Japanese for Dummies AUDIO+CD [Paperback]

Eriko Sato (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0764554298 | ISBN-13: 978-0764554292

Japanese is a wonderful language, very different from European languages. It is also the gateway to the rich culture of the exciting and complex island nation of Japan. Some people get intimidated by the prospect of speaking Japanese—worried that it’s just too complex and different—but these fears are unfounded. While you can devote a lifetime to the study of this or any language, picking up the basics of Japanese doesn’t require any more than an interest and a willingness to try something new.

Japanese For Dummies has everything you need to get off the ground with speaking the language. Author and Professor of Japanese Eriko Sato starts you off with the essentials of grammar and pronunciation, giving you a working sense of the language, before showing you Japanese in action. You’ll then explore vocabulary and expressions through dialogues taking place in situations such as:

• Introductions and greetings
• Eating and drink ing
• Shopping
• Exploring the town
• Talking on the telephone
• Asking directions
• Getting around
• Staying at a hotel

You’ll also discover social customs, formalities, and manners, from how and when to bow to how to unwrap a present. Whether you simply want to introduce yourself to the Japanese language, say a few words to a neighbor or coworker, or you’re planning a major trip or study abroad in Japan, Japanese For Dummies will enable you to get the basics fast and work towards your own goal at your own pace. You’ll also find out about:

• How to use karaoke to help you learn Japanese
• Movies that will introduce you to Japanese culture and language
• Learning Japanese the “gourmet” way
• When ignoring “no, thank you” shows good manners
• Proper table manners
• Proper body language
• How to sound fluent
• And much more!

With helpful vocabulary summaries, a mini-dictionary at the end, and an audio CD full of conversations and pronunciations, Japanese For Dummies assumes no prior knowledge of Japanese on your part—providing the perfect guide for a quick-but-thorough, lighthearted-but-not-lightweight introduction to the language.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Speak Japanese – the fun and easy way!

Packed with clear explanations and real-world examples

Your friendly guide to understanding Japanese – quickly and easily!

Whether you’re a student, a traveler, or you just want to pick up basic Japanese, this unintimidating guide will help you start speaking the language in no time. Inside you’ll find a wealth of fascinating cultural facts and handy references – including a Japanese-English mini-dictionary, lists of common expressions and verbs, and much more!

All this on the bonus audio CD

• Pick up Japanese the easy way –through actual conversations
• Features dialogues by native Japanese speakers
• Allows you to hear Japanese as it’s really spoken
• Reinforces lessons from the book

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About the Author

Eriko Sato, PhD, is Professor of Japanese at State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. Sato is a native Japanese speaker experienced in teaching Japanese and in translation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764554298
• ISBN-13: 978-0764554292
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everything but writing, June 4, 2002

By 

Andrea Lee "Ayumi" (Montgomery, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese for Dummies AUDIO+CD (Paperback)

I just recieved my copy of this book yesterday and I think that it's wonderful! It's difficult for me to learn on my own using a book, but like all the other Dummies books, everything was simple and I was able to understand it well.

I ordered this book mainly to get a laugh from it, not expecting to REALLY learn everything there is to know about Japanese. Well, within the first 100 pages, I got my laugh. In the section talking about eating, the author says "If you are eating at home, get it [missing condiments, table settings] yourself, or if you have children, ask them to get it for you." I got the laugh I expected from a Dummies book. Also, in the introduction, the author makes some assumptions on the reader. The author says flat out that this book is not made for the people who want to become professional translators or expect to become fluent from the book alone. It's simply to learn the basics of spoken Japanese language and use the knowledge as a stepping stone to more learning.

But other than that, there's clear explainations for verbs and their basic usage. There was no unneccesary stuff to confuse the reader with although the different forms of verbs may seem intimidating. The vocabulary used is very basic and far from complete, but it's enough to get by with. There is a mini dictionary in the back of the book and it's just that: mini. I suggest you to grab yourself a good dictionary.

This book is pretty good, but it doesn't teach anything about writing. There is not a single kana in the book so those of you desiring to learn written Japanese should not buy this book unless you want to reinforce your grammar and speaking. This book concentrates mainly on speaking putting a great deal into the pronunciation of words. Also, the audio CD included goes through the sounds of the language and includes some of the dialogues from the book. They're spoken by native Japanese speakers and sound very clear. However, it sounds more like most tapes and CDs used in school language instruction rather than smooth-flowing speech.

It's a really great book for those starting in Japanese, but it shows only one side of the language. But I guess Dummies just wanted to keep it as simple as possible. The lack of Japanese writing is a bit frustrating, but I don't regret my purchase.

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Japanese Language book I've bought yet..., September 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Japanese for Dummies AUDIO+CD (Paperback)

I am currently teaching English in Japan so I have lots of Japanese language books sitting on the shelf in my apartment. Japanese for Dummies is the only one of those books that I've actually looked at a second time. The book gets down to the nitty gritty of Japanese and explains the language in an easy and understandable way. Sato-san even gives important cultural information that explains when and why you use certain phrases in Japanese. I've been living in Japan for over a year and it wasn't until I started reading this book that I finally felt like I was understanding the usage of the language and have been a bit more confident talking to my co-workers at enkais and the drinking parties that follow. My book is competely full of highlighter and notes (something I rarely do so it truly must be a helpful book!)
Sadly I can't attest to how good the cd is because I've never taken it out of the book jacket since I constantly hear Japanese around me but if its anything like the book then it'd be quite good.
For people that are concerned about learning to read and write Japanese ... this book might not necessarily be for you - however, I taught myself to read and write hirigana and katakana over a weekend when I first got here and I've discovered that it didn't help me in the least bit getting around Japan as that would require knowing a decent amount of kanji characters which I've been picking up very slowly.
The layout of the book is great - introuduction followed by chapters that focus on a variety of things (like going shopping, inviting a friend to do something) each with new vocabulary, useful verbs (and their basic conjugations), set phrases and a practice dialogue. The back part of the book is a mini-dictionary that is suitable for this book but you would definitely need a better one if you have a more serious interest in Japanese (I can't help you with that since I've been searching for a better Japanese/English dictionary since I've arrived in Japan!)

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Know the purpose, January 26, 2006

By 

Dylan Greene "DG" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese for Dummies AUDIO+CD (Paperback)

On the cover of this book it says "Speak Japanese - the fun and easy way!" So why am I not complaining that it didn't include the writing? Because I knew that it was for speaking the language. This isn't exactly the advanced type of book, but it teaches a lot more than most Japanese books I have read. Most other Japanese books I have read only make you memorize specific phrases and sentences. But this one tells you how to put a sentence together. It would be beyond the scope of this book to list the writing, because this is aimed at beginners. When you get well-versed in the speaking, yes another book should do for the writing. But, for its true purpose, Japanese for Dummies does an outstanding job.