501 Japanese Verbs [Paperback]

Roland A. Lange (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764102850 | ISBN-13: 978-0764102851 | Publication Date: April 1, 1998 | Edition: 2

The most commonly used Japanese verbs are presented with English translations, one to a page, completely conjugated, and transliterated into the Roman alphabet. A special section fully explains all details of Japanese pronunciation. For quick and easy reference, there is an alphabetical English-to-Japanese verb index, as well as a second index that lists Japanese verbs by their gerund form. New in this edition are hundreds of examples of verbs used in sentences, complete with English translation. There are also quizzes and drills in verb usage with answers and explanations. Language students are introduced to formality and deference levels that are part of correct Japanese verb usage. This book makes an excellent supplement to a main textbook in any introductory Japanese language course.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese

Product Details

• Paperback: 540 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 2 edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764102850
• ISBN-13: 978-0764102851
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,025,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Before you consider buying this book..., December 15, 1999

By 

Tim - See all my reviews

This review is from: 501 Japanese Verbs (Paperback)

I compared this book with the Japanese verb guide I actually bought, called the Complete Japanese Verb Guide. I highly recommend that book over this one. I agree with the other reviewers here that 501 should have Japanese characters. The Complete Japanese verb guide gives the kanji for the verb as well as romanization for beginners. It's a better book all around, so I would suggest turning this one down.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst book on Japanese language learning I have seen, August 5, 2004

By 

Sasori - See all my reviews

This review is from: 501 Japanese Verbs (Paperback)

As has been mentioned by other reviewers, the very concept of this book is flawed, since Japanese verbs are basically regular. Anyone with two years of Japanese learning could have compiled this book themselves with the help of a Japanese dictionary. To use an analogy, it's as if someone decided that instead of teaching the rules of addition, a book of 501 sums would be more useful to children, from 1+1=2 to 97+35=132.

The verbs selected by the author are frequently antiquated. For example, the book uses the word "nomu" for "smoke" instead of the common "suu." This is great if you want to sound like a ninety-year-old or read Natsume Soseki in the original (and anyone doing that would have thrown this book in the recycling bin years ago), but for beginning students hoping to communicate with living Japanese it is clearly inappropriate.

Add to this a romanization scheme certain to be confusing to beginners, and almost completely out of use in Japan. Expecting beginners to learn that "tya" should be pronounced "cha" is a complete waste of time. It would be faster to teach them kana.

The fact that this book has remained in print suggests that beginning Japanese students who have learned other languages believe that a compilation of Japanese verbs would be useful, and new generations of them make the same mistake every year. In other words, the continued publication of this book is little more than a SCAM, profitable perhaps, but poorly conceived and badly executed.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fair, But Would Be Better If It Used Japanese, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 501 Japanese Verbs (Paperback)

I originally bought the book as a resource for teaching a Japanese class. Then I returned it to the book store because it was not useful enough. I found it useful because it shows how to conjugate verbs. However, the one important thing that it is missing is ACTUAL JAPANESE CHARACTERS. Japanese can be written for foreign language learners using the Roman (or Latin) alphabet, in the way this book does. However, if you want to learn Japanese, you have to see it in Japanese characters. This book does not use any Japanese characters.