Japanese Characters

Japan in Your Pocket #13

by Japan Travel Bureau

Japanese Characters (Kanji) presents a fun and easy way to learn about the complex characters, or Kanji, used to write the Japanese language.

Genres: Japan, Reference, Japanese Literature, Language

191 pages

First published November 1, 1989

Reviews

[Alessandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An earnest little guidebook aimed at English speakers, this gives a basic, profusely illustrated introduction to hiragana, katakana, and kanji (the two syllabic alphabets and the Chinese-derived characters) in which Japanese is written. Judging from the little stand-in cartoon character, it's aimed at businessmen. In addition to a lot of words, it gives good introductory explanations of how to write and how to use Japanese dictionaries.

[Fipah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little book that explains the compound logic and the evolution of Kanji. The examples are semi-random, there is no textbook approach - this is just a cute book that offers a fun look at some Kanji and how they acquired their meanings. Beautiful illustrations.