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Product Description
Product Description
Japanese is a wonderful language, very different from European languages. It is also the gateway to the rich culture of the exciting and complex island nation of Japan. Some people get intimidated by the prospect of speaking Japanese—worried that it’s just too complex and different—but these fears are unfounded. While you can devote a lifetime to the study of this or any language, picking up the basics of Japanese doesn’t require any more than an interest and a willingness to try something new.
Japanese For Dummies has everything you need to get off the ground with speaking the language. Author and Professor of Japanese Eriko Sato starts you off with the essentials of grammar and pronunciation, giving you a working sense of the language, before showing you Japanese in action. You’ll then explore vocabulary and expressions through dialogues taking place in situations such as:
- Introductions and greetings
- Eating and drink ing
- Shopping
- Exploring the town
- Talking on the telephone
- Asking directions
- Getting around
- Staying at a hotel
You’ll also discover social customs, formalities, and manners, from how and when to bow to how to unwrap a present. Whether you simply want to introduce yourself to the Japanese language, say a few words to a neighbor or coworker, or you’re planning a major trip or study abroad in Japan, Japanese For Dummies will enable you to get the basics fast and work towards your own goal at your own pace. You’ll also find out about:
- How to use karaoke to help you learn Japanese
- Movies that will introduce you to Japanese culture and language
- Learning Japanese the “gourmet” way
- When ignoring “no, thank you” shows good manners
- Proper table manners
- Proper body language
- How to sound fluent
- And much more!
With helpful vocabulary summaries, a mini-dictionary at the end, and an audio CD full of conversations and pronunciations, Japanese For Dummies assumes no prior knowledge of Japanese on your part—providing the perfect guide for a quick-but-thorough, lighthearted-but-not-lightweight introduction to the language.
Book Info
Audio plus CD package is packed with clear explanations and real-world examples of the Japanese language. Beginner's guide to learning Japanese. Softcover. Audio and CD included.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very confusing book,
By "omshantih" (Chatan-Cho, Okinawa Japan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Japanese For Dummies (Paperback)
Ive had the luck to be able to learn foreing languages very easily, so far I speak 5 and japanese will be my 6th. Although I am not a professor nor I pretend to sound like one, I believe I have enough experience with textbook and self-teaching methods to judge when a book is good or bad.Japanese for Dummies seemed to be what I was looking for, a simple yet complete way to at least learn some basic japanese. Unfortunately, what I found out when I started taking REAL japanese lessons,is that the book is not at all very complete and that the explanations are rather confusing. The conversations in the CD are not at all in coordination with those in the book and it's very easy to get lost. Also, the explanations about the grammar are rather confusing and leave you wondering about many things. Honestly, if you want to learn japanese, I'd suggest you take some lessons with a teacher or get the book Japanese for Busy People. There are many things about the japanese language that it's much better if you have some aid from a trained professional who has native proficiency in the language. Save yourself some money..DONT get this book!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Won't Teach You Japanese,
By
This review is from: Japanese For Dummies (Paperback)
Okay, let's be frank. The only way you ever learn to speak a language is through immersion in it. At least for a certain length of time, preferably a couple of hours every day, you need to speak, hear, read, and think that language. And you won't get that with this book.Japanese never displaces English as the language of instruction. You see not one Japanese writing symbol. You get a few phrases, a few words, but very little idea how these words are used, and no real idea how to string them together into a sentence. It's not a worthless book. If, like me, you've let your Japanese go and you need a refresher course, this book can be valuable. I'm already a little better than I was when I picked up the book. However, if you're a newcomer to the language, you best bet is to take a college course or get a Japanese friend to tutor you. Give this book a pass.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best Japanese Language book I've bought yet...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Japanese For Dummies (Paperback)
I am currently teaching English in Japan so I have lots of Japanese language books sitting on the shelf in my apartment. Japanese for Dummies is the only one of those books that I've actually looked at a second time. The book gets down to the nitty gritty of Japanese and explains the language in an easy and understandable way. Sato-san even gives important cultural information that explains when and why you use certain phrases in Japanese. I've been living in Japan for over a year and it wasn't until I started reading this book that I finally felt like I was understanding the usage of the language and have been a bit more confident talking to my co-workers at enkais and the drinking parties that follow. My book is competely full of highlighter and notes (something I rarely do so it truly must be a helpful book!)Sadly I can't attest to how good the cd is because I've never taken it out of the book jacket since I constantly hear Japanese around me but if its anything like the book then it'd be quite good. For people that are concerned about learning to read and write Japanese ... this book might not necessarily be for you - however, I taught myself to read and write hirigana and katakana over a weekend when I first got here and I've discovered that it didn't help me in the least bit getting around Japan as that would require knowing a decent amount of kanji characters which I've been picking up very slowly. The layout of the book is great - introuduction followed by chapters that focus on a variety of things (like going shopping, inviting a friend to do something) each with new vocabulary, useful verbs (and their basic conjugations), set phrases and a practice dialogue. The back part of the book is a mini-dictionary that is suitable for this book but you would definitely need a better one if you have a more serious interest in Japanese (I can't help you with that since I've been searching for a better Japanese/English dictionary since I've arrived in Japan!)
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