Read Real Japanese (Power Japanese) [Paperback]

Janet Ashby (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Power Japanese | Publication Date: February 1994

Presents ten essays by popular Japanese authors. All vocabulary is defined and grammar explained. The Power Japanese series presents a selection of guides to difficult or confusing aspects of the Japanese language. The student can find a quick reference to particles, a guide to the myriad levels of politeness, books of idioms, vocabulary builders, emotive expressions and turns of speech - all with natural examples.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha Amer Inc (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770017545
• ISBN-13: 978-4770017543
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,442,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Approach to Help Foreigners Understand Japanese Texts, April 15, 1998

By 

"origamiweb" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Read Real Japanese (Power Japanese) (Paperback)

I liked this approach best out of all the books I've seen that try to help you "decode" real Japanese texts. I'm by no means an expert by the way, I've only been studying Japanese for about 1 1/2 years, and I've heard that reading texts before having studied for 3 or 4 years is out of the question. I try anyway:-) Anyway, Janet Ashby doesn't try to give you one continous English text as translation but more or less translates sentences or even just parts of sentences. As far as I've seen this approach enables her to stay closer to the original without having to compromise any subtle points just because you can't connect the sentences as smoothly in English. In addition, there are quite a few notes on usage and background that help you with other texts, too.
In all, I think this is a pretty good book for those who want to start reading Japanese texts.

I'd be glad to hear from anyone who is also just starting on Japanese texts or who can help me find more material that includes notes (or even without notes - I've found it difficult to find anything in Japanese except newspapers).

Tina

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent real-life Japanese!, August 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Read Real Japanese (Power Japanese) (Paperback)

This book is wonderful because it uses real Japanese to teach, and it doesn't put the reader to sleep. The explanations are easy to understand, the stories are funny, and it's a good way to refresh your memory or build your vocabulary in Japanese. Highly recommended!