Shogakukan Unabridged Dictionary of the Japanese Language

Notes

Definitions

[1] Listing of Definitions

Descriptions of meaning and usage for indigenous Japanese words in ordinary use are generally offered in the historical order of their occurrences in the usage examples cited.
Descriptions of basic predicates generally proceed from a general overview of basic meanings to explanations of more specific meanings.
Descriptions of technical terms, names of things and affairs, and the like consist primarily of definitions of the words, but may also extend to explanations of the matters or affairs themselves as required.

[2] Symbols used in Definitions

The following four kinds of serial symbols are employed to mark the sense- and usage-divisions of an entry, as appropriate for specific levels of explanation.

【一】【二】 …… are for use in dividing senses and usages on the basis of grammatical factors, such as part of speech, distinction between transitive and intransitive verb forms, type of inflection or conjugation, etc.

〔一〕〔二〕 …… are for use when an entry takes on basic senses that differ significantly from each other, when significantly different kanji renditions are customarily in use, or when pronouns grouped under a single entry are distinguished from each other.

(1)(2) …… are generally for use in dividing definitions.

(イ)(ロ) …… are for use in subdividing definitions to further elucidate, in particular, differences among gender-, age-, occupation-, or class-specific senses and usages.

[3] Notations at the beginning of Definitions

Notes of the following types are given in parentheses （　）at the beginning of definitions, as appropriate:

For indigenous Japanese words and Sino-Japanese words

a)	Explanations of the evolutionary process of word formation, origins of proverbs and terms relating to historical events and practices, etc.
b)	Comments on matters of importance concerning kana usage, consonant voicing, inflection, kanji orthography, etc.
c)	Explanations of usage, or notes concerning parts of speech or similar matters.

For loanwords

a)	The name of the original language, and the original roman alphabet spelling or the romanized spelling of the original word are provided, along with original meaning when necessary.
b)	Symbols of the following type are used to indicate languages of origin: [英]=English, [ドイツ]=German, [フランス]=French, etc. However, English words of American origin are indicated by the symbol [アメリカ], when necessary.
c)	Foreign-looking words created in Japan imitating foreign words are indicated by the symbol [洋語]; when possible, the original language and word are identified.

For proper nouns

a)	Text titles and place names are given in their original forms. Foreign text titles are presented by rendering their original spellings in Roman letters.
b)	Foreign personal names are given by rendering their original spellings in Roman letters.

[4] Additional Notes at the end of Definitions

At the end of definitions, the following are included as necessary.

Synonyms
Antonyms and pair-forming counterpart words (indicated by the symbol)
Cross-references (indicated by the symbol →)

For words used as season words, the season (New Year, spring, summer, autumn, winter) is specified in double angled parentheses 《　》at the end of definitions. Season words that are derived from a headword may be indicated with the symbol ▼and listed at the end of definitions with their seasonal association.

[5] Vocabulary and Orthography of Definitions

Definitions are written as much as possible in a style currently in use, following the jōyōkanjihyō (list of kanji for common use), modern kana orthography, and the like.