Japanese Grammar

by Nobuo Akiyama Akiyama Carol Akiyama

A concise summary of Japanese grammar is presented for beginning students of the language. Topics include parts of speech, sentence structure, idioms, and pronunciation advice. All Japanese words are presented phonetically. Important points of grammar or vocabulary, as well as subject heads, are printed in a second color as a quick-reference aid for students. New to this edition is a Japanese-English vocabulary list.

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

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful, basic resource for students in the beginning levels of studying Japanese. I have used it as a resource for many years now and I was grateful to revisit it this month. I will definitely continue to use it as a reference and guide. My only complaint is that I wished there was kana and kanji used in this book (even kanji with furigana would be great); instead, the book is only romanji. I think it could be a great benefit to students to have actual Japanese characters with the example sentences. But that's my only complaint. Otherwise, a great introductory guide to the intricacies of Japanese grammar.

[Katelyn Shaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not sure how helpful this book would be at first given its convenient, yet small, size. Thankfully the inner contents proved to be as pharaonic as the outer size was diminutive. The book was easily readable and demonstrated that it is a great reference book for Japanese grammar in a number of ways.

The author did a good job of organizing the material and provided plenty of examples and contexts. Whenever a technical or linguistic term was used the author appropriately defined the term and the logic behind it. Different levels of Japanese from informal to Keigo and anything in-between were defined and suggestions were given for when to use which level and with whom. As an additional bonus, the author made this book even more new-learner friendly by including some short sections on pronunciation and useful everyday vocabulary.

My main criticism of this book is that it is completely written in Romaji. Including Kanji, Furigana and Hiragana or Katakana, where appropriate, would help language learners more in the long run. Finally, while not a flaw per say, I found this book makes no mention of different dialects in Japanese and how grammar and idioms may vary between them. Having a section at least touch on the main dialects would have been a nice touch for more advanced readers.

Overall I liked this book and would recommend it to both beginning and advanced learners alike. I decided to give the book 4 stars instead of 5 because of the Romaji issue; however, if I could rate by .5 increments, this book would definitely deserve a 4.5 score.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as grammar books go, this guide by Barron's has the formula down pat. It proceeds in a logical and straightforward manner, never assuming you are a linguist when it comes to the lingo, and always making sure to give plenty of examples of how to use the grammatical devices it teaches.

The book reads really well, and if you're interested in languages, then you could almost read it like a novel. If reading about verb forms and sentence structure isn't your thing, you'll be happy to know that it breaks down the lessons into nice bite-sized pieces. Hey, it even has a a phrase section and miniature dictionary in the back!

With all said and done, it's safe to say that if you were to digest the contents of this tiny, concise grammar book alone, you would be well on your way to understanding most of the Japanese spoken in everyday conversations. This book is an indispensable resource for beginner to moderate level students of Japanese.

Remember though, only exposure and practice can make you truly 'get' a language!

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely necessary for anyone needing a compact guide to japanese grammar.

There's nothing else to say except buy it!

[Luru · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good summary of basic Japanese grammar. The complete absence of kanji and kana gets quite bothersome fast (because most people referencing this book most likely know at least kana, and the vocabulary in this book is very basic, so anyone with even partial N5 knowledge could handle the kanji, at least with furigana or kana present).

I like the colors and the layout, though sometimes the way the example sentences are structured seems to take up a lot of unnecessary space. Searching for a specific chapter/section can be a bit of a pain. Also, some examples are clearly aimed at English natives.

Overall, a nice-sized pocket book with some basic knowledge at your fingertips, but I'm sure anyone more advanced is going to go for a more comprehensive choice - with kana/kanji included.

[Jascha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting grammar for beginners. It is very concise and goes to the point. Paragraphs are very short, they tackle one and only one topic. The concepts are often well explained, even if not always. Besides, it only comes with Romaji, which is not bad but should at least come with Hiragana.

[Harrison Large ラージ • ハリソン · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful book to explain the basics of Japanese grammar. Won't make you fluent, but if you're the type of person who needs to make sense of Japanese sentence structure on top of vocab - this book is fantastic.

[Johan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not recommended. Most stuff is outdated as the book was published in 1991, and the Japanese is only written in romaji.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I found that helped me make real progress with studying Japanese. Everyone has different learning styles, and apparently I learn better getting the gist of the grammar, as opposed to learning by phrase books or vocab elements. Of course, these all tie in together, but this book helped the best out of all the resources I've found.

All sentences are in romaji (translations using English/Roman letters for Japanese sounds), in this case a modified version of the Hepburn system. You don't need to know what that means to use this book - it is designed for complete beginners to get a sense of the language grammar, the sound, and some basic vocabulary. Japanese is very complex and I recommend this as the best introduction.

[Blue Caeruleus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember everyone, it doesn't matter how many times you read a foreign language grammar book: until you actually start applying the language in a course and eventually in everyday life, you won't remeber enough to make a difference. Still, reading about the grammar on your own can help you remember what you learn in class once you start to really study.

[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and small Japanese grammar, yes that's possible! Besides, it relies solely on Roumaji (Japanese romanization), which might be a problem for some, but isn't a disadvantage in my opinion. Good book!

[Maddie Xenidakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant. For once, a grammar book that doesn't ONLY target formal Japanese (or ONLY sloppy slang, for that matter). The explanations WORK, and all the information is there for those willing to take it page by page.

[Sara]

This book looks really good inside and I have high hopes that it will help me. My brother loves this book and was mad that I took it from his room after months of letting him borrow it, lol, but it's mine.

[Jonathan]

None

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reference book. Helps with parts of speech, sentence order and verbs.

[Aira · Rating 3 out of 5]

japanese grammar