books

Omniglot book store

Japanese (日本語)

Language courses, Writing tutors, Dictionaries, Grammars, Reading, Other useful books


Japanese language courses

Beginner's Japanese

Beginner's Japanese

by Joanne R. Claypoole

- a good introduction to the Japanese language with notes on grammar and Japanese culture. Also introduces the hiragana and katakana syllabaries.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Instant Immersion Japanese Levels 1,2 & 3

Instant Immersion Japanese Levels 1,2 & 3

by TOPICS Entertainment

- Japanese Levels 1, 2 & 3 includes six language learning CD-ROMS and three bonus discs: an interactive DVD, audio for an iPod or MP3 player.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Colloquial Japanese - The Complete Course for Beginners

Colloquial Japanese - The Complete Course for Beginners

by H.B.D. Clarke and Motoko Hamamura

- a good introduction to colloquial spoken Japanese with lessons written in the Latin alphabet (romaji). Also introduces the Japanese script (kanji, hiragana and katakana). Includes a course book containing dialogues, grammatical notes, exercises and cultural information, together with two cassettes and CDs with recordings of some of the dialogues and exercises.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Ultimate Japanese: Basic-Intermediate

Ultimate Japanese: Basic-Intermediate

by Living Language

- a good introduction to spoken and written Japanese. Comes with a large textbook containing dialogues, exercises, notes on Japanese grammar, pronunciation and culture, letter writing and a bilingual glossary. The eight included cassettes or CDs can be used with or without the textbook

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Ultimate Japanese: Advanced

Ultimate Japanese: Advanced

by Living Language

- If you want to take your Japanese to a higher level this course is a good place to start. Each lesson includes dialogues, vocabulary, exercises, culture notes, and detailed explanations of grammar and usage. Includes eight included CDs or cassettes which can be used with or without the textbook

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Nihongo Japanese Course

Nihongo Japanese Course

by Takanori Tomita

- a Japanese course designed to teach you how to understand, speak, read and write every day Japanese. Uses a textbook, in ebook format, audio lessons (downloadable mp3s) and video lessons.

Available from: http://www.learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com

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

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

by Gene Nishi

- a good introduction to spoken and written Japanese. The text is written in both kanji/kana and romaji.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Rocket Japanese

Rocket Japanese

- a computer-based and online Japanese course consisting of 31 2-hour lessons, many activities and exercises and sound files, software games and step-by-step instructions. Available on CD-ROMs or in downloadable format.

Buy from: Rocket languages

 

Japanese for Everyone: A Functional Approach to Daily Communication

Japanese for Everyone: A Functional Approach to Daily Communication

by Nagara Susumo

- teaches you Japanese that you will actually find useful.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Glossika Japanese

Glossika Japanese

by Glossika

- Glossika's audiovisual method helps you master comprehension and achieve fluency. Great on its own, or the perfect companion to your ongoing studies.

Buy from: Glossika.com


Japanese writing tutors for kana and kanji

Beginner's Japanese Script

Beginner's Japanese Script

by Helen Gilhooly

- am introduction to reading and writing hiragana and katakana and kanji.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

 

Remembering the Kana

Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each

by James W. Heisig, Kazue Kurebayashi & Helmut Morsbach

- in six short lessons of about twenty minutes, each of the two systems of "kana" writing are introduced in such a way that the absolute beginner can acquire fluency in writing in a fraction of the time normally devoted to the task.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Remembering the Kanji 1

Remembering the Kanji, Volume 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters

by James W. Heisig

- a systematic, adult-friendly way to learn the the basic meaning and writing of all 1,945 standard use characters plus 97 additional characters for common people and place names.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Remembering the Kanji 2

Remembering the Kanji 2: A Systematic Guide to Reading the Japanese Characters

by James W. Heisig

- teaches you all the different ways to pronounce the standard use characters. Lays out the varieties of phonetic patterns and offers helpful hints for learning readings, which might otherwise appear completely random, in an efficient and rational way.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Remembering the Kanji 3

Remembering the Kanji 3: Writing and Reading Japanese Characters for Upper-Level Proficiency

by James W. Heisig

- teaches 1,000 additional characters (beyond the standard use ones) determined as useful for upper-level proficiency, and identified using frequency lists researched and cross-checked against a number of standard Japanese kanji dictionaries. Separate parts of the book are devoted to learning the writing and reading of these characters.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Beginner's Kana Workbook

Beginner's Kana Workbook

by Fujihiko Kaneda

- a clear introduction to reading and writing hiragana and katakana.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

 

Jimi's Book of Japanese: A Motivating Method to Learn Japanese (Hiragana)

Jimi's Book of Japanese:
A Motivating Method to Learn Japanese (Hiragana)

by Peter X. Takahashi, Yumie Toka (Illustrator)

- introduces hiragana in a clear, fun way with the help of Jimi the monkey and friends.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Jimi's Book of Japanese: A Motivating Method to Learn Japanese (Katakana)

Jimi's Book of Japanese:
A Motivating Method to Learn Japanese (Katakana)

by Peter X. Takahashi, Yumie Toka (Illustrator)

- introduces katakana in a clear, fun way with the help of Jimi the monkey and friends.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Essential Kanji

Essential Kanji

by P.G. O'Neill

- introduces the 2,000 most frequently used kanji in a clear and systematic way. Each entry includes on and kun pronunciation, Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, stroke order, and examples of usage. You can look up characters by pronunciation or radical

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Kanji Pict-O-Graphix: Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics

Kanji Pict-O-Graphix:
Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics

by Michael Rowley

- introduces presents 1,200 kanji with their readings in Japanese and Chinese, main meanings, standard printed forms, and visual and text mnemonics to make them easier to remember.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary

Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary

by Jack Halpern (Editor)

- another good kanji dictionary.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

 


Japanese dictionaries

New Japanese-English Character Dictionary

New Japanese-English Character Dictionary

by Jack Halpern

- one of the best kanji dictionaries available.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Essential Kanji

Kanji and Kana: A Handbook and Dictionary of the Japanese Writing System

by Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn

- an introduction to katakana, hiragana and the 1,945 kanji on the jōyō kanji hyō (List of Chinese Characters for General Use) plus an extra 284 kanji used for names. Each entry includes on and kun pronunciation, stroke order, and examples of usage.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Kodansha's Furigana Japanese Dictionary

Kodansha's Furigana Japanese Dictionary: Japanese-English English-Japanese

by Kodansha

- a handy, small dictionary which uses furigana to show the readings of kanji, includes many examples of usage, and explains in detail hundreds of words, names and phrases of special relevance to English-speaking students of Japanese.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Random House Japanese-English, English-Japanese Dictionary

Random House Japanese-English, English-Japanese Dictionary

by Seigo Nakao

- contains more than 50,000 entries, including common idioms, phrases, and expressions. Japanese words are shown in kanji/kana and romaji. Suitable for beginners and intermediate students of Japanese.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Japanese-English Dictionary

Japanese-English Dictionary

by Mamoru Shimizu (Editor)

- a comprehensive dictionary arranged according to hiragana order.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

 

English-Japanese Dictionary

English-Japanese Dictionary

by Shigeo Kawamoto (Editor)

- a comprehensive dictionary which unfortunately doesn't include the readings of kanji. Aimed at Japanese students of English, but suitable for advanced students of Japanese.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

 


Japanese grammars

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

by Seiichi Makino & Michio Tsutsui

- a clear and comprehensive introduction to Japanese grammar.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar

Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar

by Jonathan Bunt

- a clear and comprehensive reference for Japanese grammar.

Buy from: Amazon.co.uk

 

Oxford Japanese Grammar and Verbs

Oxford Japanese Grammar and Verbs

by Jonathan Bunt

- provides clear and simple explanations of today's written and spoken Japanese. Comprehensive and easy to use, with coverage of all the key points of Japanese grammar, it is the ideal reference tool for beginner and intermediate students,

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Japanese Verbs at a Glance

Japanese Verbs at a Glance

by Naoko Chino

- a reference book for those who know basic Japanese and would like to have a more solid understanding of Japanese verbs (including different forms of verbs and their usage).

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You

Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You

by Jay Rubin

- a humourous and useful little book which attempts to demystify some of the difficult and troublesome Japanese grammatical structures. Written by an American and aimed at native English speakers.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow

Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow

by Kakuko Shoji

- explains how to speak and write Japanese more coherently, how to use particles and other troublesome words properly, and how to connect your sentences together. Essential reading for students of Japanese.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words

All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words

by Naoko Chino

- covers the most common and some of the less common Japanese particles. Provides comprehensive explanations of their usage and includes many example sentences.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk


Reading Japanese

Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers

Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers

by Janet Ashby

- this book features eight interesting selections from contemporary Japanese literature and explains each in detail. Explains the vocabulary and grammar and provides romaji readings of the kanji.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Breaking into Japanese Literature

Breaking into Japanese Literature

by Giles Murray

- this book provides a gentle and interesting introduction to the wonderful world of Japanese literature. Includes English translations of the stories, explanations of all the kanji used, illustrations, and short author bios. Sound files featuring the stories being read by Japanese actors are available for download online.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk


Other useful Japanese books

13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese

13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese

by Giles Murray

- an 'anti-textbook' designed for intermediate students of Japanese. It discusses new strategies for thinking, speaking and memorizing Japanese quickly and efficiently, and includes illustrations from manga, puzzles and useful example sentences.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Beyond Polite Japanese: A Dictionary of Japanese Slang and Colloquialisms

Beyond Polite Japanese: A Dictionary of Japanese Slang and Colloquialisms

by Akihiko Yonekawa

- a collection of 500 or so Japanese words and phrases that are very useful when trying to understand colloquial Japanese and slang.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

A Dictionary of Japanese Food

A Dictionary of Japanese Food

by Richard Hosking

- an interesting and comprehensive guide to Japanese food that is useful if you want to decipher Japanese menus or just to understand more about Japanese cuisine.

Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk


Introduction to Japanese | Hiragana | Katakana | Kanji | Rōmaji | Phrases (Useful) | Phrases (Silly) | Numbers | Colours | Time | Dates | Family words | Tower of Babel | Articles | Links | Learning materials

JapanesePod101.com

Japanese courses and other resources on Amazon
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Please note

None of the items listed in this bookstore are supplied by Omniglot. When you click on the links here you will be taken to other websites where you can buy the items. If you have any questions about your orders or purchases, please contact the relevant company, not Omniglot.

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