JPIv2

JPiv2 is a two-way Japanese-English API that allows users to search for roughly 280,000 Japanese dictionary entries from JMDict. It provides two endpoints: /generatekey and /search. The /generatekey endpoint generates an API key for users to use other API functions, while the /search endpoint is a fuzzysearch method that indexes the JMDict entries.

Endpoints

/generatekey

The /generatekey endpoint generates an API key that users can use to access other API functions.

Request

GET /generatekey

Response

{
  "apikey": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j10k11l12m13n14o15p16q"
}

/search

The /search endpoint is a GET method that searches roughly 280,000 Japanese dictionary entries from JMDict. This method is a fuzzysearch and supports two-way indexing. To use the search function, queries are formatted like /search?query=word.

Example 1:

Request

GET /search?query=鴨

Response

    {
        "Word": "鴨",
        "Alternate": "かも",
        "Freq": "611",
        "Def": [
            "duck"
        ],
        "Pitch": "かも｛鴨｝\n発音図：カ↓モ [1]\n助詞付：カ↓モオ\n"
    },
    {
        "Word": "鴨",
        "Alternate": "かも",
        "Freq": "610",
        "Def": [
            "easy mark",
            "sucker",
            "sitting duck"
        ],
        "Pitch": "かも｛鴨｝\n発音図：カ↓モ [1]\n助詞付：カ↓モオ\n"
    },

Example 2:

Request

GET /search?query=duck

Response

[
    {
        "Word": "鴨",
        "Alternate": "かも",
        "Freq": "611",
        "Def": [
            "duck"
        ],
        "Pitch": "かも｛鴨｝\n発音図：カ↓モ [1]\n助詞付：カ↓モオ\n"
    },
    {
        "Word": "鶩",
        "Alternate": "あひる",
        "Freq": "6",
        "Def": [
            "domestic duck"
        ],
        "Pitch": ""
    },
]

NOTE: Spaces are allowed when searching.

Technologies Used

JPiv2 is written in Go and uses Mux, a rate limiter, API keys, and OpenSearch.

Data

All queries include a kanji reading, hiragana reading, English definition, and pitch accent information. Eventually, audio pronunciation will be included for each entry.

Rate Limiting

JPiv2 includes rate limiting to prevent abuse of the API. Each API key is limited to a certain number of requests per minute.

Conclusion

JPiv2 is a powerful two-way Japanese-English API that provides users with access to roughly 280,000 Japanese dictionary entries from JMDict. With a simple API key generation endpoint and easy-to-use search functionality, JPiv2 is the perfect tool for anyone looking to incorporate Japanese language support into their applications.