Language Resources

From HyogoAJET

Contents 1 Websites 2 Magazines 2.1 Hiragana Times 3 Textbooks 3.1 Japanese for Busy People 3.2 Nakama 3.3 Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese 3.4 Minna no Nihongo 4 Learning Kana 4.1 Let's Learn Katakana & Let's Learn Hiragana 4.2 Easy Kana Workbook 5 Learning Kanji 5.1 Remembering the Kanji 5.2 Basic Kanji Book (Vol.1&2) 6 Dictionaries 6.1 Kodansha's Basic English-Japanese Dictionary 6.2 Kenkyusha's Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary 6.3 The Kanji Dictionary 6.4 The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary 6.5 Electronic Dictionaries 7 Grammar 7.1 A Dictionary of Beginning (Intermediate) Japanese Grammar 7.2 The Complete Japanese Verb Guide 7.3 Handbook of Japanese Grammar 8 Vocabulary 8.1 Japanese Words & Their Uses (Vol. I & II) 8.2 Japanese Beyond Words: How to Walk and Talk Like a Native Speaker 9 Dialects 9.1 Kinki Japanese 9.2 Tajima Japanese 10 Linguistics 10.1 The Languages of Japan

Websites

Language in Review - A Japanese-language-learning website with lots of resources.
Anki - Intelligent flashcards that increase your studying efficiency.
All Japanese All The Time - Blog about an aggressive immersion technique for learning foreign languages.

Magazines

Hiragana Times

A bilingual monthly magazine (each paragraph is written in English and Japanese) with articles about Japanese culture and people, plus some 'international' items. All Japanese characters have furigana (hiragana superscripts) for easy reading. The Hiragana Times

Textbooks

Japanese for Busy People

Author: Association for Japanese Language Teaching

Highly recommended by many people, especially for those starting from scratch. This comprises a set of three books, plus optional cassettes/CDs/workbooks, etc. After completing them you will be ready for the Level 3 exam. We recommend the kana version of the textbook, which facilitates reading and writing in kana (and later kanji) from the onset. Good for people who want to dive in immediately, but not grammar oriented and perhaps not as good for those who want to go beyond beginner level. Amazon

Nakama

Author:Yukiko Abe Hatasa, Kazumi Hatasa, and Seiichi Makino. Amazon

Solid university-level textbook.

Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese

Author: Eri Banno, Yutaka Ohno, Yoko Sakane, Chikako Shinagawa. Amazon

University textbook often used for self-study.

Minna no Nihongo

Author:3A Network. Amazon This textbook is entirely in Japanese, but it is possible to buy an English translation.

Learning Kana

Let's Learn Katakana & Let's Learn Hiragana

Author: Yasuko K. Mitamura
Publisher: Kodansha

These are excellent books for learning the two scripts. They have effective drills, exercises etc.

Price: $42.00

Easy Kana Workbook

Author: Rita Lampkin
Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Price: $9.95

Learning Kanji

Remembering the Kanji

Author: James W. Heisig
Publisher: Japan Publications

This is one of the best books on the market for learning kanji. Unique method.

Price: $42.00

Basic Kanji Book (Vol.1&2)

Author: Chieko Kano
Publisher: Bojinsha

This is a well-organized textbook for those wanting to begin learning kanji. It is divided into lessons of about a dozen kanji, usually with some sort of common thread. It includes reading, writing, and comprehension exercises. You must know hiragana and katakana to make the most of it. Volume 1 is red and has the first 250 kanji, and volume 2 is light blue and has another 250.

Price: $35.00

Dictionaries

Kodansha's Basic English-Japanese Dictionary

Author: Makino, Nakada & Ohso
Publisher: Kodansha International

Packed with lots of example sentences, and is very good at showing how and in what contexts certain words are used. All words and example sentences are written in kanji/kana and romaji.

Price: $59.95

Kenkyusha's Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary

Publisher: Kenkyusha

Highly recommended English to Japanese dictionary. Intended for English speakers learning Japanese, so it provides excellent explanations of Japanese words, including their multiple meanings and kanji with furigana. Japanese words listed in kana, English words in English, thus avoiding many complications other dictionaries run into. It has over 40,000 entries, so is large enough to cover all the words your find yourself needing to look up on a day-to-day basis, including English slang and specialized terms. It has a green cover, and is strongly recommended.

Price: ￥2,000

The Kanji Dictionary

Author: Spahn & Hadamitzky
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

By far the best kanji dictionary on the market. They use a unique classification system for kanji radicals (only 79 radicals as opposed to the standard 214), but once you get the hang of it, it is very quick and easy to look up characters. The best part of this dictionary is that it lists all of the most common compounds that each kanji is found in, regardless of where the kanji appears in a given word. This is especially useful when you are faced with a long string of kanji and are not sure where word boundaries are located. Some other kanji dictionaries (e.g. the Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary) only list compounds that include a given character in the first position.

Price: $59.95

The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary

Has a blue cover and is about seven centimeters thick. It replaces the original red Nelson as one of the best reference books for the serious kanji student.

Electronic Dictionaries

There are a number of electronic dictionaries out there and their prices vary. While these electronic marvels are convenient and useful, they are designed with the Japanese user in mind, and all except Canon Wordtanks use Japanese script exclusively, so you will have to understand hiragana and katakana for them to be useful. The Canon Wordtank, thanks to its bilingual set-up, is by far the most popular electronic dictionary among Japanese language learners. It is also very sturdy and reliable, which is something that you may want to keep in mind.

Grammar

A Dictionary of Beginning (Intermediate) Japanese Grammar

Author: Seichi Makino & Michio Tsutsui
Publisher: The Japan Times

A very useful and comprehensive grammar reference book produced by the Japan Times. Grammar structure explanations are made quite clear with lots of examples. It is organized alphabetically. It has a yellow-ish cover with red title. The next book in the series is A Dictionary of Intermediate Grammar, which has a blue cover.

Price: ￥3,700

The Complete Japanese Verb Guide

Author: Hiroo Japanese Center
Publisher: Tuttle

This is a very useful and easy to use book. Verbs are listed in alphabetic order with all of their conjugations, plus examples. The entire book is in romaji. It has a yellow cover.

Price: $17.95

Handbook of Japanese Grammar

Author: Masahiro Tanimori
Publisher: Tuttle

This is another easy to use book that is extremely useful. Grammar points are listed in alphabetical order. There are lots of example sentences in Hiragana and Romaji. It has a grey cover.

Price: $14.95

Vocabulary

Japanese Words & Their Uses (Vol. I & II)

Author: Akira Miura
Publisher: Tuttle

Goes over commonly misused words in Japanese, especially Japanese's easy-to-cofuse word pairs (e.g. hajimaru vs. hajimeru).

Price: $12.95

Japanese Beyond Words: How to Walk and Talk Like a Native Speaker

Author: Amdrew Horvat
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press

Price: $14.95

Dialects

Kinki Japanese

Author: DC Patter & Kaoru Slotsve
Publisher: Tuttle

Covers the group of Japanese dialects found in the Kinki region (e.g Kansai-ben, Osaka-ben, etc.) This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand what the hell the locals are actually saying.

Price: $9.95

Tajima Japanese

See this article on Tajima Ben

Linguistics

The Languages of Japan

Author: Masayoshi Shibatani
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

An extremely thorough look at the Japanese language, including dialectial differences and Ainu language.

v • d • e Living Guide
General	Meet The CIRs ・ Meet The PAs ・ Phone Numbers and Emails ・ Hyogo AJET Facebook Group ・ Emergencies ・ Useful Links ・ AJET ・ Acronyms ・ Information Centers
For New Jets	The Hiring Process ・ Buying From Your Predecessor ・ Japanese Customs ・ Bringing Medicine To Japan ・ Presents For Coworkers ・ Tokyo to Hyogo ・ Residence Card ・ Changes to the Alien Registration System, July 2012　・ First Few Days ・ Pension Book ・ Settling In At Home ・ Letter of Appointment ・ Personal Seal
Money	How Much Money Should I Bring? ・ Banking in Japan ・ Sending Money Home ・ Paychecks ・ Paying Up Front ・ Taxes Back Home ・ Statement of Earnings ・ Resident Taxes
Work	Who do I work for? ・ Evaluations ・ Paid Leave ・ Special Leave ・ Unpaid Leave ・ Study Leave ・ Recontracting and Transfers ・ Conferences ・ Orientation Overview ・ The Mid-Year Conference ・ I have nothing to do! ・ Dress code
Life In Hyogo	About the Apartment ・ How safe is Japan? ・ Map of Hyogo ・ Dealing with bugs ・ Shopping in Japan ・ Train Lines, Times, and Fares ・ Hyogo Winters ・ Hyogo Summers ・ Typhoons ・ Sports Opportunities ・ Trains: Vocab and Tips ・ Post Office ・ Useful Items to Help You Live in Japan ・ Religious Institutions
Traveling	Traveling ・ Leaving The Country ・ Buses ・ International Airports ・ Domestic Airports ・ Tourist Spots ・ Travel Agents ・ Ferries ・ Natural Disasters Abroad
Language and Culture	Learning Japanese ・ Language Resources ・ Japanese Classes in Hyogo ・ Proficiency Tests ・ Study Tips ・ Japanese Holidays ・ Japanese Etiquette ・ About the CLAIR Courses
Food	Food Shopping ・ Restaurant Vocab and Guidebooks ・ Types of Restaurants ・ Recommended Restaurants ・ Bars
Health	Bringing Medicine To Japan ・ Japan's Medical System ・ Counseling and Support Groups ・ Vaccinations ・ Find a Doctor ・ Medical Examinations ・ About our Health Insurance ・ AJET Peer Support Group ・ Dentists ・ Insurance and Dental Work ・ Gynecology
Books, etc.	Book Stores ・ Hyogo AJET Library ・ Libraries ・ Magazines ・ Newspapers etc.
Driving	Attention Drivers! ・ Buying a Car ・ Driving in Winter ・ Getting Around ・ Getting Car Insurance ・ Getting a License ・ Rules of the Road ・ Driving School ・ Driving Test ・ Drinking and Driving ・ DUI / DWI ・ My BOE won't let me drive!
Visas, etc.	Immigration Offices ・ Visa Renewal and Status of Residence ・ Reentry Permits ・ Renewing Your Passport ・ Post-JET Visa Advice ・ Temporary Visitor Visa
Recommendations	Gym Recommendations ・ Recommended Restaurants ・ Find a Doctor ・ Find a Hairdresser
Legal Issues	Lost Passports ・ Arrested in Japan ・ English Speaking Lawyers ・ Getting Married
Computers and Phones	Buying a computer ・ Typing in Japanese ・ Getting Internet ・ Word in Japanese ・ Cell Phones ・ Home Phones ・ Phoning Home ・ Help with Technical Problems
Leaving JET	Checklist for Leaving Japan ・ Post-JET Visa Advice ・ Return Tickets ・ Shipping Stuff Home ・ The Pension Refund ・ Preparing For Your Successor ・ Reverse Culture Shock ・ Police Clearance Certificate ・ Certificate of Participation ・ I want to break contract ・ Goodwill Envoys