Sources & Philosophy

How we research and verify the "inexpressible" parts of the Japanese language.

Sourcing Philosophy

Language is alive. While traditional dictionaries are invaluable, they often lag behind the evolution of spoken Japanese and the specific creative language found in manga and pop culture.

Our editorial team synthesizes information from:

• Academic Dictionaries: For the etymological and formal foundation of words.
• Native Usage Samples: Analyzing real-world usage in Japanese literature, social media, and newspapers to determine current naturalness.
• Manga & Creative Media: Onomatopoeia is the lifeblood of Japanese visual storytelling. We study how specific words are used by professional authors to convey atmosphere.
• Linguistic Corpora: Using tools like Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese (BCCWJ) to verify usage frequency.

References

Our work is informed by, but independent from, major linguistic resources including:

• Kojien (広辞苑)
• Practical Onomatopoeia Dictionary (実用オノマトペ辞典)
• NHK Pronunciation and Accent Dictionary

Original Synthesis

Everything on Kotodama DB is original synthesis. We do not simply translate dictionary entries; we explain the difference and the feeling, providing original examples and learner-focused warnings not found in standard Japanese-English dictionaries.