Customer Reviews

Japanese Katakana for Beginners: First Steps to Mastering the Japanese Writing System (Tuttle Language Library)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book, together with "Japanese Hiragana for Beginners", has proven itself indispensible in the learning of the Japanese writing system. There is room for practicing both the reading and writing of each character, along with a memory aid for keeping them all straight (although I think in the end, "shi" and "tsu" still look uncannily alike, despite the author's protestations). The two books also teach frequently-used Japanese words, together with reading practice of words and sentences. There is a list of American names written in katakana at the beginning of the book, and lists of other English-derived words in the back. This book comes highly recommended because of the flashcards at the end which you can tear out and use to study.

What I love about this book is that it brings a lot to the table in terms of how you can learn your katakana. There are illustrations made to look like the characters themselves. These are fun mnemonics to look at. There are alsomany opportunities for you to actually write the kana: You can practice them in real words. You trace examples. You're given grids to measure how symmetrical the characters are... It's all there. And there is a set of flashcards at the end that you can tear out of the book. The flashcards also have the mnemonic pictures that were featured throughout the text.

Overall, I must recommend this book for beginners learning Japanese kana.

This is great to learn katakana has spots where you write. Great companion to the Japanese Hiragana For Beginners :)

I'll be moving to Japan in a month and have been cramming my head with as much knowledge as possible about the language. This particular book (as well as its Hiragana counterpart) are GREAT tools for learning the alphabet. There is a place to practice writing each letter, and some fun activities at the end of the book to put it into practice. But the best part is the set of flashcards that come with the book. They have mnemonic devices for memorizing the sound of each letter and have been very helpful in memorizing the letters. I recommend this for anyone teaching themselves Japanese.

This is a VERY good book, love it.

The flash cards that come from it are too small to be of any use, but the books contents help greatly in learning Katakana, they have memorable images and stores for each Kana.

This book does not contain combination Kana or the like, misses out on a star due to that, but otherwise great book.

Just got this workbook in (along with the parallel hiragana workbook) and I am really impressed. A full page each plus mnemnonics for the primary symbols, a section on tenten & maru usuage, combined characters, reading practice for sounds, vocabulary, flash cards....all is focused on learning katakana and practicing writing the symbols, but you learn a lot of vocabulary with the exercises too. Its reall a nice all-purpose beginner katakana book. I can't wait to use it!! The hiragana book is the same and excellent as well!

I am in Judo and wanted to learn all I can about the culture/language of the Japanese. We have some excellent friends to help us but the book is down to earth and easy to understand. My kids enjoy the drawings which also help them remember the characters.

the flashcards that come with this book are brilliant for people such as me with dyslexia who are trying to learn to read the katakana alphabet..there are lots of squares to practice writing the characters and there are example words for you to write out so that it really gets cemented in your brain.. all and all definitely worth the 20$ i payed for it.. though i had to wait a couple of weeks for it to be restocked.. tuttle books tend to sell out quickly around here.. i wish i had bought it here on amazon.. i could have saved some cash.. not that its not worth the 20$.. it is.. i would even go as far as to say its the best book for katakana..