   • For Firefox, you can also install it from the Firefox Add-ons.
   • For Microsoft Edge, you can install it from the Microsoft Edge Add-ons.
2. After installing, you will see a new Yomitan icon in your browser's toolbar.
3. Click on the icon to open the Yomitan settings.
4. In the settings, you can customize the appearance and behavior of the pop-up dictionary.
5. You can also add dictionaries to Yomitan by clicking on the "Dictionaries" tab and selecting the dictionaries you want to use. Personally i use Jitendex, its updated with new content every week. If Jitendex is useful for you, please consider giving the project a on GitHub. You can also buy the developer some Ko-fi.
6. Once you have added dictionaries, you can start using Yomitan by hovering over kanji on any website and pressing the shift key.
7. A pop-up will appear showing the reading + with furigana, meaning, and some examples of the kanji.
   

   Behold, the truth.

Try it yourself!

Here is some quotes that you can try to hover over and see the pop-up dictionary in action. Just hover over the kanji and press shift to see the reading and meaning. Tell me if it works for you by leaving the translation on the comment section below! Bonus points if you recognize where is this quote from!