Customer Reviews

Berlitz Japanese Phrase Book & Dictionary

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It's a very very good book. It is divided in many sections for reader easy to find the word and it unlike other Japanese learning books which only has sound translations, it also has Japanese "kana" or "kanji" for reader really can learn Japanese.

I lived in Japan for a couple years (1962-64) in the Yokohama area and after returning home wished to stay in contact with the limited Japanese I knew. Much like 'Blackthorne' in SHOGUN, I wanted something small, something useful, something that I could use for reference. Well on March 30, 1996, I came upon this useful little tome. No matter what use you make of it, it will certainly be helpful.

Is it the best out there available, I really cannot say as this is the only thing I use. One small complaint I have, someone who has been to Japan may be looking for the Japanese expression into English, rather than English to Japanese, and it will not be found in this guide. All look ups are keyed English to Japanese, rather than the other way round. Guess that is why they made Japanese-English dictionaries though. Whatever, would help if someone said 'yama' in Japanese and you could quickly look it up to see it means 'mountain', or 'hana' meaning either 'nose' or 'flower' without thumbing unsuccessfully through the book.

But with that small complaint aside, I love this book and use it very often. If returning to Nippon, would not want to be without it.

Semper Fi.