Japanese Kanji for Beginners: (JLPT Levels N5 & N4) First Steps to Learn the Basic Japanese Characters [Includes Online Audio & Printable Flash Cards]

by Timothy G. Stout, Kaori Hakone

The method that's helped thousands in the U.S. and Japan learn Japanese successfully.

The Japanese language has two primary writing systems, kanji characters--which are based on Chinese characters and hiragana and katakana--a mnemonics based alphabet. This handy book teaches you a new mnemonics-based method to read and write the 430 highest-frequency kanji characters. Along with its sister Japanese Hiragana and Katakana for Beginners it provides a complete introduction to written Japanese.

Japanese Kanji for Beginners contains everything you need to learn the kanji characters required for the Advanced Placement Japanese Language and Culture Exam. It is designed for use by high school or college students as well as independent learners. The kanji learned in this book closely adhere to those introduced in every major Japanese language textbook.

Key features of Japanese Kanji for Beginners
The 430 highest-frequency kanji characters
44 simple, easy-to-follow lessons
Concise information on kanji elements, readings and pronunciations
Extensive exercises, drills, and writing practice
Downloadable content with printable flash cards, practice quizzes and extra exercises

The Extensive downloadable content contains a set of printable kanji flash cards to assist learners in reviewing and memorizing the kanji in the book. It also provides sample vocabulary quizzes in a multiple-choice format similar to those in the AP exam, as well as additional exercises that further reinforce the newly learned kanji.

Genres: Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Language, Reference, Japan, Education

1081 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2017

About the author

Timothy G. Stout, Ph.D., lived in Japan for 20 years, and has taught Japanese language in public and private schools in the United States and Japan for 14 years. While working at the American School in Japan he conducted original research on the use of keyword mnemonics in the instruction of Japanese. Stout has an M.A. in Japanese Pedagogy from Columbia University and a B.A. in Japanese Teaching from Brigham Young University. He currently teaches Japanese at Waterford School in Utah, where he lives with his wife and five children. Stout is the author of Japanese Hiragana for Beginners, Japanese Katakana for Beginners, Tuttle Japanese for Kids Flash Cards, and More Japanese for Kids Flash Cards, all of which are available from Tuttle.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right, I'm going to preface this review with a notation: if you don't know katakana or hiragana characters before reading this book, it would be wise to get another resource that deals with it directly either before or for studying alongside this book, because it may be confusing for those who are very new to the Japanese language.

That said, my reason for picking up this book explains part of my absence from social media in the book world: between reading, working on my WIPs, studying for a certification exam in my field of study AND being busy with life events and work, I've been self-studying Japanese. Meaning I've been engrossing myself in both the written and verbal facets of the language for a number of weeks (well...more like months. My passion for learning Japanese dates back to when I was in high school but it's only been in more recent years that I've actually had the time to really dedicate to learning it.). This was one resource that was recommended to me to pick up for study and I found it at my uni's bookstore.

It's a very strong resource with a plethora of practice and examples, and an educational supplement that doesn't cost too much. The first part of the book introduces you to concepts of the history of the language, stroke order rules, and helpful tips in learning kanji. After that point, you dive straight into the practice (44 Lessons worth), everything from numbers to common vocabulary to phrases and real world exchanges and examples. I found the space dedicated to practice the stroke order very helpful, alongside commonly used vocabulary words and lessons designed to have you practice visualizing and responding in writing to different tasks and scenarios. Admittedly, though, this is still a text best supplemented with a comprehensive text in Beginning Japanese, because it doesn't really go into explaining katakana and hiragana despite showcasing it prominently throughout the book. The CD that comes in the back is mostly for emphasizing pronunciation through the different kanji that are showcased through the book. That really helped me in terms of having both verbal and written practice/emphasis through my studying, though I wish the CD component could've had more interaction and content with respect to each lesson in the book.

I will definitely be coming back to this book for review, and think it would be a good resource for those who are learning Japanese formally as well as in a self-study capacity.

Overall score: 4/5 stars.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Japanese Kanji for Beginners is a useful and well presented text that will benefit anyone learning Japanese. The examples are helpful and I am going to create some flashcards based on the information in this book to help me memorise the kanji.

[しのすせ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super

[S.M.Y Kayseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't finished the book but thought somebody would like to hear some comments regarding this book.

I had sweet memories with these series. It was from this series I learnt hiragana and katakana in less than 2 months. The previous titles in this series has a lot of practices and it was followable. I'm not sure whether it was because it is kanji or due to poor editing, this current book is quite hard to follow.

The practice question focused more on kanji we never directly learn (e.g. the kanji sensei while you only learnt sei etc.), so the practice question is more punishing rather than reinforcing our learning. I checked out Minna no Nihongo kanji workbook, it seems more followable than this series. I'm sorry, Tuttle, you introduced me to the Japanese world, but here we depart. :'(

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good if you are to the point of wanting to reinforce the Kanji you are learning. It shows how to write each and has an area to practice. It also has many examples of each and the combinations of it along with the pronunciation of the many ways to pronounce it.

[k · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good book for learning kanji and most of these seem to be commonly used. I didn't use the CD at all, since I thought there was no use for it. It gives you vocabulary with the kanji so you have something to remember it from rather than trying to memorize just the kun-yomi and on-yomi of each kanji.

[✨Jinglemarco✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating learning book. Japanese fun!