Customer Reviews

Berlitz Japanese Phrase Book (Berlitz Phrase Book)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been living in Japan for over two years now and this thing is still in my back pocket (albeit a bit ratty now).

I have invested tons in pocket dictionaries and phrasebooks. I don't even bother to carry anything else with me now.

Even though my Japanese can get me through a conversation, I still have trouble, and that's where this book comes in.

Excellent organization, and the fact that it's written in both romanized characters, so you can read it, and Japanese characters, so they can read it, is a Godsend.

I have copied pages from it for my Japanese students who were taking a trip to the states.

I could go on and on, but this little book has been a life saver. Easily the best 10 bucks I've ever spent.

Extremely useful if you have no Japanese, and still quite handy even if you do. Even has a section on hitting on people!

This phrasebook was used as a "textbook" by a Japanese student who tutored me in Japanese before a recent trip to Japan. It contained many helpful phrases for a lot of situations you will encounter when traveling in Japan. I consider this critical for "survival Japanese"--contrary to what you may have heard, everyone does NOT speak English. I used this book in talking to cab drivers, making a train reservation, ordering food, asking directions, making purchases. I gave this four stars instead of five because this lacks some elements you need to be understood. The biggest one is knowing how the Japanese accent words. Also missing was the discussion of the differences in using different numbers for different objects. I was able to "fill in the gaps" from my tutor and the Pimsleur Japanese tapes. All in all, a great reference book for travelers.

Hey,

I've had to travel to Japan a couple times for work and have both this and the Lonely Planet phrasebook. While the Lonely Planet version has more stuff on how to speak in japanese I found it extremely difficult to use when I was on the street, in a store, or at my hotel trying to communicate. The berlitz is sectioned out pretty well and one thing I really appreciated which the lonely planet didn't is how to ask for a drink on the rocks. I still keep the Lonely Planet one with me when I travel over there but leave it at the hotel. When I go out and wonder around the country I'm never without my Berlitz guide. It has a little less content but I find the content is both more useful and a lot easier to get through when trying to talk with the locals.

Having to move to Japan for 3 years, this is the handiest and most worn book in my library. Small enough to fit in your pocket or purse, but color coded so that you can find what you need in a hurry.

Having to move to Japan for 3 years, this is the handiest and most worn book in my library. Small enough to fit in your pocket or purse, but color coded so that you can find what you need in a hurry.

This is a magnificent book filled with more phrases than you could ever use on our trip to Japan. I highly recommend this book.

I like the simplicity of the book. It is arranged in sections according to use and then also arranged alphabetically within the glossary. The only down fall for the book is that it does not have a glossary alphabetized in Japanese with the English word or phrase following it.

This book was exactly what I needed to navigate japan beyond Tokyo. I was on business for 6 days in NE Japan, and was able to frequently use this book to help me get around. English may be common in Tokyo, but outside it is much less so.

There are many useful phrases in this book. You can definitely to hold a conversation with this book at your side. However, I was expecting more, but It's still a pretty good book.