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Basic Kanji Book, Vol. 1 4th Edition

by Chieko Kano (Author), Hiroko Takenaka (Author), Eriko Ishii (Author),
4.7 out of 5 stars 36 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-4893580917
ISBN-10: 4893580914
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 228 pages
  • Publisher: Bonjinsha; 4th edition (1990)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 4893580914
  • ISBN-13: 978-4893580917
  • Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 7.2 x 10 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsFound the book in Japan
By Brian Denslow on July 28, 2001
Format: Paperback
I have been studying Japanese concurrent with Korean for the past few years. I picked up this book while I was in Japan because I wanted to learn all the Kanji that native Japanese speakers use in their writing. The book is perfect. There are exercises throughout each chapter that force you to use each character in context. Halfway through the book you find yourself reading a simple letter with quite a bit of Kanji in it. Do yourself a favor and at least learn Hiragana before you attempt to learn Kanji. It's also informative to know that the 1st volume teaches about 72 of the 80 characters that are testable when taking level 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsTHE best Kanji Book!
By M. Katayama on March 11, 2004
Format: Paperback
This is an excellent Kanji book! After trying several other Kanji learning books, this one stands out as the best by far! The book is organized exteremely well into sections and lessons. For every lesson there are about 10 different Kanji that you learn and each lesson has some kind of a theme to it. For example, one lesson may cover only numbers, another lesson will cover only animals, etc. There are also exercises at the end of each lesson so you can practice what you just learned. If I had to name one downside to this book, it would be that the answers to the exercises are not listed in the back of the book as they are in many practice books. But overall, I can't say enough good things about this book. It has helped me with my Kanji tremendously!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsThe best beginning Kanji book available
By Zack Davisson HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on August 11, 2006
Format: Paperback
You would be hard pressed to find a better beginning kanji book than "Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1." The combination of logical progression, constant reinforcement through exercises and activity, as well as a stern instance on using only hiragana and learned kanji makes for a powerful study tool.

The first in a series, it takes you through 500 kanji giving you a solid basis in the written Japanese language. Instead of selecting the kanji based on Japanese school levels, or other arbitrary standards, they are selected by pure usefulness in written and spoken Japanese. The kanji are grouped by sections such as "kanji made from pictures" or "kanji for time," with 12 kanji in each grouping. Each section is laid out with writing practice, followed by review and reading comprehension practice.

There are no gimmicks or fancy short cuts in "Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1." Just straight-forward, old-fashioned learning by use. The constant reinforcement in each chapter is really the strong point, as each exercise compounds on previous chapters, allowing for true learning rather than just quick memorization.

Before you tackle this book, you need to have a good grasp of hiragana and some katakana. Like all good Japanese study texts, "Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1" makes no use of romaji so you learn the language directly from the language. It can be a bit hard at first, but if you persevere you will be well beyond the level of learners who stuck to their training wheels.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Textbook
By Wally Waffles on November 1, 2005
Format: Paperback
This is the kanji textbook series we use in my university courses. The first semester we didn't study Kanji at all, then the next year-and-a-half we studied out of this book.

This book is also good for anybody who wants to learn independently. If you at least know how to read Hiragana and Katakana, you won't have any trouble at all learning the Kanji. Just be sure to pay special attention to the instructions on stroke technique in Lesson 1 if you want to REALLY learn the right way to write Kanji.

Additional tools in the book are:
* An insert listing of all the taught Kanji by lesson
* An index listing Vol. 1's Kanji by readings (Vol. 2's index includings readings from both books)

For each lesson, I usually spend about an hour practicing writing the Kanji and their examples, then it takes me a little over an hour to do the exercises. (Most students choose to photocopy the work pages or else just rip them out of the book and turn those in, but I write out the questions & answers--which I can fit on a single sheet of paper--because I like the extra practice.)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsBest book to learn Kanji.
By TT OO on November 15, 2006
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I have bought several other Kanji books before buying this one. Some of the other books left me with unanswered questions. Others unmotivated me to study so i gave up studying. I bought Basic Kanji Book because one of my friends who is also Japanese student suggested me to buy it.

Basic Kanji Book is a great choice if you are learning Kanji. In every chapter you learn 10 or more Kanji characters. And at the end of the each chapter you will review them by having 30 or more questions about these characters. The good thing is that each chapter and the questions make you feel like you are learning Kanji. That feeling motivates you and makes you want to study more Kanji.

I suggest this book to everyone who is trying to learn Kanji. I am totally satisfied with this book.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsBasic Kanji Book, vol 1 & 2
By Nick Smith on February 15, 2002
Format: Paperback
These two books are a necessity for any student of Japanese. I studied at a Japanese university for one year, and my kanji class used these books. I have yet find anything that can teach it any better. And, after these 2 books, there is an intermediate book(Intermediate Kanji Book, Vol. 1) which is just as valuable.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsBasic Kanji Book, Vol. 1 & 2 by Kano, Chieko
By T on April 23, 2001
Format: Paperback
The best workbooks for learning Kanji! The books focus on writing and the use of kanji in common Japanese words. It's a very practical approach and makes use of two of the senses for retention, tactile and sight. They are an excellent start for the enthusiastic Japanese student.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsPretty good, but not as well thought out as Genki

A good book as far as quality and ease of reading. However, the organization and order of the kanji is weird to me. I far prefer the Genki books.

Published 1 day ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat book, but...

It's a trace book. It does its purpose, and the kanji and the examples are good. However, you may want to ask if you want to purchase the book, or pay for the Skritter App.

Published 6 months ago by John Buckner
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Best teach yourself Kanji book out there!

Published 7 months ago by Rev Jake
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

My kid takes Japanese. It's all Greek to me.

Published 7 months ago by G. Nolen
2.0 out of 5 starsPoorly described by seller

Said there was no writing arrived with writing. Disappointed

Published 15 months ago by N. Cynthia
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

excellent! product

Published 16 months ago by claudia caballero
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Purchase

It is a good deal that I purchase this book. It doesn't matter it is second hand, because I don't care about the pages they already write on the front few chapters. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Miyabi Chen
5.0 out of 5 starsHelpful!

The book is very helpful in differentiating between the Japanese readings and the Chinese readings of the kanji. It gives clear examples and practice pages. Read more

Published 21 months ago by X
5.0 out of 5 starsI love the bookq

I am currently taking Japanese II and I find this book really helpful for the kanji section, because its a good reinforcement and practice of the kanji I'm learning in class. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Leandro Travieso
5.0 out of 5 starsVery helpful for beginners!

I used this exact same book when studying Japanese in high school and it was very helpful! It's great for those wanting to improve their kanji knowledge, giving useful vocabulary... Read more

Published 23 months ago by Miho Sempai

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