Customer Reviews

Visual Japanese Verbs (Language Express Cards) (Visual Language Learning Cards) (Japanese Edition)

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if you are trying to study Japanese and you're not in Japan, you know that the odds are stacked against you - without hearing it constantly, and reading it everywhere, the learning process is much more arduous. Well, imagine having these little cards that you can carry ANYWHERE because they're so small and are conveniently bound together with a steel keyring! They even have durable plastic covers to keep the face and front cards from getting grungy. If you carry these cards around, glancing at them while waiting for a train, standing on line at the supermarket, or between commercials, I GUARANTEE you'll pick up three or four - at the bare minimum - vocabulary words every day. Let that sink in, then buy these cards while you can. Why couldn't the Tuttle kanji cards have been presented so neatly?

These Language Express Cards contain 105 different Japanese verbs on 105 numbered cards about 2" by 1.5". They have holes punched top and center and come on metal rings that can be opened to allow you to remove, shuffle or organize the cards as needed. On the front is a small cartoon image, and the English verb. On the rear is the Indicative, -masu, and -te forms of the verb with Kanji/katakana written underneath, and the card number (sometimes a negative form of the verb is thrown on as well).

Using these cards is convenient. Once learning these 105 verbs, you get the hang of basic Japanese verbs to allow you to approach conjugation and wider vocabulary studies in other books centered on broader rules of japanese verbs.

I bought both the verb and adjective pack of cards. At first I thought they would be a great way to review vocabulary, then I realized that is not how I learn. Talking to others in my Japanese class I find that none of them find flash cards to be very effective in learning new words. I ended up writing all of these on a sheet of paper, and going over that over and over until I had committed all to memory (not so difficult really). The flash cards worked okay for review after, but were not really necessary. Just write down 50 to 100 vocabulary words on a piece of paper and then commit these to memory -- you don't really need these cards. Plus the verb cards use romaji (yuck!) along with kanji. What they really need is kanji with furigana.

These little cards are a great help while I study. Because they are little you can put them in your pocket and take them with you. The rings keep you from losing them. Now if I could only manage to remember them!!