Japanese

Genki 1: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese 1

Genki outlines in 23 structured lessons all the fundamentals of the Japanese language. Abundantly illustrated and containing a wide variety of exercises, Genki is sure to bring vigor to your classroom! Though primarily meant for use in college-level classes, it is also a good guide for independent learners and is a nice resource book for teachers of Japanese. Genki's authors teach at Kansai Gaidai University, which hosts the largest number of North American students spending their junior year in Japan.

Essential Kanji: 2,000 Basic Japanese Characters Systematically Arranged For Learning And Reference

Essential Kanji is an integrated course for learning to read and write the 2,000 basic Japanese characters. It introduces the kanji that are now in everyday use, a mastery of which makes it possible to read most modern Japanese. Devised for either home or classroom use, the book has been tested and refined by years of use in university classes taught by the author.

Let's Learn Hiragana: First Book of Basic Japanese Writing (Kodansha's Children's Classics)

There are three types of Japanese script-katakana, hiragana, and kanji. It is possible to read Japanese knowing only a limited number of kanji, but it is not possible with only a limited number of katakana or hiragana-one must know all of them. Let's Learn Hiragana, and its companion volume Let's Learn Katakana, is a textbook that introduces the learner to the basics of one of these fundamental Japanese scripts. Being a workbook, it contains all the exercises that allow the student to master hiragana by the time the book has been finished. Let's Learn Hiragana is a classic in the field, and the huge number of students that have used it successfully is a sign of its preeminence as a self-study guide.

Dirty Japanese: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*ck Off!"

Japanese in Mangaland: Basic Japanese Course Using Manga

This book is designed to help one master the basics of the Japanese language using the popular "manga" (Japanese comics) as a didactic tool. Its clear explanations and vivid examples help one naturally to get the "feel" for the basic patterns of Japanese grammar and at the same time to remember vocabulary associated with concrete situations. Besides that, learning with manga is more fun than simply reading page after page of dry prose. The 30 lessons that make up the book include drills, and a small glossary of 160 basic "kanji" is appended as an added bonus.

Japanese Step by Step : An Innovative Approach to Speaking and Reading Japanese

This self-study text offers a breakthrough approach for beginning learners of Japanese, as well as an indispensable reference for intermediate students. The unique study method in Japanese Step By Step teaches how to construct Japanese sentences, from the simplest to the most complex, using an easy-to-follow, step-by-step method. Also contains flow charts for verb conjugations and derivations.

Japanese Kanji Flashcards, Vol. 1 (Third Edition)

The NEW 3rd Edition of White Rabbit Press' Japanese Kanji Flashcards: The Complete set of Kanji required for Levels 3 & 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test

We've gathered all the essential information needed to master kanji into a convenient flashcard format that makes learning and drilling as efficient as possible.

Preferred by thousands of students, in over 25 countries, White Rabbit Press is the recognized world leader in Japanese kanji flashcards.

Each card includes six vocabulary building kanji compounds. We include more vocabulary than other publishers' cards because the essence of a kanji is best grasped by understanding the meanings it forms when combined with other characters.

We only use kana scripts--not romaji--to show kanji readings, and we provide clear and precise definitions in English, so you'll spend less time reaching for a dictionary and more time learning kanji. Each card also includes the kanji's On and Kun readings, stroke order diagrams, look-alike kanji, and more.

Quality Construction
Cards are varnished with rounded corners for durablilty.

Color-Coded
* 103 JLPT Level 4 cards in Green ink
* 181 JLPT Level 4 cards in Blue ink

*Includes a complete index.
*Boxed with plastic tray and shrink-wrapped

What's new in the Third Edition?
In addition to some minor design improvements, we made many changes to the vocabulary. The set now includes more official JLPT vocabulary and indicators to let you know which words are important for the test.

Basic Japanese: Learn to Speak and Understand Japanese with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's)

This Basic program contains 5 hours of audio-only, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Japanese structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Japanese can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

The 10 lessons in the Basic Japanese are the same as the first 10 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Japanese Level 1.

The 10 lessons in Basic Japanese are also the first 10 lessons in the 16-lesson Conversational Japanese edition.

Pimsleur learners progress from either the Basic or the Conversational to the Comprehensive Level 1, and not from Basic to Conversational edition.

Remembering the Kanji: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters (Manoa)

The aim of this book is to provide the student of Japanese with a simple method for correlating the writing and the meaning of Japanese characters in such a way as to make them both easy to remember. It is intended not only for the beginner, but also for the more advanced student looking for some relief from the constant frustration of how to write the kanji and some way to systematize what he or she already knows. The author begins with writing because--contrary to first impressions--it is in fact the simpler of the two. He abandons the traditional method of ordering the kanji according to their frequency of use and organizes them according to their component parts or "primitive elements." Assigning each of these parts a distinct meaning with its own distinct image, the student is led to harness the powers of "imaginative memory" to learn the various combinations that result. In addition, each kanji is given its own key word to represent the meaning, or one of the principal meanings, of that character. These key words provide the setting for a particular kanji's "story," whose protagonists are the primitive elements.

In this way, students are able to complete in a few short months a task that would otherwise take years. Armed with the same skills as Chinese or Korean students, who know the meaning and writing of the kanji but not their pronunciation in Japanese, they are now in a much better position to learn to read (which is treated in a separate volume).

Japanese for Busy People I: Kana Version includes CD (Japanese for Busy People Series)

Japanese for Busy People is the most popular Japanese language textbook series in the world. With over 20 components including texts, workbooks, CDs, videos and teacher's manuals, it is also one of the most comprehensive. Now, a decade after its first revision, the entire series is being redesigned, updated and consolidated to meet the needs of 21st-century students and businesspeople who want to learn natural, spoken Japanese as effectively as possible in a limited amount of time.
The book features not only a sleek, new design but also a unit structure that groups thematically linked lessons together, making it easier than ever to learn Japanese.
Moreover, it now comes with a CD containing audio for the dialogues and listening exercises from the text. The exercises in the book have also been thoroughly revised to incorporate more comprehension and production tasks. Many of these exercises are illustrated, making for a stimulating learning experience, and the purpose of each one is clearly stated.
This first of three volumes introduces "survival Japanese"-the absolute minimum amount of Japanese needed to live in Japan. Thus, the vocabulary and grammatical items it introduces are limited to about a third of what is typically introduced in a first-year course. In addition, the book features notes on Japanese culture intended to expand the learner's understanding of Japan, its customs and people.
Japanese for Busy People I is available in two formats: romanized and kana.
The Romanized Version uses romanized Japanese throughout, with kana in the Opening Dialogues of each lesson.
The Kana Version-exposing students to hiragana and katakana from the very beginning-uses only kana.The content of the two books is otherwise exactly the same.
The companion volume, Japanese for Busy People 1: The Workbook for the Revised 3rd Edition contains a variety of illustrated exercises for mastering the basic sentence patterns presented in the main text.