My First Book of Japanese Words is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces young children to Japanese language and culture through everyday words. The words profiled in this book are all commonly used in the Japanese language and are both informative and fun for English-speaking children to learn. The goals of My First Book of Japanese Words are multiple: to familiarize children with the sounds and structure of Japanese speech, to introduce core elements of Japanese culture, to illustrate the ways in which languages differ in their treatment of everyday sounds and to show how, through cultural importation, a single word can be shared between languages. Both teachers and parents will welcome the book's cultural and linguistic notes and appreciate how the book is organized in a familiar ABC structure. Each word is presented in Kanji (when applicable), Kana, and Romanized form (Romaji). With the help of this book, we hope more children (and adults) will soon be a part of the 125 million people worldwide that speak Japanese!

Making one's way through the dense jungle of Old Japanese poetry and prose can be a daunting and discouraging task because of the complex writing systems used during the Asuka (550–710 CE) and Nara (710–789 CE) eras. The intricate script is a bewildering mix of Chinese characters employed for their semantic or phonetic value or as hints to other words—or even for word games. For the first time in English, this dictionary lists all 1,215 Chinese characters used as phonograms (ongana) or vernacular characters (kungana) in Old Japanese texts. It brings together a vast amount of data in relation to Chinese phonology: Old Chinese, Later Han Chinese, Middle Chinese, Sino-Japanese (both Go-on and Kan-on), Sino-Korean, Sino-Vietnamese, and Chu Nom. The entries contain examples from more than twenty Old Japanese texts showing how each character was used and in what context. Data from excavated wooden tablets, or slips (mokkan), is included as well as a chart of all the graphs and where they appear in the cited material. Students and scholars of Old Japanese writing and language and those more widely interested in the culture and history of pre-Heian Japan now have important linguistic and textual data at their fingertips arranged by character to help them decipher material from the ancient past.

Put simply, practice is the most effective method of mastering written Japanese. The large, open format of Writing Japanese Hiragana invites the student to pick up a pencil and get started! Two phonetic syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, and a set of kanji characters based on Chinese ideographs are what comprises written Japanese. This workbook has been carefully designed to facilitate the quick and easy mastery of the forty-six character hiragana syllabary used to write all types of native words not written in kanji. An understanding of hiragana is essential for the serious student wishing to learn Japanese effectively. Each character is introduced with brushed, handwritten, and typed samples which enhance character recognition. Extensive writing space allows for maximum practice to facilitate memorization and ensure proper character formation. Entertaining illustrations and amusing examples of onomatopoeic usage of hiragana in Japanese writings further reinforce memorization in a fun way. Writing Japanese Hiragana is an easy-to-use and practical workbook tailored to the specific needs of young students of the Japanese language. Beginning students of all ages will delight in its fresh presentation.

Teaches how to read and write Japanese so the Japanese comic books and cartoons can be enjoyed.

This beautiful notebook makes studying a pleasure! Each double page spread has squared paper on the right-hand side for practicing formation of the Japanese characters, and lined paper on the left-hand side for note-taking. A ten-page reference section at the back of the notebook gives hiragana and katakana charts, a list of the 100 most common kanji; key vocabulary, and basic grammar tips. Contents: Pages 1-118 Alternate Pages of lined and squared paper for note-taking and handwriting practice Pages 119-120 Hiragana alphabet charts Pages 121-122 Katakana alphabet charts Page 123 100 most common kanji Pages 124-125 Key vocabulary lists Pages 126-128 Basic grammar tips

600 Basic Japanese Verbs is a handy, easy-to-use guide to one of the building blocks of Japanese grammar—verbs. This book will be an essential resource for students wishing to learn Japanese as it shows how to conjugate the 600 most common Japanese verbs quickly, and with very little effort. This is the only guide to list all verb forms in both Japanese script and romanized form, while giving an accurate English translation for each conjugated form, making this book far more comprehensive than any other book on the subject. Compiled by Japanese language experts at The Hiro Japanese Center, more than 30 different verbal forms are given for each verb including all forms used in contemporary spoken, written, formal and conversational Japanese—making this the ideal reference when reading any sort of Japanese printed materials including manga, newspapers, magazines and books. 600 Basic Japanese Verbs places an expert resource at your fingertips, giving you the information you need to speak, read, and write Japanese sentences correctly. Key features of this book are: Includes all the most useful verbs and Kanji (logographic Chinese characters) in Japanese, including less common ones. A wealth of example sentences are given to demonstrate correct verb usage. Over 30 forms are given for each verb including polite or formal, plain, negative, potential, conditional, passive, causative, and many more. Both Kana, Japanese script, and romanized forms are given for each entry. An ideal study guide for the standard Advanced Placement college test and the Japanese Language Proficiency Exam. Special sections are devoted to compound verbs and suru verbs such as Kaimono suru (to shop), benkyo suru (to study), and much more.