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Japanese Core Words & Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary [Paperback]

Kakuko Shoji (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 131 pages
Publisher: Kodansha International; 2nd Revised edition edition (Sep 27 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 4770027745
ISBN-13: 978-4770027740
Product Dimensions: 19.1 x 12.4 x 1.1 cm
Shipping Weight: 200 g

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #236,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #81 in Books > Nonfiction > Education > Language Instruction > Dictionaries > Japanese
- #95 in Books > Nonfiction > Education > Language Instruction > Instruction > Japanese

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Product Description

Book Description

Some Japanese words and phrases, even though they lie at the core of the language, forever elude the student?s grasp. They are not explained satisfactorily in dictionaries or textbooks for the simple reason that they cannot be conveniently defined. Japanese Core Words and Phrases brings these recalcitrants to bay.
The book is divided into two parts, each of which is arranged in alphabetical order. The first part is devoted to words indicating physical as well as psychological distance--roughly equivalent to "this," "that," "that over there," and "where," but quite different in usage. Physical distance is covered in most textbooks, but psychological distance--every student's nemesis--is not.
The second part of the book covers a variety of idiomatic expressions, many of which appear in Japanese proficiency tests. Each entry word or phrase is not simply explained but exemplified in sentence form, clarifying its meaning (in the case of many students) for the very first time.
Japanese Core Words and Phrases has a great deal to offer the beginning student and much to offer the intermediate student. Little more can be asked of a book on the Japanese language.

Previously published in the Power Japanese series as Core Words and Phrases: Things You Can?t Find in a Dictionary
Some Japanese words and phrases, even though they lie at the core of the language, forever elude the student?s grasp. They are not explained satisfactorily in dictionaries or textbooks for the simple reason that they cannot be conveniently defined. Japanese Core Words and Phrases helps bring these recalcitrants to bay. For beginning and intermediate students.

About the Author

KAKUKO SHOJI, a resident of Honolulu, is a longtime instructor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is the author of Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow and Kodansha's Effective Japanese Usage Dictionary: A Concise Explanation of Frequently Confused Words and Phrases.

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4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Aid for the Intermediate Student, July 5 2008

Oliver (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Japanese Core Words & Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary (Paperback)

This little book provides a guide to many important Japanese words and phrases that are difficult to find in a dictionary. The explanations are straightforward, and it provides sufficient examples (although more would be better). I find this book very helpful, and have gone back to it again and again for the better part of a year. I suspect I will keep it around for some time to come. Not bad for 131 pages.

A couple of warnings, however: This book is not for beginners. Moreover, it is a supplement or aid, rather than a complete textbook. With those caveats in mind, I wholehearted recommend it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful, Oct 30 2011

Rod Ivan Nelson "Erlampo" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Japanese Core Words & Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary (Paperback)

This book is for students of Japanese who have reached the intermediate level; it explains a series of short terms and phrases used mainly (but not exclusively) in spoken Japanese, and they are indeed things that are not to be found in dictionaries. They really help make sense of Japanese. I find the book extremely useful and am very glad I came across it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd bought this sooner!, May 30 2004

J. FELLA (Albany, Or United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Japanese Core Words & Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary (Paperback)

This book really is excellent in every way. I'm an intermediate/advanced japanese student, although I mainly study on my own these days. Because of that, I needed something to teach me some of the little things that are difficult to find in a book, yet are a big part of the language, and this book does that. It has a HUGE list of Japanese idioms, set phrases, and similar grammatical tools that are absolutely integral to the Japanese language, and I often found myself going "Oh yah, that's the kind of thing I would say in English, but never thought to learn it in Japanese!"

Basically, if you want to take a break from the textbooks and learn some really good fundamental and natural Japanese grammar, this book is for you. For the price, you simply can't beat it. I also HIGHLY recommend "Basic Connections:Making Your Japanese Flow." With those two books, you'll have enough info to last you a long time!

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A little more advanced than I was looking for
This book seems quite useful, and is well-indexed... but this is really for intermediate to advanced students of Japanese. Read more

Published on Mar 25 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great List of Expressions that are not in Dictionaries
I feel that my comprehension of written Japanese has improved as a result of reading this book. By reading novels in Japanese I found out how insufficient most dictionaries and... Read more

Published on Aug 7 2001 by Elijah Zupancic