Power Japanese (Jewel Case)

by Transparent Language, Inc.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001Z95HS
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 29, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,223 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #86 in Software > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Asian
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Power Japanese is a comprehensive, interactive, multimedia learning system for Japanese. With Power Japanese, you can teach yourself basic spoken and written Japanese right on your computer in as little as 10 weeks!

Using multiple techniques, including innovative screen design, careful selection and presentation of materials, native speaker pronunciation, interactive drills and games, animated dialogs, and much more, Power Japanese provides a vibrant learning environment that maintains your focus on the information at hand and helps you retain what you have learned.

Fun, Easy Japanese Learning

Power Japanese takes advantage of innate language skills to quickly and painlessly cut across otherwise vast and overwhelming areas of Japanese. Instead of drowning you in details, Power Japanese focuses on the main features of Japanese which underlie the entire language.

With Power Japanese, you will learn:

• To read and write Hiragana and Katakana--the basic syllables of the Japanese language--with fully animated, stroke-by-stroke writing tutors.
• The basic components of the Japanese sentence and how to form correct sentences in Japanese.
• Essential words, phrases, and concepts for everyday speech.
• All about adjectives and verbs.
• 10 simple tricks for speaking Japanese.

The most effective learning is always a joyful and self-enriching experience. Power Japanese will enable you to start expressing your own thoughts in Japanese with a minimum fuss. Discover for yourself why Power Japanese is unique and unequalled among Japanese-learning systems.

Free Bonus

Kana Editor / Japanese Word Processor: use your PC keyboard to enter phonetic Kana characters so you can write, format, and print letter-quality documents in Japanese! This handy tool is included free with Power Japanese.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best self-study tool for beginners, September 29, 2005

By 

Kaiser Farooque (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Japanese (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

I began studying Japanese on my own in 1997. I found that around 90% of the self-study aids were entirely useless. But Power Japanese is markedly different, and it still stands out as the absolute best tool for self-taught Japanese that I have ever found. I still personally recommend it for anyone starting out in the language, or even those who have already taken a beginners' class. Though I used an older version in 1998, this particular one is upgraded mostly to work better on current machines.

Power Japanese teaches you kana (phonetic characters) very, very quickly, and introduces vocabulary to help you retain how to read (the most critical step that many books lack). It introduces that vocabulary while helping you learn sentence structure to give you a grasp on basic Japanese grammar. It does this while using an easy graphical interface to the point where learning all the basics doesn't even seem like a chore. In all, this is a necessity if you are just starting out learning Japanese; and it's a lifesaver if you're unsure where to even begin. KF

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good way to learn Kana/Hiragana, July 17, 2005

By 

Anthony Sacco - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Japanese (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

I don't have this version of the software, but the previous version can really teach you to read and write kana. I have tried a lot of language software and books that did not work for me. If you follow this program, you will be able to read and write the Japanese phonetic language. It won't give you a lot of vocabulary, but you will be able to sound out Katakana and Hirgana. You also won't be able to actually read Japanese since many chinese characters (Kanji)are also used in written Japanese, but it is agreat start.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good value but grammar was sloppy, August 9, 2007

By 

Sparks (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Power Japanese (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

IMO working through every module of this program will take 4-6 weeks so $50 is a pretty good deal. However some of the sentences taught are iffy: "Kanai udon desu." This translates to "My wife is a noodle." The graphics are nothing to write home about but the kana drills are excellent because they really force you to make fine (aural) distinctions between similar sounding kana. Overall Im satisfied with this purchase but wish they would: 1) upgrade their 1980s graphics 2) use correct grammar 3) choose more relevant (to every day life) katakana example words