Master the Basics Japanese (Master the Basics Series) [Paperback]

Nobuo Akiyama (Author), Carol Akiyama (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0812090462 | ISBN-13: 978-0812090468

A fine supplement to language textbooks in high school and college courses. Its chapters cover basic language review topics, each chapter offering an introductory diagnostic test with answers, a subject review, and a closing test that measures the reader's learning progress. Topics include grammar, pronunciation, parts of speech, idioms, telling time, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

(back cover)
This summary of Japanese grammar and usage covers parts of speech, sentence structure, verb forms, and common word patterns in written and spoken Japanese. At the beginning you will find an introductory diagnostic test with answers. The end of the book presents a review section with tests and answers for each chapter to help you measure your learning progress. Additional topics include idioms, numbers, telling time, days and dates, weather, standard greetings, and more.

Master the Basics Books Are Available in the Following Languages:
* English * German * Japanese * Russian * Spanish * English for Spanish Speakers --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812090462
• ISBN-13: 978-0812090468
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,540,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear and concise but you can get it a lot cheaper, February 25, 2002

By 

Au Po Shu Mickey "mickeyau67" (Hong kong Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Master the Basics Japanese (Master the Basics Series) (Paperback)

I just found out the very same authors and the very same publisher published this book 11 years ago under a different tittle "Japanese Grammar". These two books are extactly the same, except the "Master the Basics" adds one test at the beginning to test the readers' knowledge before they read the book and one at the end to test how much do they learn from it. If you think the tests are worth a few more dollars, get the "Master the Basics". If you don't, get a copy of "Japanese Grammar". They are both great to read, but the latter is a pocket-size book and comes with a transparent jacket.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars compare before you buy, July 16, 2007

By 

lin (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master the Basics Japanese (Master the Basics Series) (Paperback)

This guide is packed with good fundamentals, but this can also be overwhelming. Especially with the chunky page layouts and odd spacing. Before you buy it, consider Japanese Verbs & Essentials of Grammar by Rita L. Lampkin. Both have almost the same content, with Lampkin's having slightly less perhaps, but is better laid out and organized in my opinion. Flip through and compare them to see which better suits your purpose.

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use lessons, April 6, 2011

By 

Joseph M Spicer (Terre Haute, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master the Basics Japanese (Master the Basics Series) (Paperback)

I've struggled to learn languages from several sources, and I found the structure in this book a lot easier to work with, and the beginning is presented in a very simple way that makes it easy for beginners. If you already know some basics, you can probably just skip ahead. I got hung up a bit on the verbs, but I'm not sure that's the books fault. In any case, you'll definitely want to pair this book with something else. It gives everything in romaji and doesn't teach Japanese writing at all, so you'll want another for that. I used the classic Reading Japanese and just transcribed things in this book as I read through. The pages are mostly pretty sparse, so there's usually plenty of room to make notes next to nearly anything if you like to do that.

In my opinion, this book is ideal for informal lessons if you can get some people to learn and practice with you. It doesn't have the resources necessary to be a complete textbook for a class, but it would make a great supplement to help you study and understand what's in your other books.The newer edition doesn't seem to be anything special. This one should do fine, and for a much better price.