Japanese for Dummies [With CDROM]

by Eriko Sato

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764554298
• ISBN13: 9780764554292
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Missing CD

Disappointed that the CD was not included as advertised

From Staten Island to ... Japan

In the journey to learn a new language at the age of twenty-five I realize how hard it is and at this moment I am sending my mom an email asking her why hadn't she taught me Japanese earlier lol. That being said this book helped me a lot but what For Dummies book doesn't??? Thanks a lot guys

This is a simple book

The biggest problem people have found with this book is that it has no Japanese characters in it. I was fortunate enough to preview the book in a bookstore before deciding to purchase it. On the first page inside the book, it says that the purpose of the book is to teach phrases and grammar and purpose and will not contain 1 Japanese symbol. This book is definitely useful if you are wanting to learn conversational Japanese because even though it doesn't teach you how to write it, you have a start in at least understanding what is said. I definitely recommend this book.

Know the purpose

On the cover of this book it says "Speak Japanese - the fun and easy way!" So why am I not complaining that it didn't include the writing? Because I knew that it was for speaking the language. This isn't exactly the advanced type of book, but it teaches a lot more than most Japanese books I have read. Most other Japanese books I have read only make you memorize specific phrases and sentences. But this one tells you how to put a sentence together. It would be beyond the scope of this book to list the writing, because this is aimed at beginners. When you get well-versed in the speaking, yes another book should do for the writing. But, for its true purpose, Japanese for Dummies does an outstanding job.

The Better Buy

I remember buying this book when it first came out back in 2002, and used it in Sato Sensei's JPN111 class. The book is written in a way to be used by people,who are just learning the language for the purpose of communication with others in a hurry. Unlike the course books she writes for her classes at this college,the Dummies/Idiot's Language series are kinda like the 10 min. a day language books, or the learning a language for busy business people series. This book is meant for the very beginner student, and not for someone who is a higher level Japanse student who already knows hiragana, katakana, kanji, and conjugation. I can assure you that the Idiot's Conversational Japanese is no different than it's Dummies version. You can buy both books,but Sato Sensei's book is a better buy.