Learning Japanese Kanji

This is an invaluable study guide and practice book for learning basic Japanese kanji. Learning Japanese Kanji Practice Book is intended for beginning students, or experienced speakers who need to practice their written Japanese. Kanji are an essential part of the Japanese language and together with kana (hiragana and katakana) comprise written Japanese. This book presents the kanji characters that are most commonly used. All the kanji and related vocabulary words in this book are those that students are expected to know for Level 5 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. (JLPT). Characters that appear in the AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam are flagged. Readings, meanings, and common compounds are presented. The correct method of writing each character is clearly indicated and practice boxes with strokes that can be traced are provided, along with empty boxes for freehand writing practice. Lots of exercises are included to give students the opportunity to practice writing sentences containing the Kanji. Indexes at the back allow you to look up the characters by their readings and English meanings. This kanji book includes: Step-by-step stroke order diagrams for each character. Special boxes with grid lines to practice writing characters. Extra printable practice grids Words and phrases using each kanji. Romanizations (romanji) to help identify and pronounce every word.

Following the first volume of Remembering the Kanji, the present work provides students with helpful tools for learning the pronunciation of the kanji. Behind the notorious inconsistencies in the way the Japanese language has come to pronounce the characters it received from China lie several coherent patterns. Identifying these patterns and arranging them in logical order can reduce dramatically the amount of time spent in the brute memorization of sounds unrelated to written forms. Many of the “primitive elements,” or building blocks, used in the drawing of the characters also serve to indicate the “Chinese reading” that particular kanji use, chiefly in compound terms. By learning one of the kanji that uses such a “signal primitive,” one can learn the entire group at the same time. In this way, Remembering the Kanji 2 lays out the varieties of phonetic pattern and offers helpful hints for learning readings, that might otherwise appear completely random, in an efficient and rational way. Individual frames cross-reference the kanji to alternate readings and to the frame in volume 1 in which the meaning and writing of the kanji was first introduced. A parallel system of pronouncing the kanji, their “Japanese readings,” uses native Japanese words assigned to particular Chinese characters. Although these are more easily learned because of the association of the meaning to a single word, the author creates a kind of phonetic alphabet of single syllable words, each connected to a simple Japanese word, and shows how they can be combined to help memorize particularly troublesome vocabulary. The 4th edition has been updated to include the 196 new kanji approved by the government in 2010 as “general-use” kanji.

This comprehensive book helps you learn the 92 basic Kana characters and 2,136 standard Kanji characters. Complete, compact and authoritative—this Japanese language book provides all the information needed to learn kanji and kana, including the 92 basic hiragana and katakana phonetic symbols (known collectively as Japanese Kana) and the 2,136 standard Joyo Kanji characters that every Japanese person learns in school. This new and completely revised edition reflects recent changes made to the official Joyo kanji list by the Japanese government. The kana and kanji are presented in an easy and systematic way that helps you learn them quickly and retain what you have learned and improve your mastery of the Japanese language. The ability to read Japanese and write Japanese is an essential skill for any student and will build on their previous knowledge and improve on their overall capacity to learn Japanese. A concise index allows you to look up the Kanji in three different ways (so the book also serves as a Japanese Kanji dictionary) and extra spaces are provided to allow you to practice writing Japanese. Japanese Kanji and Kana contains: All 2,136 official Joyo kanji with readings and definitions. Characters are graded by their JLPT examination levels. Up to 5 useful vocabulary compounds for each kanji. Brush and pen cursive forms as well as printed forms. 19 tables summarizing key information about the characters. Kanji look–up indexes by radicals, stroke counts and readings.

An enjoyable and effective way to learn Japanese kanji! This useful reference book helps self-study and classroom students remember the meanings and pronunciations of 520 essential kanji. An otherwise daunting task, memorization is made easier with this book--which uses mnemonic techniques based on the psychology of learning and memory. Key principles include the use of visual imagery, the visualization of short "stories," and the systematic building-block approach that shows how more complicated characters are constructed from basic elements. This is a practical guide with a clear, concise, and appealing layout; it is well-indexed with easy look-up methods. The kanji in this volume give you the majority of characters you will encounter in daily life, from newspapers to street signs. It also includes the kanji required for the AP Japanese exam and N4 & N5 JLPT tests. Accompanying online audio provides recordings by native Japanese speakers to perfect your pronunciation.

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 book: 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 include: 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.

This is an invaluable study guide and practice book for learning basic Japanese kanji. Learning Japanese Kanji Practice Book is intended for beginning students or experienced speakers who need to practice their written Japanese. Kanji are an essential part of the Japanese language and together with kana (hiragana and katakana) comprise written Japanese. This book presents the kanji characters that are most commonly used. All the kanji and related vocabulary words in this book are those that students are expected to know for Level 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Characters that appear in the AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam are flagged. Readings, meanings, and common compounds are presented. The correct method of writing each character is clearly indicated, and practice boxes with strokes that can be traced are provided, along with empty boxes for freehand writing practice. Lots of exercises are included to give students the opportunity to practice writing sentences containing the kanji. Indexes at the back allow you to look up the characters by their readings and English meanings. This kanji book includes: Step-by-step stroke order diagrams for each character. Special boxes with grid lines to practice writing characters. Words and phrases using each kanji. Romanizations (romanji) to help identify and pronounce every word.

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

This highly-visual book introduces an effective new method to learn over 1,000 Japanese kanji characters using visual stimuli and pictographs. Learning the fundamental kanji characters used to write Japanese can be challenging, but this book is designed to speed up learning by presenting the 1,000 most common characters using a mnemonic approach. In a fun and accessible way to learn Japanese, each kanji is associated with memorable visual and verbal clues. For example, the Japanese character for person is superimposed over a sketch of a smiling man. The visual clue is "a person standing on two legs". By seeing the distinctive shape of the kanji, learners create a mental image of its meaning. Each character is presented as part of a group of characters which share similar traits. These groups use common root symbols known as radicals; they are also categorized by themes such as colors, numbers, animals, or body parts. Pronunciations, meanings and common vocabulary compounds are provided for each character in the group. Mnemonic clues are also given for the basic 92 hiragana and katakana phonetic symbols. A free audio CD helps you learn pronunciation for all of the characters and vocabulary in this book. The introduction explains the basic history and structure of the kanji. Key feature of this Japanese kanji book include: Hiragana and katakana phonetic symbols Easy-to-remember drawings and stories for ALL characters Thousands of vocabulary words Audio CD for pronunciation practice