PURPOSE: To provide a vector quantizing device suitable for parallel processing by reducing the required quantity of computation, in the retrieval of a code book mainly in sound coding.

CONSTITUTION: This vector quantizer is composed of a plurality of code books 101-103 for getting code vectors, a weighting unit 110 for weighting the code vectors being obtained from these code books, a projected vector computing section 150 for seeking the projected vector of the objective vector to the space where the ranked coded vector stretches, and an evaluation part 140 for outputting an optimum code by retrieving the code vector to enlarge this evaluation value from among the code books 101-103, with the magnitude of the projected vector as the evaluation value.