Customer Reviews

Love, Hate and Everything in Between: Expressing Emotions in Japanese (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)

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

 

 

Some people say that Japanese is not a very expressive language, with such subtle nuances and high context that blunt emotional vocabulary just doesn't exist. "Love, Hate and Everything In-between" will give you the necessary vocabulary to tell those people how wrong they are, and where they can stick it.

Basically a dictionary of emotional vocabulary, this small book is organized into two large sections, "From Uncertainty to Love" and "From Uncertainty to Hate." In these two are smaller sub-categories, such as Flattery, Sympathy, Tough Love, Love to Excess, Higher Love from Buddha, Frosty Silence, Arrogance and Pride, Finding Fault, Getting Mad, Revenge, Betrayal and too many others to name. Each sub-category has several vocabulary words and phrases, as well as common usage for each entry. Like any Japanese study book worth getting, both romaji and kana are used for each entry.

Anyone looking for a guide to picking up Japanese guys/girls might be disappointed with "Love, Hate and Everything In-between." This is a serious study aid for those looking to expand their fluency in Japanese, focusing on a specific, useful and fun aspect of the language. I have found it particularly of aid in reading Japanese manga, where relationships, both love and hate, form a major part of most storylines.

The only drawback to this book is that it is pretty much a straight dictionary, without any exercises such as are found in the "Handbook of Japanese Verbs." It probably isn't something that you will read straight through, but rather pick an emotion and expand your ability to express emotions in Japanese.

This book isn't like a lot of books which fall under the category of picking up Japanese women. This book is about the words you use to talk about a relationship. Most other books just teach you some phrases, but this book teaches you a little bit more. It teaches you phrases based on different situations and feelings. You won't find anything in here about asking a girl for her phone number, but you will find good examples showing you how to express yourself in Japanese. The hate part of the book is probably more useful than the love part of the book. If a girl gets mad at you, you need to know what she is saying.

This book does contain a lot of roma-ji, but it also contains a lot of hard Kanji. Usually I'd take off a star, because I really hate roma-ji, but this book deserves 5 stars.

I have many Japanese reference books, but I was looking for more of a book that can be used in conversational situations with my friends. I saw this book and then wanted to see if it held up to my needs. Sure enough, it did. Not only did it strengthen my knowledge of Japanese, it also really provides a nice conversational piece. I can't count how many times my Japanese friends have asked me, "Can I borrow that?" They enjoy using this book as well to see the equivalent translation/situation in English. I would recommend this book for intermediate or advanced learners of Japanese because it doesn't make much sense for a beginner due to difficult grammar and the meaning of the translations.

Ok, let me just say that this book is great. There are so many words that you'd never learn in a regular Japanese class, or even some intricate Japanese-English dictionaries, and there are so many synonyms to everything.
The only thing keeping me from rating it 5/5? The structure means that it's basically a dictionary--there are no lessons, just flat out words and definitions. Sure, you could always make flashcards, but for a book with so many words like this? It's more like getting a grasp of everything that's out there.
As for the examples, you must know Japanese pretty well in order to understand them. They have English, roumaji, and kanji, but by the level that the sentences are at, it would make much more sense to replace the roumaji with kana. Although there is the chance that a person with no experience with Japanese at all should happen to become interested in this book, but for only 2 or 3 days, and only with the intention to confess their love for an exotic Japanese foreigner, or to try and pick a fight with an innocent bystander...

The author of Love, Hate and Everything in Between: Expressing Emotions in Japanese (Power Japanese Series) made a great contribution to the Power Japanese series with this book.

WHAT'S INSIDE?
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The author covers 32 emotional situations ranging from ambivalence to breaking up. Under each section she offers a word, gloss of its meaning, explanation, and conversation. for the section "Beloved Things" (p. 35) she begins with the word gusai, which she glosses as "stupid wife," followed by an explanation of the meaning: "My wife; my old lady (The tone of deprecation here actually suggests intimacy and fondness)." After that, she gives a short conversational exchange in Japanese/romaji/English. The content is excellent, and I think it is fair to say that I have either used or heard most of the words in this book.

SUMMARY
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This book is a great aid for those who want to express their emotions, or understand when others are expressing theirs. It isn't meant to be read straight through. Put it in your backpack, carry it around with you, flip through it while you have some time (standing in line, riding the train, etc.), and you will absorb the words. It can be profitably read together with another book in the series that has a narrower focus, Communicating With Ki: The "Spirit" in Japanese Idioms (Power Japanese).

See my Listmania List ("The Power Japanese Series") for more books in the series.