A list of Japanese language study books for everyone: Beginners to advanced

[Kaoru]

A list of Japansese language study books will be posted here.

[Saburo]

Found some good Japanese books for beginers on overstock.com.

Japanese for Everyone for half price:

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=798742

Japanese Particle Workbook for a reasonable price:

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=797075

And for anyone into Hojojutsu:

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=406173

Found them October 23, 2004 and have no idea how long they will last.

[chizikunbo]

Judging from the cover, thats where the word "HO" came from hehehe

[MartArtsNovice]

What do you mean, when you say, Japanese Particle book. Is it something related to their writing systems or what?

[Saburo]

What do you mean, when you say, Japanese Particle book. Is it something related to their writing systems or what?

Japanese Particles are probably the most difficult part of the Japanese language to master. The subtle manipulation of subatomic particles while speaking is one of the things that makes the Japanese so unique. A foreigner could study Japanese for years and seem like they are pronouncing the words correctly but without the ability to affect the proper vibrations across specific particles all they will get from the Japanese person they are trying to communicate with is a blank stare.

So for $20 or less you can get that workbook.

Pretty neat stuff.:smilejapa

[MartArtsNovice]

well thanks for clearing that up, for me.
Boy do I feel dumb. I think I would have picked it up, in my Japanese club meetings. I know 2 girls, from Tokyo, the first one, moved back to Tokyo, she came as a foriegn exchange student. The other one, is now living here in Phoenix, she goes to my highschool. Its funny, everytime I try t otalk to her, I get tongue-tied.

[MartArtsNovice]

Hey, before I forget, I know of a few good books.

Remembering the Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji 1,2,3. I hear the author, James W. Hesig, is writing a fourth book on kanji. I think the books, are availible at Barnes&Noble, website. I dont know the exact address.

[Saburo]

Heisig's books are good but you shouldn't have to by books to learn kana.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/4889960759/qid=1104817600/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-3756296-3653402?v=glance&s=books

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by MartArtsNovice
What do you mean, when you say, Japanese Particle book. Is it something related to their writing systems or what?

Originally posted by Saburo
Japanese Particles are probably the most difficult part of the Japanese language to master. The subtle manipulation of subatomic particles while speaking is one of the things that makes the Japanese so unique....
Well, Saburo, I thought your tongue-in-cheek answer was pretty funny, but to be fair maybe you should have followed it with the real answer to MartArtsNovice's question.

Particles are parts of both spoken and written Japanese that tie together words in a sentence. Different particles are used depending on the type of subject and object being referred to; for example if you were saying "the boy is on the bed" you would use a different particle than if you were saying "the book is on the bed," because one subject is alive and one is inanimate.

I'm not very far into my Japanese studies yet, but particles and counters look like they are going to give me trouble.

[Saburo]

Well, Saburo, I thought your tongue-in-cheek answer was pretty funny, but to be fair maybe you should have followed it with the real answer to MartArtsNovice's question.

I guess you're right but if he was really interested he could find out in just a few seconds.

Jay Rubin's "Making Sense of Japanese" was worth the money.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/4770028024/qid=1104826431/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-6139328-0185444?v=glance&s=books

[MartArtsNovice]

Well, I want to thank both of you, for helping me understand what the particles, were.

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by MartArtsNovice
Well, I want to thank both of you, for helping me understand what the particles, were.
You are most certainly welcome.

Since you are (I think) already starting to learn to speak Japanese, keep an ear open for the little "wa," "ga," and "no" words found in many sentences. Those are some very common particles.

Best of luck in your studies.

[MartArtsNovice]

HaHaHa,

I actually was able to know a girl, from Japan. At first she would say wa, when she was understanding what was being said. Afterwards, she'd say it to annoy me. I wish I could see her again, she was a good friend of mine. I truly miss her, my school seems a little lonely with her back in japan. But I still wish her the best of luck, in everything she does.

[Hanna]

These are the course books I've got for my Japanese language class (Part-time beginners level at the School of Oriental and African Studies).

Shin Nihongo no Kiso, Japanese Kana Workbook, £5.99
ISBN: 4-906224-28-8

Minna no Nihongo I Main Text (Kana Version) £19.99
ISBN: 4-88319-102-8

Minna no Nihongo I Grammar Notes £14.99
ISBN: 4-88319-107-9

Publisher for the above: 3A Network

I'm finding them very good and feel like I'm actually getting somewhere. Minna no Nihongo I also has an accompanying CD/tape which I'm yet to get.

I've not found any online suppliers in the UK, only language book shops. I do believe that Amazon.com stocks them though.

Hope this helps.

[Bob Blackburn]

Japanese Step by Step by Gene Nishi is good at breaking down sentance structure and has a good set of vocabulary in each chapter.

[nicojo]

When will the mods combine this and the following thread? They have the same name and subject...

Anyhow, my mom got this (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/4889961151/qid=1107372011/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-2415819-4138525) for me for christmas. "Japanese in Mangaland," by Marc Bernabe. It is meant to be an introductory textbook that teaches fundamentals using manga examples and language. While it is a fun book, it is not so comprehensive and I would recommend it for the beginner who hates learning language, but is interested in self-study and/or (obviously) manga. It has a unique presentation, but I think it is quickly eclipsed by some other texts listed here. I saw it at Borders the other day, but it was in the manga section. It is worth flipping through just to see his treatment, but again, I think it is not suited for serious comprehension. However, the new words and many onamatopoeaiaeiai (or whatever) found in manga can present difficulty to non-native speakers. Or anyone who isn't hip to the lingo.

[Brian Owens]

Originally posted by nicojo
When will the mods combine this and the following thread? They have the same name and subject...
Look again.


A list of Japansese language study books for everyone: Beginners to advanced


A list of Japanese language study websites for everyone: Beginners to advanced

This one is about books, and the other is about Web sites.
Also, this one has "Japanese" spelled wrong.


Time for :cool: ?

:p

[nicojo]

Oh. Hey. Well then. :look:


:laugh:

Cheers Brian.

[Kaoru]

Originally posted by nicojo
[B]When will the mods combine this and the following thread? They have the same name and subject...


Hi!

The mods won't because I asked for two seperate threads. :) Saburo-san posted a list of books in my other thread. So, I got the idea to split it into two threads. One for books and one for websites. I asked then, for his post to be moved to this new thread, since it was about books and not websites. This makes it much easier for people to find what they need.

Read the title again... it does say books for this thread. :D

So, please only post Japanese language study books in this thread, and Japanese Language learning websites in the other.

Thanks! :)

[Kaoru]

Originally posted by Brian Owens
Look again.





This one is about books, and the other is about Web sites.
Also, this one has "Japanese" spelled wrong.


Time for :cool: ?

:p


It does? I'll tell George-san. He's the one who put it up for me. He'll fix it. :)

[laeticia]

Hi all,

The book we are using here for beginning students is Shinbunka shokyû nihongo 1 & 2, and on intermediate level Nyûapurôchi chûkyûnihongo.

The problem with them is that there's only japanese with no explanations in english or any other language, so you'd need a teacher at least in the beginning levels... The good point is that you really have to learn to read kana and kanji, so even if it takes time you get plenty of practise. :)

[Shorin Ryuu]

Some other books I've found useful for reference and possibly study (you could learn from them, but it isn't their main purpose) are:

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

and

A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar

by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui.

I wasn't really able to find them off of Amazon.com or Half.com back when I got them, but I ordered them from http://www.sasugabooks.com.

They really are a pretty handy tool when you forget how something is supposed to be used. In my opinion, they really are a great aid to brush up your grammar.

[RickMatz]

Easy Japanese by Jack Steward is priceless.

[P Goldsbury]

It does? I'll tell George-san. He's the one who put it up for me. He'll fix it. :)

The spelling mistake has been corrected.

[Kevin Geaslin]

I've been taking Japanese with the Japan-America Society of Houston. Our class uses Genki

http://www.amazon.com/Genki-Integrated-Course-Elementary-Japanese/dp/4789009637/sr=8-1/qid=1170115939/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9242457-2298230?ie=UTF8&s=books

There's an accompanying workbook which focuses on Kana and basic Kanji. I've had a lot more luck with this book than with others, but it's probably just because I'm speaking frequently in a classroom environment, rather than just reading it on the couch!

I bought Yookoso on Ebay last year, which I believe is used by universities, and it's also very good.

[StephenBaker]

I am just getting back into Nihongo after a decade break. I happen to have 4 native speakers outside my office door which helps. From personal self-study experience/suffering I would agree that Genki is a good book if you can bounce your work off of somebody. Additionally, the dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar is great. I think of it as language kata sometimes. The sentence patterns get ingrained. I am no wizard, but find that I do make progress with hard work with these texts.

[Kevin Geaslin]

Tuttle's dictionary of kanji is also an invaluable source of info for deciphering characters, and Kodansha also has some good ones.

[StephenBaker]

After far too much time researching dictionaries and reading reviews I recently purchased the Kodansha Communicative Dictionary. For Ei-Wa (English to Japanese) its great. I have been asking my Japanese friends some questions and they too agree that it is first rate. One of my victims is a former Japanese language teacher and agreed that the book is right up there as very helpful. More as I discover it.

[brad12]

Hi I am learning japanese language but I am totally confused, can you differentiate between kana and katakana? I am totally confuse regarding this scripts.

[Tripitaka of AA]

Oh Puh-lease... Brad12 is a spammer.

[George Kohler]

He is gone now.

[Tripitaka of AA]

Thanks George.

[P Goldsbury]

Hello David,

As the moderator of this forum, I deemed it prudent to check his IP addresses etc before anything as drastic as a permanent ban. I did so then consulted George to see if Brad John is a real person. George, as you see, banned him or it.

Best wishes,

PAG


Oh Puh-lease... Brad12 is a spammer.

[Tripitaka of AA]

I don't know why he got under my skin so much. If anything, his posts reminded me about these great threads. I suppose it was the way the poor quality links he put in other threads devalued the collected wisdom of the previous posts.

I had visions of him as an over-enthusiastic twelve-year-old language student. But having posted before about his site and given the impression that he had something worth giving, this last post was just plain nonsense. I appreciate the efforts that you made to retain an active member, but I think the readers will appreciate his absence. Will his site links be removed from previous posts? Or is that an unnecessary and harsh action for this mosquito-like irritation.