I just bought a Kindle Paperwhite about a month ago and love it.
Pros:
Waterproof (new version) so I can take it down to the beach.
Relatively cheap
Large selection (mine is connected to Amazon JP)
Nice J → E dictionary already installed
Cons:
e-ink can be a bit slow with certain formats (i.e. manga)
buying books on the kindle itself can be a pain due to speed
The only thing I don’t like using it for is reading manga because the e-ink loads noticeably slower for pictures and manga take up much more space than a regular book does. But, I’ve found that the free Kindle app on my phone makes for a much more enjoyable manga reading experience. So now I just read novels and such on my Paperwhite and Manga on my phone.
So I just happened upon the Japanese “Kindle Unlimited” ad as I was browsing Amazon, does anyone here that’s mentioned their Kindle have that/has tried it? If so how is it? Do you ever go searching for a book and they don’t have it, or is their catalog pretty extensive?
Considering it’s only ¥980/month (which is definitely cheaper than buying a ton of books), it seems like a pretty good deal and would definitely weigh into my decision of what reader to buy.
I don’t think it’s possible to show furigana if the book didn’t include any. But as a workaround, the built-in dictionary will show the kanji + pronunciation in kana for selected words (along with the definitions). Maybe this will help!
(Also, the dictionary only works for books with real text - not pictures of text, like in manga or picture books)
Hi, I know this post is a while back… but I have one follow up question? Can you look up words with the readers ? I just tried booklive in the browser variant and can’t look up words.
I would love to use my kindle for japanese, but amazon JP doesn’t let me buy the kindle versions.
I see you never got an answer to this. I have very limited interests, but none of the books or manga I want to read are on Kindle Unlimited. I think one was a while ago but isn’t anymore. So for me it wouldn’t be worth it, but maybe there’s more available that you’d be interested in.
With kindle paperwhite you can look up words within books (not manga) with the built in dictionary. You can also add your own dictionaries, so I have one I got years ago for free and I added one that is similar to jisho.
You have to set a Japanese address and order from a Japanese IP (using a VPN if needed) a few times. There’s a guide somewhere on the forums, but I don’t know where.
thank you very much! I also saw your other posts related to this, but what I can’t find and I hope you can explain: With ordering… you mean not ordering digital content ( because I can’t order), but some other things like normal books, right? But then when I ship it to my japanese adress, they will just return… I don’t live there anymore. If I ship to a friends house, I would have to give their names in the shipping adress, I guess?
VPN login at least is working right now:D. I have a kindle, but didn’t connect it to the amazon japan store. i connected the kindle app on my android tablet.
I’m not sure I understand your question. You can have more than one address on your account. I ship physical items to my address in the United States, but I have a random Japanese address on my account too so I can purchase digital content as well.
Does Kindle app on iPad allow to install dictionaries? I planing to spend more time on reading in various languages (mostly novels). I’d like to have access to all the dictionaries I’ll need so I don’t have to switch devices while reading.
Also, a follow up question: I know that it’s possible to export the vocab from Kindle to Anki, but is it possible with the app?
I’m planning on buying a Kindle (Oasis, because of the warm backlight), mainly for language learning purposes, and I’m trying to justify that expense (I already own an iPad). The reasons I came up so far are:
Although I like physical books I’d rather not buy them now due to life circumstances (but both Kindle and the app pass this test, so it’s 1:1).
I plan on reading more (epaper is said to be easier on eyes: 2:1).
I don’t want distractions - reading is fun, but when dealing with texts in foreign languages it can quickly exhaust concentration (3:1).
I need multiple dictionaries (4:1?).
I need to be able to export vocabulary to Anki (5:1?).
I’d like to have easy access to all the fragments I’ve highlighted (5:2).
I’ve never owned an e-reader before so I’d like to hear you opinions.
One thing to keep in mind with either option is that you will have to switch accounts on your Kindle eReader/app to access ebooks you bought on different Amazon websites. Switching accounts deletes all of your books, which you then have to re-download each time you switch. For example, I have ebooks I purchased on amazon.com (US) as well as amazon.co.jp (Japan). In order to access the books in the account I’m not using, I have to de-register the account I’m using (which deletes the books) and register with the other account (where I have to re-download anything I want to read). I never use my amazon.com account anymore as a result. One option would be to have separate devices for each account (for instance you could read from one store on your Kindle and the other on your iPad).
With that said, the iPad Kindle app does have dictionaries for multiple languages and you can install new dictionaries (as available) from the Kindle store. I have a screenshot of the menu for that in this post. I don’t know what the options are on the eReader.
I can’t speak to your question on Anki since I’ve never used it with the Kindle. You can export your highlights from the app or use them to create flash cards within the app. I’m not sure if the export will be sufficient for your needs. It does look like the Kindle eReader has a “vocabulary builder” feature that is not available in the app as far as I could tell.
Yes, I’m aware that Kindle allows only a single account per device. But there are options to send ebooks to the reader using a special email address. I know, gray area…
I think that when switching accounts you can download all the ebooks you’ve purchaced with that account. What about the ebooks you send to the device using the email address? Also, what about the highlights? Are they preserved?
Yes, you can download any books that you purchased under the account you’re logged into. I have never sent ebooks using the email address, but looking in the settings, the email address is associated with your account. If you switch accounts, I’m assuming the ebooks you sent using the email address will also be deleted.
If you enable “Whispersync for Books”, your book highlights and notes will be stored on Amazon’s servers and will sync across devices. However, it is my understanding that Whispersync only works for books purchased from Amazon and will not work on “personal documents” emailed to your account. I’m not sure if highlights are saved if you don’t have Whispersync enabled and you de-register and switch your accounts.
I’ve never tried, but I can’t imagine they would be saved. I’ve heard that even books you sideloaded onto the kindle get deleted when you deregister your account, almost as if deregistering just does a factory reset. Since those books wouldn’t be synced with the cloud, I’d assume all the highlights would get deleted too. But again, that’s just an assumption.