Entries consist of kanji elements, reading elements,
general information and sense elements. Each entry must have at
least one reading element and one sense element. Others are optional.
The kanji element, or in its absence, the reading element, is
the defining component of each entry.
The overwhelming majority of entries will have a single kanji
element associated with a word in Japanese. Where there are
multiple kanji elements within an entry, they will be orthographical
variants of the same word, either using variations in okurigana, or
alternative and equivalent kanji. Common "mis-spellings" may be
included, provided they are associated with appropriate information
fields. Synonyms are not included; they may be indicated in the
cross-reference field associated with the sense element.
The reading element typically contains the valid readings
of the word(s) in the kanji element using modern kanadzukai.
Where there are multiple reading elements, they will typically be
alternative readings of the kanji element. In the absence of a
kanji element, i.e. in the case of a word or phrase written
entirely in kana, these elements will define the entry.
The sense element will record the translational equivalent
of the Japanese word, plus other related information. Where there
are several distinctly different meanings of the word, multiple
sense elements will be employed.
Within each sense will be one or more "glosses", i.e.
target-language words or phrases which are equivalents to the
Japanese word. This element would normally be present, however it
may be omitted in entries which are purely for a cross-reference.
This element records the information about the source
language(s) of a loan-word/gairaigo. If the source language is other
than English, the language is indicated by the SenseLanguageSource.language attribute.
The element value (if any) is the source word or phrase.
