Customer Reviews

Japanese Picture Dictionary (Kids Picture Dictionary) (English and Japanese Edition)

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I got this book for my son (along with a few others) as he wants to learn Japanese. Looking through it with him is a fun activity. The hiragana line up with the English sounds we read. The words are used in a sentence so one can get used to the grammar as well. The images help gel the sentence with the hiragana. There is even a glossary of words in the back in English with a few simple phrases one would need if visiting Japan. It is more for young kids but adults would get some benefit from it. I know I would have liked it and found it useful in college when I went and lived in Japan for a few months.

I bought this book for my daughter, who wants to learn Japanese, because I have the same book in French and the pictures are adorable and the book is just for fun--it's not exactly a textbook for learning the language. This Japanese version is also quite cute, fun illustrations and easy to read. The problem with the book, however, is the publishers obviously did not bother to find a Japanese editor to review it before it went to publication! There are grammatical and syntax errors all over the place. How do I know? My mother is Japanese, and she couldn't stop laughing! One sentence that is supposed to translate into "My grandmother likes to bake" actually says, "My grandmother likes to burn things." And other sentences are just plain silly. When would one ever need to say, "The goat is standing on the top of the island"? Now when we need a good laugh, we reach for this book.